#and then they basically keep on dating as if they never had that convo

[atinylittlepain]

alright hear me out. you’re secretly in love with joel. and joel is ridiculously attracted to you and he’s so protective of you and has this massive crush that he refuses to acknowledge. but Tess can totally tell and either

a. she is super jealous and annoyed about it. she confronts joel in some way and maybe treats you shitty. but joel totally calls her out and basically admits that he does like you.

b. she wants you two to get together. and tries to force you two to spend more time alone with each other and maybe she confronts joel and you walk in on their convo or she just tells you outright that joel is into you but will never admit it.

tesscue part two! i love it

Better Off

Joel Miller x f!reader

joel miller masterlist

Joel's trying to keep his distance from her. But Tess has other plans for him and the girl he's trying so hard to forget about.

warnings | 18+ canon-typical violence, angst, feelings

a/n | this can be read as a standalone or as a part two to Looking, either way it's fun :)

.................................

She would never admit it, but she’s disappointed that things haven’t changed all that much with Joel, not since that night he came looking for her and all but murdered that guard that had been giving her trouble. Not since she kissed him on the cheek and told him how she feels about him.

He still won’t really talk to her, not unless it’s business. But now that she’s working almost entirely with Tess, even those opportunities are few and far in between. When they do speak, he keeps his eyes anywhere but on her. His hands in his lap, the laces of his boots, something just over her shoulder, but he never quite meets her gaze. More than anything, she feels embarrassed that she had been so forward with him that night. She had thought that he felt similarly, with the way he was blushing like a teenager at her flirting, but now it seems pretty clear that Joel Miller wants nothing to do with her outside of their business partnership. 

She’s trying to not let it get to her, but her mind can’t help needling at it. Does he think she’s too young for him? Too talkative? Too crass? She flits away these questions easily, but her mind always settles on the fear that Joel just doesn’t take her seriously, not really. So, she’s resigned herself to the reality that her little crush is going to have to stay just that, focusing on her work with Tess as a distraction from him. 

While Joel may be getting more distant, she and Tess have become quick friends in their work establishing a new trade partner right on the border of Vermont, often staying up late into the night when the talk shifts from smuggling routes to loose gossip and life. Joel had often passed by them, sitting at the kitchen table in his apartment, grumbling to himself before closing his bedroom door with a definitive thud. Tess would always apologize for her “dumbass associate,” and she would just shrug, trying not to take his clear hostility personally, though it sure seemed to be directed toward her. A few months passed like that, and with each day she convinced herself a bit more that she didn’t care about Joel Miller. 

With summer creeping in, it’s just about time for Joel and Tess to make another seasonal trip out to Bill and Frank, and when she gets back to his apartment a few nights before they’re supposed to go, she’s surprised by the conversation he and Tess are having.

“Then we’ll just push it back.” Tess shakes her head in her hand where she’s sitting at the kitchen table.

“We can’t, Joel. Bill and Frank are already skittish as it is, if we go changing dates on them it’s just gonna raise their hackles.” Joel looks at her blankly, slumping back in his chair.

“Then you gotta push that meeting back instead.” Tess scoffs.

“I can’t. It’s time sensitive what I got worked out with Marlene. It’s now or never. You gotta go to Bill and Frank’s without me. She can go with you.” Her mouth goes dry when Tess nods over to where she’s still standing in the doorway, and her stomach twists when Joel is so quick to protest against the idea.

“Tess, I’m not going with her.” Tess looks ready to smack him upside the head, but she interjects, walking further into the room and fixing him with a steely look.

“What? You don’t think I can handle it, Miller? Well I can assure I manage just fine out there. Been running the route to Vermont nearly every week so don’t worry about me. I’ll go with you, and you’ll be lucky to have me along for the trip.” She shocks even herself with that outburst, but obviously not as much as Joel whose mouth is hanging open, eyes wide as he looks at her. Tess claps her hands together, startling him out of his surprised stupor.

“Well, that settles that. Thanks for taking on asshole duty, I owe you one.” Tess grins at her as Joel scoffs at her words. She however, is starting to realize exactly what she just signed up for.

It’s going to be a long hike.

…

Her mind has been swirling ever since they left the QZ. Now, pacing back and forth outside the hollowed-out gas station that Joel is rummaging through for supplies he had stashed, she keeps replaying the conversation she had overheard the night before between him and Tess. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but when she heard Tess say her name, she had stopped in her tracks, leaning back behind the door frame of Joel’s bedroom to listen in.

“Joel, you’re being fucking ridiculous.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tess laughed at that.

“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re gonna scare her away with the way you treat her, is that what you want?”

“No. I just– just don’t care to be around her, that’s all.” Her heart dropped at that, but Tess was quick to reply.

“Well I don’t believe that for one second. It’s kinda hard to scowl at someone while you’re also giving them puppy dog eyes. Joel, it’s pretty fucking clear that you’re sweet on her. And I know for a fact that she’s had a little thing for you too. But if you keep treating her like shit, whatever chance you have left with her is gonna be gone. Or worse, you’re gonna cost me my best business partner.” A heavy silence fell after Tess’ rant, Joel clearing his throat a few times before he answered.

“Look, it’s better off this way. She’s better off not getting– tangled up with me. Fuck– I’ll try to be– polite, I guess. Not gonna lose you a business partner, but it’s better for everyone if I keep my distance. She’ll get over it– tough as nails, that one. It’s better for her, Tess. Alright?” Tess sighed.

“Fine. But I still think it’s a shame that you’re just throwing away a chance at something actually good in this world.”

She had scurried out of his apartment at the sound of their conversation dying out, and ever since, her mind has been replaying it on an infinite loop. It had shocked her, hearing Joel all but openly admit that he had been harboring his own feelings for her. But that shock quickly rolled over to dismay that it was made explicitly clear that he wasn’t going to do anything to act on those feelings.

“You good?” She’s startled out of her thoughts by Joel shouldering his way out of the gas station, wordlessly passing her one of the guns he had stashed before. She nods as they already step back into stride, turning back to continue following the highway toward Bill and Frank’s. 

Their hike so far has been quiet, save for monosyllabic communication, and the silence is starting to get to her, just enough that she finally opens her mouth. Anything’s better than staying stuck in her head.

“Joel? Can I ask you a question?” He hums out a reluctant permission, his head tilting slightly to look at her as they keep walking.

“What did you do before– well, before?” She knows he doesn’t like talking about the past, and judging by the way his face screws up at her question, she guesses he might not even answer, but she’s so sick of conversations about FEDRA guards and trade routes. She’d give anything to talk about something normal.

When he doesn’t answer, she sighs.

“Oh c’mon. We’ve got like another four hours of walking, might as well fill the time with something.” Still nothing, his eyes staying fixed forward on the crumbling road ahead of them. She huffs.

“Well I was a nurse– ER, if you can believe it.” That seems to pique his interest, finally glancing at her.

“Were you on shift when everything–?” She nods to his trailing off question.

“Sure was. Booked it out of there when my patients started taking bites out of doctors. Pfft, I remember one of my coworkers refusing to leave because she was worried about getting paid for her overtime.” She lets out a weak laugh, shaking her head at the strange memory. Joel clears his throat.

“I was a contractor. Me and my brother had a little business– building homes, that type of stuff. It was, um, good work.” She offers him a smile, surprised when he offers her one back. The moment is short lived however, when two infected come darting out of the treeline. 

It’d be foolish to waste ammo, both of them scrambling to pull out knives. She makes quick work of the one coming up on her, turning to see Joel struggling on the ground with the other. But before she can help him, she gets tackled to the ground by another screeching infected, her knife skittering out of her hand at the impact. She rolls on the ground with the snarling creature, fighting back its snapping jaws as best she can, though it continues to press closer and closer into her. And then its body goes slack over her, and she can’t help the stifled shriek she lets out when it slumps heavy on top of her. Her whole body trembles as she shoves the body off of her, finding Joel standing over her, a wild look in his eyes.

He kneels down between her legs, helping her sit up as his hands dart anxiously over her, checking for bites. There’s a loud rushing in her ears, her hands shaking as she grasps onto the front of his flannel. His palms cup her face, warm and steadying as he coaxes her to look at him.

“Are you ok? Not hurt anywhere?” She’s never gotten so close to death, the shock of it settling icy and slick in her bones. She takes a shuddering breath before answering.

“I’m– I’m fine. I’m ok.” The worry rounding his eyes dissolves, his face setting back in a gruff, empty expression. She hates how she tries to lean into him when he takes his hands away from her face. He gets up with a groan, offering her a hand, but she has enough dignity to refuse to take it, scrambling onto her still unsteady legs.

“We should keep moving. There’s probably more where those came from.” She doesn’t respond to his words, just starts walking again, trying to steady the persistent shake in her hands. 

The rest of their hike is silent until Joel suggests they break for the night, setting up camp in a thicket of trees just off the highway. They eat their rations silently in the slow-darkening summer dusk. She’s surprised when he offers her his flask.

“Helps with the nerves.” She swears she could get whiplash with the way he’s swinging from seeming to not give a fuck to acting like he cares. She wordlessly takes the flask from him, ignoring the flicker of his fingers brushing hers as she takes a hard swig. 

“You sure you’re alright?” She can’t help but scoff at that.

“Careful, Miller. A girl might start to think you actually give a fuck about her.” He looks stricken by her harsh words, the fading light of day casting shadows over his furrowed expression.

“I– I do give a fuck about you.” She shakes her head, wrapping her arms around her shins where she’s sitting on her spread out sleeping bag.

“Oh I know. But you don’t want to, do you? That’s the problem. You don’t want to care about me. You think I’d be better off if you kept your distance from me.” His jaw goes slack at her words, leaning over his knees where he’s sitting across from her.

“I thought I heard you– you were listening in, weren’t you? To me and Tess? How much did you hear?” She sighs, turning her gaze down.

“Heard all of it.” It’s more of a mumble, but Joel hears it.

“Look, I’ll admit it– I like you– probably more than I should. But I’m right, darlin. It’s better this way. I’m no good for you. You best just forget about this.” Her head whips up at that, finally meeting his surprisingly sorrowful gaze.

“How can you say that, Joel? How could you possibly know what’s best for me? This isn’t about what’s best for me. You know what I think? I think you’re scared to let anyone get close to you. This isn’t better for me, it’s easier for you.” His expression has hardened, and she knows that she just pissed him off.

“That’s bullshit. You think this is easy for me? Pushing you away? Maybe you’ll understand when you’re a little older, darlin, but there ain’t anything easy about any of this.” She scoffs at that, anger coaxing up her spine.

“Oh please. That’s a weak excuse and you know it. Pulling the fucking age card. I’m not the one that needs to fucking grow up.” Somehow, in the heated volley of words, they’ve both ended up kneeling in front of each other, inching up into each other’s snarling faces.

“Oh, I need to grow up? That’s rich coming from the girl who just a few months ago was flirting with fucking feds for a few extra ration cards.” She does it before she can even think, her hand arcing with the goal of smacking him clean across his face, but before she can make contact, he grabs her wrist, holding her hand between them as she struggles in his grasp.

“Let go.” She can feel her anger seething off of herself, but Joel just cocks an eyebrow at her, firming up his grip on her wrist.

“No.” He says it so casually, she can’t help but laugh.

“What are you, a toddler? I said, let fucking go, you–” She’s cut off by his lips smashing into hers. Though she initially tries to fight it, she can’t help but mold her lips to his, seeking out the upper hand when she swipes her tongue over his bottom lip, causing him to groan lowly. He lets go of her wrist, his palms coming to squeeze at the curve of her hips as he topples back onto his ass, taking her with him as she straddles his thighs. It’s an angry, demanding little thing of a kiss, both of them fighting for dominance between swallowed gasps. He finally pulls back with a lewd smack, his eyes blown wide.

“You drive me fucking crazy, woman.” She snickers, tugging lightly at the hair at the nape of his neck.

“So much for not caring, Miller.” Tess was right. Tess was definitely right.

[call-me-strega]

New chapter of HBSD for Jason is just like, hey you get your crush in your bed! But not in that way, actually it’s much worse whoops

I am curious though, what does Jason think happened in Danny/Ellie’s backstory? Because what he has to go off of is 1) Vlad is paying child support and low key Danny is worried about custody 2) Ellie and other attempts were created, but not how (and obv most people wouldn’t assume cloning) 3) Ellie was introduced to Danny LATER 4) Vlad is simultaneously creepy/involved in Ellie’s creation, but also still trying to date Danny’s mom

If I overheard that phone convo, I would be very concerned (obviously), but also trying to figure out how…how the hell any of them are related. Like, trans Danny with Ellie taken early and reintroduced later? Vlad is trans? Is Vlad even biologically involved because Danny never says so, just that he’s in some way responsible so-Vlad paid someone to be a surrogate at some point for some reason? I would have NO idea because none of those explanations would quite make sense from the phone convo unless I knew cloning was an option, you know?

Oh, I totally see how that'd be confusing. Let me explain my thought process when I wrote this.

You see after hearing that conversation, in the moment Jason assumes that something was happening along the lines of the trans theory. The pit rage did cloud his judgment a bit, so he focused more on the custody/separation aspects and wanting to protect these new people in his territory who have something akin to an age-old story he has heard before. Plus, later on during the 4th of July chapter Danny reveals more of his parents' relationship with Vlad and alludes to what happened between them, basically implying that they trusted Vlad near Danny, but he did something to Danny to get his genetic material. Which isn't untrue but somewhat misleading. Later when he has time to re-examine the info from both conversations he adjusts his theory.

Keeping in mind that this is the same universe where cloning is possible and genetic studies are likely more advanced in turn it wouldn't be a stretch to assume test tube babies are a Thing that Exist more commonly there than in the real world. Especially, if we use the version of the story where Damian was a test tube baby rather than Talia actually getting pregnant making it a possibility Jason would definitely be aware of.

Jason's leading theory right now was that some creepy old guy (Vlad) was obsessed with Danny's mom, and later Danny himself. And because his parents trusted Vlad they let him get close to Danny despite Danny recognizing Vlad was a creep. All of this is basically accurate, so here's where things diverge. Jason assumes Danny was assaulted (either physically or sexually) by Vlad, who took his genetic material by force. Then the creepy old rich guy used his money to try and create a test tube baby using their combined DNA. The first few attempts failed but when one finally took Danielle was the result. The creep then tried to raise her and poison her against her other genetic donor, to little success because she was such a small child. Danny became aware of what Vlad had done shortly after Danielle was born, but was too young and vulnerable to fight back and get custody. However, once he got older he finally gathered the resources to fight back and managed to get custody of his daughter. Danny has something he can use against Vlad to keep him in check, likely a scary lawyer or some sort of blackmail. Now he's trying to live a normal life with Ellie and makes sure Vlad compensates him with child support. All things considered not to far from the truth but missing some key context details.

With the type of shenanigans always going down the DC universe his theory really isn't that much of a stretch. In all honesty though, Jason tries not to spend too much time dwelling on it for a couple of reasons: 1) In his experience, people who go through similar things want to be left alone, lest something happen that could jeopardize their situation (hiding from an abuser). 2) Danny made it clear when he declined seeking protection from Red Hood that he had the situation handled and didn't want anyone getting involved, Jason's meddling wouldn't help anything. 3.) Jason wants Danny to trust him enough to tell him the whole story himself, and 4.) Jason is busy with other stuff like work, vigilante-ing, and falling in love to go unnecessarily digging around in a story that honestly isn't as unique as one might think.

Obviously, there might still be holes in my logic but that's basically what I believe Jason's view on the situation would be. I hope that sheds some light onto how I intended the situation to look like from the outside.

[chaifootsteps]

once again begging HB fandom to please, please rewatch season 1, especially murder family & loo loo land

I saw a post claiming that Stolas made the full moon deal for Blitz's benefit, because asking for compensation with the only thing Blitz has shown interest in (sex) was apparently nicer on Stolas' part than just like... asking Blitz to rent the book from him with money or something

and I'm just like what??? this kind of take can only come from a headcanon because there's nothing in the show to support it apart from Stolas' own self-delusion (which doesn't excuse him given all the evidence to the contrary he should have noticed).

After their one night stand Blitz never shows an interest in having sex with Stolas. At the point they were at in murder family Stolas had no reason to assume Blitz still wanted sex from him, there isn't much more Blitz could have done to make it clear he wasn't interested!

Blitz ghosts him after their one night stand (by Stolas' admission on the phone call in full moon, it's 'never a good time', suggesting Blitz dodges Stolas' calls constantly and Stolas never gets a hint), tries multiple times to get him off the phone/get to the point in murder family & spends basically all his lines with Stolas in Loo Loo Land shutting it down whenever Stolas tries to flirt/make a move on him (one of which results in Stolas interrupting him mid-protest to condescend to him by saying he's 'cute when he's serious', ignoring totally the thing Blitz just told him not to do)

even later in the series when Blitz is supposedly developing feelings for Stolas and (according to stol/tz logic, not mine) enjoying being forced to sleep with Stolas he still sends him text replies of one or two word answers. it doesn't help that this interest Blitz supposedly shows is never onscreen. Even the two scenes that are the best 'evidence' of why Stolas would get mixed signals are still a reach - Blitz doesn't exactly seem super enthusiastic about sleeping with Stolas in The Circus and he's disinterested and annoyed by Stolas the whole time during their "date" (Stolas' phrase, not Blitz's) in Ozzies. when it comes to being expected to sleep with Stolas at the end of the latter episode he turns it down flat and Stolas' texts show he still doesn't get what the problem is.

Stolas' level of self delusion is his own problem. Not Blitz's. If he couldn't notice that Blitz isn't smiling in a single photo on his own then there's no reason to make Blitz responsible for not screaming in Stolas' ear to get through to him because it clearly wouldn't have worked. Stolas did not want to hear it. Going by what I suspect their convo in full moon will be like, he still doesn't and probably won't take in any criticisms Blitz is allowed to make (and goodness knows the show loves to make characters criticize Stolas in the flimsiest way possible so he can easily talk around them or rebut them)

Also saw the take repeated yet again (as many others have) that Blitz "never once explicitly tells Stolas no".

Besides the fact it's blatantly wrong & just a rewrite of what actually happened in the show - he says no in Ozzie's, he repeatedly tells Stolas to knock it off and voices his discomfort several times in Loo Loo Land - it's frankly disturbing to see this repeated so often.

Like part of the entire problem is that Stolas has put Blitz in a situation where he cannot say no. That is why this is sexual extortion: Blitz needs the book to keep his business running so Stolas has forced him into treating him with kid gloves to avoid making him angry and bankrupting his company (and putting his employees and daughter out onto the street if he can't pay them) as a result.

Even if Blitz was far less vocal about telling Stolas off when he annoys him, that wouldn't make the full moon deal or Stolas' rationalization of it OK. The fact that he does say no multiple times and indicates how he doesn't want Stolas coming onto him outside of their deal (again, the panic button for Stolas in his office & the way he has to go out of his way to clarify to Stolas that he had better not try and come onto him in the theme park - only to be interrupted and demeaned - suggests Stolas' understanding of boundaries is poor and that Blitz does not nor should not feel safe around him) should indicate well enough that Blitz is not interest in sex with Stolas and would have cut him out of his life in early s1 if he'd had the choice. But he didn't and it's disturbing to see the fandom apply revisionist history to suggest that isn't the case.

And what's worse is it's obvious Vivzie agrees with them, or wants to make it seem like she does because she can't be bothered to write actual character development for Stolas to make him a love interest that wouldn't be a total horror show for Blitz to be with. Instead Stolas achieving the bare minimum of saying Blitz's name right (and being nice to him on the phone offscreen) is enough, apparently

I remember you or someone else made a compilation of Blitz saying no or pushing back on Stolas as a video. It feels like we're at a 'don't make me tap the sign' type of point where that series of clips should just be the reply to anyone still pushing this claim.

That was indeed me, and here it is. Also, thank you for this ask, because every word is 100% correct.

[butmakeitgayblog]

Yes I’m born ready for THAT convo about the real MVP of moms 💪💪💪 Anything for MBFW 🫠

Babe she is the fuckin shit as a mom. Okay? Cuz for for the majority of her teen years she never really thought she'd want to ever have kids considering how she grew up, but then she met Clarke and the entire Griffin broad basically adopted her and it was like "👀 wait a min... this family thing's kinda the tits..." But even after that, she really had no intention of actually giving birth. It wasn't that she was against it per se, it was just... when they'd abstractly talked about having kids sometime in the distant future, it was always with the unspoken understanding that Clarke would carry them. It was just such a given that neither even really discussed it, even after they got married and settled in and decided to actually start trying.

And then Clarke had two miscarriages.

And was told it probably just wasn't going to be a reality for them.

And as soon as that was made clear by the doctor, Lexa held up her hand and was like "haha no, we're having these kids 🙋‍♀️Griffin baby uterus right here ready to go, hi 🙋‍♀️"

Cuz honestly, what could be better? She not only gets to be a part of this familiy that took her in and cared for her even when sometimes she maybe didn't always deserve it, but she also gets to bring another little one into the world?! She gets to have her own little Griffins??? Every family reunion and holiday gathering she gets to have her own little pack of the chaotic broad running around? Hearing the, uh, more senile members grumbling "which ones are those again?" and somebody saying, "That's your great grand-niece, Marvin. You remember. Clarke and Lexa's kids."

Insanity.

Amazing.

10/10 experience.

And the best part?

She got to give that to Clarke. She got to make Clarke a mother too. For all of her fuck ups in life, she get to give Clarke the thing they'd been dreaming about since they were 19.

And she was not going to take it for granted. So Lexa absolutely becomes the kind of mom who works to find the right balance. Schedules chore charts and play dates and the quintessential soccer mom SUV, saying ok to ice cream before bed but only if they eat three bites of broccoli. She reads bedtime stories with funny voices after Clarke handles bathtime and makes a big deal over all their finger painting (and is much better at remembering to empty the trashcan when they throw them away in 2 weeks before their little artists can see 😬). She shush's Clarke's yelling whenever she's embarrassing their daughter from the stands when Madi eventually starts little league. She's the first one to learn sign language after Aden comes along and is intensely serious about raising him with all the tools he needs to be exactly who he is.

She still keeps her career going as a writer, but after... well, everything. And how badly she once fucked all this up with Clarke, she always tries and takes the steps to keep work and home life balanced. She wants to raise their kids knowing that their mother's are not only wives and partners in every aspect of life, but are also the epitome of best friends.

She's not perfect by any means. She loses her patience and gets worn out and sometimes makes the wrong call when it comes to their kids. But she tries, and never stops trying, and she always comes back and apologizes right to their little faces whenever she realizes she's messed up. Because she'll never want their kids to feel the same kind of sadness and fear of being a disappointment like she felt when she was growing up. She'll never want them to ever wonder if they matter less to her than her own happiness, like she'd struggled with when thinking about her own mother when she was a kid.

So yeah, she may never have envisioned her life the way it turns out. But, like Clarke reminds her every time she's feeling insecure or like she's not doing Enough, Lexa really was born to be a mom

[spiderpussinc]

You know your post about divorced Peter got me thinking. A lot. Then I realized that I, in fact, never thought about this much because from the beginning I just stay in my lane rather than judging people for divorcing Peter again. I think I am really too old to care that much about what people write especially if it end up limiting other out of moral obligation.

Basically it's dumb and you're right

Ur the most normal for this. Its incredibly fucking silly discourse to me bc Peter Parker *has* been divorced for pretty much two decades now. (Not even just divorced - the marriage was ERASED out of canon. they are just ex bf/gf.) MJ has her own share of past and present different partners! There are multiple universes where she is either *canonically* a lesbian, or implied to be coming to terms with it. Peter had countless girlfriends/hookups in the meantime! I think what gets me the most is how confidently wrong a lot of these assumptions are; I keep seeing this weird "one-and-only, first and last, soulmates.." thing applied to Peter and MJ and its like...

1. Peter dated multiple people before her AND after her; Gwen wasn't the first either, but for a long time, Gwen *WAS* the biggest regret of his life and they were meant to get married. Gwen was the one based on stan lee's wife, the closest thing to a planned soulmate; and she dies bc it's not meant to be. Not ever. There is no predetermined true spider-man love interest, you're just talking about some of the adaptations you've seen. This is one of the most debated superhero writing convos of all time LOL even Marvel editorial internally disagrees on this - everyone has their favorite. That's the point!

2. Divorce is based and awesome and maybe I'm just getting old but when a marriage doesn't work **having a child** certainly isn't the thing that's going to save it. I know how that one goes! Be prepared to crash even harder once the baby glow passes and the complex shit kicks right back in! To be honest it'd be even more realistic if it crashed again post-mayday, or if MJ divorced him bc she was already pregnant and wanted to do something better with her life instead of playing second fiddle to spider-man forever or being in peril to motivate his character arc.

But the thing that does annoy me is how entitled some ppl have become. Siding with actual homophobic redditors and posting up under gay fanart with the most annoying 'umm. hes married? the sanctity of marriage???' comments. who fuckin care. It's comics. It's all fanfic. Even the published stuff. Stream:

[mariiverse]

Let's imagine a world in which Eddie Diaz and Alex Claremont-Diaz are cousins and so naturally we get a buddie/firstprince double date, because of course we must.

Eddie takes them to his favourite mexican restaurant both because the food there is almost as good as his abuela's, but also because he is very curious to see how this prince his cousin has fallen for can handle the spice...basically he wants to make this guy sweat a little.

Alex and Buck get along like a house on fire, but of course they do. They're both such high energy, enthusastic, and deeply caring people with a thirst for statistics and random facts.

They take lead on the conversations, chatting animatedly about...honestly eddie's not even sure he's still following. He is busy watching Henry. When he first heard that his cousin had fallen for the prince of England he was surprised, not because he was a- well, he- but because he couldn't imagine Alex with someone like him. Seemingly quiet, reserved at first but really looking at him now he gets it.

Henry looks at Alex with nothing short of pure love and adoration (what did chris call it- oh yeah "heart eyes"). Eddie can see how attentive he is towards Alex, never looking tired or bored but fully engaged in listening to him speak, all while keeping his hand in his, his thumb rubbing over his hand, steadily, reassuringly. And eddie sees how Alex sends soft glances towards Henry every time his head turns his way. And the way Alex includes Henry in the conversation, bringing up things Henry has said, making him elaborate and sending Henry off on his own tangent. They fit, they bring out the best in each other. Eddie gets it.

Now Alex, he was surprised by his cousin coming out as gay. Surprised but immediately happy for him. And now he sits here across from his cousin and his huge hunk of a boyfriend, like seriously he is built. But he's got a heart of gold, Alex can tell that about Buck instantly. And he's shockingly a lot like Alex, they have a very similar vibe and Alex loves how easily they entered into their own crazy convo almost immediately. They're talking star wars right now, Buck mentioning how its been Christopher's latest obsession and yea that right there is exactly when Alex can see what it is about Buck that Eddie fell in love with. The way he loves Chris, its so clear from how Buck talks about him, he sees him as his own son, and he sees all the potential Chris can have. He knows Eddie's parents are complicated, and so was Eddie's relationship with Shannon, but Buck isn't. And judging by the insane heart eyes his cousin is giving his boyfriend- Buck is exactly the kind of partner Eddie has needed his whole life.

Alex and Eddie lock eyes across the table as their boyfriends have now engaged in their own conversations now that the food has arrived- Buck explaining to Henry how he has somehow been lucky enough to be given abuela's recipes and Henry replying how he's still on his spice journey, but getting better with it everyday- and the diaz boys just know as they smile at each other, they are so damn lucky.

[writeandsurvive]

Through it all ~ Manny Perez

Author's note: first work for Captain Perez from Fire Country! this show became my absolute fav, and I have a soft spot for Manny! I hope there are several others like me out there! Summary: Pregnancy scare leads to a long awaited convo and decisions Warnings: age gap, pregnancy (talk), kinda smut towards the end

Keeping a relationship secret in a small town like Edgewater isn’t an easy thing to do. Especially when you’ve lived there most of your life and know basically everyone. Even more when the person you are dating works for Cal Fire and more specifically, is the Captain of Three Rock. But somehow, you and Manny Perez managed to do it. For almost two years. 

At first, keeping it a secret was the best thing to do, for everyone. You were quite younger than Manny, became friends with his daughter Gabriela, and so close to the Leones, you feel like one of them. You grew up with Bode and Riley, making Vince and Sharon your surrogate parents. Manny respects them way too much to do anything to jeopardize his friendship with them. After all, he considers that Sharon saved his life when she welcomed him into Three Rock several years ago, allowing him to turn his life around.

But time went by. You and Manny were very much in love, becoming pretty serious. Or so you thought, until that day when everything came crashing down. 

You thought you were pregnant. Your period was late, which never happens. You felt tired, your breasts were hurting. This could’ve been just PMS symptoms but something didn’t feel like it was. You thought about getting a pregnancy test, but you knew everyone at the pharmacy. So, you ordered it online and the next day, there it was.

A part of you wanted to do this with Manny, but you were also scared. The baby (and wedding) talk was something that has been avoided through the entire relationship. Him being older, having a grown up daughter, being divorced… Did he want to do it all over again? The most likely answer was no. And this would’ve put an end to your relationship cause you didn’t imagine your life without kids. Weddings could be discussed. 

So, you did the test. Set the alarm for a few minutes, and waited. 

Negative. 

You cried. Bawled, actually. If you put aside what could go wrong with this, you wanted a baby. A part of you hoped you were pregnant. You loved Manny with all your heart, you wanted to spend the rest of your life with him. You wanted to carry his child. 

You don’t remember how long you stayed in the bathroom crying. But it was long enough for Manny to come in, find you in there and ask what was wrong, as he held you close to his chest. 

“I thought I was pregnant and we were gonna have a baby” You admitted through the tears, pointing at the test sitting on the sink. 

Manny didn’t react immediately. Your face was still hiding in his neck, so you couldn’t see his face. He stayed silent for a long time, just holding you, kissing the top of your head. But you could hear his heart beating faster. Was this a good sign?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He whispered.

“We never talked about this. I didn’t know how you’d react. I still don’t, actually.”

He stayed silent again. So, you had to ask. 

“Are you sad or relieved that I’m not pregnant, Manny?”

“I don’t know.” He continued to hold you but the long silence afterwards broke your heart more than those words did. 

That led to the worst weeks ever. You had the baby talk, and Manny admitted that he didn’t know if he wanted another child or not. “I’m old enough to be a grandpa.” He kept repeating. Technically, that was true. But you never cared about his age. You would try to kiss him and playfully joke that he’d be a sexy young grandpa but deep down you could see the doubt in his mind growing more and more as he became increasingly distant.

He cared about your age.

Eventually, the answer was no. He didn’t want any more kids. He didn’t want to get married again. And you didn’t see your life without kids. There was no compromise possible. So, you broke up. Your heart shattered and your bed always felt cold now without him there every night.

The rough part of this breakup was having to hide how broken-hearted you were. No one knew, and there was no point to them knowing now. You had to pretend. And so had Manny. Everytime you ran into him, you stared at each other like two lost puppies. It was surprising that no one noticed. You were not okay, and neither was he. 

Whenever you saw him at Smokey’s, having a drink - by himself or with someone - you approached him softly, touching his arm or shoulder if he was seated. “How many?” You’d gently asked. His past struggle with alcohol worried you. 

“Not many, don’t worry, cariño.” He’d smiled. You believed him.

At some point, pretending was just too much, so you found an arrangement with your job to work remotely and left Edgewater to visit family many miles away. You stayed there for several weeks. You needed to cut it off to get over Manny. Not that you actually believed that you could. 

When you came back to town, you gave a heads up to Vince and Sharon only. And of course, they immediately invited you over for dinner. You were only slightly better, and had started accepting the breakup. Avoiding Manny a little more should help. 

That was until you saw him at the Leone's house. In his Cal Fire comfy clothes, sitting on the couch with Vince as they watched some sports. Did they invite him too?

Vince immediately jumped off the couch to hug you, your feet no longer touching the floor. “I missed you sweetie.” He kissed your forehead. 

“I missed you too, Vince.”

Manny hadn’t moved from the couch, clearly as shocked as you by the encounter. You slowly approached him as he stood up, and hugged each other awkwardly. He looked like he hasn’t slept in weeks, maybe dropped a few pounds too. His scent immediately intoxicated you. Could this hug last forever? 

“Manny is staying with us, so he’ll join us for dinner.”

Staying with them? You clearly missed something while you were gone. 

While Vince helped Sharon in the kitchen, you and Manny sat down on the couch. “Why are you staying with them?” You asked. 

“It’s—“ he cleared his throat. “A long story. Don’t worry about it. How was your vacation?”

“It wasn’t a vaca— don’t change the subject, Manny. What’s going on?”

The Leones came back with some drinks, to Manny’s relief. But you were not giving up. 

It was hard to focus on the Leones and what they were saying, no matter how interesting, or intriguing it was. You couldn’t take your eyes and mind off Manny, who stayed pretty silent the entire evening. When there was a moment of silence during dinner, you lost control of your own mouth. 

“You’re catching me up with everything that happened in town, except for the most evident thing.” You stared at Manny. “Is there a big secret you’re all keeping from me that I’m not supposed to know about?”

Vince and Sharon looked at each other before looking at Manny. Clearly, it was his decision to explain or keep it a secret. 

“It’s not like nobody knows,” Sharon said. 

“It’s also not that easy to admit what a screw up I am, especially to–” Manny let go of his fork and stood up, “Excuse me.” You all watched him as he left the house. 

You didn’t think for too long before standing up too and following him outside. He was sitting in his car, engine on. You opened the passenger door and joined him inside.

“Going somewhere?”

He huffed. “Like I have somewhere else to go.”

“My place?” You offered.

“We broke up.”

“Doesn’t make us strangers, does it?”

He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, so you moved on the edge of your seat to get closer, and ran your hand through his messy hair. He only tilted his head to the side to take a look at you. “Talk to me, amor.” you whispered.

“I handled our break up poorly,” the volume of his voice met yours. “I didn’t handle it at all, actually.” his eyes started to fill with tears. “At first, I just wanted to take my mind off things– off you. It was to be one night, one game. But I won, and wanted to win more. And it was sorta working, you know? As I was playing, I wasn’t focusing on you, on us, on how unfair this is.” A single tear started to roll down his cheeks. “I’ve lost everything. My money, Gabriela’s money, my house, my insurance. And on top of that, I don’t have you anymore either.” He sat back properly on his seat, taking a few deep breaths. “I’m a fucking mess.”

You held his hand for a brief moment, before pulling on it so he would get closer. His face rested on your chest, he was trying really hard not to cry too much. On the other hand, tears were rolling down your cheeks. 

“It doesn’t matter what our relationship is, you’ll always have me, Manny. Through it all.” You kiss the top of his head, “I’ll help you get back on your feet.”

He immediately sat back up, like we triggered him. “I’m not taking money from you. I already owe 10,000 bucks to Vince.”

“Fine, but that’s not what I was talking about. Are you getting professional help?”

“Not yet, I–”

“Then you will. If staying with Vince and Sharon suits you, then stay there. Otherwise, you know my door is open. How’s your relationship with Gabs?”

“Stop it. This is not up to you to fix me. I’m a grown man, I can do this by myself.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t broken up.”

“We wouldn’t have broken up, if I agreed to have kids.”

“But you don’t and that’s okay. I get it.”

“Good, cause I don’t. What if I’m missing my second chance in life? What if–” he looked straight into your eyes, “I’m missing my one true chance at happiness?”

Manny Perez went through so many bad things over the years. Being a quite young dad, prison, money issues, rocky relationship with Gabriela’s mother leading to a bad divorce, alcoholism and now the break up and gambling. This man is one of the best humans you’ve ever met, but life keeps throwing curve balls at him. He deserves the world, and all you want is to give it to him. 

You didn’t have any words at this very moment. All you wanted was to hold him, kiss him and never let go. So that was exactly what you did. You moved as close as possible to him, grabbed him by his neck and planted your lips on his. You were both needy, like two junkies getting their fix. While never stopping the kiss, you found yourself straddling his lap before you realized. 

“Te quiero,” you whispered between kisses. It drives Manny crazy whenever you talk in Spanish to him. 

“Yo te quiero mas.” 

His hands were all over you, and yours all over him. Manny buried his face in your neck, kissing and sucking on your sensitive spot only he knows so well, earning a moan from you. 

Neither of you saw nor heard Vince getting out of the house, until he knocked at the car’s window. You immediately jumped off Manny, trying to make yourself presentable. Manny tried to hide his growing erection the best he could before opening the window. 

“How long?” was the first thing Vince asked.

“Two years.” Manny answered. “But it’s–over,”

Vince couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh, is it?”

“It’s complicated, V.” you said, “Do you need something?”

“At this very moment, answers. But I suppose I’ll have to wait. Are you sleeping here tonight, Cap, or–somewhere else?”

You and Manny looked at each other for a moment. 

“I have custody for the night.” You tried to joke. 

“Don’t feed him after midnight.” Vince bent over a little to kiss our forehead before leaving. 

“Drive us home, Gizmo. We need to talk.”

“Alright, but drop the joke right now.”

He knew you better than that.

The ride was silent. Both in your own thoughts. 

Manny didn’t get out of the car when he pulled over at your place, but got him to follow you inside in the end. He had barely taken off his shoes, that your arms were around his middle, and you tiptoed to kiss his lips. 

“This is probably not a good idea, cariño.” He said, even though he intensified the kiss. 

“I honestly don’t care right now.” 

You walked backwards to your bedroom while still kissing each other, and Manny didn’t fight for even a second. He gently laid you down on the bed, getting on top of you. It didn’t take long until clothes were flying across the room. “I missed you.” He confessed, touching you everywhere he could. “Why did you leave?”

“It was too hard staying here, seeing you almost everyday. I had to get some distance, to process and accept.”

His strong naked body was covering yours. His hard cock was pressing against your wet pussy. His forehead against yours, his nose stroking yours, he softly asked, “And did you?”

“Does it look like I did?”

He chuckled and you kissed his dimple. “I need you, Manny.”

“Need you more.” On those words, he slowly entered you. 

Sex with Manny has always been amazing since the first time. He was your perfect match, and you were his. You discovered several things with him, and you both tried new things together. And every single time was mind blowing. But that night wasn’t about that. That night, he made love to you, like it was the last time ever. It felt both amazing and heartbreaking. 

But it couldn’t be the last time. 

“Maybe I don’t need kids to be happy.” You said as you were both lying down and cuddling. “Maybe I just need you.”

Manny didn’t react immediately. You could hear he was taking deep breaths, probably trying to get a hold on his emotions. After several seconds, he rolled to the side and rested on his elbow. “No.” He just said. 

“No?” You looked at him, confused. 

“You want kids. You want to be a mom. I’ve seen you with kids, I’ve seen you cry when the test came back negative.”

“But the thing is I don’t want kids with someone other than you.” Your tone was sharp, because you were getting angry. Why was he fighting on this? This was your decision. 

“For now.” 

“For fuck sake’s, Manny! I know what I want and don’t want, okay? I’d rather be with you, and not have kids, than be with someone else and have kids with them.” 

“You’re sacrificing yourself.”

“I’m making a choice. I’m choosing you.”

His voice broke. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I love you, Manuel Perez.” You stroked his cheek, “Sorry. Manuel Gizmo Perez.”

He laughed and kissed you. 

~

Over the next weeks, Manny went to counseling with your support. For everyone - especially Gabriela -, he was still living with the Leones, but the reality was he spent all of his nights at your place, where he belonged. He still refused your money, but got a second job on a boat to help pay his debts. It didn’t give him a lot of free time or even time to rest, so you tried to make it as easy as possible for him. You made sure he ate properly, slept the bare minimum, you even helped with Three Rock paperwork. 

“She’s my rock, Vince.” He admitted to his friend, as they were having a drink together. “She’s been amazing to me and I can’t even—get her something. Invite her to a restaurant, a gate away or something.” 

“That’ll come, man. For now, all she needs is for you to be okay.” 

“I have to say I’m surprised you didn’t kick my ass when you found out. I know you love her like your own daughter.”

“I do. To be honest, Shar and I have been suspicious for a while, and we agree she can’t find a better man than you. I mean, we’ve met her exes—“ he laughed and Manny joined. 

“Doesn't the age difference—shock you?”

“You’re both grown adults. But can I say something you may not enjoy hearing?”

“Go ahead, Chief.”

“She’s meant to be a mom.”

Vince didn’t know how right he was. But you and Manny agreed you wouldn’t tell anyone about the pregnancy before he told Gabriela. 

“How was lunch with Vince?” You asked as Manny came back home. 

“Nice. I got you those wings and spicy sauce you’ve been craving.” He handed you the brown bag, and you got excited about eating the wings. “I still think it’s a bad idea for you to eat the sauce, amor. You can’t stand spice.”

“Clearly, the baby isn’t aware of that.” 

Manny disappeared in the kitchen and came back with a big glass of milk. “Just in case.”

“Thanks guapo.”

He sat next to you, you kissed him briefly before attacking your food. 

“You didn’t tell him anything, did you?”

“Was hard not to, cause he brought it up. But I want to talk to Gabby first.”

“When are you planning to tell her?” You asked, with your mouth full. 

“Tonight. I told her I’d stop by her place.”

The spices were hitting up. You were sticking out your tongue like a dog, and trying to create some air with your hands. Manny laughed and grabbed the milk for you. “Told you.” You started to drink some milk and your boyfriend got closer, leaning down to be right next to your stomach. “You can’t do this to your mama, baby. But clearly, you’re a Latino.” 

“He or she is a Perez.” You said between sips.

“Maybe mama should be a Perez too.” He said with a huge grin on his face. 

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Hi! I love reading your take on what-ifs. Here is a what if based on a fan fic idea I have seen! Armando decides he will not go forward with the plan but decides to talk to Betty and ends up confessing what Mario’s idea was and letting her know he’d never do something like that.

Together they decide to pretend he is going forward with it so Mario is not constantly nagging Armando about it and to keep appearances up they actually go on dates. At the beginning they just chat but of course Armando slowly discovers how interesting and wonderful Betty is and of course falls for her….

How do you think a scenario like this would go?

Hiii!

Ohh, I've seen this idea! I like it a lot, but I don't see it actually happening. Unfortunately I think Armando was too paranoid about everything to trust Betty like that. At this point, he's feeling betrayed by Betty, because everything she tells him that isn't happening or wasn't going to happen did happen-- she said she wouldn't tell anyone, turns out she told everything to this unknown dude, Nicolás. She said she feels nothing for Nicolás, turns out everyone knows she's deeply in love with him. She says that she isn't hiding anything, but becomes angry and defensive when someone mentions her private life in front of Armando.

Armando thought they had this special "bond" of trust, but he's just so egocentric that he never stopped to think about her side or the at-least-on-paper professional nature of their relationship lmao so he feels betrayed by Betty slightly, because for the first time he has the feeling that he doesn't know her. That's why he ends up trusting Mario's arguments more than Betty herself, because Mario is a constant in his life and, rn, his only support and the only person he thinks he knows.

Another issue is that seducing her in the show forced him to act in ways, see things, and say things that he probably would have never done/seen/say so clearly had he not been trying to actively pursue a realistic-looking "relationship", which is why he falls so hard and quick.

But in a situation where Armando trusts Betty more, my ideas would be the following! And I apologize in advance for the lack of organization, more than of usual this time I started writing without looking back lmao:

First of all, something would need to happen so Armando once again feels like he knows Betty. Like he can trust her fr and not "have" to do the plan.

This 'something happening" would have to undoubtedly be related to Betty's feelings and/or Nicolás, both of which are a very deep part of Armando's distress. He felt Betty was "his" way before the plan, after all, and thinking another man was in her heart was what truly bothered him!

(Armando, I believe, was partially moved by the paranoia and partially motivated by a genuine animalistic instinct to "claim" what was his. To respond to this threat of another man wanting to take her. Armando in a way basically thought of Betty as his something lmao very deeply and unconsciously, ofc)

Anyway, assuming "the something" happens, Armando would snap out of it and be like "oh, for God's sake, what am I thinking of doing to this girl?"

So if he decided to talk to her, we'd need for them both to put all cards on the table and be extremely honest. Armando wouldn't be calm enough to just blindly trust her unless his real concern (her feelings for Nicolás) was addressed!

Not sure how this convo would go exactly, given that she keeps to herself a lot in this regarddue to him being her real love lmao. But let's say she actually genuinely convinces him thay she's absolutely devoted to him and no one is above him in her mind

He'd have to explain he's desperate, and that Mario keeps nagging about this idea and really drill into her head that he wouldn't do this. That Mario is the one insisting.

It would honestly just fuel Betty's love and illusion of Armando's perfection even more. He would have been consolidated as the best man ever to exist in Betty's mind. She’d think he's a good man who would never betray her, not even for 50 million dollars!

She’d also probably realize that Armando wouldn't be with her willingly ever, not even for a 50 million dollars

But she would also feel incredibly disgusted at Mario for thinking of doing that to her through Armando.

In any case, when Armando asks for her help to create this facade, she'd undoubtedly help

Not only would this increase Armando's trust in her, but she would also be showing how unconditional and helpful she is

Ans in Betty's mind, she could never refuse him, not when he could have used her ans discarded her but instead he chose to respect her and ask for her help. He chose to trust her over trusting his best friend. She also gets to spend more time with this amazing man, so Betty isn't that bothered about actually doing it.

So they agree. Betty says they don't really need to go on dates, that they can just say they did, and that's what they do at first.

Eventually they do go on dates. Maybe at least a few times so that Mario doesn't suspect anything. They go on dates to the places Mario tells him to, and at first it's all awkward and weird.

It's not really frequent, like once a week like how it becomes in their relationship after a while in the show

But of course as they continue going to these dates, they become more organic

Armando is still sexually active with Marcela, ofc.

He's actually in a pretty good mood (in comparison to the show, at least...) because here he doesn't have this weight on his conscience about "harming an angel"

He doesn't really show or give Betty the cards and presents, tho. They go straight to the trash

He's also very vague about how everything in the dates go whenever Mario ask

He's also not drinking to go to them, unless something particularly stressful happens at Ecomoda or with Marcela, but the dates themselves are not causing him to drink

In the novela he drank out of guilt and "needing the courage" to kiss her and touch her and lie to her. To take from her what he belives is her first experienes with love out of what is basically a task for him. Here, there's none of that.

As Betty once tells him, they should think of the "dates" as a work meeting.

That's pretty much how it starts: as extra work hours.

They go to these places and plan for the next day's work. They talk about mainly Ecomoda.

All this leads to Armando taking much longer to actually fall in love, because part of what makes him fall in the show is that he had to "face Betty", and here, he doesn't

The biggest issue for Armando was Betty's appearence in the show. He didn't feel physical or sexual attraction, which are very important for conventional romantic love, especially for a highly sexual man like Armando. He forced himself to kiss her and eventually he moved past those barriers and actually let those dormant feelings rise. Here he isn't forcing himself.

Quiet the contrary, this position only gets him further into his comfort zone. He's now kore secure about his place in Betty's life, how much more important he is compared to Nicolás, and he doesn't have to push his physical boundaries

Armando in canon was never repulsed by Betty. We actually see lots of things that indicate he was (emotionally) attracted to her way before the plan. But the issue with him was to actually put a name on those feelings and act purposefully. He was a very animalistic and impulsive man, and most of the advances he makes come from the unconscious in an "arranque" (ranging from little things like grabbing her chin or leaning way too close all the way to their first night, all seems to come from very natural but nonetheless subconscious urges)

So in truth I couldn't say how long it would take for him to fall for her. Many people believe he would have fallen just as hard regardless of if the sinister plan happened or not, which I agree, but I do think it would have taken a much much much longer time for reasons stated above

Another real issue I see here would be how they would fool Mario. He's a rather smart man and we know he can read Armando like an open book

My best idea is that it would probably be Betty carrying the act lmao. Perhaps they can agree that Armando would tell him that they're "together" so therefore they could show "proof" of their "romance" before him??

Like, okay. We know Mario will undoubtedly ask Armando how that first date went and if he's together with Betty. And he will have to lie and say yes, that they're a couple, and that they agreed to be very secretive about it except for him. Mario will be the only one to know. Armando can say that when he "confessed" to Betty he said that the only person who knew already of "his feelings" was Mario because he's his bestie

Mario would be okay with that.

Now with thay excuse, the only real moment where Betty and Armandk would act "like a couple" would be in front of Mario just to maintain the facade

They would probably sit too close when alone the 3 of them, wink at each other, and ocassionally hold hands

It would be believable because lmao those two actually always had that chemistry and it wouldn't be weird for Mario to see that because, well, he saw the chin grabbing and the "you're the woman I'm needing" and the excited hugs and all that, so it's fully believable😂

The only crack in the facade would be when Armandk and Mario can talk alone. We all know how bad of liar Armando is

Mario would ask and laugh and joke ans Armando would be unable to answer but with anger

It would unfortunately end at that. Anything that should be private about a couple, like kissing or anything more, doesn't happen

Now, because there is no betrayal or romance in general lots of things don't happen

Marcela doesn't become too suspicious because Armando is still having sex with her

Nicolás never buys a Marcedes and "dates" Patricia

Since there's no betrayal there is no Cartagena. Betty is much more devoted to Armando than she ever was before and could never leave him alone at Ecomoda (for her, him trusting her and rather than using her deciding to tell her the truth is a gigantic deal. If in the show she was willing to do anything for him, here she'd take a dozen bullets for him)

She's also much more in love because her idealized version of Armando is only reinforced

Of course, this means there is no physical change in Cartagena since there's no Cartagena

She also doesn't stand up to Marcela

No depressive and suicidal stage for Armando. He'd get a little depressed after the Board, because Daniel would expose the real state of the company and all that, but he wouldn't be suicidal because at least Betty is still there to support him

There's not many ways for Calderón to realize that it's all fake, tbh. They always had the correct chemistry and the little winks and hand holding is enough to convince him

Also, Armando would feel embarrassed and Betty awkwards if they were more obvious, so no pet names or forehead kisses or writing each other love letter or anything of the sorts. Armando simply states to Calderón that they're not romantic like that

The only other thing they do is occasionally mention they'll be seeing each other on X night, that he'll take her to Y place, or maybe even mention a something like "on our last date, we..." ans whatever. Very lowkey.

Betty ofc doesn't push at all any boundaries, and she's pretty much like she was in the novela before the lover's phase: pretty reserved, lets Armando take the lead, and occasionally even breaks "those moments". She doesn't want to take advantage of the situation or make don Armando uncomfortable. She knows he doesn't like her like that so she doesn't get near unless he asks or initiate (all of this to put up the show whenver Mario is there)

Ofc Mario jokes about seeing them kiss (when she��s not around) but Armando always shuts him up lmao

Also, that hand holding provokes a million butterflies in Betty's stomach. She knows it's dangerous, but she starts looking forward to Calderón's visits to the Presidency so that she can hold his hand just a little longer. So that she can stand a little too close to don Armando.

She feels bad about how much she enjoys that. She feels that she takes advantage of the situation which is why she doesn't take any leads and just lets Armando initiate.

Eventhly during the dates there's no more work related things to talk about, or simply other things get in the way. For example, once Marcela calls him and then they start a conversation about his relationship with her. Other times there's office gossip and they discuss it and the conversatjon organically shifts towards other topics. This is how Armando and Betty truly start knowing each other

I think the relationship could become more real after the board, when Armando loses it all

Well, almost all: Marcela doesn't break off the engagement

In the novela, it's knowing what he did with Betty what makes her break off the wedding, but here she has no way of knowing anything

That doesn't mean she isn't torturing Armando with what happened with Ecomoda, ofc. Bunch of passive aggressive recrimination (well earned ofc)

Also, Betty is fired and Armando has no way to put her back in the business because he has no power either

I don't know if Armando would have the courage to break off the engagement either. I think he would go forward with the wedding because he's disappointed his parents too much. Additionally, he hasn't stopped having sex with Marcela, and he isn't aware of his feelings for Betty since the relationship never went beyond the little show they put up for Calderón.

They're much closer by the time the Board meeting happens, and they're more touchy too (somtimes it even happens without Calderón around, like Armando standing too close or unnecessarily touching her arm or shoulder or whatever. All natural and unconscious ofc), but it's not enough as for him to break off the engagement.

I think he'd get married knowing full well it's a mistake. There's a palpable tension between the couple the whole (civil) ceremony.

Roberto straight up says that the only reason he's there is Marcela.

Betty, who ofc didn't go to the wedding (even though Armando probably wanted her there for emotional support but also he didn't want her there because he doesn't want her to see him marrying someone else for some reason he can't quiet understand-- so he just doesn'tinvite her). She is just hearbroken about it all

There wouldn't be a honeymoon. Ecomoda is in too much of a crisis for that, and also, this Marcela isn't desperate to get him away from all because here she doesn't think there's a risk of the other woman "stealing him"

Also this is probably where their sexual relationship starts to fracture. Neither of them are really up to it on the wedding night. Armando is overwhelmed by the mistake he made and Marcela is slightly repulsed because of what happened with Ecomoda

Ofc, it's after all this that the real relationship between Armando/Betty starts, lmao

Armando finds emotional comfort in Bettyr. Betty is the only one who listens and supports him and doesn't minimize what happens or jokes about it or accuses him.

Unfortunately, she's unemployed, and after what happened, it's very hard to find her a job. Armando might try to move his influences to find her something, tho, but because of her appearance not many of his friends want to hire her. We all knwo the kind of people on Armando's circle.

Ofc this angers Armando lmao I can practically hear him yelling on the phone somethin like "COMO QUE NO? PERO POR QUE NO??? ELLA TE PODRIA REEMPLAZAR A TI Y A TODA TU PLANTA EJECUTIVA ELLA SOLA! ES UNA EXCELENTE PROFESIONAL, LO MEJOR QUE HAY EN EL MERCADO!!🤬😡"

Betty and her fam are in real economic trouble, too. Remember they still have debt.

Ofc Betty never has the need to send Nicolás to Ecomoda, nor don Hermes needs to go. She goes and faces it all from the start.

Additionally, doña Julia doesn't learn about the embargo, Terramoda's real role, or Betty's inappropriate relationship with Armando, since she never read Betty's diary and Armando never went to her house to yell or anything of the sorts

Don Hermes doesn't learn about Terramoda's real role

Nicolás doesn't learn about the sinister plan because Armando never executed it. Betty also doesn't tell him about how they were fake dating

Everythin is written down on Betty's diary ofc but no one reads it

Armando probably goes often to talk to Betty behind everyone's backs. Much like they did during the novela's lovers' phase, here Armando goes to her house to talk to her and they talk in the car. She becomes Armando's greatest confidant about everything related to the business, and when he drinks a bit too much, he goes looking for her and likely rambles a bit much about his failed marriage, doomed from the start

The thing here that neither of them talk about is how the closeness and slight touches continue, even though they shouldn't be pretending anymore. They're alone and yet Armando still grabs her hand sometimes

Ofc this doesn't last long. Soon the Board realizes theh need Betty and Armando is far too quickly to go pick her up and bring her, ready to defend her when necessary

So here in this version, the Betty that returns to Ecomoda surprises no one. She's pretty much the same, if not even more shy because she's been exposed as a liar and all her bad business practices

Armando is there to defend her, ofc, ans when the attorneys suggest to make her President, he's the first and only one supporting her

You can imagine the drama. If people thought she was too ugly to be the secretary of a fashion business, imsgine what they think about making her the president of a fashion business

They really don't want her being the face of Ecomoda

Also there wouldn't be big changes in Ecomoda

Idk if they would at least try to dress her better. They would definitely think it a humiliation to have her be the one negotiating and representing Ecomoda, so I wouldn't doubt that they want to change her

I wouldn't be surprised that the Board amde it a condition for Betty to have the Presidency for her to at least wear some of Ecomoda's clothes, and because this Betty is still feeling less and powerless she may agree.

This makeover wouldn't be drastic, tho. Still the same hair, bangs, braces, glasses, facial hair, no makeup. She literally would only change clothes, and she wouldn't even do it for herself, but rather for Armando so that she doesn't embarrass him

They wouldn't shift their focus to the regular woman, as Betty herself has not yet reached that mentality, even though she now looks a bit better now that she wears better clothes. To her, she just looks like she's wearing a custome because Ecomoda's clothes aren't for people "like her"

The Cuartel wouldn't have a makeover and participate in the collection launch

I don't think she'd feel comfortable enough to actually ask for her dad and Nicolas to join her

Her second lead would be Armando

She probably still feels so self concious and so below Armando that she'd ask him to continue working at the President's office ans she can keep her desk in the closet

Armando would say that they can't do that, no preisdent can get visitors and receive them at a closet!

As time goes on their relationship-not-relationship continues. At some point they still act like that even without Calderón's presence

Armando is miserable in his marriage and Marcela is noticing that Armando spends too much time with Betty even though she is no loner his assistance

I think that by the collection launch, Betty would be once again forced to chage her appearence. Everyone tells her she can't be looking like that while onstage

She probably just changes her glasses and get makeup done, but her hair is untouchable

This Betty hasn't grown like she is supposed to in the show

Now, Betty doesn't have any job offer in Cartagena. There's no french man

Armando is also not going, and Marcela has nothing to confess to Betty

I think that by the time the economic crisis passes, the business would go to Daniel. Ecomoda is not broke anymore so he doesn't have incentive to sell it

Betty did very good as president but nothing extraordinary because she never implemented the "regular woman" strategy. Her appearence also damages the brand which is why they don't offer the presidency permanently to her

Armando would try to keep her working there with him in the franchises businesses, but I doubt they'll allow her

So Betty is once again fired. At least she now has a "Former President of Ecomoda" to add to her resume, and has Armando, also former president and now a mere executive more but in charfe of his own Frnchise department, as his reference

I think Armandk and Betty's frienship would continue for a long time before it goes beyond little touches and occasional hand holding. The sexual unappeal is still a strong barrier, and eventually him and Marcela may go back to their sexual relationship

It would probably take him another year and a bunch of alcohol for that innocent hand holding to turn to something more

And yes! Those are my overall thoughts! Hope you like it, and thank you for the ask🥰

[prettyoddfever]

hi! there’s a poem that brendon supposedly posted in august 2008 on “dylan’s myspace” that a lot of fans call “the summer poem” and i was wondering if you could confirm if he wrote it or not. i know you touched on the fact that there were a lot of fake accounts made around that time, but this specific poem has always felt more genuine than other posts and the writing style fits his tone. i’ve always really liked it, but i was never 100% sure of its validity. thank you!

ok so I had to google this to see what the "summer poem" was and I found this tumblr post, which had this link at the bottom:

and that links to the dilloncornbreadandchicken myspace as the source of that poem, which explains everything.

So towards the end of the Honda Civic Tour (and shortly after Pete Wentz got married), one of Pete's dog Hemingway's supposed extra myspace accounts posted a bulletin that said “it would make me happy if you would add my buddy dillon. here's his myspace" and linked to the dilloncornbreadandchicken account. The fact that Dylan's name was spelled wrong and she was misgendered was a little weird. Also, Hemingway's real account didn't post anything about this. (Side note: Yes, Panic's myspace got hacked around the end of the Honda Civic Tour, so even the legit myspace accounts could occasionally do something unusual. Also can I please just complain that the hackers could have posted some highly entertaining stuff "from Adam" on Panic's myspace if they'd had any imagination. Like we all know what's going on, so why not just do something absurd for a laugh).

But the dilloncornbreadandchicken account seemed questionable on its own anyways. Keep in mind that a lot of fans were obsessed with the idea that Brendon & Shane were dating... like a lot of the Ryden enthusiasm got channeled there in 2008 because at least it still implied that Brendon was into guys.

Some random things that seemed odd to me:

Several of the pictures on that myspace were absolutely not Dylan. Similar looking dog, but definitely not her.

One of the songs that played on Dillon’s profile was “Ur So Gay” by Katy Perry.

The account said things like "yea i have 2 daddys... out of the ordinary? daddy brendon and shane both take excellent care of me.”

Many girls had convos with the “Shane and Brendon” who ran that myspace. That account was also very active with replying & commenting on other's profiles. June was still a busy month for the real Brendon, who was finishing the Honda Civic Tour (and doing a lot of publicity/media stuff) and then getting ready for Europe.

In July (while the band was still in Europe), fans asked Shane about Brendon's comment to Kerrang about how the last time he cried was when he heard that Dylan ran away for a few days. Shane explained that Dylan was living with his parents while Panic was on tour, and that she'd run away on a nearby golf course to chase rabbits for a few days. Shane also apparently seemed confused when a fan at the Astoria show told him she was friends with Dylan on myspace.

There were a ton of fake myspace & facebook accounts for everyone in PATD over the years. Some of them even managed to spell Brendon's name right. But Brendon just would not be talking to fans on myspace like that (or even be on myspace at that point period). The band had stopped doing even basic journal updates by 2008, but even in 2006 Brendon & Ryan had put a lot of distance between themselves and fans, and we heard from them less & less. The guys didn't even run their band's social media in the Fever era. This whole episode reminded me of how in late 2006 many middle school girls swore they'd been talking to Ryan on AIM and he'd shared secret lyrics with them, and I was like omg common sense please.

The person who wrote that "summer poem" sounds like a school schedule still factored into their awareness, and they're possibly trying to make a subtle connection to Brendon's old part_time_lovah livejournal account. I stopped paying attention to the dilloncornbreadandchicken myspace after seeing so many big fans similarly conclude that it was fake, so I don't remember much about the poem. I'll only say that it should be regarded with some suspicion... even just posting a poem anywhere online like that would have been very out of character for Brendon. (For context, that poem was posted while Brendon was busy being a tired, sick, sweaty mess on tour in Asia and the band was heading to Australia next).

[shrimplymoray]

Hiya! I saw you were taking twst writing requests and liked rarepairs...I might have one for you. I will go down with this ship...but how about Vil x Trey? Superstar model with just a "normal" guy, girlboss/malewife, the amount of interaction in vignettes? SO SLEPT ON!

General hcs are cool, or if you want a writing prompt...maybe the two of them trying to understand each other more? Poke around and find out their hidden quirks?

Ooooo! I never heard of them together, and also I have basically no Trey or Vil cards, so I haven't seen their vignettes either. But I dig a girldboss/malewife relationship, I gotcha covered, anon!

Vil Schoenheit X Trey Clover - Hidden Quirks

Meanwhile, while dating, Vil and Trey felt so comfortable in their relationship that they didn't really have any curiosity about what could be hidden.

They were getting used to this relationship, and as two of the most level-headed people around them, they wanted to make the other feel comfortable with sharing when he wanted!

... But it was taking a while, and curiosity did peak, after all.

The first to prod was Vil, asking about Trey's family. Trey seemed happy to share about them, and how as the oldest sibling, he took care of his younger sibs a lot.

It did reach a weird point about how Trey knew a LOT about brushing teeth, but Vil could only chuckle, imagining a little Trey brushing his baby sibling's teeth.

As soon as that convo happened, we had an interesting one coming from Trey. Asking when Vil started to be all sappy for him.

Both knew when they fell, but not how the other fell, really.

It was certainly an interesting way to see Vil lose a bit of his pristine composure, as he explained the Housewardens and Vice-Housewardens unbirthday party Riddle threw after the Interspelldom competition.

And especially how Trey seemed so handsome while he served everyone's tea and complimented their dorm uniforms.

It was only during the time Vil judged for the Culinary Crucible he found out that those delicious treats were made by Trey himself, and not bought from somewhere.

At the mention of his baking, Trey got even a tad bit bashful at the many compliments, even though he didn't enjoy being called out for how many calories they held.

This questionnaire turned into a sleepover in Vil's room on Pomefiore, where Trey and Vil shared not only their experiences in life but what they wanted to achieve.

Trey was almost embarrassed to say that he only really wanted to continue the lineage of bakers in his hometown. Baking and Pastissery are his passions, and even though he likes the idea of being a powerful mage, he is just a guy who wants to keep a warm house smelling of fresh bread.

While that, Vil stated how he wanted to be finally a good guy in a show or movie. And show that besides this pretty face, he can and is a great guy. To see children look him in the eyes and not feel scared he will curse them, but feel happy that he will protect them. It is what would make him happy and show he succeeded.

That sleepover, where they shared their good and bad, their loves and hates. That was when both made a promise that they would help and cherish the other, till he reached his goal.

Vil even said that if they were lucky, he could come home after a rough day of memorizing lines and re-acting a scene, to find a comfortable home smelling of delicious pastries, handmade by the best baker in town.

Isn't love so cute? Some could say their love is tooth-rotting because of how sweet it is. (Rook. Rook said that. Many times actually)

Hope you enjoy it! It was fun writing for them since I'm still learning a lot about Vil. I guess Schoenheit is growing on me lol

Have a great Day/night!

[i-cant-sing]

OMGGGGGG YOU GUYS THIS STALKER MANNNNNNN-

Basically, I was doing a patient and I had gloves on, so my friend needed my phone to call another patient of ours but instead of calling her, she accidentally called him AND WHEN SHE REALISED WHAT SHE DID, SHE PANICKED AND PUT THE PHONE TO MY EAR WHILE I WAS DOING A PATIENT, SO I WAS STILL UNDER THE FUCKING IMPRESSION THAT IM TALKING TO A PATIENT!

But as soon as he said "hello?" I recognised his voice immediately and I was glaring at my friend for calling him (after 4 days of whole radio silence) and I was like "I'm busy-" and he immeadiately cuts me off and goes "I'm with family right now, call me later" and cuts me off????

So anyways, I forget about it and it isn't until I'm home that I look at my phone again and he's texted me "call me at XXXXXXXXXXX" and I was like ??? And when I didn't instantly call him the very second, he texted in a very demanding tone "call me now" and I was like bitch???? But also bored so I called him💀💀💀💀

And so I called him and this is how the convo went:

Me: yeah?

Him: hey, how are you?

Me: I'm good.

Him: so... what's up?

Me: nothing much. So... you didn't call these past few days? Everything okay?

Him: I didn't call because of our fight.

Me: what fight????

Him, very coldly: what? Did you forgot about our disagreement? Did you forget about the gut wrenching, awful things you said to me that day?

(For recap, in my last convo with him I purposely told him to introduce me to his "womaniser" bestie so that I can date him, kept on saying his friend's name to make him jealous and pissed off so that he'll leave me alone)

Me, feigning innocence: ohhh you mean when I asked if you could introduce me to Ryan? Btw, how is he? Did he return from his trip?

Him: he's fine. I- why did you say all those nasty things?

Me: what nasty things?

Him: that you wanted to marry Ryan!

Me: marry? I NEVER SAID ID MARRY HIM- I said I wanted you to introduce me to him while I introduced you to a girl. And why do you care? You only wanted to be friends with me. It's not like you love me or anything-

Him, offended and slightly mad: YOU THINK I DONT LOVE YOU???! You think I don't love you- why am I calling you even after you keep on mocking me? Why do I take your insults and ridicule? Why? Why? Why?

Me: idk...

Him: do you really think I don't love you? Really? Be honest, do you think I'm not in love with you?

Me: idk

Him: you can't keep saying that.

Me, sighing: look- its just a little unbelievable, right? How can you be in love with someone you've never even seen? You haven't even seen my shadow, let alone my face???

Him: so what? Do you need to see someone to fall in love with them?

Me: ideally, yeah? I mean, even if you take out the whole "physical appeal" aspect, I'm like pretty darn rude to you. Like you said, I mock you and insult you. So how could you possibly love someone so horrible?

Him: ... you're not horrible. You're a good person.

Me: am not. But okay-

Him: no, you are. You have a good heart. Look- idk what to say- why did you even call me today?

Me, lying because he'd never believe that my friend accidentally called him: I was bored.

Him: you were bored? What? Am I just a plaything for you?

Me: yeah. And when I lose interest, I don't interact with you. See, I'm not a good person, so don't fall in love with me.

Him: you're lying, idk why but you are because you're a good person.

Me: if u say so.

Him: look just- *sighs* just don't say awful things like that again.

Me: like what?

Him: that you want to marry my friend.

Me: I DIDNT SAY THAT- why does it even matter????

Him: because it HURTS! It hurts it when you say you want to marry Ryan. Doesn't it hurt you if I said I'd marry your friend?

Me: no?

Him: ITS BAD! It hurts and why tf would you want to marry him and not me? He's a womaniser, a playboy, a cheater and youd still prefer him over me? And what about how your family wasn't going to approve of me, gut they'd approve of him???

Me: I mean, I guess they might?

Him: look- just, just answer me this- can you marry me or not?

Me: no, I don't think so.

Him: why not? Is it because I'm poor? I'm ugly? I'm-

Me: yes, but also other reasons. Look, I'm very tough to live with. I'm very hard to maintain.

Him: like what? What exactly do you want me to do to impress you and your family? Jump off a roof?

Me: no, then you'd die and I'd meet Ryan and your other friends at the funeral. But like I said, I have a lot of needs-

Him: LIKE WHAT?

Me: I have a sweet tooth. What if I want ice cream at 3 am?

Him: at 3 am? Why tf would you want ice cream at 3 am?

Me: that's just how I am.

Him: you shouldn't go out past 11 pm. It's unsafe outside-

Me, face palms: why would I go out? Its dangerous outside. You're going to fetch it for me. Can you? Or are you scared?

Him: at 3 am? What if someone stabs me?

Me: that's just a risk you're going to have to take. And if you can't, then I'll go out by myself and get me ice cream.

Him: no. No. I'll go get the ice cream. What else do you want me to do?

Me: I wake up often at night and want to talk or info dump. What are you gonna do about it?

Him: ill wake up and make us tea (because he's obsessed with tea) and coffee (because he knows I love coffee) for us. Next.

Me: well, I get sick often. My bones hurt at the slightest breeze in the air.

Him: ill take you to a doctor for your condition.

Me: it's incurable-

Him: by medicine. I'll take you to a witch, or homeopath, or worship some deity/false idols. But I'll do something, anything it takes to find a cure.

And then the convo went on random stuff, nothing interesting except towards the end where he was like "Okay but can you give me your WhatsApp number so that I can see your profile pic?" And I was like no, of not because I don't feel comfortable sending pics to people and also what if I look at you and don't like you at all!??!

And then he was like, have you even saved my number? And I was like no, and he was like "that's a smart decision because what if someone sees my name in your phone and asks you about it?" And I was like yeah, I guess that's the reason, but have you saved my number?

Him: yeah, I mean I already have memorised it but I still saved it.

Me: by what name? (Asks about the fake girl name I gave him)

Him: no, no. If my elder siblings or their spouse saw your name on my phone, they'll beat me up.

Me: ohh, so what did you save it as.

Him: I can't tell you. You'll get mad.

Me: why? Is it that disgusting?

Him: no, just- okay ill tell you but promise you won't get mad.

Me: yeah, sure. I promise.

Him: it's... "MY LIFE❤️"

The way I cringed so hard, metaphorically threw up in my mouth. Because obviously he's lying cause if he was as afraid of his siblings as he says he's is, he'd never even save it as something remotely like this nickname. But still, even for a lie, very cringe, second ha d embarrassing material.

Me: EWWWWWW STOP OMG WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT-

Him: hehe, you like it?

Me: no??? And if you don't change it, then you deserve to get beat up by your brothers.

Him: then what should I save it as? "Life line"? "My world"?

Me: how about (male version of my fake name)?

Him: hmm, okay. I gtg now, call me in the evening?

Me: oh I'm not calling you, I'm all out of money for making calls.

Him: well,I can't call you because of some bug in my phone until 12th October? How about we talk on WhatsApp? Or some other messaging app? What do you say?

Me: I say... I'll talk to you after 12th. BYE!

Him: wait what? NO NO NO NO NO-

And now I'm just like??? What is this obsession with talking on WhatsApp or messaging app? Like is it a thing that you can get more private/sensitive information or hack into someone's phone on these apps???

[pastelprince18]

Thinking of Rayman and Rabbid Mario now grgrgr,,,I brought this up in a VC..I think but I will bring it up again here to share before I head to bed. This does contain some spoilers for the DLC a bit, if you have yet not played or not want spoilers try to skip this post <:3 OKAY SO.... In the very end of the game, Rayman explains that he will be staying to help the rabbids with the space opera network ratings [which is super sweet he wants to give rabbids a chance and help them out with their shows]. There is a way for both Rayman, R.Mario R.Peach and Beep-o to visit each other or even go to other places with the portal. {Basically a way for Ray to go home or probably even visits Mario and his friends if he wants!}

I really enjoy the fact R.Mario likes to be around Rayman ever since they shook hands, he even gave him a hug not wanting to go yet! cause of this the two always have a hang day at the studio or walk around the mushroom kingdom showing Rayman the place as talk about their homes, what its like being a hero for different situations they're both in and other things they joke about. The more they spend time with one another the more the two feel a bit odd around one another that they couldn't put a finger on it, mostly rayman. R.Mario seem to begin to grow a even more stronger feeling towards Ray, which cause him to semi panic worried that this was a bad feelings {he's proud of being pan but didn't wanna lose rayman friendship}. However it was the say for Rayman! He was confused, nervous and wasn't sure how to feel about dating a rabbid since he never liked them till knowing the hero's and other friendly rabbids along the way. With sleepless nights thinking about one another, or just the two can't help but swoon seeing one another, both were just terrified to confessed worried the other will hate them and cut ties. This needed to end, at least for R.Mario, he needed to confess to him just to get over it or else it'll eat him alive, so he arrange a talk between the two later that night at a spot they two usually hang at the Mushroom Kingdom [Which is a pretty spot seeing the castle + Toad Town] R.Mario had sound very serious about it, causing Ray to be even more of a fumble mess thinking maybe he knew about the situation and this will be over for the two and they would no longer be friends. With night arriving the two meeting at the spot, they talk for a while, asking how they been, if their okay and seeing how beautiful the night was. Soon they speak more of a deeper convo about one another, how Ray felt scared meeting the rabbids due to trauma he has with them and what they did to him and his home, he still feels that way with some rabbids but not all. Meeting the group was the best thing ever, even being around him made him feel all happy and safe. He never thought he could enjoy a species he had hated before and now grow feelings for one. R.Mario never knew this before and just hugged him telling him that he didn't deserve to feel that way and he will always keep him safe. As he tells him as much he loves being a rabbid and merging to who he is today, he sometimes feels he can do better, how he wishes he can be like THE Mario, he wants to feel special and protect everyone he loves, to protect his home, worried he won't be a hero or can't do that duty. Course Rayman comforts him the same way, telling him he's doing such a great job and appreciate he does everything he can for his home and just keep rayman safe! It made the two just feel warm inside grow, now the real moment happens, Rabbid Mario confesses to him if Ray liked anyone, to which he replied "yes". Rayman ask the same question, to which he too got a "yes". Both looked at one another not wanting to break eye contact, as their faces turn red and giggled, realizing they both liked each other as all the anxiety and stress went away <3 Finally happy their dating. However wanted to keep it low tho till they were ready to come out. [Mostly Rayman friends and Family is what makes him more anxious since he isn't sure how they'll act]. But for now things are slow as their love grows bigger and bigger by the day <:3

[finisnihil]

I read your post from 4/10 and wanted to double check: you mentioned that Sunday took Sparkle up on her offer to pose as Robin, but I don't remember a time when that happened? He mentioned the family had a plan + the emanator post by hyv basically says they can take on the form of other family members. If you mean the convo between Aven/Sparkle couldn't that have just been Aven's misconception? She never confirms it in that convo as far as I remember. Loved the post btw just curious

That could very well be the case as well! It's all very vague so I went with what I thought made the most sense based on context clues, which was Sparkle replaced her.

Looking at it from a meta perspective I don't see why the writers would have Aventurine say that unless the statement/question held some genuine weight. When writing you wouldn’t typically introduce the idea of Sparkle replacing Robin by her demonstrating her ability to do so believably, having her offer to do it for the Family to upkeep airs, and then bringing it up again later as Sparkle being the culprit if that’s a plot line you don’t intend to actually upkeep as it would be redundant and take up time and space.

Speaking of Sparkle not confirming it, it’s in line with her character. Sparkle as a Masked Fool lives to invoke chaos. Just because she didn’t confirm it doesn’t mean it can’t be true, think back to her conversation with Aventurine some more. She doesn’t lie to him but she doesn’t reveal her hand enough to help too much. Basically her attitude about it all can be summarized by a quote from her character trailer: “Let me tell you what foolishness is, pretending to be smart like you do. Then what is a fool? Knowing when to act clueless, like I do”.

It’s only when he’s found the right questions to ask he’s able to push her for more details, and even then she’s cagey about the information she shares. Sparkle enjoys watching everyone run around trying to manage the disaster because that’s Elation to her. It would be more out of character for her to give a clear yes or no on the matter, hell the closest she gets to giving one is implying that’s the answer by saying “…and if I say ‘no’?” Adding to this she only gets this close to giving a clear yes or no because Aventurine entices her with the idea it will cause further chaos.

But then again, 2.1's writing decieved us in a lot of ways so like you said, it could've been a misconception. This is just my take on the matter based on what we’re given.

By the by, which Emanator post do you refer to specifically? I don’t recall seeing the information they can take on the form of other family members on any Insta posts (I don’t use Twitter/X) or the big Emanator rundown the official HSR account posted on HoyoLab. If I missed it I’d like to know!

Tbh when analyzing media like HSR, which is constantly updating in real time, you're always running the risk of getting something wrong simply because you're working with an incomplete puzzle. Some of my analysis posts don't hold nearly as much water as they did before 2.1 and whatnot so if I am wrong on that I wouldn’t be too surprised. I try to keep up to date on the lore to the best of my ability as it’s the main reason I even play the game but until Penacony is complete and we have a full picture to work with I really appreciate people like you bringing possible holes in my analysis to my attention!

I’m really glad you liked my post and tysm for the ask! Have a great day, mwah!

[the-hushed-one]

I just had a convo with a friend today and can I just say that Taylor really messed this up. I mean the article? ‘who knows what could happen again’? 

Are you being serious right now? So, Taylor completely closed doors with Joe, who was (is) such a good guy and keeps the door open for matty? So you’re telling me that there is a possibility of them being back together in August something? 

*sighs deeply* All the reputation Taylor built for herself since the rep era... She shattered all of it just in two-three months. This is so heartbreaking to see that everything Taylor stood for in 2019 and more... she is now publicly getting involved with a man who is against every single of of ‘em. 

Miss Swift decided to date this dirtbag publicly instead of being with joe who is i think better than any of her exes. All of this just sucks. My opinion of Taylor since the breakup is so altered. I mean I do not know what to believe. Does she support any of the equality stuff, the anti-racism stuff... or did she EVER support this? 

Taylor said she was having the best time of her life and her life had never made sense until that moment? So, she basically means that her life has never been better until she decided to ‘have fun’ with the biggest jerk ever who is against everything she supposedly believed in. This way she is seriously disregarding all the goddamn six years she spent with her ‘lover’ and so many other good moments. WOW! 

Taylor needs to handle all of this well because the backlash is going to be stronger than the 90′s trend. 

I still love Taylor, but not as much as I used to before all this. Since the breakup news came out, nothing has been good except the good moments we get from the tour. This all is so fcked up, gosh

[f0point5]

y/n’s best friend’s reactions and the messages from Lando are the perfect dichotomy of how I would be tempted to talk to her….. two v different tactics of calling homegirl out on being so .. idk the best way to phrase it.. pre-defensive??? The triple message to Lando at the end of their convo really said more about how she feels about max than anything else she’s said about him in the last like five chapters. When she lied about why she was “only going” on this date he breezed past the comment to ask for fucking chorizo I KNOW she was FUMING!!!!!! Like I could feel it in my bones that she wanted him to do or say something. Now though I’m worried that something inside her kinda snapped and she’s either gonna keep seeing metaphor and pushing the envelope until she gets a reaction from max OR she’s gonna go out of her way to pretend extra hard (harder than she usually does) that she doesn’t give a shit what max thinks of her and her love life. I have a lot of faith in you and where you’ll eventually take this plot I’m just gonna go ahead and beg you in advance that if there ends up being some kind of major miscommunication in the plot it has to be realistic !! Nothing grinds my gears worse than adults ruining their entire lives because of a miscommunication that even a 12 year old could solve on their own. Like I understand miscommunication tropes but sometimes they go so far that they defy very basic logic and I can’t watch y/n and max turn into complete idiots.. sorry that was definitely a personal preference rant - do what u gotta do it’s your story Lmao I’ve just been burned one too many times by fics that claim they’re about whole ass adults then have them act like 6 year olds for the sake of a plot point and I can’t see max doing that. I can kiiiiinda see y/n doing that but not unconsciously. She’d know what she was doing for sure.

No I 100000% get you. Nothing drives me crazier than people making whole life decisions based on the outcome of a conversation they never even had. Like, Y/N decides Max is in love with GP and takes a job in NYC and leaves without telling Max who then decides that the last 6 years meant nothing to her for no reason and they don’t talk until Lando locks them in a disused shopping container. Like, you two have shared everything for all these years be serious you’re not throwing that away over not even talking. I definitely see Max and Y/N being people that even if they’re dancing around the real conversation that they need to have, they’ll always be communicating with each other. I think that’s so much more true to the relationship they have and the people they are than freaking out and not talking to each other.

I think the thing with what Lando and her other friend were saying was their needling was fair but also to her it felt a little bit like a taunt. Because she has everyone in her life acting like she’s doing something a bit sideways by dating someone other than Max, acting like she owes him sensitivity around the issue, kind of hyping her up that there’s a big “caution” label on this situation and then she goes out of her way to be cautious and it turns out it wasn’t needed. I think it made her feel a bit stupid, almost like they’d hyped her that her love life was SO important to Max and it just wasn’t. So she’s like, please stop making me feel like this is a thing because it’s clearly not. And then similarly with Max, she was a bit like, I went out of my way to diminish this date/situation for your comfort, and it turns out you never cared in the first place. I think the whole thing just stung her ego a bit.

[marsbotz]

hello I keep seeing u talk ab loving skybound but I'm curious as to why u love it, and would LOVE to read a super in-depth explanation bc im kinda a skybound notliker and ik uve changed my mind on certain thigns ab this show b4, and I was hoping u cld do it again !!! :DDD /gen

YEAH. OKAY !!! sorry this is super long and rambly i already had to rewrite it once cus tumblr ate it lol... and also sorry its all basically abt jay (running away embarrassed)

first of all let me say i do think skybound is a BAD season. having the characters suddenly all be sexist out of nowhere to drive plot is stupidddd and so is having a retcon ending that makes it all redundant except for Jaya Canon Now. i think thats mostly what makes the fandom not like it. BUT. i think its sooo interesting for like so many reasons also

i think s8 is considered the darkest season which is fair. but skybound also has a crazyyy amount of dark and DEEPLY interesting things it touches on. the ninja disappearing one by one. jays birth father being his favourite actor. jay torture. jaya actually being interesting!! lets talk abt these.

having the ninja slowly be cut out of the season is GREAT for not only building tension but also being able to more deeply build upon jay and nyas characters (and their relationship). the 22 min format means that some characters (like wu and kai) are gone for AGES. which is sad for kai fans but greatttt for the season. it rlly makes u feel their absence, and some of their disappearances are scary!! zane trying to outsmart nadakhan but realising too late hes been tricked... AHH!!!

if you compare this to how they did it in s12 its a lot more impactful as theres more time for the characters to... be gone. and the videogame nature rlly does take away a lot of the tension IMO. if jays mothers had been in prime empire like planned.... it would have been a GREAT parallel i think but as it is its just kind of odd. thats another convo tho lol (altho there issss the mention of jay being adopted at the end. very interesting [it goes nowhere])

i literally think abt jay adoption arc every god damn day of my life. ill try to explain this without getting too deep into my personal sicko hcs lol. first you get a rlly nice callback to s1 w jay being ashamed of his parents and living in a junkyard only to realise how litte he cares once theyre threatened. thennn you have the whole situation at cliffs house. jay finds out the man who abandoned him at birth (possibly? we dont know details) is the actor for fritz donnegan. the same character who jay imitated and aspired to be like. and then he realises his father felt the same admiration towards jay!! and they both never knew!!!

i think this twist is what makes a lot of jays behaviour in s6.... not excusable... but understandable. jay is shown to be insecure and have weird fucking ways of coping with this (lying. lying lying all the time) and so it kinda feels natural that his way of coping with this information would be to 1. hide the fact he made wishes 2. try to imitate his father through his book and 3. Never Speak Of This Again.

speaking of that lets talk about jay being tortured. can we talk about that?? they FUCKED him up. but the most important part out of allll of it is a character trait i rarely see ppl attribute to jay even though its like... pretty consistent for him. is his willpower!! hes able to endure days of torture to the point where he can barely walk and talk at the end of it just to stop nadakhan from gaining more power

nadakhan also directly points out jays insecurities and how they make him lie to his friends... and jays able to show some of his smarts thru trying to get flintlocke to stage a mutiny! honestly the whole episode is so damn interesting it makes me SEETHE its not more talked abt LOL

i wont get into my insanely complex jaya opinions rn but i will say s6 has one of the most interesting depictions of the ship to me. nya being reluctant to date jay due to being seen simply as his girlfriend is soooo interesting and fits well w her arc of not wanting to give up her own deal w sam x to become a ninja. its just a shame they had to retroactively make everyone misogynistic to do so lolol... and the ending w jays wish Potentially forcing them together is soooo odd and kinda goes what the rest of the season was setting up for them. THIS IS MAINLY why i think ppl hate this season. cus it sets up SOOO much cool stuff and then drops it all last second

i think the things that could have saved skybound from being so hated would be

1. do the same plotpoints w nya but dont drag the ninja AND DARETH into it ..... make them supportive of her!

2. makes jays final wish have some FUCKING consequence! you could do a LOT with how he worded it to twist it badly (im a nadakhan return truther for life)

3. not dropping every single intersting character trait ever. and also not dropping the GOD DAMN ADOPTION ARCCCCCC and also not revealing jay to be so crushingly insecure he physically cannot stop himself from lying to ppl and putting on a happy mask and then turn him into a one note comic relief character. [becoming a soulless husk]

LOL i realise this sounds now like i hate skybound I DONT i just think its very flawed. BUT thats whyyyy i love it... because its so interesting! its flawed in a way like "there is soooo much i cld do w this" and not like "i dont care about any of this its so bad". w ninjago my fav parts have always been the weird icky edgy parts that are almost too much for what it is... which is a childrens lego show. ik they cld never have done most of the interesting stuff i imagine coming out of skybound and thats ok! bc i get to think abt it evilly.

heres some assorted things i love and think are fun in skybound

kai and zane banter at the repo yard

ronin capturing the ninja!! specifically him shutting down zane from the inside is super scary and cool

NINJA IN PRISON!!!!! i almost threw up when they went to jail in crystallised its so fuckign fun. SKYBOUND 2!!!

zane playing chess against nadakahn. another scary zane moment

jay trusting only cole w the truth abt his wishes (HELL YES BROTHER)

clanceeeeee <3 him being like one sided friends w jay and standing up to nadakhan at the end of it all... wahhh

NINJA REPLACEMENTS. so fucking funny i love jay and his assortment of old guys And Skylor

everytime i watch it i cant stop thinking of this ytp and it makes me cry. its not even that funny i just have watched it like 50 times

its dungeon media. this is smth i made up and only i know abt . dont worry abt it but its true

ok my brain is mush HOPE THIS MAKES. some sort of sense . bascially trying to condense 6 years of Thoughts into coherent analysis is impossible for me LOL