#original: ugly betty

[incorrectnancydrewquotes]

I could make an effort to be liked. But I’d rather be hated than inconvenienced.

-Dexter Egan, Treasure in the Royal Tower

[incorrectx-menquotes]

Erik Lehnsherr: Pietro, you belong with the Brotherhood of Mutants and I think Charles would understand.

Pietro Maximoff: Well, I think the Professor would say you want to recruit me to ask me to very bad, bad things.

Erik Lehnsherr: I would never ask you to do anything wrong, ugly or morally suspect. That's what I have Mystique for.

[incorrectstarwarslegendsquotes]

Borsk Fey'lya: Do you really thing I enjoy scheming, lying and scurrying about like some rat with great cheekbones? Leia Organa: Yes, I think you do! Borsk Fey'lya: Maybe a little.

[incorrectreddwarfquotes]

Bad guy of the week: I really like this whole ‘good guy, bad guy’ thing you guys have going on.

Rimmer: It’s not an act, it’s just that I’m mean and Kryten isn’t

[josiehook200]

Master List

(I apologize in advance for sounding like a broken record) My name's Josie Hook and I would like to put out there that I DO NOT want any stories of mine to be sold as a bounded copy! Regardless of it being original work or Fanfiction! If you want it as a bounded version, print it out and put it into a binder for your own use! DO NOT do it for profit! Thank you in advance and happy reading!

Descendants

Hook-Fin - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

Huma One-Shots - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

Descendants: A New Chapter - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

An Ordinary World (AU) - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

The Invitation (2022)

Nuptials Of Blood - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

Blood Of Deville - Wattpad AO3 (Coming soon)

Nuptials Of Blood: A New Shade - Wattpad AO3 (Coming Soon)

Blood of a Bat - Wattpad AO3 (Coming soon)

Gossip Girl (2021)

Wolfe Watts - Wattpad AO3 (Coming soon)

Wolfe Watts: Next Gen (Title name change TBD) - Wattpad AO3 (Coming soon)

Henry Danger

Superhero's Who Needs Them? - Wattpad AO3 (Completed)

Good Bye, Good Riddance? - Wattpad AO3 (Completed)

No Way Back! - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

Happily Danger After - Wattpad AO3 (Coming soon)

New Danger - Wattpad AO3 (Coming soon)

Spider-Man

Spider-Man: A New Web - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

The Big Bang Theory

It Started With A Big Bang - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

Ugly Betty

Average Maria - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

Scooby Doo

Mystery Incorporated: Back In Business - Wattpad AO3 (Ongoing)

DC Comics

Blood of a Bat - Wattpad AO3 (Coming Soon)

Family Guy

Why Now? - Wattpad A03 (Ongoing)

Grease

Grease 1980 - Wattpad A03 (Coming Soon)

Original Work

Parasite - Wattpad AO3 (Completed) Warning: Read at your own discretion! CW: Blood, Body Horror, Mpreg resulted from Body Horror

Extras/Other platforms

Updated: November 18, 2024

[existential-labrador]

What I would give for Rebecca to go full Daniel Meade, tell Ted she can’t live without him but not realise she means on a personal level and just throw a new contract at him with more money and more time off to see Henry

Bonus points if Ted then decides to leave anyway and Rebecca burns his travel documents

And all of the points if she then shows up when he gets home

[bonivers]

america ferrera brings so much heart to her character in ugly betty

[wtf-am-i-drawing]

Watching Ugly Betty for the first time and I just can't stand Daniel lol pls tell me I am not the only one

[bonjas]

blf: la historia continua

having been one of the fans that was counting down the seconds until the new series started, i have a lot of thoughts on the show now that 4 episodes have aired. i've seen each one a few times now but my thoughts will still be a little scattered!

first of all, i LOVE the production quality, and the stylistic choice they took with the aesthetics of this series. it's sharp, artsy, quick, colorful, and very much giving Mode magazine vibes from Ugly Betty! the on screen graphics are a cute touch, Mila's are a little bit extra, but so is she so it's okay. i especially loved the comedic timing of the graphic from the bathroom scene (XL 😆).

for being 20 years later, everyone is FANTASTIC at getting right back into character. having witnessed other shows that were rebooted years and years later and seeing some people not being able to get back into the swing of things, the ability of this cast just really goes to show the caliber of actors they cast in the original. everyone effortlessly slid back into character, mannerisms, voice inflection, chemistry between characters, honestly i have no complaints. i know some people think don hermes wasn't tough enough on mila in his scenes with her, but do yall have grandparents that love to spoil you and let you get away with things they wouldnt let their kids get away with? i'm not surprised at all he's softer with her than he would have been with betty.

so after all that, my problems with the reboot...

episodes 1&2 are bad. just straight up bad, and it's unfortunate that it took 2 out of the precious little 10 we have to find their footing. episode 1 is filled with "dramatic pauses" which honestly just feel awkward, and having come from Gaitan's never ending monologues, it felt like empty air that should have been filled. Gaitan's silences were strategic and emphasized the emotions of the scenes, and actually set up to be pregnant pauses, where this series feels like they just dont know what the character would say, and not heavy with drama like they think it comes across as.

the writing, ohh the writing...

betty's diary was always used as a tool to give us background, give us insight into what betty was feeling/thinking, and give us context or extra info we didnt see on screen. with so little episodes and so little time to explain things, HUH.....WOULDA BEEN HANDY.....

good writing shows and doesn't tell, and what these early episodes do are NEITHER. something mysterious and bad is happening at ecomoda....too bad you dont get to know! camila and betty's relationship is in tatters, betty abandoned them, camily went to ???? for five??? years!! nahhhh, dont tell us anything about it, just jump right to the resentment!??

"mystery is an intellectual process, like in a 'whodunnit'. but suspense is essentially an emotional process. you can only get suspense going by giving the audience information."-alfred hitchcock

the writers made many VERY strange choices in not telling us more about:

what armando and mario did

who exactly is marcela's dude and what he gets out of helping marcela (idfk his name)

giving us background on armando and that lawyer

giving us more background on betty and mila other than just "you abandoned us!" "she's so distant now" where tf was mila and why was she out of the country for 5 years???

why are mila and marce so close??

think back to OG blf...when things were mentioned in passing like the "horrible thing that happened to betty", those werent things that were of importance for that scene/storyline/moment, thats why they were in passing, they just added to the layers of complexity of betty, but it was gratifying when we later found out what it actually was. or think about all the important events that happened because we knew what was going on! imagine if we didnt know what armando's evil plan was, and we saw betty read The Letter and we're not told what it says, and we see betty go through all her trauma and emotions and never finding anything out until she tells armando she knows. there would be no pay off because we didnt know what was happening in the first place so we're not invested! whereas in this series they are just leaving out huge gaps of information needed to feel the anxieties the people we're watching are feeling. we finally find out what armando did during his second time as president at ecomoda in episode 4, and knowing that information from the beginning would have been so much more impactful! we'd be stressed knowing armando fucked up AGAIN, is lying to betty AGAIN, put the company in financial ruin AGAIN, then we would feel the emotion of him finally coming clean to her and telling her he's planning to take full responsibility! there's not as much pay off when learning at the exact same time as betty.

with mila and betty, yeah we can fill in the blanks with what happened to them, but without hearing betty's thoughts or seeing through her eyes how their relationship fell apart, the (majority) of the audience went straight to hating mila and resenting her for their shitty relationship. if we had context around it, the audience would understand her and how everything turned out that way.

episodes 3&4 really found their footing, the humor was back, armando's characterization and development was so nice to see! callbacks to the OG show were awesome, i DIED at sandra yelling at freddy "you're disrespecting the community!!!". i'm worried that mila is manipulating betty with their happy reunion but idk! there's not enough context/foreshadowing/knowledge of mila's character so idk that one's a wild card. but if the rest of the show continues like episode 3&4 i'll be a happy camper, because 1&2 honestly had me really worried.

i wanna know what everyone else thinks! i have tons of thoughts that i already forgot because i dont write things down in the moment lol so i'm sure i'll be back to write some more down the line maybe after a couple more episodes! (new thought i just remembered–why tf is patricia in HR, let alone working? is her old man not rich enough to support her lifestyle? if that's the case, why aren't we told this to have more background on why she's back at a place she very dramatically quit from so we can invest more feelings when she's being "bullied" for having an old husband etc? it's the little things...i dont think i'm asking too much of the writers because other shows do more and more effectively with the same exact run time as this show)

[iwanttobeliv]

Yo soy Betty, la fea (Now and then)

Man, I’ve been meaning to write something ever since I finished watching the very first episode of Betty la fea, la historia continua but there were too many thoughts and feelings and too little coherence to make it happen, and yet, here I am trying it anyway.

Even in Brazil, a country that culturally embraces telenovelas, every now and then when I said Betty, a feia was my favorite, people would look at me funny. And it’s kind of difficult to explain or make people understand that there is just so much more behind Betty’s fringe, braces, and very peculiar laughter. Yes, Armando did yell a lot. And there were perhaps too many episodes focused on Sofia and Efrain's drama or those final ones with Inesita’s ex-husband, and when I managed to rewatch the whole thing, boy was I glad to be able to fast-forward these parts. Some of the sets, like Betty’s room were very clearly low-budget and full of strange choices that I could never quite figure out, and yet, none of this really mattered because the writing was phenomenal. The characters were engaging. The actors were brilliant. And the love story, that was just the best.

So I watched and rewatched. I managed to come across friends who were happy to talk about it and dissect all the things that made it work so well, and so subtle is the distinction that despite the many many adaptations worldwide, to me, none have ever been better than the original Betty.

When Betty was first aired in Brazil, I was about 15 and I can’t begin to explain how seeing a young woman who never belonged anywhere due to her looks resonated with me. Someone who was made fun of for being different and used a sense of humor to keep going. Someone who had hopes and dreams and felt none of them were within reach. And someone who managed to survive all the terrible things life would throw her way in pursuit of her happy ending.

And I guess this feels like something that needs to be said first.

As far as I'm concerned, what makes Betty so fundamentally brilliant is the fact that in YSBLF, when it comes to the love story, the guy falls in love with her being exactly who she is. No more or less. There are so many stories about the ugly duckling who manages to be seen after becoming a swan, and yet there it was, a story that showed that the duckling didn’t have to be anything else to be deserving of love and happiness.

Watching her we went through all ranges of emotion. I remember closing my eyes as I tried to watch her going through her first ‘transformation’ and the disaster it was. I remember feeling joy for her, for having such a good friend in Nicolas and such loving parents. I remember watching Armando as he was, having his feelings change little by little, all while she became an essential part of his life and work. And then, watching expectantly as we had to go through the awful plan he and Mario came up with and all the repercussions that would come of it. I remember thinking that JEA had to be a pretty great actor and that Armando had to be very well-written otherwise it would be impossible to feel anything but disgust for him and what he did. And then watching him fall for Betty utterly and completely. I remember sharing her fury and thirst for revenge when she found the letter. And then drinking up on every interaction between the two of them, knowing what she knew and waiting for the bomb to go off. And then to watch Armando go through hell and lose everything that meant something to him, and Betty trying to pick up the pieces of herself and survive the worst of times. And finally her triumphal return and what would soon enough lead her to a happy ending.

Last year, when we got the news of the remake and the OG was made available on streaming, I watched it once again and felt all those things all over again. But now, almost two decades later, with a very different understanding. I still loved every minute of it, but there were things I would have liked to be different.

Like many soaps, as soon as the main couple manages to patch things up it’s a quick jump to the expected happy ending, and while I fully expected Betty to get one, I couldn’t help but wonder, how a relationship could ever work after such a thing. Sure we knew Armando’s feelings were real and there, and all of that way before Betty, the ugly was made beautiful. But she didn’t. How could she truly forgive and trust someone who managed to betray her trust and make her go through hell as a result of deliberate actions? I would have liked to see more of it. It’s the one thing I don’t particularly enjoy in so many love stories and most soaps. How they are always in such a hurry to end the story as if by being together there was nothing else to be told about these characters and their relationship. Oh the potential wasted by their need of getting to the wedding and a baby on the finish line.

And then, much to my surprise, they decide that there’s more to tell. That the story didn’t have to finish there. [Yes, I’m aware of ‘Ecomoda’ just as I’m aware of the universal consent that it never managed to do justice to the characters we loved and cared for. Which is why, I think, the sequel now also made the choice of ignoring it.]

So now I’ve watched the first four episodes. And I have thoughts I would very much like to share and discuss. Things that I don’t particularly like, but understand. Things I wish had been done differently. Things I absolutely love. But this post feels already much too long. For now, I just want to say, I never expected the sequel to be perfect or to perfectly preserve what the OG managed to perform. But I’m genuinely happy we get to see Betty again. And to be able to laugh and cry with her, with all of them. 

It takes me back and it fills me with expectation for what’s yet to come.

Is it Friday yet?

[rosetyler42]

Some drawings of Ericka and Alice, or as I like to call the BrOTP ship, Deadly Angel. I love the idea of these two cartoony badass spooky queens together.

1 and 2. Ericka reassuring her pal Alice after the Fairy Godmother attacked, threatening Alice and her family. She relates to Al in many ways: they have a similar story, personality, and taste in men. And both are Ex-murderesses trying to do better but still haunted by guilt of their past selve's crimes. They also both have self-esteem issues due to past judgement by others and have perfectionism to get over. Though Alice isn't nearly as brave or quite as optimistic as her human gal pal. Most of her life has been hiding and planning for every little thing that went wrong lest she gets sent back to the dark puddles, thinking she was an ugly twisted version of her true self who needed to be beautiful and PERFECT to be happy. Having friends around to reassure her and take her mind off things is...new to her. Esoecially with her fears of her dangerous Susie side.

Note: Like the original, Alice has 2 personalities living within her: the innocent toon and the hurt corrupted woman she used to be - Susie Campbell. In me and @lovelylivelyv 's headcanon, Susie is the one behind the evil deeds of Twisted Alice, while Alice was trapped inside largely forced into going along with it until Susie's soul was largely put to rest. Now, Alice is largely in control, although Susie is still hidden in there and Alice still has her memories...though they feel like they happened to someone else. While she has control over her transformations largely, Alice can also change forms and voice when upset or angry. She's still not quite as stable as, say, Boris.

Bonus: Protective Ericka's evil smile, Bad Ass Monsterfucker Pun and the idea Ericka likes playing the BATIM lever challenge as a training game!

3. In WIR-Verse, ice has this prank she'll sometimes do, offering a fake Tommy gun just to watch with a smile as it melts in their hands....well, she may be redeemed as Alice in the "vivisecting and murder" department. But she's not a fallen angel for NOTHING...

4. Ericka asks about the mysterious Milla Legna tapes, having worked out Alice was the true Milla because of the Legna Angel anagram. Alice is a bit embarrassed of Susie's deeds, but Ericka not only doesn't judge, but compliments it! And Alice returns the favor by good-naturedly teasing Ericka about her monsterfucker Pan-ic. XD

Bonus Baby Jack! Being a monster baby, I figure he can make some strange noises in addition to normal baby babble, like Ink Bendy's "Moo" noises.

5. 2 Debbie's talking shop! Some point after the Dark Revival update, Ericka comes to check out her friend's new second pair and finds Alice has a whole setup of electric chairs! After some good natured ribbing (showing Alice has grown to accept her murderous side a bit and to trust her friend not to judge it) I'm sure Ericka wants to play with the setup. She's a Debbie fan and she's never gotten to play with electric chairs before!

Bonus: In this picture is Eddie, Ericka's swoobat, as well as 2 of Alice's pokemon: Susie the Mawile and Betty the Meloetta.

6. Remember how I said both Ericka and Alice have similar tastes? This one plays with that. XD Bonus Addams Family "Howling Demons" joke and smol baby Jack. BTW, "Heavenly sin" is based on @thedopedemon 's work!

7. It's not just Ericka reassuring Alice. Alice knows how to cheer up Ericka too when criticism from others starts getting to her. She refuses to see ANYONE go through the pain she did alone.

@lovelylivelyv @black-ak9 @serial-serializednovelreader @hotelt-resurrection @ssleeping-in-a-coffin @wingingfromthezing @deathfangirl9 @inkiedraws @inkhyaena @inkspottie @inkwelldevil @thedemonsurfer @thedobermutt @ebevkisk @twinklecupcake @howling-nightmare

[bakingtherapy]

Just Keep Baking #30 Peanut Butter Cake

Sul Sul, Gerbits. Today we are going to be making a different cake. This cake comes from a Betty Crocker Cookbook that my mom gave to me. We are going to be making a Peanut butter cake with chocolate frosting.

The first thing you are going to do is preheat your oven to 350℉. 

Grease bottom and sides of a 13x9 pan or 2 (9 inch) or 3 (8 Inch) round pans with shortening, and lightly flour it. But, this will change from baker to baker. There are SO many different ways to grease a cake pan. So my advice to you is try many different things. And eventually you will find things that you like. 

In a large bowl, you are going to add your drying ingredients. This includes the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix them together until combined. 

Then add the rest of the ingredients. And that includes the peanut butter, milk, vanilla, and 3 eggs.

The recipe and the measurements will be in the description down below. Feel free to try it out yourself if you want. 

Once you have all of the ingredients in the bowl, using an electric mixer, mix on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl constantly. 

After 30 seconds, beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl.  

Pour the cake batter into the pan(s).

If you are using a 9x13 inch pan bake for 35 to 40 minutes. 

If you are using a 9 inch pan bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes.

For a 8 inch pans, bake your cake for 30- 35 minutes. 

Or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or cake springs back when  touched lightly in the center. 

For the 9x13 inch cake, you are going to cool it in the pan on the cooling rack. 

If you are using cake pans cool them in the pan for about 10 minutes. And then remove them from the pans and place them on the rack. 

Make sure to cool them completely.  Recently I have been placing plastic wrap over the cakes, and then freezing the cakes for a little bit. Just because a cold cake is so easy to frost.

While the cake is chilling, you can make your frosting. For this cake I am using a Creamy Chocolate frosting from the same Betty Crocker cookbook. 

In a large bowl, you are going to beat the butter and chocolate on low speed until blended.

Gradually add in the vanilla and enough milk to make the frosting smooth and spreadable. 

If the frosting is too thick, beat in a little bit more milk. A little bit at a time.  

 If the frosting becomes too thin, add in a small amount of powdered sugar. 

This frosting was so easy to work with, and it wasn’t too sweet.

I am so happy with the results of this cake. I usually make good tasting cakes, but ugly looking cakes. Daphne and the girls are just like, “we don’t care what it looks like. If it tastes good we will eat it.”  

Even with them saying I have always been sad, when I see pretty cakes on the internet and then I see my sad cakes. But this cake made me feel better. All I have to say to everyone is practice really does make perfect. 

I hope you liked this recipe, the recipe will be in the description down below. Vadish, Dag Dag. 

Show the original author some 💖💖💖 Betty Crocker Cookbook

Printable version of this recipe: on the blog

Feel free to support me on:

🐥Patreon 🐥 Kofi 🐥 Facebook 🐥 Pinterest 🐥

[theocseason4]

Do you like ugly betty? Watched it recently and thought it was cute!! Great acting from America and Vanessa.

I like the original telenovela

[heathtrash]

tww drabble exchange team! i have here a list of media that i’m very fond of for secret drabble purposes (i.e. any hallowe’en costumes or maybe crossover if you can make it work?? some of these are definitely here for costume purposes only). i realise that not everyone knows all the stuff i’m into and i don’t even talk about all of these on a daily basis. i hope you can find some common ground so we can be unwell about these characters together! you can go with a very subtle reference or like a full-on whatever your brain comes up with, as per my chaos request

you can use these however you wish—individual characters as costumes (or random crossover)—or couples costumes. ship them cross-media if you like??? with media that contains m/f, cross-dressing is very welcome unless stated otherwise (in which case i probably don’t want the male character(s)). anywhere i’ve put a ship name, assume the individual characters are up for grabs too

i’ve probably forgotten something, so if you’re like, “what about _?” send me an anon and i’ll let you know if it’s something i like or don’t mind receiving a reference for!

101 Dalmatians (Cruellanita)

Battlestar Galactica (Starbuck)

Beauty & the Beast (cross-dressed)

Buffy (Buffy/Faith, Willow/Tara)

Carmen Sandiego (series. i love Julia Argent SO much. you have no idea. also Carmen of course. and whatever their ship name is)

Carol (Carol/Therese)

Charmed

Critical Role (Imodna, Vexleth, Beaujester, Beauyasha. no m/f cross-dressing here actually)

The Devil Wears Prada (Mirandy only)

Discworld (any of the witches (main series. I don’t know Tiffany Aching yet) - i don’t ship them but they’re fun. also Susan Sto Helit hhhhhhh)

Doctor Who (except 10th Doctor. Jenny/Vastra, 13/River, 13/Missy)

Downton Abbey (Lady Mary/Baxter my beloved)

Dracula (novel. the ladies. idk. i love vampires)

Dragon Age (only played origins so far but i love Leliana, Morrigan, Wynne)

Enchanted

Frozen (Elsamaren. Elsa & Anna only if they’re not portrayed by a romantic ship)

Gentleman Jack

GLOW (Ruth/Debbie but i love all these gays)

Hacks (Deborah/Ava)

Hades (the game. idk i love Nyx, Artemis, Aphrodite. all of the ladies)

His Dark Materials (Marisa Coulter/Mary Malone only)

Homestuck (if you pick this you’re so cursed (affectionate). Rosemary or any f/f ship. but heck, anything if you’re this committed)

The Incredibles (Edna Mode, Helen Parr)

Jane Austen (any novel)

Jane Eyre

Kim Possible (Kim/Shego)

Lady Dimitrescu

Lady Felicia Montague from Father Brown

A League of Their Own (any)

Little Witch Academia (i love Ursula Callistis)

The Locked Tomb (Griddlehark, any)

Lolly Willowes

Maleficent/Briar Rose

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel (Miriam/Susie)

Mary Poppins

Mass Effect (Liara/femshep, Chakwas/femshep, any f/f)

Matilda (Jennifer Honey)

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (Phryne, Mac)

Ms Valerie Frizzle

The Mummy (Evelyn/cross-dressed Jonathan. or better yet, Evelyn/Meela from Returns)

Nintendo (Zelda, Link, Rosalina, Samus, Peach, Daisy)

Orlando (character by Virginia Woolf)

Phantom of the Opera (Christine/cross-dressed Phantom)

Rebecca (Mrs Danvers/Rebecca, Mrs Danvers/narrator)

Ride the musical

Sailor Moon (any f/f but i’m also into the idea of cross-dressed Tuxedo Mask)

Scooby-Doo (Velma/Daphne)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Catradora but any f/f ships)

Star Trek (Kiradax, J7, Jadzia Dax/Lenara Kahn, Christine Chapel/anyone, literally whatever f/f)

Star Wars (movies/series. Dedra Meero/Arihnda Pryce. Padmé Amidala/Satine Kryze. Sabine Wren/Shin Hati. i do not know what happens in the majority of the novels. any other f/f you can imagine or some fun cross-dressing)

Steven Universe (Pearl my beloved. anything f/f but i’m not that interested in Steven or the human characters)

Tangled (Cassunzel)

Ugly Betty (i don’t have any ships idk)

Wednesday and The Addams Family (Wednesday/Enid, Morticia/cross-dressed Gomez)

The Well of Loneliness

The Wheel of Time (Moiraine/Siuan)

Wicked (Gelphie)

The Witcher (Yennaia)

Wuthering Heights

Xena/Gabrielle

non-fandom specific:

any legendary historical ladies (Joan of Arc, Julie d’Aubigny)

any generic costumes that aren’t gross (i.e. poacher/prey animal, ball and chain. basically anything that has you asking if the cishets are okay)

[ladysophiebeckett]

heey! been binge-reading your post abt ysblf on my break and one) can't agree more with your takes, especially when you call out (delulu) marcela stans and 2) sorry if you already answered this but I'd love to read your take on the symbolism of the woods-and-duckling shared dream, please. Would i be right to assume that it goes beyond a cheap "ugly duckling" reference? then again, betty did had several duck dolls and plushies around her bed -more than any other animal or character. Thoughts? 🦆

I have never been asked about the duck dream, a mutual has spoken to me about it in passing a while back and about it's dream symbolism origins. Bc everything has a meaning in ysblf, it's not accidental. I actually never saw the duck or ducks in her room as referencing 'ugly duckling', my mind didn't pick up on it. I'm slow.

But yes, their shared dream goes beyond that reference.

Before I get to the symbolism and all that, let's go back to the dream and when it happens, bc context is important. They don't have this dream for no reason.

For Armando, this dream happens the night before the plan starts. It's after el desfile where he and Mario overhear that whole spiel about Nicolas and the Terramoda business card. Mario is pressuring him to start something with Betty bc they see Nicolas as a threat. For Betty, this happens after she gets home with her dad, and he complains to Betty that she's taking too many liberties and that that work (the world with the models and the fashion) is too much for her. It's a critique on her job and the little life she has.

Both Betty and Armando are being pressured in different ways by people about what they need to do or how they need to do things. And it's only when they're asleep, succumbing to their subconscious, where they can allow themselves to have what they really want.

Armando may not be in love with Betty yet, but he does like her, and he does enjoy her company. In the dream, he's happy running around with her in the woods. He's carefree with her, he's not stressed or angry. He wants to be in those woods with her. And that scares Armando when he wakes up. 'It was a horrible dream, it was an ugly dream'.

Was it? Not to Betty. She says 'fue un sueno muy bonito' and goes on to describe everything in it except Armando's presence. She's happy when she wakes up because to her it was just a dream and probably not the first one she's had of him. She's already in love with him but sees him as something impossible. Betty has already stated that love and romance will never be for her and that work is all she has.

Now the dream---Armando is frolicking with Betty in some woods, she has flowers in her hair and they're holding hands. At some point, she runs away from him and he's dream-frantically looking for her. She's playing hide and go seek with him and giggling about it. When she lets him find her, he tries to kiss her and she runs away again. He runs after her, looking for her bc she's yet again, hiding from him. When he finds her, she's hiding behind a tree, teasing him. When she reveals herself, she's holding the yellow duckling. He runs to her, again tries to kiss her but that's when the dream ends and he wakes up.

Yes, the kiss is foreshadowing what's going to happen the next night at the bar.

What I think is funny is that the dream is him running after her and isn't that what he basically does in canon? She is the one woman he said he would never beg or run after bc he doesnt do that and yet that's all he does for the remainder of his arc. Running after her.

Now the duckling.

Reminder that Betty is holding the duckling. And Armando's subconscious is trying to tell him something.

The dream does not mean 'you need to hurry up and seduce your assistant or she's gonna give ur company away'. It's saying 'You have feelings for this woman. Stop avoiding it.' Armando avoids it.

As I said above, it's not a bad dream. They're both very happy in it. And they are an unlikely pairing. It's also an intuitive dream. But what really sticks out is 'transformation'. The tarot cards predicted to Betty that her life was going to change. This dream is telling Armando the same thing. A change, a transformation in his life is coming and it's in the form of Betty.

(click that to read it better, sorry)

'may trigger some uncomfortable feelings...examine why you are experiencing them. perhaps there is fear of the unknown..' really want to hammer in that it's Armando who's uncomfortable and won't examine his own feelings.

For Betty, who's the one holding this duckling and her bedroom has ducks (one is on her nightstand) and ducks are a symbol of transformation-- she is that 'ugly duckling' waiting to turn into a swan. Unknowingly. But it's not all about a physical transformation, it's about her shedding that naiveté and becoming a stronger, more self assured person. Through various trials and errors and heartache.

For Armando, Betty and the duckling symbolize things he's never experienced and that he's afraid to experience because it would mean changing and taking a harder look at himself and how his original beliefs may have been all wrong.

That duck did a lot of heavy lifting despite being 5 seconds of screentime.

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday to the bubbly bonnie Ashley Jensen born in Annan on August 11th 1969.

Raised single handedly by her mother Margaret, Ashley knew from an early age she wanted to be an actress. She grew up glued to British sitcoms, especially Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em with Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer. And after her mum saved up for her to attend the National Youth Theatre in London, the 16-year-old returned home determined to pursue a career on the stage.

Ashley went on to study drama at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh before fulfilling her dream by landing roles treading the boards in London. From theatre she moved into TV, ealy roles included wee parts in City Lights and Rab C Nesbit , and a 1991 film called Tickets for the Zoo, which was set in my hometown Edinburgh, she the started racking up credits in popular dramas such as The Bill, Casualty, Clocking Off and EastEnders. Other Scottsih roles were in Taggart and Rebus.

It was her part as Ricky Gervais’ hapless sidekick in the popular Extras that was to be Ashley’s breakthrough role, though. As well as making her a household name in Britain it also gave her the opportunity to appear alongside Hollywood heavyweights such as Kate Winslet, Samuel L Jackson and Orlando Bloom, all of whom made guest appearances. The part also brought official recognition when she was named both best actress and best newcomer at the 2005 British Comedy awards - accolades which she celebrated in typical low-key fashion with a cod sandwich from a roadside chip van.

Ashley saw fame in the US follow playing the straight-talking Christina in the sitcom Ugly Betty, leading her to relocate to LA and renting a house in the Hollywood Hills. While the role was originally meant to be American, the casting agents fell in love with her Scottish accent and it stayed.

Ashley may be a star in the US now but her feet are firmly on the ground I found this quote from her “Even now I think I might never work again. I’m still a bit like that. I probably always will be, “This from one of her best friends who has a chippy in Annan speaks volumes "She has her head screwed on and won’t be changed by the star treatment.” Recalling a visit to her LA home soon after Ashley relocated, he says: “We were holding hands and jumping up and down. She was shouting, 'Can you believe it? What am I doing here?’.” Ashley’s acting career has seen in her in many shows, my faves include, Catastrophe with fellow Scot Mark Bonnar, Trust Me, with Jodie Whittaker, which was set in Edinburgh, and again with Ricky Gervais in Afterlife, as well as the comedy drama Agatha Raisin, where she plays the title role, a cotswolds-based PR guru turned amateur sleuth.

Tragedy struck for Ashley in 2017 when she discovered her husband, Terence Beesley body at the wheel of his car in the garage at their Somerset home. The couple, who met in 1999 while they were both involved in a London theatre production of King Lear, were married for ten years. A verdict of suicide was later ruled on at the coroners court.

As well as her work as an actress Ashley has narrated a couple of shows recently, Inside The Balmoral: Scotland's Finest Hotel, about the hotel that takes pride of place at number I Princes Street and The Airport: Back in the Skies about London Heathrow.

Ashley took over in the lesd role in Shetland, I think she did well, filling the huge boots of Dougie Hensall was a big ask, two seasons are planned the first coming soon. I like the lass and read in an interview she said that her greatest achievement was; 'That my son is kind and loves David Bowie.'