#that was the first time i realized i needed to learn spanish BAD

[pennyserenade]

the fun thing about all these new pedro fans is that i get to see clips i haven’t seen in a long time. i just saw the “aye me encanta cuando me dicen pedrito” one and 🥹

[magicalmanhattanproject]

man im just like. thinking about egg signs and how they've evolved over the course of the qsmp and how the qsmp has evolved over the course of the qsmp and just feeling so much love and affection for every part of the project. i dont have any grand overarching point with this just. like. here's a history of egg comms bc of the kind of person that i am

so wayyyy back ten months ago now at the start of the short and sweet egg event that was planned to last maybe a month at most, the eggs had their own custom, decorated signs!

[ID: Leo with a pink sign with an egg on the bottom corner that reads "hello" in all caps. Her nametag reads Leonardo. End ID]

They were extremely simple, single word signs. There was hello, hola, story, feed, sleep, and maybe one or two more and each was its own separate sign. The eggs could only communicate the most basic needs in words and everything else was through minecraft body language or just hoping their parents guessed right.

But obviously, there was a lot more that parents wanted to hear from their children. I'm not sure who was actually first, but the earliest departure from this system I know about is BadBoyHalo giving Dapper a simple oak sign so he could name his pet slime. (Screenshot from @/lxrd-ren)

[ID: Dapper wearing a diver's helmet standing next to a tiny slime in a boat with an oak sign reading "Bouncy (slmecicle but better)" End ID]

Parents quickly realized how much more convenient this was and pretty soon every single egg had stacks of signs to communicate with.

The next innovation came from Vegetta, who was the resident mod knower at the time. He knew about colored canvas signs and gave Leo signs in her favorite color purple because he loved her and gave her everything she wanted.

[ID: Leo's bed in her room under some Fooligetta fanart with a purple sign reading "<3" End ID]

Colored signs obviously had a lot of advantages. Being able to tell at a glance which egg placed which sign was a huge step forward in eggs being able to have long, complicated conversations as well as leaving obvious marks of their personality everywhere they went. It took a little while for them to be standard for every egg though. Bobby never stopped using oak signs even after Richas and Pomme both showed up with colored signs.

[ID: Two signs reading from right to left a red Pomme sign reading "we already started working on a guillotine factory" and a dark grey Dapper sign reading "thats the most french u have said so far pomme" End ID]

And this was the system for a while! And it worked pretty well for most people! The biggest struggle most people had was egg signs not being translated, but streamers adjusted to that by reading signs out loud so the translators would pick up on them. This also lead to adorable and fascinating dynamics like Richas swearing in signs he wrote for Bad and then warning Bad not to read them out. There was also the genuinely phenomenal development of Leolingo where Leo writes only in Spanish to Foolish because it's easier for her to write and he takes his time to puzzle his way through it and learn in a way that's super cool to watch someone else do onscreen.

Then Tubbo joined the server. And Tubbo himself had no problems at all with the system, but he is dyslexic and he casually mentioned offhand that it was getting kind of annoying to read signs after a ten hour long stream and the admin team Fucking Cooked.

Within 24 hours, they had TTS working on the signs. Within 48 hours, it was working on books too. I can't remember how long it took to get translation working, but it was definitely under a week.

And this opened up a whole new world of possibilities for the entire QSMP. The admin team has been on top of capitalizing on it for story purposes, but also just allowing the egg admins to speak in their native languages to everyone whenever they want has been so enriching for everyone involved. Leolingo is awesome but Foolish has been learning Spanish insanely fast and his process is a lot slower and more frustrating than most people can do in front of an audience of thousands of people without feeling discouraged. That's also one language. We've had everything from Foolish being able to check his work a bit more faster to Phil insisting on his eggs taking a day to speak to him in their native languages to Ramón writing a book for Fit in Cantonese, a language we haven't even seen on the server in any other context!

And all of it is fully understood and fully communicated! Sometimes the translators mess up but no one expects them to be perfect and people ask for clarification if the translator says something that doesn't sound right. It's not only a massive step forward in communication technology, but it's a great demonstration of how to use it and when you can and can't rely on it.

And finally, the most recent innovation! One of BBH's viewers sent him a dono saying they had trouble reading certain signs because they were too low-contrast. Bad, Richas, and Pomme just. Took it upon themselves to fix the problem right there and then. Based on One (1) bringing up their own personal struggle, those three came up with new signs that innovate tremendously on the originals.

[ID: Two separate images of the before and after. The first is the egg signs in their original colors with the corresponding egg's name written on them to demonstrate the font color and the second is in the new, higher contrast colors with the same text. The new signs also have custom decorations for each egg. The second picture also has two signs from Pomme in all caps that read "Send all the love to Richas he spent a whole night making this he's the best <3" End ID]

There are three main innovations visible in the above pictures

1: Obviously, the colors are higher contrast. The signs with white text have darker colors and the signs with black text have lighter colors.

2: The colors themselves are lower saturation. Richas said this made it easier for him personally to read them so he corrected that way, but that's open to change if it causes difficulties for more people than it helps

3: The decorations are for accessibility reasons! People with various different forms of colorblindness will find different sets of colors easier or harder to distinguish, but any of them can look at the decorations and use them to identify whose sign is whose instead.

But! Those innovations are not why I made this post! It's these ones!

[ID: The backs of the new signs when placed on the ground. Most visible are Chayanne's with vines and a hardcore heart, Sunny's with shining sunglasses, and Pomme's with an apple and the Eiffel Tower. End ID]

Richas added distinguishing marks to the backs of the signs too! This is something that Bad brought up specifically as something he wanted because it was hard for him to tell who was talking when he was using TTS from behind signs and couldn't see the colors at all.

We went from custom egg signs (a hotbar or so of words and nothing else to communicate with) through a long journey of expanding communication and expanding who we're bringing along on the communication and how easily they can join in and we've circled all the way back around to custom egg signs (they can say anything they want in any language they want and anyone will know it's them saying it from any angle)

and i guess i have enough feelings abotu that to write All This about it

[seramilla]

Carmilla shows Vaggie motherly affection and Vaggie basically having mini panic attack because she never had any sort of affection from a mother before. Thoughts?

I think I touched on that in the Vaggie Related to Carmilla AU/subsequent fic I posted for it, but yes, absolutely. Depending on whether Vaggie was always an angel, or lived a human life before dying relatively young, she's probably had little to no exposure to a mother's love. Any she did have was so long ago, she doesn't remember it.

We see her self-esteem issues in her relationship with Charlie. She throws herself at the redemption plan to make up for every bad thing she did, every person she killed, as an Exorcist. She feels unworthy of love, like she has to work for it, and feels useless when she can't do the things she needlessly imposed upon herself to do. She feels personally responsible for getting Charlie's hotel off the ground, because maybe saving as many souls as she destroyed will somehow make up for their loss.

The first time Carmilla ever praises her, encourages her, or tells her she's doing a good job, it's like a slap to the face. The first time Carmilla hugs her, pulls her in close, and calls her some Spanish term of endearment like she does for her real daughters, Vaggie feels like she could die. She's a nobody; she's a fallen angel. There is no universe in which this woman taking her under her wing doesn't imply an ulterior motive. She panics, pulls away, and puts her back to Carmilla, so the Overlord can't see her cry.

Carmilla is confused. She thought they were getting along swimmingly. Vaggie spars with her almost every day. Clara and Odette love her. Even Zestial seems fond of having the little angel around, and he usually takes an extremely long time to warm up to new souls. She feels completely comfortable showing Vaggie she is welcome in her home, and the former Exorcist has completely rejected her. She doesn't know how to handle that.

Vaggie doesn't want to talk about it, but Carmilla manages to get her to spill the beans. Carmilla's heart shatters all over again, hearing Vaggie break down; realizing the girl is unable to accept that her fondness for her is real. She knew Vaggie was obsessed with perfection, and having to be strong for Charlie all the time, but she didn't know the self-revulsion went quite so deep.

Vaggie has to get used to her touch over time. See with her own eyes that Carmilla is genuine in her affection, that she's not going to hurt Vaggie by giving her a hug. Vaggie is so used to fighting; any kind of physical encounter outside of throwing a punch feels foreign. It makes her shrink in on herself, and sends her fight or flight instincts into overdrive. She has to get used to Carmilla's arms around her. It makes her feel trapped at first. It's so hard for her to just feel a good feeling without thinking of all the reasons she doesn't deserve it.

She's not an easy nut to crack. It takes months. Years, even, before Vaggie is fully comfortable accepting that she has a family now. One that actually wants her there, and enjoys her company with no strings attached.

Carmilla encourages her to tell Charlie about it, so her girlfriend can help her through it, too. That, Vaggie thinks, is probably what finally helps her let go. She learns she doesn't need Charlie's acceptance, her approval, to be worthy of love. She can accept love from other people, too, and eventually, it becomes the easiest thing in the world.

Carmilla can dote on her. Love on her. Shower her forehead and face with goofy little kisses that make Vaggie laugh out loud from their intensity. She's still a little wary about initiating contact herself, because that will never not be awkward, but it's fine. Not many children openly express affection for their mothers when they get older, so in that, Vaggie is exactly like Carmilla's other kids. Yeah, she's her daughter, and neither one has a problem saying it from here on out.

[richardsgraysons]

lazy sundays

prompt — your fiancé, dick grayson, is the love of your life. was. you think he’s dead, but in reality, he’s out there as a spyral agent. meanwhile, you start appreciating the little things more.

tags — reader got out of an ED, mental health issues. angst and comfort, dick grayson x fem!reader. sfw

jason todd was the one who was attracted to you first. he saw you at a wayne gala and thought you were the love of his life. he asked you out, and you immediately said yes, intimidated by the fact that a wayne was the one who noticed you.

dick didn’t even notice you, which you didn’t mind too much. jason was all that you needed. he was kind and funny but he had this really annoying behavior where he would scream at you in fights. like, scream. one night, things got heated and he left into the night, leaving you behind to go outside, no doubt to clear his mind.

you decided to take care of yourself and make it up to him, so, you had finished his laundry. when putting his clothes away, you noticed a very red helmet with another suit with keys in them. you would’ve thought that it was a cute cosplay prop if the keys didn’t open up a drawer with all sorts of guns in the bottom drawer.

you would’ve freaked out if the radio next to his guns didn’t just go static with —“fuck—nightwing here—wounded on fifth—.” and your blood went cold. jason todd? knew who nightwing was?

you didn’t even think about it, think if it was a trap. you took the radio and drove where nightwing said he was injured. nobody responded and you were praying that he was alive.

and that was when dick grayson, really, really saw you. saw your perseverance, your stubborn nature and how you always looked to the brighter sides of things even when he was stabbed in several places with a split rib and a gash to his head.

you were not a doctor, god no, you were in the beginning of your master’s degree, but with strength that rivaled a mother whose child was underneath a car, you managed to pick him up and put him in your car.

“so jason told you who I am? the little shit. he was supposed to talk to bruce before he revealed our identities. that’s what I get for having a love struck brother, huh?”

you stopped halfway and then looked at him in shock, your mouth open in a slight ‘o’. and he realized that you didn’t know, that your boyfriend of seven months was hiding things from you.

“just take me to bruce’s. say you know, and say I need help.” you let out a groan at it and press on the gas.

jason wasn’t to be found for the next few days. dick was though.

when he recovered and appeared at your doorstep with flowers and a sheepish smile, a cast and a boyish smile that felt like infidelity, your face flushed and you took them happily.

“thanks for saving me,” he said, and leaned against the doorway. unlike jason, his mannerisms and way of acting came easy, smoother, a better flow. and you fell so bad just thinking that. “may I come in?”

and against your better judgment, you stepped side. “mi casa es tu casa.”

his eyes twinkled at that. “tu casa es muy hermosa,” he said. “como el tuyo.”

“you know spanish?”

“I know mandarin, spanish, french, romansh, german, portuguese, hindi, japanese, and arabic. well, learning. dami’s teaching me that one.”

your jaw drops. “I just know english, my mother tongue, and high school spanish.”

“still better than 90% of america.”

that was how it started—he met you every so often, taking coffee out, mini golfing, kayaking, while jason grew ever so distant in the corner. you couldn’t blame jason for it, either. it wasn’t like you were making much of an effort to revive the relationship.

but everything changed that one night when jason asked you to go to a wayne gala with him. out of all his siblings, he had chosen the short straw this time. you said no—you didn’t want to go to another one of them and get hounded by paparazzi at this point.

and jason was fine with that. it wasn’t like he particularly liked going to galas anyways, so he understood your denial. until an hour later when on instagram in one of the more popular news sites, a viral photo of you and dick hugging in the rain together and staring at each other after getting a hole in one in a really hard mini golfing course started circling around.

“what the fuck is wrong with you? are you fucking him? don’t even answer that, I can tell. and even if you aren’t, I know you want to.”

“no, jason, what the fuck is wrong with you? I haven’t done anything with dick, nor do I want to. we’re friends.”

“you don’t underhand, y/n. I’m gonna be the guy that the papers make fun of once you leave me for him. so I’ll do what you don’t have the guts to. we’re done.”

your world didn’t shatter because of that, surprisingly. he moved out of your apartment. you watched gilmore girls reruns. you ate a lot of food. some cried tears, but nothing much. until one day, dick appeared at your door out of the blue.

"dick?" you raised an eyebrow, looking at him with an unsure look in your eye. "what are you doing here?" you were wearing your sweats with a dumbed down look in your eye that clearly stated you didn't know what the hell was happening.

"i'm in love with you. i'm sorry—but i can't stop thinking about you. your laugh is infectious and when you smile it's like a cloudy sky just turns back to sunshine—"

you stepped forward and kissed him. you thought the tabloids were full of shit, but you knew that they were right about this one thing.

after two years of dating, he had done a vigilante trip to india to track down some passages. while he was there, he went and bought a shiny ring. you'd marry him with paper rings. he planned a view of a skyline and it went perfectly, thank god.

but he died. he died and now you're sitting here in the apartment, staring at a photo of the two of you. you miss everything about him. the way he'd subtly add more food to your plate when you were having your ED. when he held you throughout the night after a panic attack even though he had patrol that day. when. he defended you from the paparazzi, when he screamed at jason right back when jason found out that you and dick were dating.

don't tell me you're staring at that damned photo. - tim

you look at your phone and sigh before closing down your phone. tim wouldn't understand. he wouldn't get it. how could he? it wasn't like he lost the love of his life. he was a robin. he knew loss. you didn't. he also lost his brother, you remind yourself, and that just makes it all worse.

you grab the photo and curl up in a ball in fetal position. you miss lazy sunday afternoons when you've eaten too much and that food is resting in your stomach. your head would be in your fiancé's lap and his hands would be in your hair and the minute he would move his hands from your hair or your back, you'd wake up, your body discomforted by the lack of touch. that's my superpower, you'd joke.

no, he'd respond. your superpower is being the most amazing and talented woman i have ever had the pleasure of meeting. i would do anything for you. your beauty rivals the stars in the night sky. i love you like how the moon loves the earth.

at the single thought of it, you curl up and sob, the tears racking down as you clench the photos to your heart. five months and thirteen days and you are not a single second away from properly healing. you'll never love again. you know that for a fact.

it's ten in the night when you wake up, and the couch is stained with tears. haley is right beside you, looking sad and sullen. she misses her best friend too, but she always hates it when her other best friend is crying.

"i haven't fed you? fuck," you swear before standing up. everything hurts. your heart feels too heavy. there's cuts on your wrists. you stare at them, the red from the blood dried up.

he also stares at them too. he vows that he's coming back no matter what.

[idksomethinggay]

How I head cannon the Batfam:

Dick: Dark skinned. Amputee (missing a leg), uses both a prosthetic and crutches out in the field (depending on the day). Low key adopted Damien when Bruce was “dead”. He went to the Olympic and won gold for his acrobatics. After losing his leg, he went back and won again as a para Olympia. Helps run a program giving prosthetic to those who can’t afford them. Also is a paramedic as a day job. His first language isn’t English. He speaks with an accent. He is a certified translator in over 15 languages. He is bisexual and is dating a fire fighter at his station.

Damien: Muslin. Him and Dick celebrate Ramadan together. Damien loves art. He spends as much time as possible volunteer (at animal shelters and the local hospital). He is still trying to figure out what he wants to when he grows up, but is considering being a doctor.

Jason: Has a white streak in his hair (permanent from the pit). Is dating Roy. Is a complete book nerd. Is an English major at university. Him and Tim are very close (they both have the same feral energy and often team up). Is Latino. Speaks Spanish.

Tim: Publicly has a feud with Red Robin. Him and Jason team up to run a bunch of social programs providing jobs, homes and schooling to those in need. It started in Gotham but now they have expanded to a dozen cities.

Cass: Can speak but often choses to use ASL. Will randomly break into her brother’s places whenever she wants to hang out. Her, Steph and Barbara will regularly have girls nights. Cass tries out new makeup products or nail polishes in Bruce (who does not mind and will proudly wear it out of the house).

Steph: When Bruce was “dead” she stayed with Dick and Damien. Damien decided she was his sister now and Dick adopted them both (she was 16-17). Even after Bruce comes back she sticks around. She is a biology major in University. She is still trying to decide between going the environmental science route or med school.

Duke: Is the newest member of the family. Jason comes over all the time to help him with his English homework. Dick comes over to help him learn acrobatics (something Dick has done for all his siblings). He is still trying to figure out if Damien and Steph are his foster siblings or niece and nephew and no one can give him a straight answer.

Bruce: After he came back from the “dead” (was lost in time), he realizes how bad of a dad he was. He especially sees this in the way Dick treats Steph and Damien. He arranges a week on week off schedule with Damien. He goes to therapy. He makes a point to spend time with all of his kids (and grandkids). He adopts Dick officially and apologizes for not being a father to him when he first moved in.

They all have a weekly game night. It has ended with a table being flipped multiple times

[mary-laib]

I was reading a fic last night where Alastor was speaking a lot of French, got halfway through the 17 chapter fic and suddenly realized that I somehow understood what he was saying? Like I never even read the translation notes and never have I ever learned French so why am I suddenly able to understand it? Plus this is the first time I've been reading any fics about him in months.

And to make matters worse, I woke up speaking very bad French. It's bad enough that I have some very broken Spanish interspersed in my everyday speech. I don't need to be speaking Spanglish and Frenglish at the same time.

[violetmuses]

Spill This Blood -  A. Aretas 🔥🖤🩸

Title: Spill This Blood - A. Aretas 🔥🖤🩸

Fandom: “Bad Boys” Film Universe 

Character: Armando Aretas 

Pairing: Armando Aretas + Female Reader

Main Storyline: If loyalty is a sin, watch us burn hand in hand. 

Author's Note: Surprise! Here's my sequel to “No Church In The Wild.” Enjoy! 💜

@nelo0wesker @onlyrealjoy @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful @yassbishimvintage @spaceacelover @nobodygetsza

=====

2024

“How you doing?” 

Here through dark circumstances with partner Marcus Burnett, Detective Mike Lowrey greets his estranged son, criminal Armando Aretas. 

“It's a prison.” Armando rasped, dressed in this orange uniform behind bars. 

“Yeah. Well, look.” Lowrey then struggled for a moment. “We need your help. Captain Howard might've been dirty. Do you know anything about that?”

“How much time in prison do I lose from talking about this one?” Aretas nearly shrugged. 

“I'm still working on the exit plan, but I need answers.” Mike repeated himself. “Did Captain Howard work with the cartels?”

“No. He wanted to shut everything down and clean up the mess.” Armando denied this terrible rumor. 

“Wait, but your mother put Captain right on the hit list.” Mike stood puzzled. 

“He was added to it. Your people wanted this plot to look like our work. Your people wanted him dead.” Aretas exposed brand-new information. 

Someone who joined the Miami Police Department wanted Captain Conrad Howard to die. 

“Our people?” Even Marcus Burnett narrowed his eyes across the space. 

“Be careful. You've played this game and don't even know the rules.” Armando warned. “There's dirty players working on your side.”

“That's bullshit.” Marcus would scold these details. 

“Wait, who set everything up?” Mike Lowrey tagged with questions again.

“I saw him one time.” Armando said, remembering this view of someone from the DEA. 

“Can you ID him?” Marcus wanted to see if Armando could identify the possible suspect. 

“Si.” Aretas quickly used his native language of Spanish. 

“What's his name?” Mike would still attempt further. 

“I don't know. Only my mother could deal with him.” Armando continued offering his perspective. 

“Damn. I knew that we should keep the witch alive.” Marcus grumbled. 

“Marcus, be nice.” Mike corrected his longtime partner regarding Armando's deceased mother Isabel Aretas. 

“May she rest in peace.” Burnett pulled weary sarcasm. 

“Really, dude?” Mike faced Marcus through another correcting glance. 

“You slept with a bruja.” Marcus then lifted his brow. “I'm still calling out the truth at this point.”

“Hey…” Armando pulled accented English to distract the officials. 

“My bad.” Mike still apologized to his own son. “Marcus just won't stop talking. What's up?” 

“Is she okay out there?” Armando gently mentioned you for the first time since Mike last visited. 

“Yeah. You'll be with her soon. Don't worry.” Mike walked from Aretas and left with Marcus once more. 

******

“Someone tried to kill my son, Rita!” Not long after Mike returned to Miami, plotted “inmates” set to kill Armando and this bomb exploded at the prison. 

“What do you need? I know that Armando is part of your family, but he is still a criminal.” AMMO team leader Rita Secada spoke up as expected. 

“Schedule his transfer.” Mike requested. “If we don't move fast, the situation could get even worse and I can't let that shit happen to Armando, all right?” 

“How can we trust your plan?” Attorney and mayoral candidate Adam Lockwood chimed in. 

“We learned that Armando can identify whoever framed Cap.” Mike explained further. 

“Fine, but if anything goes wrong, you're alone with the operation.” Lockwood stepped out grumbling. 

“Who pissed in his cereal this morning?” Marcus tried joking. 

Mike rolled both eyes here, but still planned the next move. 

______

“We need to tell her what's going on with Armando.” Leaving Rita behind this afternoon, Lowrey entered the hallway and whispered to Marcus about you. 

“Hell no! Not yet.” Realization hit Marcus once Mike acknowledged your position. “Listen to me. If that girl finds out what happened from the wrong place, she'll line up body bags for all of us!” 

“Fuck.” Mike rasped toward his partner and grounded the absolute truth. 

If Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett  showed up on your doorstep without Armando standing, all hell would have gone loose. 

“We haven't even helped Armando leave prison yet.” Burnett continues. “Don't you dare make that call right now.” 

“What's the move?” Lowrey questioned his best friend for advice. 

“Once we set up Armando's transfer, then we'll all find his girl.” Marcus said. “I don't need you giving out false hope or bringing up scary shit.” 

“Deal. Let's do this.” Mike agreed with this point while leaving the department. 

******

“You good?” En route to Miami, Mike questioned his son Armando. 

“Never been better.” Aretas mumbled from the towered cage. 

“In about forty-five minutes, you'll see somebody familiar.” Mike nodded. 

“Cool.” Armando held back his smile this time around, exhausted. 

*****

“Get me out of this fucking cage!” Armando shouts as his placed cell nearly falls out of the dipping aircraft.

This organized plan immediately failed. Unknown experts from the dark hijacked Armando's federal transport! 

Scrambling, Marcus struggled to keep everything steady as Mike hurried, opening the main door with this designated key. 

Even handcuffed when Mike caught him, Armando hobbled to the cockpit and yelled through directions for landing. 

“Ah, grab the stick!” Aretas pulsed through fear and chaos while trying to avoid death for everyone. 

“When the hell did you learn how to fly?!” Marcus went on. 

“I'm a drug dealer, man!” Armando just yelled back. Steer to the right! We'll face water.” 

The helicopter crashes right through large ripples, but all three men survived this nightmare. 

*****

Drenched from murky water, Armando Aretas stands in his ruined orange uniform to travel on foot, outright ignoring Lowrey and Burnett. 

“Hey! Where are you going?!” Mike realized that Armando walked off.  

“Fuck out my way.” Pissed off with Lowrey, Aretas stepped even further back and continued the route forward. 

“Look, you are the only person who can identify whoever is doing this!” Mike pulled Armando's collar without hesitation, but Marcus dodged their fight. “We should reach the suspect before they get us.” 

“There is no us!” Armando shoved Lowrey back once more. 

“We gotta stay together, man. Captain Howard left us files with Dorn in Miami.” Mike struggled. 

Y'all better not slow me down. Before we move again, lose your phones.” Armando then took charge. “Either keep up with me or I'll leave you both in the dirt. You're in my world now.” 

Given no other option, Mike and Marcus followed Aretas through the wilderness. 

*****

By nightfall, this makeshift campfire snapped to keep all three men warm. 

“How should we tell her what happened?” Noting you, Mike offered his question near Armando. 

“It's not up to y'all.” Armando defended his own choice regarding you. “We'll go back there and find her first. If the hijackers reached us, who knows what else happened…” 

Damn. Lowrey thought. 

“Fine.” Mike accepted reality. 

“By the way, ya'll are some terrible fucking fugitives.” Armando tossed more wood, still disgruntled. 

____

After stealing clothes from two idiots, Mike, Marcus, and Armando “found” one rusty pickup truck before Aretas drove away. 

“Did you love my mother?” Armando faces the road when evening returns. 

“I definitely loved her.” Mike told the truth over Isabel despite everything. 

“You sold her out, though.” Aretas darkened this talk with his biological father. Even Marcus squinted. 

“I've made some mistakes.” Mike continued speaking. 

“Like me?” Armando revealed eye contact while facing Mike. 

“Hold on. Now, you know damn-well that's not what I meant.” Lowrey defended himself. 

“Wait a minute...” Marcus tried to interject, but Mike reached the breaking point. 

“Nigga, will you shut the fuck up and let me talk to him? For the last time, this is not your conversation!” Mike couldn't stand Marcus now. 

“So you hate me now?” Flabbergasted, Marcus looked toward his partner. 

“Let ‘em talk.” Armando whispered to Marcus while still driving. 

Though we're judging Marcus, there's progress with Armando.  Mike realized. 

Silenced, Marcus Burnett only watched upcoming streetlights. 

“Shop ahead. I'll go in and use somebody's phone.” Armando set his next plan right as the pickup truck's engine burned out. 

“No help?” Mike glanced toward Aretas for a second. 

“Y'all are detectives. Too recognized.” Armando gestured between Mike and Marcus before leaving this truck himself. 

Mike then watched his son put this trucker  hat back on and enter one neon lighting storefront. 

“Where did he go?” Marcus spoke up again.  

“Doesn't matter.” Mike said. “Let's just wait.”

______

“Hey.” Armando offered accented English just in case. “Sorry to bother you, but my truck broke down outside. Could I borrow your phone?” 

“Oh, damn. I'm closing up here, but sure.” The food mart clerk nodded. “Want anything else?”

“No cash.” Wearing this Bud Light shirt, Armando tapped both dirty pockets of stolen jeans. Boots stepped along. 

“Don't worry. I've been there when times aren't easy.” The clerk just wanted to help out. 

“Thanks.” Need to call my girl first.” Armando took this cell phone from the counter. 

“I know that's right.” The clerk smiled for a moment while gathering free snacks. 

“Hello?” Your sweet voice responded shortly after Aretas dialed. 

“It's me, baby…” Armando couldn't believe this moment. “Lost my phone, but I'm here.” 

“Armando?” Quiet shock reached your entire body right now. 

Yeah, hey.” Armando confirmed his words and promised that you weren't dreaming. “It's a long story, but I need to meet me somewhere. I'll explain everything.”

“Just say where. I'll find you.” You don't ask questions. 

“There's a rusted truck parked downtown, but the engine's dead.” Armando gestured outside. 

“All right. Love you.” You hung up quickly, but Armando can't help grinning this time. 

“Take care.” Once Aretas returned the phone, this sore clerk bid farewell and handed Armando his bag, watching him leave.

____

“Sup?” Mike greeted Armando once the driver's seat door opened. 

“My girlfriend will pick us up soon and I got free snacks from the clerk.” Armando offered this bag. 

“Thanks.” Mike nodded. 

“Skittles?” Marcus just seemed nosey all over again. 

“Not supposed to eat that shit, Marcus.” Mike warned his partner as usual.

Within minutes, Armando smiled once more when your car pulled up at last.

“She's here. Let's go.” Aretas ditched that truck again and met you on the sidewalk. 

Immediately recognizing Armando, you bolted each footstep down this path and jumped right into his arms, knocking off the trucker hat. 

Both of you survived. 

Yet once you reached the sidewalk again, your plan started up. 

“Mike, Marcus! Let's go.” You call the Miami detectives. 

Armando hops the passenger seat and you hit that sturdy engine, noticing Lowrey and Burnett. 

“Armando got the front seat!” Marcus yelled while standing near your car with Mike. 

“Get in this damn car before I smack you upside your peasy-ass head!” Mike warned. 

“Have they always bickered like this?” You questioned Armando. 

“Since we met.” Armando rolled his brown eyes and passed gum your way. 

“Goodness.” You finally started driving and moved along. 

______

“Dorn from AMMO has a boathouse near the harbor. Can you take us there?” Detective Mike Lowrey called from the backseat. 

“What happened? All of you look rough.” You needed to hear the truth no matter what. 

“Long story short, I told you when Captain Howard got framed, but someone hijacked Armando's aircraft. If it wasn't for Armando flying…” Mike trailed his explanation. 

“Who struck down the plane?” You leveled this question. 

“It was probably the same person who just framed Cap.” Mike went on. “Armando can identify the suspect.”

“Done. Just give me an address.” You affirmed and waited to hear more instructions. 

______

Early daylight moves along this harbor when you finally reach the boathouse. 

“Stay in the car.” Mike warned you and Aretas without thinking twice. 

Because Armando stood as a criminal, Mike and Marcus couldn't take chances with Dorn acting spooked yet. 

“And don't fog up windows tryna be nasty.” Even Marcus pointed, following his partner into the residence and leaving you with Armando. 

When the doors slammed shut, Armando loosened his seatbelt. 

 Your man opened both arms and truly hugged you for the first since lockup. 

“Hi.” Greeting him, you didn't let go of this embrace yet. 

“Hey.” Armando held your cheek, just grateful to see you in person and remain alive. “Still beautiful. No makeup last night?”

“I was sleeping when you called me.” You laughed for a second. 

“Sorry.” His slightly accented English returned to you. “I should join you next time.” 

“Let's knock out this bastard first.” You glance toward Armando and make another vow, planning to help Lowrey and Burnett. 

Back together again. Aretas promised. 

*****

“Hey. Dorn just plotted connections with your laptop.” Tapping your driver's seat window, Mike offered an update. 

“Got it. I can set up here.” You walked around the car, but Armando already gathered your bag from the trunk. 

“Damn, ya'll fast.” Marcus noticed the dynamics with you and Aretas. 

“We're a team.” Armando says. “That's why I don't match with you, Detective.”

“Marcus, look. She might work even faster than Dorn.” Mike acknowledged just how quickly you matched databases from the house. 

While Armando noted countless faces, each rejection seemed more and more disappointing. 

“Wait, zoom in again.” Armando grounded his reality now. 

“Here?” You ask. On screen, this grayscale picture of one man with bright hair caught your attention. 

“That's who ordered the hit on Captain. Text them.” Armando confirms his discovery while you immediately contact Mike and Marcus. 

****

James McGrath: Former Army Ranger turned DEA agent. Tortured before joining the cartel himself. 

The monster is cornered, but you realize one very significant problem: 

Mcgarth has kidnapped Mike's wife Christine alongside Captain Howard's granddaughter Callie. 

An alligator park located somewhere deep in Florida veiled as the hideout for McGrath’s operation, but you still can't join this battle. 

“There's me, Marcus, Armando, Rita, Kelly and Dorn. That's it.” Mike dropped your help and even relayed the AMMO squad. 

“Why the hell would you leave her out? You know exactly what she's capable of.” Aretas defended your skill. 

“If anything happens to her out there, you'll go right back to prison. You can't set off a bloodbath if she gets hurt.” Mike offered this horrifying perspective. 

Fed up, your steps leave the dock and Armando chases after you. 

______

“We pushed all that work for nothing! Why did Mike even call me out?” You reached the car once more and planned to leave. 

“Listen…” Armando tried. 

“No. Complete the mission.” You declined this chance, speeding away. 

*******

After taking down James McGrath and saving Callie Howard, Armando Aretas somehow pulls many different strings, finding you once more. 

“Stubborn just like your father.” You open the front door of your home while Armando stands on that porch with flowers. 

“I love you, too.” Aretas chuckled through his accented English and passed one threshold, staying here forever.  

Who gon' pray for me?

Take my pain for me? 

Save my soul for me? 

'Cause I'm alone, you see. 

If I'm gon' die for you. 

If I'm gon' kill for you. 

Then I'll spill this blood for you…

[thewritingmagician2022]

Hi! I was wondering if you could write how the boys would react to an mc that don’t speak English very well? Spanish it’s my first language and it’s funny because some times I misunderstand what they say and I just stay like 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sorry for my bad english 😅 I hope you’re fine and healthy uwu

Ironically, I am not healthy - hence the really long delay. But thank you!

Lucifer: Lucifer is not impressed with himself; how did he manage to not realize that you didn’t speak English as a primary language? This complicates things just a little bit but he’s not going to feel too bad about it or give you any leeway.

His favorite thing to say is “you know what I mean!” when you act like you don’t understand what he’s saying. Sometimes you’re able to figure it out and sometimes you’re not but Lucifer doesn’t care. He pushes you to be self-sufficient; you better find a way to make it work while you’re down here.

On the low, he will sign you up for English classes at RAD or get you a private tutor to make sure you’re able to communicate well enough while you live down there.

Mammon: He is so confused sometimes. The two of you will go back and forth, just confusing each other more and more as you try to figure out what the other person said/meant.

Mammon is the kind of person who’s flipping through a pocket dictionary and trying to speak Spanish to you but he’s absolutely butchering it almost every time and ends up saying something rude/nonsensical by accident

It’s really cute that he tries though and he usually just finds it more funny than anything when you don’t understand him

Levi: Levi is embarrassed when you guys can’t fully understand each other. He feels ashamed that he obviously can’t communicate clearly and wonders why you would ever bother trying to talk to an otaku like him

He definitely hides away in the beginning because the language barrier bugs him

The more you talk, the more you both understand each other. He even starts speaking Spanish a little; he learned Japanese for anime so the least he can do is learn a little Spanish for you

Still, he much prefers texting because the phones can auto translate everything and he doesn’t have to worry about either of you being confused/a misunderstanding

Satan: Satan finds it funny in the “well, well, well, Lucifer finally screwed up” kind of way and he tends to dramatize how many misunderstandings there are just to spite Lucifer even more for accidentally choosing a human that doesn’t speak fluent english

With that in mind, Satan starts learning Spanish pretty much immediately and, once you two are on friendly terms, he starts tutoring you in English as well to make sure you can understand and communicate well while you live in the Devildom

Like Mammon, he carries around a little pocket dictionary; however, he’s much more efficient with it and can actually use it to translate

Asmo: Asmo doesn’t need to understand what you’re saying for him to understand you and vice Versa!

He thinks it’s so cute when you get confused and he loves to use gestures and dramatic facial expressions to convey whatever point he is trying to make - it usually doesn’t work well and ends up even more confusing but you both have fun the whole time

Definitely someone who will sometimes pretend to not notice you’re confused (or if he’s rambling about something he genuinely may not even notice) and he doesn’t need you to reply to keep the conversation going; he can talk enough for you both

Beel: Beel is confused and you’re confused

Like Levi, he may avoid communication in the beginning because Beel is usually quiet anyway but it sometimes feels like it’s not worth the hassle and confusion

Beel mimes things to you sometimes to try to better explain himself. He’s surprisingly good at charades and it usually clears things up well enough for you.

If he doesn’t understand you, he usually tries that nod/smile people do when they have no idea what the fuck is going on because he wants to be polite

Belphie: Belphie is too tired for this shit. You’re just going to have to figure out what he said for yourself; use your phone to translate or something

He will draw pictures sometimes, if it’s something he really wants to share with you and he can’t find the right words

When he doesn’t understand you, he doesn’t even pretend to. He just stares at you until you figure out a way to say it in English or make your point known in another way

Diavolo: Diavolo is entirely charmed by the language barrier. He loves that humans have so many different languages and loves how clever you all are about trying to understand each other

He does feel a bit bad considering it makes your life more difficult and miscommunications can be a pain in the ass

To rectify this issue, he tries to make all the demons learn Spanish and asks you to lead them in Spanish lessons and then everyone can speak your language!

Obviously that’s not realistic though and he settles for learning some Spanish himself and making sure all of your learning materials at RAD are translated for you to make things easier

Barbatos: Somehow Barbatos always knows how to say things in a way you understand and he’s always able to understand what you’re saying too

You have a sneaking suspicion that he may actually be fluent in Spanish but he refuses to admit it

Barbatos doesn’t even needs words; he understands your mannerisms and facial expressions well enough and he’s equally good about making himself clear to you

Solomon: Solomon speaks all human languages, both current and past. However, he’s not very good at it because he doesn’t practice the skill often so he’ll be a bit rusty in the beginning

Definitely uses spells and engagements to help communicate better and auto translates books and things for you so you have an easier time rather than struggling to read everything in English and he’ll translate any papers you write in Spanish to English too to make your life easier

Being the mischievous man he is, Solomon does love to laugh a little when you’re not able to understand someone, especially the brothers, and occasionally he may “misinterpret” what they’ve said to cause a bit more chaos

Simeon: Simeon actually already speaks some Spanish. He’s not fluent like Solomon but he understands enough to get by and he’s really good at helping translate between you and another person if there’s an issue

He’s asked you to teach him more Spanish so you guys can communicate better and he offers to help you with English as well

Simeon is a little ridiculous and loves playing the guessing game when he doesn’t understand something, rather than looking it up. He and Luke make a bit of a game of it to see who can figure it out first when there’s a miscommunication

[ejzah]

A/N: Set shortly after Rosa moves in with Kensi and Deeks.

***

Comfort

The first few weeks with Rosa were admittedly a little rough. Not because of Rosa herself, but adjusting to a third person into the house, a scarily close to adulthood person, took time.

Every day, they learned some new detail about Rosa or discovered a new facet of her personality. For example, Deeks had inadvertently found out she hated brussel sprouts only after she forced her way through last night’s dinner. That had lead to an in-depth discussion about vegetables, which further revealed Rosa only liked cauliflowers raw, loved potatoes, and had never tried eggplant.

“I feel like we’re failing her,” Kensi lamented one night as they got ready for bed. She plopped onto their bed, rubbing both hands over her face. “I know nothing about raising a sixteen year old. What about when she starts school in the fall? I’m not sure I can help her if she needs it.”

Deeks had the same worries. How could he not? They’d planned as much as they could, but nothing could quite prepare them for the reality of adopting a teenager.

Sitting next to her, Deeks took her hand. “Hey, this is not going to be easy and we’re for sure going to make a ton of mistakes, but that doesn’t make you a bad parent.” She nodded, not looking like she actually believed him. “We’re going to get through this. It’s going to be really hard for all of us, but we will be here for her, whatever that’s means. And we’ll ask for help if we don’t have the answers ourselves.”

“You really think so?” Kensi murmured, and her uncertainty and vulnerability nearly killed him.

“I know it.” He pressed his forehead to hers, breathed in with her. “We’re going to be ok.”

Despite his best attempts to reassure Kensi, Deeks started to have his own doubts a few days later when he found Rosa sitting in her room, curled up on the bed, her hunched shoulders the image of sadness. He’d noticed that she was careful to cause as few disruptions as possible.

She tried to wash the dishes after every meal, insisted on washing her own clothes, and kept to herself unless directly invited into an activity by Kensi or Deeks. She was naturally shy, but this seemed excessive, even given everything she’d gone through.

Deeks almost walked by, but at the last second, knocked on the door jamb. Rosa immediately straightened, and offered him a weak smile.

“Hey, mind if I come in?”

“Of course. Is everything alright?” she asked, and his heart squeezed painfully at the realization that she automatically thought the worst.

“Yeah, no. Everything’s fine. I just wanted to check on you,” Deeks said softly. He joined her, sitting on the end of the bed. “You’re been, uh, pretty quiet, so I wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything.”

“You’ve already given me everything.” She glanced over the room, decorated with her reluctant help.

“Well, I wasn’t necessarily talking about things. Though if there is anything else you need, or want, we can talk about that too.” He paused, giving her time to respond. When she remained silently, fiddling with a button on the cut of her jacket, he continued. “Kensi and I want you here—”

“I know that,” she interrupted quickly, nervously. She muttered under her breath in Spanish, and Deeks’ eyes widened.

“Whoa, Rosa, you don’t have to feel grateful for any of this.”

Her mouth dropped open slightly, and then she closed her eyes, looking chagrined. “I keep forgetting you understand Spanish.”

“Yeah, most people do,” he agreed. “Why do you think you have to be grateful?”

Rosa shrugged. “You gave me a home, kept me from staying in refugee housing or worse. I would be an orphan without you and Kensi,” she explained softly. “I should appreciate it.”

“Oh sweetheart.” Deeks opened his arms, and to his surprise, she leaned into him. He blinked back tears, trying to find the right words to silence her fears. “We’ve done all of this because we care about you. You could shout and leave dirty dishes all over your room, and that wouldn’t change.”

“Really?” Rosa let out a shuddery breath.

“Absolutely. Kensi’ll tell you the same thing,” he said, hugging her closer. “And, one more thing. This is your home too. You’re allowed to go wherever you want, use what you want, eat whatever and whenever. Hell, you can make messes if you want. It’s not like I’ll notice with Kensi’s stray cheese sticks laying around.”

Rosa giggled, sniffing a few times, and pulled back. “I just don’t want to make it inconvenient,” she told him.

“You won’t,” he promised. He gave her another squeeze. “Ok.”

She nodded, and he smiled. “C’mon, I hear there’s some chocolate cake with out names on it.”

Later that week, Deeks found a book Rosa had been reading next to a plate with the remnants of a sandwich on the coffee table. He smiled as he carried the plate to the kitchen. It was a start.

[mockerycrow]

I feel like Rudy and Alejandro are less excluded and more fetishized and reduced to the spicy Latin lover stereotype that most Latino and Hispanic men fall into

Most fics of them have Google translated Spanish and cringe and gross writing

This happens with other characters too like Miguel O'Hara or Joel from TLOU

Yeah, I see what you mean. I don’t know Spanish so I’ve used Google translate in the past, but I stopped that pretty quickly because I realized I wanted the writing to be authentic!! and i apologize for the previous use of it (it wasn’t just spanish, it was several other languages).

i typically put in authors notes that sentences spoken in *insert language* are in bolded italics or something similar because i’m not about to butcher languages live i have before 😭 i’m currently learning ukrainian, so hopefully that’ll be authentic!!! to an extent….. as much as a native english speaker can get it

to the first part, i 110% agree. i haven’t written much for rudy & alejandro, which def needs to change. i just haven’t had that much time to write lately…. perhaps i will do a rudy & alejandro week. hispanic and/or latino male characters can be lover-type characters without the stereotypes, folks!!!

and a reminder to those in the back; fetishization is just as bad as exclusion

[lara635kookie]

Okay...Not the ship analysis yet but a little snippet of it. To write the analysis I had to think about why I like Red Crackle so much. And I realized one of the reasons why is that they remind me of another ship I also love:

(Warning:Spoilers of both Carmen Sandiego and Spider-Man Into/Across the Spiderverse ahead.)

Yes, they got differences but also massive resemblance either that once you notice, you can't unsee it. It isn't noticeable when you try to compare Gray and Miles and Gwen and Carmen, but once you switch...

Both Miles and Carmen are latino main characters, just that Miles is black and Carmen is brown. While Puerto Rico is a USA territory, in culture terms they share more with Latin America. And Even Miles not being born in Puerto Rico, his puerto rican roots and heritage are clear. 8/B in spanish is nowhere near as bad. As a Brazilian, we speak portuguese, which is a very similar language to Spanish(I myself know a little bit of spanish), but overall, both languages tend to sound very difficult, specially when you're learning in a place that doesn't speak any. Carmen didn't seem to be totally fluent in spanish either since in the Lupe Peligro episode she says her Spanish is getting better. So not fluent, at least in that point in time. Maybe that changes after that so I'll just assume both Miles and Carmen are working on their spanish. Another point is that they are both very smart. Carmen knows her geography and history AND can speak multiple languages and Miles is great at physics AND art, both very different areas from one another. Saying that, Carmen had everything to be a Mary Sue, just like Miles had everything to be a Gary Stu but instead, while they are extraordinary, we also see their weaknesses, flaws and mistakes. On the first two episodes of the first season of Carmen Sandiego and on the first spiderverse movie, we see Black Sheep/Miles Morales transition to becoming Carmen Sandiego/Spider-Man. And on that transition, someone was always by their side...

Both Gwendolyne Stacy(Spider-Woman) (or Gwanda ;) and Graham Calloway(Crackle) have a four letter nickname that starts with G and the protagonist always call them that(Gwen and Gray). Both have a surname that ends with Y. Both are a little bit older than the main character(Gray is two years older than Carmen and Gwen is 15 months older than Miles). Both are trans to a lot of people(I don't actually believe this, I think both Gwen and Gray are cisgender, specially Gwen, because of the comics and because while I think her revelation to her father was made in purpose to resonate and pass as a metaphor for coming out, I believe in the less popular theory that she was an ally and her Peter was actually trans and that is one of the reasons he suffered bullying and Gwen defended him and had that "Protect Trans Kids" poster in her room, this is literally the vibe she passes me:

Some time ago I saw a theory that the relationship of Miles and Gwen was a metaphor for one of the difficulties that interracial couples pass that the most privileged has to learn that the same society system that protects them, won't protect their partner in the same way, and that is shown through the way Spider Society treats Miles and I know there are more black spider people like Hobie and Margo but the parallel still works:he is not being accepted because he is different. The thing is, that theory kinda breaks the trans Gwen theory because if she was trans, sadly, the system wouldn't protect her either. I also don't believe it because of the voice actors. Some years ago, an adult could dub a children if he did the right voice. Nowadays, they cast a voice actor more similar to the character. Like, black characters need to have black voice actors, etc, otherwise they get canceled. And both of the voice actors for Gray and Gwen are cisgender, and I saw people complaining that if the producers wanted to make characters "potentially trans" they should have casted trans voice actors, for both characters. But anyway, I don't mind and respect the people who think they are trans). Both got competition for the other's affection(Gwen has now Spider-Byte and Gray has Ivy, Julia and pretty much everyone you can ship with Carmen in this show, which is a lot of people). Both are the lighter skin love interest not from where the protagonist is(Gray is from Australia and Gwen is from another dimension).

And now with the storyline similarities. Both pairings start as friends, so both lead to a slow burn. Both were an amazing partners in crime duo, working really great as a team, and being just the two of them or even with more people, their connection always stood out. Miles and Carmen never became official members of Spider Society/V.I.L.E. but disagree with them and escape from them to do what they believe is right. Both Gwen and Gray make a mistake and are expelled from Spider Society/V.I.L.E. (Gwen with the portal multiverse dimension go home machine or whatever and Gray by having his memories wiped) and then they realize too late they made a mistake with Miles/Carmen and now have to fix that mistake. Also both Carmen and Miles say "Goodbye Gray/Gwen." in the most DRAMATIC way possible before doing an grand triumphal exit and I love that for them. And the look Gray/Gwen gives them before they leave is THE EXACT SAME LOOK, I SWEAR. So as you can see, both ships leave a room for A LOT of angst and drama. Also just the way they look so fondly at each other and the way both Carmen/Miles and Gray/Gwen look sad when they have to leave or when the other has to leave them says it all. Platonic or not, both couples have an undeniable bond and just work so well together, being as friends, lovers, partners...They are each other's ride or die. They are each other's everything.

(Also just an personal opinion is that both Spiderverse and Carmen Sandiego have the MOST BEAUTIFUL ANIMATION I HAVE EVER SEEN) (Along with the new Miraculous movie) (Ladybug and Chat Noir are also very similar of Carmen and Gray but that's something more noticeable to pretty much everyone, I don't have to elaborate much on that matter) (I've got nothing to say about LadyNoir/MariChat being similar to Red Crackle that hasn't been said before)

The major difference about them is that, while both the Spiderverse movies and the Carmen Sandiego series don't have romance as their main focus, Miles and Gwen will most likely be canon in the films, just like they are in the comics. I think it will be a movie trilogy so they'll probably get together in the third movie(Beyond the Spiderverse in january? Anyway, 2024, save the date). I mean, Spider-Byte is cool and all but she's a game avatar or something so I don't think Miles and her can get together, even if he travels to her universe and decides to stay there or vice versa. They introduced her just now and we barely know anything about her, and Miles and Gwen clearly already have a whole build up story going on with a consistent arc so why mess it up? Besides, I think we need more main interracial couples representation in media. Aside from these two, the only GOOD main interracial couples I can think of are Druig and Makkari from Eternals(I never even watched Eternals and I know they are better than Ikaris and Sersi)(They are also an interracial couple but they clearly don't have the chemestry Drukkari does and Ikaris seems to be kind of a jerk tbh), Ricky and Gina(from HSMTMTS, which I don't watch either but their clips I saw on YouTube are just the cutest thing), Ben and Devi from Never Have I Ever, Daphne and Simon and Kate and Anthony from Bridgerton, and Julie and Luke(Juke) from Julie and The Phantoms(JATP) which is literally an impossible love story since Luke is dead(he's a ghost) and Julie isn't(she's alive) and the series was cancelled(still mad about it and will forever be). My point is:Couples with different ethnicities are not only little but the ones we do have are mostly either impossible to happen, unfairly treated/messed up by writers/not well executed or when treated right, we don't get enough content of them/they are forgotten, in the majority cases, and that needs to change. Anyway...Meanwhile, with Red Crackle, as Carmen Sandiego had a pretty open ending, canon can be whatever the hell you want, and for me is red crackle. That's it. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. Will be posting more "written podcasts" soon.

[respectthepetty]

Jeng speaking English should come with at least a 10 minute warning so I can collect myself.

goddammit!!!!

Y'all know that I mute and speed up my shows, so I didn't realize he was speaking English until the Thai subs kept coming up; then, I had to rewind and slow it down to hear it, so I could appreciate the cuteness. Jeng bringing out his multilingual side to confess AGAIN made him more adorable!

And because this isn't the first time the use of another language in a BL has caused me to stop in my tracks, let me give you something you didn't even ask for -

My Top Five Favorite Uses of Another Language in BLs!

offered in no particular order

My Only 12% - English

Cake was studying with his pals when he decided to call it a night. He went into his bedroom and apologized to his boyfriend Eiw for waking him up. Eiw told Cake he wasn't really sleeping well because Cake wasn't next to him, and that was all it took for Cake's heart-eyes to be activated. He kissed Eiw so tenderly only to then dedicate an ode to Eiw's entire body, mind, and soul all in English while kissing each part of Eiw's body as he praised it. What a king!

Never Let Me Go - Mandarin

I already thought that Palm liked Nueng's mean side a little too much before Wu and David wandered into Mam's bar, but this exchange solidified that Palm had a specific kink and Nueng was more than happy to offer Palm a helping hand a scolding insult. Nueng took great pleasure calling his boyfriend a fool in every language he knew including Mandarin, and I'm sure that is part of the reason Palm came around to Nueng extending his time abroad for schooling. The more education Nueng has, the more languages he can berate Palm in.

Unintentional Love Story - Spanish

The main couple were great, but I was showing up every week for Donghee and Hotae's friends-to-enemies-to-menaces plot because once they screamed at each other in the alley, the only reasonable next step was to sleep together, no? Maybe that's just me, but Hotae trying to prove to Donghee that he was serious about him by learning Spanish like one of the Hisstrange (Hispanic) men Donghee liked had me screaming, "SECOND SEASON WHEN?" which now I must patiently wait for to see how well Hotae's improves his language skills for his amor.

KinnPorsche - English

The VegasPete arc was a wild ride. They went from spying and torturing to crying and fucking in the span of two episodes, but what was the craziest moment of them all was when after sex and STILL CHAINED UP, Vegas turned to Pete and softly said, "Do you know how sexy you are?" Like . . . bitch, what?! Even crazier was Pete's apathetic response of "mmm" as if he had heard that line a thousand times after bringing countless men to their knees with his free therapy and snarky comebacks. Vegas served a lot of great English lines, but this one took the cake, and the tossed salad.

Moonlight Chicken - Modern Standard Thai Sign Language

Heart and Li Ming's story was already the sweetest thing since a nice mango sorbet on a hot day, but add in the fact that Wen, the bridge between Li Ming and his uncle Jim, was not only fully supportive of these two kids finding happiness within each other, but started to learn MSTSL so he could communicate with Heart was what pushed me over the edge. Heart's own parents couldn't be bothered to learn how to communicate with their son, but Li Ming's very-gay-uncle's boyfriend did. Wen knew he needed an ally to deal with these stubborn guys, and no better than the boyfriend of your-soon-to-be-nephew. Ghost Host, Ghost House gets an honorable mention for MSTSL as well.

Bonus

KinnPorsche - English

Ken and Big were two bad bitches and the Regina George and Maddy Perez of Kinn's bodyguard squad. Big had his reasons for disliking Porsche like being jealous that the man he loved was in love with this idiot, but Ken just hated Porsche for being an idiot who upset the guy he was in love with (Ken x Big is canon to me), so when Ken yelled, "Are you fucking dumb, bro?!" at Porsche with Perth's Australian accent, I was cackling. It made me instantly think Ken was the mole because only someone who was rocking with Vegas "but this wasn't the fucking plan" Theerapanyakul could drop bangers like this.

[porkcutletbowl44]

I just read chapter 14 and I'm in love with your writing😭💞

I really didn't know I needed to read a fic like that until I read it, and honestly it's one of my favorites in the CoD fandom. I love especially the way you write Keegan, it's fucking hard to find a good fanfiction of him💔 and I also love the way you wite mama. Usually I don't like reader x canon(I usually get mad at reader's actions cuz they're usualy the complete opposite of what I'd do) but this time it's probably one of the first that I actually can see myself in her place.

Btw I really hope Keegan's endgame, I genuinely get mad whenever Ghost's in scene. Like, rude you're engaging with another woman and suddenly asked for divorce, you can't be mad at mama for not wanting to be near you or for interacting with Keegan😞 I want to slap him so bad. I'm also eager to see Ghost's reaction when he finally realizes he lost mama.

Like idk, maybe she gets kidnaped by that guy who's hiding in UK(I forgot his name💔 but it's the guy that TF141 and the Ghosts are looking for) thinking that she's still married with Ghost(like to threat him??? IDK I JUST WANT GHOST TO BE MISARABLE😭). And when they finally find her, instead of reaching for him like he'd have expected, she reações for Keegan. I'm just itching to see reality finally sinking into his mind, I want so bad for him to see that she no longer needs him, that she doesn't want him anymore and that another person(Keegan my beloved💞) took his place. I need to see this man regreating every single choice he made in the last 4 months.

Anyways, I really love your fic and I hope you have a wonderful week❤ and sorry for any typo I made, English isn't my first language and recently I've been mixing Spanish with Portuguese with English AND with another language that I started learning recently👎

The asks took me awhile to answer because I just noticed I have reached 300 kudos and THIS LOVELY ANON RIGHT HERE BOTH MADE ME UGLY CRY (happy tears of course 🥹)

I'm so glad I could grab your interest with my fic!!! When I don't find something I specifically want to read, I cook my own shit (hence the Simon x Goth!reader because I never see goth in fics) ((AND SOME X READERS SO IRK ME TOO I FEEL YOU THERE))

I am trying to not lean towards the predictable cliche things that tend to happen in fics (even though they are absolutely amazing and I eat it up no matter what) I HAVE THINGS PLANNED, AND WHILE THEY ARENT FULLY PLANNED THERE ARE THINGS HAPPENING IN MY BRAIN!!

(Also, I hope you have a steady learning of English! Your ask was very legible and so sweet and kind 🥹🫶🏻)

THANK YOU FOR THIS EEEKK 🫶🏻💛

[wannab-urs]

Pedro Pascal Character Fanfiction Recs | Vol 31

AO3 | Kofi | Main Masterlist | The Spreadsheet Masterlist

Howdy folks!

New blog theme, new TSD format. Do we like it? Welcome to volume 31 of The Spreadsheet Digest, my weekly(ish) fic rec post. From now on I'll link my personal stuff plus the masterlist where you can find the actual spreadsheet, my fic rec masterlist, and info about how to appear on this list in the future.

All info provided by the author unless it was blank, in which case I filled it in.

Fic Recs Below!

Freeze-thaw

Joel one shot by @covetyou

Summary: With your holiday plans ruined when a freak snow storm blows through town, you spend the fesitve period holed up with your partner, Joel Miller, learning exactly how warm you can keep each other in the snow.

Tags: no outbreak, fluff, smut, fingering, playing in the snow, temperature play, Joel probs has super bad circulation, established relationship but it's their first Christmas together and reader has some relationship insecurities

This Barbie Likes Objectification

Joel one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

Summary: after a fun date seeing Barbie with joel, he realizes a certain scene involving brainwashed barbie dolls has inspired some nasty desires in you. he's more than willing to help you explore them.

Tags: explicit sexual content (18+), no specified ages (but obviously both adults), objectification, degradation, humiliation kink, dirty talk, creampie, unprotected sex, dom!joel, sub!reader, slight spoiler for the Barbie movie

Patience

Javi P one shot by @foli-vora

Summary: Javier teaches you to be patient

Tags: smut: fingering, oral sex (f receiving), praise kink, p in v sex, unprotected sex (wrap that willy before getting silly), creampie, restraints/use of handcuffs, orgasm denial, smoking, swearing

Stay Close to Me

Jack one shot by @alwaysbethewest

Summary: You're a rookie agent sent to work undercover with Jack as a married couple!

Tags: Fake/undercover marriage! Statesman casefic! A little romance, kissing, coarse language, very mild peril and hurt/comfort, and a splash of alcohol. Reader is a junior agent and has some muscle but otherwise no physical/age descriptions. As with any good Kingsman fic, my first step was to disregard half of canon, so this is either pre-movie or an AU.

No Me Suletes

Frankie one shot by @fhatbhabie

Summary: Even though he's bad for you, you still can't let him go.

Tags: Marcus Pike cameo, smut, unprotected p in v, talks of oral, angst angst angst!!, being left at a chapel, cheating, death of a spouse, drug use (buggar sugar) , smoking cigarettes, asshole!Frankie, spanish dialect w/ translations, no use of Y/N, cute pet names, splash of fluff for 2 seconds, someone having a stroke with a small description, no happy ending

Poolside

Javi G one shot by @joelscruff

Summary: just some fun by the pool with sugar daddy!javi

Tags: blowjobs, deepthroating, brief ball worship, daddy kink, unprotected p in v sex, creampie, bad google translate spanish, sweat

"Din"scord Kitten

Din one shot by @beskarandblasters

Summary: When bounty hunting doesn’t work out anymore Din has to turn to alternative methods to support himself.

Tags: this is a crack fic lmao, Discord/Venmo/Dr. Pepper existing in Star Wars, bad sexting, dick pics, masturbating, bad Star Wars puns, sex work, cummies needs its own warning 😭, pet names (cyar’ika), oral sex (M receiving), cum eating, no use of y/n

Another Time, Baby

Joel one shot by @swiftispunk

Summary: joel makes good on a promise.

Tags: established relationship, porn no plot, smut, age gap (28/50), unprotected anal sex, vaginal fingering, use of a butt plug, joel miller eats ass and pussy and also has a big dick, some affectionate spanking, creampie, cum play (eating and sharing), a little bit of spit, just a lot of bodily fluids all around, one (1) poetic description of a queef, joel miller's filthy mouth, pet names, ysd!joel at his most soft dom, joel's also kind of feral in this, multiple orgasms, sweet sweet aftercare, pov swap. no use of y/n.

Suburbia (I gave it a lil name, sorry).

Lucien drabble by @julesonrecord

Summary: You can't stay away from him, nor do you really try

Tags: Explicit; angst; oral (m receiving); implied infidelity; past relationship. Suburbia (shudder).

Misunderstood

Marcus P one shot by @magpiepills

Summary: Marcus has a bad day at work and needs you to help him feel better.

Tags: SMUT, established relationship, PIV, oral (f and m receiving) fingering, big dick Marcus, multiple orgasms, thumb sucking, cum eating, cum swapping, Marcus eats it from behind, dirty talk, roughish sex, some degradation, tiny little splash of daddy, porn with no plot, no regard for canon, use of a tie as a leash sort of?, alcohol consumption, pancakes, cardigans, NPR, idk what else man, this is not fluffy Marcus.

Wrest Pin

Din series by BalletOrchard (AO3)

Summary: “I can help you escape the planet,” Mando said sharply, “But I want information in return.” She looked up at him through the small hairs on her face and she whispered, sounding almost lost…As if she didn’t know what else to say… “I have no information.” Something Mando did not believe.

Tags: panic attacks, force sensitive!reader, unprotected PinV sex, smut, mando is a dick, angst, slow burn (romantically), touch starved!din, bickering, arguing, post season 1, fluff, ofc!evangeline, she like doesn’t get off the first time they fuck which i feel like is worth noting, feelings of regret, minor character death (evangeline’s whole fam), follows canon, mando lowkey keeping evangeline against her will but like she’s hiding from the empire so, near death experience(s), the helmet comes off, oral f receiving, blindfolding, shower sex

A Weight Off Your Shoulders

Joel series by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

Summary: a series of oneshots in chronological order that follow the story of Joel and his new neighbor who returns to Texas following a devastating breakup and called off engagement. With her life completely uprooted and her self-confidence shot, she works through moving on to bigger and better things. Enter DILF neighbor Joel Miller.

Tags: age gap (Joel mid 40s, neighbor late 20s), cheating, negative body image, negative self-talk, discussions of body image struggles

The Peg That Middle Aged Man Campaign 2024 Masterlist

Call for Pegging Fics!

PMAMC on AO3

Trussed Up - I pegged Jack Daniels

Happy Reading!

[pommunist]

past anon who talked about the alex's first priority being money/funds and who is apparently based to you (hola :D👋)

after reading back my ask i realize that i may have come off as a little bit harsh (not as harsh as you french fans, you guys are BRUTAL) i wrote most of it in a burst of frustration at the whole admin thing lol.

i don't think alex is some disney villian who is twirling his mustache as he watches on his past workers cry out of frustration because of the lack of communication. he just isn't as experienced when it comes to these kinds of things.

he's doing what he thinks is best from his lawyer studies, don't gave out any info that isn't 100% guaranteed, anything that comes with money is a huge legal problem and must be fixed as first, those type of things.

everyone that has known alex personally has said that he's a genuinely sweet guy (well, except his some of his workers but doesn't even have a relationship with them because of the lack of communication LMAO /coping) i don't think any of his current actions are done out of malicious intent or whatever.

all of his recent streams are probably a way to earn money and the whole egg merch is probably for even more money (the bio of the acc literally says that it is ''the best way to fund qsmp'') (i've already talked about my opinions on that)

the whole not communicating is so ''he doesn't make false promises'' and also, so he doesn't get sued. (understand where he is coming from but huge disagree)

the not having ways of contacting him via twt isn't done as a result of this situation, he deleted twt some time ago (very unfortunate timing, like, 2 days before lea's statements. he should've reinstalled it, but he doesn't need to anymore since he now has an email for when he needs to be contacted)

the events that are currently happening have been planned for months in advance (still think he should put them back a bit. i guess the german streamer is kinda understandable since he has apparently been waiting for like, 10 months?? still think he should've put it back)

i think what he wants is for when pomme's admin comes back for the work environment to be perfect but i still heavily disagree with his ways. the way he's going about it now is only going to lead to burnout from the workers :( none of what i said justifies the lack of communication btw. his actions come off as kinda tone-deaf right now.

although with the whole (understandable) anger from people about the twt admins + the union + jose's statements + the french's statements, i do think he will start actually communicating with his workers (he kinda has to with the whole jose thing, unless he wants all of qstudios garbage out in the public, which is like, a really bad thing for him)

unfortunately, i'm only based when i'm angry <3 so this is probably dogshit. but the problems in qstudios ARE fixable. (this is either gonna end up aging like milk or like fine wine. i hope it's the fine wine since i love qsmp and i'll probably completely give up on learning french/spanish if it doesn't)

holà again !

I personally didn’t think you were too harsh on your last ask, you had genuine concern about the course of his actions and it didn’t feel like you were attacking him or anything !

I don’t know Q personally obviously so I won’t speculate too much on what he’s thinking through this, but I agree with you that he probably isnt an evil guy and doesn’t have bad intentions with it.

However I still stand with the fact that he was at least negligent towards what was happening behind the scenes of his passion project and should’ve been more aware of the inner workings of the QSMP.

This isn’t an easy situation, especially with all the legal aspects (which should’ve been thought of beforehand btw) but I think everyone or at least most people who criticise what is going on are doing in first because they want the admins to be treated well but also because they want to trust that Q will do the right thing.

Admins and fans alike wouldn’t spend so much time getting updated on the situation and writing their thoughts if they didnt have at least some hope that things can be fixed.

Now it’s up to Qstudios to prove those who believe right and to prove those who lost trust (can’t blame them) wrong !

[callsignspark]

Mar[r]y Me - part seven

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, discussions of body image, conversations on what it’s like to be a fat woman trying to date in today’s society, extreme fluff, if you read these be warned that the last little bit will probably make you want to yell at me, ignore the fact that the mentioned tswift song wasn't out in 2021, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 4.8k

previous part | series masterlist | main masterlist

note: happy Friday!! it’s here! part seven!! I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks, I hope you all have an amazing weekend!! (side note: this chapter means we've almost hit 50,000 words on this story??? what!!! thanks for all your support!)

part seven - pasta e piselli

C’mon, pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.

Bradley repeats the plea over and over again in his head, staring at his own stressed expression on the Facetime call screen. He’s not sure why he’s worried; she’s picked up every other time he’s called.

Which has been every day this week, so far.

He’s just about to give up, figuring she’s still busy at work, when Mary answers.

“Happy Thurs-” Bradley stops when he realizes she’s on the phone, holding a finger up.

“Just hang on one second, Zia! No! I-” She speaks rapidly in another language, surprising Bradley, before pulling the phone away and bending closer to her iPad. “Sorry, I just need like ten minutes to get her off the phone, and then I’m all yours. I can call you back?”

“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll just be here.” He returns her smile, only slightly distracted by the brief flash of lace he gets where her work shirt is unbuttoned.

Bradley watches her bustle around her hotel room, tidying up and throwing things in her suitcase as she talks on the phone. He gets comfortable on his couch, propping himself up on a mountain of pillows and letting the sweet sound of Mary’s voice wash over him. He’s pretty sure she’s talking to her aunt in Italian, based on the googling he did of the bits and pieces he was able to understand.

It’s sexy, he thinks, imagining what it would be like to have her whisper in his ear in Italian, even if he would have no idea what was being said.

“You would think the fact that she’s closing in on 100 would mean she would have less energy to talk, but somehow, she’s only gained strength over the years.”

His focus comes back to the screen, drifting away from the fantasy he was building in his head to find Mary smiling sweetly at him, her chin resting in her hand. “Hi.”

“Hi, Bradley.”

“You speak Italian.” She nods, saying something to him and laughing when he just looks confused. “What?”

“I said that you must have had a stressful day because your hair looks like your call sign, Mr. Rooster.”

“It’s not that bad!” A glance at his Facetime window tells him that his hair is sticking straight up. Of course, he can’t admit that it’s from running his hands through it during his minor panic that she wouldn’t pick up and then while dreaming about having her on his lap. “Okay. I’ve had better hair days. But back to you, Italian?”

“Yeah, my whole family speaks it to varying degrees. The first few generations - on both sides - spoke very little English, if any at all. My parents and their siblings are the first generation that you could consider fully fluent in English. I had older relatives that only spoke Italian live with my family growing up, so I was a bilingual baby.”

“Was it hard to learn English?”

“Not really? Our house was English first, Italian second whenever possible, so I picked both up pretty quick.”

“That’s so cool! I took Spanish in high school, but I really only remember how to ask about the library. Donde está la biblioteca?” They laugh at his poor pronunciation. “So, how was your day?”

“It was good! Very productive; with all the meetings today, I finally had enough time to finish my program review slides! So tomorrow, I can fully focus on outfitting the last three jets. The team up here understood the upgrade really quickly, which is encouraging. It means the training pipeline that Dave put in place is working.”

“That’s good. What uh- what are you doing now?” Bradley’s mouth goes dry as he watches Mary unbutton her shirt, slipping it off to reveal a white camisole that clings to her in all the right places.

“Some of the people I worked with in Florida are here for training and program review prep! And we finally all have a free evening, so we’re going to dinner! I want to wear that shirt tomorrow morning, and I don’t want to get makeup on it while I’m retouching.”

“That sounds fun.” He can hear how rough his voice is, heart thumping when he watches her eyes dart to his, a light pink appearing on the apples of her round cheeks.

“How was your day?”

He tucks an arm behind his head, watching her freshen her makeup and telling her about the antics the Dagger Squad had gotten up to without her. It had been a light day; everyone got grounded due to rain, so Cyclone had them act as guinea pigs for a new training regiment the Navy is considering. They had, of course, gotten too competitive about it and completely over-performed the expected standards. Admiral Simpson was so frustrated that he let them go early, banning them from his sight for the rest of the day.

“He really swore at you guys?!” Mary laughs, swiping something shiny over her lips.

“He did! And he did that thing where he gets so mad his face turns red, and it looks like that vein in his neck is going to rupture!”

“You guys are going to kill that man.”

“It’s Mav’s fault. He taught us the right buttons to push.” Bradley shrugs when Mary raises a doubtful eyebrow at him, a laugh threatening to break through.

“I only half believe that some of you are quite annoying all on your own.”

“Wow, hurtful.”

She giggles at his dramatic chest grab. “I didn’t name names; if you took offense, that’s your own fault. Does my makeup look okay? Any places need fixing?”

Mary holds the tablet up to her face, closing her eyes to show off her makeup. Bradley takes the quiet moment to admire her. She’s never really been one to wear much makeup, but every time she does, it just enhances her beauty.

“You look great.” He holds back all the compliments and praise he wants to shower her with, reminding himself they’re not quite there yet, choosing to add some helpful feedback instead. “You do have some mascara on your right eyelid, though.”

“Oh, thank you! I’ll clean that up when I change.” She walks over to the closet, pulling out two dresses. “Which one for dinner?”

“The red one.” He answers with zero hesitation. He loves red on her; the color always looks so good against her tanned skin.

She hums, holding the dress against herself and looking in the mirror. “Yeah, good choice. I’m gonna ch-”

Mary shrieks as a door flies open, and Harvard comes bursting in. “Are you ready yet?”

“Brigham! You’re only supposed to use that for emergencies!”

“I’m hungry, and I want to get going.”

“That is not an emergency! What if I was naked?!”

“I could hear Rooster’s big mouth; I knew you weren’t naked. C’mon! Get changed. I want to eat!”

Bradley sits there baffled as Mary throws the dress he didn’t pick at Harvard’s head, snapping at him to hang it up before slamming the bathroom door behind her.

Harvard does and then takes Mary’s seat, waving at Bradley with a big grin on his face, completely unaware of how Bradley is reeling inside. “Hey, man! What’s up? How’re you?”

He doesn’t break to let Rooster answer, rambling on about his week and the mentoring program Cyclone had sent him to work on. Bradley can only let it go on so long before he bursts. “How did you get in?”

At that exact moment, Mary reappears, the red fabric highlighting her tan and accentuating her curves, even better than he remembered it from the night they met. “We ended up with adjoining rooms.”

“We’re keeping them unlocked for emergency purposes, aka so I can make sure she actually has some fun while we’re here.” Harvard proudly announces.

“I was swindled; he’s got very convincing puppy dog eyes.” She ushers him out of her chair so she can slip her shoes on. “It’s like the little brother I never wanted.”

“You’re so mean to me.”

Mary looks at Bradley and rolls her eyes. “And yet he refuses to leave. Go grab your wallet and the keys so we can get going.”

They both ignore Brigham’s muttered complaints as he heads to his room, focusing on each other.

“You look beautiful, honey.” Bradley says lowly once their friend is gone, like if he’s quiet enough with his compliments, then their just friends for now promise won’t be broken.

She looks at him through her lashes, putting her earring on and answering just as lowly. “Thank you. You look handsome.”

“Even with my hair sticking up?”

“Even then, dolcezza.” She hums. A yell from next door interrupts them before he can ask what she called him. “I gotta go, or we’ll be late for dinner. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Have fun, be safe.”

“Hello?” Bradley grumbles into the receiver, not appreciating being woken up after it took almost an hour to fall asleep.

“I can’t see you, Bradley; turn the light on.”

He pulls the phone back, pleasantly surprised to find Mary staring back at him. She’s showered and propped her phone against something, her brown eyes looking sleepy as she snuggles under the covers. A wave of longing hits him; she looks so soft and sweet. He wants nothing more than to be there with her.

“Sorry I woke you up.” She apologizes as he flips the light on and stands his phone on his bedside table.

“S’okay. Did you have a good time with your friends?”

“Yeah…” She sighs, a lazy smile spreading across her face. “It was great! I haven’t seen them since I left last year. We drank so much wine, which happens every time we let Ron pick the restaurant.”

“You tipsy, honey?”

“Think so.” She giggles, burying her face in her pillow for a second. “But it’s okay. Brigham drove, and he made sure I didn’t twist my ankle in those sandals.”

“Did he complain about it?”

“The whole time, he’s a good guy.” She blinks at his annoyed grumble. “Are you jealous? It’s okay if you are, but you don’t have to be. He really is like a brother. Besides, you’re the only sexy Dagger. Like, you’re all ridiculously attractive - statistically, only one or two of you should be hot, and somehow you all are; someone should study the probability of that - but you’re the only one I think is sexy.”

Bradley feels his jaw drop at her admission. He wants to stop her and talk about the fact that she thinks he’s sexy, but she’s steamrolling ahead on a different topic.

“I’m so excited to get home! It’s Annie’s birthday on Saturday, so I get to watch her run around with all her little friends from preschool. It’s gonna be so cute!” She coos, her smile wide.

“You’re gonna need a few Advil after listening to all that screaming.”

“Probably, but it’ll be nice to see her have fun on her birthday.”

“Hey, speaking of birthdays. I was thinking we should do something for your birthday on Sunday since I’ll be gone on the actual day.”

“You remember my birthday?”

“Of course I do, March 14th - Pi Day. And if I did my math correctly, you’re going to be 34.”

“That’s right.” Her answer is just above a whisper.

He can’t describe the way Mary is looking at him; her eyes are big and glassy, and there’s something in her expression he just can’t quite recognize.

“I was thinking we’d spend an evening together - just the two of us - and I’ll make dinner for you.”

“That’s so sweet, Bradley, but I don’t know if I can accept. That’s a lot of work.”

“No, it’s not. Not if I’m doing it for you.”

“Bradley… that plan isn’t very just friends.” Her voice is quiet, shy.

“I know. But I promise, this is completely different than the dinner I promised you after I get back in May. It’s not a date like that’s going to be. So whatdya say? Gonna let me make you dinner?”

“Only if I’m bringing dessert.”

“Nope, it’s your birthday. You’re not bringing dessert.”

Mary’s eyebrows scrunch as she sits up to get closer to the camera, the covers slipping down to reveal her nightgown. Bradley swallows hard. He knows she’s not doing it on purpose - doesn’t think she is anyway - but the pink fabric drapes across her skin in the most tantalizing way. He watches the strap slip down her shoulder, feeling weaker with every millimeter it moves. It makes him want to give in to her, but he stays strong, insisting that she’s not allowed to bring food to her own birthday dinner.

“Fine. Am I allowed to bring wine?”

He thinks for a second. “That’s okay, as long as that’s all you bring.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“Alright, smartass. Time for bed.” He lays back down, watching as she gets comfortable.

Mary hums, fighting against her eyes that are trying to slip close. “Talk tomorrow?”

“Course. Good night, honey.”

The last thing he sees before she hangs up is her pretty face, a sleepy smile on her lush lips, and her dark hair spread out on the white hotel pillows. “Night, dolcezza. Sleep well.”

The screen goes dark, and Bradley smiles back at his own reflection. It had taken some trial and error, but he had looked up what dolcezza meant while she was at dinner.

Dolcezza: Sweetheart or Honey (literally: sweetness; considered old-fashioned)

Mary’s anxiety has been eating away at her all day. From the moment she woke up, to getting ready two hours early because she was worried about being late, to this very second. The combination of nerves and excitement has her entire body vibrating. Her hand even shook a little when she lifted it to knock, thankful that she had tucked the wine safely into her canvas bag.

It’s just dinner with Bradley. There’s nothing to be nervous about.

She’s been telling herself that since accepting his invitation, but she can’t fool her own heart. Bradley inviting her over so he can make a birthday dinner for her because he’s going to be gone on her actual birthday? She knows this means more for them than just dinner.

More than just friends.

She’s beginning to regret asking that they wait to go on a date until he gets back from this deployment. He was so kind and understanding when she explained and had been taking everything at the pace she requested. But an itch is starting to form, one she can’t scratch by herself.

An itch that can only soothed by Bradley’s lips pressed to hers. By his big hands cradling her face. By his strong body pinning hers to the bed. By the two of them sharing a bed at night. Now that she’s had a slice what it would be like to be with him, she’s desperate for more. Just the thought of how he might taste-

You have got to calm down. Deep breath. Deep breath. Deep breath.

Mary follows her own instructions, trying to practice the Lamaze breathing she learned at Danielle’s birthing classes, the ones she attended when they weren’t sure what Reuben’s schedule would look like. She’s smoothing nonexistent wrinkles out of her shirt when the door opens.

Why the fuck did I say we should be just friends for now?

Bradley looks gorgeous. There’s no other word to describe it. The sleeves of his sweater are pushed up and hugging his arms, the soft fabric stretched across his broad shoulders. He’s wearing her favorite pair of jeans, the light-wash ones that cup his ass just right. And he’s gotten a trim, his curls slightly shorter than the last time she saw him in person.

As a familiar aroma wafts past his tall frame, his flushed cheeks make her wonder if it’s because he’s been cooking or because of her. She hopes it’s because of her.

“Hi. Happy birthday, Mariella.”

She loves it when Bradley says her full name. His pink lips curving around the letters, the syllables effortlessly dripping from his mouth. He even develops the tiniest Italian accent, an unconscious effect of her name. Her heart pounds with the care he always uses with her name, the respect.

“Thanks, Bradley.” She’s momentarily taken off guard when he pulls her into his strong chest but is reluctant to pull back from his warm hug. “Whatever you’re making smells good.”

“Thank you! I think you’re gonna like it.”

Mary’s smile widens as he takes her bag while she slips her shoes off. “Yeah? What are we having?”

“Oh, that’s a surprise - you’ll just have to wait a little bit and see. Have a seat at the table, and I’ll pour you a glass of this wine you brought.”

She slips into a dining room chair and watches as he opens the wine, bobbing his head to the music coming from the record player across the room. He dramatically sniffs the cork, and the cheeky smile he shoots over his shoulder makes her laugh.

“Something funny, Miss Mary?” Bradley saunters around the counter peninsula, handing over a stemless wine glass.

“Nothing, just unaware I was in the presence of a sommelier. Did you taste the peach the label talked about?”

“I did; I also picked up on notes of lime. Very delicious pinot grigio you selected for tonight.”

“The Navy’s amazing reading skills in action.” She smirks at the confused tilt of his head. “It’s a sauvignon blanc, Bradley.”

He throws his head back as he laughs. “Shit! They all taste the same to me.”

“Me too.” She admits as he checks on the food, warmth blooming in her chest at the domesticity of the scene. All the anxiety from earlier suddenly seems ridiculous; she’s never felt more comfortable with a man. “Which drives Dani insane because apparently there’s a lot of differences.”

“Wine is wine! You know, like Mr. Incredible when he tries to do the math homework?” Bradley jokes as he sets salad and bread on the table. “Could you dish out the salad while I serve the pasta?”

Mary is slicing the loaf of sourdough when Bradley sets a bowl of pasta at seat. His chest brushes her back, and he squeezes her hip as he moves to his seat, murmuring a low thanks when she puts bread on his plate. She loses her breath as she sits back down, her heart racing when she sees what he’s made.

“Pasta e piselli?”

“It’s your favorite.”

“You remember that?”

“What’s your favorite?”

Mary perks up at the question, happy that Bradley is so interested in what she has to say. “Pasta e piselli, which is just pasta and peas. But it’s so good and filling and comforting.”

“Do you make it a lot?”

“I don’t actually, Amelia, even though it’s very easy to make.” She sends a conspiratory wink to her, getting a big smile in return. “It’s one of those recipes I break out for a special dinner or when I need a pick-me-up meal.”

“Special dinner? You ever make it for a date?”

The question stops her cold. She knows Amelia catches the way her face drops, a shocked expression she can’t quite control. One of her worst qualities, according to her mother. She can feel pity radiating from the young girl standing on the end of the cart, feeling sad for the pathetic thirty-three-year-old woman who can’t understand when a man just thinks of her as a friend.

Her throat feels acidic, swallowing the tears that threaten to show themselves. She feels so stupid, because up until that question, she would have sworn Bradley was flirting with her. She should know better by now. She’s not someone that men find desirable. She’s fat and awkward and bad at flirting.

Mary stutters out an answer, some bullshit about commitment, before focusing on Amelia, who interrupts to talk about cupcakes. She takes advantage of the distraction, using it to move them toward the cashiers and taking the first chance to get away from the siblings. She can’t help but feel even more heartbroken when Bradley offers to carry her groceries. He’s such a good guy. It’s not his fault she’s so pathetic and convinced herself a man like Bradley could want someone like her.

“That’s sweet, but I’ve got it. Been doing this all by myself for years now! Enjoy your pizza, guys!” She gives a poor excuse of a wave, her smile sad as she thinks about how true her statement is.

She has been doing it by herself for years. All alone - no partner, no roommate, no help - since she graduated college. Her best friends usually thousands of miles away, limited contact with her family in New York, only a few friends in Missouri. And then, in Florida, just when she had started to get friendly with people besides the admiral she worked with, she had gotten the job in San Diego and moved, leaving that budding life behind.

She should probably be thankful that Bradley didn’t press more after Amelia interrupted. That he didn’t ask her to help him make the recipe for whatever lucky woman he had in mind when he asked about making it for a date. Because she would have said yes, desperate to spend time with the man she had a crush on.

Well, that’s gonna stop now righ now,  she decides as she sends one last small smile to Bradley and Amelia, trudging out to her Jeep and letting herself cry for a few seconds once the groceries are loaded. Driving home with tears leaking down her cheeks as her favorite sad Taylor Swift song plays on repeat.

“Of course I do.” His socked feet brush her own, and he reaches over to grab her hand.” You said you would only make it for someone who was committed to you.”

Her heart races at the implication of his words.

I’m committed to you.

“You asked if I would make this for a date.” Bradley nods. “This isn’t a date.”

“It’s not a date.” He confirms, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.

“It’s only been a week, I’m not-”

“I know, Mary.” He gently cuts her off. “It’s not a date; I just wanted to make something special for your birthday.”

She tries to swallow around the lump in her throat, overwhelmed by the sweet and thoughtful man sitting beside her. Compared to her previous relationship attempts, Bradley keeps surpassing her expectations by leaps and bounds. She knows it’s not fair to compare them, to keep waiting for him to act like them. He’s not them.

He is so much better.

Bradley is kind and caring. He listens to her, really takes in what she’s saying, doesn’t just nod as the words come out of her mouth. The slightest brush of his skin against hers sets her on fire. He makes her feel safe; she’s never once questioned his intentions or felt uneasy while in the car with him.

Logically, Mary knows the beautiful man in front of her really does care about her, but it’s still hard to believe they’ve gotten here. That they’re here, having this not-date that is so clearly a date. That they’ve confessed their feelings.

“Try some.”

Her stare lingers on his face for another minute, committing his soft expression to memory, before looking down at her bowl.

“It really does look great.” She doesn’t let go of his hand, scooping a bite with her right hand and blowing to cool it down. Bradley’s eyes twinkle as she takes the first bite, his pupils dilating at the involuntary sound that escapes as the flavors melt in her mouth.

No one had made this meal for her since her grandmother passed away twenty years ago. It's like a taste of childhood between the fresh peas and the sharp pecorino cheese.

“Is it good?”

“Well, it’s not Nonna Romano's pasta e piselli, but you did a great job, Bradley. It’s delicious.” She smiles as his face drops in relief, a wide smile replacing his nervous one.

They spend dinner talking and laughing, their legs constantly brushing together as they discuss which post-program review happy hour mixers they should attend. Then, after the leftovers are packed up, Bradley ushers her onto his balcony and plops the two of them on his wicker loveseat, ignoring her protests that she could do the dishes.

“I’ll do them later. Just sit here and relax with me, would ya?”

“Fine.” Mary huffs, shuffling closer until she’s tucked into his side, warm and content under the blanket he grabbed.

The two sit in comfortable silence, cuddled together as they listen to the sounds of the street below and watch the last rays of the sunset slip away. It’s not until the few stars that are actually visible through San Diego’s light pollution appear in the sky that one of them moves.

“I’ll be right back.” He says, chuckling at her tiny, displeased whine when he pulls away. She watches him walk into his apartment, appreciating the long lines of his body.

When the door slides shut, she takes a second to just breathe, the crisp evening air filling her lungs and cooling her warm cheeks as she tries to calm herself down. The butterflies in her storm are waging a war against her, but not in a bad way. It’s not nerves or anxiety that’s making her stomach flip.

It’s happiness.

It’s Bradley.

An involuntary laugh escapes at the realization. Mary presses the blanket against her face, muffling the excited giggles she can’t control. Giddy like a schoolgirl with her first real crush. She brings the blanket down at the sound of the door opening; her cheeks are sore from smiling so big but they stretch even more at the sight in front of her.

Bradley walking towards her, singing Happy Birthday with a slice of cheesecake in one hand and his phone in the other. He carefully sits back down, handing over the plate to light the candle.

“Happy birthday to you!”

Mary can’t look away from the man sitting next to her. Her heart is so full she could cry. She’s never been one to make a big fuss about birthdays. Usually spends the day working and enjoying her colleagues' happiness at the treats she brought to share. Treating herself to dinner out and maybe some dessert before calling her best friends to chat and catch up, laughing through their awful rendition of Happy Birthday.

The effort Bradley has put in has her on the brink of happy tears. Not only did he remember her favorite dinner months after she mentioned it once, but he put in the time to actually make it. He’s done all the work himself and hasn’t let her lift a finger. Something she appreciates more than he could ever imagine. Growing up, there was never a day where she was allowed to not help. Every special day of her - birthday, graduation - ended with her in the kitchen, putting leftovers away and washing dishes while her brothers got to have fun. And on top of all that, she knows he asked Dani or Reuben for help because he’s stuck a candle in a slice of chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake - her favorite.

His soft voice interrupts her thoughts. “Make a wish, honey.”

I hope we never get tired of each other. I hope we grow old together. I hope we love each other forever.

She keeps eye contact with him as she blows the candle out, hoping he understands she’s wishing for him.

For them.

Bradley stops recording and drops his phone on the table without looking, scooting closer to her with a hungry look in his eyes. It’s clear as day how much he wants her, even in the low light of the balcony, and it sends shivers up her spine.

“What did you wish for?” His voice is rough compared to a few seconds ago, like there’s gravel in his throat.

Mary’s eyes flicker between his lips and his eyes, unable to decide which one she wants to look at more. “I can’t say, or it might not come true.” His mouth wins the battle when his tongue peeks out to wet his lips.

“Well, we wouldn’t want that. Would we?” Her heart kicks into overdrive as he leans closer, his right hand pushing hair out of her face while the other slips around her back, tugging her closer.

“Thank you for this, it was perfect.”

Mary leans in, her breath hitching when the tips of their noses brush. Her free hand runs up his chest, appreciating the soft sweater before dipping into his curls. Bradley presses in even further, the small dessert plate between them the only thing keeping them apart.

“Of course. Happy Birthday, dolcezza.”

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