#getting to see Betty again and for what seemed like the first time truly see her

[waterbearwasteland]

Man the ending of Fiona and Cake made me cry so much but I’m so happy with what they did

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Watching the episode of the morning after Betty's bd made me realize that I really like Betty and Aura María's friendship. They're opposite and compliment each other very well. Aura Maria is audacious and straightforward, loud and unfiltered, and won't hesitate to risk her own skin for Betty. Betty, on the other hand, is calmer, much more discreet, and thinks it through a lot more before getting her claws out as to do it in the mot efficient way possible (through her influence with Armando, most of the time). She's also reluctant to go out there due to past experiences, and Aura Maria gives her the push she needs.

AM is also Betty's confidant. Sure, Nicolás is too, but there's something so nice and beautiful and magical about sharing your biggest happiness and secrets with your girl bestie that, although I mean no disrespect to guys, it's simply not the same with guys. There's simply not this female shared experience. She also never revealed anything Betty told her. AM is very unfiltered, and won't even think it before basically yelling in the hallways any sort of detail that most people would consider private (ex. When Freddy had to stop her multiple times every time she started talking about their intimacy the night before), and yet she knows this is Betty's privacy and didn't even allude to it to the rest of the Cuartel.

She gives Betty relationship advice and no doubt gave her the confidence to try the grounds with Armando to see if he wanted her as well. The simple fact that she tried speaks volumes of her confidence increase, which I don't doubt was also a bit of influence from AM (ex. The whole chat about how if [Betty and her bf] both loved each other it was natural for them to be attraction and that Betty should take the first step)

In addition, it wasn't until this rewatch that I noticed that AM is the only one who doesn't diminish Betty for her appearence. Just look at the opening sequence again. Everyone looks at her with disgust, except Aura Maria. She invited her to a double date and made sure to take her home safe. She tried to encourage her to be more open and to be more forward with the dude from the date, and even advised her on how to improve her appearence (taking off Betty's scarf, for example) and her flirting. Sure, it wasn't the best of advices, but AM told her what had worked for her and genuinely wanted to help her.

In the Letter episode (where I'm currently at in my rewatch after years of neglecting the novela lmao), you can see Aura María's face and she truly looks worried and distressed for Betty.

Overall, I would have loved to see more of their friendship before th Change!

((i know it may seem like I hate AM based on my previous posts, but no, I just dislike how she handled her relationship and how much she ignores her responsibilities. She's actually the best friend from the Cuartel that Betty has, and she's definitely the kind of friend that will encourage you to talk to your crush and help you get pretty for a date and tell you the greatest gossips and overall you'd have a fun time going out with her! In other words: she's an amazing friend and I like that aspect of her))

[iwanttobeliv]

[BLF] Episode 1 – Reunited (but it doesn’t feel so good) - Part 3

Back at the Pinzon’s, we see Nicholas and Betty together again.

I’ve always loved their friendship, not only because it has always brought out a lighter side of Betty, but also because it sometimes felt like the only moments we got to see her laughing and enjoying herself. After she becomes part of the Cuartel, she gets some more laughters and a sense of belonging, which I imagine is a first-time occurrence based on the flashbacks we get from her time as a kid and later in the university, but even then, and maybe because she enjoys being part of the Cuartel so much and wouldn’t like to have her ‘membership’ revoked for some reason, Betty is still shy and most of her jokes are the self-deprecating type, especially in the early days.

It makes perfect sense, all things considered. A big part of Betty’s sense of humor is in fact developed as a way to survive all the nastiness of a world that rejects her so bluntly time and time again because of her looks, so we also happen to see her and Nicolas making fun of themselves very often, but it’s with him that we actually see her inhibited version first, more willing to share her thoughts, more relaxed and at ease.

So, getting to see the unstoppable duo, together again, was such a gift! And how amazing it is that over 20 years later Ana Maria and Mario can so unseemly return to them?

The ease and comfort they share being in each other’s company is such a delight, that I do wonder how Nicolas fit in Betty’s life after she becomes a married woman. It’s clear they have remained very close, not only he was around in Ecomoda, but we see Nicolas later in Mila’s birthday videos and I can easily picture him joining them for several meals time and time again, but let’s not forget that Nicolas Mora is also the spark that ignited Mario and Armando’s insecurities back in the day, and we know for a fact that Armando is the jealous type.

My thoughts are that likely they never became friends themselves. The only thing these two men seem to have in common is their love and appreciation for Betty, but likely Nicolas never truly forgot just how much Armando hurt his best friend (I know I wouldn’t) and I don’t imagine Armando ever grows comfortable with Nicolas and Betty closeness and seeing how his beloved wife is and has always been more of herself when close to her friend. One could say: but they were married for so long, how much closer could they be? And while I can’t say this is a universal truth, what I have seen, is that more often than not, while theoretically you should feel comfortable enough to just be yourself and be loved for it when you find ‘The One’, the reality of it, is usually well, easier said than done.

For people who feel insecure for one reason or another – and we know just how much of Betty’s personal history account for that – more often than not there’s bound to be some struggle to just relax and let it happen, out of some form of Impostor Syndrome. Which seems like a pretty good assumption, especially after Nicolas makes a crack about Betty not being in magazine covers even after she was no longer ugly and Betty says she never stopped being one, not to them.

If that’s how Betty’s felt through all those years and how she still feels, all while Armando is – till this day – a catch, well, it speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

In that sense, friendship can be at times a lot easier to deal with, with less pressure to be anything other than yourself, especially in one as old and Nicolas and Betty’s.

But the reality of Nicolas and Armando’s relationship is likely something will only get hints at, throughout the season, though probably just that, since the writers hardly seem to have the time to show the bits that we actually *need* to see in order to understand what’s what.

So back at the Pinzons’ home, like so many other times in the past, we get Betty venting at her best friend. She talks about how not only Armando but the Mendozas have managed to spoil her daughter and get in the middle of their relationship and, again, I’m not surprised.

While Roberto has always been respectful and eventually recognized Betty’s competence and worth, Margarita never hid her distaste and I can’t imagine she ever truly understood why her precious son chose this woman over her beloved and protected Marcela.

Yeah, family holidays must have been pret-ty awkward.

Next: Cut to flashback.  (I guess now they felt like showing a little more than just telling. And this is when the timeline gets more than a little clunky.)

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

what would the dark revival characters reactions be to the reader turning into an ink demon variant (characters include: Henry, Sammy, bendy, ink demon, twisted!Alice, Allison, Betty and Wilson). -🌕

Henry

It would crush him to see yet another friend turn into a terrifying inky toon creature. Just another victim of the Cycle’s machinations.

It's nearly as devastating as the first time he saw Brute Boris, but thankfully you’re kinda the same personality-wise.

However, you got irrationally angry at Henry at first, as him leaving the company caused Joey to create this whole world to begin with and drag you into it.

But you soon remember that none of this is truly his fault. He couldn’t have known; he didn’t want any of this to happen.

So in time, you get along with him again, feeling bad when the Ink Demon he used to adore keeps trying to kill him constantly.

You aren’t Bendy, but you stick around him, helping him survive the studio’s many horrors.

You also admire the sketches he still draws of that little devil darling to this very day.

Sammy

He doesn’t even recognize you as his coworker anymore, only ever addressing you as “My Lord” or “My Inky Savior”.

You tell him you hate being compared to Bendy, but he doesn’t even seem to hear you, instead saying the same shit about how you'll "set him free".

Hell, you don't know how to even set yourself free-

He leaves you gifts and Bendy cutouts around places you frequent, and singing praises, willing to do anything for you.

In many cycles, he was rejected/betrayed when offering Henry up to the real Ink Demon, unable to appease him not matter what he did...and that drove him even madder.

But you just talking to him convinces this poor, desperate soul that you're the real deal, as you've finally “noticed" him.

When he asks when he'll be free, you simply say "soon enough", and that seems satisfactory, as he claims he'll wait forever if that's what it takes.

TLDR: You have this fanatical musician wrapped around your finger and you have mixed feelings about it.

Bendy/Benders

Understandably, he's surprised and anxious when first meeting you considering how uncanny your resemblance to his demonic-self is.

It’s sad considering you’re one of the employees he liked the most. One of the few who didn’t mistreat him. 

Now you were stuck in this Cycle as another clone of him.

But seeing that you had some humanity left, he learns to trust you, exploring the studio with you and protecting each other from the Keepers.

Definitely shares his train and other toys with you, hoping they’ll make you happy as much as they did him.

Being a little devil, he's quite mischievous, as are you, so pranks are common. But they’re only geared towards the Butcher Gang and Lost Ones who are rude to you (they fear any Bendy variant so you both use this to your advantage).

Ink Demon

It started as an unwitting rivalry, which basically meant you had to run like hell if you saw him.

He touts about being the “real” Ink Demon and thinks you’re trying to compete with him for a long while...until he senses that you’re always afraid of him, never challenging him, and only then he understands you don’t want any trouble. 

Like him, you were turned into something awful..something flawed (yep he’ll be projecting for days).

He has sympathy for you, but he’s far from your friend. So don’t get too comfortable around him

Like with Audrey, he proposes merging together in order to become one powerful Ink Demon that everyone will fear..and in turn it’ll give you the strength to stand up to your enemies.

Unfortunately for him, it’s become a habit for you to turn down the offer each time he brings it up (much to his ire).

Twisted Alice

Her hatred of the Ink Demon goes for all variants of him..including you.

You try explaining that you’re not him and would never try to “taint” her attempts at perfection.

She doesn’t trust you and has chased you with an axe/tommy gun multiple times.

Though she stops when she overhears you singing “I’m Alice Angel” one day...learning actually likes your voice. It’s sounds pure, untainted by the ink.

Perhaps you’re not him, after all, she finally decides, approaching you calmly.

“Your vocal cords sound heavenly. I’d love to tear them out some day and use them as my own” is the nicest compliment you’ll ever get from her. Better treasure it.

Allison

Tom was adamant about trusting you, considering his own run-ins with the Ink Demon in previous Cycles.

While Allison wanted to believe you were good..the pair were worried you had some “link” with the demon (ie he might know where you are at all times, and vice versa, which is risky if you’re in a hideout with them).

So they’ll be on the move constantly, trying to avoid you (which is Tom’s idea more than Allison’s).

When your disprove their theories, however, you’re welcomed to join them or stop by one of their hideouts for food and shelter.

You ask Allison why she let you stick around despite looking like their enemy, she simply says that “anyone with even an ounce of humanity left in them is worth helping”, which makes you smile.

Eventually you’ll be trusted with a weapon and go on adventures with the pair, trying to find new ways out of the Cycle.

Betty

Being Wilson’s maid, she’s distrusting of anyone resembling the Ink Demon.

If you didn’t have his permission to stay within the manor, she wouldn’t want anything to do with you.

Assuming he did allow it (in exchange for hearing his ideas for experiments and giving him info on the Ink Demon), Betty only attends to your needs out of obedience, not because she necessarily wants to.

She’ll frequently remind you of this in the form of subtle passive-aggressiveness.

If you’re insecure about looking like the Ink Demon, however, she’ll grow a bit more sympathetic to your woes, offering you a wardrobe to better disguise yourself.

Wilson

Unless you were a previous acquaintance of Wilson’s, it’s very unlikely he’ll let you roam around as another Ink Demon clone freely.

If anything you’ll probably be imprisoned with the other “Cyclebreakers” with the Keepers keeping tabs on you.

Is 100% convinced you know the Ink Demon’s weakness and will bother you about this day and night.

Much like Bendy, though, you’re not so easily contained and you break out frequently.

To get back at him, you harass the Keepers constantly (and deface all posters of Wilson by doodling eyebrows, mustaches, etc. over them)

[vvyvernicus]

So now that Fionna and Cake has officially ended and possibly won't get a second season, I've decided I'll make a small post about a character that's lived in my mind for a while. This of course has major spoilers for OG Adventure Time, so read at your own risk.

It takes place way back, before the Mushroom War even began. There is a woman in her mid twenties who works a dead end job in a cafe. It's not the most exciting job in the world, but it pays the bills. Specifically the loans she took out so that her comatose young sister can stay in hospital care. She knows that she can never pay them back, but works hard regardless.

But her life is not entirely gloomy. After all, there's that regular who comes to the cafe. He's a little dorky, always wearing these round black glasses and a bowtie. But there was just something so captivating when he talked, like he could make the most complicated topic sound easy and fun to understand. It wouldn't be far fetched to say his visits made her day.

She finally decides to confess and... he's brought his fiancee. She didn't know he had a fiancee, but that's cool. Her name is Betty. They're very good for each other and she can see that since now they both come together. She's happy for them and moves on with her life. As best as she can, it's a little hard to tell your brain to just stop liking someone immediately.

Then they both just stop showing up to the cafe. At first she thinks that they must have gone on another expedition together, since they had told her stories of their previous endeavors. But it had been months now. Eventually she has to tell herself that they aren't coming back. The country is now in shambles and it's only a matter until— bombs fell.

The world gets swarmed with nuclear radiation that mutates whatever it touches. She is of course caught in the blast while taking shelter in the cafe. Her body starts to mutate while she's unconscious. However when she wakes up she still looks... normal. Unlike the world around her which looks like a zombie apocalypse. She sees other people's bodies which have turned into grotesque slime creatures.

Of course, she immediately gets the hell away from them as she makes her way to the hospital. Her little sister had to be alive still. After all, she was. Her little sister was too pure to turn into one of those creatures. Oh. The hospital was destroyed. Completely crushed by the rubble.

It's fine. She's probably still alive right? If the rubble was just removed. She'll be okay. It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's not fine. Oh shit, they're coming this way.

The city she lived in was now swarming with those mutated slime monsters. She couldn't stay there anymore, it just wasn't safe. So she did what people do in those post apocalyptic shows and gathered as much supplies as she could into a backpack. Maybe she'd return to the city again once those monsters had dispersed or decreased in number. For now she just needed to get the hell out of there. Find somewhere safe, anywhere safe.

Weeks go by. This world seems to scare her out more and more as time goes by. Where is everyone else? She's not truly the last person alive, is she? Panic attacks become a more regular occurrence. The strange feelings in her body don't seem to help with them either.

While scavenging at the city's outskirts, she hears a child's scream. Not hearing a human sound in days, she rushes to the source. It's a girl with bluish skin—not human, but close to being attacked by those creatures. She cautiously approaches before the slime monster gets turned to ice.

She sees another blue skinned humanoid with long white hair and a beard. He's wearing this crown thing on his head. The girl immediately yells at him for putting it on and he takes it off and apologizes to her. For the first non slime mutants she had seen since this apocalypse began, she was intrigued. She got a little closer to observe them while keeping a safe distance.

No, she recognizes this outfit he's wearing. And those glasses he's wearing, but he's missing that little bowtie. Simon?! It's him, but different. Was he changed by the bombs too? She had to go over and see—

Shit. What's happening?! Why was her body changing all of a sudden? Why was she changing into this beast!?

Oh crap they see her now. Only now that she's transformed. God, they are terrified. She must look so scary to them. Run. That's all she can do. She can't let them see her like this.

She runs for what feels like weeks. Just running in that non human form. Sometimes she wants to change back, but it feels safer to be like this. Though, eventually she does when she reaches an area she wants to scavenge that is too small for that bestial form. But afterwards, she finds her body transforming right back.

Life goes on like this for months. She finds that she has control over this new power. But in a world that's become overwhelmed with danger, she finds security in that bigger, stronger body. She saw her reflection once in a pond. It reminded her of a nine tailed fox, but with many more eyes and much more terrifying.

She finally locates this elusive island of surviving humans. And she's sure that they are human since she's carefully observed them for a while. But she knows that she can't join them. After all, she's no longer a human herself. Even if she can morph her body to look like her old self, she can't say she's still human. And these humans are terrified of mutants. So she leaves to find her own place in this new world.

Years seem to be passing, but she never feels herself growing older. The mutants have become more sentient now and some even seem to be evolving. She still keeps her distance from them. She wasn't ready to trust anything yet. Her scavenging hobby still persisted as she kept looking for ways to hold onto the past.

Eventually she settled into this abandoned theme park. Using her beast form was easy to claim it as her lair and scare off anything that dared enter. Now she had a proper place to store her relics. With a few centuries of cleaning and polish, this place would turn into a real home. She even took a crack at this new magic stuff to set up a barrier to close it off to everyone else in the world.

Though there was something to be said about loneliness. She could never really connect with the less hostile variants that sprung up from the ashes of the world she once lived in. Her body could shapeshift into something of a mix between beast and her old human body shape. Especially since humans were apparently delicious, she couldn't walk around freely in her old body. But never once could she really connect with any of these new beings.

Her deep diving excavations of lost human technology eventually leads her to a snowy area. The ice and snow was a pain to dig through, even using her stronger body, but she was able to find a lot of good findings. At least until the self proclaimed ruler of these parts came over to complain to her. He calls himself the Ice King. Oh right, she's heard of him before. He's the weirdo who kidnaps the princesses of the lands.

Despite this, she remains respectful and offers to make a bargain. She'll continue digging stuff up, but allowing him to have whatever it is she finds and she takes the leftovers. Somehow he agrees with this. Huh, she didn't expect that. She was just going to keep digging regardless, but it was always nice to have permission.

Finding more human relics was always fun. Even if she already had dozens of old laptops, it was fun to keep building up her collection. The Ice King seemed unusually interested in her excavations to her surprise. Since she started digging, he'd frequently pop by to check on her. Sometimes it was like he forgot who she was, but once she reminded him the conversations would play out like normal.

Strange as he was, she found herself enjoying their little chats. Sure he was incredibly quirky and odd, but somehow she found it endearing. Having the penguins around was pleasant too. But it was him who made her days just a little more enjoyable. For the first time in centuries, she was really starting to feel genuine happiness again.

Of course there were things she didn't like. Like whenever a princess was captured. That was more annoying than anything. Since she had to quietly rescue them. Having them there seemed to lessen the chats she had with him after all.

Ah shit, she's got a crush on him. Somehow that happened. There were plenty of other weirdos she could have had crushes on. But no, her brain chose him. And she was perfect okay with this. Not like she could force herself to stop liking him, that's just not how crushes work.

There's just... something familiar about him. Specifically his voice. Oh shit, it's him. Like really him. The regular named Simon who she had a crush on decades ago when they were both still human. But like her, he's changed now, not only in appearance but in personality.

So she does a little research and she concludes that he is cursed. And the thing that cursed him is the crown that he wears. So of course she decides to see if there's anything she can do to break it. But when doing her research, she realizes something. If the curse is removed he becomes mortal again. Human. He'll age and die.

That's not what she wants. No. There has to be another way. A way to return him to normal and keep him at her side. Because like this he was suffering, she could see it. But she didn't want to watch him die. There just had to be another way...

I'll probably never write an actual story or plot surrounding this character. Not that I don't want to, but matching Adventure Time's tone and style in writing is a little bit tricky. But I hope you've enjoyed my little "what if" character. Now I should probably get back to writing that Winter King fic I said I'd write...

Anyways, thanks for reading my little brain dump!

[inafieldofdaisies]

And "don’t leave" for Oliver and Oakley from the one word prompts, if you want as well?

"Oaks?", Oliver called out as soon as he pushed the heavy door to her hideaway open, his voice echoed down the dimly lit hallway and was met by silence. "You're not in a horror movie. Though, she might want to kill you for intruding.", he muttered under his breath while advancing forward, set on fulfilling his promise to her grandmother and checking up in Oakley no matter how annoyed she might get. "You again.", was the first thing to greet him as he entered her surveillance room, finding her lounging in front of the roll of monitors that displayed feeds from around Moore's large property. "Me again.", Oliver parrotted back, gaze zeroing on a photograph in her hands that held her attention more than the screens she would usually watch. Silence engulfed both of them before she twisted to look at him and sighed, "You can tell her I'm doing just fine and be on your way." "Are you truly fine, though?", with that, he moved towards her instead of retreating as instructed, something about the expression she wore pulled him in, and he couldn't shake the feeling leaving would be a huge mistake His hands grasped the back of her chair, and he took his first peek at the grainy picture over her shoulder. A young couple beamed at the camera, a little girl with pale blonde hair squished between them and wearing just as big of a smile.

"They seem happy.", he whispered past the lump in his throat, wishing he could see her face once more. Her thumb ran circles over the photograph, "Don't they?" "Nana was hoping you would come up. She made dinner." "I can't." "If it's because of me… I can go, Moore.", a part of him dreaded dragging himself back to the motel when a warm meal was set up for him above ground, but making that sacrifice seemed better than her sitting all alone. "Don't leave.", his eyebrows rose in surprise as she rushed to add, "Nana would think I chased you off." He nodded, "So if it's not me…" "It's the night, and me. I wish I could remember them.", her tone was stoic, but the way she gripped the picture had him rounding the chair and crouching down until her could grasp her hands, "Silly, I know. Won't do me any good. But it's like I'm looking at two strangers and I feel so much, yet nothing at all." "You were young. Too young. You shouldn't-" Her eyes lifted to his for a brief second, "I've stared at this picture so much over the years, I have their features memorized. Their voices, though… how we were as a family, I can't remember any of it, Oliver." "Nana has albums. She's taken them out, too.", he retorted quietly, hope taking flight in his chest at the fact she held his stare instead of focusing on the image again and zoning out. "So you can laugh at my baby pictures?", her lips quirked up slightly. "I doubt they'd be worse than mine, love.", a dramatic shudder passed over her at the petname, "My ma was super into costumes, still pulls out my baby albums any chance she gets." "Were you as annoying?", Oakley asked as he pried the picture out of her hold, and pulled her to her feet, not wasting any time in case she changes her mind with how stubborn of a person she was. "I'm told I was such a good baby, excuse me very much." Keep her distracted, McKenzie. She rolled her eyes but let him lead her out of the room, "Mhm. I totally believe that." "Truly. With the occasional hiccup here and there." "I knew it. And what were the costumes, do tell?" He squeezed her hand as he picked up his pace once they hit the stairway leading up and out of the stuffy bunker, "I will tell you all about them after dinner. I've been eyeing the pie Betty made the whole evening, Oaks. I'd probably dream of it." "Hungrier than a bear. It's why she loves you so much." The cool night air bit through his thin shirt, and he followed the lights from the house in the distance with newfound determination, still not believing he had managed to get that far, "I have a feeling she'd love me even more now." "Probably serve you half that pie." "From your mouth to God's ears."

[pawzforamoment]

Oh my golb I am screaming and frothing in the mouth over Fionna and Cake. I am so afraid yet excited for the next episodes like

AUGH

PLEASE

IT HAS EVERYTHING I AM SOBBING

Long incomprehensible ramble ahead

Soft Petrikov, more Betty, Toxic ass hell tear each other apart Bubbline, Gumlee getting together. Fionna seeing just how fucked Simon was actually as Ice King. Seeing Simon and Betty before their relationship, absolute awkward as hell dorks, especially Simon. It HURT seeing how oblivious and dense he was, as if I needed more reasons to relate to him. And holy crab apples the call backs, the references, the continuation of stuff that was left behind before like going back to the previous universe after The Lich won?!?! THE JUMP CUT TO SUDDENLY DEAD ICE KING AND GUNTHER I DIDNT EXPECT THAT AT ALL THAT WAS INSANE.

I love seeing Fionna grapple with the effects of her actions too, from killing all those candy people, her reckless and rash behavior resulting to Martin dying and the tank crashing. She used to be so excited to be in a magical world and she started to realize it isn't like she thought it up to be. Becoming afraid to take risks because she's afraid she'll lose Cake too and holding Cake back multiple times in fear of her safety. Cake hasn't changed at all yet throughout the whole series and it ends up being a stark contrast to Fionna in the end. Cake is still being reckless and while not outwardly malicious, just wants to save their world and return it back to how it was meant to be. Not grasping the consequences that'll bring for Simon. Cake wasn't there to hear Simon's story, or be comforted by Simon the way Fionna was, She doesn't even really seem to be as hung up about how their actions has affected others. For the first time in a long time she has agency of her own. She doesn't see Simon the way Fionna does now and it doesn't help she's easily the most worst off when things aren't magical in her own universe, stuck as a mundane cat that can't talk and dependent on her owner Fionna.

I love that both Simon and Fionna hasn't realized the actions they're doing may be harming people in ways they didn't think about before and is slowly realizing it. Simon realizing how much he meant to Marcy slowly, and how he hasn't realized that his obliviousness of Betty's downright toxic tendency to throw away everything for him has doomed her to continue on acting upon it or that he's unintentionally feeding into it himself. He only saw the impulsiveness, the confident and assertive and fun Betty. He didn't even think about just how big it was to actually throw away that trip to Australia really was for her, or ever got the chance to recognize that she's sacrificing too much of herself for him. And like now, he hasn't truly grasped just how much it'll affect Betty when she learns that he's working to reverse the wish entirely to keep him safe by trying to put on the crown again. And the same for Betty too, Betty didn't consider that Simon would be in so much despair when she's gone and he's sane and alone. And how desperate Simon was for her. It sucks, they love and care about each other so much that they're willing to sacrifice everything for each other, not even thinking about how that's exactly what they DON'T want for them to do, or realize that maybe oh idk, Taking care of yourself is in itself can be an act of love for them too. Betty was so fixated on going along with whatever Simon is doing, Simon none the wiser not realizing how much she's actually sacrificing in hindsight, If he knew he would've definitely stop her, if they had the chance to grow as a couple, I could imagine that they would've worked it out, Maybe Simon could've learn to be more assertive and push for Betty to do what SHE wants, and reassuring her that HE'LL be there for HER. That it doesn't have to always be her giving everything, and just her being herself is enough. But no, that never happened because shit basically went down so hard and fast they never got the chance to grow, and learn to be more functional together. They're stuck in that infatuated love that twisted into a self destructive spiral of self sacrifice for one another, too immature to really think about how bad this is of an idea for them. But are so desperate for each other all the same. They keep getting ripped apart before coming to terms with their situation fully and learning from it.

God I hope that Fionna helps Simon realize how his own actions may have been affecting his loved ones he currently has and that he was too absorbed over his sadness and madness and self loathing that he was blinded over the fact that there's many people who still care and love him. There's people that worked so hard to save him, to get him the second chance of living after it was cut short by the madness of the crown. How that maybe trying to turn back into Ice King could be so heart breaking for not just Betty, but everyone back home to his own reality, Bonnie, Finn, Marceline especially. Betty gave him another chance at living a full life, with people he love yet he's throwing it away again and making her sacrifice null, and abandoning Marceline again too. Sure it's in service of wanting to see her again, but she was content with just him being safe.

(insert Marceline saying "He needs to take care of himself for me because I still need him." By Chili Heeler from Bluey)

And how Fionna asked if there could've been another way to save Marcy instead of putting on the crown. It kinda weirdly matches with how Simon is trying to save them by putting on the crown. And maybe there may have been a better way. And maybe with the case of Marcy there may have not been, but what about with Fionna and Cake's situation? We know that before they met Simon was just depressed and lonely, even longing to be Ice King again because things were simple and easier that way. He's not concerned about his own well being in any way at this point, The only thing that probably kept him from being outright drastic and obvious is that he knows enough that the people he cares about would worry about him if they see him trying to summon Golb/Trying to genuinely become Ice King again. So when presented with a "Good" reason to be Ice King as it'll save Fionna and Cake and return their world back to normal, He takes it immediately, doesn't even question whether there may have been another way, And maybe he thought that his loved ones wouldn't be as sad because he's totally not doing it out of despair guys it's to save Fionna and Cake!

Ok in their defense it probably is hard to try and think about an alternative way to do do while being chased but still. Simon hasn't even thought about how the others would feel about him just, Straight up missing since he believes everyone's up in their own lives and he's just forgotten sad old man.

Anyway, Petrigrof is beloved, everyone deserves a hug, I hope Baby Finn is ok, I hope I see Marceline and PB and the others back where Simon was from react. And I'm glad that Fionna recognizes atleast some of the pain Simon is going through and why he's working so hard to get back to Betty. Ngl It hurt me so much to see how Simon has been treated over how depressed he is about Betty and how everyone keeps going on and on about Ice King.

Anyway that's all for now, I shall retreat into consuming fan art of the show now.

[maya-matlin]

hi ashton!!! <333 I'm asking you this on anon because I don't wanna get hate I do ship all three ships lol I watched a barchie video and on it a barchie was like "I love how planned they were" and etc and maybe I'm blind asf but planned??? other than a few looks, throwaway comments and etc to cause drama for bughead and varchie it wasn't planned at all imo?? they barely interacted in s2b, S3 and s4a (I'm only talking about those seasons because this video was after 417 lol) and yeah they kissed in 415 but it was to catch donna and the preppies and to protect jughead, they fake dated for like one episode and the barchies are like "they love each other they've wanted each other all along" like what??? and dgms on comments about how they were with jughead and veronica so they wouldn't ruin their friendship and as a rebound, you don't date people for 4+ years to protect your friendship or as a rebound I'm sorry lol 417&418 were done very badly imo, if they wanted us to think they had these feelings for a long time they did a terrible job of showing it!! imo betty thought she had those feelings for him because she loved the idea of him and the 1x01 fantasy quote is very true imo lol I'm sorry but if they were planned from the start they did a terrible job at writing it and showing it!! what cheryl says is so true in 418 bughead (and varchie) were so beautifully developed and they showed how endgame they were which is more than I can say for barchie and I do ship them I'm just saying lol also them saying how it makes no sense for archie to have feelings for veronica in s5 after he was gonna leave her for betty even though he's loved veronica since s1 and always goes back to her and it's him having feelings for betty after everything that makes no sense tbh (talking about S4 ofc lol) it was written very poorly which is the rvd way but lol people saying betty didn't truly love jughead and archie didn't truly love veronica are literally stupid because they were both so endgame coded!!! anyway my question is what are your thoughts on this? that they were planned and how they were written and anything else you wanna add lol I know you hate riverdale and barchie so sorry if I'm bringing up old wounds <3

I'm genuinely sorry you feel as though you can't be honest all because some people on this site don't know how to act. That's ridiculous and completely inexcusable.

Sigh. First of all, it's Riverdale. That show seemed much more committed to the week to week ridiculous, over the top moments meant to garner attention and the instant gratification (for better or worse, in the case of a ship like Bughead who hooked up extremely early on but managed to be a mostly lovable cornerstone of the series for most of its run) than they ever were interested in doing anything long term. So the idea that Betty and Archie's eventual relationship was anything resembling a "slow burn" or well thought out with years-long development is just.. no. Fans are allowed to enjoy what they did get and relish in the smaller moments, intentionally or otherwise, that came before what they believe to be an epic hookup. But in my opinion, it wasn't that deep. The Betty/Archie arc was one of the sorriest excuses for a so-called "inevitable" relationship that I've ever seen. Again, we all interpret things like ships and story lines in different ways. But again, I have to disagree completely. It's as though you're only ever allowed to have loved or cared for one person to the extent that relationships that lasted for the majority of the series are written off as rebounds. For fans who are so committed to recognizing and celebrating tropes, it's interesting to see how often stuff like this gets misinterpreted and how there's a severe misunderstanding for how teen dramas in general work? To be fair, there are other shows where I feel the writing was so terrible that I simply have to call bullshit on it and can't look past my own, personal viewpoint. That being said, ideally if you want to make a compelling, rational argument you need to come away with actual evidence and not just resort to "she liked this guy first, therefore she only ever liked him and we're prepared to write off 77 episodes of content that suggests otherwise."

There were plenty of chances for Riverdale to have properly teased the idea of mutual feelings between Betty and Archie brimming under the surface. Every single opportunity the show had prior to the cheating, they seemed to shut the idea down and instead stuck with the Bughead and Varchie pairings. The biggest one being, of course, the kiss in season 2. A better show (if they truly wanted to explore Betty/Archie) would have either paired them up while both were single or quickly put them back with their original partners, which they did, but demonstrated that in spite of this they couldn't forget the kiss and found themselves drawn to each other. Obviously, this didn't happen. Nothing notable happened again until season 4 where, of all things, they fake dated, and yet none of the intimate moments between the two characters were ever SHOWN to the audience. Just one awkward scene where they texted followed by a contrived musical number featuring flashbacks to their three episodes. Fan fic writers make a gourmet meal with themes like this on a regular basis. How did they fuck it up so badly??

Speaking of that, THIS is what Riverdale should have done in this context and failed to do:

I hate Lucas and Peyton together. They're easily one of my least favorite ships of all time. But the writers of One Tree Hill at least understood how to execute these moments well. Even though I wasn't a fan of everything done to push Lucas and Peyton back together, the actual moment where everything clicks for Peyton and we see through flashbacks how much Lucas has meant to her was very effective. The Origin of Love wasn't on this level because there wasn't anything to call back to outside of three episodes (101, 102, 209).

As for the time jump years, it honestly felt like the friends with benefits "arc" was supposed to be the beginning and end of the exploration between Betty and Archie. It had a clear beginning with them (literally) coming together out of loneliness and because they were trying to bury their respective traumas by losing themselves in each other. The whole thing ends with Betty realizing and vocalizing to Archie why they don't work together. Archie realizes independently of Betty that he's still in love with Veronica and doesn't want to be the guy Betty turns to for emotional stuff. That alone has pretty awful implications considering they're supposed to be former childhood best friends. But whatever. 509-518 did absolutely nothing to set up Betty or Archie missing each other or changing their perspectives and needs in such a way where their hookup at the end of the season made any damn sense. Season 6 felt as though Betty was given a lobotomy and was forced to be Archie's ideal woman at all costs as he did nothing but be his wonderful self because he only deserves the best. But even that's not really good enough considering the show made Archie the savior of Riverdale and Betty the Harlot of Babylon. Not even Betty, the so-called flawless girl next door, can possibly live up to the paragon of virtue that should be the future Mrs. Archie Andrews. In Archie's defense (even though he bugs me and I don't like defending him), he doesn't seem to put this pressure on Betty maliciously or even knowingly. But the narrative will not stop punishing Betty during the time jump years for her "sins" all the while never holding Archie accountable for doing the same or similar things. So as a result, somehow the relationship became even worse for me. Betty is constantly and consistently misunderstood with Archie barely scratching the surface of who Betty is as a person. It's so painful to see knowing how Betty and Jughead clicked on all levels and could clearly see into each other's souls. Even though they came from different worlds, they found love and acceptance in each other with their endgame basically already written until bad writing tore it apart.

ANYWAYS. I'll never know exactly what the show thought it was doing. It genuinely felt as though there was a plan in place as late as season 5 to put Betty back together with Jughead while keeping Archie and Veronica together. But then some genius got the idea for a 5 episode event that seemed to tease the idea that the ships they hooked up at the end of season 5 were the wrong ones. Then somehow, said ships were basically kept together for the entirety of season 6 even after the characters were back in "normal" Riverdale. Or you know, Lili and Cole went through a messy breakup considering Cole overshared on that podcast and so Bughead was potentially Chophia'd outside of a handful of episodes. But then, the series finale featured a lot of interaction between those two to the point where it feels strongly implied their characters end up together in the "sweet hereafter", so who even knows? All I know is that Riverdale was a terrible show and should never get any credit for good writing.

[shining-stxrs]

"Boy do I ever!" (for Betty's perspective on their wedding day! :D)

@crowncursed

Wedding Day!!!

This. This felt like the happy ending she always wanted and deserved. They may be different now but if you asked her that's what made this all so great. The universe had seemingly gotten their way to be together at every turn. Changed both of them so much as just another way to make coming back together almost impossible. But here they were.

They both proved the universe wrong. That they belonged together no matter what. They were so different. Such different people that it really was like falling in love all over again. She had tried for awhile to bring simon back but eventually as she got to know the ice king she realized he was there.

Not only that but with how mad she was the more time she spent with the ice king the more she grew to love him too and how perfectly his own madness seemed to fit with her own. It had been paradise ever since they got together and she really thought she was in her own little slice of heaven once he asked her to marry him.

She hadn't wasted any time either. Unlike her and simon there was to be no long engagement. Nothing was gonna get in their way before they tied the knot. She had planned the whole wedding in matter of a week. They had invited all of their closest friends. Made the place as pretty as possible for the big event.

She wore her same yellow magic woman hat but had painted it blue and white for the occasion With her dress she hadn't done anything too special. She had taken an old wedding dress she found and diyed it to her own tastes. Cut the poofy dress to have a short skirt. Used magic to sew autumn leaves to it it as well as some things that reminded her of him. Such as a little penguin brooch to tie to their little penguin children. Now she was an official step mom or would be in just a minute.

She was giddy as she waited at the alter for him. So much so that she was pretty much hopping in place by the time he walked up to her. Her heart was pounding like crazy just seeing him all handsome in his suit. The way she looked at him while he gave his vows was nothing short of lovestruck.

In her case she didn't need any notes to remember them. "So much has brought us here. I never thought us being here. That being together was in the cards for us. With your history of having a thing for princesses and mine with trying to find simon." From what she told the man simon was somebody that she loved and lost. As far as the ice king knew she was a widow and that very much felt accurate when she first met the ice king.

"I was trying so hard to cling to my past that I couldn't see the future right in front of me." A little cheesy but considering what she went through to get here she figured they could deal with it. "Once I accepted you for who you are and instead of who I wanted you to be I fell in love with that man."

She spoke tenderly as she took his hands in hers for a brief moment. "I love you telling me about day. All the little drawings you make. How truly devoted you are to me. To making me happy and I love the little home and little family you've given me. You've brought me so much happiness and comfort. What I've been missing all these years. I adore you ice king. You're my happy ending. I can't wait to spend the rest of eternity to you." If she had anything to say about it she would use magic to make them live forever.

With that they were allowed to kiss as man and wife. It started with a quite tender kiss but that escalated into a full on makeout. Getting so gross their guests eventually left the room and opted for the buffet. Betty couldn't find herself giving a damn. Not coming up for air until she couldn't breathe anymore. "So how does it feel to be my husband?" She teased rubbing a finger against his chest.

[riverblossom-valley]

Riverblossom Valley updated bios - RBH edition

Viejo: Catherine and Betty recently uncovered the secret to a happier, more fulfilling life: staying away from men. The two had been tempted by a nearby farmer but decided he was too far gone and then set their sights to each other. Now they're making the most of what time they have left while the Martin boys are distracted by their numerous pixels.

McGreggor: Formerly touted as a rural Casanova, Leod's green thumb has started to bloom in ways he's never expected. He still keeps the idea of finding someone on his mind, but it's starting to get overgrown by weeds and he hasn't found a strong enough weed-killer.

Greenman: Having sprouted two boys after Daisy, Rose decided to go all-in and embrace human culture by opting to grow the first-documented sim-plantsim hybrid. Jason had been keeping close observation of everything…that is until he went and got himself abducted. The greenhouse is about to become a bit more chaotic but the pair wouldn't have it any other way.

Roth: Stella's restlessness has subsided due to her having to play PR as to why Morty has gotten more round in the mid-section once again. At first, she had forgiven his little extraterrestrial tryst but things have been rocky since he went and did it again. How in the middle will she be able to stave away the "perfect little family" ideal with aliens running amuck in the mansion?

Wan: Patricia's given up on Gabe and, apparently, at a good time since he went off and got married to an artist from nearby Desiderata Valley. She and Cleo have recently started throwing around some innocent flirting but there is some hope that it won't be so innocent for too long.

O'Mackey: Jules would never admit it but she'll kind of miss having Patricia around to scowl at - her father's new wife does seem a bit more even-tempered, though, and she is more than okay with the house always smelling like fresh grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ottomas: Despite having never truly seeing things from eye to eye, Samantha does miss having her mother-in-law around. Ever since she passed and her oldest moving out, things in the Ottomas house have seemed emptier - but that's nothing another set of baby feet won't fill!

Ramaswami: Riverblossom Hills has brought nothing but happiness for Sanjay and Priya! They're both excelling in the respective careers and raising their daughters right - what could possibly go wrong? Oh, yeah, there is the rumor that Sanjay has started sleeping around with one of Priya's co-workers, but they'll burn that bridge if and when they get to it.

[cherryliqueurkinks]

what slithers in the shadows

Her mother always warns her about the creatures in the woods, but maybe this time Betty will finally listen.

Countdown to Halloween - 6 Days Until Halloween!

character: betty cooper

READ ON AO3

It isn't the first time an overbearing parent has come to him to scare their child back into line, though he must say there's something about Alice Cooper's request that feels far less benevolent than the others, yet not entirely surprising. Mothers resenting their daughters for being everything they weren't in their own youth is something he's seen time and time again as a professor, and at the end of the day, he isn't being paid to judge why something is being asked of him.

Convincing Betty to meet him in Fox Forest at midnight is easy enough. She's an eager student, always willing to help, even when she should exercise a little self-preservation. Even from a distance and through the shadows of the trees, he can see the trepidation in her wide eyes at being alone in the middle of the night in the middle of the forest, but still, she waits dutifully.

Rather than being met with her professor, however, she'll find that there truly are creatures worth running from in these woods.

-

Betty thinks it's simply the wind, maybe the rustle of a small critter scampering through the trees, until she feels a chill slither down her spine that feels distinctly like the weight of someone's stare settling on her. She whirls around, eyes darting through the gaps in the trees illuminated by the moonlight, and the sight of leaves scattering across the forest floor as a shadow darts toward her is the only warning she gets before there's a tug on her ankle that sends her flat onto her ass.

"Ah!" Betty gasps, squirming against its grip, but then there's a weight wrapping around her other ankle, too, its cold and rough texture winding up her calves and holding her firmly in place as she feels something sliding underneath her and lifting her up.

A cry begins to work its way up her throat, but the distinct sound of a hiss has Betty freezing in place, her breath hitching as another shadow slinks closer, large and looming overhead. Just before it reaches her, Betty notices the flash of its eyes, slanted and beady and distinctly unhuman - yet nothing can prepare her for the sight of its silhouette slithering toward her, finally being revealed as it passes out from under the trees and into the moonlight.

A snake.

The creature that's caught her is a snake, daunting and unnaturally large, its body thicker than the trunks of the trees and its head brushing the tallest canopy of leaves as it rises to its full height. Its gaze is still fixed entirely on her, fangs gleaming as its tongue darts out, and Betty shudders as she feels herself being laid atop its body as it continues coiling around the forest floor. It's so large and long that it seems to fill the small clearing Betty had been waiting in.

The snake hisses and Betty feels the grip on her legs tighten as if in response, her eyes darting down to see two smaller snakes winding themselves higher up her thighs. Betty reaches her hands out on an impulse, attempting to bat them away, but they dart out and wrap around her wrists, pinning them to her thighs and coiling tighter as she tries to wriggle free.

"N-no," Betty murmurs, glancing back up at the larger snake to find its head even closer to her now.

It juts forward, jaw snapping, and Betty lets out a strangled cry as it tears at the front of her nightgown. Another lash and then her bra is shredded open, too, her nipples hardening rapidly against the cold night air, and Betty whimpers as its tongue slithers up the flat of her stomach. Tingles ripple across her skin where it touches her, but to her horror, the tingles rapidly dissolve into white-hot licks of pleasure that has a moan falling from her lips.

Then its tongue passes over one of her nipples, circling it tightly, and Betty moans even louder as the hot sensation shoots straight down to her cunt, her arousal spilling out of her. The snake's venom has her nearly crawling out of her skin from the onslaught of pleasure it leaves in its wake, more slickness dripping from her as the tongue darts over her other nipple, and its eyes seem to glint in satisfaction as Betty lets out a louder, more wanton moan.

Betty writhes against the grip of the smaller snakes, trying in vain to wriggle away, but their hold on her gives her little room to work with as the larger snake tilts its head closer to her cunt, almost entirely exposed with the way tattered remains of her nightgown have bunched up around her hips.

Then she feels a firm press against the damp front of her panties, Betty's eyes snapping forward to see the tail of the large snake slinking between her legs. It's slimmer than the rest of its body, but its thickness still feels far more daunting than anything she's ever had inside of her as it prods at her cloth-covered cunt.

Her stomach clenches in fear, yet her arousal is stronger, humming just under her skin as she feels the friction of it through the thin material as it practically strokes over her. She shouldn't want this, doesn't want this, yet her pussy flutters in anticipation as the tail finally slips under her panties and glides against her slick, dripping sex.

"Ohh," Betty mewls, eyes rolling back as the snake glides its tail over her, back and forth, back and forth, as if fucking the tightness of her panties instead of slipping inside of her. It's a torturous tease that has Betty grinding her hips up as best as she can against her restraints, her clit throbbing, pussy aching to be filled, and the snake makes another low hiss as its tongue darts across Betty's cheek.

She meets its beady eyes and sees the reflection of her cheeks flushed from arousal, her lips parted on a pant, her tongue nearly rolling out as she licks her bottom lip. She looks depraved and wanton, but in the depths of Fox Forest, there's no one else but her and this creature that has her ensnared, and Betty's shame succumbs to her need as she breathes out a desperate, "please."

As if in understanding, the snake's tongue darts out over her other cheek, its venom dripping over her tits and hardened nipples and sending more white-hot sparks of arousal through her veins as it thrusts its tail deep into her cunt.

"Ahh!"

Betty whines as she feels herself being stretched by the thickness of its tail, filling her so fully and deeply that it's on the precipice of being painful, except she's far too lost in her pleasure to feel the discomfort of it.

It doesn't fuck her hard or fast, but the scaled, ribbed texture creates the most unusual yet delicious friction that reaches so deep inside of her that she knows she's going to come far too soon, and it feels as if it only takes seconds for her to throw her head back with a shriek as her orgasm bursts through her. Wave after wave of pleasure crash down on her, sweeping her in the force of its current, but the smaller snakes simply coil tighter around her to hold her in place as the larger snake continues fucking her as if spurred on by her cries, driving her to a second orgasm in seconds.

By her third orgasm, Betty's throat has gone hoarse from her cries, and the snake's tongue darts out to lick her tears as they roll down her cheeks.

Her fourth orgasm and Betty's head lolls to the side, managing only whimpers and mewls as her body twitches and writhes from the overstimulation.

When she comes for a fifth time, she hears the snake hiss out, pressing tightly into her as she feels it begin to pulse, and then something warm and thick is spurting from its tail. Betty's eyes nearly cross from the sensation, her stomach fluttering as the hot, sticky fluid begins to drip from her pussy with how much is filling her, and she can still feel it painting ribbons of warm fluid across her thighs even as it finally eases its tail out of her entirely.

Betty feels as if she's on the verge of passing out, but then the tail slithers up her stomach, nudging past her panting lips and thrusting into her mouth, and Betty chokes out a moan as the strange, salty-sweet taste of her slickness and its sticky fluid coats her tongue.

Betty gazes dazedly out into the forest as the snake continues leisurely fucking her mouth, her eyes catching what looks like another shadow lingering behind one of the trees - but then a few more of the smaller snakes begin coiling around her body, tearing the rest of her clothes away, and the shadow is forgotten entirely as Betty's eyes blur with tears as the larger snake begins to press its tail down her throat.

[thatiranianphantom]

i wanted to give jt a chance because i love jug and i wanted him to be happy while betty went off to do whatever with archie for awhile. the jt friendship seemed like it had potential and i was optimistic this would be a fun ‘in between’ romance for both jug and tabitha.

then they started dating. ive really never seen anything like it. both very lovable characters, perfect situation, HORRIBLE execution. i’ve never seen two people have less chemistry in my life and this is coming from someone who has sat thru way too many bad tv shows. what is the deal there though fr? why do you think it’s so bad? i still can’t figure it out tbh—

i think i’d rather watch ba and trust me that is really saying something because i freaking HATE them lol

Agreed, anon!

I will openly admit I am biased to BH but that tends to shut me off of ships like BA, but I'd venture to say my dislike of JT had very little to do with ship preferences. I didn't like it, wouldn't have chosen it, but if it was a brief fling it could have had some potential before inevitably going back to their OG ships.

As you said, then they started dating. It truly looks like they're being forced to interact at gunpoint. As I've said I've seen LOTS of ships I hated on TV, but I've never seen two actors more clearly communicate that they cannot even stand to be in the same room as each other. At a certain point, I was less looking for chemistry and more looking for them being somewhat tolerant of each other? It was that bad. The J*bitha effect should be studied. Should I ever take a pop culture course, I will do an analysis on this very phenomenon, and why instead of saying "oh, this is actually the most unpopular pairing CW wide and is dragging the most popular character down, maybe we should end this" they just pressed in harder. Truly incredible. Could only be the work of a mediocre man failing up.

As to why, well...you know what my opinion on this is controversial, as is my wont and my reputation but I'll stick it behind a cut anyway.

First of all, part of it is acting ability. I'm sorry, I have nothing against her as a person, but Erinn Westbrook is not a good actress. She just isn't. In her earlier scenes as more of a side character, they could get away with it because she wasn't on screen much and was kinda propped up by other, better actors? But Cole is the kind of actor that needs a good scene partner. Lili is one of the most talented actors, so they work well as a pairing. But Erinn...she just reads her lines. It is truly to her detriment that they had more scenes with her in later episodes. She and Cole can't pull any genuine responses out of each other, and the chemistry dies there. It's not just Cole, too. In her scenes with Cami, you can see Cami trying to pull some genuine responses out of her and getting nothing. Again, nothing against Erinn as a person. Maybe she'd do better in other roles, who knows. But this was in my mind a contributing factor to why JT was so bad. Also, while I don't think the actors disliked each other and don't think there was any sort of drama on set, I think they did have different personalities and they don't strike me as the type that would hang out ordinarily if given the choice. That's pure spec, but yeah.

I think the other elements just came down to bad writing, bad storylines and whatever the opposite of lightning in a bottle is. A perfect storm for good, but kinda the opposite as a perfect storm for bad.

I don't like BA obviously but at least it appeared they could stand to be in the same room? It was quite a time that season. Part of what made the OGs work is it paired up weaker actors with stronger actors, but they threw all that in the trash in 5 and 6 and paired their weak actors together. And the result was....this.

[honda-hatch]

Reviewing A Subsequent Set of 14 Spider-Man Issues

Welcome back, non-existent audience. We begin our return with

The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August 1964): Our first appearance of Kraven! Not to mention, our first mention of Mary Jane! This one is a thriller. If you haven't figured it out already, I am a fan of drawn-out fights in these older issues, and this one doesn't disappoint, with a drawn-out cat and mouse game in its latter half. I'm not entirely sure how I fell about Kraven's potion stuff, though. Perhaps its the word choice. "Poison" just makes it sound more fitting, but perhaps that was banned by the CCA. Though, I'm not particularly a fan of Kraven having gotten his abilities from a Witch Doctor in a lost tribe, I do prefer him just being a peak human. Chameleon is also definitely underused here, merely calling in Kraven and then helping with his scheme -- it seems as if they wanted to bring him back, but were worried that they would encroach on plot territory they had re-allocated to Mysterio. Ah well. Still a fun issue! Also, we learn that JJJ apparently has a secret stash of milk chocolate bars hidden in the Daily Bugle. Truly deep lore.

The Amazing Spider-Man #16 (September 1964): Overall, this is a pretty solid issue. Spidey decides to go to the circus for the contrived reason of... making sure the public likes him? Which he figures can be confirmed or helped by performing in a circus that falsely advertised having him for free? Whatever. The Ringmaster's hypnosis powers give us a quick tussle against Daredevil, which, while lackluster, at least give Matt Murdock an excuse to appear in the issue. What follows is another fun setting-fight, with the webhead battling a bunch of circus goons. I'm not sure this is "one of the greatest issues I've ever read," as the title proclaims, but I already have a bone to pick with Marvel editorial, so it matters not. At this point, Pete is still fumbling Betty Brant and rejecting the concept of meeting MJ, lmao.

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 1 (October 1964): I'll be honest, I was kinda disappointed with this annual. 72 pages my ass! only like 43 or something are the actual sinister six story, with the rest being random background info blah blah blah. Not to mention, constant friggin ads for other Marvel comics!! Even Pete's existential crisis that block his spider powers felt like an excuse to advertise other heroes while he was trying to get his mojo back. At least his resolution to fight and die was pretty badass. Is this the whole point of annuals? Ugh. What a letdown. The sinister six don't even fight Spidey at the same time, instead they all want to defeat him on their own. We get a whole single page image for each fight, which all look great, but the actual solutions to the fights are lame, because Spidey is more occupied with getting to Betty and Aunt May. They all get arrested again at the end, but meh. At least the art was good, and the idea of May having a crush on Ock is funny. Blegh. Here's hoping future annuals are better.

The Amazing Spider-Man #17 (October 1964): This is a bizarre issue to judge. This version of the Goblin definitely feels more complete, with his bat glider and pumpkin bombs, and the driving plot being Flash's Spidey fan club is amusing, but the fight seems to just spin its wheels. I do enjoy Johnny jumping in to help, but... gah. Aunt May's health failing again does create another fun "city hates Spidey" situation, though. I fear I might get tired of that, however. We shall see!

The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November 1964): This is an solid little issue. Sure, it technically focuses around Pete being a whiner and not wanting to hurt himself for the sake of Aunt May, but seeing Flash and the Human Torch stand up for him while the public rails at him is nice. Not to mention, it's kinda hilarious that May is the one to tell Peter not to be a pussy.

The Amazing Spider-Man #19 (December 1964): Spidey's triumphant return to crime fighting is another fun issue. Honestly, I'm just really surprised that, somehow, the Enforcers always make for such great fights. Between them and Sandman, this issue has a lot of great action, and because Torch is there as well, we get Montana's newest weapon: "The Asbestos Lasso!" Gotta love the 60s. Anyhow, between the action, JJJ's "a second plane has hit the towers" moment, and the spooky cliffhanger, this is a great way to finish out 1964. Also, Ned Leeds debuts. Surely nothing will happen with him.

The Amazing Spider-Man #20 (January 1965): What a way to kick off 1965! Here we start to see a few things: first off, we get an immediate continuation of the cliffhanger from the previous issue, indicating more of the connected storytelling that will develop. Secondly, we get a lot of great facial reaction shots, especially from JJJ (which apparently Ditko was getting real fond of, between this issue and last). Thirdly, we have our first fight with Spidey having his suit torn up. It's a little touch, but knock-down, drag-out fight between him and Scorpion really does seem to indicate Pete's growth as a fighter -- most of the time he usually comes up with a clever solution to win, but between Scorpion and the Enforcers, it's fun to see him win fights based on skill and reflex alone. Really an excellent issue. Honestly, its going to become difficult to not repeat adjectives as I write these reviews, especially since the standards of comic writing will change with the times -- so just consider that I'm attempting to write in relativity to the period in which I'm currently reading from.

The Amazing Spider-Man #21 (February 1965): This issue is more amusing than anything. The conflict with the Beetle kinda takes a backseat to Peter's personal drama, which makes for an entertaining issue -- they've been playing up the idea of what will come to be called "Parker Luck," and it makes for a fine issue. One of the best parts about the bok is that every character introduced functions both as someone to be put in danger for Spider-Man, as well as someone to conflict with regular old Peter Parker -- even if Betty's shtick of "ah jeez he's pulling other bitches" is starting to get just a bit stale.

The Amazing Spider-Man #22 (March 1965): This... is a bizarre issue. The leading villains aren't particularly interesting, but we get some funny individual panels, such as

But aside from that, if I had a nickel for every time they said "female" in this issue, I could pick up a few more old comics. Also, there's a brief battle with a giant snake? Anyway.

The Amazing Spider-Man #23 (April 1965): This issue is alright. It's another mob story, which have become rather common already. The Goblin once again has a weirdly contrived plan that doesn't really work out, which leads to the highlights of the issue being Peter's new white casual outfit and the fact that he's being passive aggressive at Betty Brant for not mentioning a letter from Ned Leeds -- that, and Pete calls aunt may from a landline in the middle of a fight.

The Amazing Spider-Man #24 (May 1965): This is a fun issue. There isn't much in the way of action, but instead we get to see Peter go a bit insane. Or do we? It's a good thing nobody in his rogue's gallery deals in illusions. It is also definitely hilarious to see Lee commenting, again, on how easily people are influenced by the news. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965): This one's cover is pretty crazy in retrospect, lmao. Surely its someone's amazing fantasy. The spider-slayer chase itself is rather mundane, but Peter's personal drama sorta makes up for it, even if the book itself doesn't call attention to the idea that Peter, a seemingly-nerdy 18-year-old guy is swimming in women this early on (not to mention, we're getting more teases of Mary Jane). I don't take issue with it, it's just funny in retrospect with all of the "status quo" arguments that get tossed around these days with the character. But that's something I'll get to later.

The Amazing Spider-Man #26 (July 1965): This is quite an entertaining issue. We've drama with Peter losing both of his costumes last time, we've got drama with Liz and Betty, and also... the mob. But they manage to be the most mundane part of it all.

The Amazing Spider-Man #27 (August 1965): This is another solid issue, with Peter having to worm his way out of the mob's grasp, and then the police shooting the villain of the week to death off-panel. What a riot. I would like to make note of Green Goblin's glider on the cover though. Get a load of that.

Anyway, that's another 14 issues read. Admittedly, like old comics do, it is getting a bit formulaic at this point, though I know Peter is graduating high school sometime soon. That's mostly what's keeping me going, along with the promise of the MJ reveal. Onwards and upwards

[kindredhearts13]

Dissecting the Cleaning Lady, Episode 1x06 “Mother Donna”

Okay, there is so much to unpack from this episode- so, I am going to try and do my best to hit each thing. Point by point, moment by moment. This is going to be an even longer one, y’all. 

MARCO

We learned SO MUCH about Marco in this episode, alone. We had some great hints from the first episode and theories/info floating around, but piecing everything together ahead of us truly getting to know him next week gives us a solid opportunity to make some inferences based off of what has been presented thus far. 

In the first episode, as we meet Nadia, Thony tells us that she learned that husbands can be unreliable. This word is so important because I think it really sums up what is at the root of the issue between them. In order to break that point down, I first need to talk more about Fiona and the clear differences the show has already given us between the two siblings to help and better understand just who Marco is ahead of getting to truly meet him next week.

Fiona is described (by her own child, at the very least) as a woman who likes to party. And it comes across: she knows how to have a good time and she’s usually the one starting the good times. Fiona is fun and happy go lucky, and sometimes that attitude can make her seem naive or lead to poor decision making (i.e. selling drugs for someone). I think the clear difference that has already been established between Fiona and her brother is that she actually isn’t as naive as everyone believes. Fiona has been taking care of her family and herself for 15 years. She got herself and her son to a new country, is raising a daughter that is clearly excelling in school and life, a son that is smart and has so much love inside of him- that so happily and excellently takes care of his sister and cousin. Fiona has done an amazing job at building a life, as rightfully paranoid and overly cautious as she is. We learn from the moment that we meet her that she steps up for her family, no questions asked. Fiona is reliable. 

I think that Fiona serves as a really good juxtaposition to Marco, and in a way a foil to him. I love the fact that the trope is usually a sister that is all over the place while the brother has his head on his shoulders. But in this case, it is the sister who holds that position of being grounded, despite being a wild and free woman who likes to have a good time.

Marco is the one who is unreliable. And I’m really curious as to how that will translate into the next episode. He is clearly a man who loves his son, but he is also a man that hasn’t shown up as a husband for Thony in the way that she needs (and hasn’t shown up for Luca, in that regard, because Thony is currently her son’s  emotional center and she has to put her emotions on the back-burner to keep Luca going). I think we all recognize how unhealthy and toxic that is. Thony stepped back from her career after Luca was born, and perhaps Marco thought gambling was going to help pay for things with Luca- but we have the hint that he became more emotionally invested into that world than his family. While Thony gave all of herself over to helping her family, Marco couldn’t emotionally meet her there. 

I already said this, but I am 100% predicting that Marco will act out of spite and steal the money Thony has been saving for Luca- and he’ll gamble it away. 

MOTHER DONNA

We have definitely not seen the last of her, and not just because Betty Buckley is far too amazing of an actress to only grace our screens as a sketchy character once. Thony was given the warning that you “don’t want to cross Mother Donna.” And despite her thinking that she’s walked away, something tells me that she hasn’t. And, perhaps. we have met the next great antagonist of the show. I think it will be very interesting to see how things with Hayak wrap or continue at the end of the season and how Mother Donna continues to play a role- I feel like we’ll see her again, if not the season finale, then right before. 

I really like her character, because much like Thony and Arman and Hayak, she operates according to her own moral code. The difference is that, she doesn’t seem to have her heart in a more understandable place; like Hayak, who ultimately excuses his behavior because he sees himself as doing that is necessary for his family and homeland. She seems to, as far as we know, have a bit more of a wanting to be in control mentality. 

I, again, am so excited to learn more about Mother Donna. What a concept, and what a horrifying reality that they are bringing to light on this show. Also, the statement of POC (immigrants, specifically) being taken advantage of by non-POC in the name of “legality” and “helping them,” brilliant. The writers are hitting their stride with these underlying themes and I love it. 

THONY AND FIONA

I want to take in more of their relationship next week to truly see where they are. I will say that I know Fiona wants to forgive Thony and move on. The hesitation to continue to shut her out spoke volumes. I want to say that they’ll be okay, but the reality is they may end up more fractured first. Especially with Marco in the picture. It is really hard to go against a sibling that you’re close to, even harder to accept their failings and side with someone that isn’t your own blood. And I think we’ve already seen how loyal Fiona is- I am just hoping that she understands the nuance to Thony’s relationship with her brother. 

GARRETT

All he gets from me is a side-eye and “boy, bye.” This man can’t even bring himself to actually apologize. I’m taken back to watching Nene Leakes on the Real Housewives saying, “I’ve given a lot of apologies in my life, and none of them have sounded like that.” 

He almost got Thony deported last week, and decides at the end of this one that he’ll risk her life, too, while he’s at it. 

ARMAN AND THONY

Okay, this post is already really long- but that just means it will force me to get to my points and not ramble (though, I will post more- separately- about them should I need to). 

I was NOT, I repeat NOT, expecting them to actually kiss and I was definitely not prepared for it to turn into that. But oh my God, aren’t we happy that it did?!

I want to start by saying that I still completely stand by my statement that neither of them are completely aware of how they feel. I say this because 1) you can want someone and feel something for someone without understanding how you feel or what that feeling is. I think it is completely fair to state that Arman is and has been more aware of what he feels, but I don’t think that either of them have fully let themselves explore and realize what those feelings are- especially Thony. (There’s a deeper character study on how Arman is such an emotionally intuitive man- but I have a feeling that by the season finale, I will be ready to make that post.)

I think that they are both actually falling in love with each other, but that for both of them (but probably mostly Thony) they aren’t 100% aware or sure of that. There is something there, but what is that something? What does it mean, why have they been repressing it? Why did it come out so strongly? These are the questions that I imagine they’ll be asking themselves and uncovering over the next few episodes, but at somewhat different paces. Which brings me to my next point:

2) I don’t think that Thony was fully aware of how much Arman cared about her until right before that kiss. And not just because he cradled her face, not even because he literally knelt down and picked her up to her feet. But because he was crying with her. He was actually in that moment, that sorrow, and that fight with her. He was someone she could rely on.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me set the stage for what I mean: 

Up until this point, every more personal moment and conversation that Thony has had with a man on this show has had something to do with Luca. Even with Garrett and her being an informant, he continuously threatens Luca or her family. The first true break we had from this was with Luca’s donor. While, yes, it still had something to do with Luca- the conversation didn’t directly center on him. She opened up to him, a man, about why she became a doctor. For one, because he asked but two, I think there was a part of Thony that felt like she was never going to see him again, so what was the harm in letting her guard down? That tells me that she doesn’t have the greatest amount of trust when it comes to men, and that they've largely let her down- which is why watching Thony and Fi raise such wonderful boys (as teen-angst filled as Chris is) is a little emotional.

The next time was when she told Arman about the FBI and said that she didn’t want to hurt him. For her, that was a major statement. It was something that gave him a chance to see a rare moment of vulnerability that she never had before. I think that, besides the elephant of their argument, that’s why she stands in a way so closed off from him when we first see them together this week. (Quite literally, one of the first things you learn as an actor is to never stand with your arms crossed unless you’re trying to convey that you’re closing yourself off from someone for a reason.) She let her guard down too much, and needs to protect herself. She still asks for help and trusts him enough to do it, but she’s still the more reserved Thony.  

Arman has kept his word. Even though she was skeptical of him being able to do it, Arman has continued to keep his word. I’m not gonna lie, I had a moment of being like “I know this boy didn’t just leave this woman out here in the damn desert with these people and their guns.” But, upon a re-watch, I realized that Thony didn’t react that way. She trusted him. Arman took in the fact that he couldn’t go with and personally protect Thony, so he told Thony that his friend would- after taking off his sunglasses and looking them both in the eye. It wasn’t even a silent threat to the coyote about the importance of needing to keep her safe or else, it was a promise. And Thony knew that she could trust him. 

Back at the club, after everything went down, we finally see Thony completely let down her walls. And she lets Arman see her completely vulnerable- in a way more naked than had she actually taken off her clothes. He held out his arms, silently asking permission to comfort her, and she accepted. And not only did he offer her comfort, he offered her support. He didn’t say, “You can do it. You’ll figure it out,” or “Maybe you should just focus on the time you have left with him.” He didn’t even say, “You’ll find another way.” 

He told her, “We’ll find another way.” And kissed her on the forehead to soothe her and let her physically feel that he was there.

 And she sighed this big sigh of relief, as if all of that weight that she’d been carrying on her shoulders was taken off for a moment. When she touched his face, she touched the exact spot where he had a tear falling down. And then she looked at him. And I think that split second was her moment of realization. She realized that he’d put himself at risk with Hayak for Luca, that he didn’t give up on her or her son- no matter how angry he got, that he has been a constant when her own husband hasn’t; but most importantly, he didn’t expect her to do everything alone. Arman has literally carried Luca in his arms for her, and now Arman was literally holding her up and metaphorically helping her to carry the weight of everything. She took in everything in that moment and just let herself let go. 

The thing that I love about their relationship, and why I root for it when I wouldn't normally root for two people that are already married to be together, is because I think that they both are the missing pieces that the other needs. Thony reminds Arman of his humanity, and Arman gives Thony the love that she gives away to everyone else but keeps none of for herself. (In episode one, he even reminded her that she needs to give herself that love and care.) I am a HUGE Tolkien nerd, and one of my favorite quotes is when there’s an exchange that says: “I give hope to Men.” “I keep none for myself.” That is where we meet Thony and Arman, but what we’re watching is them teaching each other to get that hope back. And that is love, and that is beautiful. 

This post is already too long, and I could probably go on for longer. But I’ll end it here. I loved tonight’s episode.  A quick shout out to the directing and cinematography. It was a perfect callback to the first episode which was a nice touch because it mirrored how Thony and Arman’s relationship evolved. My hope is that she lets him see her outside of Luca, lets Arman in and tells him more about herself and lets him explore (do with that what you will) the parts of herself that he (and maybe even she) doesn’t know. There are so many layers to them both- I mean, even outside of all we’ve already discussed, they were evenly matched in that kiss- both deepening it and both throwing so much passion into it. I truly cannot wait to see how things evolve and move forward.

[arotechno]

Jughead (2015), Issues 1-6: Discussion and Commentary

"I am like unto a god, Archie Andrews. Respect me as such."

Recently re-typed and ready to go, here is a broad discussion of the first volume of the Jughead reboot comic series. I was originally going to review each issue individually, but given that the first six comprise one story arc, I decided to do the whole volume in one go. That means this is a bit crunched for time and therefore not quite as in-depth as I wanted to go! But I encourage you to read the comics for yourself, if you are able.

This will not be spoiler-free, for the record! The images here are taken from my own copy using my phone, so they're not the best quality! But they also aren't especially crucial to this commentary, so you'll have to bear with me.

I just really like the inside cover art for this volume, alright (it's also the cover of issue 5)? I can't help it, I'm aro, I see heart imagery and something in my brain goes haywire.

When we first meet Jughead at the beginning of Volume 1, he comes off as lazy and apathetic, at least on the surface. After an all-nighter of playing video games, Jughead is dragged to school by Archie. There, they find that Betty has started a new campaign to save Fox Forest, a beloved local greenspace that is being threatened by Veronica’s wealthy father, Mr. Lodge. Jughead is… not very interested in Betty’s cause, to put it politely. It’s not that he doesn’t care about Fox Forest, but he does not believe that Mr. Lodge would be convinced to change his mind by a petition. He tells Betty as such, and she remarks that he lives a very hollow life.

“Man, you’re so cynical,” Archie tells him. “Is there anything you’d actually fight for?”

The answer is yes. What ultimately gets Jughead to fight for something? Food—well, kind of, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

When Archie and Jughead get to class, they learn that the principal of Riverdale High, Mr. Weatherbee, is being replaced out of the blue by a new guy called Stanger. Stanger is a stiff, serious type, and he immediately starts making changes: new uptight teachers, a strict dress code, new bootcamp-esque curriculum, and most importantly, supposedly nutritious slop to replace the food in the cafeteria.

This sends Jughead down a bit of a rebellious path—he’s not a rule-breaker, but he’s perfectly comfortable with bending the rules in his favor while narrowly skirting around getting into trouble. He starts selling burgers in the cafeteria, with the proceeds benefitting Betty’s fundraiser for Fox Forest.

(Hell yeah, Jughead, unionize that student body! Sell those burgers! You have nothing to lose but your chains!)

This stunt gets Jughead on Stanger’s bad side immediately, and a slowly simmering feud between them ultimately boils over when Stanger plants a knife in Jughead’s backpack to get him expelled. Thankfully, his dad is able to talk his sentence down to a week’s suspension, but that doesn’t stop his friends (and his mother) from worrying about him.

As an aside, I’d like to take a moment to appreciate Mr. Jones.

“Something’s off here and I’m not sure what it is, but I am sure Jughead didn’t bring a knife to school. My boy’s weird, but he’s not a criminal.”

I really like this line from him to Betty. He clearly knows his son and is willing to stand up for him, and it’s comforting to me, especially viewing the story through the lens of Jughead being aroace, that Mr. Jones is not at all bothered by his son being a bit on the strange side, as long as he’s still a good kid. Nothing but respect for Forsythe Jones II in this house.

Something fun and unique about this volume in particular is that in every issue, Jughead either falls asleep or passes out, and has an elaborate imaginative dream about the events of the story. In one he’s a pirate, for example, and in another he’s visited by a descendant of Archie’s from the future, who belongs to the time police. But towards the end of the volume, the line between these daydreams and reality seem to blur for Jughead. He comes to the conclusion in one particular nightmare that Stanger is trying to brainwash them all into becoming mindless agents for his evil organization—and then he realizes he may not be that far off from the truth.

Jughead brings this realization—that Stanger is using the school as a sort of training ground for secret agents—up to his friends, and understandably, they aren’t convinced. They worry that the compounded exhaustion of multiple all-nighters playing games and the stress of being suspended has started to get to Jughead, but he vows to prove it to them.

I mean, damn, Betty, that kind of hurts. (Don’t worry, Betty is actually a good friend, as I’m sure we’ll get into later in the series.)

To make a long story short (and to avoid spoiling the entire plot for those who haven’t read it!), Jughead does find proof, and once he does, his friends are immediately on board. They are ultimately able to save the day, and once it’s revealed that Stanger and the new teachers are ex-CIA trying to brainwash the students (no, seriously), Mr. Weatherbee is re-instated as principal and things return to normal.

I’m leaving out a lot of nuanced details, mostly for the sake of time, but there are a lot of surprisingly weighty moments to this first arc, and Zdarsky’s character writing is incredibly endearing and funny, while still hitting the serious moments when it needs to. There’s an interesting underlying commentary in this arc about military recruitment and U.S. propaganda; Stanger says that he specifically chose Riverdale because the students are so average. There’s something to be said here about the way the military industrial complex preys on average or underprivileged teenagers to convince them to serve when they feel they have no better path to take. It’s an almost funnily serious commentary for Zdarsky to make with a seemingly silly and off-beat comic series, and I respect him for that.

(If you recognize this panel, it’s because it appears on the page where Jughead’s asexuality is canonized. What a good page. So good that nobody ever points out this panel.)

By the end of Volume 1, we see that Jughead maybe isn’t as apathetic and careless as he seemed to be. Sure, he got up in arms about food of all things in the beginning, but it stopped being about food very quickly, once he realized that something truly messed up was going on. And it bothers him, deeply—at one point, the gravity of the situation begins to weigh on him so heavily that he nearly gives up entirely, convinced that there is nothing they can do and that they ought to just lie low until they make it out. But he does end up making things right, with the help of his friends, and in the end, he does decide to help Betty out after all. It’s the least he can do, really. You do get the impression that although Jughead’s friends often don’t take him seriously, they’ll always have his back when it counts—and he’ll do the same for them, even if he’ll insist on being a bit snarky about it.

(That slightly cynical attitude is still there, though, and truthfully, Jughead wouldn’t be the same without it.)

To close out, I am just going to share some of my favorite panels/quotes that didn’t fit elsewhere, including some choice Aro Moods. I hope this (admittedly brief) discussion of Volume 1 convinces you to read the comics, and to join me again when I cover the next arc. Until then, cheers to Chip and Erica.

Jughead’s attitude towards Archie’s romantic problems will never not be funny to me. He’s just like “RIP to you but I’m different.”

Kevin. :/ Kevin come on, man. Mr. Zdarsky, sir, this is character assassination. (Jughead’s face in the corner is a reasonable reaction.)

This one’s gone around so many times before (as have a bunch of other aro moments that I don’t think I need to bother re-posting here), but I just think it’s neat. Don’t worry, Betty lets go.

Aaand lastly, I just really like this line from Jughead. “The world is out of our hands, pal. You just gotta make your own weird way in it.” That we do, Jughead. That we do.

[youwontlikethisblog]

The Art of Subtlety in YSBTLF

Now I have yet to really talk about Betty and her development. Currently I'm on the episode where Betty goes to the bank to secure a loan through Terra Moda and it got me thinking.

Slowly we've been seeing the change from Armando's behavior towards her. Now it's been very subtle. One of my favorite scenes that display's the subtlety of his behavior is when Betty and him are being driven around by Don Hermes.

Right as they are leaving the building where they went to sign some documents to start the process of Terra Moda seizing Eco Moda Betty and Armando are talking.

She often jokes about her ugliness and as a person who in society has been outcaste by the mere fact I'm fat, I get that. We don't use it as a way to downplay our worth, better yet to find the humor in something that hurts us deeply. This is something Betty does often. Usually Armando agrees or goes along with it. The scene however caught my attention because after Betty jokes that she didn't get hired due to her ugliness she laughs and walks away and Armando stays behind and nods slightly, as if understanding that her ugliness could cause that BUT we then hear Don Hermes lovingly say "My beautiful daughter, did everything go well?" and Armando's face lights up. He sports a slight smile and stares at Betty as she laughs and tells her dad that everything went well.

The more I watch this show the more I realize that we see a lot of contrast between Betty and Armando's personal lives. While Betty's parents are very present in her life, constantly at the fore front of her ethics and morals as well as there to keep her grounded and realistic, though at times one can assume over baring and over protective, her parents love her deeply and you can tell. They treat her as their most precious possession.

However Armando's parents are a different story. His father always expects the worst of him, his mother coddles him but with conditions. His parents are only ever shown or involved when it comes to the company and/or his relationship with Marcela. Often when they do talk it's always about the company or again the relationship he's in with Marcela. It never goes more than that. We don't see them interact outside of that which causes that parental relationship to seem cold and distant. Kind of like a trophy child. Not really there to celebrate or show love when times are bad. Just there when things are on their terms. They show more interest in Daniel, Marcela, and Beatriz than they do to Armando and even then it's not saying much. In shorter terms, they suck.

So this scene in particular is one of my favorites for that reason. We see Armando, who at first was annoyed and being all pipirs nice to then engaging in conversation, joking, and letting his guard down and that's the thing. Often we see Armando with his guard up but around Betty slowly we begin to see him let his guard down.

Now in particular the reason why I bring this up is because from the get go I've always been interested in the complexities that Armando's character offers, but Betty is this different story. While Armando is complex in dark ways, Betty is complex is light ways. Her complexities aren't a form of harm rather a form of self preservation but still seeing the best in people, while Armando's complexities are in self preservation at the cost of others.

They both struggle in a sense with self worth. While Betty's self worth is rooted in her image and the way society treats her due to her not being societies beauty standers, Armando's self worth struggles are deeply rooted in his person's worth. Meaning that he doesn't find himself worthy as a human if he isn't succeeding, which makes him extremely arrogant. Betty's insecurities make her extremely humble and though being humble isn't a bad thing when there is no balance, her self worth is to the ground and due to this she allows people to step all over her and she often is a people pleaser because of this.

She lets people push her around and doesn't stand her ground when people are rude to her about her appearance. She does when it comes to her work but not as person and because of this she begins to idolize Armando because, unlike everyone before, he sees her as a person, when it comes to work.

This draws the lines, clean and crisp lines.

At work Armando defends her. He defends his decision to hire her. He defends her degrees and her experiences as an economist. This means a lot to her, because as mentioned before, she wasn't getting hired due to her "ugliness" and here comes a man that looks past that and hires her over the pretty one. We understand Betty's crush. We understand why she begins to idolize him even though he shows really crappy behavior at times.

First he constantly yells at her, laughs behind her back, allows his best friend to secretly see her as if she were this attraction in the tent of strange and ugly phenomena at the circus. To then being subtly annoyed when certain people mock her and make fun of her, though this gets him half points because he still allows his best friend to do this.

To end my analysis of Armando's behavior towards Betty up to this point I'll say that as this continues Armando begins to soften up towards her and while no one else picks up on it, Betty does. Which feeds her idolization of him.

Up to this point of the show Betty has been unconditional, even when she has needed to set aside her true feelings for him, she places his before her own. With Claudia, instead of ruining his night she stayed in the room all night long to which later we see Armando feel guilty over it but he gets no gold stars over that. That was a dick move.

Betty constantly shows loyalty, unconditionality, support, and most of all, team work. When he fails she always places herself to take the blame with him. She doesn't let him feel alone in his failures. Betty truly shows to love him. As a friend, as her boss, and as a girl who idolizes him and this moves him because to this point Armando hasn't had that. His parents do not show him unconditionality. His fiancé shows no team work or support and his best friend... he sucks. He is a terrible friend. Here is this girl who gives him all of this and for what? She doesn't ask for anything in return except to work for him. That's why we see the subtle change in him and Betty deserved that and more.

When they went to that cocktail with RagTela, where Armando started to hit on Ms. Colombia, I forgot her name, Betty doesn't seem jealous or hurt by that. In fact she seems unbothered and stayed in her lane, once again the lines being crisp and clean. However later on, when Betty tells Armando that they've got a meeting with Macro Textil and she sees Armando's face light up and ask how he looks, we see a subtle change, jealousy. She showed some of that with Claudia but Armando probably interpreted that as Betty being frustrated that due to that she had to sleep in the office that night. Here he doesn't pick up on it. She laughs dry only to cover her tracks and gets the man his cologne and throughout their meeting with Macro she shows to be a good wing-woman, minding her business of course.

Now let me skip some scenes. They're trying to negotiate a payment plan with Macro Textil. At this point what Armando has said isn't very convincing and Betty steps in, our bright Betty manages to say stuff that makes them think over their offer. At this point Armando has had all eyes on Ms. Colombia but he turns to watch her, with a slight smile on his face, a brief second of staring at her lips and completely absorbed into what Betty is saying and doing.

Now I want to bring us back to the main scene of this post. Betty sitting across her old boss. We have seen two scenes of her old boss and her interact before. Not only to drive the plot, but I believe to show the difference between a boss who was fond of Betty, after all he did say he was happy and pleased to help her with Terra Moda after being her boss for two years and a boss who is... more than fond of her but confused about it(to be fair Armando is so stupid when it comes to feelings the dude isn't even aware he's got them to begin with.) Betty's behavior is respectful and friendly towards her old boss. You can tell she's comfortable talking to him and so on and her old boss is the same. He's respectful and friendly towards her.

Why do I think this is important to the plot of the story?

It got me thinking. When I was working I got pretty close to my manager. He was married and older than me and we got along great. We talked, we joked, we had work discussions and we'd talk about life and stuff. However it was always very respectful and friendly, like a boss and their employee. My manager was very gentleman like. He didn't let me carry heavy stuff(As a fat woman I'm not used to that lol) however the line was there, Boundaries were there. Obviously we didn't have conversations that were too personal or even that personal at all. I could see Betty and her ex-boss being the same. A simple boss to employee friendship but if I had a... ship of sorts with my boss like Betty does with Armando my sensors of red flags would be blaring.

Think about your greatest friendship with one of your bosses. It's respectful and friendly but you don't cross lines, right?

Now I keep comparing their behavior to my manager's and mine.

That is why they show us, unlike with all the other Banks Betty has talked to, their interactions. To show a clear and distinct line of work related ships. Her ex-boss is truly fond of her but he doesn't cross boundaries and neither does Betty.

My ex-manager was respectful and we talked like an older brother and younger sister would. That was our work dynamic.

Betty's behavior has always been respectful and friendly towards Armando. Their work dynamic has been that she's the smart one and he's the pretty one and it works for them.

Betty's emotions start to blur when Armando's behavior towards her starts to blur. We go from seeing back to back scenes that show separate life styles and personal lives to having them blend in and once their personal lives begin to blend in so do their work lives.

During this day, before Betty goes to talk to her old boss, we are shown the scene when she tells him that Macro Textil was on their way to sign a contract with them that very day. Armando is between Betty and Mario and he talks to Betty. Constantly saying "Betty we did it!" and things along those lines but after each sentence he goes to Mario and repeats the same thing up until he goes to hug Betty.

[EDIT: This allows us to view Armando's personal dilema. Your brain often blurts the first thing that comes to mind and seeing as Armando isn't that bright when emotions are involved, he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind and that is Betty. His first thought is to talk to Betty, to celebrate with her (since she is the reason why that business deal is even happening) but he is prioritizing her, picking up on it and then going to his best friend to celebrate it as well. It shows us subtly the change in him.]

He doesn't even do that to his best friend. Once again, the lines blur. Armando is the first person in this work related relationship to blur the lines and Betty follows suit.

Yes, the hug was work related. Yes he was excited over the fact they could release the new fashion collection they'd been working on BUT he hadn't done that for other deals that they had managed. He didn't do that with the first collection he launched. He's hugged her, up to this point, two other times. Once after the meeting with Daniel where Betty gave him lessons on economics and later when Betty was crying.

This is their third hug. I'm not reading into that hug but what follows before and after.

As I said when writing we're told to keep what drives the plot, character development, and overall story; everything else is thrown out the window. So these subtle changes, behaviors, and quirks we begin to see coming from Betty's interactions with Armando explain why it was so easy for her to be manipulated by this man. They are important because they are meant to show us what is okay and what is not. What is normal and what is not and in small ways their work dynamic begins to shift and the first person to do that is Armando.

because he didn't feed the illusion of love when that sinister plan was created, he fed it when he started to get confused about her. When he started to blur the lines.

Betty didn't just idolatrized him because he defended her work. She did it because he fed her feelings towards him. When Betty showed loyalty he showed to be more fond of her. He went from constantly yelling at her, being indifferent towards her, to trying to watch his tone and temper. When Betty showed unconditionality he showed kindness. When Betty showed support he showed loyalty and little by little we begin to see these two blur the line between personal and work.

The changes are really subtle that they fly over your head but when you pay attention to the actual story and not the romance you can tell when they start and that is one reason why I love this novela because very much like real life these changes are subtle.

Betty's love was really subtle and you can pick up on when she starts to fall in love, whereas with Armando his change goes from being so subtle that you're confused yourself to it being so bam in your face you can't deny it.

In any aspect their relationship begins to blur during these episodes and the clear contrast of that is with seeing Betty interact with her old Boss at the bank.

In the future episodes this theory is proven right when we no longer get clear cuts of scenes that show the difference between their personal lives better yet we get a very muddy and blurry view of their personal and work lives.

Betty's moral, ethics, and emotions begin to change when Armando begins to change. Up to this point Betty has been consistent with her morality, though close to stumbling her father has been there to keep her on the right path. She has been the sweet and loving person she's always been but her character has been consistent up to this point and it's important to note that and why everything that happens after this is the way it is because as an audience we have been warn over and over again and so have these characters but just like in real life we don't always pay attention to the subtle changes until their domino effect starts to make too much impact.

also sorry if this doesn't make any sense it's currently 6:40 am and I've been writing this since like four lol.