#i meant this about betty but i've been reminded that she actually does this in so many different songs???

[ladysophiebeckett]

I've been thinking a lot about one of your posts regarding Armando being a mess and not being ready to be seen with Betty publicly even after he finally accepts he is in love with her. I mean, he did let go of her as soon as Marcela and Margarita walked in, though I get it because everything was a mess after the board meeting and he probably didn't want to make it worse.

Now, when Betty is appointed as the new president and Armando goes looking for her at the bar and asks her to please listen to what he has to say, what do you think he was planning to accomplish? He had already gotten back together with Marcela, so why even tell Betty he loved her when it was obvious she wasn't going to believe it? Even if she had believed it and forgiven him right there and then, what was he gonna do? Dump Marcela that very same night or ask Betty to wait a bit more? (as ridiculous as this sounds). I just don't understand what he wanted out of that conversation or how he thought his latest actions (getting back together with Marcela, going to her house to accuse her of stealing Ecomoda, etc) backed up his love confession. I think he even mentioned he shouldn't have said it, so I think maybe he didn't have a plan per se, just wanted to have the chance the talk to her and couldn't help admitting what he felt even if he knew he shouldn't have gone there. I love how you a analyze these characters and would like to know what you think 😊 thank you, I hope you are having a great day.

The easy short answer to ur questions above is that Armando is dumb.

The more complicated answer is that Armando isn't thinking rationally. He's very emotional and during the Cartagena arc he's in a really bad state. That's why it becomes easy for Mario, Marcela and Margarita to later to get into his head.

Essay length response under the cut:

I mean, he did let go of her as soon as Marcela and Margarita walked in, though I get it because everything was a mess after the board meeting and he probably didn't want to make it worse.

Does this face below look like they're thinking 'I don't want to make this worse?' (No).

This face is saying 'Whoops, I've almost been caught'.

Just the simple act of how quickly he lets go of her, the reminder that this is a clandestine relationship that was never meant to see the light of day-- it doesn't help his case. If there was ever one last moment where Betty would have believed him, it was here. But he lets her go and that's the last time they see each other.

This is all Armando is left with. This very ugly memory of him being confronted by her, asking him why he did all of this to her; why he kept the relationship going even after she shared an intimate part of her past with him, when all she ever did was show him how unconditional she was to him.

From that moment on, all Armando wants to do is talk to her. Explain. And also, assumed she would take him back. I've said this before and I'm gonna say it again---Armando had this mindset that all he needed to do was to talk to Betty, tell her that he loved her, that the letter didn't reflect how he felt about her and again, assumed that it was gonna be okay between them. It becomes very difficult for him to assimilate to the idea that for the first time in his life he's actually done irreparable damage. He won't be given a pass. He won't be forgiven. Worse, that he might never see her again.

Let's fast forward to the end of the Cartagena arc--He's lost hope. Betty refuses to speak to him. Lawyers get involved. He was facing a lot of pressure from his family and the company to get in touch with Betty. But she won't speak to him about them and she won't speak to him about the company. You've got people in his ear telling him that either Betty never loved him, Betty played him, Betty turned him in, Betty's probably moved on (we need to revisit that margarita convo bc wtf), that's Betty's refusal to communicate with them is a negotiation tactic and all she wants is the company that's in debt for $2 Million dollars or something. (idr the debt rn)

And in between all of that, Armando was on a suicide mission which everyone sees and no one cares about until he's almost succeeded with it. This man was down bad. And it's only after Marcela rescues him, that he finally settles into the idea that whatever he had with Betty really is over and all he really has left is fighting for Ecomoda.

The last terrible thing he does (well at this point) is when he goes to her parents house and yells at her dad that she's trying to steal the company. Telling her dad about the fraud was a last resort option that he refused to do at the beginning of the Cartagena arc bc he knew that her dad had no idea about anything that was going on.

He did try and protect Betty from ever revealing that, just like she did try to protect him by trying to leave with the bag filled with evidence of their clandestine relationship. And unfortunately, both get cornered into revealing these things about the other. Betty, because Marcela was attempting humiliate her. Armando, because he has nothing left and Betty won't come back. He says this outside the bar:

As I said in the beginning, he's emotional not rational. (Side note: neither Armando or Betty are rational people but that's another kind of post). And going to her dad's, well in Armando's defense he didn't intend to yell at him. Nicolas and Dona Julia were dead set against having him there at all and they end up riling each other up. It's a bad situation all around.

What I'm trying to get at is that Armando did not do this thinking, let alone, thinking it was going to help him get her back. He knows it's over.

Now, when Betty is appointed as the new president and Armando goes looking for her at the bar and asks her to please listen to what he has to say, what do you think he was planning to accomplish?

He wanted to set things right, or what he thinks 'right' is.

The only thing he has wanted to do since the last time he saw her, is talk to her and tell her that he's not associated with that letter because Armando blames everything having to do with losing Betty on that letter. That's why the first thing he says to her is 'I didn't write that letter'.

(Note: He is incredibly stupid with choosing that as his opener but it's in character. There's nothing we can do about it.)

And Betty hits back with "Yeah, I know you didn't write that letter. Just like the cards weren't yours or the phrases you used to say to me".

The reunion conversation isn't going how Armando thought it would go. The power dynamic between them is gone and Betty is not the same person who left. Where she was once warm hearted and open, she's become closed off and rightfully unwilling to listen to someone who's hurt and lied to her.

He knows where Miguel lies in Betty's history, he asked her to recount the story not knowing where it would lead. Not only did she confide in him, giving him the trust he so badly wanted from her--but he saw how painful it was for her to recount it to him. It devastates him to know that he is the same, if not worse than Miguel. But unlike Miguel, he feels ashamed of what he's done.

Armando believes that Betty hates him and wants to gain her forgiveness and Betty in return, to give them both peace of mind--tells him that she already forgave him but that that forgiveness comes at the cost of leaving her alone. That's not what triggers the love confession, but it does make him panic. He insists that he's changed, that's he not the same person. Something Betty neither cares about or believes because the cuartel told her about his reconciliation with Marcela. She's the one who brings it up, that she doesn't want him to put his relationship in jeopardy again. That's what triggers his need to confess that he's still in love with her.

He had already gotten back together with Marcela, so why even tell Betty he loved her when it was obvious she wasn't going to believe it?

Because he wanted to know if she still loved him (imo). He's looking for any kind of semblance of the Betty from before that did love him. And he doesn't see her. And this is confirmed when he talks to Mario the next day and tells him that not only does she not love him anymore, as a consequence his actions; but that while he was waiting for her to come back, she had left to forget him.

Even if she had believed it and forgiven him right there and then, what was he gonna do? Dump Marcela that very same night or ask Betty to wait a bit more? (as ridiculous as this sounds)

As hilarious as that sounds, Armando had no illusions of even getting Betty's forgiveness. However, even if Betty did believe him, I don't think she would admit to believing him and if she did, she still wouldn't take him back. Dumping Marcela 48 hours after getting back together...that would be insane.

I just don't understand what he wanted out of that conversation..."

For the reasons I've stated above (set things 'right', 'I didn't write the letter', 'I'm sorry\I dont want to be on your hate list, 'I still love you') but ALSO--for the most obvious reason we're forgetting. He missed her.

"Usted me va hacer muchisima falta. La voy a extranar muchisimo".

The foreshadowing is a killer in this show.

[stillabeliever]

Will giving Mike this whole speech confessing his love but replacing “I” with “El” is the equivalent of Taylor Swift writing a song about how much she loves a woman but making it from the perspective of a man

[heir-less]

The Kate coverage is really interesting to me cause it like.. British Stepford Wife archetype or, the career politician wife who just stays 3 steps behind him at press conferences. And instead of being ridiculed.. it’s heavily praised!

It’s not a direct 1:1 comparison but it reminds me of how the British public get when there’s even a whiff that politicians wives are helping in their career or are involved in anything to help them. They get shat on and ridiculed.

like yes, their not elected officials but there’s a misogynistic tone to the remarks they get that I don’t see in Canadian or American politics when it comes to spouses helping their partners.

and this reminds me a profile on Carrie Johnson where her friends fold a reporter she’s very confused at the PR craze that Kate gets lol

I think it's because royalty inherently requires a level of subservience from its female members that is just not present in North American politics.

Unlike in Canadian and American politics where first ladies and prime minister's wives are encouraged actually to distinguish themselves from their husbands to a certain extent, non-blood royal women literally rely on their spouses for their title, their status, how they are treated by others, etc.

There have been several first ladies that have established themselves and have forged their own political careers without their husbands and without the general approval of their political parties. Betty Ford was the first lady in the 1970s during a Republican presidency and was yet a supporter of abortion rights, talked about gun control, and addiction and so many other candid topics. Eleanor Roosevelt and Hilary Clinton were politicians and activists in their own rights. Same in Canada where many prime ministers have relied on their wives as political advisors.

Now, this is not me saying that royal women don't contribute to society or don't do proper activism or don't advise their husbands and I'm not trying to say that the wives of North American politicians don't face sexism and aren't treated as commodities. What I am saying is that the role of a first lady is far less restrictive and they are granted more autonomy than British royal women. This is simply because many aspects of royalty are inherently misogynistic. The value of royal women is almost exclusively measured by how pretty they are or how pretty their clothes are or how good of a mother they are. This is often the case in North American politics too, but it doesn't dictate how severely they are treated as much.

I'm not sure if this is the case with Carrie Symonds and other British "first ladies" because my understanding of British politics isn't all that great. But if Carrie faces that backlash, it might have something to do with her being the wife of a pretty-conservative figure.

But Kate very much does appeal to the ultra-Conservative's fantasy of the perfect woman. Demure, timid, and pretty. She is not an alienating person at all, because she doesn't really show that side of herself. She's not candid, I've never seen her be vulnerable or particularly intimate with the public (in fact I think she and William have become more and more distant and cold since 2020), she doesn't champion social causes that would alienate her from certain people. She is meant to appeal to everyone, which is why people find it so easy to project their own image of perfection onto her. Do you want to be compared to Kate? Great! Literally just be white, rich, pretty, and do literally nothing else. Case in point:

[onlyhorn]

"Rem, I've forged a contract with Beatrice. When I learned what was happening, what she'd been through and needed, I... I had to do something to save her. So I'll be supporting her. And you."

@rcguna

“ --- you’ve done what? “

Did she hear that right? Raguna had... forged a contract with Beatrice? It almost seemed surreal when the thought was first introduced. Beatrice, forming a contract with anyone? She knew how Beatrice treated people, she knew how skeptical she was of others. Her sister’s and her own attempts at trying to coax her into being more relaxed never seemed to work out properly. The girl was so secluded and so self-reliant that it seemed like she would never allow anyone else to help her no matter what.

Rem never claimed to know the full story of Beatrice, because oftentimes it was forbidden to know the full story behind Beatrice’s origins. She was brought into this mansion to work, not to ask questions.

So then, why does this happen now? Why is it suddenly brought up, why is Beatrice suddenly giving in? Could it even be considered ‘giving in’? Maybe she wanted this. A contract was supposed to be a mutual agreement, right? What sort of means did Raguna have to going through with this, and moreover... what was she being saved from?

“ Raguna... “

She didn’t not support his decision. Helping Beatrice is an incredibly kind thing to do. Helping her get out of that binding with the library is, perhaps, one of the kindest things he could have ever done. But he knew what this meant, right?

Assuming he is the one who Beatrice is bound to, it meant that, for the foreseeable future, Beatrice would never leave him. It meant that, like the library, she would be bound to this new life, with him, and with her, and with their soon-to-be family.

That’s still a work in progress... hush.

 “ I-- I’m not upset! Just... surprised. I never expected Beatrice to actually follow through with a contract with anyone. She had always seemed so secluded, and solitary... I never thought she’d leave her room willingly, you know.. But you worked your magic again, didn’t you? “ The way she said it implied that it wasn’t real magic. “ You managed to break her out of that shell.... I couldn’t be more proud of the both of you. “

Perhaps his initial reaction to the way she reacted reminded her that she was in so much utter disbelief that it looked like she didn’t want to accept it as reality. No, she wanted Beatrice to be happy, too... she just never in a million years could have expected her to actually follow through with a contract with someone else...

But moreover, there is something more complicated and complex of a thought in the back of her mind, which goes around the surprise that Betty had even accepted the terms of the contract at all.

This was something much more than that. It was something that Rem had come to a conclusion on long ago. She told Raguna that she’d eventually want to start their own family, have plenty of children that would grow up and inherit their farm, or the nice little shop they’ll eventually make. She’d watch as the children grew older and got to play with Raguna’s many farm animals, and sometimes she’d have to scold them for treating them too harshly or for playing too roughly. But this is.....

This is an early start.

Beatrice is no child, no. Rem has to remind herself of that first and foremost. Beatrice may look young, but the spirit is literally hundreds of years older than her. If anything, she is far more intelligent than she could ever hope to be. But that did not change the fact that she is still a wounded spirit, and someone who needs guidance to repair the damages that hundreds of years of solitude had taken on her mind.

“ That aside, you know what this means, don’t you? “

The look of shock previously present on her face melted away into pure, unadulterated happiness. That radiant smile that he loved so much returned once she came to terms with what she was being told--- and suddenly, any form of shock was gone and replaced instead with an unstoppable sense of excitement. She bounces on her heels, approaching Raguna, balling her hands into fists and throwing them up into a pumped-up gesture as she leans forward such that her face is only mere inches away from his.

“ It means we get to have a daughter early! “

She couldn’t sound more genuinely happy if she tried.

Beatrice is by no means someone she’s consider blood family --- but if she wants to be a part of Raguna’s life, then she’s bound to be a part of her life, too. Sure, it’s a little awkward starting from an age such as Beatrice’s, but any experience would be accepted before they try for a real child. In the mean time...

Beatrice is going to be getting just about the same kind of treatment Rem would give to Raguna. She isn’t going to allow her to wallow alone in sadness anymore. She’s got a family, now, and she’s going to deal with it.

[screamingintosilence]

You Were the Greatest Thing (That Ever Happened to Me)

Songfic Writing Challenge Day 10

Terrible Things - Mayday Parade

Warning: Major Character Death

Jughead Jones watched in amusement from across the yard as his 16 year old son brushed a hand through his own dark locks, looking nervous and slightly sweaty as he stuttered over his words while talking to the beautiful red headed 15 year old daughter of Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge.

To his chagrin, Betty had put her foot down during pregnancy and that's how their sweet, beautiful baby boy ended up being named Forsythe Pendelton Jones the Fourth. FP had laughed heartily when they told him, he knew it was definitely Betty's choice. But when their little guy came into the world, screaming, pink, and a head full of downy black hair, Betty had looked at him with a smile that said, “See? He's your son and I was right.”

And she was right, she was always right. The only concession she gave him when it came to their child's name was letting him pick out a nickname because “Betts, if that's going to be his name, we’re not actually calling him that.” And that is how Cooper Jones the Fourth made his entrance into their lives.

He watched as his son turned and ran towards him, smile splitting across his face and all Jughead could think was his much he looked like Betty in that moment. His eyes, his nose, his cheeks, they all came from his wife.

“Hey Dad!” Cooper was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Son,” Jughead smirked at the boy while raising the glass of sweet tea to his lips.

“Can I borrow your truck? I finally did it! I asked Jules to the movies and she said yes!” Both Joneses looked over to where the redhead girl was excitedly talking to her mother, the look on Cooper’s face one of adoration. Jughead smiled, it reminded him of how he must have looked when he first fell in love with Betty.

“Don’t stay out too late. You behave tonight, ok? And you treat her right Bud, got it?” The ring of keys rested on the older man's finger, waiting for his son to take it.

“He always does, Mr. Jones!” the young Juliet Andrews cut in, skipping over to them, not realizing how her words made Jughead's heart stutter and stop for a few moments before picking up again.

“Always! Thanks Dad!” Cooper grabbed the keys before interlocking his fingers with the petite girl next to him, both getting lost in each other as they walked to the front of the house where he had parked when they came over to the Andrews’. Neither teen noticing how tears brimmed in Jughead's eyes.

He felt a slim arm loop itself through his own at the same time as a heavy, familiar hand came to rest and squeeze his shoulder.

“B and I used to joke about this happening,” he heard Veronica softly say next to him as she too squeezed his arm, resting her head on his other shoulder. “We would talk about just how long it would take them, like how long it took for you two.”

The tears started to slowly fall. “He must take after me,” he let out a watery laugh. “I'm pretty sure he's been in love with her since I told him what love was. Probably took until reading his mom's words from when we were his age about how she wished I would just make a move for him to pluck up his own courage.”

The pressure from the hand his redhead best friend increased. “You were the very best thing to happen to her, Jug. Believe it. She glued us all together, figuring out in her Betty way just how this crazy jigsaw fit together.” He nodded, sniffling to keep from sobbing.

“She did,” he swiped at his eyes. “It's been nearly eleven years, but it still feels like yesterday, ya know?” He could see tears rimming Archie's eyes as Veronica let hers stream down her cheeks as they both nodded.

“Let's get you home, Jug,” Archie's arm wrapped securely around his friend’s shoulders as Veronica's hand dropped to his, holding it firmly. He might have always been friends with Archie, but it was Betty's doing that they had stuck together through even the toughest of times; and it was Betty who had brought the whirlwind that was Veronica Lodge into his life, even if it was begrudgingly at first.

--

It had been hours since the Andrewses had seen him safely home. He had pulled some of Betty's old journals from her last few days to read, a habit of his from the past ten years.

His was reading over her passage from the day she had told him the news, his heart breaking over every sentence.

I told Juggie the news today, it didn't go well. I had gotten the call this morning from the doctor that my results came in. It was devastating. Juggie and Cooper were out having a boys day with FP and I just didn't have the heart to interrupt to have him come with me.

Crying in the middle of a doctor's office without my husband definitely makes it on my top 5 most embarrassing moments... But I won't have many of those moments left to make, I guess.

I've been in tears all day, but there's nothing to be done about it. I was told that I can still give it a shot to fight this, but the cancer was progressing so rapidly that my chances are very slim. The oncologist said that my counts have jumped exponentially and that I'm already Stage 4. Stage 4 cancer at 33….

Cooper is only 5, what will Juggie do? He's the most amazing dad, I know he'll be ok, but God, I'm far from it. There won't be chances to see him grow from my tiny little squirt to being as tall as Jug. There won't be any Homecoming, Formal, or Prom pictures of me pinching his cheeks. I won't get to meet the person he'll fall irrevocably in love with and I won't get to tell him that that's how it was with his father.

I know Jug will do all of these things, and he'll be wonderful and amazing and everything or baby boy needs. It's just so hard to come to terms with one’s own demise.

And Jug, God, Jug. We won't have our 90 years together like we joke about. I don't know if we'll even have 1. God what I would give for the assurance of just one more year together.

I love him more than all the stars in all the galaxies. He was everything I ever needed, always there for me from the beginning. God, I don't know if he even knows how much I love him, how much he means to me.

I-

The front door opened as Jughead hastily wiped the tears from his cheeks and dabbed at the page of Betty's diary gently, careful to try and not smudge it even more from where his past years and even hers had fallen.

His 16 year old son, his and Betty's pride and joy, waltzed in with a look of having his head in the clouds. Jughead smiled, though some rouge tears still fell free.

“You guys have a good time?” His question came out a little choked, causing Cooper to come to, taking in the scene of his father on the couch, nose and eyes red, with his mother's journals in front of him.

“Yeah, the movie was good. Jules was just…” His eyes got a little dreamy at the mention of his best friend, now potentially girlfriend. “You ok, Dad?”

“Yeah, just…” Jughead trailed off.

Cooper sat next to him wrapping an arm around his shoulders, shoulders that used to carry his son on them for hours, but now felt like they carried the world, especially in moments like this. “Just missing Mom?”

Jughead tried swallowing past the lump in his throat, wiped his hands over his face, and nodded. “Yeah. She would have been so proud of you, Cooper. You were her baby boy, and now you're all grown up.”

Tears filled the young man's emerald green orbs (ones just like his mother's) as he ducked his head to gather his thoughts.

“You know, she was terrified of being a mother, scared after the way she was raised and seeing how crazy your Aunt Polly. But God, Cooper, you made her so happy. She took one look at you and it clicked. She looked at me and said, ‘This is it, Jug. This is how it was always meant to be. I was always meant to be his mommy and you his daddy.’ And like always, she was right. I was always meant to be your dad. You made it so easy, you were such a wonderful baby and child. You have me the strength and will to keep going, Buddy.”

Jug pulled Cooper into a tight embrace, kissing the top of his head. He could feel the tears staining his shirt from where his son's head rested.

After a few moments of silence, the younger man pulled back, wiping away the tears that lingered on his face.

“Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you tell me about the time that you first kissed Mom again?”

Jughead laughed. “Sure, Bud. Well I had went over to her house one afternoon to see how she was. We had snuck into The Sisters of Quiet Mercy, where your grandparents had put Aunt Polly when she was pregnant with the twins, the day before.” Cooper was nodding along. Jughead had told him this story so many times now but it was one of his son's favorites.

“We got caught by your grandmother, and she was so furious that she kept your mom home from school without access to her phone. So naturally I grabbed the ladder from your Uncle Archie's dad's garage and scaled the side of the house to your mom's window.” He gave his son a stern look suddenly, “Don't even think about doing that with Jules, you hear me? Your aunt would kick my ass.”

Cooper snorted, “I won't, but Aunt Veronica wouldn't do that. She loves me too much to care,” he grinned mischievously.

Jughead jokingly cuffed his ear, “Let’s not test that theory, shall we?” The young man laughed, settling down one more.

“So, anyways. I could see your mom through the glass looking very serious and contemplative, kinda like how you get sometimes. She was still trying to solve everything in that beautiful blonde head of hers, and I just knew that that was my moment. I had loved her for years already, but seeing her be Nancy Drew,” he looked down at the floor, his mind conjuring up the image of his love. “She was something else, Coop.

“I knocked on her window to get her attention, thinking I was so clever and smooth. I remember the first thing I said was ‘Hey there Juliet, nurse off duty?’” Cooper snorted again. “Yeah, it was as cheesy as it sounds, but God, your mom? She just brought that mushy side out of me.” He grinned at the memories.

“You know, that's where Jules got her name.”

“Wait, what? You never told me this. How?” Cooper looked bewildered at the new information.

“Yeah. After the complications of your birth made it so we couldn't have any more kids, your aunt decided that she would use the name for us. She loved your mom so much and knew how much she wanted to name a little girl Juliet that Veronica said she'd name her daughter that to honor her. Jules was originally going to be named Elizabeth but your mom insisted that they go with Juliet once you were born.”

Cooper sat, stunned that the love of his life got her name from his parents love story.

“Betty desperately wished she could watch the man you would become, she's so proud of you, Bud. I just know it.” Cooper's and Jug’s eyes glistened.

“She's so proud of you too, Dad.”

“Thanks, Coop. Now, enough sad. Tell me about your date,” giving his son the biggest shit-eating grin.

“Daaaad-”