#mango feels

And, another long-overdue update (eight months!), oops! :/ Anyway, here is CI bk 1 chapter 5! In this chapter, we explore the dynamics of Diego & Peaches uncle/niece relationship further, as actions made long ago, back in IA1, come back to bite Diego with regard to his uneasy relationship to other sabre packs becos of his role as Bredelands Guardian, something he faces bullying for from both sides, a fact that bothers Manny, deep down, a lot...

FFN AO3

Concept art from Ice Age (2002) showing the staging for the Diego's sacrifice scene by Michael Rose. Look how the focus, even from the concept art, shows Manny and Roshan mourning over Diego and not a shred of Sid in sight (You can see Sid in this concept art but he is out of focus compared to Manny and Roshan and barely in the image; the only thing visible of Sid is his eyes, which are hidden from us.), because, well... he didn't do it for Sid so much as he did it for Manny and the baby. Their Pinky.

And I am back with a new chapter of CI bk 1! In this chapter, tensions are rising and the herd gets caught in the thick of it. Diego and Peaches' uncle/niece relationship is expanded upon more (so fluffy!), whilst, after the events of Tiger's Heart, Manny finds Diego in more danger than before... what will he do about it? Read the chapter to see! Reviews/comments appreciated. :)

Relevant links:

Aww thank you so much for asking! :) <3

M/F BroTP: Ellie and Diego. I really liked how DoTD gave them some scenes and an important moment together with Diego protecting her during her birth with Peaches. Diego fairly glows around the herd's mammoths, especially Manny (like he does with no one else!) and I headcanon that Ellie did try to get Diego to talk about his problems - before he decides to head out in IA3 - before defaulting to Manny since Diego is guarded with her and won't be as open like he is with her mate.

F/F BroTP: Mothers and daughters can count as a friendship, right? In that case, I love Ellie and Peaches' dynamic. Ellie is a good mother, she lets Peaches be herself but she still corrects her if necessary. Peaches as well seems to have a good relationship with her mother and it's sweet to see, becos it's always nice to see comfortable mother/daughter bonds in fiction.

M/M BroTP: Manny and Diego, of course! :) <3 For so many years now they have been my longest-adored friendship. Part of the reasons why I LOVE Manny and Diego goes back to IA1 and how they save each other virtually back-to-back in the story, and more so, are willing to risk their lives to the point of being willing to die for each other, and that just creates deep bonds and a strong friendship; this is even supported by science! I also love how pivotal Manny is to Diego's redemption arc and how he helps him grow as a character in IA1, which goes back to the whole "self-sacrifice" thing he teaches Diego as IA1's story plays out. And this is another reason why the sequels were such a disappointment to me, I was so hoping to see IA1 callbacks or inverses of IA1's ending scene with the Battle at Half Peak with Manny protecting Diego - since a tiger alone has it rough! - and that never happened, nor was their beautiful friendship explored/fleshed out as it deserved, imo … Anyway, their friendship is my favourite in many many ways I could go on and on about it tbh...

crack BroTP: Uh, I guess I would say Buck and Diego (most of these are Diego or Manny-based lol I noticed. Diego has many "circles" within the herd's dynamics because he is the glue not Sid! ;)) but it's not even really cracky becos Buck and Diego have good chemistry. Buck & Diego is also a good dynamic becos I learnt recently from the IA3 BTS - Buck is Diego's foil. He foils Diego, since he's wild and carefree, whilst Diego's heart has always belonged to the herd, even though he tries to leave it and so they have a good push and pull to their dynamic/bond with each other.

dynamic I didn’t expect to like: Hmmm... I think I am go ahead and say... Diego & Peaches! Sure, for me, it's mostly headcanons, but I remember when I heard about IA3 I didn't expect Diego's connection and chemistry with the mammoths he lives with to be explored like it was, and the fact that he was present at Peaches' birth gave me so many feels, oh my gosh, and I just fell in love with an uncle/niece dynamic btwn Diego & Peaches and it's become my second most treasured Ice Age herd family bond becos I love the idea of them being close and Peaches admiring Diego and thinking of him as something of a "second father" :) whilst he adores her wholeheartedly. It disappoints me so much still that officially we didn't get many scenes btwn them in the movies/specials to flesh out that dynamic but Peaches' relationships with her adopted uncles were so shafted and I'm still not over that ngl. :((((

Diego is happiest around Manny see! The bottom photo is a screencap of Diego going who knows where after he and Manny have their "breakup" fight at the beginning of IA3 and he just looks so disconsolate here … and almost as if he's about to cry!

Because he misses Manny so much already because he and Manny are the two closest in the entire group - by virtue of risking their lives to save each other and willingly putting their lives on the line/down for each other in IA1 - and it's so funny, too, becos in the scene where Manny confronts Diego and Diego tells him about wanting to leave, Manny's reaction is as though Diego has DUMPED him.

But around Manny Diego is happiest and has the most genuine smiles/body language becos Manny is HIS BESTIE and the one soul he trusts the most and as is seen in the above image Diego fairly lights up around him and he doesn't look quite so expressive or happy around any other character.

Not even Shira … or Sid.

Diego is heart-happiest around Manny and it shows! They have the most beautiful friendship/bromance in the entire Ice Age series and it really should be talked about/discussed more along with ficced and fanarted/fanvidded more!

Also, honestly, I still find this "breakup" of theirs weak writing in IA3 because Manny and Diego seem the type to have a strong, unbreakable friendship so this kinda feels OOC to me regardless though.

Art above courtesy of @dorkaly-doodles from an art trade we did years back! I wrote her a fic based off some of her characters and she drew a scene from one of my fics! If you've ever on DA and adore cute art, drop her some love!

Anyway, this post is for the purpose of saying that finally, at long last, the last 5+1 chapter of "Five Times Manny Hugged Diego" on ffn will be on fanfiction.net finally! If you prefer reading on ao3, the link to the same fic is here. Also I do realise this fic is a whopping 8k words, but it's a good read! It's a heart-pounder!

And so, the long-overdue (I am trying to update at least monthly/bimonthly or even shorter if it can be managed) chapter 4 of Cruel Intentions is here! In this chapter, the mammoths are putting Diego... on trial! Manny and Diego go to this trial, with Manny as Diego's advocate before RE Titan and the Chancellor's council. What will happen with Diego? What will the Council decide? Will Diego stay or will he go? Read the chapter to find out!

FFN

AO3