#and have missed when in past seasons i kept saying it was just as important

[emsylcatac]

This is obviously my personal opinion, but I don't see any signs that Ladynoir is dead. They are just friends, that's all. It's somewhat strange that the creators of this part of the show boasted about their incredible platonic relationship and how platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones, but Chat Noir rejects Ladybug and somehow that became a problem.

If your concern is that Chat Noir no longer flirting with Ladybug ruins their portrayal of platonic relationships, then I have bad news for you. Those flirts were literally his desire to have a romantic relationship with her and somehow impress her. It was depicted as a character flaw, despite how Adrisalters tries to deny it, saying that his faults are not recognized in order to justify their hatred of him, which is also not true, but now we've reached the climax.

That was the whole point. In his own way of trying to impress Ladybug, Chat Noir was too insistent with her despite her unwillingness to have a romantic relationship with him, and this sometimes led to negative consequences, either caused by him or taken advantage of by villains ("Ladybug" episode as one of clearest examples). And then he came to the decision that she won't love him and simply chose to move on, using his failed experiences to try to have a relationship with Marinette, and we see how he has changed. Also, after "Jubilation," he almost cataclysmed "Darker Owl" because the latter started playing with his feelings using the Pig Miraculous, and he managed to stop himself at the last moment, realizing that he was about to cause harm. In the final scene, he agrees with the denials that it's their dream, in contrast to the scene at the end of "Oblivio" where he teased her after the photo of their kiss. And then in "Elation," he tells Marinette that his feelings for her compelled him to act at his worst. While his choices in this situation may not be objectively ideal, they are entirely understandable given Adrien's experiences.

I understand that peoples are disappointed with the absence of romance (and this part of Love Square was never canon, it was just unrequited love that was reversed for a while until they agreed to be friends). However, it doesn't kill Ladynoir, and even more so, it doesn't kill the entire love square. Saying that Ladynoir's validity depends on whether it's alive or dead is unfair and undermines the dynamics between these characters. On the contrary, the characters have undergone development that benefits all sides of Love Square. Keeping their relationship at the level of the first season would deprive them of this progression, which would be incorrect. Agreeing to a romantic Ladynoir would only push them both back because Marinette would avoid Adrien, not facing her fears, and Adrien would continue to escape problems in his civilian life by using the Cat Miraculous. However, Gabriel could take this away from him by sending him away from Paris, where he would be lonely and the key to his freedom would lose its meaning. He can't share it with Ladybug because it jeopardizes his secret identity, and they can't do it due to certain circumstances, unaware of Gabriel's real influence in this situation. With Marinette, he can share the problems in his life, and that was essentially the point of Adrienette and Ladynoir in the season 4 finale. Moreover, the show teaches both children to perceive each other platonically as well as romantically, what they have made significant progress in the fifth season, although they still need to work on it before the reveal, which will likely happen in the upcoming seasons. We shouldn't expect their dynamics to revert to their previous state in the next seasons because it would simply be a step backward for their relationships and characters development. This dynamic will remain as long as the plot requires it. As for people being disappointed that they became friends when they previously boasted their platonic relationship… Honestly, it seems like they are not truly interested in them, only about romantic part of that.

I apologize for the entire article, but there seems to be too much hysteria and bullying in the fandom because of this. Regardless of preferences, some Ladynoir stans are behaving in a similar manner to how Marichat stans behaved in previous seasons, and some even act like Blue stans, treating "competing" ships and their shippers rudely, and even using "True Selves" theory. Even Marichat stans never claimed that their ship was dead. On the contrary, it was more alive than any other ship in the fandom.

Anon I gotta say I stopped reading your whole message after like the 1/3 of the 2nd paragraph because it was too long and completely misinterpreting one (1) tag I added so I got the gig of your ask

I'm not talking about ladynoir being platonic friends as a problem. I don't mind that and I'd have loved to see more of their friendship like that bit at the start of Perfection.

I mind that we just don't see them at all lmao like when we say they're absent we mean they just literally didn't interact more than 3 minutes onscreen after Adrinette got together (minus Revolution which was great). And you can't tell me I'm not right lol they were just interacting for the bit of fights we saw onscreen and that's it rbejfje, I would have loved to see more platonic interactions they just weren't there 😂

[propertyofwicked]

heyyy!!!

could i request lando x reader angst with some fluff? where the reader is stressed with exams (exam season just started for me😰) and lando just helps her get through it and comforts her during the sleepless nights.

i absolutely love your work, especially the secrets series!🧡

exam szn is invading my personal space rn too i cannot think about it without wanting to cry hehe. hope this meets ur expectations and sorry it took so long to respond <3

warnings: none, just fluff :)

masterlist

TAKE A BREAK - LN

y/n was always going to be the most beautiful woman that lando had ever seen, even now, as she sat slumped over her laptop, pen tucked into her bun and dark circles under her eyes, highlighted by the dull orange of her desk lamp in an otherwise dark room.

this was not a new situation for lando to find his girlfriend in - he’d seen her at her worst when she had been revising for her final exams years ago, whilst he was busy with his driving career. but this past week, he’d barely spent time with her, besides seeing her setting up her desk before he left in the morning, and eating a rushed dinner before she went straight back to studying. y/n was bound to crash soon, her body and mind overworked and over tired, but her resistance was strong. lando missed his girlfriend. yes, she was physically in the same apartment as him, but mentally she was so far away, completely unreachable to the outside world.

“hey,” he announced, leaning against the door frame. she mumbled a quick hello in response, not even looking away from the glowing screen in front of her.

“y/n?” he tried to get her attention again, still with a mumbled response. he pushed his body from where he was leaning, walking slowly over to rest on the back of her desk chair, his head lowering to press a kiss to the top of her head, “come to bed, angel.”

“i will in a minute,” she said, finally breaking her stare at her computer, leaning back to look at him. he finally got a good look at her face. she was still beautiful, but she was tired. she was pale, her eyes red from the strain and constant fight against exhaustion.

“no baby, you said that last night and crawled into bed 3 hours later.”

“i said i was sorry for waking you up,” she said sadly, her shoulders tensing, the shift to her posture causing her muscles to move for the first time in hours.

“i don’t care about you waking me up, i care about you clearly struggling. you need to take a break, angel,” he said, his tone harsh even when he tried to be as nice as possible.

“im fine, lan, i promise. ill come to bed in 10 minutes.”

“y/n,” he warned, no longer caring about his tone, “when was the last time you showered?” he added, out of genuine concern, however she did not take it in that way.

“what? why? do i smell?” she asked, raising her arm to sniff herself, lando physically restrained himself from laughing. she didn’t smell, but her hair was slightly greasy, purely from the amount of times she ran her hands through her hair out of frustration, or kept her head propped up, using her arm as support.

“y/n,” he says, using her full name, “you are going to shut your computer down, have a shower, and then go to bed. you can keep studying tomorrow but tonight, i want to spend time with my girlfriend before i have to leave the country again.”

she was reluctant to oblige, but she knew she’d been neglecting him in favour of studying. she did this every time she had an important essay due, or upcoming exams - her brain became laser focused to the extent of forgetting to look after herself and those around her, the deadline approaching only adding to the pressure. she closed her laptop, and stood, stretching her legs out in the process, not realising they had gone numb from sitting down for hours.

lando took to standing behind her, hands on her waist as he guided her into their bathroom. as he switched on the light, her eyes squeezed shut and a groan fell from her lips at the shock of the brightness.

“has that light always been so fucking bright?” she groaned, as lando laughed quietly, moving around her to set the shower up.

“that’s what happens when you sit in a dark hole for hours angel. when was the last time you left that room,” he asked, his hand under the water testing the temperature.

“erm, when we had dinner?”

“babe that was 6 hours ago,” he replied with a sigh, checking the time on his watch, “the showers warm enough now. get in. i’ll be in the other room.”

“you’re not showering with me?” she asked sadly. his eyes perked up at the thought of spending intimate time with her.

5 minutes later, they were both stood under the water, his hands massaging shampoo on her scalp. the warm water has loosened her muscles, and the feeling of lando’s hands on her bringing her back to a full sense of reality. she turned to face him, looking in his eyes as the water cleared the shampoo from her hair.

“im sorry,” she told him.

“you don’t need to be, angel. i just wish you’d take better care of yourself. i hate seeing you like this.”

“i know i just..” she said, before taking a deep breath, “i just need to pass this exam and then i’ll be back to normal, i promise.”

“y/n, you are the most intelligent person i know. there is no way you need to destroy yourself for the sake of an exam,” he replied, his hands moving to cup her jaw. she hoped the shower would mask the tears welling in her eyes. she couldn’t tell if the tears were from the kind hearted words or from the sheer stress she’d been bottling up. either way, lando could read her like a book.

he lowered his head, pulling her face closer to his, before pressing a kiss to her forehead and each cheek, and then moving to press a short but sweet his to her lips.

“i just don’t want to mess this up,” she said through tears, “ive worked so hard to get to where i am right now, i can’t afford a set back. i can’t mess this up, and i can’t think about correlation coefficients any longer without wanting to rip my hair out.”

“and you won’t mess it up,” he replies, choosing to ignore the words he doesn’t understand, marvelling at her ignorance to her own intelligence, “taking a break every now and again, looking after yourself, is not going to set you back or destroy your progress. you can’t keep going like this - the stress and the way you overwork yourself is going to set you back further than taking the evening off will, angel.”

“i just need to pas-”

“no, you need to take a step back. give yourself a break.”

“i know, i jus-”

“stop arguing with me or i’ll throw that damn laptop out of the window,” he said, interrupting her and crossing his arms over his chest.

“please don’t, i can’t afford a new one,” she joked, and lando smiled at hearing her laughing for the first time in weeks.

“i’ll buy you a new one,” he replied, pressing another kiss to her lips, “right, turn around i need to do the conditioner now.”

lando didn’t let y/n move another finger all night. he had wrapped her in a towel and sat her down on the toilet lid whilst he brought her in a cup of tea. he helped her climb into her pyjamas, and then sat her down between his legs as he dried her hair. they had crawled into bed afterwards, his arms reaching out to pull her to lay on his chest.

“thank you,” she mumbled against his neck, her eyes already closed out of exhaustion.

“don’t thank me,” he replied, tilting his head to kiss her forehead, “just promise me you’ll start taking care of yourself.”

“i promise,” she said, raising her pinky finger to interlock with his.

“tomorrow, you start taking an hour break for every two hours of work you do. and please, go outside, get some fresh air,” he said, pleading with her.

“half an hour,” she debated with him.

“an hour. end of,” he said, his decision final, “or, that laptop really is going.”

“you would never,” she replied, jokingly gasping at him.

“you wanna bet?”

[strayflowersstarsandlove]

Honey bee (dad!hanjisung)

The whole "favourite parent" theory never really convinced you to the fullest, not with how much Daisy was obsessed with her father, her very first word being "dada!", the biggest rounded eyes looking excitedly at him, her cute little mouth just a happy happy o shape as she tuned to her dad when you had first asked her to try and say the word, which nearly brought Jisung to tears right then and there.

With you being the parent that was at home the most though, you were quite used to being wrapped around her little finger, catering to her every need, helping her and caring for her through her trickiest nights and seasonal flu.

Jisung tried his very very best at being as present as possible and not miss on any important milestones such as her first word, which had happened fairly recently, or the first few little steps she walked from your seated figure to him, resting his bum on the carpet, opposite you, both of your arms outstretched for her shall she stumble on her little feet. He was there. Overjoyed.

Whenever he came home from work, be it at 2 in the morning or 4 in the afternoon, he always made sure to go and see his baby, even if it was for a little bit, like his lunch break or five minutes before going to bed, he always stuck to his habit of just taking a few minutes to just look at her, kiss her cheek, play with her or have a cuddle if she was awake.

And Daisy must have developed a sixth sense for that, even for a toddler as young as barely one year old, she just knew whenever her dad was about to come home. And she would become just a liiiiiitle restless and fussy with either excitement or desperate anticipation. Hence you secretly started to believe perhaps he was the favourite parent, probably cause she loved him so, and missed him just as much, despite his best efforts.

Tonight was just one of those nights, Jisung had literally just gotten home not even 3 hours ago, it was way past her bed time but none of you had the heart to deny either of you some bonding family time, or better yet father and daughter quality time.

He had postponed his shower and his unpacking and just picked her up from the floor where she was playing quietly with you, and smothered her little face with kisses and hugged her and hold her and played with her for as long as possible before she required a nappy change and the delayed night time routine.

Neither of you felt like you were being bad parents. Routines and regular sleeping schedules were important but so is being patient and lenient, understanding of your child needs and yours as parents too. A little indulgence and some extra cuddles never hurt anyone.

Bathed and half way through her bottle, baby Daisy was having a hard time concentrating on the soft lullaby bed time story you were reading her, she kept rubbing her small chubby knuckles into her eyes and half giggling cause she was too awake and eager, kept fidgeting and twitching in her sleeveless sleep sack she usually loved being swaddled in.

"Ah I see, you're not so sleepy tonight are you? Silly little bloom you are", you giggle at her cute happy and definitely more than alert face, gently pinching her rosy cheeks, "is someone just so excited dada's home? Shall we go see him? Shall we have dada sing you to sleep tonight?", you suggest rhetorically, knowing that even though she can't fully grasp what you're saying she definitely understands any mention of her father.

With a little huffing and puffing from the effort, you roll over onto the side and get up from her little bed wich you had squeezed yourself in, you unzip her sleeping sack and pick her up, gently brushing away her satiny soft wisps of dark brown hair, just barely curling at the tips, you balance her on your hip, careful to distribute her weight evenly so you don't strain yourself, and slowly pad into the corridor and then into your master bedroom where you find your husband folding his clothes into the closet, his suitcases now empty, discarded on the floor beside the bed.

"Knock knock? A certain daisy bloom is requesting her sweet honey bee to help her sleep tonight", you announce playfully as you cup your daughter's little hand and help her knock on the door, Jisung spins around with a start, his face immediately lighting up, "oh goodness!", he muses excitedly, dropping whatever shirt he was trying to neatly fold in his lap.

He walks over to you, grinning from ear to ear, and gently lifts Daisy from your arms and into his, holding her close to his chest so he can place a fluttery stream of kisses into her hair, "is it true Deiji girl? you want Dada?", he coos, sitting on the edge of the bed, relishing in the way his baby girl latches onto him, her little arms and hands trying to grip onto his neck as she squeaks happily, "da-dda", she blubbers, burying her face into his chest.

He shoots you the puppy eyes, his bottom lip trembling, the look on his face so devastatingly amazed and touched, which you reciprocate, clutching your own chest, watching as he cuddles her closer while he scoots on the bed so he can rest his back onto the bed frame, the baby not even shifting into his arms, her ear pressed onto his pectoral, perhaps a subconscious reminiscence of when she used to do that as a newborn.

Endless were the days when Jisung wouldn't dare breathing too loud, scared he would disturb her sleep, and would hold her like that for hours on end, the tiny shell of her ear pressed onto his hearbeat, his hands rubbing her back ever so lightly in soothing motion, his lips brushing her head every once in a while in a dream like state, or a suppressing-his- leg - cramps - and- impeding- need- to- pee- and- breathe- normally- hazy state. For there was no way in hell he was going to move and wake her up.

Fatherhood. What an immense blessing to have been bestowed upon him. Jisung was the most wonderful father despite the demands of his tight working schedules, he had been pouring himself out for your daughter from day one, and you had been witnessing him blossoming into his nurturing calling just like his first baby name's sake.

"You guys... I'm going to cry", you mumble, feeling suddenly very emotional at the scene before you, "me too... oh... how I missed her", Jisung sniffles, snuggling his baby tightly but still carefully enough so he doesn't crush her, "she's so cuddly I'm going to die", he adds then, holding her up closer to his face so he can kiss her cheeks and her forehead and the tip her nose and her cheeks again and her nose again.

"You are the best cuddler in the whole world you know that sweetheart?", he says softly, gazing into his daughter boba brown eyes, a miniature version of his own eyes, along with the squishiest cheeks and poutiest lips she inherited straight from him as well, whereas she had your nose and your chin and seemingly your hair, the perfect tiny combination of both of you guys' genes.

Daisy tilts her head to the side and slabbers a little, adorable loud giggles escaping her mouth, "dadda eeppyy", she gabbles, trying to stand on her tippy toes in Jisung's lap, whose hands hover over her small frame, catching her whenever she wobbles unsteadily, "dada's sleepy? Yeah, I am sleepy. Is Daisy sleepy too? Shall we go night night?", he says sweetly, smiling proudly, elated at just how bright and smart and cute his daughter is, "ya", she says in her tiny voice, trying to nod lightly, mimicking a small yawn after.

"Okay, night night we go then. Let's say bye bye to omma and sissy first! Say night night mommy, night night sissy!", Jisung instructs tenderly, brushing her hair with his fingers and then gently guiding her to you so she can crawl over and cup your cheeks in her little hands:" nah nah mam-mah", she babbles, her aim a little off when she tries to kiss your cheek and ends up slobbering all over your face.

Which you can't help but laugh endeared at: "good night sweetie, I love you, sissy loves you too!", you say softly, your hands cradling your round bump. A fond smile and soft gaze into his eyes, Jisung pecks your lips once, lingering there just for a second, a promise for more at a later time.

"Let's say bye bye to sissy too, where is sissy?", he adds then, gently encouraging Daisy to use her little pointer finger to poke at your chest, just slightly above your heart, "aw sissy is mommy's heart, but she's also in mommy's belly!", he prods her on gently, until she pokes your belly too, smiling excitedly, "good girl! There's sissy! say goodnight sissy, I love you! like this, here, watch dada", he explains patiently, bending down to kiss your belly once, and then twice, and then thrice.

Soon enough Daisy copies him and you find yourself overwhelmed with a flurry of slobbery kisses all over your tummy and your chest, the echo of your husband and daughter's giggling and smacking their lips on your skin making your tear up with both joy and the prickling feeling of having to go toilet with how much they're ticking you.

"Night night Nari, we love you", Jisung whispers, his lips pretty much still attached to you, an arm firmly wrapped around his toddler and the other cradling your belly, honey dripping from his words and his eyes.

[drvscarlett]

About You Pt 9

Sebastian Vettel x Webber!Reader

Summary: Everyone knows about the history of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. But there's a well kept story within the paddock about Sebastian Vettel and another Webber. This is that story.

About You Series

A/N: were getting a lot of perspectives for this chapter. i have been sick for the past week and i couldn't upload this. i hope everyone enjoys

Taglist: @spideybv28@randomcuboidshape @mehrmonga @casperlikej @cliosunshine @honethatty12 @randomgirlnumber-13 @sugyomama @ririyulife @skywalker1dream @vicurious28 @khaylin27 @0710khj @its-elias-world @vizzzashley @allisonwoods @taytaylala12 @miarabanana @ceciii-b @lindsayjoy444 @mploopssek @snakelore @toldyouitwasamelodrama @lordpercevalcharles

2012, Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit

If anyone asks, Mark was not looking for his sister. He was just merely concerned that Jenson is running around with a new press officer that seems to be too flustered to know what she is doing. He had an urge to ask the British man if Y/N has been sacked but he probably looks like a hypocrite if he criticized Jenson of his decisions.

He lets out a heavy sigh.

It was weird to not see Y/N during his home race. He knows that everything was a shitstorm ever since he removed her from her position and said a lot of awful things. The winter break gave him a lot to think about especially with the new emptiness in the Webber household. Mark was hoping that this home race will be a way for them to reconcile.

"Mate, are you alright?" Nico appeared out of the blue "You seem distracted"

"Oh you just caught me in a bad timing"Mark shrugged.

"For a second I thought you were looking for Y/N"Nico is not blind, he noticed the way Mark has been eyeing the McLaren garage "You should know that she will be missing this race"

"She'll miss it?"

Y/N never misses this race, its their home turf.

"Yeah, Lewis told me yesterday. She is currently settling to her new apartment in London and McLaren gave her some time off"Nico informs.

For Mark it was so weird to hear how he have been missing key important things in Y/N's life when he used to be so updated with every little detail in her life. He couldn't hide his emotions because he knows it was all his fault.

As someone who have been long friends with the two siblings, Nico had a sense of the regrets that Mark is feeling. He gave a gentle pat on Mark's shoulder.

"You should own up and apologize to her when she gets back"Nico suggested "For what its worth,you are still her brother and she can never hold a grudge against you"

"Even when I say stupid shit?"

"Even then"Nico was confident. The Webber siblings are thick as thieves just like him and Lewis, surely they can find a way to forgive each other.

"Here, Lewis will probably kill me but this is her new cell. Give her a message or a call"Nico offered.

Nico pulled out a paper and borrowed a pen from a nearby staff. He scribbled messily a set of new numbers with Y/N's name. Mark's eyebrows furrowed because it was another thing that he didn't even know. It was his fault again as he never tried to reach out to her again.

"I might get blocked"Mark weakly jokes.

"I mean I would block you too with everything you said to me"

That was a good thing about Nico, he is the type of person who will speak his mind and doesn't sugarcoat things. Nico heard from Y/N herself about the things Mark said and it was surely something painful.

"but you have to start doing something to earn her forgiveness" Nico added.

Mark could only hope for that. As the two drivers walked back to the media pen and talk about the start of the new season, Mark was still thinking about the number. The weight of the paper seems to be heavier than anything in this world right now. But nothing is heavier than the feeling of missing a very important person for this Grand Prix.

2012, Sepang International Circuit

By Malaysia, Y/N was back on track. It was another rainy session for the race and honestly it didn't surprise her anymore. Malaysia was quite known for the sudden switch of weather from a good hot summer to a turbulent wet race.

But the weather isn't the only giving mixed signals over the race weekends.

Y/N watches from the McLaren garage how Sebastian seems to be flirting with another reporter. She knew the man was quite charming as she have been a subject to her flirtatious and cheeky advances in the past. The growing popularity of Sebastian as a world champion seems to pave a way for him to be confident to do that to other girls.

There was this ugly feeling bubbling in her chest and she didn't like it one bit.

"You're staring" Jenson, ever the nosy one, commented "Keep on staring and you might burn a hole at the back of their head"

"I am not staring"

"Oh yeah, I stand corrected. You are glaring"Jenson corrects.

The female Webber only rolled her eyes as Jenson erupted in chuckles. She crossed her arms because she doesn't see anything laughable in this situation. Honestly, she pities Britta for this whole PR mess that Sebastian might intertwine himself into.

"Is he always like this" Y/N wondered out loud.

"Not so much"Jenson replied "I still think that I'm the biggest slag of the grid"

"No one can ever beat you for being a PR nightmare"Y/N agrees.

"Yep but atleast you are well compensated for all my troubles"

Jenson finds himself slinging an arm over Y/N as they share an umbrella together.

For onlookers, there is this certain chemistry between Jenson and Y/N. Even if they denied it several times, they are always seen close like this with one another that people cannot help but speculate.

The German driver who was previously enthralled into a conversation immediately saw the duo from his peripheral view. His face scrunched up from the closeness,do they have to stand so close like that? And what was so funny that they have to be laughing like that?

Probably the last straw for Sebastian was realizing how Y/N was not wearing a jacket. Given the rainy circumstances, she might catch a cold if she continues in that state.

"Would you excuse me a moment"Sebastian left the reporter.

He made a beeline towards the McLaren garage and took off his rain jacket. He knows that the Red Bull brand is all over the place but he'll be damned if he lets Y/N stay there without any warm clothes.

"Hey there Sebastian"Jenson greeted.

"You need warmer clothes"Sebastian ignored the greeting as he placed the jacket over Y/N.

"Are you insane? This is a Red Bull jacket?" Y/N was bewildered.

"You forgot your jacket, you need one and I'm lending you mine"Sebastian states.

"But I'm a McLaren employee, be rea-"

"I'm sure McLaren doesn't appreciate you missing out any races" Sebastian said

"But Sebastian-"

"I'm not taking that back"

"Sebastian!"

The Red Bull driver was off running with his umbrella. Of course, Y/N followed in suit with her newly acquired rain jacket and an umbrella borrowed from Jenson.

Jenson scratches his head as a bystander. He doesn't know how much longer does these two have to give mixed signals before they say something or do something. At first, this whole thing was cute but now its frustrating because its been years.

"Still no progress with those two?"Lewis asked.

"Not a thing" Jenson sighs.

2012, Silverstone Circuit

Heike Vettel has long resigned that she cannot control her son's decisions in life. From an early age, Sebastian was the one calling shots in his life and she would simply support his son's decision on things. However, if there was one thing that Heike wanted to dabble into Sebastian's affairs was in his love life especially when it concerns a particular Y/N Webber.

The first time that Y/N was mentioned in the household, Heike already knew that she was a very special lady in Sebastian's life. It was rare for Sebastian to talk about something other than racing so his constant chatters about Y/N piqued Heike's interest.

They don't go to races often so she haven't received the opportunity to meet the girl but an invitation email to celebrate Sebastian's birthday paved the way.

"This is such a wonderful surprise Christian"Heike noted as she enter the restaurant with the family.

The designs were simple but it was littered with bits of things that could be related to Sebastian Vettel. The designation of the tables has also been well thought of because Heike noticed some familiar childhood friends placed on the table.

"Thank you for doing this for Sebastian, my family is very grateful for everything"

The team principal grinned and raised his hands as if he is taking a step back from the compliments.

"I may have funded this restaurant reservation and your flight tickets but I'm not the one who planned this all together"Christian admitted.

"Then who did?"

"That would be the lady over there, Y/N"

Y/N was busy with her clipboard and she seems to be all over the place doing her last minute checks. She was just as organized and reliable as Sebastian told Heike.

"It was her idea from the start because the British grand prix is in a few days and its Sebastian's birthday" Christian further explained "She made sure to choose the food which is a lot of Sebastian's favorites, the invites, and making sure this whole thing is a secret"

"She seems to be an interesting lady"Heike muttered, gazing at the hardworking girl.

"You should get to know her before Sebastian arrives, he is quite fond of her" Christian urged.

She took this as a sign to get closer to the girl. Heike immediately made her way to Y/N and politely tapped her in the shoulder to get her attention.

"Miss Y/N Webber, correct?"

At first, Y/N seems confused but the facial structures was so familiar and her face suddenly brightened in recognition.

"It's so good to finally meet you Mrs. Vettel" Y/N hugged "I have heard so many great things about you and I'm so excited that you could join us"

Y/N was warm and bright, there was a certain aura that clearly makes her a likeable individual. Certainly, she was someone that Heike didn't mind being a daughter-in-law someday.

"Please just Heike, Mrs Vettel is too formal"

"If you insist Heike" Y/N smiles "Oh is there anything you need? I hope the accommodations are comfortable"

Caring and attentive, another factor that Heike pointed out in her head.

"I would just thank you dearie for being so appreciative and doing everything for Sebastian. This takes great effort to arrange and as his mother I really appreciate that"Heike explained.

"Heike this isn't even a fraction of what Sebastian did for me" Y/N counters.

But Heike knew. Every time that Sebastian was doing something for Y/N, he would run it through his mother to make sure that he could get a female perspective about his plans.

"I'm really glad he has you in his life, thank you"Heike reiterates.

As Sebastian's mother, she couldn't help but worry about Sebastian as he races in different parts of the world. She doesn't have any idea if he is being taken care of or if he has someone he can count on. But seeing Y/N in the flesh and confirming that she is everything that Heike had heard from the stories, she felt relieved.

A grateful smile graced Y/N's face as Heike pulled her in a hug.

Heike could only pray that her son finally grows some balls to ask the young lady out. She would literally smack Sebastian if he missed out the chance.

2012, Interlagos

It was another tough season for Mark and he couldn't even push for celebrations right now. He had found himself hiding behind the Red Bull garage to sulk for a bit before he had to go to the media pen and put on a face of sportsmanship to celebrate his teammate.

He opens his phone and his fingers refreshed the texts but no new messages were out for him.

Another frustrated growl comes out of him as he messed up his hair.

"Sebastian I have something to tell you"there was a whisper that floated around.

Mark could only squint as he made out a figure of a woman with his teammate. He have seen the girl before in the garage and Sebastian introduced him as a friend but Mark couldn't remember her name.

"Can't this thing wait Hanna?" Sebastian's voice was hushed like he didn't want anyone else to know about their conversation.

Mark knew that this was a private conversation but his curiosity is getting the best of him. He crouched lower as he tried to get a better view and hearing range of the conversation.

"I like you Sebastian and I have loved you for so long"

The usual confident and flirty Sebastian seems to be taken a back. He seems as frozen as Mark who is now regretting his decision to eavesdrop on them.

"I know I may be ruining years of friendship but I cannot hide it anymore, I really like you" she stated "You have always treated me so well and special so tell me I'm not the only one feeling that way"

"Hanna you are a nice person-"

And there was a pair lips of together. Mark finally decided that he has invaded too much of their privacy and left the couple to settle their own devices.

Meanwhile a group was huddled on the other side of the paddock. The drivers were like schoolgirls with the way that they are giggling.

"I'm being serious here guys, why are you guys acting like this"Y/N wanted to hide with a pillow. It was a bad idea of her to tell Lewis, Nico, and Jenson that she likes Sebastian.

"Honestly, we were making bets on when and who would be the first to confess" Jenson laughed.

"You bet on us?"

"Yes and let's just say we are 200 euros richer"Nico confirmed.

"Who else is on this bet?"Y/N groaned.

"Michael and Christian said that Sebastian would grow the balls. Martin also bets on Sebastian."Lewis enumerates "Don't worry, Niki and David believes in you"

If Y/N could only sink in her chair and disappear, she already would. She couldn't believe that everyone is up on their business all this time.

She could only just hope that she won't be as embarrassed as this when she finally confessed to Sebastian.

[confused-pyramid]

I'll Be Yours In A Landslide | s7 interlude

pairing: aaron hotchner x childhood bsf!reader

summary: Hotch and his childhood best friend working together at the BAU: a slow burn across the seasons.

word count: 2.6k

warnings: SMUT, oral (fem!receiving), p in v, angst

a/n: IMPORTANT UPDATE: Sorry for the wait guys, I've been super busy with graduating soon and other life updates, so I haven't had any time to write:( I really wanted to give some sort of a tie-up for this series at least for the time being, so I wrote a little interlude for y'all. I am hoping to come back at some point, but for now, I'm putting an indefinite hold on this series. I really appreciate all the comments and messages I've gotten from people, and I hope to talk to you all soon:) Title is from State Lines by Novo Amor

series masterlist

"How could you?"

You push past him, shoving your way into his apartment the moment he opens the door. You were fuming your entire drive over, but now that he's standing in front of you, your mind is a battlefield of warring emotions: I hate you, I love you, I missed you.

"You knew the whole time that she was alive," you gasp, already feeling out of breath, "and you kept it from us. From me."

"I'm sorry." It seems to be the only thing he can say these days. He has said it so many times, he's lost count, but it doesn't make this better. He knows he hurt you, even if he didn't have a choice. "Please just sit down and we can talk."

"No," you shoot back, shaking him off as he tries to step closer. "I'm not gonna calm down right now. I've been keeping this in for months, Aaron. I was there for everyone and no one was there for me."

His brow screws together and you know you're hitting exactly the right spots to make him feel worse, but you can't help it.

"I wanted to tell you," he says, his voice almost frantic as you pace back and forth across his living room. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to tell you all of it, but I couldn't."

"You should've tried harder," you yell, knowing how unfair that is even as you're saying it. His face falls and he turns his palms towards you, like he's about to surrender, but that isn't what you want. You want the fight. It's what you've been waiting for for months.

You open your mouth to yell at him again, but then his eyes find yours, and he looks at you in that way he used to...like it's the first time he's seeing you all over again, and suddenly you're walking toward him. His eyes widen as you crash into him, and before he can understand what's happening, your lips are on his.

It takes him way too long to realize what's happening, but his hands move faster than his brain. They latch onto your waist, tugging you closer, pressing your chest to his, as you gasp into his mouth. When his brain finally catches up, he swears he can see fireworks as you grasp onto him, your lips so soft over his. He's been drowning for months, years, wanting you, waiting for you, pushing you away, and now you're here and he can finally breathe.

"I'm sorry," he whispers against your lips, trying to emphasize how grateful he is to have you back, but you just bring your hands up between you and tear off his open button down before chucking it to the ground.

"Shut up," you mutter, a pang of hurt cutting through even as you try to sound angry. "Just kiss me."

He doesn't make you ask twice. His lips come back to yours as he walks you back towards the couch, your knees buckling when they hit the seat.

Aaron sinks down and pulls you on top of him as you grab at every part of him, your fingers tugging at his collar and your teeth brushing over his bottom lip. The kiss is harsh and he gasps as your nails drag over his skin, but he doesn't care. You're here.

He's falling, succumbing to the overwhelming desire rising up within him, but before he can let go, he pulls back momentarily. "You're sure? I don't want you to regre-"

"I want you," you whisper, the last word turning to a sob against your will. "I'm so mad at you, but I love you and I want you, so please don't stop."

His eyes squint with shame and for a moment you almost feel guilty for how harsh you are being, but then the desire returns and he pulls you down on top of him. Your hands come up to tangle in his hair, and the roughness of his beard feels unfamiliar, yet exciting. When his mouth moves down your jaw, the scratch of his beard against your skin ignites a fire within you.

You claw at his back, trying to pull his tee shirt over his head, and he reaches down, helping you wrest it off and onto the floor. The movement sends your hips back over his groin and he lets out a low groan as he tears your button-down open.

When your top falls to the floor as well, you both pause, finally realizing the gravity of what you're doing. Your eyes drag down his chest, over the thick scars lining his abdomen and collarbone, and soon your fingers are following along, tracing a path of fire over the roughest and most beautiful parts of him. 

You gasp as his fingers ghost over the scar on your waist, where your bullet wound used to be, and before the tears in your eyes can fall, your lips are back on his. 

There's more urgency in your movements this time as you try to relish the feeling of his mouth over your pulse, your hips rolling over him. 

"Bedroom," you whisper as heat spreads between your legs, emanating from the grip of his hands on your thighs. "Now."

He doesn't waste a second as he wraps his arms around your body and stands up, lifting you along with him as he makes his way down the hall. His lips don't leave yours even as he pushes the door open with his back, and he only breaks away to toss you onto the bed. You hit the covers with a gasp, and you see his pupils darken with lust as he climbs over you, his pants already tightening. 

You can hardly believe he's back in your life again, and even as anger and hurt cloud your vision, he's here in front of you, and you need him as close as humanly possible.

"I want you too," he says suddenly, his eyes finding yours in a moment of earnestness. "So much...for so long."

Your throat thickens with tears again, and you can't decide whether you want to blink them away or let them fall, but then he quickly tugs your jeans and panties off in one go and every thought leaves your brain. 

He looks animalistic as he peppers kisses up your legs, his mouth warm and wet as he stops just before your core for an extra second to rile you up.

"Aaron," you groan, threading your fingers into his hair and tugging him forward. You won't beg, not right now, but he gets the idea.

He practically grins at your desperation, drawing it out a bit longer by sucking bruises into your thighs, before he finally goes where you are willing him to. Your head falls back with a gasp as he plunges his tongue down, licking a trail up your slit that has you writhing beneath him.

He presses his hands into your thighs, spreading them apart as your hips jut off the bed. His tongue feels like heaven as he works you open along with his fingers, getting you close within a matter of minutes. 

"Aaron, please-" you gasp out, your words cutting off as he hooks his finger up, his movements precise in a way that both surprises and exhilarates you. You're not even sure what you're asking him for, you just need more of him. 

It's like he can hear your thoughts, because his fingers start moving faster, and when your grip on his hair tightens, he lets out a low hum that vibrates up your core.

You are barely aware of what your legs are doing, but when he grabs your ankle and lifts your leg over his shoulder, your head flies back and you're moaning his name so loudly, you're afraid the neighbors will come knocking.

"Yes," you gasp, your fingers pulling at his hair harder you mean to.

He laves over your clit, alternating between sucking and licking, until you come apart under his tongue, your mouth falling open with a loud cry. 

You taste incredible, and he's so hard that his jeans have become uncomfortably tight, but even as you cry out his name, it's not enough. He wants to see you come apart under him.

Gripping your hips, he yanks you down so that you're lying directly beneath his body, eliciting a soft moan from you. Your eyes are wide with bliss as you look up at him, your eyelashes fluttering softly, and he has to grip the sheets beside your head to keep his pants from tightening any further.

His knee presses down on the bed between your thighs as he lifts you up and deftly unclasps your bra, before gently dropping it to the floor. When he returns his gaze back to you, his breath stutters as he takes in the sight before him.

"Beautiful," he whispers, almost as an afterthought. "You're so beautiful." 

He has always known it, but something about seeing you in his bed, like this, feels unbelievable. Like he somehow did everything exactly right. Except you didn't, his brain reminds him. You did everything wrong, and still got this lucky.

Maybe it is luck. But whatever it is that brought him here, he isn't going to waste another second thinking about it.

You help him tug his pants off, and when he chucks his boxers off right after, his cock springs free, hard and ready without you even touching him. Your mouth floods with saliva as his knee presses forward between your legs, and you reach down to take him in your hands, but he pushes you back with a small shake of his head.

He wants to feel you more than anything else in the world right now, but he's already so riled up, he's afraid to let you touch him until he's inside of you. He reaches over to the nightstand and grabs a foil packet to cover himself, before he lowers himself down.

"Ready?" he asks, his voice gruff even to his own ears.

You nod, your legs spreading as he lines himself up, and his breath gets stuck in his throat when he slowly pushes in. Your mouth falls open as he fills you up, taking his time to push forward until he's fully seated inside of you.

He's big enough that you need a few moments to adjust, but once he starts moving, a string of moans falls from your lips. He leans forward to press a kiss to your jaw, then your lips, and when he pulls back, his pupils are so dark you can barely make out the color of his eyes.

"You're perfect," he whispers against your skin as he presses his mouth to your neck, his hips slowly rocking into you. "You're everything."

After growing accustomed to his size, the stretch feels amazing, and you try to respond, but your head just falls back onto the pillow as waves of pleasure roll over you. You remember your dream from while he was gone, the hazy sequence that had you waking up in a heated fervor, and you can't help but think about how much better he is in real life. How you waited for so many years, and even when it hurt like hell, it was all still worth it.

He starts to thrust faster, and you hike your knees up, trying to change the angle to get him even deeper inside of you. When he hits the right spot, you let out a high gasp and your walls involuntarily squeeze around him.

"Fuck," he mutters through gritted teeth as his rhythm falters slightly. "You can't do that." He dips down to press his lips to yours for a sharp kiss. "I'm already close."

"Me too," you cry, realizing it as it flies out of your mouth. "I'm so close."

Your words seem to flip a switch in his brain. You watch as his eyes darken and his rhythm picks back up, like he only has one goal and he won't stop until he gets it. 

You're starting to squeeze around him again, and he fists the comforter next to you as he thrusts faster, his other hand coming down between the two of you. It doesn't take him more than a few seconds to find your clit, and when his thumb flicks over it once, then twice, your breath stutters and your walls close around him so suddenly that he nearly finds his release as well.

You look magical as you fall apart below him, and he keeps moving inside of you, working you through it as he commits the image to memory. You let out a soft sigh as you come down from your high, but it only takes a few more thrusts for him to near the edge.

"Where do you want me?" he asks, his voice a low hum as you run your fingers through his hair, your nails scratching over his scalp.

You gasp quietly. "Come inside me. Please." 

He groans, picking up his pace again, and wraps his arms around you in an effort to bring you even closer. You press your lips to his as he releases, swallowing his gasps while he slowly comes down.

He pulls out slowly, taking care not to hurt you when you're sensitive, before heading into the bathroom. He returns after a minute with a small towel that he uses to carefully clean both of you up with. 

After tossing it away, he climbs back into the bed and tugs you close to him, your back pressing into his front like a pair of puzzle pieces. The day is starting to catch up with you, and you feel tiredness pull at your eyes as his chest rises and falls evenly behind you.

"I'm in love with you," he says suddenly, his voice hurried like he surprised even himself. "I'm sorry if it isn't the right time or if that isn't what you wanted from this, but-"

"Aaron," you cut him off, turning over so that you can reach up and thread your fingers through his hair. "I'm in love with you too. Of course I am."

He lets out a breath, and you can almost hear the relief in his sigh as he wraps an arm around you and tucks you into his side. Unsurprisingly, he's a furnace wrapped up beside you, but you can't bring yourself to move, especially with how much comfort his mere presence brings you.

You lay there for a while, taking this uninterrupted time to re-memorize his face as his breath evens out. You could never forget anything about him, but he's been gone for so long that you expect there are hundreds of new facets to him that you'll get to learn.

His eyes have been closed long enough that you assume he is asleep, but then his breath stutters and you look up at him as he squeezes you closer in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, his voice sending reverberations through his chest. "I know you know I couldn't tell you everything, but I should have let you in more-"

"I don't want to talk about this right now." Your voice is strong, and he must hear the finality in your tone, because he immediately quiets down. "I know you're sorry...and we'll talk about this more in the morning. But right now, I just want to be here with you. I just got you back."

He's quiet for a moment, but you feel his chin dip down in a nod. "Morning then. Good night."

His arms tighten around you and you snuggle next to him, every part of you interweaving in an effort to get closer than you already are. 

That night, you have the best sleep you've had in years.

TAGLIST:@citrusiove, @yiiiikesmish, @mdanon027, @alice-w0rld, @beata1108, @bakugocanstompme, @raely-study, @himboelover, @hermionegalathynius, @rousethemouse, @calif0rniadreamin, @tolerateit13, @delusional-13s-blog, @madesavage05, @littlemisskavities, @love13tter, @domithebomi, @guacam011y, @averyhotchner, @silver-studios, @whosmys, @mimi-sanisanidiot, @chronicallybubbly, @shilphy87, @threespacemonkeys, @zaddyhotch, @slytherin-min99, @endofthexline, @thattookaturnforthenerdy

[anzulvr]

hii could i please request a little hurt/comfort drabble where reader feels sad during christmas season but forces herself to at least pretend to be happy because karma’s birthday is on christmas day :( but karma notices how her smile doesn’t meet her eyes and stuff and asks reader about it!

Summary: You’re sad on Christmas, Karma x reader (except it’s his birthday.) hurt/comfort GN!reader HUGE SPOILER WARNING FOR ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM

(this is so cute I LOVE THIS REQUEST thank u! Had this in my drafts for a while but waited for Christmas to post)

It had been two years since everything ended. Two years since Korosensei died and all of End class were labeled as victims with some weird-Stockholm attachment to the monster who blew up the moon.

It was strange, seeing everyone care about you when you didn’t need it and remembering how low they thought of you when you were only the reject class of kunugigaoka.

A lot happened in two years, not a long time but considering how quickly everything was moving you hadn’t had time to catch up. Like any special day Christmas wasn’t a good time anymore- something your classmates agreed on. With the impact Korosensei had on your lives it was impossible to celebrate anything without wondering what would have been if you managed to save him. That was only wishful thinking, you couldn’t change the past.

Regardless, today you tried to keep a smile on your face. It was the most important time of the year, Karmas birthday- and Christmas too.

You stared at your poor attempt to decorate the cake you baked with Karma, the frosting written birthday note was almost illegible.

“What’s with the look, you’re writing isn’t that bad.”

You looked up after hearing Karmas voice as if you were pulled out of a trance.

“What look? I know it’s not that bad I was admiring our hard work.”

“More like my hard work, you kept dropping everything! Seriously though, what’s wrong? The whole day I’ve been catching you teary eyed.”

You turned your back to the counter to face him as you set the frosting bag down “I’m fine, today’s your day I’m not going to bother you with my problems. You should enjoy everything to its fullest.”

“I’m not going to enjoy anything if you’re not happy, ‘m not budging tell me why you’re upset.”

Karma was stubborn, you knew him well enough to realized this wasn’t negotiable.

“I don’t know… I was just thinking about how Korosensei can’t spend Christmas with us, and he can’t be here for your birthday. Ever since we killed him, Ive felt so helpless? Like we never did enough.”

He nodded slowly breaking eye contact for a second, “my parents haven’t answered my call today, they’re in Italy right now, all I got was a text saying they were busy and that they’d talk later. I know they haven’t forgotten, it’s kind of impossible when it’s Christmas but still- I hoped they would have time for me today, I know they have more important things to do but It made me think about how Korosensei would’ve been here.”

you nodded in response, “They could still call the days not over… and if they don’t they’ll try to make it up to you…” You could bet they wouldn’t call until the next day but you wanted to reassure him, there wasn’t a lot you could say in this situation that would make him feel better.

“It’s fine, you’re here- and you’re the best company, I had fun today. I just meant Korosensei has done a lot for us he’s proud we pulled that off, he wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up over it.”

“I know you’re right, still I wish I could’ve done more, we should’ve tried harder to save him.”

“We did what we had to. I miss him too, there’s a lot of things I could never repay Korosensei for—”

“Like getting you through senioritis? Or always bringing money in his wallet even though he knew you’d steal it?”

“I meant setting us up together, but sure those were good too.” Karma smiles breaking tenseness of the conversation for moment, “at the time I thought he was being a hassle but without him im not sure id have you right now.”

Suddenly you felt shy laughing it off and covering your face for a moment while you composed yourself, “Yeah he did push for us a lot but I was obsessed with you far before we even ended up in 3-E so you would’ve had me regardless.”

“Yeah? Tell me more.”

“No way in hell, I don’t trust you to not make fun of me. Anyways I didn’t mean to bring up something depressing, we should be smearing cake all over your face right now.”

“Try all you want but it isn’t possible to mess up my face.”

“Wanna bet?” You shake the smile off your face.

“See that’s more I like it, we can enjoy our ugly cake now. And more importantly you can open your gift.”

“What do you mean my gift? It’s your birthday you’re not supposed to buy me stuff!”

“It’s also Christmas … I couldn’t help myself I really wanted to get you something.”

“But now I’m worried my gift won’t live up to yours!”

“[Name] you could give me rocks for all I care and I’d keep them in a safe with multiple locks.”

You gently shoved his shoulder suppressing your laughter, you leaned in to kiss him.

It was impossible to not feel better with him around. This morning you had woken up wishing time could stop for a moment and you ended the day hoping for the same thing but for a completely different reason.

[isitisitearlymichael]

We’ve all obviously got used to how any theories involving Byler are shot down by “fans” (people on the subreddit) as impossible as if they know the outcome of season 5 for certain (which no one except the Duffers and a few other important people do right now).

I just want to point out that they don’t just do this with Byler. They act like total know it alls about various plots in the season.

For example:

1. Their reluctance to discuss how Steve and Nancy’s relationship will be handled in season 5, including denial that Nancy showed any interest in Steve in season 4. Yes, this was an unpopular storyline in season 4 throughout the Byler and Mileven universe and beyond, but no one can say with any certainty that this plot line is going to be abandoned in season 5.

2. Will’s involvement in the creation of the upside down. If anyone suggests he had anything to do with it, despite the fact the show clearly linked it to the date he went missing, they are all over it talking about how it was 100% El and quoting various sources outside of the show mentioning a dimension X etc. At this point we have no idea how it actually happened and season 5 will explain this - it’s fair to speculate that Will had involvement.

3. Any suggestion that Vecna was involved in Will’s disappearance, or that there is more to see and understand re: what happened to Will. Subredditors hate that season one might be retconned in some sort of way - they get protective of it. When people kept saying they wanted to see more of what happened, it was shot down time and time again. I think the preview of the opening scene of season 5 and the various photos of Castle Byers etc have really pissed them off. They’re still going on about how a demogorgon took him and there’s nothing more to see.

I could keep going, but the point is this close-mindedness isn’t just aimed at Byler. They have a real attitude about a number of things and try to out-do each other all the time too. At this rate, they’re probably going to hate season 5 no matter what as it won’t be the season they’ve been telling everyone we’re definitely getting for the past 3 years. So many things won’t make sense to them because they’ve been so fixed on their ideas and beliefs.

[xiaoddexingjiutang]

something about Dreadwing become a ghost, in Megatron's Perspective:

One day, Megatron received some anomaly reports, as he did every day. But then he discovered a ghost missing parts of its soul, a shape difficult to recognize but somehow familiar. It was Dreadwing. "If it's you, this will be easy," he thought. Using his rhetoric, Megatron maneuvered Dreadwing back into his old quarters, making sure he stayed put.

It was around the end of season two, so there were still dreams of defeating the Autobots, but this incomplete Dreadwing wasn’t interested in those ambitions. Megatron didn’t pay much attention to him after that since he wasn’t causing any harm.

The phrase "if it's you, this will be easy" was simple: "I could kill you once, I can kill you a second time. Just as I could educate you once, I can do it again." Watching Dreadwing slowly regain his normal cognitive functions felt quite rewarding for Megatron, like caring for a digital pet to relieve stress.

Later, when Starscream became useless, Megatron grew agitated and remembered the ghost. He asked Dreadwing, "If I punish Starscream, will you leave?" Dreadwing replied, "No, that’s not it."

During this period, Dreadwing's cognitive functions gradually improved. Initially, he couldn’t even recognize people. The turning point came around the time Starscream created the zombie soldiers, making Megatron regret killing Dreadwing. Normally, regretting after someone’s death is pointless because nothing can be done. But this was different—a ghost was present.

Megatron initially used Dreadwing as a negative energy dump because he would listen. Then he started sharing some genuine thoughts and past events, like digging up graves. "I thought digging up the enemy’s graves would make you happy," he said.

Dreadwing responded, "That would have made my brother happy. He’s long dead. I no longer find joy in such things."

Megatron immediately realized he was using terms like "class enemy" again after millions of years. He uncovered some real underlying issues, realizing he had forgotten many things, but it was too late. He couldn’t return to the past; he was bound by his actions and could only pursue victory at all costs, leaving other matters for after the victory.

Being Megatron, he asked direct and hurtful questions: "Why don’t you see your brother? How did you end up like this?"

Dreadwing replied, "How should I know? I don’t like being this way either!"

Later, Dreadwing learned some things and began to find peace. From the logs of the Nemesis, he discovered that Megatron had bathed half of Cybertron’s dead in Dark Energon.

Dreadwing thought, "No wonder he doesn’t care about my brother’s corpse; he doesn’t care about anyone’s."

Thus, they exchanged information, influencing each other in certain ways.

When Megatron was stabbed to death by Bumblebee, Dreadwing's ghost also emerged but then disappeared instantly, leaving Megatron furious and in pain: "You little petroleum rabbi , even Starscream couldn't bear to see me go, but you actually want to watch me die!"

### Why Dreadwing Became a Ghost

Why did Dreadwing become a ghost instead of returning to the Well of All Sparks? The real reason was that he was extremely angry, unable to move past his fury. He wanted to see where this purely utilitarian and emotional approach would lead. His conscious mind wouldn’t admit it, but as they began to understand each other, feelings developed.

Why did Dreadwing find peace? He understood Megatron’s view of life and death—not just a focus on utility or victory, but always looking forward, valuing the future over the past, and the living over the dead. He had once been among the important ones, and Megatron had genuinely cultivated him. This realization was a more effective way for Megatron to see his mistakes than being tormented by Unicron. Megatron realized he had strayed far from his original path, but Dreadwing, like a stubborn teenager, kept saying he didn’t want this or that until he finally understood what he did want.

This concept could be titled: "The Desperate Old Leader Meets the Rejuvenated Big Jet."

[yaboirezzy]

Any of you ever find a new thing you're interested in and you want to know and see more of it, only to find out that thing has been dead or gone for a while and the person/people behind it did something awful or got in some bad controversy?

Cause I have and it's with this:

So I was rewatching some old/classic web animations (mostly Eddsworld, SMB Z, and archived newgrounds animations) and I saw this in one of the playlist that has a bunch of those animations. I only watched it because it was next in the queue but after a couple of minutes I was kinda hooked on it and kept on watching, after a while I decided to watch it till the end, and well...I was really interested.

Sure it was REALLY dated with how it looks and feels, plus the characters and the concept or setting are really standard and could use some improvements, but I thought to myself while searching for more stuff about this series: "Eh, it's part of the charm with these old web animations. Also this was just the pilot episode so surely there's more to come, surely it'll get better from here, surely this'll be a good or at least fine series that'll have some charm and laughs with absolutely nothing bad happening to-" yeah that didn't happen and I wished it did instead of what actually happened.

Yeah so going over every unfortunate thing that happened would take like forever (I think based on what other people have said) so I'll just give you a short summary of what happened: The creator (animated james) canceled the series after two short seasons, he was exposed to have some questionable actions and/or interest which of course led to controversy, and he disappeared from the internet (wherever he is I hope he's doing well). Yup it's another "a classic content creator's downfall" situation...

Okay but you might be thinking to yourself: "What about the series itself and it's two short seasons? Is it any good, is it another case of separating the art from the artist, did it at least leave a bittersweet taste behind?" well....no. Yeah I'm very sorry to any C Students fans out there, I understand if you like this series and think it's really great or an underappreciated gem from the past, I get that and I respect it, but C Students is just really meh to me.

"Well what is C Students?" you might ask, well according to the wiki: C Students is animated web series centered upon a group of teenagers and their life and misadventures in Hartlane High School. Yup, that's all it is from the wiki, and it's actually fitting because that's is ALL this series is about, it's literally just another "teen high school - slice of life & comedy" series kinda like the ones you would find on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel back in the 2000s, except this time it's animated...which isn't really giving it much, like aside from the expressions, some of the movements, and a few things here and there you can have this series in live action instead and it would not be any different.

The characters don't improve or change even slightly from their basic one-note roles/stereotypes in the pilot, similarly the misadventures and situations they go on or find themselves in aren't that interesting or different compared to those from any other series in the genre, and the humor is...the same as those from any other series of this kind, not to say that it's all bad but it's definitely got a lot more misses than it does hits as the later episodes go on, hell even the mature jokes have all aged in varying conditions (both generally and based on the controversy). Speaking of which, that's kind of the overall problem I have with C Students: It clearly looks and feels like a comedic slice of life high school series, but it also tries to be serious and act like it has something important to tell, and it's obvious that it doesn't mix together or handled well. Like for example there's the music video "Creative Types" which is great to watch and listen on it's own, but when put alongside the actual episodes it feels out of place and doesn't feel like it's from the same series at all, which it is even if it's not canon to the main series' timeline. So TLDR: It peaked at the pilot and it slowly and sadly went downhill

However the thing that upsets me more than anything else about this series is...It could be good! It could've been better! I wish it could've been better! I wish it could've entertained us with something different or interesting to it's concept or genre in the same way as The Looney Tunes Show does to suburban sitcom, I wish it could've mixed/handled/balanced the more serious and mature stuff better like Smiling Friends, I wish it could've had some nice charm and laughs to it at least.

Which is why I'm planning on making my own take/version of C Students! Yes I know it's another one to add to my pile of "stuff I've planned out but never actually making", but that's the thing with me unfortunately: I'm good at planning or making ideas and not so much on actually making them come to life, I'm just one person and the idea of making a long running thing on your own without any help whatsoever is terrifying, I'm the one with the blueprints and I need other people to actually construct the thing. But anyways yeah, that was my personal thoughts on C Students (If you don't like or disagree with it then feel free to do so as it is MY opinion and you shouldn't feel obliged to agree with it) I'm PROBABLY gonna make my own take on this series sometime soon, hopefully we'll see how that turns out

EDIT: So I found out that the seasons I watched was a fan-continuation of the series not by the OG creator, but all my points still stand as it would've been more or less the same as canon (according to the creator and people in the comments)

[lavenderdreams205]

spn thoughts as requested

tw & spoiler warning

they should have kept the grungy filter and aesthetics from the early seasons

bring back the southern / midwest gothic vibes

dean would've listened to and loved 90's & 2000s grunge - I know that the whole "there's no good music past '79" is a key part of his personality but pre series/early seasons dean is soo nirvana / Weezer / smashing pumpkins coded

there is too much flannel in the later seasons - I miss the carhartt and leather jackets so bad

BRING BACK DEANS JEWELRY

there's so much about cas that we don't know. there's all the episodes where he just isn't there and they never tell the viewers what he's doing or where he went

on the same note, cas's personality isn't nearly as flushed out as sam's or dean's are. who is his favorite musician? what's his favorite place to travel to? why does he like the pimpmobile so much? does he actually like the trench coat or does he wear it just because it's there?

so many people characterize cas as a little guy, and while he is cute, it's important to remember that he's also an incredibly powerful eldritch horror who leads angelic armies and brands Michaels vessel just because

dean is bisexual and in love with cas - I won't take the time to list all of the reasons here, but you can definitely find those reasons somewhere

i would've loved for them to use the handprint as a physical manifestation of their bond instead of having it be just a scar that fades with time

i'm actually really ok with the way cas dies, I think it makes sense for his character and provides closure (for him, at least, not for dean)

the parallels of cas and dean meeting in a barn and then dean dying in a barn

cassie is deans first love, cas is his last

the imagery of the empty as cas's wings in 15x18

why do the subtitles spell cas as cass, its awful

there's a few lines in the early seasons that seemingly reference dean getting roofied / sa'd and are subsequently played for laughs, Jensen Ackles confirmed that dean would've done underage sw when John didn't leave them with enough money. I believe that this trauma is a major reason that dean never accepted his sexuality

the way deans alcoholism is overlooked and joked about is actually insane

having dean be completely ok after 15x18 is also insane, especially after the widower arc where the show specifically shows it's viewers how deeply dean grieves cas when he dies

deans death is literally so stupid. I get that the show is trying to make a really meta point about the characters not having plot armor anymore because chuck is gone, but dean deserved to find peace. if the events of the show had never happened and pre series dean had never gotten pre series Sam back into hunting it would've ended the exact same way - dean dead on a hunt and Sam dying from old age

dean spends as much time on earth as he did in hell, and while he would never be the same, I like to believe that if he had been allowed by the narrative to live longer he would've gotten back a little of the twinkle in his eyes that he had before hell

in 15x20 Bobby says that cas helped rebuild heaven but if he was there he would've gone to see dean. additionally, there's no way cas should have been able to escape the empty. this is such a glaringly obvious plot hole and it drives me nuts

I would've liked to see cas's wings in the show - not just the shadow of them

the only time I tolerate serious discussion of wincest is in the context of ethel cain

i am a Sam disliker - while he does have many positive qualities, I have a really hard time getting past him not looking for dean when he was in purgatory and him joking about deans alcoholism and other traumas

i like Sam the best when he's with Eileen, I think they're adorable together and I'm mad they killed her off

I am a chronic jack defender, that boy has done nothing wrong

it would be interesting to explore cas and jacks relationships with their respective genders

there's no way being forced to murder the dean clones didn't affect cas, we only saw him kill the last one but the first few he had to kill had to have been devastating

i'm really disappointed by 14x13 Lebanon, we get the scene with John and Sam but I would argue that dean has significantly more reasons to be upset with John and it's unfortunate that the episode just glossed over this - I believe a screaming match between the two would have cleared the air a bit and been at the very least cathartic for dean

i'm fairly sure that it's canonical that John sent dean away on his 17th birthday to kill lesbian ghosts. my personal hc is that John suspected that dean was bi and sent him to teach him a lesson

i saw a post on here comparing hunting culture to biker and cowboy culture and viewing those things through a queer lens and I thought it was fascinating - there's so much spn could've done if it cared about the show more than money and losing viewers

every time cas and dean beat the shit out of each other, it serves as further proof of their relationship rather than discrediting their relationship - ie demon dean and cas fighting in the library is used to parallel Cain and Collette. it could even be assumed that their love is stronger because Cain killed Collette but dean left cas alive

The purgatory love triangle was so silly

once dean worked through all of his trauma and toxic masculinity he would've been a swiftie

all of the main characters have old / vintage cars but in like season 13/14 dean sam and cas just collectively own and use this really ugly silver truck from the 2010s. its such a small detail but it absolutely ruins my viewing experience every time I see it

dean is actually really smart but most of the fandom overlooks it because Sam is characterized as the smart one. if you know anything about cars you know it takes an insane amount of brains to build a car from scratch (he did this with baby multiple times throughout the show) also he just makes an emf meter using basically nothing. if dean had been given the same opportunities he gave Sam, he would've been an engineer or something

i will always be a John hater, if this man has 0 haters, I am dead

[ciaomarie]

Neighbor Series: Ch. 4 Part 2

A Delicate Ecosystem

Part 2: Carmen is obviously down bad, but does Sydney feel as deeply? Is her career or love most important?

I think this might be the last in this series.

The rest of the day and night went smoothly. Sydney tried to dismiss that stupid conversation with Richie from her mind. Carmy was the same as ever. She supposed he didn't have "the talk" with him. Typical that Rich thought it was her responsibility to control the actions of a grown man.

The next day Sydney walked past Marcus and Fak huddled in conversation and thought she heard her name. She shrugged it off, put away her stuff in her locker and joined them.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt. Marcus can we talk for minute?"

Fak who usually had something quirky to say, just waved at her and scuddled away.

"Yeah, anything wrong?" Marcus asked with an odd, no an irritated look, on his face.

"Well, yes. Our bread supplier isn't going to come through for the rest of the week. A death in the family. Carmy wanted me let you know that we'll have to make it in-house today, but we have a backup ready for tommorrow."

"Got it."

"Okay, let me know if you need anything."

"I said I got it."

Sydney was thrown off by his tone. Yes, Marcus had asked her out several months ago and it was weird for that night. Afterwards, they'd moved on and were back on good terms. She racked her brain trying to think if she'd done or said something recently to offend him.

"Um, is there a problem?"

"Nope."

Marcus's face was now unreadable and he walked away to his station. It was eerie, but Sydney had many other things to do so she shelved it for now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following day Carmy stood behind the restaurant for a his "smoke" break right before nightly service. He quit cigarettes a shortly after The Bear opened because he had caught pneumonia and missed two days of work. His doctor told him that she'd seen a lot of pneumonia cases in her elderly and smoking patients that season. So now he chewed Nicorette and pretended that it was just as satisfying. While he stood there enjoying the solitude, Anna, a new hostess came out and began smoking her vape pen. She had a one of those warm, generic voices that was perfect for customer service, but she could instantly switch to a cloying Kardashian-esque accent. She used it whenever she could talk to Carmy alone. However, today she didn't immediately begin speaking when she saw him. He decided to not waste the chance to escape. Just as he was about to go back in Anna spoke up.

"So…do you like know of any nice apartments around here?"

Carmy was facing the door so he could roll his eyes, without her seeing. Then he turned around trying to look neutral.

"Uh, no. Well, I like mine. It's 10 minutes from here, but there's almost never anything available."

"Oh, really? Didn't Sydney just get a place there? Or did she move in with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I just thought I heard like you were maybe together?"

Anna kept her voice light, but she seemed nervous. One hand was gripping her vape pen and the other was twirling her long brown hair.

"No, we don't live together. What does that have to do with you finding an apartment?"

"No? Well, I didn't think so. Sydney is great and all, but she's…like you could like date anyone here, you know?" Anna replied choosing to ignore his question.

Carmen couldn't believe he was having this conversation. This time he couldn't help rolling his eyes in her face. The unmitigated gall of this women to talk about Sydney and to approach her employer in this manner.

"Anna, my dating life is not up for discussion."

Carmen wanted to say more, but he knew that it would be best to discuss it with Natalie first. She came from corporate America and knew the proper HR way of dealing this stuff.

"Oh, oh yeah. Like, okay. Um, I better get back" Anna stammered, blushing and darted through the door.

That night Carmy was on alert. It was one minor incident, but he had to suppress his compulsion to spiral with doubt and worry that Sydney would be hurt because of him. He hadn't really thought much about how others might view their potential relationship. He probably blocked it out because there was already so much to worry about. Also, their kitchen "mind-meld" flow was getting better all the time. It was exhilarating how they had become more and more attuned with one another during service. Often while working side by side they would hand each other the very thing they needed without even having to speak, much less look at each other. They could plate a dish together faster than a pit crew could replace a tire. With a glance Carmy knew when Sydney needed a break on their most insane evenings. He'd just squeeze her shoulder and she'd move so he could take over for a quick five. He did the same for others though.

However, what happened the other night might have raised some eyebrows. He was asked to greet a congressperson who was dining there and he beckoned for Sydney to join him. Before they went out he grabbed a towel to pat her dewy forehead, retied her chef's coat and smoothed it down like he was her personal valet. This was in front of the entire kitchen. He hadn't meant to do anything that would make Sydney a target. His intention was to support her, not romance her at work. Of' course there were slip ups. He just hoped the conversation with Anna was a one-off. To be on the safe side during service he tried not to do anything extra with her besides their usual telepathic routine. Sydney followed his lead avoiding making unnecessary remarks or touching him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later he walked her home. They were silent at first, their stride in perfect harmony.

Carmy cleared his throat.

"Sydney, has anyone been treating you differently?"

Sydney paused in surprise for a second, but then she answered "Am I that easy to read?"

Carmen was now very concerned.

"No, it's just that I had a weird conversation before service with one of the front staff."

"Was it about us?"

"Yeah, has anyone said anything to you?"

"Yes, Richie did. A couple others are just being a little icy this week. It's no big deal."

Carmen took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers.

"What did Richie say?"

"Oh, Mr. Richard had a speech. He wanted to make sure I kept the "shop" closed until you and Nat could pay back Cicero. He's afraid I'll mess up the ecosystem. "

Carmy's froze for a second, then he blushed scarlet from the mention of him getting anywhere near Sydney's "shop" and from Richie's audacity to address Syd instead of him.

She continued.

"At the time I thought he was just being Richie. Now, I don't know. I don't want to mess anything up for you, for us. The Bear is so new and we are on track to paying off the debt and maybe even getting a star."

"Sydney. We make an excellent team and nothing that we've done or will do together outside of The Bear will change it. I promise you, that I won't let it change. Your dreams are first priority."

"So are yours, Carmy."

Carmy's focused on his breathe for a moment, his heart pounding in his ears. His dream was doing this with HER. He meant it when he said he wouldn't even want to do it without her. Each day together wove a new thread from his heart to hers, but he wouldn't force it on her.

"Sydney, I like you. More than anyone I've ever…."

He stopped unsure if she was ready to hear how deep his feelings ran.

"But I understand if you want me to back off. Whatever you decide I will talk to them and fix this. You deserve nothing but respect."

They reached the front of their building and Sydney turned to face him. He was visibly trembling. Tenderness for him surged from her heart. Carmen was the most sincere man she'd ever met. He couldn't fake happiness, indifference, or confidence unless that was how he truly felt. Past the anxiety, occasional moodiness, and temper, at his core she saw someone who desperately desired to serve and to be understood.

He stood there defenseless.

She put a hand over his heart as if to speak to it.

"No, don't back off. I don't care what any of them think as long as we're good."

Carmy breathed again, took her hand in his and kissed her palm, nuzzling it against his cheek.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sydney lay in bed that night thinking. She knew down to her bones that her foundation was stronger than his. It was not due to any fault of his own. Her home had been filled with safety and love. It was her nature to be a perfectionist, but even when she failed she knew that she had intrinsic value as a person. What she lacked that Carmen had was the courage to be vulnerable. He was open to her about Mikey within the first few weeks of their meeting despite not knowing how she would respond. This and his consistent effort to know her, drew her in despite the chaos of early days at The Beef. She knew that he would actually listen and give her an opportunity to grow. There was another intangible factor, which scared and thrilled Sydney. When she often found him gazing at her, there was a feeling that he was not only moved by her beauty, but for who she was. It reminded of her of how her father looked at her mom, even when she was sick. It was one of her few memories that hadn't faded. She also knew there were no strings attached when he promoted her to CDC, but her heart demanded more with each passing day. She wanted to be Carmen's refuge and release in every way. This knowing was overwhelming and she was grateful that he moved slowly despite the hunger in his eyes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day Natalie was working on-site when Carmen came into her office and closed the door.

"Hey Carm, how are you?"

"I'm good. Sorry, I didn't respond to your text last night. Baby PJ looked very cute in his White Sox outfit"

"Well, at least send a smiley face or something! But what's up?"

"So, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm interested in someone who works here."

"Oh, bro I know…so are you and Sydney official?"

Carmy brushed his hair back with his fingers and shook his head.

"Were you never going to say anything?" he asked.

"The best thing a sister can do is stay out of it. It's brothers who get involved with their sister's romantic choices. Thank God, you couldn't run off Pete."

"Okay. No, we're not rushing into anything. So far, she allows me to walk her to and from work. And we talk everyday."

Natalie clutched her chest and sank down further into her chair.

"She allows you to…I CAN'T! I had no idea my baby brother was this sweet!"

"SUGAR, the point of me bringing this up is that some of the staff have been going behind my back to talk to her, icing her out, and there's been a rumor that we live together. I won't have it! Anyways, I figure you know the corporate way to handle it."

"Okay, we were going to discuss health insurance options for the next enrollment period during family service, but I can slide in a talk about relational professionalism."

"Thank you."

Natalie sighed and squeezed Carmy's hand.

"She allows you to walk with her! Oh, Pete is going to melt."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For old time's sake Sydney prepared Mikey's spaghetti recipe for family service. Carmy saved her a seat and she sat down next to him feeling Anna's bitter glances and Richie's disapproval. Marcus ignored them. As they ate Natalie gave the insurance presentation and then her politically correct professionalism talk. She took care to make it not obviously about Sydney and Carm. When she was done and people started to file out, Carmen asked for the original Beef staff to remain behind. They took their seats again looking intrigued.

He moved to stand at the head of the table.

"Alright, great…Okay. So I asked Natalie to give that talk. And thank you Nat, but I have something I need to say. too"

"So, You've all been here a long time. Before I came you already had each other's backs and then I took over. It was an adjustment. Then Sydney came and I had a partner from my world. There more changes but somehow we found a way to work together. Then we found the money and we started this. You all choosing to stay and gain new skills, means so much me and I know it does to you too.

The Bear is a special place because it's a family business. And not just because of Natalie and I, but it's all of you too. The thing is we got to have each other's backs. It's not enough to to get through service, get the reviews, a star, whatever, but we got to respect each other. You know that without Sydney and Natalie giving it everything they had during the reno, none of this would have happened. Where we're sitting would be a parking lot or a Dunkin's. Anyways, I'm disappointed that some in here saw everything Sydney did to help get us here and they're giving her crap because I like her. In HERE I respect all of you, everyone is paid fairly, given opportunities, and I care about you…your lives. She didn't do anything, but her job and she deserves your respect. Out THERE I hope to spend as much time with her as she'll let me. But in HERE we're a business and we're a family.

The silence was palpable. Sydney's eyes never left Carmy's face while he spoke and when he took the courage to meet them, he saw admiration there and her beautiful smile.

Tina broke the heavy mood.

"So, Jeff. Are y'all together? Are we what they a call a "mom and pop" now?"

Carmy grinned, still looking at Sydney.

"I'm working on it."

[aloneinthehellfire]

Chapter 9: The Shire Is Burning

Season One | Season Two | Season Three | Season Four

Raining Hellfire: Season Four

Word Count: 4759 words

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, vecna's curse, visions, teeny little bit of angst if you squint

[A/N: finally bringing eddie back my god i missed him]

The Shire Is Burning

Max had saved your life.

When Vecna’s curse had caught up to you, your sister was prepared. She had noticed your strange demeanour over the past few hours, knowing the difference between concern and fear. You had been trying to reach out to her before dismissing it, and she could see it. So, when she had the time, Max had rummaged through a bunch of tapes in the Wheeler basement and found what she had been searching for.

“Okay, why are you in my car?” You frown and Max laughs, causing a smirk to appear on your face from the sound.

“I was wondering when you’d notice.” She shook her head, glancing at the stereo. “Can we play some music?”

“Sure.” You sigh, trying to ignore the fact that she avoided your question. “A free ride to Starcourt it is.”

The car started blaring Journey’s Separate Ways and she groaned.

“Do you ever listen to anything else?” She said but she sat back, bopping her head along to the beat.

The song you had played over and over again during the summer was something that stained Max’s brain. She would find herself humming the tune on days she thought of you, remembering the late night conversations in your car when you had saved her from another bomb of a family dinner.

And now you sat there with her in the back of Nancy’s car, music blasting through both of your ears as Max rested her head on your shoulder, hand grasping yours tightly.

Another Walkman had been found and claimed yours, the same song played over and over as price for being another victim to the curse. A change of clothes had done everyone some good before you all headed out with food to deliver to Eddie.

Eddie. You had no idea how you were going to tell him you’re cursed too.

“Not to be a wimp, but can I maybe sit in the car for this visit?” Robin pleads to Nancy, enjoying the perks of the front passenger seat, “Cause this is gonna totally and royally suck.”

“It’ll be fine.” Nancy shakes her head in dismissal.

“I just can’t stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie’s break again. I really, really can’t.”

Lucas glances at you as you lower your head, shifting your headphones so you had one ear bare to hear better.

“At least he can drink himself into feeling better.” Steve suggests from where he and Dustin sat in the very back, munching on snacks meant for Eddie. He brushed a crumb from his jumper, the soft yellow bringing back memories.

“That’s what my mom does.” Max shrugs, smirking at you as you smile at her dark humour.

“Why don’t we just give it a trial run?” Robin straightens in her seat, clearing her throat. “Hey, Eddie. Uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack that you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna.”

“Strong start.” You offer and Robin shakes her head into continuation.

“Only the bad news is that he’s in that other, darker, much scarier dimension that we told you about, and the gates closed so we have no way of getting to him. Like, he’s entirely shut off to us, so basically you’re screwed. And, no, I know you were already screwed, but now you’re like doubly, triply screwed.”

“Okay-” Nancy tries to intervene but Robin kept going.

“And, and, if you didn’t think that was enough of a punch to the gut, Vecna has now claimed Y/n as another marked victim and she almost died, much like her sister, so, yeah, nothing is going your way but at least you have beer and chips.”

You shift uncomfortably in your seat and Max squeezes your hand.

“Wait, wait, wait. Maybe we don’t put it like that.” Lucas interrupts, raising his eyebrows.

“We’re one step closer to finding Vecna.” Nancy nods, staring ahead at the road, “That’s what we say. That’s what’s important.”

“See, Robin?” Steve calls out with a mouthful of chips, “A positive spin can make all the difference.”

“Uh-huh.” Robin rolls her eyes in annoyance, “I don’t see how Y/n also being cursed can have a positive spin to it but sure, I’m wrong here.”

“Don’t have to make something positive if you just don’t tell them.” You mutter and Robin spins in her seat to stare back at you.

“That guy is in love with you and you don’t think he should know you could die?” Robin widens her eyes and you shake your head.

“It won’t change anything.” You say, “Max and I are still cursed, and he could come back for us at literally any second. Telling more people will just end in more panic and anxiety when we should really be focusing on finding and killing Vecna.”

“Agreed.” Dustin mumbles through food and Steve nods along.

“Yeah.” Steve shoves another chip into his mouth, “Plus, I don’t think he’s in love, you know?”

Everyone turns to stare at him and he stops, mouth full with a confused expression.

“What?” He asks and you purse your lips.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” You comment, turning back and focusing on the road.

“No, I didn’t mean-”

“Holy shit.” Nancy breathes out and everyone stills, noticing the hoard of people currently occupying the front of the lake house.

News cameras and journalists were scattered across the road to the boathouse, officers keeping everyone away while the man in charge sorted out some kind of documents. Chief Powell.

If the police were here, you were screwed.

Once the wagon was parked, you all practically flew out of it, rendezvousing behind a reporter’s van to listen to Chief Powell’s statement.

“As many of you know, the Roane County line received a call a little after midnight…” Powell clears his throat. You stare at the crowd of people, heart hammering faster, “… reporting a homicide here on the lake.”

You all exchange scared looks.

“Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene.” Powell continues, “We made our way to the shore of Lover’s Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18 year old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney.”

Lucas face drops and your breath hitches. He lost a friend.

“His limbs…” Powell takes a breath, looking uneasy, “… his body, it was disfigured. There was an eyewitness on the scene. We have also identified a person of interest.”

Powell shuffles through some papers and you slowly shake your head.

“Don’t say it.” You whisper, already expecting the face that appeared on the photo currently being held up to the public.

“Eddie Munson.” Powell confirms and Dustin looks to you with the same panicked expression, “We encourage anyone with information to please come forward.”

“Oh man,” Steve mutters, “This is not good. This is really not good.”

“Fuck.” You say as you walk back to the car, controlling your breathing.

His name was public, putting a target on his back for something he never did. Vecna chose to kill Chrissy in Eddie’s trailer. He chose to ruin Eddie’s life. Because he knew it would hurt you.

“Dustin? Can you hear me? Y/n?”

You hear Eddie’s voice blare out of the radio in Dustin’s hands as everyone else approaches the car, causing you to walk over to the sound.

“Eddie. Holy shit.” Dustin replies, sharing a relieved look with you.

“Are you okay?” You ask, feeling uneasy the longer Eddie took to answer.

“To tell you the truth?” Eddie replies with a shaky voice. “Pretty… pretty god damn far from okay.”

“Where are you?” Dustin questions after a little push from Robin.

“Skull Rock.” Eddie answers and you find yourself looking to Steve. Who was looking right back at you. “Do you know it?”

“Oh yeah.” Dustin nods, “That’s near Cornwallis and-”

“Garret, yeah. I know where that is.” Steve finishes, pushing away from the group to begin leading everyone to the location.

“Hold tight. We’re coming.” Dustin tells Eddie, noticing how you were staring at the radio. He wordlessly hands it to you.

“Eds?” You speak into the radio cautiously, walking to catch up with the others, Dustin by your side.

“Yeah?”

“We’re gonna get you out of this mess.” You say with determination in your voice.

“I believe you.” He replies with such emotion, you knew it was the truth.

“See you soon.” You bid farewell quickly, handing the radio back to Dustin.

You notice Dustin’s confused face and you raise an eyebrow.

“You okay?”

“Yeah…” He shakes his head slowly, “I just thought… never mind.”

Before you could question it, the others are calling out to you to catch up and Dustin pulls out his compass, striding forward.

“I’m slowly getting sick of this song.” You groan, slipping the headphones off to rest them around your neck.

“Yeah, well, it’s either listen to the same song for a few hours or die.” Robin says and you stare at her.

“Yes. Thank you for reminding me.” You deadpan and she offers an apologetic smile.

You walked through the woods with Nancy and Robin by your side, the three of you already tired of the constant bickering between Steve and Dustin up ahead.

Max and Lucas were quiet behind you but you knew they appreciated having time together.

“You know what you’re going to tell Eddie, yet?” Nancy asks, biting her lip as she matches your strides.

“Uh…” You purse your lips. “Considering how he’s wanted for murder in a town that already hated him? I think we should just focus on one thing at a time.”

“Dude, I’m telling you.” Steve raised voice caught your attention, “You’re taking us the wrong way.”

“It’s north.” Dustin holds up the paper in his hands. “I’m positive. I checked the map.”

“You do realise that Skull Rock is like a super popular make-out spot?” Steve asks just as the three of you close the distance with them, walking directly behind now.

“Yeah. So?” Dustin sounds exhausted and irritated, checking his compass.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t popular until I made it popular.” Steve brags, “All right? I practically invented it. Every girl I took there… boom.”

“Every girl?” You join in and Steve almost trips over. “That’s so weird, cause I remember you taking me there freshman year.”

“Wow.” Dustin widens his eyes, a shit-eating grin on his face, “Steve struck out.”

“Wasn’t the first time.” Robin snorted, memories from Scoops causing Steve to nod viciously.

“Yep, yep. Thank you all for sharing.” He grumbled, walking faster, “It doesn’t change the fact we’re heading in the wrong direction.”

Steve takes a different path from Dustin, earning a shout of protest. You sigh, following him down into the woods.

“Y/n!” Dustin whines, “Where are you going?”

“I gotta go with Steve on this one.” You shrug.

“Stop whining.” Steve adds on, looking over his shoulder. “Let’s go. Trust me.”

“I don’t trust you.” Dustin states before slumping his shoulders. “But I do trust Y/n, so…”

Steve looks offended as the others follow you both.

You were now venturing further toward Skull Rock with him by your side, a strange silence crashing over the both of you. Every time he glanced at you, you would offer a kind smile before returning to focus on where you stood. You walked little ahead of him once you realised where you were.

Steve wasn’t lying when he said he invented Skull Rock. You had heard the stories of him with girls circulating around the school, but it was different when he took you there that one time. Sure, you had thought about kissing him. But he was just a friend back then, you knew that. He was always too focused on your best friend to even be thinking about you.

“Hey, Y/n?” Steve calls out and you stop, slowing your steps to walk in time with his.

“What’s up?” You smile, fiddling with the bottom of your denim jacket.

“Are… are we okay?”

You frown, looking up at his worried eyes, “Yeah. Yeah, of course we are. Why, is something wrong?”

“No, no. It’s, uh, no, nothing’s wrong.” He shakes his head, brows furrowed.

“Like I’d believe that.” You let out a breathy laugh, “Seriously, why would you think we aren’t?”

He takes a breath, staring at the ground, “You’ve been really nice to me lately.”

A surprised laugh escapes your lips before you can stop it.

“It’s not funny, don’t laugh.” He says as a chuckle begins to form in his throat.

“I’m sorry, I just- I’m being nice and that’s what made you think I, what, hated you or something?” You laugh, shaking your head.

“Okay, yeah, I see how that would make zero sense.” He winces, laughing, “But… I don’t know. I guess I got so used to you, like, making comments and stuff. Like you used to.”

Your laughter dies down and Steve looks at you.

“I’m really sorry about that.” You say with such genuine emotion, he immediately stops.

“What, no-”

“Look,” You interrupt, facing him, “When I moved to Florida… it made me think through a lot of things. And one thought that kept appearing, I guess, was you.”

“Me?” He raises an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips, as you both continue walking.

“Yeah.” You nod, looking ahead, “A lot of stuff about you. But… one thing in particular was how I treated you.”

“What?” He looks surprised, “Y/n, you never treated me bad. Maybe, maybe after the whole Tommy and Carol thing, but you had every right to do that. I was an asshole-”

“Was.” You emphasise with a sad smile. “You’re not anymore. Not after… not after you got dragged into this mess. And I get that, you know, we’d poke fun at eachother and that’s all good and great but… I realised that I wasn’t the only one.”

Steve shakes his head, “What do you mean?”

“It’s all fun and games when one person is, I don’t know, making jokes and… I guess it’s more considered to be banter than an actual attack. But then everyone else in this group constantly does it too and it was only when I stepped away from it all that I realised…”

“Realised what?”

“I truly hope you don’t think you’re dumb.” You say and he laughs for a second before really focusing on you. “Or useless. Or anything that makes you feel lesser than you actually are because those idiots don’t appreciate you. Not out loud, anyway.”

“Y/n.” He stops you, looking behind at the others still following at a slower pace before placing his hands on your shoulders. “I don’t care what they think.”

“I just wanted you to know.” You shrug and he tilts his head.

“Look,” He sighs, running a hand through his hair, “Sometimes… yeah, sometimes I think a little too much about what someone says, or a small comment, but at the end of the day… I was an asshole to all of these people.”

“No.” You shake your head. “Okay, yes, you did some things that you most definitely regret. But you’ve done more than enough to make up for that.”

He looks away and resumes walking, frowning,“I-”

“You saved my life, Steve.”

His eyes find their way back to yours, stopping just before the end of the tree line and you hold his gaze, “I wouldn’t be here without you. These kids… they’re little shits but they know for a fact that you’d do anything to protect them. Nancy, Robin… you’ve helped them in more ways than you realise. Robin finally feels safe with someone, you know? And Nance… it might not have been something you wanted but you gave her that extra push. And I’d be damned if I let Vecna kill me before I made sure you knew how great you are.”

Steve stills for a moment before leaning in and kissing your forehead, muttering something under his breath you didn’t quite catch before looking back down at you. “I’d save your life over and over again if it meant you could stay in mine. Trust me.”

You lean your forehead against his, smiling. “I trust you.”

“Oh.”

Pulling away from eachother, you stare at Dustin who had somehow managed to catch up quickly, a smirk on his lips as he waggles his eyebrows.

“Ew, Dustin.”

“Dude, no.”

“You can try to deny it,” Dustin shakes his head, walking closer, “But I can see the truth.”

“We’re just friends.” You smile and Steve tentatively shakes his head next to you.

“Yeah, man.” He shrugs, patting Dustin on the shoulder, “Just accept you’re actually wrong about something.”

Dustin rolls his eyes before noticing something behind you, “Wow, you actually found it.”

You all turn back to see Skull Rock in the distance, a flutter of joy in your stomach as you realised you had found Eddie.

“Well?” Dustin looks between you both, “We going or what?”

“Huh.” You say as a smile creeps onto your face.

Steve frowns at you. “What?”

“This is now the second time you’re not gonna get to kiss me at Skull Rock.” You comment and he clicks his jaw, avoiding a smile.

“Screw you.” He mutters with a laugh.

You push past all the overgrown leaves to step out into an opening, a giant stone situated in the middle of the space, towering over you all. Skull Rock.

“In your face, man.” Steve taunts to Dustin, “In your stupid, cocky little face.”

Dustin just stares down at his compass, frowning. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Steve rolls his eyes, “Even with it staring you in the face, you can’t admit it. You just can’t admit that you’re wrong, you butt-head.”

You laugh at the nickname just as you hear something jump down from behind you and Dustin.

“I concur.”

Eddie stands before you all with a crooked grin, “You, Dustin Henderson, are a… total butt-head.”

“Jesus, we thought you were a goner.” Dustin smiles in relief, hugging Eddie who stares at you in confusion before patting him on the back. You chuckle at the sight.

“Yeah, me too, man.” Eddie admits, pulling away. “Me too.”

“Hey.” You wave at him and he grins.

“Hi.” He returns just as the others join you all.

Behind you, Steve stares at the interaction with hands on his hips, looking away and staring back at Skull Rock, a small frown on his face.

Nancy handed over the supplies you bought as everyone gathered around, sitting or standing. Eddie crouched just below the rock, explaining last night’s events; Jason and his crew had found him, leading him to escape. But not before witnessing yet another murder.

“When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh…” Eddie takes a long drink from the water bottle and you wonder how long he’s gone without any real sustenance, “My walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran.”

You stare down at your shoes. He wasn’t the only one running lately.

“Do you know what time this was?” Nancy asks, “The attack?”

“Yeah.” Eddie nods, “I… I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn’t the only thing that got soaked.”

As he removed his watch, you caught the familiar blue glint of the ring on his right hand, warming your heart. He still wore it. Just like you still wore your necklace.

He tosses the watch over to Nancy and she looks at the time, her breath hitching before turning to stare at you.

“9:27.” She states.

“Same time our flashlights went kablooey.” Robin notes and you shift uncomfortably.

“Which means what, exactly?” Steve frowns.

“That surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick.” Nancy confirms and you feel sick. How was it possible that someone died right before Vecna attacked you?

“Well, we’re one step closer.” Robin says, “We know how Vecna attacks.”

Behind you, you notice Dustin pacing, still staring down at his compass.

“And where he attacks from.” Lucas adds, an involuntary glance being sent your way.

“So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” Max suggests and you raise your eyebrow.

“If he even has a heart.” Robin sighs.

“A stake?” Steve shakes his head, sharing a look with you, “Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?”

“It was a metaphor.” Max sighs, aggravated.

“A bullet should work on him, right?” Eddie suggests and you shake your head.

“Probably not.” You groan, stretching your arms, “He is a mind wizard after all, it’s gotta be something more than that.”

“I say we chop his head off.” Lucas promotes and you shrug at the idea.

“Go all ‘Chainsaw Massacre’ on him.” You suggest and Lucas points to you, nodding.

“I say all of the above, but we can’t do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down.” Nancy stresses and you groan.

“The only way through is by a gate.” You say and Max looks to you.

“Didn’t you say you’ve been there before? Like Vecna took you there?” She tries and you frown.

“He did what?” Eddie glances between you both.

“It… I don’t think it was like that.” You wince, pinching the bridge of your nose, “I think he was just showing me things, I don’t think he can literally transport someone to the Upside Down.”

“We need El to get her powers back.” Max sighs.

“Everything was way easier.” Steve dreams before remembering Eddie was sat there listening to all of this, “We had this girl. She had superpowers.”

“Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her.” Eddie nods slightly, “You also said Y/n...”

“Yeah but that’s not an option right now.” Max states and you tilt your head. “I know we have you and whatever magic shit you got going on, but it doesn’t work unless we’re down there.”

“No.” Steve shakes his head and you raise your eyebrows at him, “What? It almost got you killed last time you used them. In fact, both times.”

“Wait. What?” Eddie holds his hand out and you look down at him, taking a breath.

“It’s something that takes a lot of energy from me.” You explain, everyone keen on listening, “I am kind of... connected to the Mind Flayer.”

“Seriously?” Lucas perks up, “Oh, wait, yeah. Starcourt.”

Max shifts uncomfortably at the mention and Lucas sends an apologetic look. She merely shrugs it off.

“Mind Flayer. Good to know.” Eddie nods, before his eyes catch sight of the boy pacing behind you, muttering under his breath. “Hey, uh, Henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?”

“Cursed? No, no. He’s fine.” Steve shakes his head, “Mental? Absolutely.”

“I guess he’s just a little less traumatised than the two of us.” Max comments so casually it just slips out and she widens her eyes.

“Two?” Eddie frowns, looking around the group and meeting your eyes last. Your heart leaps to your throat. You needed to tell him.

“Boom!” Dustin yells and everyone jumps.

“The fuck?” You breathe, clutching your heart.

“Bada… bada… boom.” Dustin points a finger at you and Steve, and you both look confused.

“What’s he going on about?” Steve mutters to you and you shake your head.

“Hell if I know.”

“I was right.” Dustin continues, a smug look on his face, “Skull rock was North!”

“Seriously?” Steve frowns, “You’re serious? We’re at Skull Rock! Right now! You were wrong!”

“Yes. And no.” He nods and you groan.

“Oh my god.” Steve runs a hand across his face, pacing off the irritation.

“Dustin.” You try, stepping forward, “It’s not our fault your compass is broken.”

“See, that’s the thing.” He holds up the small device, “This worked correctly when we left the Wheelers’. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly. But it started to slip the further East we went. Now it’s way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong. The compass was.”

“So you’re using faulty equipment.” Steve stresses in exasperation. “You’re still wrong.”

You frown, thinking it through. “That only happens when there’s a stronger pull.”

“Exactly!” Dustin clicks his finger. “Lucas, remember what Y/n told us about compasses? What pulls them?”

Lucas scratches his head before widening his eyes. “An electromagnetic field.”

“I’m sorry, I must have skipped that class.” Robin furrows her brows and Dustin stares at you with a grin.

“Uh, okay.” You blink, “In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle on the compass will deflect towards that power. So it would mean that there’s an impossibly giant magnet laying in the woods, or…”

“There’s a gate.” Lucas finishes and you nod.

Dustin laughs, pointing to you. “The compasses will show the way.”

“Hey, Y/N! You coming?” Dustin ran up to you, taking your arm to lead you with them.

“I… I can’t.” You said and he looked up at you with a frown. “Look, I have stuff I need to take care of. And I think… it will help us find Will, okay?”

He still didn’t look convinced. “But we need your help.” He added, pouting.

“Don’t make that face. You know I can’t say no to that face.” You sighed, rubbing your temple, “Okay… how about I try and give you a pointer-” You stopped, a thought popping up into your mind.

“What? What is it?”

“Compasses.” You said.

“What about them?”

“If this gate is disturbing the magnetic field… then the compasses will show the way.” You were going to explain more when you saw Jonathan ushering you over, pointing to the back of the room. “Look, I really need to go now. I’ll speak to you later!” And with that, you hurried back inside.

“Way to be cryptic!” You heard Dustin say in the distance. You wish you could be spending more time with them, but you had a mission of your own.

You smile at his memory, the ‘cryptic’ words you had told them when they needed help finding Will.

“But we’re nowhere near the lab.” Nancy says.

“But what if, somehow, there’s another gate?” Dustin suggests. “A gate that we don’t know about. It’d have to be smaller. Way less powerful.”

“Snack-size gate.” Robin says and you smirk before goosebumps trail along your skin.

“It’ll have to be recent then.” You say, shaking off the jitters you suddenly felt.

“How? Why?” Steve shakes his head.

“No idea.” Dustin admits. “All I know is that something is causing this disturbance…”

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

You glance behind you, feeling something breathe on you. But there’s nothing.

“...and the last time we’ve seen anything like it, it was a gate.”

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

Another quick glance and your throat tightens. It wasn’t a creature, but an object. In the middle of the woods, out of place. A grandfather clock. And its face was cracked with three scars.

“And I hope it is because then we’d have a way to Vecna!” Dustin was grasping onto hope now, excited at the possibility of ending this, “And a shot at freeing Max and Y/n from this curse.”

There’s a wave of silence, Dustin unknowing to his mistake, and Max widens her eyes.

“Shit.” Eddie mutters and you visibly still. He finds your eyes and you squeeze your own shut. Well, now he knew.

Dustin starts to run back down into the woods and Steve steps forward.

“Where are you going?” He asks but Dustin doesn’t stop. “Hey, hey, hey.”

Dustin stops, turning around with an unimpressed look.

“Eddie’s still a wanted man.” Steve stresses, “We can’t just go for a hike in the woods.”

“This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both the Mayfields and Eddie.” Dustin holds his compass proudly. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

“I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor,” Eddie replies, thinking it through, “Which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire...”

Eddie glances at you with an expression you can’t quite read as he fiddles with the ring on his right hand.

“The Shire is burning.”

Eddie stares down at the ground for a moment before meeting your eyes again. He gives a little nod, standing up and taking a breath.

“So Mordor it is.”

Chapter 10: In The Deep ->

if any are unable to tag i will colour them in red, my only suggestion is to check ur visibility settings :)

taglist: @gnnnne / @beepisbeep / @paintballkid711 / @eddiesbirdie / @livasaurasrex / @darktimelegends / @jackierose902109 / @mvrylee / @chervbs / @eternallyvenus / @nervouscatsuit / @f1nn-wolfhard / @hereiamhereigo / @ladybug0095 / @fangirling-4-ever / @astrolockley / @mothmanatemycat / @sheisjoeschateau / @champagnejoker / @umidktbh / @fallinginlovewithqueue

[thewritersaddictions]

Prom Night ‘86: Steve Harrington- All Over

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Pov: Reader

Warnings: Smut, Fluff, Aged up, 18+, Steve fucking Harrington, Season 4 Steve vibes, soft and sweet.

Summary: You'd rather not go prom, you'd rather spend with your older boyfriend.

A/n- firefly-graphics for dividers; This is the last in the '86 Series.

WC- 2.4k

Stranger Things Master List // The Adults Master List // Series Master List // Prom Night '8 Master List

Prom was made out to the best thing in your life, but not everything was like that and you knew that. More than you really honestly should at this point in your life. New at the whole adult thing you had been through the ringer with Steve already.   

The upside down had been a part of your life for the past few years. You had watched from the side lines as Steve kept every single one of those kids safe. He’d put his life on the line for any of them, but especially Dustin and it showed in everything that Steve did for the kids. Drives to the mall, pick-up and drop-offs. This was your last year in high school, having been pushed back for some reason your parents were in a happy enough mood to explain to you.  

Spending most of your time in your class, and at Steve house. Yes, here was another set of parents with their heads so far up their asses, they didn’t even notice when their daughter was missing from dinner, missing from her bed in the morning, or to even notice that she didn’t yell back when the two of them slipped out of the front door to another important business meeting.  

That’s what Steve and you had connected on. The imbalance of your parents never being home, and the balance of how you fell in the large friend group. “You know you’re like those kids' dad, right?” I asked Steve one day; he looked over at me with a face of bewilderment. Crazy that I had even said those words.  

“Yeah, and you’re like their mom you know that.” Steve came back with. I could only smile something about his words busted you up with a larger ego, but pride. You felt prideful, not only had Steve saved those kids but so had you. Saved them when they all came over to Steve and needed advice. When El came over with a complicated feeling, when Max had no one else to turn to about her home-life, oh poor Will had even showed up his puppy eyes casting down on the ground. You knew what he was trying to say without him having to say it all.  

Yeah, you had saved them. Not from scary upside-down monsters but from the human emotion, the human mistake, and just plainly being human and having no fucking clue what they were doing. Whatever made Steve Harrington attracted to you, was something you hadn’t seen before. Something you never loved about yourself, something you would never be able to see.  

A great heart that Steve had beating in his chest. The man made up of gold but giving it to everyone else. That’s what Steve was. Regardless of that the end of the school year was coming about. Your last year in high school already having spent a little too long in the shaky old building of Hawkins High. A senior and a junior had bumped in the hallways.  

Steve and Y/n.  

The power couple of the school, but once Steve left a graduating senior of the glass of ‘85. It all was very slow, a durry kind of feeling drifted over the school. You walked alone in the hallways, and mostly kept to yourself besides a grateful friend that you and Steve shared.  

Robin Buckley and had nearly forced her way into your lives. Nearly forcing her every waking breath talking to you. You just wanted the year to be done, you wanted out of the life you were living stuck in the small building, stuck knowing that while you were here getting your diploma. Steve was out working, at the family video store.  

“You know prom is coming up?” Robin said as she ran towards you in the all. You carried yourself with such grace, such a powerful mask of grace without Steve by your side. “Prom?” You let the conversation continue. “Yeah, you know where you dress up, go out and get “drunk”, and whatever else you do.” Robin said quoting drunk. You rolled my eyes. “You going?” She continued on. “What? I don’t know. I just learned that we even were going to have prom.” You said as you finally made it to your next classroom door. Robin left you with a wave.  

For the rest of the day, all you thought about was prom, and asking Steve what he thought about it. But of course, that was not what happened. Instead, Robin had gotten to Steve who was parked in the parking lot. Leaning up against the hood of his car. “So, are you going to take her?” I heard Robin ask. I walked slowly up to the two of them. “I don’t know Rob, if she doesn’t want to go that’s fine by me. We can spend the night at my house, do anything else.” Steve said, his eye catching me as I walked towards the two of them. “Why don’t you worry about asking out Vickie to prom huh/” Steve said wrapping his arm around my waist. Settling the both of us against the hood.  

A stumbling Robin was always funny, even if she could never manage to get her words out after that. Spring wasn’t that far along, and according to Robin prom was just in a week, but I had already decided that you weren’t going. I didn’t really need that part of the high school experience.  

The rest of the week past by with a breeze. A few tests here and there, and always the busy talking Robin that walked beside me during transitions. “Whatever do you think about going to prom?” She asked you again. Rolling your eyes around Robin had just become your norm. She was always so crazy, talking like a bee. Constant. “I still haven’t.... I haven’t talked to Steve about it yet.” You spoke.  

Again, Robin and Steve stood at his car waiting for you to travel out of the old Hawkins building. “What are you doing now, Robin?” Steve asked as Robin run up towards you. “I’m asking her now since she just won’t do it.” Robin said as she dragged you closer to the car. “So, are you going to prom?” She asked. Her eyes big with curiosity.  

Steve looked down at you. A small smile on his face. You licked your lips. The thought of having to get all balled up wasn’t your style, and the thought of dragging Steve back into this bullshit wasn’t something you wanted to do either.  

“No.” You, said. Your voice small. “What?? Why??” Robin said next to you. “Steve, you aren’t really going to let her not go to her prom, right?” She questioned him. With a roll of his eyes, he looked over her a arched brow. “Yes, sure I am. Y/n and I can have a lot more fun without a bunch of drunk assholes at prom.” Steve said kissing your head softly.  

Just like you said instead of getting dressed up and running into prom looking like a dumb princess. Steve picked you up, sweats and an old sweatshirt that Steve had sort of given you. It fit you perfectly. Steve smiled as you got into the passenger side of the car. “So, what so you have planned for us tonight?” You asked. A happy smile crossing your face. “Oh, you just wait, I’ve got a few great movies from family video. Oh, and a shit ton of food since I gather, you’ll be staying the night.” Steve said looking down at your duffel.  

“Yeah, I assumed that it would be okay if I stayed the night. I don’t really wanna leave your house once I’m all comfy.” You spoke. Steve had already backed out of your drive way. Steve shook his head, and drove back to his house, the drive wasn’t too long, but the longer you sat in his car the longer you leaned into his side. His arm coming to wrap around your shoulder pulling you even closer.  

Closer then humanly possible, but still. The radio wasn’t on, you watched the trees go by as the car’s headlights streamed past the dark road. Your eyes closed as the warmth of Steve engulfed you. The car came to a slow stop, and when you opened your eyes there you were at Steves.  

Steve being the ever so gentle person he was, shook you softly awake. “We are here babe.” He said before taking the key out of the car. You walked slowly next to Steve has he carried your bag to the front door. He walked you towards the couch. Letting you flop down on the rather hard couch. Steve was gone for only a bit, and as your sobered up to being awake again you settled better on the couch.  

When Steve came back it was with a few cans of soda, a bowl of popcorn and a few of the VHS that he had said he picked out for the two of you. “So, what do you think about Top Gun or Little Shop of Horrors.” Said Steve as he sat down next to you. “Whatever you babe.” You said with a small yawn.  

The movie went on without a hitch. Top Gun was what Steve had chosen. His eyes were never so kept on the tv like they had been. He had cried a little bit getting deep into the story line. “Haven’t you already watched this movie three times already.” You spoke. You were sure that the kids had dragged him to see it at least once already. “Well... that was just for the kids you see.” Steve said digging into the bowl of popcorn.  

You shifted on the couch. Instead getting into his lap. He was so warm, that you couldn’t help yourself with getting closer to him. Steve didn’t stop you, helping you get settled into his touch. An arm slung around your waist keeping your close as possible.  

The next movie played; thought you think that neither one of you were paying attention to it. The music could be heard from behind you, but as you clung to Steve you started to want more and more attention. Steve crept both of his hands towards you’re your rear. Resting them there before going back to watch the next movie. You couldn’t help but feel left out even though he was holding you.  

You sighed heavily in his ear. “What are you doing Y/n?” Steve questioned you. His hand coming to slowly rub a circle in your back. “Nothing... Nothing at all. I promise you.” You said in his ear. “Whatever Y/n.” Steve said going back to his movie.  

From there it only got worse. The attention you were so desperately craving was something that Steve wasn’t giving you. So, you did what any lady would do. Something dramatic, something crazy because well that’s the only way.  

You climbed from Steve grasp. You thought for a moment. You didn’t have the nicest clothes on underneath. You had just your normal panties on and an old ragged bra. Honestly though you didn’t care, Steve would take you for whatever you had on, it didn’t take much for him to get distracted and ravage you.  

Climbing from Steve grasp had caused attention to be brought to you and your plan. “Where are you going?” He asked you. “Nowhere baby.” You whispered. As you stood in front of the tv you stripped out of your sweatshirt. That old blue bra that no matter what caught Steve attention.  

“Y/n?” Steve questioned you. A raised brow, suspicion written all over your face. “What are you doing?” He asked leaning forwards. Practically following ever action, as I threw the old sweatshirt into the hallway. I walked away; he was forced to follow behind me. Up the stairs I walked and with that a pair of sweatpants came falling behind me.  

He was practically climbing the stairs to reach me. You winked down at me. All I was wearing at this point was panties and a bra, yet there was Steve following up behind me. A desperate man chasing that endless feeling. I was already in Steves bedroom by the time he had made it up the stairs. His clothes were also discarded in the hallway. “Look at you big boy.” You said seductively. Words mixed with an effortless motion of your body.  

There you two were. In the bed, Steve hovering over you. His hands roaming all over your body without even thinking. His hands coming up to cup your breasts through the loose fabric of the bra. Nipple’s taunt, pushing through the fabric. A smirk played over Steve face, a snarky expression. Steve knew what he was doing, doing to your body and to your mind.  

“Come on, play with me.” You said through soft moans. Steves touch never got to rough, just enough pressure as he teased your clit through the wet fabric of your panties. He was loving the control you were giving to him. There you were loving the control you didn’t have. You had teased Steve with laying his lap, and then the strip tease. It all had led to Steve cock sitting uncomfortably in his boxers. A huge bulge pushing against the fabric of his boxers.  

Before you know it, Steve was stripping you of your panties, and bra. Throwing them in his room, the heat between your bodies was great. Grand even, the sweat of sex seeping between us as Steve lined himself up. His cock sleeving itself in your soaked pussy. Tights and painful even just for a moment, you would never get used to the size of Steves cock has he pumped himself into you.  

Moans bouncing off of Steves bedroom walls. Nail marks falling down Steves back, purple hickeys on your skin. All around your neck, down the valley of your breasts. Some were placed on your stomach. An aching feeling coming to erupt sooner rather than later in the pit of your stomach. You clawed at Steves back. Your legs wrapping around Steve waist, dragging and pulling him closer.  

“Come now, baby. I know you wanna let go. Just let go for me.” Steve whispered in your ear. With that you let go around each other. Falling in perfect harmony. Your moans and screams on Steves name and curses. Steve falling was great, loud and just about you as it was about himself. Curses mixed with your names screamed louder then you.  

You laid together in your arms. Breath trying to catch on. “Now wasn’t that much better than some lame dancing party.” Steve said. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you in closer. “Of course, this is better than some lame party.” You answered back. “I like your company more than others.” You said.  

Completed on: 12/26/22

Posted On: 12/27/22

The Adults- @yourfavdummy

[gayofthefae]

In the midst of the action in 2x06, Hopper still found time to sneak away and get to his car to radio El.

Or should I say, they still found the screentime for him to.

I don't care nearly as much about El's reunion with Mike as I do her reunion with Hopper in season 2. Because, even though they had only been separated a few days, we kept up with him missing and being worried about her more than we did with Mike, who we hadn't seen call in a few days and as far as screentime impact goes, conveyed to us that he was capable of building a life without her and starting to adjust.

Nowadays, I care most about the reunion between her and the man she said a whole 48 hours ago when she should have seen him today. Not the boy she hasn't seen in a year. Because they set it up that way. We care situationally but not narratively. It still means something but not as much as it could and they're careful about that so on a first watch it's a payoff and on a second it's insufficient.

That's not to say Mike doesn't love her or their reunion isn't emotional or doesn't matter. He loves her completely and it is a wonderful moment. But do you know who else love her and have a wonderful moment with her? Dustin and Lucas. And we did not check in with them on her once the whole season. Lucas mentions her briefly in retelling but we don't get any emotional check ins on either of them or their grief.

Mike's reunion now has only slightly more impact on me than the others because we checked in with him more recently than them, but Hopper most recently. Hopper's apology personally never fails to make me cry but most importantly it is 2 episodes before El comes back to him and happens in the morning when she comes back that night.

They could have found time for Mike to do something like that. He could have brought his radio and done it in secret like Dustin. If that hinders the plot bc it would mean he has communication with the party that it was important they didn't have, then he could have mentioned her. We could have seen him looking at a trigger like he did on the couch with that toy she had levitated.

But we did not get any indication of him thinking about her at all past 2x03. Why? Because that is when Will got possessed. Exactly when. HE THOUGHT SHE WAS THERE. THAT HE HAD PROOF NEARLY. And even with elevated hope, he gave up in favor of prioritizing Will. And that is normal and human and doesn't mean anything in life. But in TV, it means EVERYTHING because he wasn't just prioritizing, the writers were prioritizing his screentime.

The writers paced the season to clearly communicate to the audience that Mike's "plot" this season is not El. It's Will. It doesn't even have a mention of El. The same way Dustin's crush on Max becomes more about his relationship with Steve starting in episode 4, the same point in the season, as his actual interactions with her dwindle in order to prioritize said screentime with Steve.

[goodnitedrdead]

winter falls

Colonel Carrillo x Reader

Summary: winter blows again, and time has flown by. Colonel Carrillo never thought he'd be fearing the solitude that came with the season. Just as he thought he was about to fall apart, you rush in to keep him together. To help scare away the tormenting thoughts that were haunting him, you decided to take him out for a walk surrounded by the bright Christmas lights that adorned the local plaza.

Word Count: 5.8k (not bad for a girl with no talent)

Warnings: Carrillo lives. Slight/mild PTSD from the night Escobar shot him. Talks about divorce. Intrusive thoughts. Lonely holiday time. Talks about religion. Emotional infidelity, I guess? Lots of feelings. Fluff. Angst with an... okay ending?

Author's Note: don't let the kpop icon scare you, ok? pls be kind to me this is the second fic I've ever written, I'd really appreciate the feedback. ALSO, I am absolutely in love with the colonel. Inspiration for this came from the song Winter Falls by Stray Kids. I recommend looking up the lyric translation because I tried to include them through the fic, but it's not required. THANK YOU FOR READING!!! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME. MWAH TO ALL THOSE WHO WILL READ THIS <3 also, i cross posted this on ao3 in case y'all would like to follow me there, I know sometimes Tumblr tends to be... mean.

IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUESTS FOR THE COLONEL PLS SEND THEM MY WAY.

Colonel Carrillo didn’t fear many things. Hell, he didn’t even fear death itself. But recently, as the nights got longer and the temperatures started to drop, he started to know fear. The thing that embarrassed him the most was that it was an intangible fear. It wasn’t the bullets that flew left and right past him as he was in the streets of Colombia. It wasn’t the sicarios that etched the notorious Colonel’s name in their minds, hiding in the shadows waiting to pounce and take his life. It wasn’t the blood, nor the warzone he lived in day in and day out. No, it wasn’t any of that. Horacio Carrillo was afraid of desolation.

He thought he’d have more time to get used to it. As he awoke one day from being in a coma for who knows how long, he found his wife by his side. He felt a sense of relief, there was somebody there to greet him back to the realm of the living. There was someone who yearned for his existence. Someone that prayed for his return. Someone that needed him.

That feeling was short-lived as he woke one day and noticed she was gone. Divorce papers waiting on the table by his side, along with a long letter explaining her decision. 

Days, weeks, months passed as he went through numerous sessions of physical therapy. He felt a broken man. A once fearsome and lethal man… and now just a man trying to learn simple tasks like if he were a child.

When Escobar shot him, the news of Colonel Horacio Carrillo’s death spread like wildfire. However, thanks to Trujillo, one of the few survivors of the ambush that day, he was rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, the bullets had missed all the important parts of him. Of course there was damage, but little by little, thanks to the help of the doctors, nurses, therapists and everyone in between, the Colonel was able to make it. 

Oh how he wished he would’ve been left to die.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

He was raised a catholic man. His family never missed mass on Sundays, no matter how much anyone protested. He’ll admit, there were times when he hated it. He doubted the existence of God. He doubted the existence of la Virgen. He doubted the existence of any omnipotent presence because if anyone in this universe existed, men like Escobar would be brought to justice. 

As he laid on the cold concrete that day, he recited a prayer. A simple prayer, asking for forgiveness for his sins and whatnot. To be completely honest he didn’t even believe the words that he was saying. The overwhelming taste of blood in his mouth bothered him, and kept interrupting his prayer. Now, as the devil himself stood above him, he started to see his life flash before him. Once again, death itself didn’t scare him. He was ready to welcome it, in fact. Unfortunately he couldn’t even focus on that when someone else was occupying his mind. He felt a bit guilty, to be honest. He thought of his wife, Juliana. He thought of his children. He thought of the pain they’d have to endure because of his death. He thought of his mother. How his dear mother would grieve the death of his son. She would always voice her worries to him, but he always reassured her that nothing would ever happen to him. Until Escobar happened, then Horacio started to keep quiet. His reassurances to his whole family turned into nothing but silence. He kept thinking of his family, and he wished that was the extent of who he kept thinking.

That wasn’t the case.

You kept invading his mind like poison. In fact, that’s exactly how you slowly started to infiltrate his every thought. It was one of the biggest mistakes of his life, accepting you into the Search Bloc team. From the very first moment he laid eyes on you, he knew he had broken his sacred vows. He never did anything to you, he kept the relationship professional. Actually, he tried his best to avoid having any ties to you, but due to the nature of your job, it was almost impossible. No matter what he did, no matter where he turned, no matter where he went you always followed. It was as if a snake bit him, and little by little you started to take over every part of him. The poison coursed through his bloodstream, intoxicating him as it spread to every inch of his very being . 

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

 The last few months leading up to his ‘death,’ he spent it at the office. It was during those months where Juliana started to doubt their marriage. Long hours away from home, the pressure and torment that rested upon Horacio’s shoulders, the way Escobar was draining him little by little started to affect Juliana. She didn’t know when this was going to come to an end. If there was even an end. What about when Escobar was caught? Who will follow? She will know no peace next to Horacio. Their children will know no peace next to their father. Not anymore. 

He’d once promised her it wouldn’t always be like this. But unfortunately, she knew that promise would not be fulfilled.

So when she received news that he was caught up in an ambush, she felt life escape her. She regretted ever thinking that. But, as the months passed and she was informed that her husband had made it after all, she felt a tightness in her chest. 

When she saw him there, almost lifeless, she begged God for forgiveness. She begged God for forgiveness for what she had in mind. It’s not that she didn’t love him, no that wasn’t the case at all. But she did not want to live in a constant state of fear. She did not want to get caught up in the war that followed him. So when he woke one day, she allowed herself a few days to feel out her emotions. But, seeing as how close he had come to dying, she came to a conclusion. She had to put herself first. She had to put her children first… and that’s what she did. She had no time to think as she placed the divorce papers on the table next to his bed. She reached into her purse, pulled out the letter that she hoped he’d read, and rested it on top of the papers that were about to end it all. Slowly, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. Disculpame, cariño. 

Now, as the nights got longer and the winds grew colder, he found himself in the position he feared the most. Horacio Carrillo was alone. 

The fact that it was nearing Christmas was worse. He always thought he’d have more time to get used to it. But it was one of those things that he shoved to the back of his mind as he tried to get himself back together. It caught up to him though, and now there was nothing he could do to make peace with solitude. 

The war had been won, to an extent. Escobar was dead. The Cali godfathers were a distant threat. Colombia was starting to get well acquainted with peace. The Americans were still infiltrating his life. That was starting to become the norm for him. 

He was definitely not sure why they had wanted him back. After he was discharged from the hospital and he was able to walk again and become a fraction of what he used to be, he was offered the same position. The same position, minus the physical aspect. Now, he had to hide behind his office and bark orders at men and wait for reports of how stakeouts and raids went. This isn’t how he wanted to live. 

It was starting to get late. The building was starting to empty out quickly as the weekend before Christmas arrived. Carrillo looked out his office to find you on your desk. Murphy sat atop the files you had laid out on the table, throwing a ball of paper into the air before catching it and repeating the same motions. You sat on your chair, a smile adorning your face as you talked about nonsense with Murphy, Peña, and Trujillo. Carrillo felt a ping of jealousy sting him. He wished he would have that same smile directed towards him. He wished that smile was reserved for him and him only. 

See, from the moment you joined the team you became a huge distraction for the Colonel. Your bright eyes, full of wonder and curiosity. Your smile, radiant as the sun and contagious to everyone around you. Your laugh, oh how your laugh was music to his ears. Your hair, the way it framed your beautiful face and left a haunting yet comforting trail of your scent as you walked past him. The way you were friendly with everyone around you and provided everyone that crossed your path with a sense of comfort. The unforgiving way you lit up any room you walked in to.

You were transferred to Colombia from Juarez. You had arrived at the same time, if not a bit after Agent Murphy. Unlike Steve and Javier, you were not a pain in his ass. Carrillo felt a tad bit of hostility towards the gringos, but never to you. Well, you weren’t really considered one to him. He’d come to learn that you were born and partly raised in Mexico, you became an American citizen when you were a teenager. He thought that must’ve been hard for you, leaving your home country and trading it for one that was so… hostile. Carrillo always thought America was like a wild bull, untamable and stubborn. That was one of the many things he’d come to admire about you: the way you’d easily adjust to the situation around you, no matter what it was.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Outside the church, you leaned on your forearms against the side of the car, aimlessly tracing the letters on the hood of the beat up police car. Steve leaned with his back against the bumper of the car while Peña and Carrillo questioned where Javier’s informant was. Helena, you recalled Javier sharing her name with the Colonel. You listened to their conversation in Spanish, and you assumed it was because they were trying to hide something from Steve and yourself.

You didn’t really care if they were trying to hide something. You understood every word they were saying, though they did not have a clue you were fluent in the language. Steve, however… 

You felt so bad for the poor man. A white man in a foreign country, with no concept or knowledge of the language, much less the culture. You felt the need to approach him and inform him of the conversation he was excluded from, but you stopped yourself when you heard the men start to question your presence. 

“¿y la chica?”  

“No, ella se queda con Murphy. Será mucho para ella,” you heard Javier say. Carrillo asked Javier about you, and Peña, most likely thinking you were some sort of fragile porcelain doll, told him you were to stay with Steve. Asshole, you thought to yourself. You looked at both of the men, and heard Javier say, “you two stay here and see if she comes back, okay?”

With that you saw as they both got onto a truck and left, leaving you and Murphy to stare at each other in confusion. 

Time passed and you two decided to get acquainted with one another. You learned Steve was born in Tennessee but grew up in West Virginia. He told you all about his career, how he ended up in Colombia, and the love of his life who waited for him back at the house. You smiled at the way he talked about her. You didn’t really believe in true love, but the way Steve was expressing himself about Connie? You might start to actually believe it. 

The church bells started to toll, and Steve let out a yawn. He excused himself for a moment before he walked to the driver’s side of the car. With a soft knock on the windshield, he approached the officer that sat at the wheel. 

“Any news on the radio?” Steve asked.

“¿Le digo?” The soldier asked his partner. 

“No. Acuérdese lo que dijo Carrillo,” The soldier replied to his partner, eyeing Steve cautiously. 

“Perdón, pero yo no hablo inglés,” The soldier on the driver seat told Steve. An apologetic smile on his face.

Steve sighed. With a frustrated huff he walked back next to you and leaned against the car.

“Nothing yet. Can’t believe they left us behind just like that,” Steve told you while he pulled a cigarette out of the pocket of his jacket.

“There’s something they don't want us to know. Carrillo’s men clearly have instructions to not share any information with either of us. Might want to start questioning who we got as partners,” you told him.

As you lit the cigarette Steve offered you, you noticed how he looked at you confused. 

“What makes you say that?” He asked you.

You shrugged and exhaled the smoke from your cigarette slowly, “I understood what they were saying. One of Carrillo’s men said to remember what he’d told them. That sounds like they’re withholding their whereabouts.”

Steve let out a chuckle. “You know Spanish? How come you never said anything?”

You smirked and shrugged again, “Nobody ever asked. My superiors know, that’s what matters.”

“Remind me to keep you around me as a translator then,” Steve smiled at you.

“Oh honey, I am more than just a translator.”

And that’s how Steve learned about your past. Where you were born, where you came from, what got you to this place. From that moment on, you made an agreement with Murphy that you’d help him with the language. Maybe not with the teaching, but letting him know what those around him would say. 

So long as he didn’t tell Peña or Carrillo that you knew Spanish. You wanted to see how far this little game could go.

Carrillo’s men eventually called the both of you and took you to where Peña and the Colonel were. Steve got out of the car frustrated, immediately asking where Peña was. When you saw he stormed towards both men, you got out of the car. You gave a brief ‘thank you’ to the men that drove you there and tried to catch up with Steve. 

When you got there you heard Steve and Javier speaking about Helena. How she was and if she was gonna be okay. As you listened and looked between the both of them, you felt a strong pair of eyes on you. You shifted your gaze and found the Colonel looking at you. You weren’t gonna deny it, his stare was overwhelming. If he would’ve been any other man, or any other person you worked with, you wouldn’t have thought anything of it. However, the fact that they both left you behind on purpose stirred frustration within you. 

You stared back at him, no intention of backing down from this silent challenge. You thought it might’ve been a meaningless action, but you hoped it got the message across. You weren’t going to give in. Not to him. Not to anybody. There was a reason you were sent down here, and you were here to stay as long as they needed you. 

Eventually Carrillo lowered his gaze. He’d never admit it but he felt small in your presence. Your gaze was soft. Stern, but somehow tender. And that’s what made him uncomfortable. You weren’t just looking at him. You were looking at him. Through him. That made him uncomfortable. That was the moment when he knew you weren’t just going to be another member of the team. And he’d start to regret laying his eyes on you, for it was going to be impossible to get you out of his mind. 

“You left me behind on purpose,” Murphy exclaimed to Javier. 

“Look, man–” Javier started to explain. More than likely it was gonna be some bullshit excuse as to why he abandoned you both.

“If we’re gonna be partners, I don’t get left behind. We don’t get left behind. We didn’t come all the way down here, Peña, to sit on the fucking sidelines.”

Javier looked at Steve and then to you. You gave him a simple nod, signifying that you completely agreed with your companion. You didn’t come here to waste your time. 

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

It was late. Nearing midnight. Yet, Colonel Carrillo sat still in his office. The soft ticking of the clock on the wall became louder each time. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to go home. He couldn’t even call it home anymore. The empty structure that held so many memories, so much warmth and love now turned into an unwelcoming and haunted place. The ghost of the memories he shared with his family. 

His mind started to betray him. He thought of the man he used to be. The collected, composed, and stoic Colonel Horacio Carrillo. Leader of the Search Bloc. Escobar’s nightmare.

Now? A broken man with broken dreams. 

He felt the walls he built around himself start to crack.

It’s not like he did it on purpose, as a military man it was more of a requirement. And he wasn’t always like this. 

He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. Keep it together, Horacio. He thought to himself. The rampage of his ongoing self-sabotaging thoughts were interrupted by a series of laughs that came from outside his office. He stood up and walked towards the door, he stopped in his tracks when he found you shoving Agent Peña away from you. The laughter that came out of you was angelical to him. 

Peña, Murphy, and Trujillo looked up at the Colonel, and immediately quieted down. At the sudden change in atmosphere, you turned and followed their gaze and found none other than the Colonel looking at all of you. 

“Carrillo, we were just going to go out for some drinks. Care to join us?” Asked Murphy. 

The Colonel politely declined the offer but wished them a good time. He saw as all three men walked away, waving their goodbyes to you. You turned to settle back into your chair and looked up at the Colonel. 

“You’re not going to join them?” He asked you curiously.

“No, I’m okay. Not really in the mood to join them. I spend enough time with them as it is,” you smiled at him.

He couldn’t even begin to describe the feeling that engulfed him at seeing you smile directly at him. 

He nodded. 

“Shouldn’t you be going home, then?” He asked you once again.

You shook your head. Sure, it could be the weekend and all but you knew if you went home it’d just be a long episode of absolute boredom. Maybe you’d consider joining your friends for a drink.

“Very well then,” he said to you. With a small turn he went back into his office and sat on his chair.

Fuck. He thought. Had you really just smiled at him? He felt like an idiot. He felt like a teenage boy all over again when their crush would spare a glance at their direction.  Keep it together, Horacio. For fuck’s sake. 

He didn’t know long he stayed that way. His face burrowed in his hands. His elbows deeply planted on the surface of his desk. His tormenting thoughts were back. 

Good for nothing. You couldn't even take down Escobar, yourself. The whole nation calls you a hero but that’s not who you actually are. Murderer. Colonel Martinez is ten times better a man than you are, pendejo. You should've died that day. Trujillo should've left you to die--

His body gently started to shake as he remembered Pablo looming above his body. Darkness started to surround him. The agonizing piercing pain of the first bullet Pablo shot at his body. He remembers he didn’t even make a sound when the bullet entered him. He couldn’t give Escobar the satisfaction. 

A knock at his door snapped him out of it.

He looked up to find you, eyes full of concern for him. 

“Everything okay, Colonel?” you asked him. Your tone barely above a whisper. 

He stayed silent as he averted his eyes to his lap. He tried to breathe, but he felt as if he were frozen, under the ice. No matter how hard he hit the layer of ice he was trapped under, it wouldn’t break and he was about to drown. He tried taking another breath, but the oxygen wouldn’t reach his lungs. He slowly started to get pulled deeper and deeper into the depths of the unforgiving arctic, not knowing if he’d ever make it back.

He suddenly felt tears stain his cheeks. The cracks of the walls started to get bigger and bigger, and he knew he was at his breaking point. 

At the sight of the poor man before you, you rushed to his side. You didn’t know what to do. You didn’t know what was acceptable to do. Surely your eyes were playing tricks with you. The rigid man you always knew was shattering before you. So you did what you’d never thought you’d ever do.

You wrapped your arms tightly around him. 

Every single moment after that kept coming as a surprise for you. 

You held him tightly as he sobbed in your arms. His body shook with every gasp he took. You’re not sure how you both ended up on the floor, but the fact of the matter was that he was still in your arms. You were awkwardly sitting with one leg tucked underneath you and the other extended to the side to accommodate the Colonel’s body into yours. You started to stroke his hair and run your fingers through it absentmindedly. Wondering what had brought him to this point. 

Whatever it was you wished you could take it all away. Truth be told you had developed feelings for the man that seemed to not have any. You loved the way he carried himself. Always so full of confidence. You particularly loved that he was such an ass. All because you knew he wasn’t really like that. It was all a show. You just knew there was a playful and gentle man behind the mask of what was Colonel Horacio Carrillo. You knew there was a man worth loving.

You also knew he was married before, so you kept your distance. Always tried keeping it professional. But you’d be a damn liar if you said you wouldn’t go out of your way to make sure the Colonel noticed you. Not in a cringe way, you were slightly younger than him, so you didn’t want to embarrass yourself. Plus, he was married. You weren’t about to become a home wrecker, but the feelings you developed for him weren’t harming anyone but yourself. You could live with that. 

You weren’t an idiot either. You’d sometimes notice the way his gaze would linger on you a little bit longer than other people. The way sometimes he’d use a softer tone with you. The way he’d, although very rarely, would give you the smallest of smiles. This would cause you to go home at the end of the night and smile to yourself like a teenage girl while you attempted to sleep. Maybe it was all in your head, but it made going to work worthwhile. 

As the Colonel slowly came back to his senses, he started to pull himself away from you. He gave you an apologetic look that shattered your heart. It’s okay, you wanted to tell him, I got you.

“I am sorry, agent. I do not know what came over me,” he said as he wiped his nose. Gosh, he felt so stupid. A broken man that was falling apart in the arms of the person who was not supposed to see this side of him.

“No se disculpe, coronel. No hay por qué pedir perdón,” you told him with the softest tone you could muster. You were saying the truth though, there was absolutely no reason for him to apologize. He had done nothing wrong.

Carrillo had once heard that people expressed their feelings better in a different language than their mother tongue. This was due to the fact another language served as a distraction from their actual feelings. So although you were both fluent in Spanish, he felt safer communicating with you in english. If he would’ve been within his five senses, he would’ve started questioning you about the language you replied to him in. 

Horacio took a deep breath and felt the oxygen reach his lungs this time. Your scent filled his system and he felt like he had broken through the ice that trapped him. His head was above the water now.

You both stayed sitting on the floor, at this point you decided to cross your legs and get into a more comfortable position across from him. He sat with his back against the drawers of his desk, his feet planted on the floor and his knees bent. He ran his hands up and down the expanse of his legs slowly, as if he were trying to comfort himself. 

“I am going to be honest with you, agent. I have not been well. I know there’s been… talk. About me, about what happened to me after Escobar, about my life,” he sighed and tried to think of the point he wanted to make, if there was even one. Truth be told, if you had already seen him cry, hell, what else could he lose by sharing a bit of what was on his mind. “My wife left me after I woke up from… the aftermath. I do not blame her, I hold no negative feelings towards her. But I have found myself in a position that I did not prepare for. The days get shorter and the nights get longer..”

You gave him a small nod to indicate that you were listening to him. Gosh, you could listen to him even if there were a million people around you talking all at once. Only him. 

“... Time has passed and everyone except me has changed. I–I am lonely to the point of pain,” he continued. His voice is slow and soft, but the unsteadiness in it was hard to miss.

You took in a deep breath and looked around you, trying to find the right words to say. Trying to find the perfect words for him, because you truly believed if this man asked you for the world right now, you’d find a way to get him the damn universe. 

“I can’t say I understand what you’re going through, Colonel–”

“Horacio,” he interrupted you, “please call me Horacio.”

You gave him a gentle smile before continuing, “Horacio. I can’t say I understand what you’re going through because I have never gone through that myself. However, I can understand your loneliness. But the thing is,” you threaded lightly, because you still didn’t know what was acceptable in this situation, “you don’t have to be. Look, I know it’s hard and all but you somewhat have a second family here. Agent Peña, Agent Murphy, your soldiers… me.”

Horacio Carrillo felt a jolt of electricity run through his body as you looked at him. Truly looked at him. Your own intense eyes focusing on his own. He felt you were a storm. A storm with the darkest of skies and the heaviest of rains that could somehow lullaby him into the most relaxing sleep of his life. 

“Did Martinez… was he a good leader?” he asked, tears once again threatening to fill his eyes.

You let out a soft laugh and looked at your legs. Was he questioning the leadership style of Colonel Martinez because he was… insecure? Was Colonel Horacio Carrillo, the daring leader everyone came to know, insecure? Was he really comparing himself to Martinez?

“Colonel Martinez was good. A very respectable man. But,” you looked back up to him and scooted a bit closer to him, “he wasn’t you. I don’t think there’s any man in the world that would be able to fill your shoes.” You weren’t referring to the previous Colonel’s leadership style. No, this was personal.

He scoffed softly and rolled his eyes. He didn’t mean to do this in a rude way, but he felt you were just saying this out of pity. 

“I am just a fraction of the man Hugo Martinez is,” he said coldly. 

“This isn’t about who’s a bigger or better man, Horacio. Sure, under Martinez’s leadership we were able to bring down Pablo. But at the end of the day, you were the one that haunted Escobar’s dreams. You led one of Colombia’s most important unit. Colonel Martinez continued what you started,” you grabbed his face in your hands and let your thumbs stroke his cheeks. The rough feeling of the stubble that was beginning to grow under your fingers. “Did you hear that? What you, Horacio Carrillo, started.”

“I did terrible things that he never even had to do,” he protested.

“We all did, my dear. But we all did what we had to do in order to survive.”

My dear. That alone blew away the brewing tempest that was forming his mind. He nodded in your hands and swallowed the tightness he felt in his throat.

You pulled your hands away from his face and stood up, extending one of your hands to him to pull him back to his feet. He wanted to chuckle at that. You, smaller than him in size, wanted to bring him back to his feet. He ended up taking your hand but didn’t put any of his weight on you as he rose to stand.

“Come with me. Let’s go think of something else,” you smiled brightly up at him. A full smile that reached your eyes and hinted at a bit of mischief that somehow put him at ease.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

You had convinced him to climb in your car without saying where you were taking him. He didn’t mind though, he trusted you with his life. You’d been by his side during some of the most dangerous moments of his life, what would make him think you’d want to hurt him.

Nearing your destination, you instructed him to close his eyes. He obeyed without having to ask him twice. He was starting to come to the realization that he quite enjoyed following your commands. His mind started to wonder to more pleasant situations as you drove. How would it feel for you to give him simple domestic commands? For you to tell him to do the dishes… to let you cook in peace… to give you one more kiss before he left for work. He snapped out of it before his mind decided to wander off too far. He felt the car come to a complete stop and heard you change gears to park. 

“Keep them closed, okay?” you instructed him once again and he gave you a nod, the smallest hint of a smile starting to form on his face.

You got out of the driver’s seat and rushed to his side to open the door. You told him he could come out and held the door open for him as he undid his seatbelt and got out slowly. Once he was completely out of the car, you closed the door and took a deep breath.

“Alright, should I cover your eyes or guide you with my hands?” 

He raised an eyebrow and started to grow suspicious. What could you possibly be hiding from him? He wasn’t going to give up the chance to have close contact with you though, even if it was just the feeling of his hand in yours.

He didn’t reply, instead he just extended his hand out to you. You smiled to yourself at the motion, immediately reaching out to hold his hand before you started to walk forward at a careful pace so he wouldn’t trip.

Horacio had lived most, if not all, of his life in Colombia. The cold weather didn’t faze him, hell, he was in the military and they had to endure rigid temperatures as part of their training. However, today in particular was cold. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had unconsciously lowered his defenses while he was with you, but the cold was starting to get to him. Even with his jacket on, he still felt the chill in the air as you guided him through wherever it was you took him to. His mind going haywire between the stark difference of the crisp weather and your warm hand holding his. 

He heard the distant sound of children laughing, families calling out for their kids, conversations here and there, cars passing by. His suspicion grew by the second as he followed you, his eyes still closed when you came to a stop. 

“Okay Horacio, you can open your eyes now.”

At your command, he opened his eyes and looked around, his sight trying to adjust to the environment around him. You’d taken him to a local plaza, a tourist-y area adorned and decorated with Christmas lights on every surface. There were lights wrapped around the trunks of the trees, lights hanging from the branches that swayed with the wind, lights resting on top of some small and well-kept bushes, lights that paved the way to the different directions of the plaza. Colorful lights everywhere. 

“Ta-da!” you exclaimed, a bright smile on your face as you looked at him, waiting for a reaction.

He tried to take it all in, kept looking around before focusing on you. He saw the way you smiled at him, a hopeful expression in your eyes almost as if asking, do you like it?

He gave your hand a gentle squeeze before taking a deep breath. He didn’t have time to think before he wrapped his arms around you this time, his lips resting against the soft skin of your forehead. 

“Thank you,” he whispered against your skin. A million words he wanted to say but couldn’t. Thank you for not letting me fall apart. Thank you for not letting me drown. 

You closed your eyes as you returned the embrace. Wishing that, somehow, you could make him feel the love (that you’d been trying to bury deep down) through this simple act. Wishing that, maybe one day, you’d be able to tell him that if he were drowning you’d drain the whole ocean for him. Only for him.

[augment-techs]

Had weird thoughts about Dino Thunder after marathoning it and had to write it down.

Tommy: Black, Red, White, Green Grid compatible, but could also probably carry on like a strobe light if given half the chance, because he is The Special, so I'm not getting into the meaning.

Conner: Red Grid compatible, but, like, how ROCKY was Red Grid compatible. Is better in a small group, so they can share the burden. Kind of wish they'd done more with him in Beyond the Grid than just that one panel with Terona.

Ethan: Blue Grid compatible, but the entire time I watched the series my brain kept thinking a very stupid thought in that--should he be? Given all of the stuff all of these teens went through in equal measure, he seems to be the one to get in over his head or have shit tossed at him almost as much as Trent. I kinda feel like he would make a very good Green.

Kira: I get why she's Yellow. Yellow needed someone as sassy and in the moment/down to earth as her to ground the boys. I get it. But she should have either had a different Dino Zord or been given Pink as a secondary color. It kinda pisses me off.

Trent: They should have made his clone earlier to have made the secret keeping bullshit draw out and actually mean something. I'm happy that he's a White Ranger with a PAST that is not all sunshine and rainbows and is clearly mentally ill due to the strain and whatever was happening the entire time with Anton and Mesagog; but also I feel like he could have pulled in extra attention from Hayley, Devin, and Cassidy--because he's the member of the team with that vibe and it was SO wasted.

Hayley: Everyone has already said this, but I'll say it too. She should have been gay and hooked up with Elsa at the end, but more than that, she felt WAY more like an additional SPECIAL Ranger than most other tech support in PR. She would have been lovely in Gold or Silver, just sayin'.

Cassidy: They CODED her Purple. They coded the shit out of her and it pisses me off that it never went anywhere. She is regal, bossy, go in or go home; but more than that she has the Purple indicator of The Planner. A lot of her plans didn't go anywhere, but some of them DID and that feels important to a member of a comedy duo. Although I am a little grateful that this wasn't obvious because her hooking up ONCE with Ethan lead to--

Devin: Ethan was actually friends with this little softie who is so incredibly Orange coded that it makes me want to cry. Cass might be the Planner, but Devin is the DOER--he questions, he hesitates, but he gets the job DONE. And when we get to the end of the season, somehow unsurprisingly, he is gamer buddies with Ethan in a way that works for both of them. The Blue/Orange dynamic that could have been a building block for MORE to come. All these thoughts basically just boil down to my BEGGING the universe that when the comics get into the Dino Thunder series, some things get addressed that were missed on. Please.