#Benny you deserved SO MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT YOU GOT!

[descenderintofantasy]

Everyone goes on about how audrey deserved better…but you know who GENUINELY DOES deserve better than what he got in the movies?

Ben!

[bleedingoptimism]

“I’m sorry Steve, I thought we were just having fun! I enjoyed you taking me out and paying for everything that’s all…” Is what Shelley said to him when Steve walked into the bar and saw her flirting with another guy. 

Obviously, he smiled and shook his head, said everything was okay, ‘Just a silly misunderstanding’ and left, ever so graceful. But the second he was outside he cursed, tried not to shed a tear, failed, and then started laughing. 

He probably looks like a mad man, or a drunk. But no, don’t worry people, he’s not drunk or crazy, he’s just really, really stupid. He thought Shelley really liked him, he thought they were dating. And Shelley just assumed he was just another playboy so she played him back. He’s not even mad at her. She didn't mean to hurt him. It’s not her fault Steve is just so easy to hurt. 

Sighing, he gets his phone out to get an uber and hugs himself even though it’s not really that cold outside, waiting for his car, already imagining the big, greasy burger he’s going to order when he gets home. He deserves it, okay?

The car that pulls out has definitely seen better days, but it’s clean and comfortable so Steve doesn’t think twice about getting in. He offers the driver a smile through the rearview mirror, sparing a moment to notice his eyes are big and dark, and they crinkle when he smiles back at him. 

Steve sits stiff and straight for a moment before realizing no one is there to judge him right now and he deflates, sighing again and letting himself collapse against the seat. Still hugging himself to feel any sort of comfort, he bumps his head against the window softly a couple of times. 

“Long night?” The driver asks him in a friendly manner.

Steve meets his eyes in the rearview again and shrugs, smiling back crookedly “Thought I should go home early since I already accomplished making an ass of myself for the night”

He checks the uber app for the driver’s name, doesn’t want to be rude by not remembering. ‘Eddie’ chuckles at Steve's statement.

“You did, huh? Well good job on getting it out of the way then,”

Steve chuckles back, “Yeah, I was actually thinking I deserve a treat”

He notices Eddie looking back at him a couple of times before breathing an interested, “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, “A huge cheesy burger or something” Wondering what Eddie was thinking he’d say.

Eddie laughs again, “Oh! Right of course” and just when he’s about to say something else his phone rings.

“Oh, sorry” Eddie murmurs, immediately hanging up on whoever is calling. 

“No worries,” Steve mumbles back, sitting up a little straighter again. 

“So, what’s your favorite dirty burger place?” Eddie asks him. 

Steve can tell he’s trying to distract him from the mood he entered the car with and he really appreciates it.

He sits forward and leans his forearms against the headrest of the passenger seat, “Oh, there’s so many, but…” from this angle, he can see Eddie’s face better, and he can’t help but think he’s got a really nice looking profile, long lashes, full lips, and the cutest nose he’s ever seen, “I think Benny’s the best one” he finishes.

Eddie pulls at a stop light and turns to look at him with a smile and he’s so much prettier than Steve first thought he involuntarily gasps. But thankfully Eddie is talking excitedly and doesn’t seem to notice.

“No way you know Benny’s?! Benny is my uncle! Well, he’s married to my uncle actually- you know what I mean but yeah, Benny’s is great!” 

It’s such a weird coincidence that it managed to take Steve out of his stupor and he’s suddenly just as excited as Eddie,

“Really? Oh my god, I’m so jealous right now, I wished I could live at Benny’s sometimes” 

Eddie laughs, and just when he opens his mouth to reply his phone rings again. This time he doesn’t immediately hang up and Steve sees the screen light up with the name “you deserve better” 

Ouch, he thinks, and his heartstrings tug for his cute, sweet, uber driver. Who offered him friendly conversation cause he noticed he was feeling down and has the most beautiful laugh. He doesn't really know why he feels so strongly about it, he doesn't even know Eddie… but he still feels the text is right. Whoever hurt him, Eddie deserved better.

“Hey,” He says softly when Eddie hangs up cursing.

Eddie sighs again, “I’m so sorry,” 

“Hey, no. It’s fine,” Steve replies, resisting the urge to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He figures, after the way his night started, he’s got nothing to lose so he says, “So much talk about Benny’s I feel like I need to go there right now.” 

Eddie let’s out a distracted “Huh?” and Steve soldiers on, “Wanna change the destination and join me? You can take me home after,”

He notices Eddie doing a double take and blushing, “Really? I- Am- I- okay” he stammers but Steve can’t really figure out why.

“Yeah, you know, that way you don’t lose time on the job and have another ride?” He finishes and Eddie laughs,

“Oh, right. Yeah That- makes sense”

They keep talking about their favorite things on the menu on the way there and soon they are sitting face to face in a booth at Benny’s.

What a pair they make, Steve in a three piece suit, jacket off, vest undone and shirt rolled up to his forearms. And Eddie with sweats and a hoodie. 

Eddie is even better looking in the shitty dinner light and the blush that adorns his cheeks ever since they came in makes Steve wanna kiss them to feel their warmth.

Benny himself comes to take their order, and Eddie gets up to hug him and introduces him to Steve. They already know each other, because Steve does come to the dinner often and Benny lets Eddie know that.

Eddie thinks it's hilarious that they both have been here so much and never saw each other before, but Steve can’t help to think it’s a shame.

“I actually would’ve loved to have met you sooner,” he tells Eddie at one point and watches curiously as Eddie’s blush turns a few shades darker.

As they eat, Steve tells Eddie about Shelley, about his hopes, about misreading the situation, about his shame. How he doesn’t even think he liked Shelley that much, but he just wanted to have something real. Eddie gets mad at him for blaming himself, tells him it wasn’t his fault, that he’s being too hard on himself. And it’s not a bad thing to consider but all Steve can think about is how cute Eddie looks when he’s mad on his behalf.

Eventually, Eddie tells Steve about whoever was calling him. 

“I met him at my last job. I thought he was so cool but turns out he was actually just cold,” Eddie shrugs, “We dated for like 6 months or something, not that long but, I was miserable the whole time and I didn’t even realize it was because of him.” 

Eddie’s hand is tearing up a paper napkin between them and Steve tentatively settles his hand over Eddie’s, who stops destroying the napkin and smiles gratefully at Steve, holding his hand back.

“The worst part is I didn’t even break up with him, he broke up with me,” Eddie chuckles self-deprecatingly, “But he still wanted to keep me around I guess… And I… didn’t want to feel lonely” 

They both stay quiet for a moment after that, and Steve stares at their hands joined over the greasy dinner table and thinks about loneliness, about how he doesn't feel it right now, with Eddie.

“So, what happened?” he asks after a bit.

“I did eventually realize he was the one making me feel like shit so I stopped seeing him but he didn’t appreciate my new sense of self-respect,” Eddie says lightly and Steve instinctively squeezes his hand protectively, which makes Eddie smile again, “I’m doing just fine now though, I told him to fuck off and got a new job. And it’s actually pretty good, ya know?”

Steve can’t help but smile back at Eddie’s cute expression, “Yeah?”

“Hell yeah, my own hours? Good money? Plus I’ve always liked driving around, it calms me. And I get to meet really interesting people…” he says, winking at Steve and making him chuckle.

“Well, I’m glad then. Proud of you for getting out of there,”

“Me too,” Eddie says and looks up as Benny walks over to them.

“Sorry to interrupt boys, but we are about to close for the night,” He says, stifling a yawn.

Steve looks surprised at his watch, it’s almost 2 A.M. He can’t believe he’s been sitting here with Eddie for hours when it only felt like a few minutes.

He offers to cover the bill but Benny fights him over it and says it’s his treat. And Eddie offers to take him home no charge. So they get in Eddie’s car again only this time Steve sits next to him instead of in the back and they talk about music on their way to his place while Steve changes the radio stations. Laughing, singing and joking around, it’s such a good time. It feels like they’ve been doing this forever, like they could do this…forever. But eventually they arrive at Steve’s building and suddenly Steve doesn’t want the night to end. 

He’s about to tell Eddie as much, maybe invite him inside, when his phone rings again, the ‘you deserve better’ staring at them. But Eddie immediately grabs his phone and hangs up, blocking the number after. 

“There, he can’t call me again,” he says with a sigh.

“Can I see your phone for a second?” Steve ventures, making a last second decision.

Eddie looks surprised but curious as he hands it over and Steve punches his phone in.

“If you ever feel like unblocking him, or calling him back… Why don’t you try calling me instead?” he says in a rush and then walks out of the car, not lingering to see Eddie’s reaction.

There’s always the positivity that he got things wrong again, got too invested too soon again and he doesn’t want to know tonight. He’ll deal with it later, if Eddie doesn't call.

🚗📱🍔💙

It takes only two days for Steve’s phone to ring, an unknown number flashing on his screen. He picks it up feeling a little out of breath for no reason at all.

“Hello?” 

“Steve?”

“Eddie, I”

“Wait- before you say anything I just want you to know that I didn’t call because I wanted to call him, or I was thinking about him. I called because I can’t stop thinking about you, I wanted to talk to you. Okay?”

“Eddie- yes! It’s more than okay, I- I was hoping you’d call”

fin 💙

☕🥐💕 coffee? oovoo javer?

[spoonfulofmilo]

Full fic??

I’ve read that Logan S. felt really lonely being the only American in F1. Like, he wasn’t completely accepted in the grid. Maybe he has an overprotective older sister who is a professional soccer player (like World Cup level good) who finally has time to attend his races. She dislikes most of the grid, except Alex and Oscar, for how they treated her brother. quick to defend Logan and even as far as annihilate them during the annual driver soccer match to prove a point. Im thinking G. Russel pairing due to Logan living in England. he wins her over by treating logan right, acknowledging he could have been welcoming, etc. Just a thought!

OKAY I HONESTLY LOVED THIS! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE (let me know if you want a part 2, because it is a bit of an interesting ending haha)

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edit: i wrote part 2 - it is here

part 3 is here

George Russell x reader, logan sargeant x sister!reader

---

Y/N loves her brother, she really does. Yeah, she’s tried to get to a few of his F2 rounds, but with her soccer taking her around the world, she has had very little time. She has the entire month off though, so what better to do than visit her brother at his home grand prix. Miami is always a party, so maybe she could let loose for a bit, try and relax, and find a guy.

This is quickly vetoed when she finds Logan cooped up in his drivers room. While most people would think that he was excited for the race, most people weren’t Logan’s sister. She could tell he was thinking too hard about something, and it wasn’t good.

“Hey Logie Bear! Whatcha thinking about?” She tried to appear happy, but she could see that Logan’s smile did not reach his eyes

“Nothing, just excited for the race, the car is quick, just aiming for some points, hoping for a safety car. The garage is over there, sorry I have to warm up.” Y/N looked up as Benny entered the room and Logan stood up. She could tell how closed up he was, how he didn’t want to talk at all

“Okay, we’ll talk after the race Logan! Good luck, you'll smash it!” Y/N walked out of the drivers room towards the garage seeing the chaos of it.

Y/N watched as Logan apologised over again and again to his engineer for not making up any more places. She stood there listening to his engineer reassure her younger brother. She eventually decided that she couldn’t listen to it anymore and decided to wait in his garage room.

When he walked in, Y/N could tell he wasn’t sure whether to throw stuff or cry. 

“Hey, hey, come here! It’s okay, it’s okay!” She opened her arms and sat down as Logan fell down into them and hugged her baby brother, as he started talking the words just rushed out

“I just wanted to prove that I deserve to be here, feel like I’m a part of the paddock.” Logan hugged his sister back tightly, hesitating slightly.

“What do you mean? Of course you’re a part of the paddock, you’ve got your seat, y’know?” Y/N was confused as to what her brother meant, from what she had seen, he was welcomed warmly by everyone.

“Yeah but, I’m never invited to the grid parties, no one really ever talks to me, except Alex and Oscar, and Oscar is getting into the rest of the grid through Lando, and Alex is only really talking to me because I mean, he’s my teammate we have to be friends, and I just want everyone to like me… so I thought maybe if I got some points and good overtakes, then people would like me..”

“Oh, Logie… It’ll be okay. If they don’t like you then I think they’re just idiots, but they won’t. They’ll warm up to you, I promise.”

---

George watched as Y/N sprinted up and down. Okay the F1 team was never going to win, particularly when multiple women who were playing in the world cup were playing on the opposition team, but ‘Sargeant’  (who also had the same name as the rookie driver this year, who was sitting in the stands) was dominating, she had more goals then all of the f1 team, so of course the celebrity team won 4-1. She’d almost immediately jumped into the stands once the referee blew the whistle and started talking to Logan, maybe the kid got married young and just didn’t want anyone to realise. 

Although she looked quite similar to Logan, so maybe his sister instead. Either way, she did not seem to like them, she called them all dickheads and shoved them over a few times. George’s knees were sore. But she was still pretty. So he approached Logan and the girl.

“Hello! I’m George and…’

“I’m pretty sure my brother knows your name, Georgie! Why don’t you say hello to him?”

“Y/N-”

“No. Say hi to Logan, George.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes, almost forced.

“Hey Logan! Looking forward to the grand prix this weekend?”

“Uhhhh… yeah. ” He turned back to Y/N “I’ve got some stuff to do, so you can make your way back. See ya!”

As soon as Logan was out of listening range, Y/N pulled George in and started whispering, “Listen, I don’t know what problem you have my brother, but you need to get over it ASAP, understood?”

“I.. don’t have a problem with your brother.”

“Well, then why is he telling me that there have been 2 people, Oscar and Alex, who have actually welcomed him to F1. Everyone else has snubbed him and he doesn’t understand why you don’t like him. He’s lonely. So fucking sort your shit out.”

George stood there, mouth gaping as she stormed off to grab her bag and then sprinted after Logan. He could almost hear the f1 team laughing at his failed attempt at flirting, but all he could think about ‘was what she said true?’’

---

Y/N was going to cry.

She could see Logan in the family and friends box, hands over his mouth, eyes glassy.

That corner kick should’ve gone in, she thought, we had so many chances and we still fucked it all. Couldn’t even give Megs a proper farewell.

She walks slowly over to her younger brother and let his arms wrap around her

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Dragged you halfway ‘round the world when you should’ve been training only to lose the first game.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t worry about it. Go pack up, we can head home and spend some time in London relaxing. I’ve got next week off before I need to be back in the factory.”

—

Y/N was awoken by a knock on the front door. Hearing Logan snoring from his bedroom, she got up off the couch, rubbing her eyes and opened the door.

Of all the people she was expecting to see, George Russell would’ve been just about the last on her list “Uhh, hey?”

“Oh, morning! Is your brother up?”

Y/n paused for a moment to let George hear the snores coming from Logan’s bedroom. “Yeah, no, sorry. I can pass on a message?”

“Oh, No I was just going to offer if he was still up to go on a morning jog with him, but as he isn’t…”

“You been doing this often?”

“Almost every week we’ve been in town. I don’t think he understands what or why I’m doing this. But, he’s a good kid, opens up a bit when you talk to him. He likes you, respects you a lot for 2 siblings pursuing their sport across the globe.”

“I’ll make some breakfast and you can stay til Logan wakes up, okay? As a thanks for looking out for him. Hard for me to do from across the globe.” Y/N looked tense, with an almost forced smile. She looked awkward, before stepping back, holding the door open so George could come in.

---

“LOGAN SARGEANT!”

“Hello, dear sister, what do you want?”

“YOU GOT POINTS!”

“I think you must have watched a different grand prix, I got P12.”

“Hamilton and Leclerc got disqualified, something about wood, but you got points!”

“OH MY! AHHH! I had no idea, oh god!”

“YEAH! MY LITTLE BRO FINALLY GETTING F1 POINTS! WOOHOO! We must celebrate when we’re both in town!”

“AHH! Shit, wait I think people are coming in, give me a sec.

You’re on speaker dear sis, Alex, Oscar and George are here.”

“HELLO OSCAR! HI ALEX! HI GEORGE! DID SOMEONE BRING CHAMPAGNE???”

---

Y/N looks at the buzzing phone on her bedside table. Well clearly she had grabbed Logan’s phone before bed last night. She looked at the contact name

‘George - probably calling about something from the GDPA.’

She picked up.

“Before you start talking, I’m not Logan and I have not signed any NDAs related to his contract so, don’t talk to me.”

“Hi Y/N, do you know where Logan is?” George’s voice was way too cheery for however fucking early it is right now.

“Yeah he’s in his bedroom, he grabbed my phone and I grabbed his, why?” Y/N swung her legs out of the bed and stood up, still rubbing her eyes.

“Oh, can you come answer the door?”

“The door, why?” Y/N got up, and walked to her front door and opened the door to …nothing.

“George, are you pulling a prank on me? There’s nothing at the door.”

“You haven’t opened the door!”

“George… Logan and I are in Florida for Christmas. I’m guessing you’re in London.”

“Oh…yes. Bugger. I came to congratulate him on his contract renewal and so now I’ve got food and flowers and stuff and he’s not here!”

“If you go round the block to 20 XXX Close, there’s a single mom there, who will appreciate some Christmas cheer Georgie.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll send it over.”

“Why were you congratulating Logan, George? I didn’t think you cared. Only Alex and Oscar have reached out so far.”

“I..I remember what you said at the soccer match, about Logan feeling ostracised by all of us. So I’ve been trying to make him feel welcomed… not just because you said that, and I like you, but also because I kinda realised we’d all be failing him as a grid, so i thought if I started it, maybe others would catch on. It didn’t work, but I think he feels more included.”

“That’s very nice of you Georgie. I’ll pass on your congrats. Now it’s like 7am here, and I didn’t need to be awake today, so i will be heading back to bed. Night Georgie boy.”

[stusbunker]

Spotless: Arpeggio

Chapter Twenty

Featuring: Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean/Bela

Other characters: Sam/Madison, Bobby/Annie, Pam/Lee, OFC Gibson, Ash, Benny, Cesar/Jesse, Kevin, Cas, and Charlie

Word Count: 4031

Warnings, etc: Mutual pining, recreational drug use, surprise birthday guests, Dean being a giant kid, actually it's everyone, more history and an uh-oh, unbeta'd

A/N: You know how you outline bullet points that you need covered in a chapter and then you write all day long and forget one of the biggest ones until literally the last sentence? Yeah, me neither.

Anyway, I can't believe we are TWENTY whole chapters into this beast. Thank you all, so SO much for hanging around. xoxo Stu

Series Masterlist

Dean’s morning began with a blow horn blast compliments of Sam, who then received a bitch slap from his very frightened and at odds older brother. 

“Rise and shine, jerk. It’s the last year of your thirties!”

Dean groaned and buried his head beneath the pillows, poorly hiding from anymore horns. “Hephha waaff to wff agy hpp birfay”

“WHAT?! I can’t hear you?!”

Dean flipped Sam off and rolled over. “Helluva way to wish a guy Happy Birthday.”

Sam laughed. “Don’t worry, that’s not all.”

He pulled out a bag of the greasiest breakfast burritos from a shop around the corner from Charlies that they had discovered after being up all night gaming, drunk and caffeinated out of their minds. 

“Oh my god, you do love me!” Dean snatched the bag out of Sam’s hand and grabbed a burrito and cradled it to his chest. He looked up at Sam and said fervently, “I take back every mean thing I’ve ever said to you.”

“No you don’t. You’re just hungry. You want me to leave you two alone or should I take it back downstairs where the coffee lives?”

Dean stared down at the warm lump in his hand and honestly considered eating it right away, but Sam was right and scrambled eggs and peppers were not something he wanted to clean off his sheets whenever he found them again after the coming festivities.

“Yeah, thanks, let me grab some clothes and I’ll meet you down there.”

“You got it,” Sam took the burrito back as Dean dropped it into his outstretched hand. 

“No fucking with it now, I know how it’s supposed to be wrapped,” Dean warned with a firm pointer finger.

Sam rolled his eyes and his hair along with them and stalked out of Dean’s room towards the backstairs that led into the kitchen.

They ate breakfast in relative silence, coffee and contemplation and all that. Just two brothers celebrating a year that both of them were worried wouldn’t come. Aging might be a bitch, but it is definitely better than the alternative. And for the Winchester brothers, a blessing they weren’t ever quite sure they deserved.

Charlie and you slinked in just after noon, after Dean and Sam had half-heartedly worked off their breakfasts and showered for the day. You had the most obnoxious balloon cowboy hat for him while Charlie presented him with a ‘birthday prince’ sash that he was under orders to keep on all day.

Dean eyed you both with a simmering shame-twinged annoyance. This wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. He already got looks when he went out as it was, plus only a douche of a grown man demands strangers acknowledge his birthday that way.

“Guys, come on. I’m not— this is a little ridiculous,” Dean didn’t want to be ungrateful.

You sighed. “Okay, fine, spoilsport. Just let us take a few pictures and you can ditch the hat.”

“Oh! The hat was the best part!” Sam lamented.

“Can it, Sammy,” Dean snipped.

Charlie chuckled. “Okay, but you can totally wear the sash where we’re going, because nobody else will even be there to see you in it, just your friends.”

Dean pursed his lips and looked the redhead in the eye, she wasn’t going to let him win. “Great—- just great.”

Lee and Benny were gonna have a field day with this one.

“Atta boy! Say CHEESE!” Charlie chirped, taking way too many shots and angles with him and his birthday attire.

They hung out and shared a joint, picking at a cheese tray that Sam had pulled out. Sure they had places to be, but that was the beauty of being the guest of honor, everything revolved around Dean-time. And as absolutely narcissistic as that sounded, Dean could get used to that kind of schedule.

The party bus arrived just before two. It was actually the band’s touring bus, which meant it was roomy and stocked to the brim with alcohol and edibles. Bud itself was never left on the bus to dry out. Inside were Benny, Cesar and Jesse, all moderately sober as they were also acting as light security detail for the day. Pam and Lee brought Gibson along, which told Dean wherever they were headed was going to be fun, however wholesome. Madison and Annie were there with Bobby upfront driving ‘The Proud Mary’ as the bus was so lovingly called. And around the table in the small kitchenette were Kevin, Ash and Cas.

Holy shit, Dean had to blink.

He turned around on the stairs and looked at you, who were the only one daring enough to pull this off. “Are you kidding me right now?!”

“What?” You smirked and batted your eyelashes with fake innocence.

Dean looked at you and felt something in his chest crack.  But before he could get overrun by the emotions, gratitude, fear, even anger, Sam cleared his throat.

“In or out, Dean, air’s on.”

Dean nodded and blinked away the awe. “Thank you,” he grunted beneath his breath and turned to the cheers and jeers of his people.

“There he is!”

“Birthday boy!”

“Hey Winchester, I like your do-hickey,” Benny teased.

“It’s a sash, dumbass,” Cesar quipped, flicking the brim of Benny’s cap.

“HAPPY BIRTH-DAY,” Pam started offkey and then everybody joined in. Dean nodded along, faux-conducting and fighting the blush on his cheeks with every out of tune note.

He bowed as the song ended and then griped, “Yeah, okay, enough of that. Let’s get this shit started, shall we?! Uh, Gibson you good to DD on the way home, buddy?”

Everyone laughed.

“UNCLE DEAN! I can’t drive yet.”

“You sure?”

“I’m only six!”

“I don’t know,” Dean said thoughtfully, bending to look the stringbean over. “I think you could pass for seven or eight maybe.”

“Nuh-uh!”

Dean ruffled his hair and pulled him into a hug. “Fine! I’ll let Bobby keep his spot for today, but when you get your license, come talk to me about a job young man,” Dean promised.

Dean eased onto the bus, with you and Sam on his heels until you broke off to find a seat. He nodded and accepted hugs and high fives before he made his way to the table in the back, well that section’s back. The bunks and the bathroom were down a short hallway past the eating area and bar.

“Hey guys, thanks for coming,” Dean said broadly, but his eyes couldn’t stop looking for Cas’.

“Of course, man! Gotta celebrate another trip around the sun,” Ash exclaimed, his hair bouncing with his enthusiasm.

Kevin sniggered as he looked up at Dean and back across to Cas. “You know he’s real and everything.”

“He even speaks,” Cas deadpanned, turning his glare at Kevin.

“Hey, Cas.”

“Happy birthday, Dean.”

Dean felt the lurch of the bus entering traffic and panic resurfaced. “Good to see you. But, uh, we’ll catch up at some point? I gotta,” Dean sputtered and thumbed toward the general direction of the side-by-side seats along one wall.

“Of course,” Cas nodded, but gave Dean a tentative smile. Dean felt lightheaded but he felt better when he had a solid seat underneath his ass. Talk about a mindfuck. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and silently thanked the universe that he agreed to these super secret, group, birthday shenanigans.

The adventure park was suspiciously abandoned, even for a weekend day. But Dean took it as part of the present, no paps, no families with kids too young for school clogging up the Skee Ball lanes or having accidents on the go karts. He was kind of amazed y’all were able to pull this off, but it was far enough away from the busier parts of town that maybe you had scored a good deal. Or maybe Dean didn’t want to think about how much you and Sam and probably Bobby had shelled out for the day.

Even after years of his own success, Dean felt guilty whenever people spent money on him.

“Okay, line up for your wristbands. Everyone gets one, if you run out of tokens, tough luck. Laser Tag and Go Karts are available if we ask, just make sure there’s a big enough group to make up for the staff being pulled to those locations. Pizza will be set out as a buffet at five. I’ll get pitchers of water and soda out in the meantime,” you used a teacher's voice over the rowdy crowd as they beelined out of the bus and up to the gates.

Dean was almost giddy; he was so excited.

You bestowed a lanyard over his head, instead of a wristband. Which meant unlimited tokens for games and a turn in the vortex machine where paper tickets floated around and he was supposed to catch them for prizes. He was banking on letting Gibson take that responsibility, but hadn’t said anything because he knew Pam hated to spoil him, especially on someone else’s birthday. Oh well, being a surrogate Uncle held some leeway afterall.

“First one to the gokarts is a rotten egg!” Ash called out, making everyone turn on their heels and book it through the doors.

Dean laughed at the reversion to grade school taunts, but definitely tripped Sam on his way passed.

Somehow, Bobby and Annie got the first kart, but then again Dean didn’t remember seeing them as you made your little announcement, so they must have had a head start. The line was a mass of people bickering for a turn, which color kart they wanted, or which number if you were Charlie and Kevin. Dean had his shotgun attached at his hip, bouncing on the soles of his feet. But everytime he glanced up and saw Cas talking to Sam or nodding at something Pam said, he had to do a double take.

In all, they filled nearly all the available twelve karts. Dean and Gibson were in number 11, Lee, Benny, Pam, Cas, Ash, Kevin, Cesar, Jesse and Charlie all drove solo. While Sam and Madison, Bobby and Annie paired off. No one could get you in one of those things if they tried, and they all knew better than to try. Which Dean was grateful for, he hated rehashing your shit for other people’s understanding.

They did four lap races for almost an hour, with Dean sneaking past Bobby for the final victory. But everyone (except for Ash and Charlie) had lost count of their stats by the time they got inside to chug some soda and hit the arcade area before dinner.

Dean was sweating, faux satin clinging to his back through his shirts as he polished off a cup of flat cola. But he couldn’t keep the grin off his face long, seeing all of his favorite people milling around, trying to one up each other or just beat one another to a coveted game. It was the stuff of childhood birthdays he had only ever dreamed about, but you had made possible.

Lee held Gibson on his shoulders as they took Sam on at the free throw alleys. Charlie and Madison were playing some kind of shooting game while Kevin and Cesar watched them, obviously impressed by their stances with the fake rifles. It made him think of Jo and Big Buck Hunter for the briefest moment, but he tucked that away and chose to relish in the moment instead. Cas and Jesse were at the air hockey table and Bobby and Ash huddled by the wall of Skeeball machines, not partaking themselves, just watching you as you sank ball after ball into the 300 or better rings.

Dean couldn’t pick what he wanted to do next, so he just watched for a few minutes, soaking in the joy around him.

Eventually, his stomach chose for him. The pizzas were delivered in a tidy row down a side table of every cheap topping option available. There was even a mushroom option, which was probably the only thing close to a vegetable in the place, but it meant Sam couldn’t bitch. Everyone chowed down, standing and sitting in hodgepodge groupings, laughing and debating on what to do next.

Pam was comparing Cas’ and Kevin’s tattoos as Dean approached, paper plate firmly in hand, chewing as he silently butt into the conversation.

“Looks good, I mean, he’d hate them, but you know that would only be for show,” Pam said about the late Rufus.

“Yeah,” Cas agreed, pulling his arm back.

“Crotchety old bastard,” Dean added between bites.

“May he rest in peace,” Pam added, respect and mirth flitted in her eyes.

“So, Cas, how’s the kid and the band and fucking everything?” Pam changed the subject.

“Uh, we’re—- making progress,” Cas said simply, clearly unsure what to do with Dean’s presence. He worried at his lip ring like he always did when he was uncomfortable, but Dean was too damn curious and stubborn to take the hint.

“They’re finding their sound, it’s kind of cool to see it happen. You should go with me sometime to their rehearsals. It’s very organic,” Kevin explained. “It’s like they can sense what the other is thinking and just go for it.”

Dean couldn’t even pretend that that didn’t sting.

He cleared his throat. “So, where do you guys practice?”

“Oh— my place,” Cas said.

The fact that Kevin had been hanging with Cas and getting tattoos was one thing. The fact that he was in on this new band and its budding chemistry all while getting to spend time in Cas’ space was nothing short of getting his knees kicked out.

Not to mention, Cas had barely a townhouse with only one extra bedroom. He always preferred to live simply, as he put it.

“How does that work?”

Pam crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, seeing where this was going better than Dean. “Are you a garage band, Cas?”

He just shrugged.

Dean chuckled under his breath. “That’s what you meant by organic,” he said to Kevin.

“Not exactly— that’s part of it, but I don’t know if it’s like some gene thing or a psychic connection. They’re just really good together.”

Pamela inhaled as Dean squinted at Cas, who had gone stock still with Kevin’s words.

“Gene thing?”

“Dean—,” Pamela warned.

“Oh, crap,” Kevin said, realizing too late that Dean was apparently more in the dark than he’d known.

Castiel remained silent, eyes boring into Dean, waiting for the explosion. It made Dean sick to realize that Cas was afraid of him, of his temper, still.

Dean set down his slice of pizza and squared his shoulders, trying to keep it civil. To not be that guy anymore. “Cas, come on man. What’s that about? He some long lost cousin or something?”

“Jack’s my kid, actually.”

Dean sputtered. “Yeah right, nice one.”

Everyone glared at him.

“You’re serious? How? When? I would have fucking noticed if you had actually boned down some chick—- I mean how old is he?”

Cas rolled his eyes and Dean had the sinking sensation that absolutely none of this was his business. But Cas had been his best friend for most of their lives— it was important information to have, even if it was twenty years too late.

Kevin and Pam silently agreed to disappear, but Dean couldn’t pinpoint the moment it happened. They were there and then they were gone.

“Dean,” Cas chastised.

“No— I deserve to know. I mean, what the hell? A kid?”

Cas raised his eyebrow, the one with the damn ring in it and Dean wanted, not for the first time, to yank it out.

“Kind of like I— like we deserved to know you were in an underground fighting ring? Like you had some sort of deathwish pact with a pimp and a known murderer?”

Dean felt an icy chill run down his spine, his hands instantly turned to fists and he had to breathe to keep the rage at bay. But his chest was so tight and the shame had become worms in his stomach. He wasn’t going to puke at his own birthday party, not from something as pathetic as his own mistakes. Alcohol would have been an easier taste in his mouth.

The party continued around them, but Dean didn’t reply. He couldn’t.

Cas seemed to register that and looked down at his boots before meeting Dean’s eye once more. “Dean, I’m sorry— that— that was uncalled for.” 

Dean swallowed down the bile and exhaled.

He unclenched his fists, shaking them slightly to feel something other than overwhelming emotion, the kind he’d need a few sessions with Missouri to even name.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dean grunted, head down as he got himself together.

“Dean— we should talk, but I can’t really explain myself in front of everyone.”

Dean hummed.

“It’s just— I think there’s a lot we never got off our chests and it only made the last couple of years harder— on both of us.”

“It seems like everyone else already knows your business, Cas. Just kind of sucks to be the last to know.”

Cas nodded, eyes still tight, still on guard.

“But I guess the way I was— kind of makes sense. I didn’t deserve to know.”

Cas’ face softened. “Dean— that’s not. Let’s not, right now. Later. Okay?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

Dean inched around the corner, weapon drawn and head on a swivel. He couldn’t see much, but endless nooks for the enemy to hide. The arena was dark, out of necessity, but it only added to the adrenaline pumping through him. Dean nodded to his teammate and they spun around the next edge, fingers on their triggers as they stood back to back. 

He really wished they had communication between the other members of Green Team, but that was just rich people thinking for a family entertainment center. It wasn’t like they were storming the beaches of Normandy here.

Something moved in his periphery but before Dean could turn you shot behind him, getting Kevin square in the chest. You both watched as Kevin fell dramatically to the floor, one down, five more to go.

“Nice shot,” Dean said out of the corner of his mouth.

“I feel like that was too easy,” you replied, searching the area while you whispered.

“Might have been a scout,” Dean agreed.

“Yeah, but—” 

He felt you shift behind him and he rounded to cover you, but Benny was already there, a near wall of guns behind him. 

“It was a fire fight!” Ash screamed out of his spot above them, taking Charlie out with the distraction.

You kept your body turned, lessening their target and fired without even blinking, but Sam had height on you and you ended up taking each other out. Dean, unable to make a shot connect, cursed, turned tail, and ran, ducking down a ladder and trying to loop back on Benny and Pam.

Three down to his team’s one, that he knew of, still good odds.

But then he saw Jesse sitting with his back against a wall, clearly down. Dean needed to find Cas and Cesar yesterday. Or they wouldn’t be able to call it in their favor. He crouched down and checked his back, without you to watch his six he felt extra exposed, though he kept to the edges, using the shadows to his advantage.

He heard whispering and he immediately hit the deck, rolling until he was flush with wall length-wise. But the voices stopped about ten feet away, either on the level above him or around the corner out of sight. Dean waited, gun drawn and senses on overdrive.

The telltale electronic chime of a chest plate activating sounded off and the voices turned from whispers to shouts of shock. Someone had gotten Pam. 

Which meant that Lee and Benny were the only ones left from Sam’s team.

And Lee was alone looking to the rafters from the sounds of it.

Dean army-crawled around the corner and got Lee from underneath, his cackle of victory the only way Lee even knew he was there.

“You sonofabitch!” Lee griped, helping Dean up before disappearing to the land of misfit toys, aka following Pam to the nearest exit.

Cesar appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and nodded Dean back to the rest of the team. Cas and Ash were still alive and kicking, strategizing on how to find or draw out Benny. But before Dean could turn and let Cesar back into the huddle, his chest piece crackled to life: Benny had shot him in the back.

Dean waved him off, trying to catch up with Benny’s trail, as Ash and Cas flanked him widely. They tried to cast a broad net, but instead they left too much space and Benny wound around them and took Ash out without Dean or Cas even seeing him.

Dean looked at Cas and Cas nodded, doubling back and letting Dean take point. 

It felt like hours, but really it only took maybe five more minutes of creeping around the obstacles in the center of the arena for Dean to catch sight of Benny. His sturdy frame ducked behind a pillar as Dean slowly followed. But he was too slow, because Benny had spun around and had his gun on Dean’s back plate before Dean could move.

“Bang bang,” Benny taunted, but he didn’t pull the trigger. He wanted Dean to surrender, but that wouldn’t do anything unless… Benny didn’t know Cas was still out there.

Dean held up his arms, but he didn’t drop his weapon.

“Alright, cher, nice and easy,” Benny coaxed Dean to turn face him.

“You got me,man,” Dean huffed, playing it up.

“Well, even the Birthday Prince loses sometimes.”

Then Benny’s chest flashed to life.

“What the—”

“And sometimes they still win,” Cas’ deadpan interrupted Benny’s surprise.

“Nice one, Cas!” Dean held up his hand for a high five, but Cas just cocked his head as the overheads snapped on, blinding them all in sudden light.

It wasn’t the first time that Dean thought Cas had some super-human senses. And he was happy to think that it probably wasn’t the last time either. Not anymore.

Everything considered, Gibson won the day. Every single adult, even Kevin, forked over the prize tickets they had wracked up on their wristbands for Gibson to exchange for a four foot long stuffed dog from some show or another. Dean fist bumped him and helped him carry the thing back onto the bus. But before Dean could haul himself up the first step, Sam pulled him back to the curb.

“Here— don’t say I never got you anything.” Sam handed him a massive rainbowed Slinky.

“Holy shit! I didn’t even see that! This is awesome,” Dean geeked out. “Thanks, man.”

Sam just shook his head and grinned.

Everyone got back on the bus and started in on the adult beverages as you sorted the tab and made sure everything was alright with the staff. Dean sat on his hands, forcing himself not to run back in and add on his own tip. He really did trust you, but some habits were hard to break. 

“Ready?” Dean heard Bobby ask you before cranking the door shut.

The bus rumbled off the curb and into the neverending traffic of the city at night. But they had everything they could possibly need on board. And when you sat down in the spot beside him, Dean couldn’t think of a single thing that could make his birthday any better.

He looked over at you and smiled, soft, just a hint of it on his lips, trying to keep himself from saying something stupid. You rolled your eyes and smiled back. And yeah, today might have been one for the books. But there were still chapters left unwritten between you two and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to wait anymore to find out what they’d said.

Then his phone rang. “Dean? Happy birthday! How did you want to go celebrate?”

It was Bela.

He had completely forgotten to invite Bela.

And apparently, somehow, so had you.

Fuck.

Tagging:

@deans-spinster-witch

@mrswhozeewhatsis

@cosicas-cuquis

@fics-pics-andotherthings-i-like

@suckitands33

@ladysparkles78

@deans-baby-momma

@stoneyggirl2

@sassy-pelican

@leigh70

@globetrotter28

@winharry

@lastactiontricia

@rockhoochie

Chapter 22: Dolce

[sogoodtoheritsvicious]

it’s tiiiiimeee

i haven’t watched this show in full in five years 😵‍💫but it’s october and i was gonna watch thee byeler episode aka 2x02 on halloween anyway so i thought i might as well rewatch the entire show and make it everyone’s problem

forgot about the jumpscare being right at the beginning

baby will <3

they were all BABIES and now they’re all grown and the damn final season still hasn’t premiered lmao

dustin was so adorable

“it was a seven.” “huh?” “the roll, it was a seven. the demogorgon, it got me.” the way will was incapable of lying to mike, GOD, i feel sick

fun fact: will’s adorable little “see you tomorrow!” is immediately what made him my favorite

“kiss your mom ‘night for me!” lmfao

forgot how damn good the jumpscares are

gonna need mike to see will with a gun at least once before this show is over

“damn,you look like hell, chief!” “oh, yeah? well, i looked better than your wife when i left her this morning.” HELP

“lonnie used to call him queer.” “is he?” FUCKING HELL, HOPPER 😭 i completely forgot about that scene lmfao

EL, MY BABY

benny was such a good man :( he didn’t deserve to die

that poor dog was so hated irl 😭

“you think we got a problem here?” my brother in christ, a boy is missing

“i’m the only one that cares about will!” mike loves will so much, i’m gonna cry

i completely forgot about hop’s daughter

mike sneaking out while steve’s sneaking in 😭 this show is also a comedy

winona ryder the actress that you are

chapter 2

maybe i’m going to find out in this ep i can’t remember if they ever investigate benny’s death or link it to everything else that was going on

“stop it, you’re freaking her out!” “she’s freaking ME out!” lucas was the only real one in the beginning

poor baby. el didn’t even know what privacy was before this moment.

“oh, you can speak!” she gets that a lot 😭

mike and el had so much potential as friends, FUCK the duffers for ruining them by making it romantic. now they don’t even seem like they like each other

i hope s5 focuses on more on will and lucas’ friendship

jonathan was such a good brother

brenner. always at the scene of the fucking crime.

mike naming his dino ‘rory’ because he roars 🥹

FUCK BRENNER ALL MY HOMIES HATE BRENNER

karen was such a good mom in the beginning

i hate lonnie with a passion, he’s an abusive piece of shit who should’ve been killed off

i don’t blame lucas at all for the way he was acting with el at first

“one kid goes missing, the other one runs wild? some real fine parenting right there.”

they kept pointing out so many similarities between will and el, i can’t believe they didn’t go anywhere with it

“can’t ask a corpse a question.” die. just die.

nancy: *losing her virginity*

barb: *losing her life*

chapter 3

“no one breaks in here.” yeah, they just break out

love jonathan but steve wasn’t exactly wrong about the pictures

joyce byers the mother that you are

mike wanted nothing to do with el once they found will’s “body” but we’re supposed to believe that he loved her the second he saw her in the woods.

chapter 4

i can’t believe they showed that mike has all of the drawings will has created and expected us to be normal about it

“screw his funeral!” “what?!” TEARS

jonathan loves joyce and will so much 🥺

steve was such an unbearable asshole

can we PLEASE talk about charlie being able to hold his own with winona in that scene about will’s body? we already know winona’s gonna blow it out of the water but he did just as well

completely forgot about mike doing el’s makeup this episode dkfkgjd

“where are you from, exactly?” “bad place.” 😭

that troy scene still sends

“the kid is dead. end of story.”

they put too much pressure on el. i hope when all this shit is over she’s able to just be a normal kid.

this show used to be so fucking good

i love how hop tries lying to the state trooper and when that doesn’t work he just knocks him the fuck out 😭

I FUCKING HATE LONNIE

i’m so glad they had jonathan realize that joyce was telling the truth about everything that was going on instead of just dragging it all out.

chapter 5

hate lonnie for taking advantage of joyce when she’s clearly in a vulnerable position

“wait until we tell will that jennifer hayes was crying at his funeral” lmao

all this season is showing me is how severely they’ve robbed us of joyce and will scenes in future episodes

“man, these aren’t real nilla wafers.” mr. clark must think they’re horrible friends, i’m crying. dustin is right, though, fake nilla wafers suck.

“it might even swallow us whole.” and that’s exactly what’s happening by the end of s4

“he’s wanted to go to nyu since he was six. years. old!” she should’ve killed lonnie right then & there

can’t prove it but jonathan fell in love with nancy the second she shot that can on her first try

jonathan clocked nancy’s ass BAD in the woods

forgot just how much lucas hated el this season

byeler and jancy have paralleled each other too many times for it to just mean nothing in the end.

chapter 6

the jumpscares in this show are top tier

what i love about this show is how it still has me holding my breath even though i already know what’s going to happen

“i don’t wanna be alone. do you?” “no.” i was gonna say he wouldn’t be alone cause joyce is there but i remembered he doesn’t wanna tell her til it’s all over

early jancy were so awkward, i love them <3

“i could have been killed!” “which is exactly why we need her. she’s a weapon!” but mike loves her at this point, right?

lucas loves will so much, it’s a shame we haven’t seen much more of their friendship

“you’re my best friend, too.” “okay :D” dustin looked so happy 😭

“what’s the weirdest part? me or the bear trap?” “you, definitely you.” pls

jonathan beating the shit out of steve was so satisfying

“only love makes you that crazy, sweetheart.” i’m not even gonna say anything. you all know.

we don’t give mike enough appreciation for being such a selfless person. he did everything he could to find will, he almost killed himself to protect dustin, he let el live in his basement without even knowing her, etc.

“she’s our friend and she’s crazy!” i love dustin with my whole heart

BABIES 🫶����

chapter 7

“if anyone asks where i am, i’ve left the country.” this season is really reminding me why mike was my favorite in the beginning

i wanna hug el so bad

“our son with a girl?” ted, to mike:

“a psychotic child broke his arm!” “a little girl, chief. a little one.” “that tone! do you hear that tone?” “honestly, i’m just trying to state a fact. it was a little girl.” this entire exchange is sending me so bad

“you couldn’t take jonathan byers.” get his ass!

it was such a great choice to have joyce be the first one to ever give el comfort because she’s such a soft, comforting person and i can’t think of anyone better

chapter 8

made it to the finale! gonna be honest, i didn’t think i’d get here in only two days but this show sucked me in the exact way it did the first time

“go to hell.” joyce is everything

waiting til this episode to give flashbacks on hop’s daughter was an excellent choice

steve just wanted to apologize to jonathan and now he’s an exasperated mother of seven. life comes at ya quick!!

choosing not to acknowledge that scene beyond this for the sake of my mental health

el is a badass but she shouldn’t have to be

brenner should’ve never made it to season 4

these kids acted their ASSES off in this show

GOD THIS JOYCE, HOPPER AND WILL SCENE

you’d think everything that went down would make nancy and karen care more about mike and pay attention to him but it doesn’t. mike deserves so much better.

will is in a hospital bed worrying about jonathan’s hand. I LOVE THIS KID.

byeler hug <3

they all really wanted to tell will about jennifer hayes crying 😭

“her name’s eleven.” “like the number?” he sounded baffled lmaooo

getting will back must’ve been so bittersweet for nancy

hop keeps throwing away lit cigarettes and all i keep thinking is that he’s gonna start a wildfire eventually

mike’s soft ‘see you, will’ 🥹

the camera!!

“your wife doesn’t have time to cook for me.” pls

the byers family 🫶🏼

my love for this show has officially been revived. rewatching this reminded me why i loved this show so much in the first place. the acting is amazing, especially from the kids, the writing was great, and the fucking jumpscares were incredible. i’m so excited to start season 2!!

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

Better Off - Bernard DeMarco x OFC - Chapter 13

Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

AO3

Summary: As she adjusts to life without DeMarco, Susie finds catharsis with the arrival of a new face at Thorpe Abbotts

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.8k

Tags: @xxluckystrike @latibvles @footprintsinthesxnd @mads-weasley @joyfulbookreviewmarvelspy @justheretoreadthxxs @blakelysco-pilot

A/N: I'm so sorry this chapter has taken soooo long. I got really stuck on this one for some reason, and I've rewritten this chapter several times, but I hope you enjoy it!!

Hiya Suze

If you get this letter, it'll probably come as a bit of a surprise. By now I'm sure you've got my footlocker - which means you've read what I left inside as well. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that I meant every word, but I'll say it all again if you want. I was nervous when I wrote it. I wasn't sure you'd wanna hear what I had to say, but now I know you'll need it.

I'm alive. I love you. I miss you every day.

I got picked up with Gale and some of the others when the plane went down. We're in a POW camp now, but it ain't so bad. We got beds and food and we're all here together, so I don't want you to worry. There's a library here too, which'll probably be getting a lotta use if I'm here a long while. You should send me a list of your favourite books, I'll see if I can find any of them.

Look after Meatball - make sure he doesn't forget his Pops. I'm only allowed to send one letter at a time, so I left a note at the end of this for my folks. If you'd mind passing on a message to let them know where I'm at, that'd be swell.

I dunno how long this'll take to get to you, but do me a favour and write back as soon as you can. I wanna hear everything, even the stuff you think's boring, cuz knowing you I'll only get a paragraph back if you edit that stuff out.

It's cold here without you. I'm not really a praying man, but I pray this will all be over soon so I can see you again.

All my love,

Benny

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Susie wasn't quite sure how many times she'd read Benny's letter, poking through the words over and over and over again until she could practically recite them from memory. She knew whatever the real number was would undoubtedly be embarrassing - there was mercy in not knowing. No one said a word when she slept with it tucked beneath her pillow.

Dear Benny

I've started calling you Benny now that you're not here. It still feels weird. I went to see my sister Beatrice after you went down, before I knew you were ok. She's divorcing her husband, and we talk on the phone a lot. I think we're doing better. It's nice.

Not much in the way of news to report. We've had some bad missions lately - I hope at least some of them end up where you are.

I think Maeve fancies one of Rosie's crew. Not sure which one yet. Will let you know once I figure it out. She says hi, and also wants to know if you'll sign off on letting her look after Meatball when I'm busy (He's still not allowed in my truck. Not happening.)

I know you can only send letters every now and then, but I don't know how many you can receive. I'll keep writing whenever anything letter-worthy comes up - let me know if you get them.

I hope it's not too long before I hear from you again.

I miss you too.

Susie

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Why was it so hard to write down? He wasn't even here - she'd never have to see the way his face lit up when he read those words, imagining them with her voice. Perhaps that was why. Perhaps, as difficult as it was for her to say, Susie could only bear to say it to his face. She stared at the letter in her hands, fighting the sudden urge to ball the paper up in her fist. He deserved more than these words - something substantive and real and tender to keep him going wherever he was. But when Susie reached for those things, nothing came.

With a sigh, she slotted the letter into its envelope.

She squinted against the icy wind as she stepped outside, letter tucked in her pocket, wrapping her coat tighter around herself, knuckled turning red and sore in the cold. Her scarf flapped back and forth, loose strands of hair catching in the corner of her mouth, and Susie almost lost her balance as the weight of another body fell against her, arms flung around her neck as she tried not to skid against the gravel. "Fuckin' hell," She chuckled, Maeve's laughter ringing in her ear as the girl planted her feet firmly back on the ground, falling in step beside her, arms still slung around Susie's neck in a sideways embrace.

"Morning," Maeve chirped, gloved fingers drumming an incoherent rhythm against her shoulder.

"Where've you been?"

"Took Meatball for a walk before breakfast. Saw Blakely - he says we should come by the O-Club for drinks since we haven't been in a while. Oh, and fun news for you," She had begun to smirk.

"Oh yeah?" Susie asked, pulling her scarf up to warm her chin.

"They want you training the newbie today."

Her expression contorted into an immediate grimace at the prospect. "Oh, no, I was supposed to go up to Norwich today."

"Yeah, they've given me that job."

"Are you fucking kidding?"

"Nope. Apparently she's from London."

Susie groaned, leaning sideways with her full weight until Maeve had to stagger to keep upright, a giggle escaping her. "Oh, come on," She whined. "Bet she's never seen a single-track road in her fucking life."

"Yeah, alright, Manchester," Maeve scoffed. "Get off yer high horse."

Shrugging the girl's arms off from around her, Susie snorted, readjusting her scarf. "Yeah, yeah. Just lemme go deal with it, unless you have someone else's job to steal."

"I'm happy just taking yours, actually," Maeve teased, laughing as Susie elbowed her in the side.

"Whatever. Just need to post this letter and then you can fuck off."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The engine of Maeve's truck roared as she pulled out of the ATS depot, heading out on the job that should have been Susie's. As she watched her go, she sighed. She'd never imagined anyone could yearn to go to Norwich, yet here she was. Drumming her fingers impatiently against the back of her clipboard, she crossed the yard towards the furthest garage, where her truck was parked.

A girl was standing awkwardly beside it, staring down at her feet as she tugged at her jacket, which didn't quite fit her properly. Her jet-black curls were pulled back into a tight ponytail, so neat that Susie found herself pondering at how long it must have taken.

She paused, glancing down at her notes. "... Private Banerjee? Yes?"

The girl looked up with a start, clearing her throat nervously. "Eva's fine. But yeah - no, yeah, that's right."

Susie paused a moment, slightly taken aback by her anxious exuberance. "Jesus, how old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"... Right. And you can drive?"

"Mhm. Although they said they're not letting me have a truck for a while."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm in charge," With a shrug, Susie strolled past Eva and around the truck, patting a hand against the bonnet. "Hop in. Driver's side."

Eva moved before she had quite processed the instruction, pausing after her first step. "Wait. Seriously?"

"That's an order, Private," Susie called as she climbed into the passenger seat, a glint in her eye that suggested she was enjoying this. The new girl slid into her seat hesitantly, slightly put off by this.

"I think we'll just do a lap of the base first, 'n I'll show you where everything is."

"Yes, sir... Ma'am?"

She pulled a face. "I'll call you Eva if you call me Susie."

Eva chuckled. "Deal."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The engine hummed quietly as the truck rested on the side of the road, windows rolled up against the winter cold as Susie pointed out the buildings that surrounded them. "That's the mess over there, and past it's the Officers' club," She grunted slightly, shuffling forward in her seat to get a better view. Eva craned her head, squinting as her gaze followed the line her finger made.

"What's this one?" She asked, gesturing to the closest hut.

"Debrief. You probably won't need to go in there, though."

"What's debrief?"

"It's where they send the flight crews after a mission - go over everything that happened, get a count of who went down, yunno."

At the mention of lost crews, Eva seemed to tighten, her shoulders going stiff as she sat back in her seat, staring down into her lap. Susie watched her for a moment, letting out a sigh. Propping a knee up on the seat, she turned to face her.

"Hey," She offered gently. "I'm not gonna lie to you and say this job's easy, that wouldn't do you any favours. We live around these guys and, yeah, sometimes it's hard not to get attached. You might meet someone who means a lot to you, who you swear you couldn't bear to lose. I've-" Susie paused. "... I've heard that can happen, anyway."

Gnawing at the inside of her lip, Eva nodded, tearing her gaze away from the hands folded in her lap. As she glanced up, something caught her eye, and she paused for a moment, a slight smile curling her lip.

"... Is she your sister? She looks like you."

Caught off guard, Susie looked up, noticing the old photo of Ellie still stuck to the rearview mirror. She felt her hand twitch, fighting that old recurring urge to snatch the picture away, to keep her a secret clutched tight to her chest.

But the thing was, Ellie would have never wanted to be anyone's secret. Ellie's dreams had been far too big for that.

"Uh, yeah. She was prettier than me though."

Eva's smile widened, and Susie couldn't tell if she hadn't noticed her use of the past tense, or if it simply didn't bother her.

"Yeah, mine was too."

The reply caught her by surprise. People always offered condolences. No one ever seemed to understand her. In spite of herself, she smiled. How long had it been since Susie had thought of her sister and smiled?

"What was her name?" She asked slowly.

"Sruthi," Eva nodded. "She was born back in India, and then my parents had me when they moved here. I think when they named me they wanted me to fit in with the other English kids, but I was always a bit jealous of her."

Susie chuckled, nodding. "Mine was called Ellie. She was annoying, but in that way younger siblings always get away with, yunno?"

Eva laughed in agreement. "Oh, yeah - I was always like that. Jumping on her to wake her up in the morning-"

"She did that too!" Susie blurted loudly, suddenly realising she was grinning - really, truly grinning. The pair chuckled, easing into comfortable silence. Outside the window, a group of flight and ground crew wandered past, chatting to one another, bundled in their coats and scarves. A flash of reddish hair marked Charlotte out among them, Meatball weaving between her legs, his leash secure in her hand.

"Why is everyone stealing my dog today?" She muttered, temple pressing against the cold glass as she angled for a better look.

"They let you have a dog?!" Eva gasped, shuffling forward on the edge of her seat as she searched for him.

"Well," Susie shrugged, pausing to rummage in the glovebox for a snack. "He's my partner's dog really - he brought him over from Greenland, but he's in one of those POW camps, so I'm looking after it. He's kinda becoming communal property though."

"Shit, I'm sorry," Eva frowned, accepting a slightly crumbled biscuit as the packet was offered to her, the two pausing their conversation to chew for a moment. "I always wanted a dog."

"I'm more of a cat person. But Meatball's pretty good."

"His name's Meatball? That's, uh-"

"It's a stupid fucking name."

A burst of surprised laughter escaped Eva. "Yeah, it kinda is."

"It's like naming your dog fucking Sandwich, but it was already very much a thing by the time I had any say."

Smiling, Eva propped her elbow up against the door, resting her chin against her knuckles.

"... What's your boyfriend's name?" She asked tentatively.

"Benny. He is the most annoyingly persistent person you'll ever meet in your life, but it's literally the only reason we ended up being friends in the first place. So I s'pose it was worth it."

It fell quiet again, the type of quiet Susie didn't feel an intense need to pierce. She could sit in this for a while. If she hadn't had a job to do, she would've.

"Alright, c'mon. Let's finish up and head back."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The passenger side door shut with a slam as Susie climbed out, clipboard wedged under her arm as she wrapped her scarf back around her neck against the chill, which showed no signs of subsiding as the morning trailed into afternoon. A puff of breath materialised before her as she rounded the truck, coming up to Eva's window as she cranked it down.

"Not much else I can give you to do today, but if you're back here at eight-thirty tomorrow we'll get you on something. I'll speak to the bosses and see if we can get you a truck a bit sooner, it'll just make things easier."

"Okay," Eva smiled. "Thank you."

"Yeah, no bother," Susie shrugged, glancing down at her notes. "I've got some stuff I've gotta deal with, but me and some of the other girls were gonna head to the Officers' club for drinks later if you wanna come."

"Uh... no-"

"Oh, yeah, no worries," She nodded, frowning slightly.

"No, no! Only because I don't drink, s'all. It sounds nice... I was wondering if I could maybe walk the dog sometime? Or come with you when you take him out?" Eva asked sheepishly, suddenly awkward in a way that made Susie fight the urge to smile.

"Yeah, that sounds good," She smirked. "Come by the hut whenever, he's always happy to see people. He has too much energy for me anyway."

A grin creased the younger girl's cheeks. "Alright!"

"Alright," Susie chuckled, patting the truck door with a thud as she took a step back. "Take her into the garage and then you can head out."

"Yes ma'am."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DeMarco's gloved hands lay folded across his chest, his back propped up uncomfortably against the bedframe, breath freezing in front of his face. With a bored frown, he watched the spider in the corner of the windowsill, working away at its web, spinning each silver thread with a sense of purpose he could only yearn for, sitting there in the cramped hut.

Despite the bodies that filled it, the place was quiet, exhaustion lulling the downed flight crews into silence. It had been weeks since he'd slept well, and he'd never imagined he could ache for the uncomfortable beds back at Thorpe Abbotts until now. The guard dogs barked at all hours of the night, searchlights glaring at them through the windows over and over and over, around and around and around.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, unmoving, just watching. All he knew was that he didn't have any intention of going anywhere.

The floorboards creaked loudly as Brady hurried in, a handful of envelopes clutched tightly in his gloved palm. The energy in the room shifted, like a pack of dogs whose ears had suddenly pricked. Post came unpredictably, and when it did it always promised to either lift the spirits or crush them entirely.

One by one, Brady sifted through the letters, calling out their anxious recipients.

"DeMarco," He said, holding up a single, battered envelope.

Stillness immediately shattered, DeMarco leapt to his feet, hurrying towards him and snatching the letter swiftly from his grip. The cold numbed his fingertips, even through the gloves, and it was a struggle to tear through the envelope without damaging its contents, forcing restraint despite the agonising need to read whatever words were encased within.

He unfolded the paper, running a hand across his stubbled chin as his eyes scanned through the loops and curls of Susie's handwriting, a grin spreading across his expression as he went. It wasn't until Bucky chuckled beside him that he realised how widely he was beaming.

"What's got you smiling?" He asked with a smirk.

DeMarco let out a breath of laughter, looking up from the page.

"She called me Benny."

[moreespressoformydepresso]

What are your honest thoughts on all Descendants boys? From both books and movies?

Oehh that’s a good question! I’ll base most of this off of the movies because I remember them more clearly. Sorry this is so late, I needed some time to sort out my thoughts. Let’s see:

Ben: cutie, golden retriever energy, needs to grow a bit more of a spine but as a recovering doormat I vibe with him.

He’s got a good heart, and he’s definitely going places, but I have no idea who decided a 16-year-old should be king. Hilariously, he’s a better king than his dad because he cares about all of his people, not just the “heroes”. But still, he’s 16, let him have his dumbass teenage years. He’s still in his phase of wanting to please everyone and that isn’t gonna lead to the best decision making. You’re king, Ben, you can overrule your girlfriend’s selfish idiotic plan of closing the barrier. Just tell her “the barrier was opened for you to come through too. If those kids aren’t worth the risk, does that mean you aren’t either? Should we throw you back?!” And she’s change her tune real fast. You gotta give some tough love sometimes.

Jay: cool, I wanna know his gym routine, pretty funny but rash, needs Carlos to temper his brand of crazy (love their bromance).

I love the narrative parallels to the movie Aladdin. Jafar thought himself so far above a street rat and now he’s raised his son to be one so he can continue being a con-man. In the movies, Jay is actually a very accurate representation of your upbringing shaping you into who you are. All Jay knows is stealing, he’s never been taught to pay if he doesn’t have to, so to him stealing’s perfectly fine. It’s normal. It’s a lot more subtle than the whole “who doesn’t like being evil” bit, but the core idea is the same: when all you’ve ever known is one perspective, that’s gonna feel like the objective truth because you’ve never had a chance to try a different one.

Carlos De Vil: Best (movie) Boy, my baby, I love him. What a little nerd (affectionate).

He’s a big part of why I willfully ignore the absolute stupidity that is the third movie’s ending. I’m sorry Mal, wtf is wrong with you??? You set your supposed friend’s abuser free for nothing but some empty platitudes and dare suggest you’ve become an empathetic person?!?! In the books, we get a lot more insight into just how horrible of a mother Cruella is, but even in the movies we see he’s had it bad because of how jumpy and nervous he is. Disney is still Disney so we don’t get much of the healing process, but we see how he calms down and adjusts to a normal life over the course of the movies when he’s out of the bad situation, which is pretty good by Disney standards. Cameron Boyce did an amazing job playing him (R.I.P Cameron) and seeing an abuse victim get comfortable within their own skin and getting the happy ending they deserve is always fun.

Harry Hook: Insane (affectionate), most fashionable drama queen ever, absolutely crazy, more than a few screws loose but in the best way possible, he’s hilarious.

So on the surface, Harry’s pretty simple. A dude who’s lost his marbles and flirts with everyone. He probably has some kind of moral compass, since he didn’t rip Mal’s throat out with his hook when she revealed her little stunt in D3, but it fell overboard at some point and couldn’t be found so nobody knows what it is except Harry himself. Also, he has his sane moments, like during that same confrontation in D3 I mentioned before where he says “And you, King Benny... you're probably gonna throw us all back inside.” It’s the first time I’ve heard him sound… not like Harry. It’s sombre and defeated, a little disappointed maybe? Either way it’s really good acting and it implies he can act completely “normal” but he just chooses not to, which makes me like him even more. He’s just a dude living his best life despite the circumstances he was born into.

Gil: adorable, hilarious, kinda clueless but in a good way.

I love characters that have no idea what’s going on half the time but are absolute sweethearts trying their best. He’s like- the opposite of his dad in every way and I’m living for it!

Gaston Jr and Gaston the third: I don’t have much to say on them, let alone separately, so they get a section together.

Honestly? I don’t remember having an opinion of them. They made Evie happy by wresting, which is cool so they get points for that. Seem like they’re trying to out-gentleman each other to win Evie’s heart and since they’re not being creepy assholes about it they are objectively better than their dad. Very much brawl over brains, the two of them, with their constant wrestling reminding me of Carlos and Jay except they’re both the muscle. Kinda cute sibling relationship, even if it’s in a VK-typical villain-flavored way.

Anthony Tremaine: squeeeee, my type is pretty boys who sigh in annoyance at everything, I guess? We only get scraps but I happily cradle them to my chest.

Uhmmm so Anthony’s personality is mostly up for imagination? The only canon information we have is that he’s most likely Anastasia’s only kid (someone on Tumblr pointed out that, in the scene with the wicked step-daughters, he’s referred to only as their cousin, not their brother) and he’s very bored with his cousins’ antics. Given A Twist In Time the potential drama is endless. Every time Anthony’s mentioned we’re reminded he’s pretty and has good style, and I love that for him. Dude lives on an isle of junk and still looks like a supermodel. Lots of room for my own ideas while still remaining within the realm of “could be canon” with just enough base in there that I’m not just creating an OC, and as a writer and artist that’s all I need tbh.

Hadie: cute, deserves better, I need more of him and Mal bonding

Mal’s half-brother, son of Hades, very cool. I like that he’s trying to turn good and having a hard time, because that’s very realistic for someone who grew up not knowing anything other than evil. Descendants 2 tried to tackle it with Mal, but failed miserably. We know Hades sucks as a parent in descendants (neglect is abuse) so that’s not gonna help him.

Dough: Awww he’s so cute with Evie 🥺

No really that’s it. He’s a nerd that gets the girl, has some very funny moments, but honestly most of his character is centered around Evie? And they’re cute together it’s not a bad thing but there isn’t much to analyze. He’s understandably pissed about someone like Chad getting all the girls while using them, but that’s also only ever seen in relation to Evie.

Chad Charming: what a bitch (derogatory), total coward, I hate him but he’s funny.

So I have no issue with characters who conduct themselves terribly (I love Audrey, (fanon) Anthony, Uma, and many others from many fandoms) if, and that’s a massive IF, they have a good reason for it. And I’ll count “because I can and I want to” as a good reason, because by that point you have someone who’s mean and owns it. I can appreciate the self-awareness and usually those characters are very extra so it’s entertaining. If not that, there needs to be a reason they are the way they are. Audrey has the pressure from her grandmother (and the borderline verbal abuse), Uma has the very real grievance of living in squalor on a run-down island full of the worst of humanity because she was born, what does Chad have? He’s spoiled. A spoiled brat. And he goes from that to an overtly whimpering coward with none of the pretense of superiority in any field. His one saving grace is that he’s a massive joke.

Diego De Vil, Clay Clayton, Gonzo, Jace and Harry Badun, Herkie, Aziz, Jonas, Lefou Deux, Li Shang Jr, everyone else I missed: no opinion, because they’re not relevant enough for the writers to give them a personality.

I have nothing I’m sorry. I barely remember reading their names and I don’t remember anything from the scenes they’re (mentioned) in to get an idea of what to talk about here.

That was… a lot lmao

[thalliumstraww]

Ok hear me out Parallels between Mouthwashing & I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

Anya & Ellen

-most obvious I think, they both faced violence from men, both deserved SO much better, both could make me go to war for them without thinking twice

Curly & Benny

-both were pretty good guys at the start but got horribly physically injured at the hands of the villain. Other than that idrk they’re really different.

Swansea & Nimdok

-they’re both old??? Like??? Other than that you will NOT catch me comparing my queen Swansea to that human waste.

Daisuke & Gorrister

-man idk im just reaching atp. But they’re both the most normal??? Daisuke is definitely more optimistic compared to Gorrister but like they’re trying.

AM/Ted & Jissapointment

-I would compare Ted to Jissapointment but he’s not even a SMIDGE as evil as that bitch, Ted’s just a mean gay/j. -AM though is the opposite, way way more evil. Like yeah fuck Jissapointment but AM is on some next level demon time.

Games/Stories

-yeah this is what I wanted to yap about. They both have five humans, and the whole narrative could be solved by erasing one (1) character (in IHNMAIMS’s case that character is a robot but like).Also in the games they’re both in a ship I think idk don’t ask me

OH WAIT WAIT WAIT THEY BOTH HAVE MOUTH IN THE TITLE‼️

[benev0lence]

but with you, I see hope again

pairing: logan sargeant/oscar piastri

warnings: anxiety attacks

genre: angst/fluff

word count: 590

notes: hey, so this is my first official fic. I hope you enjoy it though! also on ao3

requested: no

“I’m sorry, guys.”

It was just a practice session, yet the remorse from it stung like salt to a wound for Logan.

No, the pain he felt couldn’t even be compared to salt on an open scar. It was like he had been thrown into a deep pool, and he couldn’t swim out.

P20. P20 for qualifying, and he couldn’t even improve his time with another fresh set of softs.

Logan exhaled shakily, letting the mask he put on in public drop as he slammed shut the door to his driver’s room. He wasn’t going to let the media, the fans, the haters know that he was not in his best shape at the moment.

P20. What a disgrace, only in Formula One because of backing money.

Why is he even in this sport? Latifi deserved the seat more than him.

Williams should have taken Nyck de Vries as soon as possible instead of this waste of grid space.

The echoes. Logan’s heart was racing. He inhaled deeply once more, exhaled, but as if he was drowning, the air got knocked out of his lungs immediately, but not like when he was in love.

Logan Sargeant shouldn’t deserve to race at all.

He raised his clammy fists, rubbed them on his face despite his muscles protesting, not even noticing that cold sweat was already beading at his eyebrows. He breathed loudly, fast-paced, savouring every bit of oxygen that was able to enter his lungs, which wasn’t much to him. Once again, he didn’t notice that this time, tears were already flowing down.

He let his brain then wonder to why he can’t be as good as Oscar. Oscar, who went into almost every stage of life with him. Oscar, who was always with him. Oscar, who did wonders this qualifying, being able to drive so fast he got p2 and p1 at points in time. Oscar, who he needed next to him right now, needed his embrace.

James isn’t defending you because he wants you to stay in the team, it’s because he wants to keep his reputation.

A sob tore through Logan. The echoes were getting more and more loud, more overwhelming, so loud he didn’t hear the sound of his driver’s room door clicking open, and when he did, he didn’t even bother looking up.

“Benny,” he muttered, grinning a bit, trying to find that lost mask that he had just dropped minutes ago, but not even bothering to look up.

It wasn’t Benny.

“Logan…” That voice.

A blur of orange emerged, kneeling in front of him. Logan’s cheeks were still wet with tears, tears that couldn’t seem to stop flowing.

“It’s okay, breathe, breathe” The calming voice muttered, a pair of warm yet strong arms enveloping Logan’s body. Another sob, and another, as Oscar ran his hands through Logan’s hair softly, in a way that did help Logan feel better, but he was still trembling.

“Logan, it’s okay. It’s okay. James isn’t going to get you replaced, it’s okay.” Oscar whispered into Logan’s ear, pressing a soft kiss to Logan’s temple, in hopes of calming him down. His slate nomex was being stained by Logan’s tears, but he didn’t seem too bothered by it.

Oscar’s warmth was comforting, comforting enough to slow down Logan’s hyperventilation. He held Oscar tighter, burying his face into the brunette’s neck. His tears lessened, as Oscar pressed his lips onto Logan’s messy blonde hair.

“It’s okay” Oscar whispered. Logan knew it would be, as long as the two of them were together.

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #34

34. CYPRUS Silia Kapsis - "Liar" 15th place

Decade Ranking: 128/153 [Above Benny, below Reiley]

15th place? Generous. Good floordrops only get you so far if that's the ONLY thing you've got.

Every year there's a few acts that I thought just plain sucked, and yet can't really muster feelings of dislike for. Like, what's the point of putting in the effort of emoting if I can simply choose to focus my attention on better, worthier songs? They're shit, but that's their problem, not mine.

And that awkward little spot where those acts go is also where dear young Sillia lands. "Liar" is bad, I think we all agree? Laurel Barker still hasn't shown her busted face since "Sober" (GOOD.) but her spirit lives on in mediocre, poorly written girlbops with no substance, and this season had multiples of those. "Liar" stood out the worst to me by virtue of, well, not really standing out at all, other than for its horrible libretto.

CUZ YOU'RE A LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR YEAH YEAH YEAH YOU LIE IE IE IE YEAH YEAH YEAH

that THIS is a chorus of a Eurovision FINALIST. 😳 Futhermore the lyrics also rhyme "oolala" with "truth la la" (okay this one is ACTUALLY funny) and present Silia as some sort of... intrusive busybody calling out pther people's adultery and philandering? I suppose it's a little LESS scuffed than have Isaiah Firebrace hone his gaslighting, uglycrying and concern trollery skills at the same age. But if you're going to tweak the narrative in function of her being a minor, and attempt to steer her away from sexualization, then perhaps don't style her in a top that accentuates her cleavage? And don't end with this:

(always a telltale sign of a losing battle when you have to splice THAT into a song/act that doesn't call for it just to get a Q.)

Unlike a Nutsa or a Sarah, you can't quite say that Silia was at the top of the performance game. She was a 17 year old with limited on-stage experience, and it showed. She had memorized her stupid lines and rehearsed her stupid TikTok dances and delivered both as flat and robotic as one does when they go through the motions. The Dance Break lmao what the FUCK was this epileptic seizure:

If you want a true Performative Piece emulating a neurotic disorder, got tho say Il Senso did it better.

"SHARP. BLADES. OF. TIME. CUTS. THE. SPACE. :twitches: " 😍

Silia was in the Reiley zone where nothing she did was particularly bad but also none of the things she did were objectively good, and it balances out in blandness. It was all just a little bit too much "Participation Trophy" material, which is the Cypriot special by now. Btw, did you know it is a Greek hand-me-down? ("Liar" starts at 0:59)

That's right, this was the song that lost to "WHAT THEY SAY" and then tried to fight its loss in court and lost the appeal. This song is so embarrasing it lost in an internal selection to Victor Vernikos.

Ofc behind all of this lay a huge shitstorm of a selection with Cyprus planning to do an NF on Greek soil based on a format ERT had planned and trashed sometime in the past. Greece found out and threatened to blank Cyprus completely if they appropriated their NF concept, which forced Cyprus to recruit another Australian and contact Kontopoulos who still had "Liar" in his folder, with the hopes that the badness would fly under the radar.

But don't worry Cyprus repaid Greece by ranking Eden ahead of Marina in the jury vote. 🙂 I wouldn't blame the Greeks if they invaded and annexed (or bribed the Turks to do it for them) 🙂

So yeah, Cyprus made the final. Unfortunate because it rewards an entry that deliberately plays lowest base on several levels. I suppose I would find Liar's advancement offensive in most cases, but like... it's semi 1. Half of the acts in that shitshow deserved to get the boot including Silia yes, and all five acts that were eliminated, so whatevs. Do we really care which shitty acts made it in, if at least three of them were advancing anyway, idfts. Finland was the only one I wanted to see dead (not literally. i think.) and that was never happening in a full televote from that second half.

Besides, the finale had a much bigger fish to fry, and Cyprus's generous-AF 15th place overall (reminder: this is the same placement Maraaya and Zalagasper got in WORSE finals) feels like such a trifle in comparison. So, I'm FINE with ranking her barely into yellow today. Pray that we're spared more degenerative nonsense from this clown country next year if there's a next yeah and and if Poseidon doesn't make the disrespectful island sink into the sea for its many crimes against Marina Satti.

THE RANKING

[marvelsdc22]

Fault

Summary: When life and stress gets to you, you make a decision, whether it was a good decision or not is a different story.

Before you knew it, a week had passed and you were slowly becoming more comfortable with the town that you were staying at, making some friends with some of the locals, there was of course Sammy at the Inn but there was also Issac at the Surf Shop who has been trying to get you to join him on some lessons with the surf boards, stating “It’ll help you be able to do PT for yourself AND help give you something fun to do here”  you would be lying to yourself if you said that you weren’t tempted to do it, there was also Sean who owned Blvck Market who was always kind to you but you mostly spoke with one of his workers, Benny, who was trying their damnedest to get you to buy the ring you had been eyeing for Lena, but you always hesitated, especially after what you just did, you figured that she would want nothing to do with you.

Heading out of the Inn, making sure to wave to Sammy on your way out, you finally turned your phone back on after having left it off since you turned it off the first day here, knowing you had to say something to try to ease your friends and family, heading across the way to the cafe, you were greeted by Hana, her giving you her usual smile “Usual?” She asked, this place having become one of your daily stops so you had quickly become a regular “Please” you smiled before going and claiming your usual spot in the corner, taking a deep breath before you finally hit the call button.

You listened as the phone rang once, twice she’s not going to- you heard your mothers voice finally fill your ears “Y/N! Oh my god, don’t you ever do that again, I was worried sick about you, Lena is worried sick about you!” She scolded, hearing the relief in her words but you still winced since while you deserved the scolding, it still didn’t feel good “I know… I’m sorry, I just… I needed some space” you apologized, biting your lip and giving Hana a small smile when she set your drink and chocolate scone in front of you.

“Where are you? Are you safe? Do I need to come get you?” She asked, shooting off the questions faster than you had the chance to answer which made you chuckle slightly “I’m in Rhode Island… I’m safe… And no, you don’t have to come get me, I’m actually feeling quite at ease here” you said, leaning back slightly as you tapped your finger on the table in front of you “Is Lena okay?” Biting your lip as you asked the one question that’s been gnawing at you this entire time.

You heard your mother let out a sigh “She’s upset and worried, she’s been drowning herself in her work when she’s not trying to look for you or reach out to you” she told you, knowing it probably wasn’t the news that you wanted to hear but it was all the information she had to give you, Lena was even ignoring her calls with how much she buried herself in her work.

It didn’t make you feel better hearing that, but you were glad to know that she was still around either way, knowing that she was going to be your next call, that was going to be a rough phone call so you changed topics with your mom, assuring her that you were doing okay here and that you would be back in a few weeks, promising her that you would see a doctor while you were here to help make sure everything was going well with your stump before you both said your goodbyes.

By the time you finally got the courage to call Lena, you had already finished your coffee and half of your scone, it feeling like a pit in your stomach as you hit the call button, the phone barely ringing before Lena picked up, sounding frantic “Y/N?” She asked, making your heart pang in your chest “Hi…” you answered, wincing once more when she let out a harsh laugh of disbelief “You run away and ghost me for a week and all you have to say to me is ‘hi’?” She asked, all the anger finally bubbling up.

“I know… I’m sorry and I know that’s not going to fix what I did, I needed space and I should’ve just talked to you instead of just up and leaving, everything was getting to me, it was suffocating me and I just needed to get away and I thought me giving you space would let you actually be able to live-” “Y/N,-” she interrupted “-like you just said you could’ve talked to me… We’re a team, I would’ve given you what you needed, I have plenty to do to get ready for the school year, why did you just leave? Was it me? Did I do something?” She asked, that having been nagging her since the day you left.

You quickly shook your head before you remembered that she couldn’t see you “No, baby no… It was nothing you did, it was all me and I am so sorry for worrying you” you stated, feeling your heart clench at the thought of her thinking that it was because of her that you had left “I promise that we can now talk everyday, I’m feeling better and I miss you” you admitted, biting your lip at the silence you got in return “I miss you too, but…” oh no, not the dreaded but “I need time, I don’t want to just take you back and you just leave again… We’ve been through too much for you to not trust me with something like this, I know I’ll always love you but I don’t know if we can go back to being an ‘us’, I can’t take this heartache anymore”.

You sat on the line, that dreaded beep having hit your ear several minutes ago as you sat there and processed what had just happened, you and Lena were no more… And it was all your fault.

Taglist:

@unexpected-character

[trulybetty]

Sunday Week In Review XIV

How's everyone doing? I skipped out on last week's update since it was a really slow week on all fronts for all the things for me last week. Things picked up a bit this week - but I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time finding my feet around here at the moment and finding a groove to get into.

Not sure if it's that time of year, a bit of a writing lull or what - but I've been a little meh, not in the sad sense - more like I'm a petulant child offered six different things and I turn my nose up at all of them because I don't know what I want lol.

Also trying to figure out a system for getting through my TBR list, right now it feels like it's out of control and there are only so many I can read in a week. Especially since I want to get through some of my physical TBR pile and dedicate a couple nights a week to offline reading.

Anyway, enough about me seemingly channelling Baby Truly™️ - on with the recap of the last two weeks!

T R U L Y   U P D A T E S . . .

I did a second round of the 'First Sentence' ask game, which I absolutely adore! If you haven't done it before, I very much recommend it! If you do this, tag me so I can come throw a sentence at you!

Round 2

tim x cagney (f!reader)

jack x reader (f!reader)

joel x Charlotte (OFC)

dieter x bryony (OFC)

jack x reader (f!reader)

frankie x clementine (OFC)

W H A T   I   R E A D . . .

Delta Landscaping (Triple Frontier) by @rhoorl Jess' series has me on tenterhooks for every update and then on the edge of my seat waiting for more! This last update we entered the start of Frankie's arch and while it pulls at the heartstrings, I'm so here for it and what's to come next! Also, Benny entering his Rocky era (Jess didn't write this, I've decided it) is something I'm also very much ready for!

Paranoid Hearts (Javi P.) by @goodwithcheese This series. This series is just something else and I finally got my ass into gear to get caught up, and while on the one hand, I'm sorry I started so late on the other hand I enjoyed this smorgasbord of Javi and Tabitha.

he makes life better (Joel) by @wildemaven This is such a warm comforting hug of a fic that just seeps into your bones, that makes your toes curl in softness and you re-read more than once. This is everything fluff should make you feel and I adore each and every last part of this and will be re-reading this.

Headshots (Marcus P.) by @secretelephanttattoo I was not ready for this to end, but El gave our boy Marcus the ending he and his Ella deserved and it was both spicy and sweet. If you've not read this yet, I suggest you do. Also, peep her forthcoming wip... 🔎

Thrash Metal (Dieter) by @morallyinept Jett is back with another delectably mouthwatering smutty one-shot with our favourite deviant Dieter Bravo. This is sinfully indulgent and a must-read and one that lends itself to definitely more than one read.

Six and a half minutes - Frankie's version by @avastrasposts This one calls for a breakout of the Hot Ones gif for sure, because this was the mood the entire time I read this. If anything, Frankie is not one to back down from a challenge...

Medicine (Joel) by @goodwithcheese I was so excited to see Megan had written for Joel that I had to drop everything to read this over my coffee the other morning. I love everything about the dynamic between these two and how Megan illustrates the deep affection they have for one another through their actions as we all know our post-outbreak Miller is not one quick with his words. I hope this isn't the last we see of Joel here!

M E M O R A B L E   P O S T S . . .

Heidi’s amazing mood board inspired by Sequins! 😍 I’m still in absolute awe of it and I love it so much! I think it's going to get a spot on my work desk this week! 💕

These thots had started off as Joel Thots, but have now morphed into Tim Thots and I'm not mad about it... might share a little snippet later 😏

@morallyinept's 'Ode to Writers' this week - I'm going to refrain from getting on my soapbox here (I'd be here all day) - but the table is not finite, it's infinite. If you're not inching your chair down to make room for another chair, or pulling the spare chairs in from the garage, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your relationship with this community.

E N J O Y E D  T H I S  W E E K  . . .

Finally watching ‘Strange Way of Life’ and getting to live message my thots to @rhoorl as I watched - it was a cinematic dissection.

Date night with Mr. Truly - we spent the entire two hours wondering what people do on dates aside from watching their phones and waiting for a call to say your kids are out of control and have taken over Nakatomi Plaza. But needless to say, we had fun, I even ate a meal without someone else's hand in it.

Amazing moots being mooting awesome 🙌 - I'm thankful every day that I get to interact with some wonderful people and have found a lovely corner of this hell site to play in a sandbox with some amazing people 💕

S P E C I A L M E N T I O N . . .

Check out this writing challenge that myself and a group of people that I'm lucky to call moots created that we would love for you to join in on! Everything about it is random and everyone starts with the same parameters and everything else after that is up to you! So excited to see what everyone does with this!

Do I know anything about Javi Pēna? Nope. Am I going to join in? Yes I am! 🙌

See you January 1st to dive into all the fics this challenge I hope produces! 💛

T H I S  W E E K ' S  J A M . . .

Thank you to @gnpwdrnwhiskey for inspiring this week's selection after she pointed out the parallels to Chiffon that I haven't been able to get out of my head since.

Hope everyone has had a great week! Here's to a great week ahead and I hope its a good one full of obnoxious drinks of choice and soft places to land and enjoy.

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

Murphy's 500 Followers Celebration!!

masterlist.

in honour of this very exciting milestone, I thought I'd have a little celebration. i'm going to be writing short drabbles of your choosing!! i've created a prompt list, but I am absolutely encouraging your own ideas x

how to request -

pick a category - fluff, angst or smut

pick a character - there is a list below, but I am open to more suggestions!!

pick a dialogue prompt and/or a scenario prompt - there is a list below - feel free to choose multiple!!

then, send it in to me!! use the button at the top of my page, or request here !!

I'm gonna start writing next week, on 22/04. maybe earlier if I have the time. feel free to request multiple drabbles- the more I get sent, the more fun we'll have!!

Categories -

☀️ Fluff

🌧️ Angst

🔥 Smut

Characters -

Top Gun Maverick

Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw

Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia

Robert "Bob" Floyd

✦

The Last of Us

Joel Miller

Tommy Miller

✦

Marvel

Steve Rogers

Bucky Barnes

Stucky

Sam Wilson

Matt Murdock

Frank Castle

✦

Succession

Stewy Hosseini

Kendall Roy

✦

Triple Frontier

Will Miller

Frankie Morales

Benny Miller

Santiago Garcia

✦

Narcos

Javier Peña

Steve Murphy

Colonel Carrillo

✦

The Bear

Carmen Berzatto

✦

Sons of Anarchy

Jax Teller

✦

9-1-1

Eddie Diaz

Evan Buckley

✦

Criminal Minds

Spencer Reid

Luke Alvez

Derek Morgan

✦

Dialogue Prompts -

1. "You love me?"

2. "Don't go on that date."

3. "Will you let me cut your hair?"

4. "Marry me."

5. "It's always been you."

6. "You're my best friend."

7. "You were my first love."

8. "I had a dream about you."

9. "I saw this and it reminded me of you."

10. "I have something to tell you."

11. "I thought you hated me."

12. "Is that all you got?"

13. "In your dreams."

14. "I don't deserve you."

15. "Talk to me."

16. "Is that my shirt?"

17. "I would choose you over anyone."

18. "You look so pretty like this."

19. "Most beautiful sound I've ever heard."

20. "You're killing me." / "You're gonna be the death of me."

21. "Just like that."

22. "Use your words."

23. "Good girl." / "Perfect girl."

24. "You like it when I'm mean to you?"

25. "Let's get out of here."

26. "You don't want them to hear, do you?"

27. "I need you."

28. "Let me see those eyes." / "Keep your eyes on me."

29. "Tell me what you want."

30. "I can't get enough of you."

31. "Wanted this for so long."

32. "Can I touch you?"

33. "Been thinking about you all day."

34. "You look so pretty on your knees."

35. "Better than I ever imagined."

36. "Let him watch."

37. "Let me hear you."

38. "Tell me you're mine."

39. "I'm yours."

40. "I love you."

41. "Don't you dare walk away from me."

42. "I can't do this anymore."

43. "You don't deserve me." / "I deserve better."

44. "Was any of this even real?"

45. "How stupid do you think I am?"

46. "Please don't leave me."

47. "I wish you were here."

48. "Do not raise your voice at me."

49. "Stay. Please."

50. "Don't tell me to calm down."

Scenario Prompts -

a. Kissing in the rain

b. First kiss

c. Electricity blackout

d. Camping

e. Heatwave

f. Childhood best friends

g. Grumpy / sunshine

h. Fake dating

i. Only one bed

j. Moving in together

k. Finding out you're pregnant

l. Catching eyes in a crowded room

m. Keeping the relationship a secret

n. Blind date

o. Reunion

p. Meet cute

q. Cheesy pick up lines

r. Exes

s. College friends / lovers

t. Roommates

u. Coming home drunk

v. Singing together / dancing together

w. An accidental kiss

x. A bet

y. Brothers best friend / best friends brother

z. Reading to each other

✦

these are just suggestions / jumping off points!! if you have an idea you'd like me to write a drabble for, just send it over. can't wait to see what you lovely people come up with. excited!! as always, so much love x

[albertasunrise]

Only You - Why Him?

Masterlist

Summary: Having spent most of your life in relationships that went nowhere. You struggled to trust that this man… this ray of sunshine… wouldn’t leave you eventually. (18+)

Relationships: Reader x Ben Miller

Warnings:Like AO3, I choose to give none. Read at your own risk. 18+ (So was gonna get this up tomorrow but decided to drop it today instead 🙈)

Series Masterlist - Part 1

“He what?!” Ben expelled, his volume taking you by surprise.

“He proposed!” You repeated, trying to keep your voice steady as you spoke.

“And you said yes?” He pushed, heart, beating so hard he was sure you could hear it.

“Yes, Benny… I said yes!” You growled, growing frustrated at his line of questions.

“But why?”

“Because he loves me and I love him.”

“But the prick cheated on you!” Ben snapped and you flinched, your mind momentarily being dragged back to the moment you’d discovered Mike kissing another woman.

“We talked about that.” You scoffed “She was a friend… She’d gotten into his head about us.”

“Us?”

“You and me.” You elaborated “She’d planted doubts in his head… convinced him you and I were sneaking around behind his back.”

“So he decided to do the same?”

“He fucked up okay!” You snarled “We all make em’!”

“He doesn’t trust you if he allowed her to convince him that we were sneakin’ around!” Ben was unable to hide his disbelief “You deserve so much better Stitch!” I “Well, I don’t exactly have a queue of men waiting to do right by me.” You scoffed.

“Why him?” Ben pushed, his tone suddenly vulnerable and your brows pulled together as you pondered his question.

“Why not?”

That wasn’t an answer and you both knew it. Yet neither of you could bring yourselves to question it further. Ben ran a hand through his blonde locks before glancing at the door and then back at you.

“I should go.” Ben piped up after a few tense minutes, pushing himself to his feet “I’ll see you later.”

“Ben!” You called out, hurt and confused by his reaction to your news “Where are you?…”

“I need to get out of here!” Ben replied, back still turned to you.

“Why?” You choked. Your heart breaking.

“Because I can’t watch this.” He replied. Tears falling freely as he walked to your door.

“Can’t watch what?” You called out but he didn’t reply “Ben!”

The younger Miller didn’t reply. He just got in his truck and ignored how you stood on your drive, sobbing as you watched him leave.

You didn’t understand why he’d reacted so poorly to your news.

You’d expected him to be excited for you. You had hoped he’d have held you close and congratulated you on your wonderful news. Not walk out disappointed in you. It hurt you that the man you’d come to look at as one of your best friends had just walked away from you.

If only you’d known why.

…

Benny was on his second beer of the evening. He’d barely spoken a word to anyone but what had confused Frankie to no end was how he’d spoken exactly zero words to you.

He has spared you a few glances but nothing more and it was clear how much it affected you.

Frankie was about to pull Ben to one side and call him out on it when you revealed exactly why Ben was so off.

“So I have some exciting news.” You piped up when Will had finished talking about his latest work drama.

“I hope it's more exciting than Will’s tale!” Frankie teased, receiving a finger from the older Miller.

“Well, I think it is.” You chuckled nervously, smiling to yourself as you lifted your left for everyone to see “Mike asked me to marry him.”

“Well shit.” Will expelled as he grabbed your hand to inspect the monstrous rock they’d all managed to miss “That’s amazing news, congrats!”

“Are you happy?” Frankie asked and you nodded, your eye’s glancing at Ben who was looking elsewhere.

“Ben, aren’t you gonna congratulate her?” Nudged Will and finally Ben looked at them.

“Already knew.” The younger man shrugged, then returned to staring out of the window.

“So how did he ask?” Will asked, brushing off his brother’s response.

“Well uh… its a funny story actually…” You chuckled to yourself “We’d gotten into a fight over something silly… it was stupid! Anyway, we were yelling at each other and then he just sorta blurted it out!”

“Hardly call cheating silly!” Ben grumbled, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“What was that?” Frank asked, brows pulling together as he glanced between you and Ben.

“Nothing!” The blonde replied before pushing himself to his feet and grabbing his empty beer bottle “Need a drink… Be right back.” He mumbled before making his way over to the bar.

“What’s his problem?” Will asked and you simply shrugged, unable to mask how hurt you were feeling.

“I’ll go check on him.” Frankie announced before getting to his feet “Anyone else needs a drink whilst I’m up there?”

You and Will simply shook your heads.

“Don’t Fish!” Ben warned when Frankie stepped up beside his friend, his eyes not leaving the tv overhead.

“I get you’re hurting but-“

“Hurting?” Ben scoffed “I’m in agony.” Ben choked “But what’s worse is that that fucker cheated on her and yet still she ran back to him.”

"He cheated on her?" Ben nodded and Frankie sighed "Like fucked someone else or…"

"She caught him kissing someone else." Ben elaborated "But still! He's an asshole."

“So what… you’re just gonna cut her out because she didn’t choose you?” Frank snapped "He did a shitting thing but she doesn't deserve you blanking her because you got your feelings hurt."

“I’m not cutting her out.” Ben groaned, scraping a hand over his face.

“No?” Fish pushed “Cus it sure looks like it! You’ve not spoken a word to her or looked at her all evening!”

“Fish-“

“You need to either tell her the truth or suck it up because she’s hurting and I won’t stand by and let you treat her like this.” Frankie warned, “I’m not beyond kicking your ass.” He finished before swiping the new beer the bartender had brought him up and taking a long pull “Think about it.”

Frankie joined the rest of the table leaving Ben to ponder what his friend had told him. The pilot was right. He did have to decide. But one choice would mean he’d likely lose you. The other. He’d be in pain the rest of his life.

…

In the week that followed that announcement, Ben continued to be distant.

You’d been sad at first but now as time went on, you just grew angry. Your hectic days had managed to distract you from your issues with Ben but your evenings were often empty. Leaving you time to dwell.

So you had been relieved when Maria had invited you over to do some wedding planning, Frankie hanging around in the background. Very much on baby duty.

"What do you think of an outdoor ceremony?" Maria asked as she showed you some of the ideas she'd saved in a Pinterest folder "Don't you think they look so elegant?"

"They do." You gushed, your eyes almost certainly moulding into hearts "But do you think Mike would like it?"

"I think that man will let you have whatever you want!" She replied, giving you a look that said more than words ever could.

"I suppose you're right but it's his day as much as it is mine." You countered "He has to enjoy it too!"

"You're too kind for your own good!" She chuckled as she poured you some more wine "You spoken to Ben lately?" She asked as she topped up her own glass and you sighed.

"No." You mumbled, taking a sip of the rich red liquid before continuing "I just don't get why he's being like this… I mean I know that he was angry that Mike had kissed that… Well you know but it was my decision to forgive him. What gives him the right to be angry at me?"

"Oh, hun." Maria sighed as she grabbed your hand and gave it a friendly squeeze "Ben's not angry at you. He's just hurting."

"Why?" You asked, your tone jumping from pissed to worried "Has something happened?"

"Well yeah." She replied with a nod "You got engaged!"

"I don't follow…" You trailed off, unsure as to what Maria was getting at and the older woman sighed.

"That boy is head over heels in love with you." She stated, smirking when your eyes almost popped out of your skull.

"He's what?"

"He's in love with you." She repeated.

"Bullshit." You scoffed as you took another large gulp of wine.

"It's the truth hun." She continued "Frankie gave him an ultimatum at the bar the other week. Tell you or suck it up… I guess he's not done either."

"But he… We never… He's in love with me?"

You weren't sure whether to believe what Maria was telling you. You were waiting for the other shoe to drop. For her to start laughing and tell you that she was only messing with you. Yet she didn't. She just sat there with a sympathetic look on her face as she waited for you to process what she'd told you.

"Why didn't he just tell me?"

"Cus' the boy's a moron." Piped up Frankie as he entered the kitchen to grab a beer "The first night we all went out was meant to be a date… just you and him but at the last minute he panicked and ended up inviting us all."

"He panicked?" You asked and he nodded.

"He's never felt for anyone the way he feels for you." He confessed "You make him stupid and his behaviour right now is him being exactly that… Stupid."

"I need to go talk to him." You said as you grabbed your wine and necked the last of it, hoping it would bring you some courage.

"Let me take you over at least!" Frank offered, placing his unopened beverage back into the fridge.

"What are you going to tell him?" Maria asked as she handed you your coat.

"I uh… Well shit, I haven't thought about it." You replied honestly as you looked between the couple nervously.

"How do you feel about him?" Maria asked you and you sighed.

"I'm crazy about him." You confided, a nervous smile crossing your face "I didn't think… That night we met and you were all there I just assumed he wanted to be friends. I never thought for even a second that he liked me."

"Then you need to tell him that." Maria stated plainly as she gave you a warm smile "You need to be honest with him and yourself… before you marry the wrong man!"

"You ready to go Hermosa?" Frankie asked and you nodded.

"Let's go."

…

Frankie pulled up outside Ben's building and gave you a warm smile.

"Call me if you need anything okay?" He stated and you nodded, leaning over to give him a hug before jumping out of the car.

You skipped to the door of his building and typed the code in, heart racing as you sprinted up the stairs two steps at a time. When you made it to his floor, the hallway seemed to stretch on forever. Then coming to a stop outside his door, you let out a shaky breath before knocking. Hands shaking from a mixture of nerves and excitement.

The moment the door opened your heart stopped. It wasn't Ben that greeted you. It was a beautiful woman with long blonde waves and stunningly green eyes.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a sickly sweet tone.

"Is Ben in?" You asked and she nodded before calling for him over her shoulder.

She moved out of the way so that Ben could take her place before placing a sensual kiss on his cheek.

"Don't be too long." She purred before slinking out of view and you could swear the sound of your heart shattering echoed through the hall.

"What are you doing here Stitch?" He asked, his tone making you flinch.

"I uh… Well, I came to tell you something but uh… It seems like I caught you at a bad time." You choked as you blink furiously in an attempt to stay your tears.

"Tell me what?"

"It's not something I want to discuss in the hallway of your building." You growled, angry tears pushing through despite your best efforts.

"Well as you can see I have company so can it wait?" He asked and you sobbed then.

"Got I'm so stupid."

Ben's brows drew together then as he watched you fall apart. You didn't even try to stop the tears. You just let them fall freely as you started to fumble for your phone.

"I need to go." You said, panicking more when you failed to find your phone, only to groan in frustration when it fell from your pocket and clunked on the floor.

"Woah. Stitch… What the hell is going on?" Ben pushed, grabbing your arm when you attempted to retreat.

"Get off of me." You growled, eyes burning as you glared at him and he shrunk back but didn't leave "I knew they were wrong." You scoffed "Knew there was no way that it was true."

"That what was true?" Ben asked, his confusion plastered all over his face "What are you talking about."

"Frank and Maria told me that you were in love with me." You growled "Clearly they were mistaken." You finished before bringing up the number you needed and pressing call "Bye Ben."

The younger Miller stood there in shock, his mind taking longer than he would have liked to catch up with his feet. When he'd made it to the main entrance you were hopping back into Frank's truck, the man had stopped at Ben's local liquor store to fetch more wine for his wife.

Ben called out for you but he knew he was too late. You were out of earshot and speeding out of site and he sobbed as he watched you leave. Cursing his decision to call Kayleigh. He'd hoped that some no strings attached sex would help him work out some frustrations. He'd never thought for a second that you would turn up at his door.

Yet you had and the expression you wore… One of heartbreak and betrayal would be permanently seared into his memory for the rest of his life. He knew he had to make this right… He just wasn't sure how.

…

You'd ignored every call and message from Ben. You'd declined drinks with the group. You'd barely left your apartment. You hated the fact you'd let Frank and Maria get your hopes up. You'd known deep down that there was no way that Ben liked you… so there was no hope in hell that the man loved you. He was well out of your league and you were painfully aware of that. If you were being honest with yourself, you knew that Mike was too but for whatever reason, the man had chosen to spend the rest of his days with you so it gave you some comfort to know that you wouldn't end up alone.

Maria had been hounding you all day to go to the bar with them. Mike was out of town on business and she'd thought that it would take your mind off of being alone. Little did she know that Mike wasn't the reason you had been so withdrawn. She had finally relented though and so that is how you had found yourself drinking wine alone and watching reruns of friends.

BANG BANG BANG

You groaned as the sound echoed through your house. You weren't sure who could possibly have decided to visit you at 9 pm on a Saturday and if you were being honest with yourself, you were in no humour to entertain.

BANG BANG BANG

You angrily pushed yourself to your feet and traipsed over to the door, opening it aggressively as you went to glare at the offender.

"What do you…" You trailed off when you saw a sad and flustered-looking Ben in your doorway. "Ben… What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk." He answered breathlessly, brows pulled together tightly "Can I come in?"

You held the door open wider and motioned for him to enter, watching him as he made his way over to your couch and perched himself on the edge. You followed him and sat down on the couch across from him, watching him closely as you waited for him to speak.

"So… You wanted to talk." You grumbled, "So talk!"

"You said that Frank and Maria told you that I was in love with you." He started and you nodded.

"Clearly they were way off base." You scoffed, grabbing your wine and gulping the last of it down before grabbing the bottle to replenish it.

"They were telling the truth." He piped up and your hand stilled as your eyes drifted up to look at him "I fell in love with you more or less the moment I first saw you."

"But-" Ben held up his hand and you stopped talking.

"I kept trying to figure out ways of asking you out but I kept bottling it." He confessed as he wiped one of his large hands over his mouth "I'd never been so nervous to ask someone out before but then… I've never felt like this about someone before."

"Ben…"

"Then you and Mike started dating and I'd missed my chance." He choked "So I convinced myself that I would get over you… that these feelings would fade only they didn't… They got worse and then you caught Mike with that other woman and I dared let myself hope that the universe was giving me another chance…" he trailed off, tearful eyes locking with yours as he let out a shaky breath "And then you told me that you were going to marry him and my world fell apart."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" You wept, tears slipping down your cheeks as you held his gaze.

"Because I didn't want to lose you." He confessed "But I also didn't know how to cope with these feelings so I decided that maybe a casual fucking situation would help me keep my mind off it but… Sex doesn't fix shit."

"Ben I…" You pushed yourself to your feet and started to pace "I just… I don't-"

Ben stood up and grabbed your shoulders, eyes locked with yours.

"Baby I love you… and I am so sorry that I hurt you but I was fallin' apart."

"I'm with Mike." You sobbed but he just shook his head.

"You don't have to be."

"I said I'd marry him."

"You can change your mind." He stated, his breath mingling with yours as he edged closer and closer to you "You can choose not to."

"Ben… Ben I-"

He stopped you with a kiss. His lips were soft against yours and his beard prickly. It was all different and all so perfect. His hands grabbed your hips and pulled you flush against his firm body before he laced his hand in your hair and deepened the kiss. You moaned when his tongue started to dance with yours and your core throbbed as he started to kiss down your neck.

"Ben… please."

"What… What do you want?" He breathed, his tongue laving your skin and driving you mad.

"Fuck me…" You whined "I want you to fuck me."

He tore your shirt open without ceremony, buttons pinging off the walls and the floor. He groaned when he pulled it down your shoulders to reveal your full breasts and normally you'd be self-conscious of the fact that they aren't perky or small but with Ben, you weren't. He pushed you back onto the couch and quickly latched onto one, sucking and flicking it with expert precision.

"Benny." You whined, your centre aching for him "Please I need more."

He pulled back so that he could tear off his shirt and pull down his shorts. Revealing his aching passion for you to ogle at from where you lay. Then he was on you again, kissing down your body. Nibbling and licking at your most sensitive areas before coming to a stop at your mound, still hidden beneath your sleep shorts. He looked up at you for silent permission which you gave with an eager nod of your head and he pulled down your shorts wearing a shit-eating grin when he revealed how soaked you were for him.

He dove straight in. Licking and sucking at your little bundle of nerves and pulling sounds from you that you didn't even know you were capable of. He was good with his mouth, amazing but it just wasn't quite enough to push you over the edge. Sensing this Ben pushed two fingers into your heat and crooked them just right. Sending you hurtling over and you gushed into his mouth as you screamed his name.

You didn't even have time to be embarrassed that you'd made a mess of him as he was pulling his briefs down and pushing into you quicker than you could blink. He was big. Filling you more than you were used to so you help him still a moment as you adjusted to his size, choosing to sloppily kiss him in the meantime.

"You feel so perfect." Ben purred as he started to thrust a little, each drag of his length inside of you setting off fireworks in your belly "Dreamt of this."

"Mmmm… Me too." You purred as you grabbed the globes of his ass and urged him to go faster "Fuck me, Benny… Fuck me harder! I can take it."

Ben didn't need to be asked twice. He snapped his hips back and forth with deadly accuracy, hitting your G-spot over and over again. You dug your nails into the strong muscles in his back as you sobbed from the pleasure this man was bringing you. You could feel yourself edging closer and closer to your next orgasm and Ben could feel it too which only made him double his efforts.

"Cum for me beautiful…" He purred "Let me feel you."

It took a dozen more thrusts to have you gushing and squeezing him, dragging him right along with you. Then the two of you lay there, panting and glistening in sweat as you revel in your post-sex high. He rolled onto his side and you rolled to face him, smiling as he cupped your cheek and kissed you sweetly.

"We shouldn't have done that." You said softly although you were struggling to regret it.

"I'm sorry but I am not sorry that this happened." Ben confessed "I love you and I think you love me too… So you need to choose…" He trailed off, his expression turning serious.

"Me, or Mike!"

Next

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[sammygender]

SEASON EIGHT FINAL TAKES

LIKES

- KEVIN. <3. my beloved. he deserves so much better.

- crowley main villain would be so good if they utilised him consistently….

- trials would have been so insanely good if they’d been throughout the whole season instead of in like. The last 5 episodes.

- its nice that sam got to be happy with a girlfriend and a dog for a little bit before he was inevitably dragged back into toxic codependency w dean

- meg!

- dean is a dick in a way that gradually becomes interesting

- brainwashed cas is a cool concept!!

- i finally started actually going hard for destiel 8x17 was crazy…. i need you….

in short all the concepts this season were cool and interesting

DISLIKES

- killed meg :( just as i was starting to really like her

- dean is a dick

- sam has like no arc until the trials (why the fuck do the trials start so late nothing happens)

- benny. i’m sorry. i had zero interest in his entire character. they picked the wrong time to introduce him because by the end id warmed to him a little because dean had stopped annoying me quite so much and i could appreciate how fucking gay they were. but like. how could i want to see dean’s stupid macho vampire boyfriend at the start of s8 after he kept yelling at sam for trying to heal and break the cycle and move on. i didn’t even want to see dean

- purgatory was fucking boring. that’s not what purgatory is. go read the bible

- as always, cas pops in and out of the season, only showing up for good episodes and skipping the bad ones, which is a shame, because bad episodes would’ve been vastly improved by cas

execution of everything was awful. first half was just so mediocre. spent the whole time waiting for the trials. Trials were great though! finale stretch was really good which i think means i’ve put it over s6

rankings for me personally rn

s4 > s5 > s3 > s1 > s7 > s2 > s8 > s6

s2 is much better than s7 but s7 means the world to me so it has to be higher sorry. (I liked s7 a lot!). s5 is also better than s4 but s4 is when i first became a true samgirl so it is beloved to me

[ilovecupcakesandtea]

Chapter one Chapter six My master list

Title: Chapter five

Word Count: 1614

Archive Warnings: Smut in future chapters. Slight angst. Alcohol misuse.

Rating: E

Pairing(s): Eddie Munson/Steve Harrington Robin Buckley/Chrissy Cunningham

Character(s): Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Chrissy Cunningham, Benny, Uncle Wayne & The Party

Tags: Smut. Angst. Steddie. Buckingham. Steve Harrington. Eddie Munson. Robin Buckley. Chrissy Cunningham. Band AU. TW Alcohol use.

Summary (optional): Two different styles of music, two boys that really don't like each other. What could possibly go wrong?

Beta Reader: Thank you so much to my beautiful beta readers @slippy-slip @ladydarklord & @dontwasteyourchances

Art link and credit: Art is by the wonderfully talented @pink-luna-moth (as is the banner)

Fic link and credit: Ao3 Link

AN: First off thank you to Alex for the art and being just amazing to work alongside. Thank you to Slip for dragging me back from the edge so many times over this. I really am so excited to have this out here!!

I wrote this for the @strangerthingsreversebigbang event and had a lot of fun doing so!!

Divider links: reblog and music notes

Graduation came and went, and before they knew it they had a regular Friday night slot at the Hideout. The Spitfires had been playing weekly there for a few weeks now and each week it felt like they got better and better. More and more people seemed to be there each week and last week, they had stepped off the stage to a small crowd of fans waiting for them.

The music they were writing together felt like it was getting better too. It turned out that as the four of them, they could each see things in a song others couldn’t. Steve was constantly trying to find the beat in the song and moving words around to fit that beat better. Robin was great with the linguistics of their writing and changing words as needed. Chrissy was the best at making sure the whole thing flowed perfectly, and Eddie was primarily the songwriter, spending many a sleepless night hunched over his notepad until the sun started to rise and he had to grab a couple hours of sleep before school. Since they had all graduated, time not spent working their summer jobs was spent together, either practice or writing time. 

One Friday at the end of their set, they were greeted off-stage by Benny himself. 

“Great set as always,” He said “Come with me a second?” he asked before walking off to his office.

“So I’m friends with the manager of Healer in Indy. I’ve had a word with her and got you a spot next Friday. Not headlining, but on before the headliners. You lot deserve to be playing at a bigger place, give you a chance of getting more fans.”

“Seriously?! That’s awesome, Thank you so much, man!” Steve exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. 

The band spent the rest of the night celebrating and talking about the future. How they were going to spend their first million and such. 

A week later, the band was backstage at Healer. A nervous energy flowed through each of them. The venue was packed and the band that had gone on before them had been amazing. 

“How are we meant to follow that?” Chrissy asked, panic only just being disguised from her voice. 

“Oh bunny, you’re going to be so good up there on stage, god I wish I could be in the crowd just so I could watch you up there.” Robin soothed, pulling her girlfriend close and kissing her softly. 

Steve and Eddie stepped away, closer to the stage allowing the girlfriends a moment alone.

What felt like both fleeting seconds and an eternity later, the band was on stage. The lights were bright and hot, hitting them all in their faces immediately. This was a new level for the band. So many more people than they were used to playing to and a much bigger venue. 

“Good evening beautiful people! My name is Eddie, this is Chrissy, that's Robin and the half-naked dude on the drums is Steve.” Eddie said into the mic, pointing to everyone in turn. “We’re The Spitfires” 

40 minutes later, the four walked off stage, physically drained but mentally flying high. It was the best gig they had ever played. The energy they had got back from the crowd was immense. Loud cheering at the solos they played and even shouts for an encore when they left the stage. 

Heading to the small green room, they all got freshened up, changed, and went to mix with the crowd. It felt so good to have people seeking them out to let them know how much they loved the set, wanting to know when they were next playing and where, asking if they had any music recorded and released yet. 

They had all been chatting and dancing for a while when a guy walked over to Robin and started to dance with her. She moved away from him and the guy followed. 

“Leave me alone please, I’m in a relationship and don’t want to dance with you” Robin shouted at him over the music. 

“Aww come on sweet thing, he’s not here right now, come dance with me. One dance won’t hurt.” The guy replied, grabbing Robin and pulling her to him. 

“Get off me!” Robin screamed, catching the attention of Steve straight away. 

“She said no, leave her alone” Steve growled attempting to pull the guy away from Robin. 

“Awww your boyfriend came to your aid, how very knight in shining armour of him.” The guy snickered, 

“I’m not her boyfriend. But the lady said no so go the fuck away before I make you.” Steve responded. 

“Make me,” came the reply before the guy moved forward, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. 

“I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re doing but I think you should leave, now” the voice of Eddie came from behind him. 

“And who the fuck are you? A second cock for this slut?” the guy spat.

“I’m the guy that’s getting your ass out of here for speaking about one of my best friends like that.” Eddie seethed, pulling the guy away from Steve and Robin.

“Get your hands off me, let me go” the guy shouted at Eddie. 

“Absolutely fucking not, you utterly vile excuse of a human. You are exactly the reason women are scared to go out alone. You’re lucky I’m in a really good mood or I’d cut your dick off and force it up your nose.” Eddie shouted as he threw the man to the ground outside the club. 

“That was so fucking hot” Steve breathed heavily as he pulled Eddie down into an alleyway and pressed him against the wall. “The way you stood up for Robin, the way you manhandled him out of there, so fucking hot.” 

“Oh really big boy? Like the idea of me being all manly like that, hmmm?” Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow before leaning forward and kissing Steve tentatively at first. 

Steve pressed him further into the wall and deepened the kiss. Grabbing Eddie's shirt, soft fabric in his fingers, and the slight grazing of skin under his palms, Steve pulled the other man towards him. Tongues chased each other and breaths mingled, thoughts of anything but each other stopped. 

Moving from kissing Eddie's lips to his neck Steve continued to kiss down, exposing more of the other's body. Sinking to his knees, he undid Eddie’s belt and pulled his trousers down just enough to be able to take his dick out of his underwear. 

“Fuck” Steve whispered, almost to himself, as he freed Eddie from the confines of his tight jeans. 

“Just going to stare, or do something with it hmm, princess?” Eddie questioned, looking down at the boy in front of him on his knees. 

“God you’re so fucking insufferable, you know that right, Munson?” Steve bit back, starting to stroke Eddie slowly. 

“Either use that bratty mouth of yours for some good or don’t, but you’re the one that initiated this. Might I remind you we are outside.” Eddie quirked an eyebrow and smirked slightly.

Taking the base of Eddie’s cock firmer in his hand Steve stroked harder and quicker. Looking up at the other man through his eyelashes he ran his tongue on the underside of him before taking the soft head into his mouth and swirling his tongue around and taking more into his mouth. 

“Shit, sweetheart, if I’d have known your mouth was as good at sucking dick as it is mouthing off, I’d have had you on your knees ages ago” Eddie sighed, taking Steve’s cheek into the palm of his hand. 

Taking more and more of the dick into his mouth and then down his throat Steve moved his hand away from the base and down to the balls, taking one in hand and massaging them. 

“Fuck sweetheart, taking me so well, look at you, so fucking pretty with a cock in your mouth, much prettier when you’re not being an insufferable brat” Eddie said, reaching down and taking a fist full of Steve’s hair pulling his head back slightly. “Want me to cum down your throat, sweet thing? Keep things cleaner?” Steve nodded the best he could in response, not breaking eye contact; he could feel his eyes getting wet and his vision was becoming a little blurry around the edges from lack of oxygen. That heady feeling and Eddie looking down at him with pupils blown was all he needed to cum untouched, a whimper on his lips the best he could. 

“Stevie baby, did you just cum from sucking me off? Jesus, you really are something else.” Eddie panted, thrusting his hips slightly. 

Steve’s glazed-over look, a blush on his cheeks, and his eyes so blown Eddie couldn’t tell you the colour was all he needed to spill down the other man's throat with a grunt. 

The two walked back into the club, grabbed fresh drinks from the bar, and went in different directions.

Heading to the bathroom 20 minutes later Eddie saw two people pressed close in the small hallways very clearly making out. It wasn’t until he got closer that he realised that it was Steve pressed against the wall. Eddie went numb; this just proved to him that whatever he felt for Steve was completely one-sided. 

“How do I taste?” Eddie asked, thinly veiled mania in his voice. 

“What?” The guy attached to Steve replied.

“I asked how the IPA tastes here?” Eddie responded, smiling. 

“I don’t know, I’m busy here so fuck off”

“Yeah, I can see that, have a good night, Stevie” Eddie said, walking off and leaving the club.