#i got excited when i saw natalia a Tiny Angel

[wellamarke]

i finally saw stranger things 3 and i have thoughts that i will break down by character ((they are not very deep thoughts, they are mostly love)) 

first, the kids

1. my beautiful son, will byers, for once did not have a hell ride of a season and got to smile a couple times. he took a bit of a back seat really, and i feel sorry for noah schnapp for all the ‘neck scratching’ memes he’ll be buried in now that it was basically his signature move for 8 episodes (and not even a particularly useful one) but anyway... the destruction of castle byers was one of the most heartbreaking scenes and i would have liked to see more fallout from it, but we can’t have everything. mike’s ‘it’s not my fault you don’t like girls’ line? eiiiish can we get some follow up in s4 please. (it might not be your fault mike but you’re involved lmao) so anyway. glad will got a breather season, but man when he was crying so much in the goodbye scene, i felt that. could not cope. 

2. lucas!!!!!!!! my treasured son!!!! i love him so much. he was such a hero this season! he is always down to fight with his catapult and i adore him. i love what a terrible casanova he makes. i wish there had been some kind of glimpse of him looking after max after she watched her brother die, because that’s a complicated thing for those two. but s4 awaits. i would love to see lucas take a more central role in s4, incidentally. in terms of the boys, s1 was mike’s time to shine, s2 was will’s, s3 was arguably dustin since he got the most time away from the group? s4 lucas please and thank you 

3. my angel daughter max, i love her, she’s so brave and brilliant, and she is such a good friend to el, and although billy-as-he-was didn’t deserve her, she was a good sister, too. i worry about her a lot. lucas and max better be the front and centre couple of s4, i swear. it’s their time. let them. i guess i was a little confused at first at how much max’s style changed between seasons, but i support her always, and her clothes now are so happy and cute. she’s adorable. now somebody please make sure she’s alright. where is her mom 

4. dustin, light of my life, he is a good child and i am proud of him! i have always related to dustin’s position in the friend group lmao so to see him off with his own little crew was very adorable. i love him as both steve and robin’s child and steve and robin’s parent. he is so resourceful and i love that they finally utilised gaten’s angel voice! i was so glad suzie turned out to be real and plot-relevant (kinda), please can she come for a visit in s4? thank you. 

5. eleven, my daughter, my small small child, she broke my heart so much this season and i am so proud of her for finding herself. her s4 arc of regaining her powers will be very interesting and i’m excited for her and joyce’s relationship to be developed more, because i love them both. i really appreciated them going for the angle of ‘eleven needs to exist outside of mike’, partly because the way they were behaving at the beginning of the season did seem to make sense for kids their age with a connection like theirs, and it is healthier for them to.... not. at least sometimes. el is so hardcore, i love how her dialogue is still written a little stilted while still letting her express herself. she had so many iconic lines. i can’t believe they took hop away from her. also i’m a little disappointed (but not surprised) that there was no kali.

6. mike, my child, my gangly and adorable son, he was a joy this season (even when he was whinging). you know what killed me? how TALL he was when he hugged his mother at the end, especially compared to the s1 scene after will’s “body” is found. logically i know that these are actors who are growing up but it feels like an assault every time they flashback to their tiny s1 selves, and mike is just a giant now. bless him. he is a good boy who is trying his best. i don’t really understand why he didn’t tell el what hopper had said much earlier, but he’s a silly teenage boy, so, you know. it’s like that. 

7. erica my precious daughter, oh my goodness, i enjoyed her immensely. i’m so glad she’s properly part of the crew and is beginning to embrace the nerdy part of herself. icon. priah ferguson is an entire gemstone. when nancy etc graduate to the adult storylines and mike and co are the resident teens, erica will be the lynchpin of the new generation and i couldn’t be happier about that. 

now, the teens

1. nancy was so iconic this year, DAMN. this girl never rests and i love her. i’m glad the romantic drama was minimised, just enough to keep them interesting but not so you really worried she was going to pingpong back to steve or anything silly like that. nancy is such a role model truly. she’s so brave. my life, when billy’s car was hurtling towards her and she just stayed shooting. that’s my girl. (also, she’s so gorgeous. i feel like 80s fashion happened mainly so that natalia dyer could recreate it)

2. STEVE my sweet sweet son. again, an icon. i can’t believe they actually kept him in that sailor suit the whole season. what a national treasure. when he slammed billy’s car! i cheered. i’m very proud of the person he has become and his friendship with robin is just adorable. so glad that they will be able to discuss pretty girls together now that they work at the arcade. also, maybe he could make it to the end of s4 without cutting up his face, but that’s probably too much to ask, isn’t it? 

3. robin is my entire heart, i can’t even express how much i love this girl. she’s so clever and brave and wonderful and i can’t wait for her and will to share a scene (because cOME ON the solidarity!!!). i love her sarcasm and wit, and how she just jumps into the madness and gets stuff done. a queen. welcome to the family, robin. 

4. jonathan my boyyyyy, he was lovely this season, i was so proud of him when he took the situation in hand with el’s injury (even if she ended up doing the surgery herself!) i am excited for him to be el’s big brother as well as will’s (side note: el and will are sure to be the cutest siblings) and hopefully he and nancy can continue to navigate the stormy sea of being the teen flagship without too much on-again-off-again. we get it, they’re meant for each other. loved their moment with the scar at the end. 

5. oh, billy. i will admit, i felt bad for him a couple of times, and he certainly suffered enough, not that his treatment of lucas in s2 will ever be excused. dacre montgomery really gives the most, which makes billy weirdly watchable. i will never understand why they chose to bring back the karen wheeler stuff, brrrrrrr, but, yeah. i’m glad they didn’t exactly “redeem” him, but managed to kill him off while still adding depth. (he tried to save el and good on him for that, but in the end it was joyce who stopped the mindflayer, so). 

aaand the adults!

1. murray was a complete delight, and i was thrilled to have him along for the ride. i’m heartbroken that murray/alexei will not rise, because that had potential.

2. joyce was wonderful and hilarious and brave and heartbreaking and perfect, of course. i can’t believe they’ve now killed off BOTH her love interests (as far as she knows, anyway). that poor woman. i hope she can continue in her role of best mother ever, now that she has an extra traumatised child on her hands. joyce is the true mvp. the moral strength that woman has. the brains. the curiosity. she’s a way of life. 

3. hopper, where do i start. i actually didn’t like him much at the start of the season. i get that he hasn’t had a teenager before, but he seemed to take a little too much delight in petrifying mike, especially since he knew how much it would genuinely hurt el. that seemed a bit extreme for the sake of not wanting to give a corny speech. but anyway. this man is a true trooper. so many fight scenes. and we’re supposed to assume he’s not actually dead, right? the post-credits scene in russia was almost entirely pointless (big deal, they got a demogorgon) apart from the line, ‘no, not the american’... i mean, surely that’s hopper? surely? murray is unaccounted for in the time jump, i suppose, but no way he was captured and not joyce. both or neither. man, imagine the reunion with el and joyce, if hopper really isn’t dead. i’m going with he’s not dead. we never saw any remains. kudos for still making his apparent demise pack a whole punch, though. that letter destroyed me. 

other things:

1. the turning-people-into-goo stuff was so horrifying, how do you even go about creating those visuals 

2. some of the fight scenes i kind of let happen without really watching, and just came back to see who was still upright by the end, how do people watch this stuff

3. joyce didn’t decorate her house :( in fact the magnets undecorated themselves, as a forerunner to the entire house being stripped.... wow....

4. mr clarke is an absolute beaut and i love the way he was used (although it was strange not to have dustin included!)

5. i love love love how this show operates, with different teams finding different parts of the mystery and piecing it together under fire. i love how none of them ever go, “hey, we should tell the other people who are usually involved in this stuff, chances are they’ve got themselves into it this time around.” 

6. the byers’ dog is still unaccounted for 

#stranger things #stranger things spoilers #mileven #lumax #jancy #jopper

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Matrimony: Chapter 6

Author’s Note: The time has come for Mike and Maggie’s wedding! Come along and see how Natalia and Rafael pulled off a dream wedding in just one night! @rauliskafan and I hope you enjoy this final chapter to this installment of A Hard Lesson Series! Stay tuned for more to come your way! 

           “Here she comes!”

           Rafael led Maggie towards the sound of Rollins’ excited voice as she fluffed Jesse’s hair. He promised to never let her fall. Suddenly he wondered if his legs would hold up on the sand.

           “Well, ladies? We’re doing this!” Maggie held out the chiffon skirt tinged in a pink hue, a series of white swirls adorning the bodice and dotting the barely there bolero sleeves. And he only knew that much because Natalia hoped for the gown from the moment she laid eyes on it.

           “Maggie,” Natalia whispered. “I’m so happy for you.”

           “Thanks for helping me with the threads,” Maggie said. “I…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Violetta, the little girl stomping forward with her tiny brow furrowed.

           “You know this not the dress I wanted,” she said.

           “I’m sorry, Violetta. Did I make a mistake?” Just having calmed her down, Rafael moved to steady her when Violetta smiled.

           “It okay. Mami like your best fairy godmother.”

           Natalia fell to her knees to kiss her pink cheek as Violetta waved one fingers before her mother’s eyes.

           “But no smoking, Mami.” Natalia looked to Rafael in confusion as he sighed.

           “I’ll explain later,” he promised when a stray piano and a single trumpet played a Rodgers and Hammerstein overture.

           “Fitting that it’s Cinderella,” Rafael whispered.

           “Let’s hope I can live up to the hype, counselor.”

Rollins walked down a long red rug spread over beach. Liv went next, helping Noah along to ensure that he balanced the ring, Natalia winked over her shoulder.

           “I’ll see you when you’re a wife.” Natalia’s feet glided against the carpet as she minded the flower girls.

           “Violetta thinks it’s a competition,” Maggie said. A bouquet’s worth of petals spilled to the ground and Jesse finally gave up and set her basket aside, running to her mother as they all joined the groomsmen on the makeshift altar.

           And then the music shifted into bridal chorus.

           “We good?” Rafael asked.

           “We’re almost golden,” Maggie muttered.

           “Let’s get Cinderella to her prince.”

           Folding chairs adorned with ribbons and unfamiliar faces save for Alessia and Lucia met their procession. Rafael stayed a step back as Dodds shook his hand and helped Maggie to the small platform wreathed in ivy, his smile brighter than the sun.  

           “Who gives this woman to be married?”

           He froze. For a moment, Rafael felt as if it was his first attempt before a jury, the words trapped in his throat and his notes forgotten. Until he found Natalia’s eyes, saw her sweet smile. As his gaze shifted to Maggie, he savored the chance to speak before a crowd. not to argue for a condemnation. Much better to praise a promise, and he took the ballerina’s hand in his.

           “I do,” he said. “Best wishes, little sister.”

           Kissing her cheek, Rafael was ready to join his mother and Alessia in the front row when Violetta waved him closer.

           “Muñequita?” he asked. “Is something---?”

           “You stay, Papi. You belong up here with us.”

           His mother laughed with Alessia, and he searched his mind for some way to bow out gracefully when Maggie spoke up.

           “I should have thought of that myself, counselor,” she confessed. “Please don’t go.”

           She smiled through her veil, and Rafael stood at the Noah’s side as the celebrant, a minister from the chorus, spoke up.

           “I understand that the couple has written their own vows?”

           Maggie sighed, her light breath causing her veil to billow as she looked into the sergeant’s eyes.

           “The night we first met,” she began. “I wasn’t very friendly to you. I said you had a square jaw. Didn’t think that you could dance.”

           She tightened her grip on his hand and took a deep breath.

           “Your face is so fine. Maybe we still have to work on the dancing.”

           The bridesmaids laughed as Dodds grin expanded.

           “It’s a funny thing when you’re on the stage. Maybe some of our guests know the feeling.”

           The actors acknowledged their understanding as Maggie turned away and looked to Natalia before finding Dodds’ eyes again.

           “Everyone’s looking at you. Still it’s… sometimes it’s like no one sees you. But you see me, Mike. All of me. Natty told me that you were a hero.”

           Rafael shared a look with his wife, their minds connecting around the memory of the man taking a bullet that spared Violetta from harm. Now the little girl stood strong and rapt, watching a fairy tale come to life before her eyes.

           “I love that you’re so brave. That you keep the world safe. I didn’t think someone like you could ever love me. But there you were. And I love you back. So much. Mike, I want to see your face every day. I… I only want to dance with you.”

           Her lips touched his cheek through the stream of lace as the water rippled a few feet away. Dodds peered at her for several long seconds until Fin nudged him and he clasped Maggie’s arms.

           “I don’t know if I can top that,” he started. “I keep thinking about when you first said you loved me. Up until then I wasn’t sure if you did. If I was enough.”

           “Oh, Mike.”

           “Tia Maggie, it his turn.”

           Natalia tried to shush Violetta as Dodds shot the little girl a quick smile.

           “Thank you, Little V,” he continued. “I really want to say this.”

           Dodds touched her face as his smile broadened.

           “I’ve had lots of love in my life.”

      He nodded at the Chief, the older man starting to tear up as Liv met his gaze.

    “Lots of love here today. But never anyone like you. Never someone so sure and funny. Maybe a little crazy.”

   Their noses touched through the veil as he wrapped one arm around her waist.

           “I want all of it. All of you. Tomorrow’s not enough. I’m banking on forever, Maggie.”  

           Fin took the rings from Noah’s pillow. Maggie parroted the celebrant’s words as she pressed the golden band into place.

           But Dodds had an addendum at the end of his vow.

           “And I’ll always give you my coat to keep you warm.”

           Maggie lowered her eyes as her lips curled into a smirk.

           “We won’t be cold anymore,” she murmured. “Not as long as we’re together.”

           When they were pronounced man and wife, Dodds lifted the veil, smiling, seemingly lost in her stare until Violetta jumped up.

           “Kiss her, Tio Mike! Why I have to tell you that?”

           The sergeant saluted the flower girl and pulled his bride to his lips, the wedding party and the actors clapping as the miniature orchestra started a new tune, the actors’ voices meshing in perfect harmony.

Ten minutes ago I saw you I looked up when you came through the door. My head started reeling, You gave me the feeling The room had no ceiling or floor…

The couple laughed as Natalia lifted Violetta into her arms.

“Natty, you really didn’t have to do this,” Maggie said.

“Yes I did. What are sisters for?”

I have found her, she's an angel With the dust of the stars in her eyes...

    Kissing her cheek, Maggie started to walk back up the aisle, and Rafael held up his wrist and the cufflink.

           “You didn’t let me fall,” Maggie said.

           “It was all you. You were perfect.”

     Leaving the altar and making their way back to the castle, Rafael watched Natalia take Fin’s arm as the others paired up until he was left with Noah.

           “You and me, kid?” he asked.

           “Papi!”

           Violetta scampered back upon a trail of flowers, her father ready to take her hand when she batted him away.

           “Noah my date!”

           His daughter pulled the ring bearer up the aisle as Rafael laughed and looked to the other lonely little flower girl and held out his hand.

           “There’s a party inside.”

           They climbed the stone steps and walked through a lobby bearing posters of previous productions with a variety of medieval touches, empty armor plackarts, swords and shields.

           “What do you think, Jesse?” he asked.

           “I think Sonny brought lunch!”

Several long tables were full of food. Jesse hugged Carisi’s legs as the detective tasted the sauce and smiled.

“How’d you manage this?” Rollins asked.

“I knew this town sounded familiar,” he said as he checked the antipasto spread. “My cousin Anthony knows this guy Tuddy who left Brooklyn to set up shop. Would you believe that he started with a hole in the wall pizzeria?”

           “I think I saw that place,” Rafael admitted as Liv handed him a drink. “They did all this?”

           “Don’t let appearances deceive you, Barba,” Carisi continued. “Tuddy’s got a whole place right by a winery just west of here. They do weddings.”

           “You’re just mentioning that now?” Rafael asked. The detective’s tongue tied as Natalia joined them. “It could have come in---”

           “Atticus, hush,” she said as she tipped the glass towards her husband’s mouth. “Maggie had to have a castle.”

           “And you granted her wish.”

Entering the theatre, seeing the sets for Cinderella’s ball as the lights dimmed, Fin took a microphone from one of the actors and cleared his throat.

           “Ladies and gentleman, I give you, all the way from Manhattan, Mike and Maggie Dodds.” Maggie giggled at the sound of her new name and they waltzed around the faux flowers and Christmas lights looking like magic, the actors breaking into song again as they snapped pictures and Rollins sighed.

           “Nice,” she started. “I could go for something like this. Someday.” She found her glass empty as Carisi offered her a refill with Jesse in his arms.

           “Remember; I’m full of surprises.”

           Rafael saw her cheeks flush as the first dance came to an end and the director of the troupe invited the others to join them on set. Noah rushed forward first as Jesse asked to be let down.

           “Watch it!” Violetta warned. “Noah all mine!”

           Rafael watched the little boy hide behind a pumpkin as the girls became fascinated by the ladies of the company in their princess garb and Liv went to save her son.

            “I’m dizzy! And it’s fabulous!” Maggie exclaimed. With Natalia back under his arm, Rafael followed the happy couple to the lobby and stole a stuffed mushroom as Maggie spun under Dodds’ hand.

           “Thank you,” the bride said. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

           “We were so happy to help” Natalia assured her.

           “And Carisi did the food,” Rafael said.

           “Natty, don’t you love our friends?”

           She hugged her sister as Natalia adjusted her veil.

           “And our family.”

           Rafael pulled Dodds aside as they talked and he poured him a drink.

           “Feeling good?” the ADA asked.

           “Think I’ll like being married,” Dodds admitted.

           “Only a matter of time before they’re dragging us on vacations.”

           “Double dates to the opera,” Dodds said.

            “Are you a fan?”

            “I’ll learn. How hard can it be?”

            Rafael clinked his glass with a smile.

    “We’ll start you off with Puccini. It’s our favorite. And Natalia can correct you if you get anything wrong.”

    They moved back to their wives when Natalia called after her mother.

    “Is something the matter, Mommy?” she asked.

     “No I… I just want to check on…”

    Trevor emerged from the shadows with his hands in his pockets. The music from the theatre turned to a pop tune and Rafael saw Dodds ready to show the man the way out when Maggie cut him off at the pass.

    “You came,” Maggie started.

   “Alessia… she let me know about the change of plans. I wanted to see you on your big day.”

           “Is that all?” she asked.

           “It’s more than I hoped for.”

           The lobby stayed silent save for the clinking of a few actors’ cutlery against their plates.

           “I probably should take my leave now,” Trevor said. “You know there’s a train station not a stone’s throw from here?”

           “We are well aware,” Rafael answered as Trevor took Maggie’s hand.

           “Be happy, my darling…” As he raised his eyes, Rafael followed his gaze to the pair of sapphire gems adorning Maggie’s ears.

           “You… you wore them?” Trevor managed.

           “Something old, borrowed, and blue” she said. “Do you… you can stay and have some food. A few drinks.”

           “A dance with the bride?” Trevor hopefully asked.

           “Maybe we can arrange that, too.”

           Taking Dodds’ arm, Maggie moved back to the theatre as Natalia caught her father’s eye.

           “Something new?” Trevor asked.

           “It’s a start.”

           The party carried into the night, Liv and Maggie changing partners on Cinderella’s set. The Chief smiled at the bride as Natalia waltzed Trevor in their direction. When Maggie ultimately accepted the Englishman’s hands, Natalia passed by Rollins and Carisi talking softly in the wings and fell into the front row.      

           “So…”

           “A job well done, Atticus.”

           Kneeling in the aisle, Rafael pulled his bride into his arms and kissed her neck, basking in the music of her laughter as she played with his hair.

           “Best trip to New Jersey I ever took.”

           “You just didn’t want to schlep all the way to Vermont.”

           “But you know that I would have.”

           She was silent as she slid to her feet in the blush pink dress, her delicate fingers straightening his tie before guiding him to the back of the theatre and finding a quiet corner resting under a coat of arms.

           “Thank you,” she started as she stroked his cheek.

           “All I had to do was keep from falling,” he joked.

           “So light on your feet,” she teased. “But I mean… thank you helping make this happen. For loving my sister.”

           He looked back to see Maggie in her husband’s arms as the actors tried to match her steps.  But the ballerina would not be bested as she hiked up her skirt, pirouetting on pointe...

           And Dodds captured her in mid-spin.

           “Look at that will you,” he said. The sergeant lifted her off the ground, Maggie’s skirt looking like angel’s wings as the actors applauded and she slipped into his kiss. “He can dance.”

           “It’s because they fit,” Natalia said as she turned his eyes back to hers. “Just like us.”

           “Hermosa… I told you that I love it when we’re in sync.”

           “Which we are. Which we always will be.”

           Wanting to take her to the beach, to walk with her on the sand and simply see her face in the moonlight, he stalled when a squealing voice sliced into the mood.

           “What you two doing?” Violetta asked. Smiling, Natalia smoothed her skirt and took hold of her tiny hands.

           “Are you liking the party, my little love?” she asked.

           “I think Tia Maggie look so pretty.”

           “Yes she does,” Natalia agreed. “A bride is always happy on her wedding day.”

           “Were you, Mami?”

           “I…”

           Even in the shadows, he saw his wife’s eyes mist over as she held his face and sighed softly.

           “It was the day I got everything that I ever wanted.”

           Rafael longed to meet her lips when Violetta pulled them back to the crowd with surprising strength and climbed the steps to the stage.

           “I gonna get married, too!” she declared. “Me and Noah.”

           The little boy ran off in the other direction with Fin in pursuit. But Violetta was unfazed.

“He get used to the idea,” she said. “And I be the best bride!”

           “Oh no,” Rafael warned. “No weddings for you.”

           “Never, Papi?” she whined.

           “Maybe one day, muñequita,” he conceded as her little face fell. “Let’s say when you’re… seventy-eight.”

           Natalia laughed as her little girl’s head turned in an effort to work out the numbers.

           “Okay,” she said. “But I not gonna let my hair get gray, Papi. There products to fix that.”

           “Sweet pea, silver only makes your Papi more special.”

           When the music picked up again, Rafael saw Fin asking Rollins to try a few steps as Carisi twirled Jesse on the stage. Taking a cue from the cop, he lifted Violetta into his arms and reached for Natalia’s hand.

           “Sure you wouldn’t rather have someone else?” he whispered.

           “Not as long as I live, Atticus.”

           “Make it longer,” Rafael said. “Like my brother-in-law said, I’m banking on forever.”

           “It’s a deal.”

           They danced until the break of dawn. Only then did Maggie scurry back to the beach to toss her bouquet.

           “All the single ladies!” Maggie cried out.

           Several actresses took center stage on the sand. Lucia urged Alessia forward and Violetta demanded a chance when she saw Jesse getting in on the action.

           “What can it hurt?” Rollins said. “Pretty sure they won’t---”

           But Jesse did. To Violetta’s supreme frustration. She looked ready to burst as Jesse approached her mother with the bouquet in hand.

           “You’re next, Momma.”

           Rollins blushed and hung her head as Carisi offered her a mimosa in the morning air.

           “Amanda?”

           She accepted the drink as Jesse smiled.

           “Sorry!” Maggie said as she hugged her niece. “I was aiming for you.”

           “I guess it okay,” Violetta finally conceded. “You happily ever after, Maggie?”

           The bride’s eyes turned towards Dodds, his tie askew, an unending smile plastered across his face, and the ballerina kissed her niece.

           “All the way, Violetta.”

           “Then I rest my case. That what I should say. Right, Papi?”

           Loving his little lawyer and his hermosa flor holding out her hand, Rafael grinned.

           “Couldn’t have put it any better, muñequita.”

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