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confusedgayscreeching · 24 days ago

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Steve knows it’s him, would recognize that hair anywhere. Thankfully it’s the back of his head, so he thinks he can sneak out before Eddie sees him.

They broke up three months ago, but Steve’s not ready to face the man. It wasn’t as amicable as they’ve told their friends, and Steve would prefer if everyone at this party didn’t see him cry.

He ducks around a couple people standing near the couch, and heads toward the kitchen. He knows he can cut to the front door that way, and avoid the crowd in the hallway, including Eddie.

His heart feels like it’s pounding against his rib cage as he weaves through the crowd of people. He hasn’t been this affected by Eddie in months. It’s almost like his body can sense the man is nearby. He was always drawn to him, like a magnet was tucked under his skin.

“Steve!” Mark, one of the guys from his economics class, is waving him over.

Steve’s too scared to check if Eddie heard Mark or not, so he rushes to the guy forcing a smile on his face.

“Hey, man. Um, I was actually leaving.” Steve gives him an apologetic smile and attempts to continue his path to the kitchen.

“Ah, noooooo. Come on! The party is just getting started.” Mark tosses his arm over Steve’s shoulder, shaking him back and forth.

“Ha, um, yeah, but I’ve got something in the morning. Sorry, man. Really. I’ll see you later, though.”

Steve shrugs the guy’s arm off and rushes around the corner. Just as he passes the threshold of the kitchen, he bumps nearly face first into someone’s chest.

“Shit.”

“Sorr-,” the apology dries up on the end of his tongue, when he lifts his chin, and sees a set of eyes he hasn’t looked into in months.

“Steve?” Eddie looks just as thrown off his axis as Steve feels.

He has to clear his throat before he can find his voice. He tries to summon every ounce of courage he can to sound unaffected. “Hey.”

“H-hey,” Eddie’s eyes are wide, clearly surprised by Steve’s presence.

“Sorry, I was just leaving.” Steve ignores the weakness in his knees and moves around Eddie.

He’s so close to the exit, he can almost taste the night air. He takes several more steps before he feels fingers wrap around his wrist, tugging him to a stop.

“Wait, Steve.” He whips his head around to see it’s Eddie’s fingers gripping him tight. “Wait, please.”

Steve looks down where they’re connected, sees Eddie’s fingers holding him like they belong there. Like Eddie hadn’t disappeared for the last several months of Steve’s life. Steve can’t comprehend what’s going on, and furrows his brows, staring confused. Eddie nervously releases his grip on Steve but doesn’t back away.

It’s been three months since Steve felt Eddie’s touch, and even if it doesn’t leave a mark on his skin he’ll feel it on his heart for weeks. He doesn’t want to acknowledge how much he’s missed it. If he lets himself then he knows it’ll take even longer to get over the man. He’s barely started socializing again. Tonight was the first party he’s been to since the split. He was so sure Eddie wouldn’t be here. It was supposed to be mostly jocks, guys on Steve’s swim team and the baseball team, not Eddie’s scene.

“What do you want?” Steve wraps his hand around where Eddie’s just left, silently hoping to feel something left behind.

“I just-“ Eddie’s mouth opens and closes a few times like he’s trying to figure out how to finish the sentence.

Steve can feel the partygoers moving around them, like they’re a couple of trees growing in the middle of a river. He’s uncomfortable, feels exposed, and crosses his arms tightly over his chest while Eddie continues to stare.

“What?” Irritation bleeds through his tone.

“I-I just…” Eddie hesitates again before sighing heavily. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

Steve narrows his eyes, knows there’s more sitting on the tip of Eddie’s tongue. “Well, great, thanks.” He doesn’t want to hear it let alone in the middle of a frat party.

Steve spins on his heels, feeling like that was enough interaction with the man that tore his heart out for one night, and continues stomping toward the door. He’s relieved when he’s not stopped again, pushing past the bottleneck of people mingling at the doorway, and making his way outside.

He jumps down the stairs, feet landing hard on the sidewalk, and he feels like he’s far enough away to finally catch his breath. He bows over at his waist, rests his hands on his knees, and ignores the sting in his eyes. He takes large lungful breaths, trying to slow his heart down. Robin would be so proud of him for how he handled that.

When he thinks he’s calmed down he stands up, lets his head tip back, and exhales hard at the stars. He’s ignoring the big stocky guy hunched over the bushes beside him.

“Steve?”

He turns to see Eddie standing at the top of the stairs. He can’t help himself and rolls his eyes, hands immediately moving to his hips.

“What?”

“I know you don’t want to talk to me.” Eddie rushes while moving down the stairs. “I just need to tell you, you were right. About everything.” He stops a few feet before Steve. His hands are waving around like they do when he’s passionate about what he’s saying. “I’m an idiot and I wanted you to know you were right. I knew I was going to fuck it all up and then I did and I wish I could take it back but I can’t and I’m sorry but you’re better off without me anyway. You were always too good for me and I was too stupid to realize it and I saw you standing there and I hadn’t realized how much I missed seeing you, looking at you, getting to be near you. I’m so sorry, Steve.”

Steve stands there, dumbfounded. His eyes taking in the sight of Eddie frantically trying to get everything out in one breath. If he wasn’t desperately trying to clutch onto his pride he’d think it was cute.

“Ok?” He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to respond to all this information.

“Sorry, shit. You don’t need to say anything. Fuck, I didn’t mean to dump all of that on you.”

Eddie takes a step back, like he wants to give Steve space, but Steve has had enough space. So he moves forward to fill the new distance, Eddie’s eyes widen slightly.

“What-, um, what was I right about?” He’s pretty sure he knows but he needs to hear it.

“About, uh, about me, m-my feelings, us, the whole shebang.” He says with an awkward smile.

“Hmm?” Steve takes another step forward and shrugs. “I don’t really remember? What was it I said?” He can feel his fingertips brushing the olive branch.

Eddie presses his lips together and looks nervously around them, then lowers his voice. “It wasn’t casual. Y-you said, um, you said I was emotionally constipated and wouldn’t know love if it bit the tip of my dick off.”

“That does sound like me.”

There was more to the argument but that was the gist of Steve’s frustration. Eddie had been denying his feelings, ignoring what was building between the two men for months. When Steve finally took the chance and confessed he was in love with Eddie, Eddie reacted in the most immature way possible and it caused the fight that split them up.

“You, um,” Eddie swallows hard and looks away. “You also said, uh, you could see us together for- like forever? Is that, I mean, was that true?”

Steve stares, waits for Eddie’s eyes to lift and meet his, before nodding. It had been something he’d felt in his bones. A future where he woke up with Eddie’s hair caught in his face, their socks getting mixed together, soft goodbye cheek kisses, silent communication through years of togetherness, warm love, happily together forever. But Eddie hadn’t seen the same thing.

“Right.” Eddie nods before quickly bringing a knuckle under his eye and wiping something away. “I guess I really fucked that up, huh?” He chuckles like he can’t believe his luck.

Steve can feel the tiny flame of hope sparkle in his chest. He knows this is stupid, knows Robin would yell at him, but he’s missed Eddie so much, he can’t help himself. He takes one more step forward and nudges the toe of Eddie’s shoe with his own.

“Hey, um, this might be crazy but… do you wanna grab like a burger or something? You can keep telling me about how right I was.”

Eddie’s eyes snap to Steve’s, going wide like a kid on Christmas morning. “R-really?”

“I mean,” Steve shrugs trying to act nonchalant. “Unless you were busy.”

“No!” Eddie rushes out. “Uh, yeah. Yeah I’d love to. I mean, you were right about a lot of stuff. It might take me, I don’t know, all night to tell you about it?” He’s biting back a smile and the sight almost makes Steve melt.

“Guess it’s a good thing I don’t have any plans tomorrow.” He nods toward the street and Eddie nods once, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

They both nervously walk away from the raging party behind them. Steve knows they have a lot to talk about, get a lot out on the table, but he can feel that flame in his chest growing a little more as Eddie’s arm brushes against his.

“Is Robin going to kill me?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.”

“Shit.” Steve nudges his elbow into Eddie with a soft smile. “Worth it.”

dividers by @steddiecameraroll-graphics | coffee? ☕️💕 | my writing

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confusedgayscreeching · 24 days ago

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/communities/epic-fanclub

If ya wanna join

THANK YOU MY FRIEND 😭🙏🏼💜

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confusedgayscreeching · 24 days ago

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I HAVEN’T SEEN ANY EPIC THE MUSICAL FANS ON HERE AND THAT IS A CRIME, GET ME TO THAT SIDE OF TUMBLR RIGHT NOW‼️‼️

For any of you that don’t know what Epic: The musical is- seriously go check it out!! Do you like Greek mythology? It has that!! Do you like musicals? It is one!! Are you a music nerd or composer? It’s all written and composed by Jorge Rivera Herrans, he also voices the main character, it’s incredible and there is so much fun music nerd shit to pay attention to and geek out over!

Oh yeah, did I mention it’s a MUSICAL VERSION OF THE ODYSSEY⁉️‼️ We get to watch the journey go all kinds of wrong and Odysseus desperately trying to get home to his wife and son WHILE THEY SING ABOUT IT‼️‼️

It’s still being written but we already have access to 7/9 sagas (30/40 songs total) for FREE on Spotify and they’re so incredible‼️

The next saga releases on Halloween and it is so exciting seriously do yourself a favor and look into this!

Also also, if you have trouble just listening to new songs on their own like I do, fret not! Because the fans are incredibly talented and have been making animatics for each song, there’s so many you can choose from and they’re super helpful in keeping up with the story!!

IM SO NORMAL ABOUT IT‼️

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confusedgayscreeching · 24 days ago

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The idea of her being mother figure is challenged right from episode one when Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.

Okay, that's right! That's spot on! I don't deny that Aang makes Katara act like a child again for a while.

Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.

Katara : Fire Nation. Sokka : We should tell him. Katara : [Yelling.] Aang! There's something you need to see. Aang : [Aang runs to them from the airball court, still playing with the hollow ball. Cheerfully.] Okay! Aang : [Happily runs up.] What is it? Katara : [Innocently holds her hands behind her back.] Uh... Just a new waterbending move I learned. Aang : Nice one! But enough practicing, [Excited as he turns around and start walking away.] we have a whole temple to see! Sokka : [Brushes the last of the snow from his head and shoulders.] You know, you can't protect him forever.

It's only the third episode, but Aang's childish attitude already makes Katara act like a mother protecting her child from reality. Katara also has to calm Aang down when he goes into avatar mode, it happens several times like it's her responsibility to do so.

Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.

Katara : [Resumed filling the pot with more vegetables.] Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun. Aang : [Disappointed.] Well, neither does carrying your basket. Katara : [Annoyed.] It's not my basket. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon.

This scene actually piss me off, like, if I were Katara I would mad too! And again, Aang's irresponsible and childish behaviour forced Katara to be responsible for doing the chores. If not her to be mature, who else? Sokka who is busy with his misogyny towards the Kyoshi warriors? Or Aang who is busy having fun with his fans?

Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.

Aang ran away after someone blamed him for something he actually did a hundred years ago. Katara must find him in the storm, then help him dwelling with his past.

And it happens again in The Awakening. Aang runs away and triggers Katara's another trauma that forces her to grow up, which is being abandoned by the person she cares about (her father). Katara (Sokka and Toph) must find him and save him.

Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.

Katara : [Disappointed.] Wow... there's hardly any in here. Aang : [Lashes out.] I'm sorry, okay! It's a desert cloud; I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?! [Pointing his staff at Katara.] What are you doing‌?! She returns his attack with a shocked look on her face. Katara : Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.

Katara is the only one who can keep the Gaang out of the desert. If she doesn't act mature and responsible with the Gaang, they might not survive. And what does Aang do? Get mad at her for losing Appa, while Katara is not to blame for it.

Aang reminds her that she's still just a kid.

Katara : Aang, we do understand. It's just ... Aang : Just what, Katara? What? Katara : We're trying to help! Aang : Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it! [Walks away.] Katara : Aang, don't walk away from this. [Walks toward Aang.]

I love Katara, you know, that's why I really don't like Aang pointing angrily at Katara and blaming her every time he got emotional, when Katara didn't do something wrong and just wants to help him. Is this a healthy relationship?

Aang reminds Katara that she's just a child in the first episode, but unfortunately, the Gaang (especially Aang) once again forces Katara to be motherly in the next episodes.

Does she like being motherly? No, she doesn't. She wants to have fun too, but if she did, the Gaang would be screwed. Being motherly is not just her nature, but the Gaang (except Suki) forces her to be more mature than the others narratively.

Actually, that's why I like the idea of Momtara and Dadko. In my opinion, this nickname is not to make her forget she is just a kid. Instead, because the narrative itself always shows Katara forced to act motherly toward Gaang, 'Momtara and Dadko' shows that is not only Katara's responsibility to do all chores.

Calling Zuko Dadko is also reasonable, because he is narratively more mature among the Gaang (except Suki). He focuses on Aang's training and worries that Aang will fail, just like what father usually do to his son.

More than that, Katara doesn't need to act motherly with Zuko - he is the one bringing her things and preparing what they need in their journey contras with what Aang did in Kyoshi Island. And they act more like equal partners toward each other, rather than mother and son.

Oh, it's true that Aang makes Katara child again in first episode. But it's weird to defend Kat/ang and hate the narrative of Katara being motherly at the same time, when the Gaang (especially Aang) often forced Katara to act motherly.

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confusedgayscreeching · 24 days ago

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A Love Connection Part 5

Hey, guys! You really seem to be loving this story! Yay. This is the first of two today as the next chapter will be posted later tonight.

Just a heads up Billy's introduction is very indicative of his attitude throughout the whole thing.

@tartarusknight 's tags made me laugh because how spot on their assessment of the three Suitors was.

In this we get a feel for each of the contestants and Steve is already done with this shit. I won't put a warning up here, but this does have a lot of more adult themed questions for a dating show. Mainly because I figure it's on a streaming service.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

“All righty!” Bob said with a bright smile. “We have three rounds in which our lovely Suitors will earn points and two of our Suitors will get a chance to win a date with our Catch! The first round is the all around where our Suitors will each have a chance to answer a question from our Catch. The one with best answer will get three points, second place will get two, and the last place will get only one.”

The audience clapped and cheered.

“The second round is our lightning round. Our Catch will ask either or question that the Suitors will have to answer quickly. For each answer that matches our Catch they’ll receive a tally. The one with the most tallies will get five points, the second will get three, and last place will get one.”

The audience again clapped and cheered.

“Then in the heart to heart round, our Catch will get to ask each contestant five questions and then will rate the answer from one to three. A one will get our Suitor three points, a two will get you two points and three, only one.”

The audience again clapped and cheered.

“And now our lightning round!”

Steve was told to just call out all the either or questions he felt spoke to him as they handed him a list of the thirty plus.

He called Dustin’s first. “Star Wars or Star Trek.”

All three picked Star Wars. And all three got a tally.

He just started calling out the ones as he saw them on the page.

“Silver or gold.”

“Cat or dog.”

That one had been a bit divisive considering Steve owned a cat and of the three only Tommy was a cat person. Bob winced at that one. “Ooh. That one hurts.”

Steve could only agree.

“Bondage or blindfold.”

“For me or you?” Billy asked before answering.

“All the questions are for the Suitor, not the Catch,” Bob explained. “You are trying to match with your Catch. But in this case it would what you want to do with the Catch whether you were the one it being done to or not.”

No one was surprised when Billy picked bondage. Tommy did, too. Eddie being the only one to get a tally for that one for the blindfold.

“Camping or the beach.”

Again only Eddie got a tally on that one. Steve lived in Indiana where there weren’t a lot of sandy beaches but lots of great places to go camping.

“Give or receive a blowjob.”

Eddie snorted and Steve could almost imagine a little smirk on his face. All three preferred receiving and so none of them got a tally.

Bob laughed. “I think that’s actually a good thing. Stevie here can give his final Suitor the best bj after all this.”

Steve was again grateful for the Suitors not being able to see his face as he blushed a dark red.

“Vampires or werewolves.”

Only Billy got a tally for that one as Tommy and Eddie both picked vampires.

The game continued until finally Steve called out his last either or question: “Taylor Swift or Beyonce.”

Eddie snorted again. “Billie Eilish. But if I have to pick a billionaire, definitely Taylor Swift.”

The audience laughed.

Steve laughed, too and happily gave Eddie the only tally as the other two picked Beyonce for Chrissy’s question.

The final rundown of points after everything was added up, Tommy with five points for having the most tallies, Eddie with three for coming in second, and Billy with only one. Tommy barely beating Eddie by two tallies.

They took a lunch break after they filmed that and Steve was whisked off to a dressing room where a nice girl named Vickie brought him all his food and two bottles of water to sooth his throat after talking so much.

Steve was a little bit more nervous about this portion of the game. The questions would start fun and go deeper or in some cases spicier.

“Everyone knows the first question,” Bob said as if they didn’t just spend two grueling hours answering either or questions.

“What would be your ideal first date?” the audience roared.

“Damn straight!” Bob said. “Or in this case, damn gay!”

The audience laughed, but Steve squirmed in his seat.

“I would drive up your place in my shiny red 1969 Camero,” Billy said, low and seductive. “Then I would take you to a five star restaurant and order the most expensive wine. Then I would take you to my hotel room and fuck you into the mattress until our neighbors call in a noise complaint.”

“Oooh,” Bob said, “already starting off hot.”

“I would take you to my private jet,” Tommy answered, “and wine and dine all the way to Paris where we would have breakfast on the balcony of a French villa and make love as the sun rises on Paris.”

“Fancy and romantic,” Bob said with a saucy wink at the camera.

“For a first date?” Eddie mused. “I’d find out all your favorite foods and drinks from your best friend and then we’d go on a picnic complete with a blanket and a six pack of your favorite beer. Then we’d go miniature golfing and then your favorite diner for dinner where we share an old fashioned milk shake. Then I would walk you to your door where I would hope for a goodbye kiss.”

Steve’s jaw dropped. He had never heard such a perfect date in his life. Even Bob was speechless. He just kept glancing at Steve and the camera just back and forth as everyone was stunned by the answer.

“I think we all know who’s getting the three points for this question,” Bob finally said. “Steve tell us who came in second and last place please.”

“Billy in second,” Steve said, “and Tommy in third. I’ve been to Paris, whatever it was when it was named the city of love, it certainly isn’t now.”

Again Eddie snorted and Steve was starting to think he had the same sense of humor as him.

“What is your favorite sports team?” Steve asked Lucas’s question.

“LA Lakers,” was Billy’s reply.

While Tommy said, “Chicago Bulls.”

Steve face fell. He didn’t like either of those teams.

“I’m not much of a sports fan,” Eddie admitted, “but my favorite thing to do growing up was watching the Hoosiers with my Uncle Wayne, because I got to spend time just him and me. So I’m going to say Hoosiers.”

The audience went ‘awww.’

Steve choked up. “That was a beautiful answer, Eddie. The Hoosiers are my favorite team, too. Three points to you. Two to Tommy, and one to Billy.”

Billy grumbled something his mic didn’t quite catch.

“What’s your favorite pick up line?” was Steve’s next question. This one was Robin’s question. She thought it would get some cheesy answers.

“I’m Billy.”

Bob snorted, but wisely said nothing. The audience however seemed to agree with Billy.

“I have a private jet, just say the word and we can be in Paris by breakfast.”

Bob blinked for a moment. “Does that really work?”

“Oh yeah.”

Steve shivered at Tommy’s smarmy tone.

“This must be a museum,” Eddie said into the resulting awkward silence, “because baby, you’re a work of art.”

Steve laughed. There was the cheesy answer he had been expecting. But the top points ended up going to Billy for the sheer balls of that one. Eddie did come in second though.

He went through a few boring questions like favorite book or quote to go with some of the spicier questions.

Then he asked his last question of day one.

“Do you consider yourself a good person?”

All three men are shocked into a stunned silence.

“That’s one hell of a question, boys,” Bob said, “how about it?”

Eddie actually being the first to speak.

“I try to be,” he murmured close to his microphone, “but without a doubt I wish I was better than I am.”

Tommy laughed and quoted ‘Firefly’ complete with him saying stab between each downgrade.

Steve chuckled a bit at that one.

Billy scoffed. “I’m no philosopher, I don’t get into shit like that. But yeah, I’m good person. Fuck you.”

Steve gave Tommy the top points on that one, with Eddie again coming second. Billy was not happy with coming in third. Again.

The director called cut and Bob said, “Ooh. We can’t have you saying the eff word, but I’m not sure if they’ll bleep it or cut it.”

“Whatever.”

Now Steve was absolutely eaten up with curiosity about what these dudes looked like.

He would find out soon enough.

After eating at the hotel restaurant, Steve went back to the hotel and called Robin.

“Hey, Robbie,” he murmured, flopping on to the bed.

“Hey, dingus,” she said softly. “I’ve Chrissy here with me, so I’m going to put you on speaker.”

“Hi, Stevie,” Chrissy cooed. “You have any idea who are going to be the final two yet?”

“Oh yeah,” Steve huffed, playing with the tassels on the decorative pillow. “Because unless Suitor number one gets his head out of his ass, it’s bye bye birdie. Dude is so full of himself and only interested in how much sex he can get. I’m really dreading the final round when I have to start asking personal questions for each one.”

“Why’s that?” Robin asked. “Or can’t you tell us with all the NDA crap.”

“NDA crap,” Steve said, resigned. “But I can say that Suitor number three is the one I hope gets at least to the dating portion. His answers were so cute. He sounds like an absolute dork.”

“Perfect for you then,” Chrissy agreed. “Tell us about everything else. The hotel, dinner, the clothes you got to wear.”

So Steve did and by the time they had worn out every topic it was late. They all needed to be up early the next morning so they said good night.

Steve got ready for bed.

He slept fitfully, dreaming of three large shadows looming over him and laughing as he fell into the abyss.

The hair and makeup lady certainly had her work cut out for her when Steve arrived that morning. She gave his shoulder a quick squeeze.

“Everyone sleeps badly on filming days,” she assured him. “It’s all the anxiety. You aren’t making my job harder by having not slept, okay?”

Steve nodded and let her do her work. By the time she was done, he looked exactly the same as he did yesterday.

He was impressed and told him so.

“You’re sweet, sugar,” she murmured. “Now, go knock ‘em dead!”

Steve got into his little booth and sat down.

“You ready for day two?” Bob asked, stroking his tie like he had the day before.

He shook his head.

Bob laughed and counted down with his fingers, three, two, one!

The first question on his little cue card read: “What would you do if someone important to me called while we were in the middle of sex?”

“I’d hit the text me button and toss the phone on the laundry pile,” Billy said. “Whatever it is, it can wait.”

Tommy chuckled. “I would answer it for you and tell them that unless this was an emergency, my dick up your ass is slightly more important and then hang up. If it’s important, they’ll call back.”

Bob and Steve shared wide-eyed expressions over that one.

“I’d let you answer it,” Eddie said softly. “Your people are important to you. I would hope, however, that you would chose to continue to go back to doing what we were doing if it wasn’t essential right then, though.”

“Fair enough,” Steve said with a huff a laughter. “Three points to Eddie, two to Billy, and one to Tommy.”

There was a little murmuring of surprise from the audience on that one. But Steve felt that Billy’s wasn’t as rude as Tommy’s was. Telling them to text wasn’t as bad as being lewd about it.

That would be the last time that happened, much to Steve’s dismay.

When asked about what they wore to bed, Billy said he was naked, Tommy said that he wore a silken matching set of pajamas with matching eye mask. Eddie said that he wore an old band t-shirt and Garfield pajama pants. Steve immediately was endeared. Billy also came in second place on that one.

When asked about their favorite act of foreplay, Billy didn’t do foreplay, Tommy was all for getting blown, and Eddie’s was even sweeter than the last. He said he enjoyed stripping his partner and kiss every inch of newly exposed skin.

The audience was starting to get excited as Billy began to pull into a dead heat with Tommy, though Eddie was clearly in the lead.

Then came time for the final question of round one. God that felt weird to say considering they had already done round two.

“What would you do if the house we recently moved into,” Steve said, leaning forward to the microphone, “and I believed it was legitimately haunted and was scared?”

This was Will’s question and he loved it. It really spoke volumes about a person.

“I’d buy you a new house, baby,” Billy said. “You think it’s haunted, then fuck let’s get the hell out of there.”

Steve was little surprised on that one. He would have thought that Billy would have been the one to tell him that it was all in his head.

The audience clapped in appreciation, too.

“I’d hire a priest to bless the house,” Tommy said, “before anything else. We just bought it, I wouldn’t want to give up a new investment so easily.”

“Uh...” Eddie said sheepishly. “I’ve always wanted a haunted house. And like it would suck, because you were scared and shit, but it would be so cool to live in haunted house. So I’d try to make friends with so it would stop being mean to you.”

That was the sweetest dorkiest thing Steve had ever heard, but it was also the most insensitive of the bunch and no one was surprised when Billy and Tommy were one and two respectively.

Bob smiled. “Can’t win them all, Eddie. You’ve been batting a thousand this round.” He turned to the audience. “Eddie got forty points that round, with Tommy and Billy almost at a dead heat with twenty-five each.”

“So with the totals of the two rounds, Eddie is in the lead at forty-five points, Tommy at twenty-eight, and Billy at twenty-six. But the next round is anybody’s game. Each Suitor will be asked one question and based on how well our lovely Catch Steve likes the answer they can get anywhere from one to three points. Get ready for the final round!”

They broke for lunch like they did yesterday and Steve was exhausted. He was almost too tired to eat, but he forced himself to eat and drink, for the energy if nothing else. He certainly was going to need it.

He buried his head in hands. He wasn’t sure if it was going to be worth it in the end. He was so worn out. He could only hope the Suitors were as tired as he was. He didn’t even know if they got to go out and enjoy the city while he was stuck in his hotel room every night.

He let the makeup lady retouch his makeup and he put on his best parent teacher conference face and stepped back out onto the stage.

Part 6

Tag List: CLOSED

1-@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @cryptid-system

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

9- @dreamercec @wheneverfeasible @themoonagainstmers @garden-of-gay @little-birch-boy

10- @ollieolive @dissociatingdemon @stripey82 @kultiras @micheledawn1975

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confusedgayscreeching · 1 month ago

Text

Imagining an angsty pining Steve who’s breaking his own heart because he refuses to tell anyone, including Robin, about his feelings for Eddie. He thinks it’s pointless, unrequited, and stupid. He keeps watching the people around him fall in love and be happy and it makes these feelings for Eddie so much worse.

He suffers for weeks, months, too long, before Eddie finally gets the opportunity of a lifetime. Which means he’s getting out of Hawkins after all.

Even on his last day, when Eddie hesitates, tears welling in his eyes like he wants to say something, Steve still keeps his feelings locked up.

Robin knows something is wrong, tries to pull it out of Steve, but he stays locked tight.

It’s only when Eddie invites everyone to Chicago, a year later, to watch his new band perform, that Steve finally cracks.

—

Steve sneaks backstage to find Eddie and congratulate him, a secret moment between old friends, when he accidentally sees something he’s sure he wasn’t supposed to see. Something Eddie wouldn’t want him to see.

Eddie’s crowding a slightly shorter man in the dark hallway, his lips attached to the man’s neck most likely leaving marks on his skin.

The possibilities of what could have been, flash before Steve’s eyes.

He feels the walls closing in on him as the shine of Eddie’s spit glares off the stranger’s neck. Steve pushes his feet backwards, needing to escape quickly. He nearly crashes into someone when he rushes through the exit.

He can’t hold the feelings in any longer. It’s been too long. He needs Robin.

She’s kind, caring, listens to his fears, brushes away his tears, and never teases him. He expected her to, expected a jab or two, but she loves him too much to pour salt on his wound.

They go home early. Blame some made up family emergency and drive through the night until the streetlights of Hawkins come into view.

Eddie calls, writes, tries to get in touch, but Steve blames timing. Gives excuses to cover the ache in his chest from losing his chance and his friend.

It takes nearly another year before Steve crawls out of the darkness of heartbreak. Another year before he runs across Eddie Munson again.

He’s standing outside an apartment building, waiting for the realtor, when he hears his name being yelled from across the street. He turns to see Eddie, waving wildly with both hands. Steve’s surprised he doesn’t feel a pang of hurt at the sight, but instead a warm hug around his heart. He’s missed Eddie’s presence.

“Where have you been?”

“Around”

The exchange is comfortable but stilted, like a conversation between strangers who used to know each other. Steve finds himself still looking over the man, though. Taking in the twitch of a lip, the frizz of the curls, and the new tattoos etched across Eddie’s skin.

He’s still breathtaking. Steve won’t deny. But this time he’s not hiding away, curled in the corner of his closet. No, this time, Steve’s comfortable in his skin and who he’s attracted to.

“You still look good.” He says with an easy smirk.

“You saying I looked good before?”

Steve nods, not an ounce of hesitation in his movement. Eddie tilts his head, eyes narrowing, trying to piece this puzzle together.

They’re interrupted by the person Steve was waiting for, but Steve promises he’ll call. And he does. Again. Again. And several more times.

They talk on the phone nearly every day. Filling each other in on everything they’ve missed. The small things, the big things, and everything in between. Apparently Steve wasn’t the only one who missed this friendship.

Eddie drives down to help Steve (and Robin) pack up their belongings and move to the big city. Steve put a deposit down on the apartment he visited on the day Eddie ran into him. It felt like a sign. A sign Steve couldn’t ignore.

Once they moved in, the phone calls don’t stop, but now that they’re so close, Eddie spends time at the apartment regularly. There’s never a weekend where the boys aren’t together. Steve’s either at Eddie’s or Eddie’s pushing Robin’s feet off the couch to make room for himself.

It happens 6 months later. Steve realizes the feelings are back in full force. But this time? This time he refuses to hide them away.

It looks like any other night. The two of them finishing up a delivery pizza, a movie flickering light across Eddie’s face, when Steve can’t hold it in any longer.

“I’m in love with you.”

He sounds as soft as Eddie’s smile looks when Steve chances glancing to his side.

“Yeah?”

Steve’s never heard Eddie sound so anxious. He used every ounce of strength to say the words so now he can only nod.

Eddie’s soft smile grows wider until he’s moving. Then Steve’s cheeks are covered with ringed fingers and Eddie’s closer than he’s ever been before.

“Steve.” Eddie’s voice cracks as a tear slides down his cheek. “I have to tell you. I have loved you, for so long. I loved you when I helped carry your couch into that apartment. I loved you when I saw you standing on that side walk staring up at the side of that building. I loved you when we kept missing each other. When the only thing we did was play phone tag. I loved you when you drove 6 hours just to see my band play. I loved you when I watched you disappear in my rear view mirror. I’ve been in love with you for years Steve.”

“Kiss me.”

And they do. And it’s better than anything Steve ever imagined.

Steve never holds his feelings in again. Instead, telling everyone he cares about how important they are to him. He tells Dustin he loves him. He tells Max he’s proud of her. He tells Erica she’s his favorite.

And every day, multiple times a day, he tells Eddie he loves him. For years and years.

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confusedgayscreeching · 1 month ago

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I too ship Zutara and think they should have been canon. Although for me it's important to know how such a rewrite would go down. I tried to think, and I'm lost.

After Mai betrayed Azula for him, will he just go "sorry, not interested"? He isn't obligated to date her because of this, but her redemption hinges on Zuko and I don't see it being satisfying if he ends up rejecting her after this.

I thought the solution would be to rewrite her arc in boiling rock to make her have a moral realization, but then the problem with Maiko is practically solved. Their relationship wasn't salvaged by her redemption because last time they talked, Mai still didn't understand what's wrong with the Fire Nation and only changed because she loved Zuko. So how do you make it both satisfying & logical?

With Kataang the problem is the Chakras. The problem with the original (in my opinion) is that after he opened his chakra, letting go of his attachment to Katara, he's still attached (forcing a kiss on eip). Should TCoD get rewritten so that Azula shoots him before he opens it? Then why wouldn't he just open it later? Maybe the chakra would be locked so he feels as though he doesn't need to overcome his attachment just yet. In that situation, how would his chakra even unlock? The stone thing felt like nonsense, so how would I do it?

So yeah I have no idea how to approach this. How would you? (Thanks)

I've been rotating this ask in the back of my head like a rotisserie chicken for a few days--it's interesting because I don't generally stop to think like, how would I write them out of these relationships, I either ignore the relationships completely (which isn't hard, they were barely footnotes in the cartoon) or play a little bit with jealous exes or something. Thinking about like, In A Perfect World where Bryke wasn't in charge of ATLA post-canon (because if zutara had been canon, you can be sure they would've made us regret it) is interesting, and I do have thoughts on how I'd handle their relationships in a rewrite.

(this got long, so the rest is beneath the cut)

Assuming you mostly want to keep canon intact, I think maiko would be the easiest to work around, given how little relevance their relationship has in canon. The problem with maiko as an endgame ship is that it was not set up that way--if it had been, it would not have begun entirely off-screen and their whole relationship would not have been a study in misery and utter inability to connect emotionally. His relationship with Mai was there to showcase just how much he had changed and how little he fit into the life he had been so sure he wanted more than anything since his banishment. It worked very well to highlight Zuko's growth--how that contrasted to Mai's lack of it and why she could not understand him even at his most open and vulnerable--and did not work nearly so well when she was shoved back with him in the epilogue, after he'd quite literally forgotten her existence (he never mentions her again after Boiling Rock, not even to say a word of mourning, considering he'd have every reason to believe she was killed for defying his sister).

I don't think you can fix this by giving Mai some moral realization, because there simply is no room for it. As @araeph says in the essay I linked:

As a character, Mai is very useful to the story during Zuko’s return, because she represents everything that Zuko gains by sticking by his father. A girl who cares about him; the ability to indulge her; the authority he has over others at the palace; we see it all in his interactions with Mai. But this makes Mai a tether to a life he has long outgrown. Her function is not to advance Zuko’s character development, but to obstruct it, which also unfortunately means that Mai gaining a full understanding of Zuko’s trials would be disadvantageous to the story. If she knew everything about him and still wanted him to stay, it would give Zuko more cause than he should have to remain in the Fire Nation, but if she knew and encouraged him to leave and join the Avatar, it would rob Zuko of the triumph of making this decision on his own. In other words, there are good narrative reasons for keeping Mai in the dark; it just doesn’t make their relationship any stronger.

The seeds of a genuine redemption arc (one that includes some sort of moral realization and change to her moral framework) for Mai would have to have been planted far earlier than five episodes from the end of the series, but doing so would have of necessity detracted from Zuko's own character arc and the realizations that he makes despite his attachment to Mai (or more specifically to their relationship, which I feel like he was clinging to more out of a sense of abject loneliness he couldn't shake rather than genuine feelings and emotional connection).

So, in my mind, since we're tackling this with an eye towards getting rid of maiko with the fewest ripples to the overall story anyway, the easiest way to do this would be make one slight change to the end of the Boiling Rock two-parter--have Ty Lee (who had always been the least gung-ho of the trio about bowing to Azula's whims and had to be textually threatened into joining her in the first place) save Zuko's life, and then have Mai (who showed the most genuine affection for Ty Lee anyway) save Ty Lee. I love Zuko more than I fear you always fell flat for me as some epic declaration of love, anyway, since a) Zuko is not around to hear it, and b) unlike Ty Lee, she never showed much fear of Azula to begin with, so it wasn't a very high bar to clear. It was a cool line that was entirely unearned, and I don't think it would be missed, there would be some cute mailee crumbs this way, and a throwaway line of getting them released from the prison after the war ended could wrap up their presence in the story pretty nicely.

Now, kataang is a little trickier, if only because the last leg of Aang's character arc is almost completely derailed by his refusal to let go of his possessive attachment to Katara, to the point where he never naturally reopens his chakras, he has to have the Rock of Destiny hit him in just the right place, and the deus ex lionturtle there to give him a way out of having to make a hard moral choice. (I've maintained for years that if you work the final act of your main character's overall arc in such a way that it could have been solved by one good session with a chiropractor, something got fucked along the way.)

The thing about Aang's chakras is that, narratively, his whole thing with Guru Pathik and leaving his training early to save his friends was basically his version of Luke running away from his training with Yoda on Degobah because of his Force vision, only to find out that his friends were in the process of rescuing themselves and then losing his hand because he hadn't completed the most crucial part of his training. What's missing, therefore, from the last act of Aang's character arc, is the return.

See, in Star Wars, Luke pretty explicitly makes the wrong choice when he chooses to prioritize saving his friends over attaining enlightenment and fully mastering the Force. It was the only choice he could have made, but it was still the wrong one--because, like Aang, his friends did not actually need him to save them, he actually almost makes it harder for them to get away by requiring them to save him because, like Aang, he loses a battle in a very critical way. This was a lesson he desperately needed to learn, and it is clear he has learned it by the time he makes it back to Degobah and witnesses the end of Yoda's life, his own enlightenment having already been reached.

But Aang never goes back to the Guru.

And the text refuses to allow us to sit with the fact that he made the wrong choice in prioritizing his attachment to Katara over his ability to master the Avatar State. He is actually narratively vindicated about it, because the plot bends itself into a pretzel so that he doesn't have to spend any time during the last book trying to reopen his chakras and regain access to the Avatar State, handed both in the final battle with no excess effort on his part, and handed the girl into the bargain. (The girl who never even wanted him, so far as we can tell from all the lack of cues she gave him that she actually returned his feelings.)

And I think this could have been solved with a few scattered scenes. Let Katara actually have some agency in her own romantic relationship (or lack thereof), insofar as noticing Aang's advances and clueing the audience in to how she actually feels. Let Aang struggle with the fact that he can't reach the Avatar State, that his mastery of the elements is in limbo because he can't access his full power, rather than ignoring all of this until the end of the show. If we're trying to keep the shape of the last season roughly the same, let Katara confront Aang about the invasion kiss.

This would have been the perfect time to establish that Katara actually does feel some type of way about Aang prior to the epilogue, and it could have saved us from the exceedingly cringey EIP kiss that Aang never apologized for. How it comes across now, of course, is that Katara basically pretends it never even happened, to the point where she doesn't even know what Aang is talking about during EIP until he reminds her--the death knell for any shot their relationship had at looking requited, because I can tell you, as someone who's been a teenage girl, if someone I had conflicted but burgeoning romantic feelings for had kissed me, I would not have completely forgotten about it only a few weeks later--and we never get any indication as to what she actually felt about the kiss (which was not mutual, despite what Aang's dialogue in the EIP scene implies) except for the fact that she looked away and frowned afterwards. (A change mandated by Bryke, who wanted to leave her feelings completely ambiguous; the original storyboards had her smiling to herself.)

So, with an eye towards wrapping up Aang's puppy love crush and establishing Katara's distinct lack of romantic feelings for him, have her talk to him about the kiss. A good frame of reference for this would be Meng's conversation with Aang in "The Fortuneteller", where she finally realizes that he doesn't like her in the same way she likes him. Katara and Aang's conversation about the invasion kiss could be a callback to this, with Aang having some important realizations--that just because Katara doesn't share his feelings doesn't mean she loves him any less, and just because he can't have her the way he wanted doesn't mean he has to love her any less, that she doesn't belong to him but that's ok, because she's still his family and they'll always have each other's backs. Which could have functioned well in helping him take another step towards unblocking his chakras. Going back to the Guru directly may not have worked, since by this point in the story we're hurtling towards the final confrontation and Sozin's Comet, but let Aang reflect on what the Guru told him with new understanding granted him by his experiences throughout the first half of the season.

To keep the stakes high and up the suspense, obviously, he shouldn't have fully unlocked his chakras and the AS before the final fight, but the seeds could be planted--little moments like a talk with Katara about the invasion kiss, maybe a little more empathy and understanding from him about why Katara needs closure in TSR, etc--and then, during the final fight, rather than hand him all the answers on a silver platter, have him almost lose. He still can't go full Avatar, he's out of time, he still doesn't know exactly what to do about Ozai given his own pacifism and desire to preserve that part of his culture--he tries to fight but he's pretty quickly overpowered. Idk how I would've animated this, and maybe it wouldn't have looked as cool for the final fight, but the true climax of the finale was the Zuko and Azula agni kai anyway, so it hardly matters--I'm picturing him doing the rock-shield thing and going into a brief meditative state, where he finally achieves the enlightenment necessary to unlock the AS on his own, no rock of chiropracty necessary. And at this point, I'd give Ozai a Disney Death, since leaving him alive causes more problems than it solves and it's not necessary for Aang to kill him for him to die--they're fighting on a mountain ffs--but if you don't want to change that part then him figuring out energy bending as part of becoming a fully realized Avatar would at least feel more earned than the lionturtle just handing it to him. (And that could've been foreshadowed better by seeding the idea for it earlier in the season.)

After all of that, particularly if you up the emotions during the agni kai and have Zuko and Katara kiss there (or something less explicitly romantic but still tender, like a brief forehead touch), it'd feel pretty natural to have a just friends ending for Aang and Katara. Maybe a brief, slightly awkward but ultimately amiable conversation if Zuko and Katara had a ~thing at their final fight, and then the final shot of the series could be the gaang all together, maybe zutara holding hands or Katara resting her head on his shoulder or something, but since they already kissed there wouldn't feel like a need to end the whole show on romance, something which I've always felt missed the point of the series.

And then, y'know, after that, the world's your oyster! This is how I'd do it if I were trying to keep the bulk of the final season intact. Of course, breaking it all down to its component pieces and rebuilding from the ground up is also an option, but that'd probably be a longer post lol.

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