#BLECH.

[yangjeongin]

dumpling 🥹

[mermaidsirennikita]

I gotta say this is also very unsuprising casting when you think about it. Like as soon as the shock had worn off I was like...yeah of course she cast them.

Oh yeah, it does make sense because Emerald isn't about what's good for the project, Emerald is about what makes Emerald happy. Which is why I fundamentally can't get into her creatively.

Because of course, any creative has their aesthetic, their sensibility, their work. And I respect that, as a creative.

But you also have to kill your darlings. And we think of that in the writing sense most often—cut that sentence, that scene, that chapter if it doesn't truly serve the work. Scrap the whole thing and start over if it's truly not what it should be.

I'm a STRONG believer in that, to be fair. Brutal. Maybe too much so? Lol. Or I'd have a book out by now.

But anyway, it applies to every type of creative work, imo. You don't cast someone because YOU like them, particularly in an adaptation of a work as iconic as Wuthering Heights. You cast them because they are right for the role.

Heathcliff and Cathy, especially Heathcliff, are two of the most groundbreaking and influential characters in literature of the past 3 centuries. Heathcliff's lack of proximity (for his era) to whiteness is particularly central to the role, and I don't know anyone who seriously takes this work apart and isn't like... actively racist... who interprets Heathcliff as white. It's so crucial to his character that he is "other" in his society.

It's just TRULY a shame to me that she not only cast someone as subpar as Elordi, but someone so, so white. Like, I wouldn't want a white actor I love to play Heathcliff. And this is a fabulous role for a man of color, too.

The last adaptation did cast a man of color, but it was frankly not a very high profile project and not well done.

(I also think it would be compelling to cast a man of Roma descent OR a man of Asian, specifically South Asian descent because the text literally uses a contemporary term for Indian men to describe him... Though Nelly also speculates that he has Chinese heritage, and there are definitely some implications that he could be descended from presumably African enslaved people. The latter I could definitely see being an interpretation when you factor in the speculation that he's Mr. Earnshaw's illegitimate child. I think there's always this idea that "catch-all" terms were probably being used to describe Heathcliff's appearance, but I've thought for a while that I would personally most love to see a Roma actor or a South Asian actor play him.

But like. Literally any other than a white guy.)

This will be much more high profile, with way more attention, and it just really sucks that Emerald decided to use it to push one of her faves. It tells me that she has very little respect for the text. On what planet would anyone, even in the 1800s, look at Jacob Elordi and think that he was anything other than a white guy.

And again, I think Margot is way too old to play Cathy, and honestly doesn't read in any way as Cathy to me. I say that as someone who, again, considers her a very strong actress when she's in her element. I just. Ugh.

[bonefall]

⭕️Hey Bones! Is it ok if you explain and/or elaborate how Crowfeather is abusive to Breezepelt if please?⭕️

I do KNOW that crowfeather is indeed, abusive to Breezepelt, due to the fact that he emotionally and/or physically neglected him - with child neglect being known to BE a form of child abuse - and I also heard that he slashed and/or hit him within one of the books, which I believe is in the book Outcast, in chapter 16.

But I also wish people would talk and be informed about it more within the fandom, because in the parts of the fandom I’ve known portrayed Crowfeather’s neglect on Breezepelt as negative and bad, but not in a way that made me think and/or feel: “Wow, that’s pretty bad. That’s…actually abusive.” I suppose? So I hope more people will talk about it more in that type of way.

Also, please be aware that I have NOT read PoT, OoTS, etc. or barely any warrior cats books, since the majority of the information I got from the series is from the wiki and the fandom, so that probably explains why I didn’t know this part of Crowfeather’s character is as bad as it actually is until now. Also, feel free to talk about Crowfeather’s abuse on Breezepelt I haven’t mentioned and/or don’t know right now as well if you want.

I’m SO sorry that if this ask is unintentionally quite long, and feel free to make sure to take all the time you need to answer it. Thank you!

OH LET'S GOOOO

Breezepelt is both physically and emotionally abused by Crowfeather. I'm not talking about only child neglect; he is screamed at, belittled, and even once hit on-screen.

The fact that Crowfeather both neglected and abused him is very important to the canonical story of Breezepaw. There's actually a lot more to this character than people remember! Even from his first appearances he displays good qualities, a strained relationship with his father and adult clanmates, and is clearly shown to be troubled before we understand why.

As many problems as I have with the direction of Breezepelt's arc (especially Crowfeather's Trial), his setup is legitimately a praiseworthy bit of writing from Po3 which carries over into OotS. To say that Breezepelt was not abused is to completely miss two arcs worth of books SCREAMING it.

BIG POST. Glossary;

INTRO TO BREEZEPELT: The Sight and Dark River

ABUSE: Outcast, Social Alienation, the Tribe Journey.

DARK FOREST: How these factors push him towards radicalization.

For "brevity," I'm not getting into anything post-OotS. I'm just showing that Breezepelt was abused, the narrative wants you to know that he was abused, and that his status as a victim of child abuse is CENTRAL to understanding why he is training in the Dark Forest.

INTRO TO BREEZEPELT: The Sight and Dark River

Our very first introduction to Breeze is when Jaypaw walks off a cliff in the first book of Po3 and is rescued by a WindClan patrol. He's making snarky remarks, and Whitetail and Crowfeather are not happy about it. Whitetail snaps for Crow to teach his son some manners, and Crow growls for Breezepaw to be quiet.

But our proper introduction to him is at his announcement gathering, when Heatherpaw playfully introduces him as a friend,

From the offset something's not entirely right here between Breezepaw and his father. He's cut off by Heatherpaw here, but he's touchy whenever his father is involved, and we're not entirely sure why.

Throughout Book 1, he's just rude, with a notable xenophobic streak. He's a bit of a mean rival character for Lionpaw, as they're both interested in the affections of Heatherpaw and make bids to get her attention, but nothing particularly violent yet.

He participates in the beloved Kitty Olympics and gets buried in liquid dirt with Lionpaw, basically a rite of passage for any arc.

(And Nightcloud has a cute moment where she watches over them until they fall asleep)

As the books progress, the relationship between Crow and Breeze visibly deteriorates. They start from being simply tense with each other in The Sight, to the open shouting and hitting we see in Outcast.

In the very first chapter of Dark River, we learn where his behavioral issues are really coming from;

Crowfeather.

Breezepelt is getting xenophobia from his father. Occasionally he says something bigoted and his dad will agree and chime in, and those are the only positive moments they have together.

(Note: In contrast, Nightcloud explicitly pushes back against xenophobia, chiding Breezepelt for his rudeness to Lionpaw in back in The Sight, Chapter 21. The Sight is the book where a lot of "evidence" that the Evil Overbearing Woman is actually responsible for the rift between father and son but. No. She's not. Though she can be overprotective; Crow and Breeze have a bad relationship when she's not even around in Breeze's first appearance and even his Crowfeather's Trial Epiphany refutes it. Anyway this post isn't about Nightcloud.)

So he starts acting on his bigotry, accusing cats in other Clans of stealing, running really close to the border. What's interesting though, is that this is not entirely his doing. The first time we get physical trouble from Breezepaw, DUSTPELT aggressed it. Breezepaw and Harepaw were just chasing a squirrel and hadn't yet gone over the border at all.

We learn that WindClan is teaching its apprentices how to hunt in woodland, and tensions between the two Clans is starting to escalate as ThunderClan isn't entirely trusting of their intentions.

The second time, fighting breaks out over him and Harepaw actually crossing the border and catching a squirrel. WindClan is adamant that because it came from their land, it's their squirrel. So it's as if Breezepaw is modelling the aggression around him, learning how to behave from the older warriors and his father.

When he joins Heatherpaw and The Three to go find Gorsetail's kits in the tunnels, he's grouchy towards the ThunderClan cats, but very gentle with the kittens. Notably so. When Thistlekit is dangerously cold, he cuddles up next to her, and even assures Swallowkit when she's scared,

Through this entire excursion, he's the one in the comforting roles for the kittens. Breezepaw is the one who is taking time to tell the kits they'll be okay, that he'll protect them, and physically supporting them when they're weak, even when he's terrified.

And it's always contrasted to Heatherpaw who's way more 'disciplined,' as a side note. It's a detail I'm just fond of.

All this to point out,

Breezepelt displays his best qualities when he's away from the older warriors of WindClan, and he's at his worst whenever he's near Crowfeather. Even while he's essentially just a bully character for The Three to deal with. He's gruff but cooperative when it's just him and Heatherpaw interacting with The Three, but mean when there is an adult to please.

We're getting to the on-screen abuse now, but Po3 actually sets up Breezepaw's troubles and dynamics well before it's finally confirmed that he is a victim of child abuse.

ABUSE: Outcast, the Tribe Journey.

In Outcast, Breezepaw's problems have escalated into open aggression towards cats of other Clans, and is now a legitimate concern for his own safety. Yet, he's spoken over by older warriors, and reprimanded at nearly every opportunity, right in front of the warrior of another Clan.

Squilf just asked the poor kid how his training was going, and then Whitetail JUMPS to talk over him so she can complain, RIGHT in front of his face.

They can't even wait until they're alone to grumble something rude about Breezepaw, who is still just a teenager here;

They taught him already that a bit of prey that runs off their own territory still belongs to WindClan, encourage him to blow past borders in pursuit, and started a battle with ThunderClan over this. And then they're pissed off at him for being aggressive, thinking it's deserved to scold him in public.

When Onestar announces that he wants Breezepaw to go on the Tribe Journey, he's devastated by it...

Because he thinks WindClan doesn't like him, and he's right. He's gossiped about, torn into in front of a ThunderClan warrior, and even his own dad doesn't want to be around him. It's clear that Breezepaw's impulsive "codebreaking" behaviors are a desire to prove himself, and once you realize that, the way that he's being alienated is heartbreaking.

But Wait!! Hold on a minute! Where did he get a "patrol of apprentices" from to confront the dogs with, exactly?

Simple. Breezepaw CAN make friends! He actually values them a lot! So much that it's the first thing Crowfeather snaps at him over, out of frustration that his son is also being forced on this journey with him. It's an angry response to his child having emotional and physical needs, resentment that will continue all journey long.

Note that it's plural, friends. Breezepelt has multiple friends, at least one who is not Heatherpaw, and she promises to say goodbye to them.

Up next, they state over and over, Crowfeather and Breezepaw do not like each other. Crowfeather resents being around him and dealing with his rudeness, embarrassed and angry, and Breezepaw is absolutely miserable being sent on a journey to the mountains with a man who hates his guts.

The whole while, Crowfeather is brooding longingly about Feathertail, already thinking about her as soon as he kitty-kisses Nightcloud goodbye, his eyes looking somewhere distant. He makes a jab about loyalty when Breezepaw doesn't understand why they're helping the Tribe.

Breezepaw gets smacked after he's "shoved" at Purdy and acts rude to him, while the other three manage to be polite (while still having internal dialogue about how stinky he is).

Without so much as a, "cut that out," Crowfeather raises his paw and hits him. Breeze is quiet after that.

I don't give a shit how rude your teenager is being. Do not hit kids. Being throttled on the head is not okay.

In spite of the Three not liking Breezepaw, or even Crowfeather, they're constantly noting that their arguments are not normal, and that Crow is a cold, unsupportive father who digs into his kid constantly, and the only time he ever DOES "discipline" his child it's through immediately smacking him.

At one point, the apprentices get hungry, and decide to foolishly hunt in a barn that they know has dogs in it against Purdy's warnings. Once again, JUST like the first two books, Breezepaw is more friendly when Crowfeather is not around.

EVERY time he is alone with cats his own age, he's grumpy but cooperative. Even enthusiastic at times! The minute Crowfeather is in the picture, he's nasty.

Naturally, the dogs show up, but Purdy rescues them. Though Brambleclaw also chews his kids out (and i have strong opinions about bramble's parenting style for another time), Hollypaw is taken aback by the contrast of what a scolding from Brambleclaw looks like vs how Crowfeather reacts.

The narrative is desperately trying to tell you that the way Crowfeather treats his son is not normal.

And then Crowfeather is pissed off that Breezepaw is exhausted from running for his life from hungry dogs,

And he's constantly losing his shit whenever Breezepaw says something as innocuous as "dad im hungry"

Then, Breezepaw is made to watch his dad pine over the grave of a woman who died long before Crowfeather was even considering his mother for a mate. What he feels is jealousy, because he knows his own father doesn't love him anywhere near as much as he loves the memory of Feathertail.

This really goes on and on and on. The ENTIRE trip is like this, with Crowfeather treating Breezepelt poorly, giving him a smack before even verbally warning him, pushing him past his limits and blowing up on him when he asks simple questions about eating or resting.

It all comes to a head in this one exchange, towards the end. Hollypaw ends up snapping at Breezepaw for his rudeness, before having an epiphany.

It's explicit. Crowfeather's emotional abuse, his "scorn" for Breezepelt, is what is driving a wedge between him and all of his older Clanmates. Between EVERYONE in Breezepelt's life who wasn't already his friend. This awful treatment is only making him worse and worse.

Realizing this, she has more sympathy for him, but it's too late. He continues to be rude to her because he feels insulted, and her patience completely runs out. She's just a kid. They're both just kids. She's not responsible for fixing him when he's pushing everyone away at this point.

That's the end of Breezepelt in Outcast. It can't be helped anymore. Any spark of friendship they had together in the barn, or in the tunnels, is gone.

As the series progresses, Crowfeather continues to refuse any personal responsibility for the mistreatment of his son, even pinning all of Breezepelt's behavioral problems on Nightcloud. He is a cold, selfish father who only ever thinks about his own pain and reputation.

DARK FOREST: How these factors push him towards radicalization.

Everyone talks about the Attack on Poppyfrost, which happens in the first book of OotS, in oversimplified terms. YES he is going after a nun and a pregnant woman. I've never said that's not Bad.

But no one talks about "WHY", and that reason is NOT just that he desires power like so many other WC villains. Breezepelt makes his motivation very clear on the page.

Escalating to violence was about making Jayfeather feel the way that he does.

When Breezepelt says that he wants Jay to be surrounded by "lies, hatred, and things that should never have happened," he's talking about the way HE grew up, knowing his father never wanted him, and that his Clan HATES him as a result. Killing Poppyfrost is about trying to frame Jayfeather for her murder, so ThunderClan won't trust him anymore.

When Jayfeather points out the simple truth that what Breezepelt is saying doesn't make any goddamn sense, his hatred "falters." He's blaming his half-clan half-brother for his own treatment because of the reveal, but totally failed to consider that JAYFEATHER'S ALREADY GOING THROUGH IT... so his response is just this pitiful, "s-shut up, man."

Then the ghost of Brokenstar and Breezepelt bounce him back and forth between them like a beach ball for a bit until Honeyfern's spirit shows up.

Breezepelt's childhood abuse and social alienation was a hook that the Dark Forest latched onto, to reel him in. His anger at his half-brother is so obviously misplaced that its absurdity was something Jayfeather pointed out.

We soon learn that it's the Dark Forest who's planting that ridiculous idea in his head;

The narration is SCREAMING, "The Dark Forest is validating the anger he feels towards his father, and redirecting it towards The Three." He's described as 'kitlike,' Tigerstar's eyes are compared to a hypnotizing snake.

This prose could not make it more obvious if it drove to your house, beat you with it, and then spoon fed you the point while you were hospitalized.

At the end of this scene, Tigerstar sends Hawkfrost to recruit Ivypaw. This scene where Breezepelt is being lovebombed, and the command to start grooming Ivypaw, ARE LINKED. That was a choice.

A VERY GOOD choice! Again, as many issues as I have with OotS, its handling of indoctrination is unironically fantastic, and it owes a good amount of that to the outstanding setup of Breezepelt that was done back in Po3. And that setup doesn't work if Crowfeather was merely distant.

Breezepelt was abused by his father, both verbally and physically. It drove him to be more aggressive to prove himself, modeling the battle culture around him. The adults of WindClan judged him based off Crowfeather's responses, shunning and belittling the 'problem' teenager, which eventually drove Breezepelt to the only group that he felt "understood" him.

In a book series that is RIFE with abuse apologia, this is one of the few times that there's any behavioral consequences for abuse and the narrative holds the perpetrator accountable for it.

But people hear Crowfeather's deflective excuse in The Last Hope where he says he never hated him, blames Nightcloud for everything, and just lick it up uncritically.

Gee whiz, I wonder why the guy who never blames himself for any of his problems would suddenly say it was his ex-wife's fault. Real headscratcher!

(Crowfeather's Trial then goes onto, for all my own problems with it, also hold Crow accountable as the reason why Breezepelt turned out like he did. But that's a topic for another day.)

[dayisfading]

lol just gonna vent about work for a second:

i'm realizing why (aside from the bullshit accommodation situation) i have been feeling so demoralized at work lately. our newest team member is about 8 months in now, so he is taking on more and more responsibilities, which includes data visualization bc he knows tableau. blah blah blah, i won't go into the details of what's gone on the last two months but i had a very frustrating experience with a project i was working with him on.

anyway, what's bugging me is this: this huge initiative that we compile/analyze/report the data for has been central for my entire time in this role; when i got here, we had hardly any data. i was central to compiling basically all of it, providing descriptive analytics and some basic visualizations (so. many. excel. charts.) there's not many people on my team, so truly, i think it's fair to say i have the most thorough understanding of this data, not just in terms of what it represents for this initiative, but also what it takes to compile it.

so it frustrates me for someone to come in who has significant experience with data analysis tools but less experience (seemingly) with like, being in the trenches with data. i don't know how else to explain it, but like, we're talking merging, compiling, analyzing and visualizing data all with excel! versus running code on a dataset that you were just given & not actually spending a lot of time in the data. (this is how a bunch of errors almost ended up in a pretty big presentation!)

also, on a related note, i am frustrated with my position because i do have to spend so much time mired in data, i don't have a whole lot of time to learn and implement new skills, but i have all of this analytic understanding courtesy of my two soc degrees that i never get to use! it's not about not liking what i do, it's just feeling like i'm slightly being pushed out of things i was central to building and simultaneously feeling like i'm lowest on the totem pole.

and i'm also like, slightly jaded in this weird backwards way because i don't understand why i was promoted in the context of all this lmao. it sucks to feel like i need more education to be able to advance in my field because the only skills i'm developing rn are with antiquated tools.

[boyfeminism]

i joined a zine ages ago and like i was really excited but i over committed to my concept and now i fully like cannot stand thinking about it or looking at it or anything i havent touched it since the last check in and its due at the end of the month and its not going to look good and i know that i need to finish it bc like i said i would and im probably being harder on myself than i need to be bc it isnt For Someone its for a zine but im straight up having a bad time im avoiding it so intensely i do not wanna draw it

[nanlanmoarchived]

i'm here!

a little distracted as i'm trying to work both jobs at the same time (thanks galaxy brain) but come chat while i work?

alternatively like this for me to send some memes?

[satorhime]

i hope to get some writing done 2morrow so i can release my joel fic + another gojo thirst next week or two 🥹

[comradecowplant]

Reading a short story with multiple references to dampness and an obsession with pointing out the fatness of characters: this was written by a British "person" 😒

[vos0q]

“Poison of Salvation”

[bropunzeling]

"sports rpf means dumbing down your beautiful paragraphs by 50%" is a boring reductive take and im tired of seeing it. first of all, close 3rd person pov is not meant to be an accurate depiction of a real internal monologue, it is a literary tool. maybe a sports boy wouldn't think that beautiful thought about the ocean spontaneously, but guess what - neither did you or i! we had to actively work and think and edit to come up with that gorgeous sentence, and that's fine, because that's how fiction works!! we write larger than life to convey an essential truth about life!! it's fINE. second of all, the whole thing smacks of dumb jock stereotypes and that shit isn't cute. maybe they don't know what alliteration is, but i don't know shit about back-checking or the inside of a car engine. maybe we're both big dummies. have you thought about that.

[yangjeongin]

INTRODUCING … STRAY KIDS! (CHK CHK BOOM VER.)

[deathberi]

I'M SORRY, KUCHIKI. SEEMS LIKE I'M ALWAYS MAKING THINGS HARD FOR YOU... THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF BATTLES… YOU UNDERSTAND, DON'T YOU, KUCHIKI?

[perplexi]

"What did you do Boxman??" 💢 ".......Nvmd, don't care." 😛💜💚✨

[bugeyedfreaks]

I just like drawing her in fun outfits that look nice, I’m sorry. ❤️☠️

[pollyanna-nana]

I literally do not care what any official English media says I am NOT CALLING HIM SISSEL like are you kidding me. The end credits say Thistle as well so I don’t know what is going ON BRO.

THERE’S A REASON HIS NAME IS THISTLE!!! IT’S NOT ARBITRARY!

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Steddie Upside-down AU Part 27

Part 1  Part 26

Eddie drags the kiddie pool into the gym, cursing under his breath. This is such a waste of time. They have absolutely no proof Supergirl’s powers are even real, much less that she’ll be able to contact Steve on the other side.

“This is taking too long,” Eddie grumbles.

Uncle Wayne gives him a warning look from where he’s attaching extensions to the hose they’d dragged into the gym from the pool room. “We need to figure out where he is before we go in, guns blazing.”

“He’ll be in the trailer!” Eddie says heatedly. “Like I said!”

Wayne’s brows furrowed just like the last time he’d said that. Like the idea of rich boy Steve Harrington willingly hanging out in their trailer was too much for him to take on faith alone.

Joyce, not moving from her place next to Supergirl, smiles at him pityingly. “It’s going to be dangerous, sweetie,” she says, voice low. “We need to make sure that he’s still—”

“Alive?” Will asks. He’s sitting on the bleachers, smushed between all his friends, wringing his hands. Beside him, Mike grabs one of his hands, stopping him from bruising his knuckles with the force of his pulling. Will squeezes his hand hard enough that Mike winces. He doesn’t pull his hand away, just clutches his other hand onto his own knee. Eddie aches.

Joyce doesn’t answer, but she meets her son’s gaze, eyes shining, and that’s answer enough.

“He is,” Eddie asserts, barely feeling better when Will nods.

“We’re already set up, kid,” Hopper says, dumping pounds of what looks like salt into the pool. “A couple more minutes can’t hurt.”

Eddie shares a loaded look with Will. None of them understand how quickly things can go bad over there, how hurt Steve already was. They can’t feel the way there’s a tug in Eddie’s sternum, pulling him toward the other boy.

Joyce settles Supergirl into the pool, soothing her, holding her hand. The girl looks like an alien with the dark glasses obscuring her face, casting darker shadows onto her face in the already-dark gym. She looks like a corpse, floating there, with no

Then, it’s silence. And waiting. Eddie wants to scream at her, demand answers. What’s she seeing? Is Steve okay?

Even more so when the lights start flickering again. Eddie backs up on instinct, lowering his center of gravity to crouch in front of Will as the kid clutches at the loose hem of his pant leg.

The flickering stops as the girl gasps. The lights go out, making the water she’s floating in seem like a dark pit of oil. Eddie almost excepts the dark, grasping claw of the Demogorgon to come out of its depths and yank her down. It doesn’t.

“Is Steve okay?” Will calls, voice quiet. “Is he okay?”

She doesn’t twitch, like she didn’t hear him at all. The silence makes Eddie’s toes curl into the soles of his boots to keep him in place. He feels Will’s nails through the material of his pants as the kid holds on tighter. Their collective breathing, so loud in the silence, seems like it’s echoing off the vaulted ceiling.

Then, Supergirl speaks.

“It’s dark.”

Eddie pictures Steve, huddled into himself on Eddie’s bed, waiting for them to come back to him. Maybe he’s changed into a pair of Eddie’s clothes, his own covered with blood and grime. Maybe he’s snooping through Eddie’s things. He hopes Steve doesn’t look under his bed.

“Not here.”

It hits like a punch. He staggers a little, and another small fist clutches onto his shirt. Maybe Will’s other hand, maybe one of the other kids. He doesn’t look away from the pool to check.

“What do you mean ‘not here?’” Eddie demands.

There are tremors running through his whole body. He barely feels it, wonders if he’s inside his body at all, right now.  

“Big house,” Supergirl says.

“Oh, no,” Eddie says.

Eddie thinks of that poor dog that used to always be chained up three trailers down from theirs until the Parker’s packed their shit up and moved away. When approached, the dog would cower into the front porch it was chained to, making itself hidden and small. Eddie used to try to pet it, but there’s only so much a dog can take before it turns mean, starts snapping at anything that moves.

Everyone had thought the Parker’s had taken the dog with them. They’d all shaken their heads at the poor treatment but washed their hands of the business before doing a thing to try and help.

They’d found the dog three weeks later when the smell had gotten too much. It’d crawled under the porch and died. Even when home was full of monstrous thing, it’d still drug its body back there for its final resting place.

“I know where he is,” Eddie whispers.

That first night, Steve had dragged Eddie into his closet on instinct, like it was the only place they’d be safe. Like a dog slinking under the porch to die.

Eddie runs toward the pool, feels small hands try to hold on before they give way. He drops to his knees next to the pool, barely stopping himself from shaking the little girl floating inside it. He clutches the side, shouts down at her, “tell him we’re coming.”

“Your friends,” she whispers into the darkness of the gym, “they’re coming for you.”

She’s quiet for a minute, before saying, “he says to hurry.”

“Tell him to stay where he is,” Hopper says.

“Just hold on a little longer, Steve,” she says.

“Steve?” Eddie says, quiet like he’s still sitting beside him in Steve’s closet, knees knocking as his hanging clothes shroud them. “I’m coming.”

Then Supergirl’s yelling, “Steve!” on repeat, like he’s drifting away. Like she’s trying to get to him.

Eddie reaches in for her, just as Joyce does, their fingers tangling on the girl as they both pull her up and out.

“Okay, okay.” Joyce says, “I’ve got you. You did so good.”

“Is Steve okay?” Eddie demands. His voice comes out as a croak.

Wayne crouches down beside him, old knees popping, and clutches his shoulder. Eddie doesn’t take his eyes off Supergirl. She raises her head slowly, eyes filled with tears as she slowly raises her eyes and meets his gaze, looking like she’d rather look anywhere else.

She shakes her head slowly. “We have to hurry,” she says. “He is out of time.”

Part 28