#Steve Guest

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

==

"Thank goodness the Gender Studies majors have arrived," said no climatologist ever. When you have a degree in hammering, you need to convince the world that everything is a nail.

Scientific American has been captured by an anti-science cult.

[blogfullofemos]

My Look Precedes Me

Based from this picture:

Synopsis: You're sitting on Eddie's bed with nothing but homework dispersed around you. And well... Baby has been in the corner... FOR FAR TOO LONG!!!

Word Count: 1k+

Warning: explicit words and a lot of angst. Italics is for flashbacks. I also believe that Eddie is very anxiety ridden, like moi. So yeah. Do what you will with that lol. Also has been proofread multiple times. (I wanna give you the best of the best okay 🥲)

Pairing: Eddie Munson + female reader

Lastly thank you so so so so so much for the shockingly amazing amount of feedback I received on my last 2 Eddie Munson blurbs. Thank you for the hearts, reblogs, and follows. Also I love the commentary cuz yes this man indeed drives me feral. But at times, he's just like me. 😭 Enjoy and let me know how you feel darling.

Eddie’s antsy. Eddie’s pissed. Better yet, if he has to deal with this any longer!! Eddie’s going to bring the upside down, downside up!! Or however the fuck they would reverse it. Sitting on a bean bag at the corner of his room, Eddie blatantly stares at you with furrowed brows. Wearing nothing but his favorite, black-ripped skinny jeans, his right leg bounces rapidly. His guitar resting still from the action as his hands fidgets all around it. Rolling his brown eyes, he presses his hand against his bottom lip to bite at the skin. Trying his best to distract himself from his fuming impatience. 

     For 2 and a half weeks, you’ve been…. Distant. And with no reason. The first week you started to make conversations between you two short, didn’t acknowledge when he wanted to make you the priority, and lastly you didn’t answer his phone calls. At all. You’re his girlfriend, right? Obsessively he checked if you still sported his guitar pick necklace. His heart finding some semblance of solace, as he watched your habit of twirling the pick between your fingers when talking to others, never stopped. 

“Hey… Uh-umm are we o-okay?” he asks shakily. With his hands in his pockets, he picks at the skin on his fingers. Clammy, heart burning, and thoughts racing for the worst; he kept his focus trained on the gravel crunch of his shoes. Never wanting you to see the fear anticipating to implode if his assumptions rang true. “You’re too in your head, Eds.” you giggle softly. Trying to break the unnerving silence, you scatter tiny rocks with a kick but nothing changes. You give it a few more steps. “Eddie?” you say, looking beside you with worry. Taken aback, you whip your head to look behind you. With a 4ft distance, Eddie stood still. His curls lightly drift with the wind as his head remains drooped. ‘Then why didn’t you notice I stopped? You must be in your head too.’ he thinks as a sniffle betrays him. In an instant, he hears you drop the scholarly books you held close to you and run towards him. “Eddie, baby..”, “Eds you’ve done nothing wrong..”, “Baby its me, not you okay.” you rush out. And with perfect deflection, you kissed him deeply.

      The 2nd week was pure Hell. You made it your mission to not cross paths anytime during class hours, and when it came to lunch. You would just sit next to him, hold his hand, and if he was lucky you would laugh at a joke he made. Eye contact was the least of your worries.

“Sooo what’s happening here?” Steve abruptly asks as he dips his french fry into ketchup. Sitting across from you at the table, Steve quirks his brow at you as your focus snaps to him. Successfully cutting your convo with Robin down completely.  “What do you mean?” you laugh off.

“Well Lisa needs me.” Robin announces, quickly freeing herself from the table. Your eyebrow raises at her sudden departure, but she just smiles and waves before scurrying to whatever table Lisa is at. Who even is Lisa? You don’t realize Eddie profusely shaking his head at Steve, before smacking his hand on his face as Steve clears his throat. “You and Eddie.” you look at Eddie with confusion. With his hand covering his mouth and nose flared, he just stares at Steve. “Something’s off.” Steve finishes, biting his ketchup covered french fry. Eddie squeezes your intertwined hand with his, needing to break your inquisitive eyes from his teetering restraint. Even if it was just for a moment. Steve chuckles, “I mean…” he takes another bite to a fry “Why are you-?”

“Steve. Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Eddie warns, trying his best to keep his hands at where they were.

“No. Munson. It’s… “ Steve slowly pushes the styrofoam plate aside, contemplating his next words wisely. Your eyes searched for what was to come out of Steve's mouth, but he sighs. “You are no Madonna.” Steve points at you, “And YOU!!” he points at Eddie “Are no Sean Penn!!”. In seconds your jaw drops, milk splatters onto Steve as Eddie tosses its small carton at his head, and Steve is now over the table grappling Eddie.

    The taste of iron seeps within his mouth as he recollects himself from his triggering memories. Slapping his hands on each side of his bean bag chair, he shoots himself off of it. Quickly catching his guitar from falling, he swiftly places its strap on his shoulder. “I wrote a song for you.” he says heated, snatching the sheet you were filling out and crumbling it. 

“EDS!!” you yell out in shock, trying to snatch the balled-up paper from him but he puts it in his mouth. Before you could even say anything, he scratches his pick against his guitar strings. The scratchy sounds reverberating throughout his room loudly, since he always has his amp on max. Chewing the paper, he strums a quick solo, spitting the saliva-soaked blob at you. Disgusted you watch him headbang to a heavy riff, “WHY ARE YOU DRAGGING ME ALONG, SO FUCKING HIGH STRUNG, ANOTHER DAY OF THIS AND WE’LL BE DONE!!” he bursts out, strumming his guitar strings like he was punching it. 

    Your heart sank as he continues the angry riff, his brown eyes twitching as tears slowly begin to creep their way out. “LOVE YOU BUT IT JUST SEEMS TO BE FUN, YEAH EDDIE, THAT’S A GOOD ONE!! DOES SHE LOVE YOU, DOES SHE EVEN KNOW WHAT SHE WANTS!!” he continues. The vein in his neck protrudes from how loud he was screaming. You nibble on your bottom lip, your eyes welling up, but Eddie didn’t care to stop. Because when did you ever 'cared' to stop? Your intense stare never once faltering as he stalks towards your laid-back body. “CUZ IF SHE WANTS TO UP AND R-.” his voice cracks as his eyes winces, heavy tears running down his cheeks. His nose flares as he struggles to breathe, his hands not keeping up the harsh tempo. Opening his mouth, you scream “MY PARENTS ARE PLANNING TO SEND ME AWAY!!”.

“What?” Steve says, thrown back and silencing his guitar strings eerie screeching. Finally, you explain your past actions followed by a full blown breakdown. Believing you were invincible, your father always seemed to catch you in an act. And this one labelled you his grandest mistake. During a rage fit, “NO DAUGHTER OF MINE WILL BE WITH A DRUGGED-OUT LOSER!!” you repeated to Eddie. Causing Eddie to turn away from you, walk a few steps away, and plop on the end of his bed. Your father gave you an ultimatum. If you chose Eddie, he would send you away to live with your great grandmother. Well more like take care of your prudish great-grandmother. But if you chose different, then life goes as usual. And the only way he knew you weren't seeing Eddie, is if you focused on getting your grades up. Eddie looks up to his ceiling, bemused on how oblivious he was in all of this. The puzzle finally putting itself together.

     “BUT- but I choose you Eddie.” you cry, quickly placing your hand on top of his. Eddie stared at the walls while you vented out your frustration, silently crying. He hates your dad. But he understood his smothering defense. If they were to reverse roles, he would've done the same. But God he felt so wrong for placing all of his pent-up rage towards you. It wasn’t you who was pulling away, it was your family prying you off of him. Broken, he finally looks at you with soaked lashes, “A drugged-out loser huh.” he sadly repeats your father’s remark. You pout. Bringing him close, you rest his head on your chest. The strong sound of your heart beat causing him to sob.

As it was the first time he ever heard a precious thing give texture to his ostracized existence.

[artiststarme]

Eddie didn’t like children. Well correction, he didn’t like little children. He watched the tiny humans run around the streets of the trailer park with their capes and missing teeth and it freaked him out. He saw the woman two trailers over with a baby in his arms and cringed at the sight. The little ones freaked him out. What good were the little fleshbags other than staring unseeingly into the distance and screeching through the neighborhood? He didn’t know so he avoided all of them like the plague.

Steve loved kids. He loved the innocence they had and the glow in their eyes when they looked up at people. He remembered when he had innocence and a shine of hope in his eyes. Simpler times those had been. But he loved kids, helping them and making sure they kept their innocence and hope for as long as humanly possible. However, he too didn’t like little ones. Babies were so frail and fragile that he was always far too scared to even go near them.

That’s why it was the perfect option to adopt a four year old girl and her six year old brother. They were big enough not to be “useless fleshbags” according to Eddie and they were big and enough not to be seen as overly delicate to Steve. When they chose to adopt the siblings into their small family, Steve and Eddie made things complete.

[kuzakvanowenshays]

Steve Buscemi guest-starring in L.A Law (1991) [episode 6.4]

[vagueeyes]

Finished reading MULBERRY CLOSE and rewatched/read along afterwards. (Am I doing this for all of s9? Maybe.)

A main reason this is my favourite episode of s9 is its homage to REAR WINDOW, and how it goes a step further and inverts it. Hitchcock's film is done from James Stewart's character's/his apartment's POV and we mostly see what he chooses to focus on (and it cuts/the camera moves accordingly) - but this episode's camera is static, so we, as the audience, have to choose where to look. Staring at the spider crawling into view? You're going to miss hearing the off-screen argument.

Script-wise, this was another episode that had more scenes cut out than I was expecting, such as removing the more overt references to Damon's alcoholism. It's there in the episode, but we get it from Reece & Vinette Robinson, rather than have it spelled out for us. This thread in the sub has some lovely comments about their performances:

Further thoughts & observations:

Finally I find out the car brand mentioned by Kenny - definitely feeling the cultural gap there. As an aside, I will always laugh at how Val & Damon's car is at the edge of the frame - it's clearly so Reece can seamlessly switch places with his stunt driver.

Val & Damon are so cute 😭. They were working things out and just wanted to live their lives!!

This is one bit I wish they left in...

Something I've come to appreciate about this ep is the amount of improvisation that was done. The parts where Val & Damon argue off-screen are written into the script, but what they are arguing about is not. Imagine the footage of this! Also, the little back-and-forth between Sheila and Kenny as they come up to Val/Damon's house for the first time is not scripted at all - that was definitely ad-libbed.

It's so funny r&s envisioned Sheila's legs dangling from the top of the screen, during the scene where she breaks into the house. Watching back this time I caught the sound of the window closing, at the bit where Kenny tries to distract Damon from turning round/looking up!

This is my favourite bit of the script (and it occurs on Day 9, heh). Watching the scene back, it's not obvious, but there is a second where Damon seems to look straight into the doorbell camera - and I love that this is specifically written in, as if to say to us, "See? We know Damon being a murderer is obvious. Wait till you see what happens next 😉..." On first watch, I was wondering whether Damon was playing this up for the doorbell camera, knowing the footage is recorded - thankfully, I was wrong. It's been a while since I've seen REAR WINDOW, but looking at some vids I think this scene achieves a similar effect of showing something to the audience that the characters don't know about:

It's also heartbreaking to think that this phone message is likely the last thing Val hears from Damon, and her phone message/murder is the last thing he hears from her...

But! A huge smile on my face when I got to this page and found that "You're never gonna get your Tupperware back now, are ya, SHEILA??" wasn't scripted!!

And finally - it's not the same thing, but this was a Mulberry Close I spotted the last time we were in the UK hehe. I think there's also a building in Hampstead Heath called Mulberry Close, but at the time it seemed weird to stop in the middle of a busy sidewalk to snap a pic, so I moved on...

[bishonenspit]

my favourite picture of maya mineo x

[kitmarlowe]

Uncle Dickie, life and soul of the party, and my favourite. Funnier than Peter Kay and smarter than Fred Dibnah.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Nancy Wheeler & her lost boys

A stoncy fanfiction

Nancy and Jonathan had been tasked by Joyce to check on the other kids while she took Will to the hospital. Nancy needed to know that her own brother was okay, and Steve, too. . .he needed to know that he wasn't a shitty boyfriend. She should have done it then, but she had been thrown by the gentle way he spoke to her. . .the softness in his voice. He should have been angry. He had every right to be because if it had been the other way around and he had run off with another girl, she would have been hurt, too. She didn't know why, but the soft hurt in his voice made her feel worse about what she had done, and she wished she had handled it better.

"Jonathan?" She asked before they got out of the car.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I don't want to do anything else until. . .until all three of us talk properly," Nancy said.

"All three of us?" He asked.

"I just need to make sure that he's going to be okay," Nancy said.

"I mean, I don't think it's going to help, but it's your decision," Jonathan said.

Nancy frowned. Maybe he was right. Maybe it would only make things worse, but she had to try. . .and maybe she just didn't want to let Steve go. It was entirely possible that she was being selfish here. It was also possible that she was a freak who wanted them both.

"Let's go," Nancy said.

They walked into Jonathan's house to find Steve and the kids tying up a barely conscious Billy Hargrove in Jonathan's kitchen. Steve looked bloody and beaten.

"What the hell?" Jonathan asked.

"Let's face it, this isn't the craziest thing that happened in your house," Steve said. "Not even tonight, in fact."

"Man's got a point, Jonathan," Dustin said.

Nancy let out a delicious burst of laughter and clapped a hand to her mouth. She moved to Mike and wrapped an arm around him.

"Are you okay?" She asked Mike.

"Yeah, your boyfriend's a badass," Mike said.

"I'm not her boyfriend anymore," Steve said, without looking at them.

He had tried to hide the sadness and longing in the room, but it was clear to everyone in this room. He was trying hard to be okay with it. Nancy swallowed thickly.

"What happened?" Nancy asked.

"It's my fault," a redheaded girl said, and Nancy turned to her. "I'm Max. . .Billy is my stepbrother. . .I wasn't supposed to hang out with Lucas, and he was going to kill us if Steve hadn't stepped in."

Nancy knew that she wasn't exaggerating when she said that, and she knew why Billy didn't want Max around Lucas. The moment that Nancy had seen Billy, had met him at Tina's, she felt there was something off about him. Nancy placed a hand on Max's shoulder.

"This isn't your fault, Max, none of it," Nancy said, looking into her eyes. "Billy had no right to force you to stay away from Lucas when you didn't want to."

"Thanks," Max said softly.

"She's right, and I'd totally be dead if it weren't for you, Max," Steve said. "You saved my life."

"Only because you showed me how. . .when you faced the demodogs by yourself and then moved yourself in front of me. . .I can't remember the last time someone's done that for me," Max said. "Thank you. . .ugh, okay, enough of the chick flick moment. . ."

Nancy noticed that Max had smiled softly at Steve as she moved to talk to Lucas.

"Are you okay?" Jonathan asked Steve.

Nancy looked over at him in surprise. Jonathan generally didn't have a whole lot to say to Steve and usually didn't glance his way, but this time, he was looking straight at Steve. He looked surprised and amazed at the sight of him.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be fine," Steve said. "It's nothing, really. . .he shouldn't have gone after the kids like that. . .I had to do anything to stop him, as long as he wasn't hurting those kids. Rather me than them."

"Steve," Nancy and Jonathan said.

Suddenly, Steve stumbled, his legs almost giving out.

"I'm okay," he said, and then he started to drop.

"Steve!"

Jonathan dove to catch him, and he buckled under Steve’s weight. Luckily, he managed to sit up, holding on tightly to Steve.

"I got a little dizzy. . .little hard to breathe, too," Steve said.

"You need a hospital, man," Jonathan said.

"I can walk it off," Steve scowled.

Jonathan helped him stand up and moved away from him.

"Well, walk it off, then," Jonathan said, and Nancy snickered, as he reminded her strongly of his mother just then.

Steve’s knees buckled again, and before he could fall to the floor, Jonathan wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Asshole," Steve said.

"Takes one to know one," Jonathan said.

Nancy smiled at them for a moment before helping them out the door, ushering the kids with them. Nancy ran back in to leave a note in case Hopper came back. She grabbed a piece of paper and used Billy's forehead to write on. She made sure to punctuate each sentence perfectly and rather aggressively. She grabbed duct tape and taped it his forehead. She might have made it longer than necessary, putting a lot of duct tape in his perfect blond hair. She stared at him and tilted her head to the side. She could do it right here and now. She could grab the shot gun and shoot right between his -

"You're not shooting his dick off Nancy," Jonathan said, suddenly from behind her. "Come on."

"Not even a little?" Nancy asked.

"My family eats in this kitchen. . .I cook in this kitchen, I don't want anything - ,"

Suddenly, the fridge burst open, and a dead rolled up demodog fell out. Nancy and Jonathan hollered.

"What the fuck?!" Nancy exclaimed and put her hand to her chest. "This has Dustin written all over it."

"Definitely," Jonathan said and paused. "The kids need us."

"Right," Nancy said and spat into Billy's hair before they finally walked out towards Jonathan's car.

The kids were all sitting on each other in the back with Mike sitting in Dustin's lap while Lucas sat in Max's. Steve was sitting behind the passenger's seat.

"I wasn't going to be sitting in anyone's lap," Max said when Nancy looked at her.

Jonathan started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

"Are you comfortable, Michael?" Nancy asked with a teasing grin.

"Shut up, Nance," Mike replied with a scowl, and then his face softened. "But yeah."

"How are you doing, Steve?" Nancy asked.

"I'm good," Steve said, and then he paused. "Thank you."

While there was this tense feeling still between them, it definitely felt like it had softened. She just wanted him to be okay. Nancy listened to the kids retelling on the way to the hospital of Steve’s heroics, and she couldn't help but think. . .what if Steve had died? Nancy felt her chest tighten, and she blinked back the tears. She could feel Jonathan's eyes on her, and she turned to him only to find him looking at the road again. He was clutching the steering wheel, and she wondered what he was thinking about. They immediately brought him into the hospital, the kids following behind them like ducklings. Once they handed him off to the doctors, they went with the kids to the waiting room.

"I'm going to go find my mom," Jonathan said. "You'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I can handle the kids," Nancy said in amusement. "You should be worried whether they'll be able to handle me."

Jonathan laughed and looked at her like he wanted to kiss her. He shook his head and left. Nancy moved and sat down next to her brother.

"Are you with Jonathan now?" Mike asked.

"It's complicated," Nancy said and studied Mike's face. "El's going to be alright, Mike. She's really strong and very stubborn."

"I know," Mike said and paused. "Steve’s going to be alright, too."

Mike took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Bruised ribs, a concussion, a broken nose, a fractured cheekbone, and the doctor said he's lucky that his jaw isn't broken!" Nancy told Jonathan.

They were in Steve's room now. The doctors were hoping to keep him for a couple of days, but knowing Steve, he was probably going to check himself out by tomorrow.

"Jesus," Jonathan muttered. "Hargrove really did a number on you."

"I'm - ," Steve started to say.

"I swear to God if you say you're okay one more time, I'm going to scream," Nancy said.

"I will be okay," he said.

"I mean, it's a little better but not much," she sniffled.

"You should have seen how scared she was," Steve muttered. "Max. . .like she thought that Billy would actually kill her, and I don't blame her for thinking that. When he was on top of me, before I passed out, you should have seen the look in his eyes. . .he was going to kill me, and he would enjoy doing it too. . .I felt how much he enjoyed it."

A few tears slipped from Steve's eyes. He had come really close to death underneath Hargrove's hands, and it had scared the shit out of him. It scared Nancy, too. She was about to move towards Steve when Jonathan suddenly took his hand.

"I'm sorry," Jonathan said.

"It's not like you did it," Steve said.

"Didn't I?" Jonathan asked.

"You weren't nearly as bad as Hargrove. Besides, I provoked you. . .I wanted you to hit me," Steve said.

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

"Because I - because I was hurting. . .when you walk in on your dad cheating on your mom so many times, it kind of makes you not trust people romantically. . .it's why I never got close to people like I did with Nancy. I always swore I would never put myself in that situation where I got hurt like that, so I always made it clear that I wasn't looking for anything serious, but then Nancy Wheeler came along and changed my plans," Steve said. "I wanted to feel as bad on the outside as I did on the outside."

"I'm sorry," Nancy said.

"Don't be. . .it was totally worth it," Steve said. "I'd do it all again except for one thing. . .I'd check on Barb."

"It wasn't your fault," Nancy said.

"Maybe not, but it was my responsibility as the host," Steve said. "It wasn't your fault either, Nancy. None of it. . .I know if you could have found a way to handle it better, you would have. You'd never intentionally hurt me. I can never believe you would, and it doesn't mean that I'm like my mother. You're certainly nothing like my father, who goes out of his way to hurt her."

"Damn it," Jonathan cursed.

"What?" He asked.

"Why did you have to go and prove me wrong?" Jonathan asked.

"About what?" Steve asked.

"Steve Harrington is a good man, with good hair. It seems impossible to be both," Jonathan said, and Steve laughed.

Nancy smiled at them both and at the sight of Jonathan still holding Steve’s hand. Goddamnit, she loved them both.

"You know, you two are a lot more like each other than you think," Nancy said.

"And how is that?" Jonathan asked.

"Both have asshole fathers, both mama's boys, and if Dustin has his way, he's going to end up with Steve wrapped around his finger just like Will with Jonathan," Nancy teased.

"Well, Dustin's super obnoxious, but. . .he's also a great kid," Steve shrugged.

"And I'll doubt you will be able to say no to him just like Jonathan can't say no to Will," Nancy continued to tease.

"Hey, I say no to Will all the time," Jonathan said.

"Yeah, but do you ever follow through?" She asked. "You might want to take a page out of my book."

She was pleased when Steve laughed at that.

"You know, I always wanted a little brother," Steve said softly. "Partially, because I didn't want to be left alone but also because it would be nice to have someone to share things with. . .like basketball or comic books. . ."

"You know, whenever I take a picture, I always think that people are saying what they're really thinking, but I never look any deeper than that. Sometimes, a picture is just a picture, and there's more to people than what a single image tells me. I just thought, with your image. . .it was telling me exactly who I thought you were," Jonathan said. "And I've never been more glad to be wrong in my entire life. . .Holy shit, Steve Harrington is not just a jock but he's also a nerd."

"I am not a nerd," Steve laughed.

"You read comic books!" Jonathan laughed.

"Doesn't everyone?" Steve asked.

"No!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Okay, so I'm a nerd," Steve grinned. "Sue me."

"And I'll take you for everything that you're worth," Jonathan said, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

Nancy smiled at the two men, their hands still interlocked. With the way that Jonathan was looking at him, she was wondering if he was starting to see what she had always seen in Steve: a lost boy trying to find his way in this world. Nancy wondered if that made her Peter Pan because, in some ways, Jonathan was also a lost boy. Nancy quickly mentioned something about getting some snacks and slipped out of the room to give them time to talk. She was moving down the hallway when she heard Jonathan and turned around.

"You still love him," Jonathan said, breathing heavily.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"I mean, I know you said that when he asked, and you couldn't tell him. . .maybe that doesn't mean that you don't," Jonathan said. "I've seen you tonight. . .you're terrified of losing him like that. . .at all. Maybe in some ways, you think that pushing him away might just save him. I know it probably won't be long before you do the same with me."

"Jonathan. . .," Nancy said.

"If there's all one thing that we all have in common, it's that when we're hurting the most, we push people away, especially when we know that's when we need them," Jonathan said. "I don't want to do that."

"Me neither," Nancy said.

"If you want Steve, then I think we can work something out," Jonathan said. "Just. . .be honest."

"Okay. . ."

A week later. . .

"THIS IS SUCH BULLSHIT!" Nancy and Mike yelled.

Nancy was glad to have her brother on her side for this one. They were in the Byers' kitchen talking to Hopper and Joyce.

"My hands are tied," Hopper said.

"So, Hargrove gets to walk around like he did nothing wrong?" Nancy asked.

"He's seen too much," Hopper said. "We can't be raising any questions right now."

"He also nearly killed Steve. Just one punch away from having Steve’s own nose stab his brains," Nancy said.

"He slammed Lucas into the wall, and he nearly ran us over with his car!" Mike yelled. "He's a psychopath!"

"And a psychopath who's seen what happened in this house! We can't have any other cop asking him questions, and right now, we don't have the resources to just make him disappear with his father asking questions himself. Right now, he can claim that he was defending his stepsister, and you know they'll believe him," Hopper said.

"Of course, you're not going to do anything," Nancy spat.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hopper asked, slamming his hands down on the table.

"I'm talking about Barb!" Nancy screamed. "Nothing! Nothing was done about her. . .all people could say was that she ran away! All I heard from people like Carol Perkins was that it was my fault! That Barb was tired of my bullshit and that she couldn't stand it anymore! Every time I went over to Barb's parents, all I could see was them wondering what they did wrong. . .waiting by the phone and hoping she'd call, but she never would! She NEVER would! Steve was there. . .he was the only one there, and eventually Jonathan was there, too, but it wasn't enough! And you weren't there at all! Where were you?"

Hopper stood up, scraping the chair back. He moved towards Nancy and hugged her tightly, cradling the back of her head. When did she start crying?

"I'm sorry, kid," Hopper said.

"I had to do something. I couldn't wait around anymore," Nancy sniffled. "I didn't mean to make it harder for us, especially for El."

"I should have tried harder to be there for you and for Barb," Hopper sighed.

"You did so much already, helping all of us, this town and Jonathan's family," Nancy said. "You're only one person. . .of course, you can't be there all the time. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you didn't do enough."

"You need to remember that, too. You can't do everything either. Not everything is your fault or your responsibility," Hopper said. "You need to forgive yourself, kid. It's going to swallow you up until you forget how to live completely."

"I don't know how," she sobbed.

"It takes time, kid," Hopper said. "Just a hell of a lot of time."

"I'm pretty sure that killing Hargrove might make me feel better," Nancy said, and Hopper laughed.

"No, it won't," he replied and squeezed her tightly.

"You and Jonathan. . .he wouldn't let me shoot Hargrove's dick off. . .I don't know, something about how he cooks in here," Nancy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, no, it definitely wouldn't have been sanitary," Joyce agreed with a laugh.

"So, there's nothing that we can do?" Nancy asked.

"He's not stupid enough to step out of line, and he knows that we're all watching him. For now, that's the only thing that we can do," Hopper said. "The minute that he messes up again. . .I'm there, kid, I swear it."

He couldn't make promises like that, especially in the town that they lived in, but Nancy knew that Hopper would do everything in his power to try to make it happen. Nancy frowned as Max popped into her head. What would happen to her? She knew she looked up to Steve like a brother now, but what about having a big sister? Well, Nancy might not be able to do anything about Hargrove, but she did have the ability to make sure that Max didn't spend a whole lot of time in that house. She hoped that Mike wouldn't mind having Max sleep over occasionally.

"I need to shoot something," she muttered.

"You and me both. How about I take you to the shooting range and we take our anger out on some posters instead of people?" Hopper asked.

"I'd like that," Nancy said. "I'm going to head back. Leave you guys to it. Sorry, Joyce."

"You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart," Joyce said and hugged her.

Nancy turned to head back to Jonathan's bedroom with Mike but was stopped by Hopper.

"Hey, I know how hard it is for you. . .to go through all of that, and I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. You took a big risk going after the lab like but I admire your strength and loyalty to do that for your friend. It took guts, kid," Hopper said, and she smiled at him. "Hell, I'm proud of you for being able to put up with Murray for that long."

Nancy laughed and ushered Mike back to Jonathan's room, where they were all hanging out. Jonathan was sitting on his bed, his back to the wall, with Steve leaning against him while Jonathan had his arm around his shoulders. His other hand was playing with Steve’s hair while Steve read a comic book. Dustin, Lucas, Max, Will, and El were sprawled out on the floor. It took some encouragement, but Nancy got El to talk to Max. Now, Max was showing both El and Will Wonder Woman comics. Lucas and Dustin were both trying to pretend like they weren't interested as well. Idiots, she thought affectionately.

"We heard you yelling," Steve said. "Everything okay?"

It was a little hard to talk with his nose broken and cheekbone fractured, but Nancy could understand him perfectly. She raised the comic book and kissed Steve carefully behind before kissing Jonathan.

"I love you," Nancy said to both of them.

"We love you, too," they said.

"I'll tell you about it later," Nancy replied.

"Nancy's not fooling anyone with that comic book!" Dustin teased.

"Shut up, Dustin!" Steve yelled, and he groaned.

Though he was healing, Steve was still in a lot of pain, despite how hard he tried to hide it. Nancy and Jonathan were also worried about his hearing. He was definitely having trouble on his left side. Nancy turned up the music so the kids wouldn't hear their conversation.

"Okay, so, Jonathan and I had thought that we might see if Eddie Munson has some special k for you tomorrow," Nancy said.

"I had thought about getting you weed, but Nancy pointed out that you probably won't be able to smoke with your injuries," Jonathan said.

"You don't have to do that," he said.

"Nonsense," Nancy said.

"We want to," Jonathan said.

He stroked Steve’s hair before leaning down to kiss him carefully with Nancy and the comic book in front of them.

"Let us do this for you, Steve," Nancy said.

"It's pointless arguing with you," he muttered. "Okay. . ."

The next day, they left Will and Steve in the very capable hands of Joyce, who promised to look after their boy while they did what they needed to. It didn't take them long to pull into Forest Hills trailer park, and it didn't take them long for them to find his trailer either. They all knew what his van looked like.

"Are we sure about this?" Jonathan asked.

"It's fine. You said that he just started selling, right?" Nancy asked.

"Sometime around the end of last year when his house burned down and he had to officially move in with his uncle," Jonathan said.

"You said that he stood up for Will and that he took a baseball to the stomach for him," Nancy pointed out.

"Well, I also heard he shot a cop," Jonathan said.

"Jonathan James Byers - " Nancy said

"Actually, that's Will's middle name," Jonathan said.

"I didn't think you were one for listening to rumors. I heard he saved the cop's life, and I'm choosing to believe that," Nancy said and he gave her a look. "It's alright, Jonathan, I've never bought drugs before either. Let's do this for Steve."

They got out of Jonathan's car and walked up to the front door of the trailer. Nancy had just raised her fist to knock when the door suddenly burst open. Eddie nearly collided with them.

"Jesus H Christ!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Sorry," Nancy said. "I was just about to knock."

"Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, to what do I owe the very frightening pleasure?" Eddie asked, his hand to his chest.

"Uh, well, I wasn't sure how to do this, and it seemed weird to do it over the phone," Nancy said.

"Sex or drugs?" Eddie asked with a grin.

"Drugs, definitely drugs," Nancy said quickly.

"Come on in to Castle Munson. . .sorry, the maid's on vacation," Eddie grinned and stepped aside to let them in.

"Do you really have sex for money?" Jonathan asked.

"Only when I'm really desperate," Eddie said, throwing his arms around them. "And let me tell you a secret. . .I'm always desperate. To be honest, I only did it twice. My uncle wasn't too keen on finding out his precious baby boy was a. . ."

"A whore?" Nancy asked in amusement.

"Nancy Wheeler telling it exactly how it is," Eddie cackled and moved out from between them. "I'm not ashamed, though."

"Nor should you be. It's a profitable business," Nancy said. "I mean, I like sex. . .but I wouldn't do that myself, but if you can do it. . .why shouldn't you? Especially if you're careful about it."

"Everything else in this world has a price tag," Jonathan agreed.

"Hm, so, what do you guys need?" Eddie asked with a grin. "I've already given you a discount because I'm apparently that easy and flattery gets me everywhere."

"Did you like it?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh? Whoring myself out? Definitely, especially knowing that these people who claimed to hate me suddenly seemed so desperate for me to do whatever I want to them, and they'd give whatever they want to have me," Eddie grinned. "It was a definite turn on and a power trip."

"Right," Nancy said, grinning. "I'm sure it was."

"What's even funnier was when my uncle found out about it," Eddie cackled and then lowered his voice, giving it a country accent. "You were a toddler five seconds ago, Eddie. . .but you didn't come here for my life story."

"No, we didn't," Nancy replied.

"So, you guys looking for weed?" Eddie asked.

"We were hoping for something stronger and something you can't smoke," Nancy said.

"Look, I don't sell special k, but I know who does," Eddie said and smiled wicked. "What kind of party are you having?"

"It's not a party. It's for our boyfriend," Jonathan snapped impatiently, and then his face softened. "I mean, her boyfriend. It's for her boyfriend."

Nancy stared at Eddie, who studied Jonathan, and then looked at her. He grinned, shaking her head.

"You know, I have this condition sometimes where I go deaf randomly," Eddie said. "It's usually temporary."

Nancy smiled softly, feeling relieved for all three of them.

"Thanks," Nancy said.

"So, you're dating Steve Harrington, am I right?" Eddie asked pointedly to Nancy. "How bad is it that he can't come himself?"

"Bruised ribs, a concussion, a broken nose, and a fractured cheekbone," Nancy replied.

"Car accident?" He asked.

"Billy Hargrove," Nancy scoffed.

"He was being a racist asshole and was about to pummel a kid before moving onto his own stepsister if Steve hadn't stepped in," Jonathan scowled. "Hargrove nearly killed him."

"Well, hell, Rick might just give it to you for free for that one. Nothing he hates more than racists," Eddie said. "And he hates both Hargroves. Come on, I'll drive you over to Rick's."

"I told you. He's nice, and he doesn't bite at all," Nancy said to Jonathan.

"Well, not unless you ask me to," Eddie said wiggling his eyebrows.

Reefer Rick was a surprisingly nice guy, and Nancy had to really twist his arm to give him something for the drugs. Rick just laughed at her before finally taking Steve’s money. Nancy and Jonathan thanked them both profusely before heading back to Jonathan's house. When they arrived, Steve was lying in Jonathan's bed, groaning and shifting uncomfortably as he tried to breathe. Joyce was trying to comfort him while Will was peering over his mother's shoulder.

"Hey, Steve," Nancy said, running her fingers through his hair. "Got something that will make you feel better. You ready?"

"You still want to do this?" Jonathan asked.

Steve looked at him, smiling at him.

"Give it to me," Steve said.

"He sneezed earlier," Will said. "It looked painful."

"It fucking hurt," Steve gasped.

"We're here," Nancy whispered soothingly.

As Nancy stroked his hair, Jonathan did the same while Joyce administered the drug to Steve with instructions from Jonathan.

"Totally worth it," Steve whispered. "I'd do it again."

Nancy smiled as Jonathan pressed a kiss into Steve’s hair. Jonathan and Nancy knew what it meant to put yourself on the line to do whatever it took to protect your sibling. . .and their friends. Now, Steve knew what it was like, too, and that no matter how much they wanted him to be okay, he would do the same for the kids. . .he did do the same. They'd all take care of each other afterward.

"What is your middle name?" Nancy asked Jonathan, and Will giggled as Jonathan groaned.

"What? I was hopped up on drugs, absolutely smitten with my baby boy, and I just happened to be a fan of the Beach Boys," Joyce said.

"Okay, now I'm curious," Steve said.

"It's Love. . .Jonathan Love Byers," he sighed.

"I love it," Nancy said, and then she burst out laughing with Steve. "No, seriously, I do. . .I didn't mean to make a pun."

"I hate you," Jonathan said, but he was smiling so much his dimples were showing.

Nancy knew that they'd get through this together. . .all of it, and she determined to help Steve with his healing process. Looking at Jonathan, she knew he was, too.

A few months later. . .

Nancy's eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at the sunlight peaking through her bedroom curtains. She sighed and turned over onto her side to find Steve staring softly down at Jonathan. Steve was propped up on his elbow. Jonathan was wedged between them, sleeping peacefully with a smile on his face. Jonathan's eyes opened, and he smiled at Steve, still looking rather sleepy.

"Hey, there's our shutterbug," Steve said, rubbing his chest.

"I hate it when you call me that," Jonathan groaned.

"No, you don't," Steve said in amusement.

Nancy laughed and placed a kiss on Jonathan's bare shoulder. He turned over and buried himself into Steve’s arms, kissing him. She loved seeing them kiss first thing in the morning, especially knowing that they were completely naked under there. Was it brave or stupid to do it in the house? Maybe. . .but life was short, and she didn't want to waste any time on doubts or second guesses. This is what she wanted. Jonathan turned over and let Nancy pull him into her arms to kiss him. Jonathan collapsed back onto the pillow with a happy sigh.

"I had a dream last night," Jonathan said.

"A good one or a bad one?" Nancy asked.

"Not bad. . .it was interesting," Jonathan said.

"Tell us about it," Steve said.

"Well, we were all in Neverland. Nancy was Peter Pan, and the both of us were her lost boys. We had adventures. . .there were mermaids. . .Mike was Tinkerbell for some reason," Jonathan laughed, and Nancy giggled. "Captain Hook was Hargrove. Instead of a crocodile swimming after him, it was a demogorgon. You, Steve, and I we kept getting lost. . .separated from each other."

"Well, we'll always find our way back to each other," Nancy said. "After all, the world is made up of faith, trust, and pixie dust."

"Faith, trust, and pixie dust," Steve muttered, and then he smiled. "This is what happens when you read us Peter Pan before bed."

"Peter Pan and Wendy," Nancy corrected.

"I feel like it should be Wendy and Peter Pan," Jonathan said.

"It does sound better," Steve agreed.

TAPTAPTAP! The three of them jumped when there came a knocking on Nancy's bedroom door, and then the doorknob tried to turn. Luckily, Nancy thought to lock it.

"Nancy?" Karen's voice floated through through the door. "Are you up?"

"I'm up, just a minute, mom!" Nancy yelled.

Steve and Jonathan quickly rolled out of bed, moving just as fast to get dressed.

"Breakfast is ready downstairs," Karen said.

"Okay, I'll be down there in a minute!" Nancy huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Why is this door locked?" Karen asked.

"Because I'm naked!" Nancy screamed.

It was true. She was completely naked. Nancy glared at her snickering boyfriends who were currently trying to put on each other's shoes. They quickly switched, diverting their eyes away from Nancy's wrath.

"Why are you naked?" Karen asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, mom! I was going to take a shower but I forgot my clothes! Can I have some privacy?!" She yelled. "I will be down in a minute!"

When she heard her mother try to unlock the door from the outside, Nancy quickly shoved a chair underneath the doorknob and threw on a robe. She shoved Jonathan and Steve towards the window. She opened the window and motioned for them to use it.

"We'll miss you," Steve said teasingly.

"You will see me this afternoon when you guys drop Max, Dustin, and Will off for the sleepover," Nancy said.

She kissed both of them and watched as Steve went down first, then Jonathan. Steve was on the ground when Jonathan slipped and fell right into Steve’s arms. Cradling him, Steve grinned and kissed him soundly before spinning them around. Nancy giggled at the sight of them. Steve placed Jonathan on the ground, and he grabbed Steve’s hand, dragging him off towards Steve’s car. Steve gave Nancy a goofy wave as they disappeared from sight. Nancy moved back into her room and moved the chair from her door. Karen burst through it, looking confused.

"What on earth is going on in here?" Karen asked.

"I was masturbating. . .are you happy? I know I am," she said.

Her mother meant well, but she could be quite nosy when she felt her children were hiding something. . .which Nancy was. Jonathan wasn't quite ready to disclose their relationship to her parents, and quite frankly, neither was Nancy. They were getting there, though. . .if her mother would just stop trying to invade her privacy.

"Nancy!" Karen exclaimed, appalled.

"What?" Nancy asked. "You broke into my room, mother, and it doesn't seem like this is the first time. What's the point of me having a lock on my door if you're just going to break my trust? If anyone deserves to be pissed here. . .it's me!"

"You and your brother are keeping something from us. . .you have been ever since. . .well, Barb, and it feels like something we both should be well aware of. I am sick and tired of being kept in the dark!" Karen exclaimed.

And with that look, Nancy knew that her door was going to be taken off its hinges. She watched her mother march downstairs. Nancy wasn't too worried about that. She threw herself onto her bed, thinking about her lost boys. She took a deep breath and then a few more, reminding herself that she needed to trust herself, too. She was alive, breathing, and they weren't in any immediate danger. Nancy Wheeler was enjoying herself, and there wasn't anything wrong with that. . .she was still here. No one was going to die because she decided to worry about things later.

"Faith, trust, and pixie dust," Nancy smiled and then she laughed. "Totally worth it. . ."

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

Have a snippet of Gone Away, my love letter to uncle Wayne, featuring eight-year-old Eddie and the debut of a very tiny fabulous-haired friend.

(This was not written with any particular ship in mind, obviously, since they’re little kids. But if you want to imagine it as the elementary school beginnings of That Popular Ship, you’re certainly more than welcome to. 😉🫶)

***

Wayne gets out of work a little earlier than usual on the Friday before Thanksgiving. He was hoping the weather would be nice enough to take Eddie to the playground, but the temperature has dropped since that morning and a steady drizzle of rain is turning everything damp and gray. Well, never mind, he thinks; they can invite Grace to come over early instead. Maybe she’ll make them her famous hot chocolate. He has no idea what she puts in it, but it’s addicting.

He’s hunched into his jacket as he heads toward the school, still idly daydreaming about hot chocolate, and he almost walks right past a small figure huddled pitiful and alone in the parent pickup area until a little noise catches his attention. It’s the unmistakeable noise of someone crying and trying to hide it.

Wayne turns to look. It’s a little boy, smaller than Eddie, with luxuriously thick brown hair. It’s so fluffy and nice that Wayne actually does a double take. The kid’s got more hair than Eddie does. Good thing it isn’t curly like Ed’s; combing it would be a nightmare. His face is pale under a scattering of freckles, and his eyes are red-rimmed and so sad they break Wayne’s heart a bit. “Hey, little one,” he says softly to the boy, “whatcha doin’ out here all by yourself?”

The boy sniffles, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “Nobody came to get me,” he says quietly. “I’ve been waiting and waiting but nobody came. I’m cold.”

“Let’s get you inside.” Wayne holds out his hand, and the little boy immediately takes hold, following him into the school. “They got an after school thing where you can wait, so’s you don’t have to sit out here in the rain. I’m pickin’ up my boy from there now.” He leads the kid over to the teacher in charge. “Found this little guy out front. He said no one came to get him. I reckoned he’d be better off in here with y’all than sittin’ there all by his lonesome.”

“Your mother hasn’t come yet?” the teacher asks, and when the boy shakes his head no, she sighs. “Janet,” she calls across the room to the other teacher on duty, “can you try calling the Harringtons again? They were supposed to be here forty minutes ago.” She turns back to Wayne. “Thanks for bringing him in. Honestly,” her voice lowers, taking on a here’s some juicy gossip sort of tone, “they’re always late, by now he should know not to bother waiting outside.”

Wayne frowns at her. What is she spreading stories about this poor baby’s folks for? He’s about to tell her it’s none of his business when he hears Eddie shout.

“Leave him alone!“

His eyes snap instantly to the sound. Eddie is standing protectively in front of the little Harrington boy, glaring down a tiny blond kid who’s got a smug smirk on his face. “Why are you so mean to everybody?” Eddie demands.

The smarmy kid shrugs. “I’m not being mean, I’m just telling the truth. Steve’s a crybaby.”

“He is not. And you are mean.” Eddie crosses his arms, scowling, and a look of surprise crosses the blond boy’s face. He instinctively takes a couple steps back. Wayne doesn’t blame him; that scowl reminds him a bit too much of his brother, and he hopes he’s not about to see a display of the temper that went with it. “I’ve seen you,” Eddie continues, stepping closer, as the blond kid backs away even more. “Every day I see you being nasty to someone. What’s wrong with you?” He doesn’t quite make a fist, not exactly, but he sort of flexes his fingers experimentally and that’s enough to tip the little blond punk over the edge.

He bolts, shouting “I’m telling my mother about you!” over his shoulder, scurrying to safety next to the teacher. Eddie ignores him. His face softens into a friendly smile as he turns to the Harrington boy— Steve, according to the nasty blond— who is staring at him in openmouthed astonishment.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asks, and Steve manages to nod. “I’m okay,” he says after a moment. “That… that was really cool. Thanks.”

Wayne breathes out an incredulous laugh. He’s never seen this much drama at the day care before. The teachers must eat it up like daytime soaps. He did notice the gossipy one didn’t make any sort of attempt to stop the boys from arguing. Thank the lord Eddie didn’t actually hit the little punk, no matter how much he probably deserved it. They might’ve actually brought out the popcorn instead of breaking up a fight.

A weary looking woman in a prim lilac pantsuit has arrived; the nasty kid’s mother, Wayne guesses, by the way the blond races over to her, babbling and making exaggerated faces and pointing at Eddie. Why, that little snitch. Wayne pastes a pleasant smile on his face and walks over to introduce himself to the woman. He drops some innocuous nonsense about ‘kids these days’ before mentioning rather pointedly that he’s glad his boy is brave enough to stand up to bullies. The woman looks at her son, then back at Wayne, who meets her gaze steadily. She’s clearly putting two and two together. She mumbles something about letting his father know, as she hastily gathers up her son and departs.

He already knows the kid won’t get in trouble; that kind never does. But at least his mama won’t go blaming Eddie for the trouble her own son caused. Shaking his head, Wayne turns to collect his nephew, more than ready to get out of this place and relax at home.

Eddie and Steve are sitting at a table together, chattering away and building something huge and complicated out of Lego, when he calls out, “C’mon Ed, let’s get going.”

Eddie rushes over to tug at his sleeve. “Uncle Wayne,” he whispers, “can we take Steve home? He said his mom forgot to come get him.”

“That’s real nice of you, little darlin’, but no, we can’t take him. I can’t just take a kid that don’t belong to me. Imagine what his mama would say if he was gone when she got here.” He looks over at Steve. The boy’s despondent face tugs at his heartstrings for sure, but Wayne knows the name Harrington and he’s not about to get himself accused of kidnapping by that guy. Poor kid’s just gonna have to wait.

Eddie has other plans, though. “Then can we stay with him til she comes? Please, uncle Wayne? He’s so sad. I don’t wanna leave him here all by himself.”

Wayne sighs. This boy is giving him gray hair already, he can feel it. “Lemme check with the teachers. If it’s okay with them, we can stay a bit longer.”

The teachers don’t seem to mind. So Eddie and Steve go back to their Lego, and Wayne settles down at one of the tables with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. Other parents stop in to collect their kids over the next hour, but still nobody comes for little Steve, and soon he and Eddie are the last ones left. Wayne yawns, standing up to stretch. Maybe he should’ve just taken the kid home after all. This is getting ridiculous.

“Uncle Wayne.” Eddie’s tugging at his sleeve again.

“You ready to go now?” Wayne yawns again.

“Um. No. Can you help?” Eddie whispers. “Steve’s crying again and I can’t get him to feel better.”

He shakes his head. Where did this kid get such a big heart? Must take after his mama that way. “What d’you want me to do, little darlin’?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you could read to us?” Eddie’s big brown eyes plead with him. “I always feel better when you read to me.”

Now how is he supposed to say no to that?

“Alright then,” he agrees, and next thing he knows he’s sitting on the floor on a pile of cushions in the ‘book nook’ with two little boys leaning up against him, one on either side. Eddie insisted that Steve choose the story, and he’d picked one called Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. By the time Wayne finished the first chapter, Steve had stopped crying, and he’d crawled into Wayne’s lap and snuggled down and didn’t seem inclined to move. Eddie didn’t appear to mind; he simply reached over and took the book, holding it out and turning the pages as Wayne read so he could hold onto Steve. Wayne rubbed the smaller boy’s back, just the same way he did to soothe Eddie when he was upset. It worked the same way, too. Steve was half asleep by the end of the second chapter.

He’s midway through chapter five when at last the classroom door bursts open and a frazzled-looking young woman hurries in. She dashes over to the teachers, frantically telling them a story complete with wild hand gestures.

Eddie gently nudges Steve. “Is that your mommy?” he whispers.

Steve yawns. “No, that’s Anja. She’s our housekeeper.”

“What’s a housekeeper?”

“She cleans my room and stuff,” Steve informs him, and Eddie looks impressed. He doesn’t ask any more questions though, and Steve breathes out a tiny sigh of what Wayne is fairly sure is relief. Lord have mercy, he thinks, there’s an awful lot going on beneath the surface here.

The young woman hurries to his side now, holding out her hand to Steve. “Your mom asked me to come get you, liebchen. Sorry you had to wait so long.”

Steve ignores her hand, reaching for his jacket instead. “Where is she this time?” he asks in a resigned voice, sounding much older than his can’t-possibly-be-more-than-seven years.

Anja shrugs. “Ach, you know they never tell me where they’re going. Let’s get you home, ja?” She turns to Wayne. “Thank you for keeping an eye on him.”

“It was a pleasure, ma’am,” Wayne says honestly. “He’s a good boy.”

Steve shyly thanks him, then turns to Eddie. “Hey, um, is it okay if I look for you at recess on Monday?” he asks. “Maybe we could play together?” He sounds timid, afraid of rejection maybe, but Eddie gives him a big smile. “Sure!” he says immediately, easily. “I’ll be over by the tetherball poles, okay?” And Steve grins back, nodding happily.

In the car, driving home at last, Wayne says casually to Eddie, “So how long you been friends with the Harrington boy?”

“I just met him today,” is Eddie’s unexpected answer. Wayne snorts a laugh. Honestly, nothing about his boy should surprise him anymore.

***

[maskednerd]

based on the SnapCube Fandub clip

[brinksnow]

entering the last week of stage/fright is insane, for what shall i obsessively check tumblr for every night ?

[jt1674]

[starleska]

I think you'll love this trio. (https://youtu.be/c8NaaOt3jjI?si=0BurQ86M9yFNvX54

https://youtu.be/cdIUm8Mbc_w?si=u35IaX4bzqPcK22O

https://youtu.be/Zd_aJEpc0ts?si=0p_95GDlki-YYXQb )

i am so freaked out right now. how on earth have you peered directly into my brain!!!! did you know that Night at the Museum 2 is one of my favourite movies of all time, and possibly one of the worst movie fixations i've ever had? 😭💖 i used to play it EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT!!! and know every single line of dialogue!!! and i have the (flashing lights tw!!!) ancient Jedediah/Octavius videos on my channel to prove it 🙈💖 i think everyone needs to get a little bit obsessed with at least one NATM character for their mental health 😂 mine were (and are) definitely Jedediah and Octavius, but i thought both Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah were so cute...and this was well before i became a little obsessed with Hank Azaria's other characters, like Gargamel and Comic Book Guy 🥺 everyone in the movie is just hysterical. the trio of Ivan the Terrible, Al Capone and Napoleon had me wheezing. as an Epic Rap Battles of History geek, this was my favourite thing in the world 😭💖

[theha1rarch]

@milleroptimism liked for john or patricia

Patricia Harrington stares long and hard at the woman in front of her, lips pursed in a thin line before she begins speaking. "Look, it's very kind of you to have taken on the task of looking after Steve while we've been ... away." She pointedly ignores the fact that her husband is still in the car, having refused to step foot in this place. But of course, as always, it's perfectly alright if Patricia subjects herself to it. "But as you can see, we're back now. So I think it's time this little charade comes to an end. You don't need to pretend to be his mother anymore." And hadn't that felt like a slap in the face, hearing her own son - the son she had endured hours of labor for - calling some other strange woman 'mom'. "We will collect our son and be on our way. We can even write you a check if you'd like, to compensate you for all you've done. I know looking after Steve isn't an easy task, he can be ... quite difficult."

[augustusaugustus]

10.143 Fly on the Wall

Catherine Tate guesting in a surprisingly unexciting episode for one that includes an explosion.

[age-of-moonknight]

“Systemic Approach (Conclusion),” Avengers Unlimited (Vol. 1/2022), Infinity Comic, #65.

Writer: Mat Groom; Penciler and Inker: Caio Majado; Colorist: Pete Pantazis; Letterer: Joe Sabino