#it always reminds me of Edd

[appleboxdog]

Zalinki reference

Edd is so Zalinki core ^_^ :3

[munson-blurbs]

I don’t know if you do Steve or(I have mostly seen your Eddie work which I love by the way)Eddie

but I’m let you choose but ex reader and (Steve or Eddie) angst to fluffy smut at the end and maybe they saw each other at the bar or something and those feelings turn into sweet ole fluffy smut 🫡 ( PFT I don’t know if that make sense) 😭💀

Eddie exes-to-lovers? I'm in.

Warnings: smut (18+ only, minors DNI), unprotected p in v, fingering, angst, hurt/comfort, jealousy, the fluffiest smut I've ever written

WC: 3.2k

Divider credit to @saradika-graphics

You hated Eddie Munson. 

You hated the way he sloppily cut the sleeves of his Hellfire shirt in an obvious attempt to show off his tattoos. 

You hated the way he couldn’t keep a secret, always forgetting that they were supposed to be secrets in the first place. That’s how he’d spoiled your surprise birthday party. 

You hated the way he constantly sabotaged his own success. One would think he’d take you up on your offer to do homework together after his first failed senior year; instead, he’d practiced guitar riffs while you pored over your algebra textbook. Needless to say, he didn’t pass that year, either. 

You hated Eddie Munson and everything about him. 

And right now, you particularly hated the way he sat across the bar, talking to another girl and occasionally taking a sip of his drink. 

That used to be you, your fingers laced with his while he told you stories you’d heard one hundred times before. He’d bring your hand to his lips and kiss it, his lips curving into a smile before they even touched your skin. 

“I can’t believe you’re mine. Never gonna let you go, y’know that? You’re stuck with me forever.”

That ‘forever’ ended four years ago, when you went off to college and he needed to stay behind to finish high school. Cracks began showing as early as application season, the fracture complete once you decided to go to Northwestern without even considering Hawkins Community. 

“I don’t understand why you’d wanna go to that big, fancy school anyway. It’ll just be a bunch of rich preps and douchey frat guys guzzling beers through their assholes.”

You refrained from reminding him that he and Jeff had almost tried that same feat, and probably would have if you didn’t intervene. 

“Babe, it’s an amazing school. And I’ll be home on holidays and you can visit whenever you want.”

Even as you’d said it, you knew it wasn’t enough for him. It was a pulled thread in your tight-knit relationship, one that unraveled it throughout the summer. And just one week into your first semester, Eddie had uttered those dreaded words into the phone. 

“I don’t think this long-distance thing is gonna work out.”

That was that. The end of you and Eddie. 

Now, in that dimly lit bar, you tore your gaze from him and his date. Your drink shook in your trembling hand as you lifted it to your lips. 

Robin clocked your uneasiness, her eyes flicking over to where you’d been looking. “Jesus Christ,” she muttered, shaking her head. She glanced at you with nothing but sympathy. “You wanna get outta here?”

You gave your friend a grateful smile, but ultimately declined. “We just got our drinks.” You gestured to her barely-sipped rum and Coke. “We can go once we’re done.”

The two of you forged ahead with a conversation, but you couldn’t help stealing glances at Eddie and his date. Maybe it was the vodka making you more emotional, but tears pricked at your lash line when you saw him lean in and kiss her. 

“A-Actually, maybe we should leave.” You were only halfway done with your drink, but the thought of staying and continuing to watch him had you ready to hurl it all up. 

Robin nodded, grabbing her purse and closing out the tab. When she turned back to you, she froze. 

“What?”

“He’s looking at you.”

And dammit if your heart didn’t flip-flop. You did your best to ignore it, ignore the spark of hope it gave you. 

“He’s…” Your words caught in your throat. “C’mon, let’s just go.”

You couldn’t sleep that night. The image of Eddie holding someone else’s hand flashed through your mind every time you closed your eyes. And the way he’d leaned in to kiss her, like he’d done it one thousand times before—it gnawed at you from the inside out. 

Tears slid down your cheeks and seeped into your pillowcase. You would have gone to the ends of the Earth to make that relationship work, while Eddie threw in the towel after just one week. You’d called him up in the dorm’s common room, expecting to talk to him about your day. 

Instead, you’d gotten dumped via phone call. 

You gave up on falling asleep around 4:30 AM. Padding into the kitchen, you brewed yourself a cup of coffee and poured it into your favorite mug. Steam tickled your nose as you took a sip, savoring the cocoa notes and the bitterness you craved that morning. Last night’s events came rushing back as soon as the caffeine hit your bloodstream. Eddie. The girl. The way he looked at her…did he ever look at you that way? It was bizarre seeing it from a different perspective.

The morning air was already humid, summer’s heat seemingly always unrelenting. You stretched out your legs on the steps of your front stoop, letting your muscles unclench as you breathed in a new day. 

It was just you, a smattering of chirping birds, and…a car rumbling down the street?

Hawkins was not a busy enough town for people to be driving down your sleepy street at this hour, and it wasn’t garbage day.

From around the corner came a familiar van. Your heart lurched in your chest when it came to a stop in front of your house. No. There was no way. Someone else in town must have the same exact van as him…with the same exact dent in the driver’s side door from when he’d opened it into a tree…

You scrambled to your feet, coffee sloshing over the side of the mug and onto the cement below you. 

“Hey, wait!” Eddie called out from his open window. He was dressed in a flannel and jeans, no doubt borrowed from his uncle. Killing the ignition, he hustled over to you before you could get through the door. “I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t have anything to say.”

Eddie shook his head and blew out a breath. “Look, I just…I wanted to tell you this at the bar, but you ran off–”

“So you came to my house?” You rolled your eyes. “Not creepy at all.”

He ran a hand through his curls. It was then that you noticed the missing rings, the skin slightly paler where they normally wrapped around his fingers. He tracked your gaze and looked at you with a bashful smile.

“Can’t wear them at the plant. I gotta tie my hair back, too.” He slid a ponytail holder off of his wrist and pulled back his frizzy mane, scrunching up his nose. “Always gives me a headache, though.”

You felt your guard slipping with each word he spoke. “It’s probably just too tight.” Without thinking, you gently tugged the rubber band farther from his scalp. “Better?”

“Yeah.” His voice was soft. Tender. Everything you remembered it to be back when things were good. “Please…can we talk?”

Despite your lingering heartbreak–or perhaps because of it–you nodded.

Eddie’s shoulders sagged in premature relief; the difficult part still laid ahead of him. “I didn’t sleep last night. I couldn’t sleep last night. Not after seeing you.” When his hand brushed against yours, you instinctively pulled away.

“No.” You held your ground as best as you could. “No, Eddie. You don’t get to touch me anymore. Especially not when you were the one with another woman.”

“Technically, so were you.” The joke fell flat, and he cleared his throat. “All right, fine. It was a second date with someone I met last week at the Hideout. Not someone I’m committed to.”

“Right. Because if you were committed to her, you’d just break up with her on the phone.”

Eddie reeled back, your retort a sucker-punch right to his gut. He took a few seconds to collect his thoughts before speaking again. “You don’t understand how hard it was for me,” he finally said, “to know you were far away, surrounded by a bunch of smart guys, while I was in my sixth year of high school.”

“I didn’t care about that—”

“But I did!” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. “God, I could just picture the conversations you’d have with your new friends: ‘Eddie? He doesn’t go here; he’s still in high school. No, he’s not younger than me. He’s actually a year older. He’s just an idiot.’”

A huff escaped your lips. “I’d never say that!” Did he actually think you’d even consider it?

“But you could’ve!” He scraped a tooth against his lower lip. “It would’ve been the truth!”

“Except you’re not an idiot,” you protested. “And throwing yourself a pity party isn’t going to make me feel bad for you.”

You downed what remained of your coffee, now only lukewarm. 

“No, I know. I know.” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and shut his eyes. “This is coming out all wrong. Please, can we just go inside?”

No. The answer sat right on your tongue. And yet you found yourself opening the door and letting him in. 

Eddie sat down on the couch, making sure to leave enough space for you. He sighed when you remained standing, but began speaking again nevertheless.

“I’ve thought about you every goddamn day. And I know that’s not enough,” he rushed to add before you could say it yourself, “but I need you to know that I have. I wanted to call you a million times, but I always talked myself out of it. Figured it would just make you angrier.”

“You could’ve at least apologized.” You didn’t bother hiding the hurt in your voice; that façade had long since passed.

He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” When he looked at you, his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. “I’m sorry I let my insecurities ruin everything. I’m sorry I broke your heart. I’m sorry that I never got to see your dorm room, or meet your new friends, or watch you walk that stage at graduation. I…”

Eddie was fully sobbing on your sofa, wiping his cheeks with calloused palms. “And I’m sorry that I still love you. I’m sorry that I can’t seem to let you go.”

He’d laid it all on the table for you, not hiding a single card in his hand. His gaze was raw with vulnerability; it seared into the hardened ice encasing your heart. 

“When I saw you at the bar last night…when I saw you looking at me…” Eddie let out a huff of air. “Maybe I was just getting my hopes up, but it felt like a part of you might still love me, too.”

And as that realization unraveled, as it unfurled like a flower finally blooming after winter’s frost, you found yourself nodding in agreement. 

All at once, Eddie stood in front of you. “Please say it,” he whispered, delicately cupping your face in his hands. “I need to hear you say it. Only if you mean it.”

“I still love you.” Your nose grazed his. “I don’t want to, but I do.”

“You don’t want to because I broke your heart?” When you answered in the affirmative, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. “What if I promise that I’ll never break your heart again? What if I promise that it’s always been you?”

Your voice was soft, barely audible, when you told him, “Prove it.”

Eddie’s lips found yours, a magnetic pull that hadn’t weakened in the nearly four years you’d spent apart. “Course I’ll prove it,” he mumbled against your mouth. “Spend the rest of my goddamn life proving it.”

His hands slid up underneath your shirt, a ratty old tee reserved strictly for bedtime. There was no time to worry about it being the least sexy article of clothing you had; before you knew it, Eddie tugged it over your head and tossed it aside. He whimpered as he grabbed your breast, circling the nipple with his thumb. 

You’d only gotten two of his flannel buttons undone when you stopped. “Eddie, wait—don’t you have to go to work?”

Eddie laughed, his breath tickling your neck over the spot he’d been kissing. “I’ll just have to be late. Got something…more important to attend to.”

You couldn’t help but giggle at that, the two of you peeling off each other’s clothes until they lay in a heap on the floor. And then there was just you and Eddie, touching everywhere you could. 

“Baby.” The word was slurred, given the fact that his tongue was currently occupied with your nipples, your skin shining where his saliva remained. “Baby…fuck, I missed you.”

He was painfully hard, the tip of his cock flush against his tummy and leaking pre-cum. You wrapped your hand around the shaft, pumping him in a painfully slow rhythm. 

“Oh—ah!” Eddie hissed, steadying himself at your sudden touch. “F-Fuck, I—y-you can’t…too sensitive.”

You looked at him incredulously. “Already?”

Eddie nodded sheepishly. “You know how much I thought about this? Every time I…y’know…I imagined it was you.”

Just the mental picture of Eddie laying back in his bed, tugging on his cock while moaning your name, had you dragging him to the couch. No time to go all the way to the bedroom. 

The moment Eddie climbed on top of you as you lay on the cushions, his fingers drifted down to where you needed him most. His middle finger, then his ring finger, slid inside you with practiced precision. Picking up right where you’d left off. 

You clenched around him, your body greedy for more as his fingers moved in and out, in and out. 

“Eddie…” Just that one word was an effort; every brain cell focused only on the pleasure building between your thighs. “Eddie…Eddie…please…”

He nodded, his tongue darting out and swiping over his lower lip. “I remembered how much you love my fingers.”

It was true; his fingers were nothing less than magic. He swore it was because he played guitar, and maybe that was part of it, but the real reason was because he had you memorized. Knew exactly where to curl his fingers, exactly how to stroke your sweet spot until your legs were shaking. 

“You’re…you’re drenched.” He wasn’t cocky; he was awestruck. Absolutely shocked that you were so needy for him, that you’d missed his touch as much as he’d missed yours. “Gonna take care of you, baby, okay?”

You inhaled a staggered breath and melted into the couch. Eddie held total and complete control over you, and it surprisingly didn’t scare you in the least. 

The last thread of restraint snapped, your orgasm hitting you in waves. You cried out Eddie’s name. It was him bringing you to a new level of ecstasy. It was him giving you everything you could ever want. 

His movements slowed to let you float down from the high. His fingers were slick with your arousal, and he popped them in his mouth with a content sigh. 

“Tastes so sweet.”

God, you needed him. Needed him to fill you entirely. Needed him to clear your mind of any thought besides how good he made you feel. Needed him to hold you down and take whatever he desired. 

Your gaze dropped down to his erection. Eddie followed your eyes, then looked back at you. 

“D-Do you…?” He trailed off before composing himself. “I mean, is it okay if I—”

“Yes.” There was no other possible answer. There was nothing else you could possibly want besides that connection, that intimacy, with the man you could never stop loving. “Please.”

Eddie obliged without hesitation. He angled himself with your entrance, pushing into you so slowly that it teetered on agonizing. You knew it would feel good; it always had, even that first awkward time together. But this was something else entirely.

It was as though a missing puzzle piece clicked into place, unlocking everything you had stowed away over the last four years without him. Tears lazily flowed down your cheeks, but before you had time to be embarrassed, Eddie kissed them away.

“S’okay,” he murmured, continuing to thrust into you with utmost care. “You’re okay, baby.”

You managed a smile as you navigated the influx of emotions. You were okay. You were with Eddie again, safe in his arms, his touch both electrifying and soothing.

All that was left to do was sink into it. 

You accepted his love, wrapping yourself in it and savoring every morsel. One of your hands found his cheek, your thumb grazing over the hint of stubble he missed when shaving. His kisses were oxygen itself, breathing life into every cell in your body. Everything was Eddie. Everything was okay again.

And then you started to giggle. It was discreet at first, but then it bubbled over until your smile was too wide to ignore. Eddie couldn’t even kiss you without his lips touching your teeth. 

“Babe?” He cocked his head, examining you as laughter floated out of you. 

“Sorry.” Another peal of laughter. “I’m…I’m just so happy.”

Eddie grinned, ducking to kiss your neck. “Me, too. Me fucking too, baby.”

There was the ebb and flow, the give and take, the push and pull. You and Eddie, working in tandem to bring the other to their climax. 

Your orgasm blossomed deep within you. You dug your fingernails into Eddie’s back and wrapped your legs around his to draw him closer. 

“Ed-Eddie, I’m…” Your hips raised to meet his, filling in where your words failed. 

Eddie nodded and gently kissed your lips. “I know, sweet girl. Just let go for me.”

And so you did. With a cry of his name, you came. You let yourself unravel right there on the couch, and before long, he was joining you. 

“Baby, baby, baby.” He let out a groan as he spilled into you, giving you every last drop. His chest rose and fell as he withdrew and caught his breath, though he kept his hands on you the whole time. Like you might disappear if he let go. 

You reached up to smooth back a lock of his hair. You needed to look into his eyes, no obstructions, when you asked him the question weighing heavily on your heart. 

“Where do we go from here?”

Eddie flinched, clearly not expecting such a candid remark right after sex. He shook off his shock and replaced it with a smirk. 

“I say we shower off first.” His nose brushed yours and he kissed you once again. “And then I’d like to take you to breakfast once the diner opens. I think we have a lot to catch up on.”

You gazed up at him, taking in the chest muscles that had filled out with the addition of manual labor.

 A shower and a breakfast date. It was a plan—maybe not like the ones you made, where every moment was perfectly laid out. And it was more than Eddie’s usual fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants demeanor. It was somewhere in the middle. A new equilibrium. 

“That sounds perfect.”

--

[thatbuddie]

after buck and eddie get together, eddie starts giving buck absentminded kisses all the time.

kiss on the forehead after he passes him his morning coffee. kiss on the cheek while buck is cooking dinner. kiss on the back of his hand as buck drives them to bobby’s house for a family bbq. kiss on top of his head while they cuddle watching a documentary. kiss on his shoulder while they sit on the station couch reading in between calls.

but buck’s favorite kisses? the ones edde blows him from a distance. when no one is looking during a call and they have to separate, buck doing evac and eddie treating some minor burns. when buck is pulling out of the their driveway to go meet maddie and jee for lunch and eddie sees him off from the front porch. during their family night out at the movies with chris in between them before the action film their son chose and they’re both probably going to hate begins.

every single blown kiss is always followed by eddie mouthing “i love you” at him, and every single time buck feels himself start to blush, the butterflies in his stomach staging a very chaotic and uncoordinated flash mob.

there’s something so exhilarating about knowing that no matter how close or far away they physically are eddie always wants to be kissing him. like eddie knows just as well as buck does that his lips were always meant to graze buck’s skin and leave behind goosebumps for hours to come.

even when they can’t see each other at all, buck knows eddie is thinking about it too because eddie does not go more than 3 hours without sending him little 😘 emojis. he doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t contextualize them because he doesn’t need to. it's just random 😘 throughout the day, scattered in between the rest of their texts.

buck [3:33pm]: got caught in traffic, chris and i will be there soon! eddie [3:33pm]: ok, hen and denny just arrived eddie [6:03pm]: 😘

&

eddie [11:27am]: can you write “chris dentist appointment” on the kitchen calendar for 10/17? buck [11:31am]: done! eddie [11:32am]: thanks, baby eddie [2:16pm]: 😘

&

buck [10:08am]: we also need eggs! buck [11:43am]: remind me to replace the lightbulb in chris’s bedside lamp eddie [1:14pm]: 😘 eddie [3:09pm]: your amazon package just arrived buck [3:09pm]: yaaaaaaay eddie [7:24pm]: 😘

&

eddie [6:02am]: 😘 eddie [8:56am]: 😘 eddie [9:07am]: 😘 eddie [12:31pm]: 😘 buck [3:17pm]: 😘😘😘

[eddsboxofdisectiontools]

The mass mischaracterization of Edd bugs me to death sometimes and I know I'm not the only one. No he's not a "soft uwu boy" he's a traumatized, overly empathetic kid with some kind of mental illness slaving himself away to his parents out of fear of disappointing the people he has been told he needs to please. His kindness is not him being "soft", nor is his tendency to cry or break down. He's probably autistic, and suffers from an overabundance of empathy. I highly doubt he enjoys it. He won't be mean, but he will be sarcastic and/or satirical (people forget this one a lot). And while I don't think he'd be a law breaker in any sense, even mildly like trying drugs, I'm 99% sure he'd grow up to be affiliated with punk ideology and general rage at the government. I don't even think he'd bother people who break the law in certain ways very much after a certain age. If he saw Eddy smoking, or Ed popping blues, he may warn them about the dangers IF IT'S THEIR FIRST TIME. But if they've done it before, he'll probably let them be. I think he'd turn away if he saw shoplifting occurring at a large store as an adult knowing how those companies overprice their stuff.

He's intelligent. The way we see him act as a kid is influenced by his parents being an oxymoron helicopter parent duo that somehow manages to both micromanage their son AND lack presence at the same time. The way he acts around Ed and Eddy (speaking specifically about his sarcastic tendencies) is his true self. His intelligence doesn't mean he lacks any humor or fun. He isn't "soft" in the way people make him look, and he'd probably be the first to defend his friends from assholes. May I remind you that he stands his ground in BPS? Pretty damn well, might I add. People think he lacks confrontational abilities and while he does have some anxiety surrounding himself and may not defend himself to people he doesn't know very well, he almost always seems to be the first to confront someone when they need to be corrected. If he wasn't most likely physically disabled (as evident by his inability to do ANYTHING without severe exhaustion and panting) he'd probably beat you up if you hurt anyone's feelings enough that he felt he had to step in.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Liz, Biotechnician

Part 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re sure it was my codes, sir?”

Liz stood in front of the 3 highest ranking officers on board the Noah: the bipedal insectoid Captain Skitch, the First Officer, a woman from the Doun race named Koatil, and Security Chief Ducane. She’d been called to the captain’s office before the cycle’s shift had even started.

“We’re sure,” Captain Skitch chittered, his short mandibles moving, “but we’re also sure it wasn’t you.”

“I don’t follow,” Liz said. Sitting in the chair across from these three was making her nervous. Like there was an alarm in her head screeching out LAST CHANCE LAST CHANCE LAST CHANCE in Admiral Townes voice. It’s not like she’d been dissecting other crew members like other humans on the ship, so she wasn’t sure how or why this was happening.

“Let me be perfectly clear here Elizabeth, you’re not in any trouble, but several times in the last few weeks, someone has been using division head codes to send encrypted long distance communications.”

Commander Koatil leaned against the wall, her thermal suit clunking and rumbling. Liz had always wondered how the thing didn’t get clogged with Doun fur all the time, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Especially not with Koatil’s horns looking so sharp at the moment.

“At the times in question, you were usually at your work station or in the mess hall. Chief Ducane here assures us your… what did you call it Ducane?”

“Body language, Commander.”

“Right, that. He assures us you couldn’t be behind it. You’re too ‘relaxed’ to be conspiring against the rest of the crew.”

They’ve been watching me? Conspiring against the crew? Liz thought, trying to swallow but her mouth had just dried up like the desert world Apam 2. Hopefully they hadn’t seen what had happened to Coco, or if they did, it wouldn’t get them fired. Liz had to get them to stop eating so much chocolate. Problems for later. The idea of a traitor among the crew was almost an afterthought to her. Almost.

“So do you know who it is?” She asked.

“That’s classified,” Ducane said.

So you don’t know, she figured.

“It’s been…,” the chief continued, “let’s say, brought to the ship command’s attention that some rather odd occurrences have gotten overlooked, so I’ve given Chief Ducane the all clear to begin an official investigation. Can you think of anyone who’d have access to your work station or your personal space?”

Liz shook her head silently. The black ball cap she’d always seen him wearing was backwards, and he donned his ‘tool belt’, sporting an Earthly ballistic pistol and a stun baton. Danny looked at her a second longer before leaning against the desk, looking pensive.

“Naturally, if you speak of this to anyone, you’ll not only be expelled from the ship, you’ll probably end up court-martialed back on Earth,” Skitch said, dead pan. “The only reason you’re being informed is because you were involved, however slightly it was.”

Liz looked around at the three of them. Even if she wasn’t in trouble yet, she thought about the conversation she’d had just yesterday with Thomas and Jane. If anyone had overheard them, even just a little, and they told Bridge Command, that was it. She’d be finished.

God damn it Thomas.

She could already hear her Uncle Edd, AKA Admiral Townes, AKA the man in charge of her current job, as well as the whole ship, telling her how irresponsible it was to leave her access codes on a sticky note by her computer. There wasn’t a universe out there where he didn’t already know about this. Every cell in her body wanted nothing else but to avoid that stern and disappointed lecture she’d heard a thousand times before, the reminders that while she might be the brightest mind in the family she was also the most thoughtless. Another screw up and he couldn’t bail her out again. Another screw up and she could kiss her position goodbye: no more science division head, no more personal lab, no more Noah-

-no more Coco-

The thought burst into her brain like a super nova. She’d finally made a friend, a real friend, someone she connected with in the lab and out, and the thought of losing that scared her more than she thought it would, way more than she’d be willing to admit. No, she had to fix this, now. The conversation she had with Thomas the previous cycle came back like an after flare, and so she did the only thing she could think of.

“Beep…?” she said, looking to Danny, trying desperately to signal to the security chief that yeah, I’ve already talked to Thomas, I know about your office, I know about a lot of stuff! You gotta help me out here, human to human!

The chief stared at her a moment, a puzzled look stuck on his face. Liz gripped the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white. Exasperated she tried again.

“Beep!”

“Are you alright ensign?” The captain asked, looking from her to the only other human in the room, probably looking for a hint about this new strange Earthling behavior. Liz just kept looking at the security chief, and watched as realization bloomed behind his eyes.

Ducane strode over to her, and Liz noticed for the first time he had a scar under his chin, a thin line going up his jaw. In the back of her mind she wondered how he’d gotten it.

“Now, ensign,” Ducane half rumbled as he towered over her, “I’m going to escort you back to your work station, where you’ll not discuss this with anyone else, understood?”

“Understood… sir,” she added hastily.

As the two terrans excused themselves, Liz’ translator just barely picked it up.

“Those humans are weird,” from Commander Koatil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Talk. Now.”

They’d made it down the hallway in silence, Ducane in the lead. The moment the lift doors closed he’d begun the interrogation.

Liz realized then just how much the man’s frame eclipsed hers, he was like four of her put together and force fed an all protein powder diet. She was like a pencil in comparison to a tree trunk. So in response, she straightened her back to her full height and tried to stand her ground.

“Look dude, this isn’t my fault, you told Thomas all that stuff, and he blabbed yesterday to us-”

“Us? Who’s us?!” Danny cut her off, a pained look on his face. “What is the matter with you kids? Are you all trying to give me an ulcer here?”

“Who the hell are you calling kids, I’m twenty eight!”

“And I’m almost forty,” he sighed, “and at this rate you actual children will kill me before I hit the big four zero.” Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. Elizabeth. Liz. Please. Just tell me what he told you and…?”

“Jane, from medical.”

“God damnit Thomas.”

“Tell me about it, right? I’m gonna get canned just ‘cause I know stuff. That’s my whole job dude, to know stuff.”

“Please-”

“Yeah, yeah,” she cut him off, before explaining the conversation the three of them had had the day before in the mess hall.

“Fuuuuck me,” was all he said in turn.

“Why’d you even tell Bridge Command you’re looking for a saboteur on the ship?” Liz asked.

“Why? Because it’s my job, that’s why. This isn’t some little mystery holo show back on Earth, these are real stakes here Liz, real people who could get hurt or worse if this goes bad. So yeah, of fucking course I told the captain! It’s just you kids running around behind my back that are screwing shit up for me right now. If this gets out, the whole experiment is going to be canceled, we’ll all be fired, probably imprisoned, and the whole human god damn race is gonna have cosmic egg on its face right from the jump for a whole galactic audience to see.”

Liz just stared at him, watching the escalation.

“Oh,” is all she said.

The lift doors opened.

“Look,” Ducane took a deep, hopefully calming breath, “if you three just keep your mouths shut and let me do my job, everything is gonna be fine. GAIL Command won’t think anyone is colluding, they won’t even find out until we have something to say, and the ship can keep going on its merry way. Alright?”

“Alright,” Liz said.

And she really did want to mean it too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Human Friend Liz!” Coco’s voice synthesizer exclaimed, unusually excited for a creature with no adrenal gland. “You remember the moon where you lost your arm, yes?”

“Yeah, that was the kind of thing you remember hon,” Liz said, flexing her cybernetic fingers. She hung her coat across the back of her chair. “What about it?”

“Well I was thinking, why didn’t your plasma pistol ignite the air around us? The atmospheric makeup was 95% methane if you recall.”

“Weren’t you releasing oxygen from your branches? That’s why I didn’t suffocate after my mask broke.”

“Yes, correct, but not at a rate that could stave off an ignition. I’ve been rechecking the data, and it appears there was a steady stream of oxygen pouring out from the cave mouth. Perhaps there is some sort of generator, most likely botanical in nature, under the surface to offset the methane in some places.”

“Oh,” Liz said, “well then I’m really glad all we lost down there was my arm. Getting blown up isn’t great, I’m told.”

Coco was standing in their pot, using their branches to tick and tap buttons on their tablet. In their wall cubby enclosure, the Armeaters were ‘sunbathing’ under a heat lamp. A pile of chicken bones in the corner told Liz they’d eaten their lunch without issue. She reached her cybernetic arm over the lip of the tank and scratched one under its snout.

“Remind me, when is the zoological team coming to pick up these guys?”

“Based on their rate of growth,” Coco began, “we’ll have some time before they arrive. Around midpoint of the mission, at the earliest I was told.”

Coco turned their wall computer to face the human.

“Look at this data. I believe these creatures have a rather slow growth period during their first few stages of life, then have rather explosive growth spurts into adult hood.”

“That’s so weird,” Liz said, puzzled. “I mean I guess I’m biased, but most Earth creatures come out ready to go, especially outta eggs. Like sure they’re small, but they don’t stay that way for long.”

“Maybe they’re similar to the Soolian species in the Miriam Basin on Trigor. That species generates a growth hormone from the vegetation they eat,” she continued. “We might just have to take them back to the moon.”

“There is still much we do not know about their habitat. Another expedition to MX13 would be very informative.”

“Yup. Sure would.” Liz flexed her fingers, first the flesh and bone set, then the metal. “Maybe send the drones first though.”

“Oh. Yes. Of course.” Coco turned their tablet back into the wall and continued their work. “Sorry, I had forgotten. When one of my species loses a branch, it will eventually grow back.”

“Lucky you,” Liz said dryly, scritching one of the little aliens between the eyes. It wriggled contently and rolled over. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it was just my arm, and now I’m really glad we didn’t both get blown to hell, but I’m pretty fucking pissed I lost my arm. The new one is cool and all, but it does kinda suck in comparison to the real thing.”

“I am… incapable of understanding the feeling,” Coco said slowly, “but I am sorry that my friend human is upset. If you need anything of me, I will do my best to oblige you.”

“Thanks hon, I really appreciate that.”

Liz sat quietly for a few minutes, listening to the tip tap tap of Coco’s computer typing vines. She wasn’t even really working, more just sitting and breathing and existing, contemplating. Thinking about her arm somewhere, wondering if she could somehow make it shoot the bird to the universe for stealing it.

Wondering if she could or even should tell her best friend on the ship about the possibility of a saboteur. She reasoned that, no, no she shouldn’t. It’d be like… knowingly passing on a contagious virus. Something she didn’t want her friend to catch. Problems they didn’t have to endure if she could just keep her mouth shut.

She found herself thinking about her previous posting onboard the Herald, and the supervising officer who’d contracted the zeno-sporic infection. Hank was his name, if she remembered correctly.

Giant douche canoe filled with fungus, she thought.

He’d completely disregarded the safety briefing she’d made for the landing on Zenos 3, a highly dangerous planetoid in the sector they’d been assigned. Totally ignored the proper instructions and personal protective devices, and came into contact with an incredibly aggressive species of fungus that rooted in his lungs when he’d inhaled them.

Then the dipshit brought them back on the ship without going into quarantine! Who does that?!

Morons. That’s who.

She’d thought he’d looked a little off on the shuttle back, and hours later in the mess hall she’d seen him hacking up spore laced sludge into the waste bins. Luz hadn’t hesitated after that, she’d stunned him with her sidearm and licked him in the sterilization pod. After several hours of gassing him and the spores, he was clean enough to come out, and after another few hours-

-had to be sure you know?-

-she let him out, all safe and clean, totally spore free.

During that time, watching him thrash around in the pod while the spores made their way through his system and into his brain, trying to evade the gas, she’d learned something, something that’d stuck with her since.

Liz had learned that you can’t wait for people to do the right thing. You do it yourself.

She hadn’t waited for Officer Moron to get himself cleaned.

She hadn’t waited for that asshole Grite to save Coco on MX13.

She wasn’t going to wait for Ducane and Bridge Command to find the saboteur and save the mission.

She looked over at her workstation and saw the sticky note stuck there with her codes on it. Liz reached her cybernetic arm over and plucked it from the screen, crumpled it up, and dropped it in the Armeater tank. The largest of the three perked up and pounced on it, like it was a new toy, and shredded it with their newborn needle teeth.

“Time to get to work,” she said quietly.

In their pot in the corner, Coco gave an involuntary shiver of apprehension. Friend Human Liz was exhibiting predator again. They were just thankful for the pack bonding relationship they shared, because otherwise, the Sprygan would be terrified.

[ryemackerel]

Dude my whole life depends on genderfluid Matt, I LOVE GENDERFLUID MATT. Shes such an icon please I need more of her THANKS FOR DRAWING OUR DIVA AS GENDERFLUID. I LOVE IT. AND YOU DRAW MATT SO PERFECTLY! LIKE ITS SUITS HER SM. IM NOT JOKING

IM NORMAL ABOUT THIS HC THO I SWEAR.. did i say i love genderfluid Matt?

FUCK YEAAAHHH AUAGWH GENDERFLUID MATT TRUTHERS LETS GOOO Thank you so much for the message dude, I really appreciate that <3 WE LOVE GENDERFLUID MATT IN THIS HOUSEHOLD

At first when I started getting into Eddsworld again, I struggled to come up with a definitive design for Matt, so I mainly experimented how he’d look in a bunch of different outfits, and I played around with how he’d present himself. I started off just presenting him masc, but over time, I started kinda embracing how differently he’d present, and he tends to fluctuate from fem, masc, to androgynous, and often somewhere in the middle. This idea started to develop in my art and even through the roleplays I do as him too!

I thought it would’ve been a really cool way to explore representing genderfluid characters and experiment writing characters with different backgrounds. And of course, since my experience is different, if I ever eff up the representation, feel free to always let me know guys HAGSHA I’m always open to tips for improving my writing and art. :-)

I like to think his experience with gender during high school took a while for him to fully feel comfortable with it. He never saw himself as strictly male. He’s comfortable being called he/him, but there were times where, yeah, that always fluctuated. Times in high school prom where he’d wear a suit, and whenever he’d see others wear dresses, he always wondered how he’d look in them, sometimes gender envy in a way. At one point when he was calling Edd, he even considered going by a different name.

Matt today still occasionally gets called “Coral”, since her hair color reminds the others of coral. :-] She uses Matt more, but whenever she hears Coral from time to time, she smiles a big BIG grin and gets really jumpy and excited.

Over time, Matt started experimenting with her gender expression. She tried on a dress that she borrowed from her mum one night.

Matt: “Hey, mum.”

Amelia: “Huh? What is it?”

Matt: “Can I borrow a dress real quick?”

Amelia: “…??? Are you going out or something, hun?”

Matt: “………………”

Amelia: “HAHA! I mean, sure, you can, but why? I thought you hated dresses.”

Matt: “It’s just gonna be for a few minutes.”

Amelia: “OKAYY! Well make sure you put it back in my closet!” (In her mind: “Well, that’s odd! Oh well!”)

And that’s where this drawing came to be!

Nothing but absolute euphoria.

Matt never really saw himself as entirely JUST a girl. He liked the idea of wearing feminine stuff, dresses and skirts, putting on makeup, and wearing nail polish, but he was also comfortable being a dude! Maybe growing out his hair to have it dyed and slightly curled would be nice, some hoop earrings, eyeliner, and a stubble. I am totally not foreshadowing.

Over time, past high school, into college, and afterwards to the present, Matt recognized there really wasn’t any boundary or restriction holding him back from how he wanted to dress up or present himself, and we get Matt today! Over time he grew even more comfortable presenting more fem, but absolutely fuckin loves looking masc or fem or ANYTHING EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN! She basically doesn’t really mind at all what she’s called. Whenever people ask Matt what her gender is, he usually replies “Me? Oh, I’m Matt!”

She’s grown super passionate about fashion and makeup, and loves picking out outfits for her hubbies. I’d say out of all the crew, I draw Matt with the most different outfits all the time. I rarely really draw her with her hoodie LMFAOOO

Hope you enjoyed the little infodump though dude! It was initially just gonna be shorter but ANYTIME ANYONE TALKS ABOUT MATT I GET SO PASSIONATE OAUAGSHHSGAH! AGAIN!! Thank you so much for the message dude, much love <3

[duckduckington]

Differences of the WoY visual style between the pilot and the final show (Along some other stuff) (Part 1)

So a crap-ton of cartoon show bibles and pilots surfaced recently, which is kind of fucking cool, and it included stuff from Wander over Yonder, which is way fucking cooler.

First thing I did was over-analyze the show's visual style and I figure I should put my findings somewhere, so here you go! In a chronological order, it's easier that way (and builds suspense for the real good stuff, ooohooooh (in a spooky ghost voice)).

The first shot alone already brings forth some differences. As far as I know, the show never illustrates space like this, entirely black with just a couple of stars to break the void. There's usually some blue star dust or something, kinda like this:

The skullship was planned to be 3D-animated apparently, instead of being drawn in the same style as the backgrounds. This allows for WAY more complex movements, since it's easier to pull off.

We then get to take a looksie inside of the ship... this isn't like ANYTHING in the show.

We do see control rooms on occasion, but not one like this. It's a circular room with rows of watchdogs on the wall, watching monitors, circulating the middle where Hater sits on his throne. The railings on its support carry Peepers and his cockpit. Two watchdogs control the ship (I think) at the front. That blue goop at the top might be the ship's brain (you can also already see some animation errors in the front, peep their grabbers). There ain't ever been a color palette inside the ship like this, they usually opt for red and black rather than red and white. This might have been their solution to making the characters native to Hater pop out against the background before deciding to just substitute black for purple.

There's still bright locations within the skullship, but they're non-threatening ones, like the food court.

Commander Peepers and the watchdogs have designs that, while closer to their final versions than the pitch bible (or whatever that cover of that graphic novel was supposed to be), carry some traits still worth pointing out (well, so does everything here, but pshhhshshhhshh).

SHINY

COLLARS

Puffy collars around necks, wrists and ankles.

Detailed irises.

Detailed soles on shoes.

Those lines on their gloves that you see in your grandpa's toons.

(bugs bunny pictured flipping the bird)

This is specific to Peepers; the jagged thunder-spike on his helmet has dimension to it, as opposed to the implied dimension in his final design. Spikes on the side are also way longer here.

His eye/face emotes differently by just utilizing a black eyelid, rather than turning the hat into a pseudo-eyebrow, kinda like Double D from Ed, Edd n' Eddy.

We then get a glimpse at Hater's design...

Despite his face missing, you can already see some differences, like his arms resembling more those of an actual skeleton and packing a lot less mass. His hood is also a bit more tout and the folds surrounding it have more empathis.

Another space shot with some shapes to break up the infinite black; it's not always you see a warm color palette for space in the actual show.

Maybe here, when Wander and Sylvia stop the sun from blowing up in "The Good Deed".

When entering the city that's about to get its shit stirred by Hater, we notice that there aren't ANY other locations illustrated like this. We usually have smooth, airbrushy looking stuff, when this is more reminiscent of a comic strip, with clear lines and some hatching to indicate weight here and there. Same goes for the townsfolk, they remind me of... Krazy Kat or something. Craig McCracken has gone on record saying he drew a lot of inspiration from old comic strips, but I don't know if Krazy Kat is one of them. I just thought of it :)

The inside of the skullship looked different so this place might have had an unique artstyle to other locations we would've seen in this version of the show, but that would also be a big difference since the actual show keeps the background style consistent throughout the whole run (as far as I know).

Goes in hand with the skullship; the watchdogs are 3D-animated here, although subtly.

Different gun designs... they look more like water guns here. Big ol' TUBES. Their guns in the show are more sci-fi-esque.

Hater's logo is different, in-line with his design. Way flatter design too. Might as well take a look at his actual face now.

Well, more like next time. Just found out you can only use up to 30 images in one post. Oopsies. I'll continue this when I have the energy! I'll continue my chronological analysis/rambling and perhaps talk about the general art-style and animation at the end. Might take me a couple of more posts.

[steddieasitgoes]

Steve’s maternal grandfather was a classically trained pianist. He traveled all over the world as a concert pianist before retiring around the time Steve was born. He takes a job as a church pianist and buys Steve a baby grand piano so he can teach his only grandson how to play. Steve learns how to play piano and read music before he learns how to read books.

His grandfather dies when Steve is 9, and his mom gets upset whenever she hears Steve playing, because it reminds her of her dad, who chose the piano over her most of her life. So, Steve stops playing, not wanting to upset his mom. She tried to sell the piano, but no one in Hawkins is interested, so it stays covered with a bedsheet and locked away in the former music room.

Steve picks it up again when his parents start fighting and his mom starts going on business trips with his dad. He finds himself spending long nights at the penchant, fingers dancing across the ivory keys. He’s rusty at first, but playing the piano is a lot like riding a bike — you never really forget.

He keeps his talent a secret, though. Keeps the piano locked away in the old music room when Robin and the Party is over and doesn't let them down that hallway. Likes that he has something for himself, though he does have moments where he wishes he could share his talent with his found family.

Eddie’s the first person he tells.

They’re hanging out together in Steve’s living room. Eddie’s got his acoustic slung across his lap. Fingers moving up and down the frets. His brows are furrowed, and his lip is tugged between his teeth. He’s been stuck on the same melody for days now and Steve offered up his place, hoping a change in scenary would rid him of his music block.

It hasn’t.

“Jesus H. Christ” Eddie swears, gently moving the acoustic to the side. He throws the rest of his body down on the rug.

“You’re being too hard on yourself, Ed’s. It sounds great.”

“You’re just saying that cause it’s not loud and obnoxious.”

“It is different than your usual sound,” Steve hums, gently guiding himself from the couch down to the floor next to Eddie.

“Jeff wrote a love song for this girl he’s seeing. But he's always sucked at the music part, so I said I’d give it a shot.” Eddie says, raising his arms in the air in front of his face. He starts to fiddle with the large skull ring on his finger. “I think the melody would sound better on a piano but none of us can play so, my acoustic will have to do.”

Steve's not sure why he does what he does next. Maybe it's because Eddie is right, and the song would sound better with a piano, or maybe it's because he'd move the moon and starts to make Eddie Munson smile. Whatever the case, Steve stands. Offers Eddie a hand and hoists him with him.

He starts walking down the hallway towards the room no one even knows exists. Eddie hot on his heels.

"Don't tell me you've been hiding a secret sex dungeon," Eddie teases as Steve raises to his tiptoes to grab the key hidden on the top of the door frame.

"If I had a secret sex dungeon, don't you think I'd have shown it to you by now?" Steve asks, hip-checking Eddie out of the way so he can get to the door knob.

"Fair point," Eddie says.

Steve can tell he's about to say something else, when the door clicks open. The baby grand is still covered with a white bedsheet, but it's easy to make it out. Especially for a music expert like Eddie.

"Holy shit," Eddie says, slowly moving closer to the center of the room as if he's going to startle the piano. "Is that what I think it is?"

Steve nods and begins rolling up the bedsheet exposing the beautiful black, shiny baby grand piano. He tosses the sheet aside and takes a seat at the bench. Carefully lifts the keyboard cover and pats the bench next to him. Eddie joins instantly.

"You can play?" Eddie asks as Steve's fingers start moving across the keys. He starts with something simple, the melody to "Twinkle Twinkle," before moving on to one of the formal pieces his granddad taught him. Eddie sits motionless, eyes darting between Steve's profile and his fingers dancing across the keys. When Steve stops, Eddie lets out a gasping breath. Playfully bumps his shoulder with Steve's. "You son of a bitch! You have been holding out on me!"

"Maybe a little," Steve chuckles. "But not about having a sex dungeon."

"You sure about that?" Eddie says, moving in closer. He rests his head on Steve's shoulder and angles his face so his lips are right next to Steve's ear. "I hear sex on a piano is pretty amazing."

Steve blushes, feels the butterflies fluttering in his gut. He laughs, shrugging Eddie off his shoulder. Playful. Bashful. "Come on, we've got a song to write."

Eddie looks at Steve, even more bewildered than before. This time Steve meets his gaze, takes in Eddie's woofish smile that he's trying to hide behind a strand of hair and his blown pupils.

"You really are my wildest dreams come true," Eddie moans, stealing a kiss. It's a quick but passionate. A reminder that they're not done yet. "Alright, let's get this song done so we can really break this piano in after."

[orgasming-caterpillar]

Dear Veere @kulfi-waala

For someone who thinks of himself as a poet, my words fail me much too often. Sometimes I think so much and feel so much and can't say any of it. But let me tell you this— I think of you, always. Never in my life would I have thought that I would find a brother like you in "some guy from Tumblr".

Thank you for staying up till three numerous times trying to stop me from ending it all. Thank you for making me laugh when I was losing touch with reality, for keeping me grounded when I was teetering on the edge of sanity. Most of all, thank you for letting me bully you no matter what <3

This keepsake will always remind me of all our jokes and rants and stupid memes like EDD and the fucking fruits. It will forever remind me of all that I have to lose in case I have one of those moments again. It will always remind me of you.

You make life beautiful by being in it. I love you.

Madhu

[erinelliotc]

EEnE / Edd "Double D" & Eddy EDit (Paging Dr. Double D) (Emergency Budots (Paging Dr. Beat) - DJ Johnrey Disco Remix)

I love and hate TikTok because the songs that hit there, go viral and become trends always get stuck in my head. As an obsessed Ed, Edd n Eddy fan, every single thing is an EEnE reference to me, everything reminds me of scenes from the show, so I couldn't help but remember this episode (Flea-Bitten Ed) with this song, and make the silliest edit ever with a very silly Double D moment.

I hope you enjoy this stupid remix xD

TikTok:

YouTube:

[lolivvia]

I finally installed Clip Paint for my iPad and you know what? I still prefer doing everything on my laptop, I can't seem to get it 😭 So yeah, this drawing is kinda experimental, as I was struggling with the app.... ANYWAY I watched all of the eps of Helluva Boss and I wonder. Why was I putting off watching this series for so long?? It was great. I'm not sure who's my favourite character, I love Stolas design wise and his elegant and kind demeanor, don't k**l me but he kind of reminds me of Double D from Ed, Edd and Eddy and I always have sympathy for characters like that. I also really liked Moxxie and Millie, I feel like young married couples are a rare sight in media, especially such loving ones and not, u know, "married and hate each other on a daily basis". And I loved Fizzarolli, if I'll draw someone else from the show it will probably be him, he looks awesome. And I kinda relate to him in terms of proving yourself to others. SO YEAH great series, I could watch 100 episodes of this beautiful animation scenes (fights were fire) 🔥

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓 dammit Eddie tell Buck to get his ass to Texas!!

Unfortunately Eddie will do no such thing.

102 for 🐓:

---

Eddie gets up to hug his son. Chris allows it, but hardly moves his arms to hug Eddie back. He’s still mad about yesterday. Well, honestly? So is Eddie. Chris… He doesn’t understand where all the vitriol about things completely unrelated to the original conflict is coming from. Yesterday was full of that. But Eddie just wants a nice Christmas with his kid. He will drop yesterday. He’ll let it go. 

“Merry Christmas, bud,” Eddie says, forcing the warmest smile he can to his face.

“Thanks,” Chris mumbles. He hardly makes eye contact. 

Oh, come on! 

Adriana is watching them, stern expression on her face. 

“Where’s the enthusiasm, kid?” She asks.

He gives her a strange look. Like he was expecting her to be on his side. From the sounds of it - from the stories she told last night - Adriana has been on his side. In all disagreements between Chris and their parents, whenever she’s been around. Which isn’t a lot, granted. But more than Eddie. But Adriana has always been loyal to Eddie. Even from when she was little. She always came to him instead of their parents. No shocker why. He spent a lot of time taking care of her. Chris probably doesn’t realize that. 

“Just tired,” Chris grumbles. 

“Well, fair. Me too,” Adriana says. “But, hey, how long has it been since we celebrated all together, huh? You were, like, six.”

Chris smiles weakly. “Yeah. All together.”

Fuck. 

He’s thinking of Shannon. Of course he is! Why would Adriana know how sensitive Christmastime and Shannon are to him? She wouldn’t. But still. Fuck. 

Chris sits down next to Abuela, who extends Christmas greetings and kisses his face several times, until he gives a small grimace. He’s across the room from Eddie. And he hardly even looks at him before Helena calls them all to breakfast. 

➡️

Breakfast is a disaster. 

It starts mildly enough. Chris and Eddie are both picking at their eggs. Eddie is still full from ordering an unseemly amount of takeout for himself and Adriana last night. Not sure what’s up with Chris, though. Just general teenage grumpiness, maybe. Maybe… Maybe Adriana’s comment…

Eddie doesn’t know. 

“So, Eddie,” his father says, tone upbeat, halfway through the meal.

Eddie tenses. He has survived the meal so far by not being a topic of conversation or the center of attention. He doesn’t want that to change. 

“Yeah, Dad?” He replies anyway.

“You must be excited to start working,” Ramon says. 

“I’m looking forward to it,” Eddie agrees. “Excited to meet the team.”

He misses having something to do to keep himself occupied. 

“You know, I always hoped you’d end up as a firefighter here,” Ramon smiles.

“I know,” Eddie says. “You’ve mentioned it before.”

It’s a bit snippy. Eddie can hear that in his own tone. But… Yeah. No. Eddie doesn’t need to hear how he ended up exactly in their once desired position for him. Working in Texas while they raise his son. He thinks about it enough without the reminder. 

“Well, everything has worked out,” his father says, some of the wind clearly taken out of his sails. 

Eddie shrinks a little. He can’t help it. 

“No, it hasn’t,” Christopher chimes in. And… Not in a polite tone. Eddie looks at him. His face is sort of red, mouth twisted into a scowl.

“Chris?” Ramon frowns. “What do you mean?”

Nope. No, no. Eddie doesn’t need to hear what he means. He already has a pretty strong idea of what he means. Let’s not say it at Christmas breakfast. Happy Holidays, let’s talk about how Edde is a terrible father and his son would rather him be twelve hours away! 

“This didn’t work out,” Chris complains. “This is all messed up. Dad shouldn’t even be here.”

“Christopher-” Ramon tries.

“No,” Chris shakes his head. He looks at Eddie. “This sucks. I hate it. I wish… I wish you were still in Los Angeles.”

Sophia inhales sharply. Her husband sort of gapes, shocked Chris would talk to his father like this. 

“Chris, this isn’t a breakfast conversation,” Eddie says weakly. 

Chris looks around the table, at his somewhat captive audience. 

“I don’t care,” he says. “I don’t care about Christmas.”

“Christopher!” Helena squeaks.

Abuela’s face crumples, upset.

[gettingfrilly]

Make it count, EddEddy Fanfic

This was supposed to be a short drabble but it got wildly out of hand. Curse my verbose nature. eddeddy, first kiss, underage drinking, rated T

"I was kind of hoping my first kiss would be enjoyable."

The steady creaking of the rusty chains next to him comes to a stop for the first time tonight, Eddy's feet planting in the dirt to cease the momentum of his swing. Edd glances over at him just as he hears the pop of the bottle neck being pulled from his lips, Eddy's brow furrowed as he looks back at him.

"What're ya on about, Dee?"

"I was just thinking," Edd starts, reaching to grab the bottle from Eddy's hand. What little condensation still clings to the brown glass has long since gone lukewarm, the liquid inside not fairing much better. Perhaps it's his own indulgence in said liquid that allows him to let his fingers linger on Eddy's a split second before he takes the bottle from him and finishes his thought. "Do you remember our creek cruise scam?"

Eddy grunts and scrunches his face, his typical reaction to a past failed scam being brought up. "Yeah, I remember."

"And do you remember when the Kankers boarded our 'ship?'"

Now Eddy's lips pucker in distaste, his typical reaction to the Kankers being mentioned. "Uh-huh."

"Well... that was when I received my first kiss. The first of several from Marie, actually." He sighs and upends the bottle, gulping his small swig down quickly to avoid actually tasting the drink as much as he can. The stale flavor still gets him, though, and he grimaces while sticking his tongue out through the gap in his teeth, not nearly as used to the taste of beer as Eddy is.

"I was reminded of it today when I was over at Ed's house. I overheard Sarah and Jimmy discussing their hopes and expectations for their own firsts." Edd continues. "I suppose it made me kind of sad. It's not something I get daydream about anymore."

And this is why he doesn't drink often. Well, other than the fact that it's illegal and immoral and he could get in huge trouble. Drinking doesn't make him lighter and bolder like Eddy, or jovial like Ed—it just makes him sad, in a dreary, pathetic kind of way. He's already the least fun of the trio, as far as he's concerned, and he's loath to further accentuate the difference between himself and his two friends. But Eddy always makes sharing a drink sound like such a good idea, same as how he manages to make everything sound like a good idea; plus there's Edd's own underhanded motivations involving lingering fingers and indirect kisses.

"That don't count." Eddy interrupts Edd's reverie in a firm voice.

"Pardon?"

"I said that don't count." Eddy takes the bottle back from him, taking his own swig. "A first kiss is something both people gotta be into. I don't count any of my Kanker kisses, and neither should you." There's a bitterness to Eddy's voice alongside the usual stubbornness, a can of worms Edd is unsure whether he wants to open or not.

"Ah... I suppose that's one way to look at it." It's the way he wants to look at it, at least. It's not the first time he's wished he could view the world a little more like Eddy, stubbornly holding onto the notion that things are going his way, or at least will be very soon, regardless of what's going on around him.

"It's the right way to look at it. So go ahead and daydream, Romeo."

Edd hums in response, then goes quiet, sitting with Eddy's surprising wisdom. Eventually he hears the old swing set start to creak again, Eddy's restless body gently swinging back and forward, only just barely lifting his feet off the ground. The old playground has made for a good night time haven in recent years, the only members of their group young enough to still have interest in the playground being Sarah and Jimmy. The new families who have started moving into the newly constructed homes this side of the lane are either still childless or have children far too young to wander into the playground alone at night. When all three of them are together for... delinquent activities, the junkyard still makes for a safer bet. When it's just the two of them, without Ed's rambunctiousness, the playground is the more convenient choice. It's also, Edd frequently likes to note, the less stinky choice, especially when considering the effects the hot summer sun has on the piles of refuse. It's much more pleasant here overall, with the illumination of the street lamps nearby and moving playground equipment to keep Eddy's body occupied.

It has been just the two of them more often, as well. Not that either of them are hanging out with Ed less; they're just hanging out with each other more, spending more nights than not decompressing together here on the swings, or on the merry-go-round, or the monkey bars, talking about school, family, friends, life. Sometimes recreational substances are involved, sometimes not—sometimes Edd partakes, sometimes he doesn't. He can't remember when exactly this started, but he knows how much he appreciates and has even started to somewhat depend on their private rendezvous. He can feel their friendship evolving into something too scary to name, a fragile in-between that could crumple in his touch if he's not careful. He can only hope Eddy feels it too.

"So, how's that daydreaming going?"

"Hm?" Edd swivels his head to look at Eddy, blinking owlishly at him, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion into his personal thoughts.

"Your smoochin' day dreams. You've been quiet for so long I figured that's what your big smart brain was up to." Eddy sends him a mischievous smirk. "Anything steamy happening up there?"

"Ah—" Curse his propensity to blush at the slightest provocation. "I don't see how that's any of your business, Eddy." He sputters.

"Prude. Come on." Eddy prods him with his (filthy, muddy, dirty) shoe, jostling his swing in the process. "Who you playin' tonsil hockey with up their? Anyone I know?" His leer and grin are downright vicious now, eyebrows bouncing so quickly Edd's surprised they don't take off in flight.

"No one! I was just thinking about how nice of a night it is. That's all, really." It's partially the truth, though he wasn't thinking about just this night in particular.

"Sure." Eddy draws the word out, unconvinced. "Well, if you won't tell me who, then what? You said you hoped it'd be enjoyable. So how ya enjoyin' it?"

Edd frowns at Eddy's uncharacteristic nosiness into this particular subject. "I really wasn't thinking about that, honest! But if it will sate your curiosity..." He sighs wistfully, looking up at the night sky. "I'd like my first kiss to be with someone I know well. Someone I'm already close to, who already understands the depths of me. Nothing rushed or awkward—just something new between two familiar souls, maybe sparking a nervous excitement. And, well, not to be shallow, but it wouldn't hurt if they were at least somewhat attractive." He tacks that on at the end, mumbling shyly as he kicks the dirt at his feet.

There's a beat of silence that leaves Edd feeling cold despite the warm summer evening air, fretting for a moment that he perhaps said too much—

"Gee, sounds familiar. Except, ya know, change the somewhat attractive part to extremely attractive and good looking and devilishly handsome."

Eddy's voice boasts the easy confidence alcohol usually brings him instead of the faux confidence he typically carries himself with. When Edd chances a glance at him, however, he finds that Eddy isn't even looking at him, face slightly turned away as he stares off into the treeline, thumbs dipping nervously in and out of the crevices of the chain links. Edd's grip on his own swing chains tightens, palms becoming slightly slicked with sweat.

"Well. Perhaps I am speaking of someone you know." He doesn't know where that came from, feeling as though his mind had been a blank canvas when the words suddenly left his mouth. Good lord, he's never drinking around Eddy again.

"Oh yeah?" Eddy perks up almost instantly, turning to face Edd again with another mischievous smirk. It's different this time, though, the razor sharp edges of his smile dulled and softened like wax under a gentle flame, leaving his mouth looking enticingly warm and pliable. His half lidded eyes make for a good match, the whole effect not unlike something fuzzy and fluffy lulling its prey into a false sense of security before the teeth and claws come out.

Good lord, he has got to drink with Eddy more often.

"Yes." Edd sounds a lot more breathless than he'd like to, his already present blush deepening in embarrassment. "Someone I'm rather close to at the moment, both figuratively and literally."

'Well, shit." Eddy laughs, placing the nearly empty beer bottle down on the ground next to the others before reaching over to grab one of the chains of Edd's swing, pulling him closer. "Kinda sounds like we want the same thing here. Yeah?" Eddy questions softly, seeking permission with thinly veiled nerves and desperation.

Edd answers him quickly with fervent nodding, eyelids falling to half mast as he subconsciously pokes his tongue out to lick suddenly dry feeling lips. "And you, Eddy? What would you like your first kiss to be like?"

"With someone who won't make fun of me if I ain't no good at it." He answers shockingly honestly in a rare show of vulnerability, causing Edd's heart to twist itself up and wring itself dry.

"I would never, Eddy."

"Good."

Eddy's free hand lands on Edd's shoulder, shifting along his sleeve until he can feel his thumb graze the side of his neck. It moves up from there, Eddy's fingers rising onto tensed tendons one by one until his thumb rests next to Edd's pink ear. The touch tickles, sending a shiver up his spine as he leans forward, eyes slipping shut when Eddy closes the distance between them.

It's dry, is the first thing Edd notes, used to the overenthusiastic wet smacks of the Kanker sisters. Dry and soft, no sticky cheap lipstick staining his skin and making him want to squirm. It's warm as well, the heat between them growing as their lips stay put instead of moving all over in feverish pecks, Eddy exhaling through his nose and further heating where they're conjoined. Then Eddy tilts his head, causing their lips to shift against each other in a way that pulls a small sound out of Edd's throat, shifting his own head in the opposite direction to get more of that belly-quivering friction.

It ends too soon, the two of them parting nervously with soft sighs, gazing at each other through their eyelashes as Edd chews his lip and Eddy squirms in his swing. After a moment, Eddy lets Edd go, taking his hand off his shoulder and releasing his chain. Edd catches a glimpse of imprints left by the chain on Eddy's palm where he gripped too tightly before looking away and at the ground, trying and failing to suppress the small smile spreading over his face.

"Well?" Eddy asks, voice back to being tinged with the faux confidence Edd is used to. "Enjoyable enough for you?"

"Mm..." Edd hums contentedly, shyly hiding his smile behind his hand. "Indeed. And you, Eddy?" he asks, glancing his way.

Eddy gives him one more smirk, side eyeing him before closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders. "Eh."

"You—!" Edd tries to push Eddy, but just ends up making his own swing jerk to the side, arms too weak to budge Eddy's sturdy body. "You're a dog! Not a chivalrous bone in your body! I had hoped to believe that with this, at least, you would have the good graces to be somewhat of a gentleman, but it seems even now you can't resist the urge to be a jokester, a prankster, a kidder, and an all around—!"

Edd makes another attempt to push him and has the words stolen from him when Eddy grabs his wrist, laughing like a hyena without a shred of remorse. He uses his grip to pull Edd closer, flipping his arm over so he can press his lips against his wrist, hissing more laughter against his skin as Edd's breath catches in his tightening throat.

"I liked it, too, sockhead."

[butchsophiewalten]

I'm paraphrasing from a conversation I had with some friends but I really like the idea of Susan's death being a genuine accident, and we have some circumstantial evidence now that could support that. Her's was the first in the string of Bon killings, discounting Jack because we don't know how he died, and Edd & Molly because we do. Her's is also the only Bon's Burgers killing we don't see/haven't yet seen Shadow Man directly present for, which has always been an indicator that a character's death was premeditated. Charles' death could also count for this, but we *do* actually see a Dark Shadowy Presence looming around during his death sequence, it's just not as easy to catch as the other ones.

(About the 28 minute mark of TWF3, the animatronic Bon looking for Charles in the restaurant, one frame later, and then a couple frames after that.)

I tend to think of this idea around two different parameters: It was not yet known that Bon was dangerous, or to what extent he was dangerous, and/or that Bon acted out of emotion in a way that was and still is pretty unprecedented of him. In keeping with the idea that he killed Susan because she was hurting him, and acted out of confusion or panic. I think of this in the context of Bon likely being newly-possessed, and just barely beginning to grapple with his strange form of consciousness and sensation.

The way Susan's death is framed in BunnyFarm, it almost seems like he attacked her before she could even begin examining him, but you can see that she actually removed the entire sleeve covering of his right arm when trying to diagnose the issue with his mech:

(You can even see the blue sleeve missing on the little pixelsprite version of Animatronic Bon. This is visible in the above screenshot, too.)

Which, yknow, reminds me of something....

[goodluckclove]

Leitmotif no. 1 (New)

Migration Patterns Interlude

So for those who haven't read Blind Trust, I like do to a thing in Songbird books that are like chapters that aren't chapters. It's like a prose B-plot. In the first book it was the Etudes, in this it'll be the Leitmotifs.

I'm posting this because I'm really proud of it. It's a story that's told over a few Leitmotifs throughout the book, so while it is a spoiler it's part of a spoiler towards a thing that already happened even before the events of Blind Trust.

TW: Child Abuse (Maybe not, but just to be safe)

I encourage people to comment if they can after reading. This isn't something I usually say, but I'm going to be on heavy painkillers for most of today and I'd like to see how Drug Clover reacts to seeing internet people give feedback/theories/whatever.

Enjoyyy

Drawing his breath, in and out, focusing on cultivating silence within himself as his mother instructed, young Scott Skylark Kaufner found footing on the floor of what his father only referred to in his notes as The Other Place.

He opened his eyes, The area around him was indeterminably vast. If he focused he could pick out individual colors and shapes, but Scott struggled in getting used to having to focus.

After rubbing his hands against his eyes he felt a little more grounded. Something about the pressure, the sensation of such a familiar action. He took a deep breath and tried again.

The shapes were – things, maybe. They looked like fragments of something that would make sense if Scott could see the whole thing at once.

He remembered, then, the motion his mother taught him before he set out to reach this place. The motion taught to her by his father. So Scott raised his palm, fingers tight together and pointed horizontally, and carefully pushed towards one side.

The world around him shifted. It reminded him of turning the knob on a kaleidoscope, with the results being startling enough to make his stomach lurch.

Scott dropped focus and let his hand fall to his side. He twisted his hair in his hands, suddenly anxious.

What the fuck do I do now? He thought to himself.

It was then he heard the whimpering. The noise came from behind him and prickled the hairs on the back of Scott’s neck. He straightened up, hesitating to look while also certain doing so was inevitable.

He turned.

And there was Eddie.

When people asked Scott would claim he didn’t know exactly how long had passed since he last had the vision of Eddie lying in bed with him. That was a lie and in the back of his mind he was sure everyone knew that. It was four years, nearly on the dot. Scott held the increasing weight of his dear friend’s absence with honor and bravery, just as any knight should.

Always loyal. Only occasionally crying himself to sleep.

Eddie was older now. Their hair was still cropped short, barely long enough to curl. They were standing upright, allowing Scott to see for the first time that they were still both around the same height. The angle in which they stood, though, was slightly off, with their arms hanging limp like a rag doll held at an odd angle.

It was Eddie. They were together again. It hardly felt real.

But it isn’t, Scott reminded himself. It doesn’t feel real because it isn’t.

Still, he approached. The sounds of his footsteps were odd, like walking on hard tile even though the ground beneath him displayed no tangible material. At the sound he saw Eddie freeze and their breath start to quicken. Scott still couldn’t see their face with the way they kept their head low, so he stopped.

“Eddie?” He called out.

Eddie let out a noise between a huff and a groan. Slowly, they raised their head and looked at Scott.

They looked afraid. And then they looked confused, like they didn’t recognize what they were seeing. Scott couldn’t decide which reaction hurt him more to see.

Still, he maintained a comforting smile. “Hi, Eddie,” he said. “Remember me?”

It didn’t look like they did at first. But after some time something changed. Eddie’s brow twitched and their stare turned distant. Then they focused back on Scott, blinking unevenly a few times.

Their lips curved as if starting to smile. That didn’t last long. Their large, enchantingly brown eyes welled with tears.

“...Scott?” They managed, voice cracking. “Skylark? I – I...oh god.”

Eddie slumped their head again and began to weep. Scott sighed and came closer, raising Eddie’s chin so they were eye-to-eye again.

He felt nothing when he did that. When rubbing his eyes he recognized the feeling of skin touching skin. When touching Eddie he could only see, not feel, that he was in contact with another physical presence. Scott tried not to think about that as he brushed the tears from Eddie’s cheeks.

They still had some of the same youthful, boyish features Scott remembered so fondly. But it was clear puberty was changing things. They had the faint and clumsy beginnings of facial hair above their lip and at the bottom of their chin. More facial hair than Scott imagined he’d be able to grow, even with the hormone treatment. Eddie’s once round cheeks were a little flatter, but they still had some softness to them. They looked like they’d feel wonderful to cup his palm against and really feel.

He tried not to think about that either.

“It’s okay,” he assured them. “No hard feelings, yeah? I promise.”

“Y-You…” Between their sorrow and fear Eddie could barely get out a full sentence. ‘What – what are you doing here?”

“Just visiting. Same for you?”

Eddie’s face twisted in another sob that they were only able to restrain at the last possible second. They held their breath and shook their head.

Something in Scott began to tense up. “What do you mean?”

“I...don’t think I’m going to be able to leave, Skylark,” Eddie breathed shakily.

Scott stepped back. He took in Eddie’s posture again and realized they really weren’t standing at all.

They were hanging.

He took one step, and then another, inching around behind Eddie. He could see the front of them, and then in profile, but once he stepped where he should’ve seen their back Eddie suddenly vanished.

What? Scott hummed in Tone Speech.

“Is – um,” he could still hear Eddie, even though he could no longer see them. “Is something wrong?”

Scott raised his palm and shifted the world again. He found nothing revealed in the space where Eddie should be. He turned to the side again and found Eddie’s profile. Or, part of Eddie’s profile. When he focused as he realized he had to do here constantly, Scott saw the way Eddie appeared to…

End? Disappear? None of those words felt right. They implied something far more uncontrolled than what Scott knew he was seeing.

It’s eating them, Scott thought, stunned and dismayed. This place is eating them.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Eddie said. “I don’t know what you’re seeing, but...yeah. It doesn’t really feel...like anything.”

There was a certainty in Eddie’s voice. A dull acceptance Scott despised. He circled back in front of his friend, grabbed both of their hands in his, and pulled.

“Scott, what are you – Scott,” even with everything going on Eddie still had it in them to laugh. “I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“I’m getting you out of here.”

“No.”

“Yes. I’m really smart, Eddie. I’ve learned a lot since I last saw you.”

Eddie smiled weakly. “I’m sure you have,” their eyes lowered down Scott’s body, taking it in. “You look good.”

Don’t fucking blush, Skylark, Scott demanded of himself. Now is not the time.

“You’re really handsome, Skylark,” Eddie spoke warmly.

Finally Scott allowed some of his own inner glow to reach his features. He smiled graciously, lowering his eyes. “Thanks. I...started testosterone when I turned thirteen in March. It’s pretty crazy how fast things start changing.”

“Right,” Eddie murmured. “I’m sure.”

They stared at each other. For a moment, just a moment, it felt close to how it felt when they technically shared a bed.

But then Scott remembered where they were. He remembered what was happening. As soon as his eyes started darting for any other potential solution, Eddie spoke up again.

“It’s not worth it, Skylark,” they said. “Even if you can make this stop and wake me up, I’ll still be in Shreveport and you’ll still be on the other side of the country. You can’t – I don’t think you can fix this.”

No, Scott hummed. No, Love. No no no no.

“It’s okay,” now Eddie was the one smiling, the one trying to comfort Scott. “I’m just glad I got to see you. T-To remember…” Eddie trailed off, unable to finish that thought.“Who knows? Maybe you’re proof that – that whoever they’re giving me to isn’t so bad.”

Rage swirled, unstable, through Scott’s body. He struggled to level his breathing, to push back the poison and fire until there was nothing but smoke and ash and ache.

He got close enough to Eddie to wrap his arms around them. It was the closest thing to their first proper hug, only it left Scott’s hands tucked awkwardly into dead air.

Eddie’s breath hitched. They were crying again.

“Oh,” they managed. “That’s really nice. I – I wish I could feel it.”

They stayed like that for a long time. The only thing that willed Scott to separate from them was a voice – or, more accurately, a ghostly chorus of several voices speaking in unison.

Have you come to see me, Birthright? It said.

Scott pulled back. He stayed looking at Eddie, trying to figure out if they could also hear the voice. Then it came again, and when it spoke a second time Scott became aware of a massive presence that loomed all around them. Like dropping a tray of plates in a crowded restaurant and suddenly feeling everyone’s eyes on you.

You may ask for my favor, it said, speaking carefully. You may discuss an alliance – after I finish my feed.

Eddie’s eyes widened and their hands began to tremble terribly. Then they clenched their eyes shut all together and hid their face again. Scott was left with his anger.

Fix this, he hummed to himself. Fix fix find save love love love Save my Love.

-

songbird taglist hop on off off bby

@kuebiko-writing @cartoonghosts

@atlasthecactus @aroaceghosties

@booksntea6982 @xarrixii

@mushroommanchanterelle @whoevenknowswhatimwriting

@fukurouonthesea

[eddsworld-nonsense]

Very random thought of an ask, but what would make the best present for each of them? (Can be main or all I lorve them)

Will probably draw some of these out later, but here is the list and explaination:

Edd: Literally Anything

• He is somehow astonished by even the dumbest of gifts, he still gets sparkles in his eyes when Ringo brings him dead mice

• He is also big on the "its the thought that counts" mindset, so even if he doesn't like it he will still be grateful just to receive a gift

• Wow hopefully this doesnt stem from childhood trauma

Tom: Handmade Gifts

• While he tends to ASK for things like music supplies and booze, anytime he gets something handmade his heart just melts

• The thought of someone putting in any amount of dedication to a present makes it something he cherishes forever

• It also reminds him of his childhood, when him and Jon would make each other goofy little gifts when things got rough

Matt: A Painting of Himself

• Yes, he still has a massive ego and would love a giant picture of himself

• But he likes getting paintings because it 1) shows how that person sees him and 2) it lets him see himself again since mirrors don't work anymore

• I imagine he has a wall of his room dedicated to paintings of himself, occasionally swapping them out with newer ones (He still saves the older ones dw)

Tord: A Hug

• "Ew cringe wtf do you mean a hug for Tord, he is an asshole and--" SHUT UP AND LET ME COOK

• Anything you could give Tord, they could ignore. They are so heavily convinced they are horrible that most items will be assumed to be some sort of threat/bribe/danger.

• The one thing that they can't chalk up to lying is physical affection, so hugs are the best way for them to actually realize "this person wants me to feel good"

Eduardo: Costumes for His Dog

• Eduardo doesn't really like gifts, he appreciates the thought but he isn't really attached to any of his items

• But, he always gets a kick out of dressing Doguardo up in silly little outfits

• He goes from total jerk to total softie if he sees the dog in a goofy ass sweafer

Mark: A Spa Day

• Mark hasn't been able to take care of himself as much as he wants to, mainly due to work and depression

• So being able to take a day just to focus on himself, with everything he could worry about being covered

• He would like, probably smile at you and that is big for him

Jon: A Companion of Some Kind

• Jon gets pretty lonely with Mark and Eduardo working most of the week

• He doesn't want to get a pet because of his fear of hurting them on accident (he already worries a lot over Doguardo)

• So either a pet he 100% couldn't hurt or something that could keep him company when alone

Laurel: Pot

• She is a simple women with simple wants

• She would 100% want to get high and watch adult swim

• Either that or just give her money

Fawn: Therapy

• She insists that she wants Tom, she just needs to talk to a professional

• She should also probably go to jail because girl has committed crimes

• She would be fine if she actually got help, but instead she just stalks a stranger

Margo: A Ticket Out of Here

• Margo wouldn't need to kill his doppelganger if he didn't live in the same town

• He isn't supposed to leave, Bing won't let him, but if he could book it without being found he would

• He just wants to live a normal life without the looming guilt of Tord

Mim: Nothing

• They wouldn't understand anything you try to give them/do

• You would need to explain any gift given

• Idk they would probably like stuffed animals once they understand them