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brbsoulnomming · 1 year ago

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Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 21

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He doesn't tell Steve.

There hasn't been a chance to tell Steve, he reasons with himself.

Steve comes back with Robin and Dustin, and has somehow also acquired Lucas and Max. Not long after, Nancy comes by with Mike and El.

He does actually try to hide with Steve in the kitchen while Steve puts together some kind of chicken noodle casserole, but apparently the check in tonight includes how talking with his uncle went, so Eddie has to be too actively involved with it to get a chance to get Steve alone.

By the time everyone's gone, Eddie's exhausted, and he needs to lean on both Robin and Steve to make his way back upstairs.

They've only just made it when the doorbell rings.

Steve groans. "What do those little shits want now?"

Robin laughs at him. "They're your children, Steve," she teases, wrapping an arm around Eddie's waist in preparation for Steve peeling off from them.

Eddie bumps her hip with his, shooting a little grin at her. "You're on shithead wrangling duty tonight," he informs Steve as he and Robin continue on to the bedroom.

"I'm always on shithead wrangling duty," Steve grumbles to himself, but he does head back downstairs.

Eddie assumes one of the party forgot something, and doesn't really think too much of it as he drops down onto the bed, watching Robin start adjusting the pillows.

Or at least, he doesn't think too much of it until he hears Steve call up the stairs.

"Hey, babe? Have you seen Munson hanging around the kids recently?"

Robin freezes, looking at him wide eyed, and Eddie's pretty sure he's holding himself just as still.

Not one of the hoard.

"Stay here," Robin whispers, like Eddie had any intention of doing otherwise.

"Did we join the neighborhood watch or something?" Robin yells back as she heads out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Eddie waits, trying not to vibrate out of his own skin.

Jesus Christ, he's so fucking tired of hiding and waiting.

Fortunately, it's only a few minutes later that Steve and Robin come back, and they look… unhappy, but not terribly panicked.

"It was Jason Carver and the only two lackeys he's got left," Robin says.

Eddie breathes out, relaxing just a little. Not ideal, but better than the police.

"One of them saw your uncle driving away from here with Dustin," Robin continues. "They asked about you, but I think they were just fishing."

"Great," Eddie mutters, flopping back dramatically on the bed. "Should've called me the freak, make it sound like you're on their side."

Steve snorts. "I don't want them to think we're on their side."

Which is sweet, but - "It doesn't matter what they think, Stevie, I'd still know you guys were on my side no matter what you said."

"Aw, Eddie," Robin says, and Eddie looks up at her just in time to see her plop down on the bed next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He tips his head away, trying to hide his flush.

"It's not that," Steve says. "If they think we're on their side, it opens us up to having them come around more. They'll loop us into things, sure, which wouldn't have been bad for knowing their next moves, but they'll expect things from us. It's a bad idea when you're hiding here. Plus…"

He trails off, considering, and he's quiet until Robin makes a little hum of encouragement.

"I think Jason's too far gone," he says finally. "But Andy and Eric? They're not as convinced. If I treat this like it's stupid, like there's nothing here and they're wasting my time, like it's boring, they might start to reconsider sticking with Jason on this."

Oh.

"King Steve, huh?" Eddie asks quietly.

Steve shrugs one shoulder, a little too careless. "It's not like I don't still know how to navigate all of that. It just doesn't matter anymore. Everything it means, it's just… pointless."

Eddie looks over at Robin, to find her looking just as contemplative as he feels. Robin looks back at him, and yeah, he's pretty sure she's thinking the same thing he is.

They scoot apart at the exact same time.

"Come here," Robin says, as Eddie reaches out and makes grabby hands at him.

Steve looks between them, giving a little crooked smile, then he kicks off his shoes and climbs up onto the bed, settling in the middle of the two of them.

Robin pillows her head on Steve's chest, and Eddie squishes in so he can rest his own head on Steve's shoulder. Eventually, they'll have to get up and get ready for bed, reconfigure themselves into their usual sleeping arrangement, but for now?

For now, this is perfect.

—

Eddie's surprised to find he feels good when he wakes up, despite overdoing it the day before.

Knowing that his uncle is safe, that he isn't out there worrying over Eddie - or hating him - is like a massive weight off his chest, makes it a little easier to breathe.

He lets the good mood carry him through getting up and helping make breakfast, refusing to let himself get bogged down in everything he hasn't worked out yet.

Robin is completely on board, it seems, and she and Eddie make a nuisance of themselves while Steve tries to resist getting caught up with them.

A losing battle, when both Eddie and Robin are so determined to distract him. It means some of their pancakes burn while Steve throws chocolate chips at them and they have a competition over whether Robin or Eddie can catch the most of them in their mouths, but it makes Steve laugh and Robin shriek happily whenever she gets a few in a row, so it's worth it.

Eddie likes a little charcoal taste with his breakfast food, anyway, and syrup covers almost anything.

Literally.

Both he and Robin have syrup in their hair, though Robin's is way more obvious, and she bitches at him as she wolfs down her pancakes before heading upstairs to shower.

It's just him and Steve, then, sitting on the ground in front of the coffee table, half eaten pancakes still on their plates, and Eddie feels too good to want to mess this up with any kind of talking.

"She's just trying to get out of helping clean up," Steve grumbles, but he's still smiling, and the morning sun lights him up all golden and gorgeous.

"Wishing you thought of that first, huh, pretty boy?" Eddie teases, all wide smiles and the same reckless thrill he'd gotten hot wiring the camper for Steve to drive.

Steve's smile doesn't slip, his expression doesn't go pinched, but because Eddie's so close to him - because he keeps being close to him, keeps greedily memorizing everything he can about him, his soulmate - he sees the way something shutters in his eyes.

Shit.

Did he push too far, this time? Eddie pulls back, falling hard into straight teasing and away from playful flirting. "Ah, I see His Majesty does not favor being compared to a fair maiden, my mistake. Perhaps he'll forgive-"

Steve is shaking his head, though, cutting him off with, "That's not it."

Eddie raises one eyebrow, a silent invitation to continue.

"It's just - it's always an insult. Like come on, pretty boy, let's see what you've got or wow, it's a good thing you're so pretty, Steve. I know you don't mean it like that, I do, but it's not a compliment when people usually say it, you know?"

Oh.

"I wouldn't know," Eddie says, mostly to buy himself some time to figure out how to really respond to that. "Pretty's not usually something people call me, insult or otherwise."

Now Steve's expression goes pinched, brows drawn down like he's personally offended, and whoops, nope, he can't let Steve go off on that tangent.

"No pretty boy, then," Eddie says hurriedly. "You don't like it, I won't say it."

Steve blinks at him, a little thrown. "…just like that?"

"Just like that," Eddie agrees. "Steve - you don't owe me an explanation about anything, you know that, right? I'll listen if you want to give me one, and it'll probably help me understand, but if I do something that you don't like, you can just tell me, and I'll stop."

Steve considers that for a moment. "I like - this," he says, gesturing between them. "I didn't want you to think I wanted you to stop all of it."

Both of Eddie's eyebrows shoot up this time. Yeah, he kind of figured Steve liked the banter and teasing thing they have going on, or else he wouldn't have continued it, but he didn't expect Steve to flat out acknowledge it.

"All of this is just me being my obnoxious self," Eddie points out, because he can't just leave well enough alone.

Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah," he says simply. "I like that."

Oh god, Eddie can feel his cheeks heat up, and he ducks his head and hides behind his hair so he doesn't have to look at Steve.

Forget the demobats, his stupid soulmate is going to be the death of him.

"There's plenty of other words besides pretty, anyway," he says, once he's reasonably sure he can nail playful teasing again without sounding flustered. "I'm just going to take this as a challenge to find them."

"Please don't," Steve says dryly, but Eddie can see how hard he's fighting not to smile, and he knows he has him.

"Whatever you say, beautiful," Eddie replies, batting his eyelashes at him.

Steve's ears go a little pink, and oh, that's still just as nice as the first time Eddie saw it. It only makes him latch onto his dumb plan even harder.

"Shut up." Steve shoves him.

"No," Eddie replies, so fucking delighted he can't help but grin all wide and gleaming. "My soulmate's so fucking beautiful it makes me want to weep, look at you."

The pink on Steve's ears deepens, and he gives Eddie a look that is probably supposed to be venomous, but his eyes are gleaming with affection and it only makes him more attractive.

And this is - everything that Eddie's ever wanted, everything that he thinks he could actually have if he asked. After the butterflies, he's more than pretty sure that Steve wants Eddie the same way that Eddie wants him, and more than that - he thinks Steve is brave enough to go for it, even with how messy and complicated things might be.

It's just that Eddie isn't.

He knows he has to stop this, knows he needs to pull back and stop fucking flirting, because it feels like this is it, this is the thing that's leading them both to something else, and god, he can't do something else.

But he can't seem to make himself stop.

Not when Steve keeps looking at him, and Eddie is starting to be able to read him well enough to recognize what these looks mean. He knows that with the way the glint in Steve's eyes has sharpened and the corner of his mouth half turned up, he's thinking of something that Eddie'd probably brushed past and thought he'd successfully deflected. He knows that Steve's about to open his mouth and prove that nope, he still remembers that and he isn't letting that go and -

"Do you mind being called pretty?" Steve asks.

Fuck.

"No," Eddie's saying before his brain catches up with him. "I mean, like I said, wouldn't know. But no, I don't mind it. In theory."

Steve twists a little, upper body turning so he can look at him headlong instead of from the side, planting his hand on the ground for balance - so close to Eddie that if he leaned just a little, he could brush Steve's arm. Steve's other arm is resting on his propped up knee, loose and relaxed. It's stupid, how effective that is, how it opens Steve up to him and creates a little barrier from the rest of the world with his body, like Eddie's got all of Steve's attention now and he's shutting out the rest of the world.

"You are really pretty, Eds," Steve says.

It should sound smooth and practiced. Eddie tries to remind himself that it's a fucking line, that Steve's probably said it to dozens of girls, but when Steve says it now it comes out a little breathy and quiet and so fucking earnest that Eddie's throat closes up.

"I'm sorry that everyone's been too stupid to notice it, or not brave enough to tell you." It sounds just as genuine, and fuck, the way Steve is looking at him. "I'm more sorry that I used to be one of them."

Eddie swallows. "But you're not now?"

"I'm not now," Steve agrees.

Is he closer? Eddie's pretty sure he's leaned in closer, and the hand Steve's got on his knee twitches like he's thinking about reaching in to touch Eddie - maybe Eddie's own knee, maybe he's going to cup his chin and hold him steady as he -

The doorbell rings.

"Fuck," Eddie swears.

Steve's eyes dart toward the stairs, like he's considering going to get Robin out of the shower to answer the door with him again, then he exhales sharply and shakes his head.

"Hide," Steve says.

"Where?" Eddie asks, his heart still pounding, though for an entirely different reason now.

"Anywhere. No, wait, not the kitchen, just - don't tell me where, just go, somewhere I can't see you," Steve replies.

Eddie pushes himself up, darting down the hall to the double doors that have always been closed, and ducks inside them. It's an office, the smell of old leather and dust heavy in the air. He considers leaving the door open a crack so he can hear, but he doesn't want to be too obvious, so instead he just presses himself up against the wood when it's closed so he can try to hear through it.

It's muffled, but he can just pick up the sound of Steve opening the door, an indistinct conversation, and then footsteps down the hall.

"How do you take it?" he can hear Steve asking from the kitchen.

"Just cream, thanks," one voice says, followed by a second saying, "Cream and two sugars."

There's the sound of dishes clanking around.

"Thanks for letting me know," Steve says. "Like I said, I haven't been out of the house yet this morning. Had kind of a late night with my soulmate - she's up in the shower now."

"Do you have any idea who might have done this?" the first voice asks, and Eddie recognizes it now - Chief Powell.

Shit.

"I don't want to put blame on anyone without evidence," Steve says, his voice a little reluctant like yeah, he does have an idea - giving them something to press him for.

The other voice, the one Eddie's guessing is Callahan, immediately jumps on it. "But you do have an idea?"

Steve sighs. "Jason Carver was here last night. I think he's pissed at me for talking in the town meeting, and he kept insisting that I must have been, like, hypnotized into Eddie Munson's cult or something."

"…but you haven't, right?" Callahan asks.

Steve snorts, and Eddie can just picture the bitchy look that he's making. "Come on, really? Eddie Munson leading a cult? The guy failed Zoology because he felt bad dissecting frogs."

That's not completely why, but Eddie can still feel his cheeks heating up. He hadn't known Steve remembered that.

"Look, I feel for him, but Carver wants someone to blame, and it kind of seems like he doesn't care who that is." Steve's voice dips a little lower. "I knew Patrick and Chrissy, you know? Patrick was a good guy, a great basketball player, and Chrissy was nice to everyone. They deserve better, they deserve real justice. I just think Carver should keep his nose out of it and leave the investigating up to the actual professionals."

"Hear, hear," Callahan says, sounding pleased.

It must have not been a lie, but Eddie's pretty sure Callahan and Powell aren't the professionals Steve means.

"Did the neighbors say they saw anyone?" Steve asks.

"Not last night, but they did mention you have quite a few people coming and going," Powell says. "You know who they might mean?"

Steve hums thoughtfully. "Robin Buckley, my soulmate, she's here most days. Nancy Wheeler and her brother are over a lot. Jon Byers, he's visiting from California, and he usually comes with his friend Argyle and his little brother and sister. Lucas Sinclair, he's on the basketball team? And his soulmate Max. Then there's Dustin Henderson, I still babysit him sometimes when his mom's working late. I think it makes her feel better, you know, with everything going on."

"Checks out," Callahan says. "So, are you thinking you want to press charges if we find out it was Carver?"

Steve's quiet for a moment. "No," he says finally. "I meant what I said about feeling for him. Just, maybe talk to his parents? Before he goes too far and does something stupid he can't go back from."

"Good man," Callahan says. "Thanks for the coffee, this is way better than the crap we get at the station."

"Let me make you a thermos to go," Steve offers.

There's more clanking, then the sound of footsteps walking away - though only one pair.

"You don't happen to know where Eddie Munson might be, do you?" Powell asks.

Eddie holds his breath, suddenly and ridiculously afraid that if he even breathes too loud, Powell will know.

"Honestly, I have no idea where he is right now," Steve says.

Powell hums. "If you do see him…"

"Yeah, sure, I'll tell him you're looking for him," Steve says.

"And tell him he's not our top suspect anymore," Powell adds. "We just want to ask him a few questions."

"Sure," Steve says again.

There's a long silence.

"We'll talk to the Carvers," Powell promises, and then Eddie can hear footsteps receding.

The front door closes, locks, but Eddie still waits until he hears clanging in the kitchen again before he steps out.

He finds Steve setting a pair of cups in the dishwasher, a new pot of coffee percolating in the maker.

"Hey," Eddie says.

Steve closes the dishwasher, looking up at him. "You hear any of that?"

"Some," Eddie admits. "What did Carver do?"

Steve breathes out, forearms braced against the kitchen island as he leans forward. "Keyed up my car, smashed my tail lights in. Spray painted a little message on the driveway."

Fuck.

Eddie has to get moving, way too full of nervous energy, so he makes his way over to the cabinet to take out another mug. "What did it say?"

"Does it matter?" Steve asks, sounding tired.

Eddie slams the cabinet door shut. "What did it say."

Steve's quiet, and when Eddie turns around, he finds him looking at him far too closely.

"What?" Eddie demands.

"Eddie," Steve says, pushing himself up to come stand next to him.

Despite himself, Eddie finds some of the tension bleeding out of him. "What?" he asks, softer this time.

"You're my soulmate. Okay? You're my soulmate. It could have said anything, and I wouldn't care. He could do it again, with something else, and I'll be pissed, but I won't regret having you here."

Eddie closes his eyes, rocking back to lean against the kitchen counter. "Stop knowing what I'm upset about before I do," he mutters.

Steve huffs out a little laugh. "No."

"What does it say?" Eddie asks again.

"Traitor," Steve replies.

Eddie snorts.

"Yeah," Steve says.

They're quiet for a moment, and Eddie listens to the sound of the coffee hissing.

"I'm going to turn myself in," Eddie says after a while.

"What? No."

Eddie opens his eyes. "Come on, Steve. If I don't - do you really think Carver is going to stop now? What if he decides just to break in here, huh? What if I can't hide quick enough next time?"

Steve jaw sets, and Eddie can tell he isn't happy about it, but he can't seem to think of a good counter argument. "Then I'm going with you."

Eddie grimaces, but yeah, he'd been expecting that, and he pulls out his trump card. "Only if Robin agrees."

Unfortunately, Robin agrees.

He frowns at her in utter betrayal while Steve gets El to put Hopper on the walkie and gives him a rundown of what happened.

Robin shrugs at him. "You should know by now that Steve's never going to let himself be sidelined when someone he cares about decides to throw themselves off the bench."

"You two and your sports metaphors," Eddie grumbles, but he has to admit - at least to himself - that she's right.

If they tried to stop Steve, he'd probably find a way to come anyway.

Hopper agrees to meet with Murray again today, then come over tomorrow to make a plan for the actual going to the police station part, and Eddie trudges upstairs to call his uncle at the hotel.

Uncle Wayne doesn't like it, Eddie can tell, but like Steve, he can't think of an argument good enough to beat Eddie's, so he just agrees to meet them here tomorrow, too, and makes Eddie promise not to do anything until they all agree on a plan.

Eddie really wishes that he could just get this over with, now that he's decided he's going to do it, but unfortunately, they all have a point.

So he just takes his own shower, gets the syrup out of his hair as best as he can, and tries not to be pissy about more fucking waiting.

When he gets out of the bathroom - Steve's sitting on the bed, clearly waiting for him.

"Hi," Steve says. "Can we talk?"

Shit.

Eddie swallows. "Now?"

"I don't want to keep waiting, man, especially not if we're doing this tomorrow," Steve says.

And yeah, okay, Eddie can't really protest that, so he just nods, sitting on the bed next to Steve.

"It's just - I'm really, really into you," Steve says, his voice soft and low and his eyes warm and earnest. "And it kind of seems like you're into me, too."

Fuck.

Steve huffs out a soft little laugh, running his fingers through his hair. "I mean, maybe I'm wrong, and I have no idea how to tell if a guy's interested in me like I usually can with girls - I'm kind of still new at the guys part - but I thought, you know. What if I'm right, what if I'm missing out on something great? And I figured even if I went for it and I was wrong, you'd be good about it. You wouldn't like, punch me or anything."

"Steve," Eddie breathes out, touched by the sentiment despite the fact that he can already feel his heart breaking over what he knows he's going to have to do. "That's a lot of trust in me there."

"I trust you," Steve says, like it's that easy, no hesitation. "Plus, you know, I'm your soulmate, so you're stuck with me no matter what."

He sounds confident, and if Eddie didn't know him so well, he's not sure he could hear the little hitch in his voice, or see the hint of fear in his eyes.

"You're my soulmate," he agrees, rushing to get that out before anything else. "I'm not going anywhere, no matter what."

Steve shoots a tiny relieved smile at him, leaning in so their shoulders press together. They sit like that for a few moments, silence resting between them - it's warm and cozy despite the tension, like melted marshmallow being stretched longer and longer.

"But?" Steve asks after a bit.

Eddie swallows, running a hand over his face to try to buy him some time while he figures out how to say this without either lying or hurting them both even more.

"You're not wrong," he says finally. "I am into you. Steve, I - I love having you as my soulmate. I wouldn't want it to be anyone else. I'm happy with you, okay? I am."

Steve nods, though his expression has shut down a little, and Eddie can't quite read what's in his eyes anymore.

"But…" Steve prompts again.

Eddie closes his eyes, taking the coward's way out so he doesn't have to look at Steve while he says it. "But I don't think I could handle sharing if we were romantic soulmates."

There's silence again, and Eddie can hear Steve pull in a ragged breath and let it out.

"Okay," Steve says after a while.

Eddie opens his eyes. "Okay?"

Steve frowns at him. "What am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know," Eddie admits. "You could be a little bit of a dick about it? Tell me I don't know what I'm missing, that I could be having the full Steve Harrington experience here? Yell at me for breaking your heart?"

Steve snorts. "There's no full Steve Harrington experience."

Eddie gasps, mock affronted. "There is, didn't you listen to the gossip? I would be most aggrieved if I didn't get it."

Steve rolls his eyes, shoving him. Then, "My heart'll live. You are, shockingly, not the first person who's had to shoot me down like this."

Eddie thinks of Nancy Wheeler, feels his stomach clench a little at being on the same level as that whole mess. "Sorry," he says quietly.

"I mean, I'm not going to pretend like it doesn't suck, but I'm happy with you, too, okay? I want you as my soulmate, no matter what."

Eddie groans. "What did I tell you about saying stuff like that to me?"

Steve gives him a little smile. "I'm still not going to stop."

It's quiet again, not quite like the comfortable silences Eddie'd gotten used to with Steve, but something close.

"So. Boys, huh?" he asks after a while. "Who'd have thought that'd be something Steve Harrington was into."

Steve fixes him with a look. "Boys, huh?" he mimics. "Who'd have thought that'd be something Eddie Munson was into?"

Eddie shrugs one shoulder, conceding. Eddie'd worked very hard to be the freak, to be the type of metal-loving, Satan-worshiping, drug-dealing scary guy that people were afraid would steal their daughter or girlfriend or sister away. Granted, most of it hadn't actually been work, but it still wasn't really who he was.

"Mostly boys," he says, if only to actually say it outloud, to let himself be purposefully vulnerable with Steve even though they both already know. "There's been a few girls-" He tries hard not to think about Chrissy Cunningham's sweet smile and bright laugh. "-but mostly boys."

"Opposite for me," Steve says quietly. "Mostly girls, but - yeah, a few boys."

Eddie's eyebrows shoot up. "A few boys? Steve, are you telling me I'm not the first boy you've had eyes for?"

"Shut up," Steve says, shoving Eddie away when he makes grabby hands at him. "You're the first boy I ever wanted to be my soulmate, but yeah, all right, not my first crush."

Eddie lets himself feel all soft and gooey for a moment before he goes back to hassling Steve to tell him who.

"Ugh, fine," Steve groans. "But you can't tell anyone."

"Cross my heart," he promises.

"Jonathan," Steve mutters.

Eddie's forehead crinkles. "Byers?" He takes the silence as agreement, and grins at him. "What, get a little too into being up close and personal with him when you guys had that fight?"

Steve groans. "No. Believe it or not, I've experienced too much getting knocked around to get off on it, thanks. No, it was after, when we were fighting the demogorgon. Jonathan grabbed my hand to pull me away, and I just kind of instinctively grabbed it back, and then we were holding hands and I just - it was nice. I thought about it later, and realized I really liked holding his hand."

And that, well. Realizing that you like boys because it was really nice when a boy held your hand in the middle of fighting a monster is so Steve that it makes his heart ache, that it kind of makes him want to say fuck it and kiss him.

"Yeah?" Eddie asks instead, wiggling his eyebrows. "Whose hand holding is better, then, me or Byers?"

Steve's expression doesn't change, but his eyes shutter - Eddie can see it now even more than he could when he called him pretty boy, can see the flicker of pain there before he just shuts himself down.

"Oh," Eddie says quietly. "Should I not?"

There's a moment where Steve considers that.

"No," he says after a while. "That was okay. But I think we might have to put a pause on too heavy innuendo, or too many jokes about me wanting you. Just for a little bit."

"Yeah," Eddie mutters, feeling his heart crack a little more. "I can do that." He pulls his legs up, arms wrapped around them. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault, man," Steve says.

Eddie rests his chin on his knees, ignoring the slight sting from the tug of his stitched together skin. "Kind of feels like it is, a little," he admits. "I mean, Robin's okay with sharing."

Or at least, he assumes she is. He knows there's no way Steve would confess romantic feelings for him if Robin didn't know about it or wasn't on board.

"That's different," Steve says.

And - yeah, true. Robin's got another soulmate waiting for her, too, and maybe that makes it easier to share a romantic soulmate.

Steve looks a little troubled, though, and he leans just a little to bump their shoulders together. "I don't - I don't expect you to be Robin, you know that, right? Platonic or romantic, it's different."

Eddie snorts. "Well, yeah, I'd hope things would be a little different if we were - you know." It's half teasing and half serious, and he considers for a moment before adding, "I know you don't expect that."

Steve nods, and Eddie can hear him breathing out, feel a slow release of tension. There's quiet for a little longer, then Steve says, almost haltingly, "I don't… think romantic relationships mean more than platonic. I used to, but, uh. Almost everyone who's ever really meant anything to me has been platonic. Once I got out of high school, and with the Upside Down stuff, I just… I don't know. But Robin and you and the kids - you're the most important people in my life. You always will be."

He doesn't know what to say to that. It touches too closely on what's been pulling him into the party and pushing him away from it this whole time - he doesn't really know how to let people see the real him, not after so long of keeping up his walls to protect himself.

Or he guesses - he doesn't know what to do now that there are people who've seen the real him, and who still want to keep him. Eddie's only ever had Uncle Wayne like that, and he doesn't know how to be important to people, how to be more than just a band member or a dungeon master.

He's terrified of messing it up.

"I'll keep that in mind," he says finally, which seems to be enough for Steve, who bumps his shoulder and then pushes himself up, heading out to go join Robin.

It wasn't a lie, obviously, so Eddie believes that Steve doesn't think romantic soulmates mean more than platonic ones. The thing is - does Eddie believe that romantic soulmates mean more?

And it's.

Yeah.

He does.

Which means he guesses there's more he has to think about.

Eddie: well at least Steve and I are totally on the same page now, now all I have to do is turn myself into the police and reevaluate my opinions on platonic and romantic soulmates, sounds good

-----

Part 22

Steve: wow I am 2 for 2 on confessing to my soulmates and getting gently shot down, platonic for life it is

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#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #steddie fic #steddie soulmate au #platonic soulmates stobin

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book--brackets · 5 months ago

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Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (2022-present)

Hidden among us is a secret coven of witches. They are Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. They protect crown and country from magical forces and otherworldly evil. But their greatest enemy will come from within.

There are whisperings of a prophecy that will bring the coven to its knees, and five best friends are about to be caught at the centre. Life as a modern witch was never simple … but now it’s about to get apocalyptic.

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (1946-1959)

Starts with the birth and ends with the first birthday celebrations of the heir to the grand, tradition-bound castle of Gormenghast. A grand miasma of doom and foreboding weaves over the sterile rituals of the castle. Villainous Steerpike seeks to exploit the gaps between the formal rituals and the emotional needs of the ruling family for his own profit.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (2021)

The dead of Loraille do not rest.

Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past.

When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself.

As she unravels a sinister mystery of saints, secrets, and dark magic, her bond with the revenant grows. And when a hidden evil begins to surface, she discovers that facing this enemy might require her to betray everything she has been taught to believe—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.

The Unwritten by Mike Carey (2010-2015)

Tom Taylor's life was screwed from go. His father created the Tommy Taylor fantasy series, boy-wizard novels with popularity on par with Harry Potter. The problem is Dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom's real life that fans are constantly comparing him to his counterpart, turning him into the lamest variety of Z-level celebrity. In the final novel, it's even implied that the fictional Tommy will crossover into the real world, giving delusional fans more excuses to harass Tom.

When an enormous scandal reveals that Tom might really be a boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a very mysterious, very deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his own life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, eventually finding himself at locations all featured on a very special map -- one kept by the deadly group that charts places throughout world history where fictions have impacted and tangibly shaped reality, those stories ranging from famous literary works to folktales to pop culture. And in the process of figuring out what it all means, Tom will find himself having to figure out a huge conspiracy mystery that spans the entirety of the history of fiction.

Leven Thumps by Obert Skye (2005-2009)

Fourteen-year-old Leven Thumps (a.k.a. Lev) lives a wretched life in Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma. But his life is about to change and his destiny be fulfilled as he learns about a secret gateway that bridges two worlds -- the real world and Foo, a place created at the at the beginning of time in the folds of the mind that makes it possible for mankind to dream and hope, aspire and imagine. But Foo is in chaos, and three transplants from that dreamworld have been sent to retrieve Lev, who alone has the power to save Foo.Enter Clover, a wisecracking, foot-high sidekick; Winter, a girl with a special power of her own; and Geth, the rightful heir to Foo. Their mission: to convince Lev that he has the power to save Foo. Can this unique band of travelers help Lev overcome his doubt? Will Lev find the gateway in time? Or will Sabine and his dark shadows find the gateway first and destroy mankind?

By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey (1991)

Granddaughter of the sorceress Kethry, daughter of a noble house, Kerowyn had been forced to run the family keep since her mother's untimely death. Yet now at last her brother was preparing to wed, and when his bride became the lady of the keep, Kerowyn could return to her true enjoyments - training horses and hunting.

But all Kerowyn's hopes and plans were shattered when her anscestral home was attacked, her father slain, her brother wounded, and his fiancee kidnapped. Drive by desperation and the knowledge that a scorcerer had led the journey which would prove but he first step on the road to the fulfillment of her destiny.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (2020-present)

It's the most-watched game show in the galaxy!

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth--from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds to all the trucks and cars--collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside, they've all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your views and your followers. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game, with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Mo Dao Zu Shi) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2016)

Wei Wuxian was once one of the most outstanding men of his generation, a talented and clever young cultivator who harnessed martial arts, knowledge, and spirituality into powerful abilities. But when the horrors of war led him to seek a new power through demonic cultivation, the world’s respect for his skills turned to fear, and his eventual death was celebrated throughout the land.

Years later, he awakens in the body of an aggrieved young man who sacrifices his soul so that Wei Wuxian can exact revenge on his behalf. Though granted a second life, Wei Wuxian is not free from his first, nor the mysteries that appear before him now. Yet this time, he’ll face it all with the righteous and esteemed Lan Wangji at his side, another powerful cultivator whose unwavering dedication and shared memories of their past will help shine a light on the dark truths that surround them.

The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville (1994-2010)

As each chime sounds, Cara climbs faster up the steep bell tower. Eleven! She must be on the roof when the next bell tolls. Twelve! With a deep breath, and only half believing she will survive, Cara jumps off the church roof and into Luster, land of the unicorns.

In Luster, Cara meets many wonderful creatures, but the most magnificent of all is Lightfoot, a rebellious young unicorn. Cara's band of friends comes to include a hairy creature named the Dimblethum and the monekey-like Squijim. Together, they set out to reach the Unicorn Queen before the mysterious man who is following them does - to prevent the destruction of all unicorns forever.

The Saint of Steel by T. Kingfisher (2020-2023)

Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year...Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind...

#best fantasy book #poll #her majesty's royal coven #gormenghast #vespertine #the unwritten #leven thumps #by the sword #dungeon crawler carl #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the unicorn chronicles #the saint of steel

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temfling · 6 months ago

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DELTARUNE: MOTU PATLU THEORY

THATS RIGHT BABY!! IM BACK WITH THE THEORIES!! I couldn’t just stop at chapter… I dunno six! Yeah, I may have solved the Susies Inside chapter, but what about Chapter 3?? Well I got news for you guys…

Motu. And Patlu. Never heard of them? What are you, living under a rock or something… well… it’s a Hindi cartoon that’s really popular overseas… but wait. That’s the POINT! Your not SUPPOSED to know it… because it’s discarded…

So Every secret boss so far has a habit of being a darkner based on discarded/Forgotten/Unwanted items… well. How many people in the states know this cartoon? Not very many,,, even though it’s great… so could Motu and Patlu be what the next secret boss is based off of? Let’s see gamers…

EVIDENCE ONE: BIG GUY SKINNY GUY

Comedy duos, you know them, you love them. Woody, Buzz. Mario, Luigi. Bob, Larry. But what does this have to do with Motu and Patlu… erm guys… notice anything about most of them?! Mario, Buzz, Bob, and Motu: bulky big guys. Luigi, Larry, Woody, and Patlu: tall, thin guys… oh my goodness!! Motu and patlu ALSO fit that theme… “But how does this fit in with Deltarune chapter 3?!” Your asking… oh my gosh guys this is too easy!!

erm… Sans and Papyrus, the most iconic comedy duo next to none, is also bulky and thin. Guys?? Notice anything?? I think THIS proves that they’ll use blue soul… and that they’ll be cannon!! But need more proof?? SAY NO MORE:

On the left is Sans and Papyrus’s House, and on the right is Motu and Palau’s. Notice the similarity’s?? I do…

Maybe the Motu and Patlu secret boss could be a duo, and make fun of the whole trope of smart guy who does all the work and lazy dumb guy… hrm…

EVIDENCE TWO: CHARACTER SIMILARITIES!

Okay so we already talked about how Sans and Motu and Papyrus and Patlu are BASICALLY the same guy, but if your STILL not convinced, I got more…

Rook. Mike. Whatever there gonna be, the main boss of Chapter 3 seems to be a cheater, a criminal of sorts… well… hehee… you know who ELSE is a criminal?? JHON THE DON. That’s RIGHT. The TRUE and NEO villain of Motu and Patlu, who’s the son of motu and patlu’s town. He’s always causing trouble with his lackeys around… could this mean that chapter 3’s main boss is based on the Villian of Motu and Patlu, while the secret boss is the good guys…?! No… no… erm… YES! It’s kind of OBVIOUS??

My theory is the main boss is gonna be Mike, now dubbed “The Don.” He must’ve not only backstabbed Soamton, but the chapter three secret boss… and Tenna will be… I dunno… probably his own character.

Anyways, Gaster. “Gaster? This crazy guy who does bad things?” You may be asking what GASTER has to do with this theory… heh… well, gaster in undertale was the Royal Scientist, right? Well… erm… somebody pull up Motu Patlu Wiki!

He’s a SCIENTIST… who doesn’t treat his PATIENTS well… sounds familiar…

Dr. Jhakta also uses Motu and Patlu as Guinea Pigs for his work. Gaster uses darkners and does stuff that’s evil… or whatever. I think. I dunno BUT THE POINT IS GASTER MUST'VE LIKE EXPERIMENTED ON THE SECRET BOSS WHICH CAUSED THEM TO GO INSANE!! Erm…!!! Yes!!

FINAL PART: WHAT OBJECT ARE THEY

So at first I thought they could be like a bootleg DVD or whatever. But wait guys… remember where the chapters dark world is…

And then think about what Motu is known for. Dumb… lazy… but also, when he eats his favorite FOOD he gets super STRONG… wait. FOOD?! Guys what’s in houses? Kitchens… guys… what’s motus favorite food…??

SAMOSAS. THE DISCARDED OBJECT IS LIKE FROZEN SAMOSAS IN THE FRIDGE OR SOMETHING!!!

and if your STILL. Not. convinced… here’s some stuff

Yeah yeah yeah bye

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pocket-watcher · 9 months ago

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Hey! I saw that you were inviting prompts and I got giddy. I was wondering if you’d be comfortable writing about a bad guy’s lackey (thug, assistant, etc) being “persuaded” to join the attractive (but morally questionable) good guy and his team? I’m a big fan of eye contact and (sfw) physical touch Sorry, this ask is already getting long guh—

-🍷♥️ (tagging just in case you do that)

Hey 🍷❤️ ! Great prompt!! I really enjoyed writing this. Please let me know what you think!

No one grows up thinking they’re the bad guy.

Villains call themselves “vigilantes”, sacrifices “have” to me made, and most people are too stubborn to ever think they’re “wrong”.

So why were all of Mike’s coworkers leaving?

It started slowly.

There had been a raid on an old factory. They needed to bring back parts for a new machine. But the glowing ray of hope, the “saviour of the city” had been there.

Working for his arch nemesis, Darksteria, they had all been kindly asked by their employer never to speak his name aloud. It causes too much of a panic in the workplace.

Mike was in a team of five. Overkill, if you’d asked him. He was gone to check the entrance was secured- gone 30 seconds top, and his whole team were staggering out the door with Mr. Holier Than Thou, blissful smiles on their faces.

It took 5 hours to write up an incident report.

He’d lay awake at night a lot, thinking about how the hell they’d turn on Darksteria, on Mike, on all of their ideals for a better world! Sure their methods were… illegal. And questionable, morally, but it was all for the greater good!

Captain Key-to-the-City wouldn’t have threatened their families, right? Or offered them a million bucks each? How the hell did they turn so quickly?

Mike would find out soon enough.

It was another routine mission. Just him, this time though. They couldn’t spare the manpower nowadays.

Mike scanned the area. Darksteria needed some kind of metal, something special. Stacey, their head scientist, had been seen on CCTV leaving with “His Benevolence” about a month ago just after figuring out just how the hell He was convincing them all to leave.

Darksteria said it was something to do with this metal. Or, at least, the metal could dampen the effect.

Mike missed the banter of his colleagues, but he had a job to do. So, he rounded the corner and approached the vault.

Just get in and get out. If you see Him do not engage. Darksteria’s words echoed in his head.

He spread out his tools and was about to start cracking it when-

“And who do we have here?”

Mike froze. Terrified. It was Him.

Keeping his eyes locked on the safe he felt the flying figure land softly next to him.

“Woah, there. I’m not going to hurt you.” Mike could feel the shit-eating pearly-white grin from here. “You do know that I’m the good guy here, right?”

Good guy? Hah! This man had taken everyone from Mike. No more post-work drinks, no more office birthday parties. No more-

“That’s enough thinking from you. Just… do me a favour and relax.”

His voice seeped deep into Mike’s mind. Fuzzy and warm, like a blanket. Involuntarily, Mike felt his shoulders drop, his eyelids droop, and his first unclench.

Unfortunately for the Hero, this put Mike even more on edge.

Mike shot up as fast as he could in this state and staggered backwards away, almost tripping over his tools. He finally took Him in.

Dirty blonde, dazzling blue eyes, tan. Wearing a cape. He looked like the most basic comic superhero ever. Mike felt the feeling begin to wash over him once more as he stared into those brilliant blue eyes.

Mike had to admit, though, that He had a comforting presence to Him. Wait- no! This wasn’t right!

“What… what are doing to my head?!” Mike yelled.

The Hero stepped closer to Mike, smiling softly. His eyes drew Mike in, shifting from ocean to sky, as Mike’s expression shifted from accusatory, to confusion, to blank obedience.

“Do you not feel safe with me?”

He sounded almost hurt. Of course. Of course he felt safe with Him. The Hero circled him, his cape brushing against Mike’s legs, the dizziness as Mike tried to keep his eyes on Him was short-circuiting his brain.

The wrench Mike had been holding became too heavy. Or maybe he had forgot it was there. It dropped to the floor with a thud.

“That’s it…” He cooed. “You can feel it, can’t you?” The Hero asked again.

Feel what? Mike wondered. He could feel his mouth was now hanging open. He could feel the warmth of His closeness washing over, Mike’s legs beginning to buckle.

The Hero was floating again. Or maybe he always had been. Mike felt like he was floating too. The Hero tried to tilt Mike’s chin up to look into his eyes more but Mike’s neck was too relaxed to hold it in place.

The Hero lightly moved His hands into Mike’s hair… and pulled. Forcing him to look up.

The soft, inviting features shifted into that of pride. Accomplishment. He smirked.

“Now. I think we should send Darksteria a message, don’t you?” He taunted. Mike nodded best he could with his head being held in place.

“Good boy.”

—————

Darksteria sat at her desk, tapping her fingers against her seat.

They should be back by now. Shouldn’t they? She couldn’t afford to lose any more manpower.

A message popped up on screen. A photo. It was Him. He was taunting her with another one of her people.

“See you soon.”

#it’s always an evil villain with the mind control powers #but convincing a whole city to love and adore you?#now that’s interesting #hypnok1nk #hypnosis #mind control #superhero #brainwashing #watcher answers #watcher’s stories #watcher writes

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madhatterbri · 7 months ago

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Message Sent | M.W.

Summary: Adam Cole will stop at nothing to make Wardlow pay for his failures. He sets his eyes on Y/N.

For the lovely @plentyoffandoms .

Wardlow Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Taglist: @plentyoffandoms

"There she is. Hey, guys, it's Y/N!" Adam Cole announced to his lackeys. He had a big grin on his face, yet his eyes proved something sinister was behind his actions. Adam stood next to her. Roderick, Matt, and Mike stood behind them. She felt trapped.

Y/N crossed her arms over her chest. She looked down at the ground and swallowed her anger. They had some nerve approaching her like this. Adam Cole and his goons were giving her boyfriend, Wardlow, a hard time. She didn't want to be any part of it.

"What do you guys want?" She demanded. Crazy to think at one time they were all friends. Y/N helped Roddy during his neck injury and Adam with his ankle.

"Hey! Hey! No hard feelings, am I right? Listen. We have been trying to reach your boyfriend, Wardlow. Have you heard from him?" Adam asked with his hands up. "I just think we got off on the wrong foot to smooth things over,"

Y/N licked her lips and flared her nostrils. The anger in her wanted to boil over. Last week, they attacked him backstage and made sure to target his foot. "You and your "boys" injured him. He's resting at home,"

"Well, the message we have is pretty important. Can you let him know to answer us?" Adam asked.

"Fine. Are we through here?" She answered. "I have a match I gotta go to,"

Adam stepped closer to her. He loomed over her. Even the men stepped closer. Her breath hitched in her throat.

"We could always leave the message with you. Let him know we have other means to get to him if he wants to go that route. We don't want someone like you to get caught up in this, ya know?" Adam threatened. Y/N glared at him. She knew Wardlow was watching from home. They were trying to draw him out.

"See, that was it. There's no need to be so hostile. Come on, boys. Y/N has a match to get ready for," Adam smiled. The men left her alone. Y/N watched them leave. Wardlow promised she wouldn't get involved, but it seems like that's where this was headed.

After her match, Y/N went to the locker room. She would be lying if she said she wasn't shaken up by what took place before her match. The men didn't like Wardlow and vice versa. Being caught in the middle was the last thing she ever thought possible.

She grabbed her phone to check her notifications. Wardlow was definitely watching that night. Message upon angry messages were sent to her phone about Undisputed Kingdom. His last messages changed tune with him apologizing to her.

They talked on the phone briefly while she walked to the car. She tried to be strong and keep her emotions in check. They came flooding out the moment she made it to their home. He greeted her at the door in his boxers and a medical boot.

With his arms outstretched, she quickly wrapped her arms around him. Tears pricked her eyes as Y/N took a shaky breath. His hand rubbed up and down her back. The injured wrestler felt ashamed that he couldn't be there to protect her.

"Don't worry, baby. I got a message for them, too," he told her and kissed the top of her head.

#fanfiction #aew fanfic #aew fanfiction #michael wardlow fanfiction #wardlow x y/n #wardlow x reader #wardlow fanfiction #wardlow

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justinspoliticalcorner · 29 days ago

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Steven Beschloss at America, America:

This is a strange, in-between moment, rippling with uncertainty stirred by a deeply vengeful man bent on destruction who will soon retake the ultimate levers of power. His hasty dumping of unqualified nominees—each one providing a different version of reckless endangerment to our nation’s safety and security—underscores the serious questions about how bad the coming months and years will be.

Will they mete out punishments to serve their boss’ whims, ending justice as we know it? Will we be able to rely on the safety of our food and water and drugs? Will diseases long abated by vaccines re-emerge as new and unnecessary dangers to our children and ourselves? Can we trust that our military will serve the American people rather than be transformed into a weapon against us? Will we face new attacks by foreign adversaries because our allies can no longer safely share intelligence with us? Will we suffer serious economic decline fueled by billionaires and reckless ideologues focused on expanding their own fortunes while demanding sacrifices from everyone else? Can we be sure that in 2026 there will be another election?

In turn, who will be the heroes of this time? Who will stand up and speak out, refusing to be cowed or ruled by fear? Who will take action to stop the demolition of our democracy? Who with power will demand that the practices and principles that have successfully driven the American system of government be recognized and followed? There are some early signs: Matt Gaetz was a road too far for Attorney General. The Senate chose South Dakota’s John Thune as its new majority leader, not Trump-backed lickspittle Rick Scott from Florida. Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said categorically that he would not leave his post if Trump asked or tried to fire him. Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced she would oppose Trump’s nominees if they are not properly vetted by the FBI. “This isn’t about partisanship," she reportedly told close allies, "it’s about ensuring we don’t compromise the standards of public office." South Dakota’s other GOP senator, Mike Rounds, said this when asked about anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “Look, I believe in vaccines. I think they’ve saved millions of lives.”

Will there be other GOP senators who find their spine in the coming months to confront Trump’s reckless decisions? Will we see Democrats oppose the coming onslaught with all the vigor and virulence they can muster? These would be leaders to notice and encourage. Let’s also pay attention to the critical role of state and local officials to protect their citizens and push back against the Trump-inspired federal efforts to deport millions of undocumented migrants and pursue myriad other actions that will cause damage to real people. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker best summarized this commitment: “You come for my people, you come through me.”

In this period, we will need fearless truth-tellers to remind us of the differences between right and wrong, true and false. They will be critical in asserting factual reality as the anti-government propaganda intensifies to justify extreme attacks on the agencies, procedures and resources established to create safety and security, particularly for at-risk people. Trump lackey and election denier Pam Bondi, nominated for Attorney General, has already pledged to prosecute the prosecutors. Trump chose Russell Vought, a chief architect of Project 2025, to lead the Office of Management and Budget, even though Trump said he knew nothing about the project’s policy agenda. Vought has already pledged to help impound any funds approved by Congress if the next president disapproves of their intended purpose—demonstrating utter disregard for the legislative body’s power of the purse enshrined in the first article of the Constitution.

Steven Beschloss wrote in his America, America blog on who will be the heroes to save America.

#Trump Administration II #Donald Trump #Resist Trump #Steven Beschloss

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the-gershomite · 4 months ago

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The Punisher Back to School Special #2 -October 1993-

Marvel Comics "No Pain"

written by Mike Lackey

pencils by Ernie Stiner

inked by Frank Percy

letters by Richard Starkings

colors by Joe Andreni

#the punisher #back to school special #marvel comics #mike lackey #erine stiner #frank percy #richard starkings #joe andeni #comics

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college-knockout · 1 year ago

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K ive been wondering way too long

what is homestar runner

ohmygosh boo you've just unleashed my autism

okay so basically homestar runner is an internet flash cartoon/website from the early 2000s, created by the brothers chaps (mike and matt chapman). It has a youtube channel, but you can look around the site and play the games at homestarrunner.com. (it uses an emulator since flash straight up died.) Stars progatonist Homestar Runner, antagonist Strong Bad, and a whole slew of other characters (Homestars on-again-off-again girlfriend Marzipan, Strong Bad's lackey/henchman The Cheat, Bubs, Coach Z, and MANY more. not to mention the spinoffs/alternate universes.)

so yeah the website has been running for like a good 23 (24?) years now, lots of stuff. it's VERY weird. beware, it will alter your vocabulary permanently. i wrote a LOT more but i don't want to bore/scare you so send another ask if you're interested lmao

if you go to the website, click the 'first time here?' button to see a lil intro video for the newbies. its amazing. JOIN US JOIN US JOIN US JOIN US JOIN US JOIN US JOIN U

#I AM VERY NORMAL ABOUT THE INTERNET CARTOON #i have like an entire wiki's worth of knowledge just tumbling around in my head don't be shy #the lore runs deep #this one is dedicated to my h*r moots love u guys!!!#homestar runner #knockout ask

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insane4fandoms · 1 year ago

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I imagine the first time Ness and the other egos met they were all confused because Ness is just like. A normal guy. No trauma, no sad backstory, nothing. (btw I love your stuff!)

Oh, definitely! Matt is relieved that Ness is an alter ego that has a normal backstory and one he can have a nice conversation with. No mentions of murder, taking over the world, digging up mysterious bones, or hot dogs or clowns.

The other egos… well… they would at first be skeptical. How can this average waiter with no outstanding, traumatic, or cool backstory be a Matpat ego? Meanwhile, Ness is just mesmerized with the whole existence of alter egos, and the shock he felt when he was an ego himself to a YouTuber. It made him question his existence for a while.

Eventually, Detective will be the first one to accept Ness with open arms. He may not have a normal backstory, but he is also one of the sane egos. Detective might be a little envious of Ness because he was normal, but it was for a short time and he considers Ness to be his friend. Ness is fascinated with the adventures Detective went through, and how smart the guy can be. As Detective finds clowns delightful, Ness is terrified anything circus related, so whenever Detective mentions something during the Circus Arc, Ness is freaked out like the other survivors.

Hermit is also instantly tackle Ness into a hug and welcome him as a friendo. Would show him all his bone collections, his bats, his family, his island he used be in isolation for 20 years which caused his sanity to forever be lost by lack of human interaction- all the good stuff. I’d think Ness is someone who loves unusual things, so he would be curious about the kinds of bones and built skeletons Hermit would have. And he of course would meet the ego’s family, where they would confidently say he’s one of their favorite egos.

Mack sees Ness as inferior. He’s just a lowly waiter, while Mack is the Captain Head Engineer to one of the most advanced space ships in the human race, why would he see the newbie as part of the group? Well, because of Ness’s love for unusual things of course. He has never seen a space ship up close before, and he definitely never interacted with an astronaut, so he would instantly ask so many questions about The Invincible II and what Mack can do as an engineer. Mack would get caught off guard by the waiter’s enthusiasm, but took it to stroke his ego more as he grinned condescendingly and bragged on about his captain’s ship.

Madpat takes one took at Ness, and pulls out his flamethrowing chainsaw. In an affectionate way of course! He respects people who work in the food industry, as he of course owns a restaurant himself. Of course, he kills his employees after awhile, but that’s irrelevant! Mad already made Ness his third best friend (After Hermit and Warfpat of course), but Ness more or less fears Mad to the core, and tries to stay away from him as possible. However, Mad claims Ness is now stuck with him, and drags him to his wacky and bloody adventures. Oh god, someone call Mike another pizzeria killer traumatized his boyfriend.

Darkpat doesn’t like the other egos, why would Ness be any different? Though, he wouldn’t mind having a lackey by his side to do his bidding. He forces his hatred for everything down to get Ness’s trust. Ness is slightly uneasy about the whole vibe Darkpat gives out, but is still fascinated about the whole reality breaking entity. Detective would protect Ness from Darkpat, but the entity would pretend to feign ignorance about his accusations. Curse Ness’s curiosity and love for the unknown! Now Dark’s made a new evil plan to brainwash Ness and use him for his very evil and deadly bidding!! Mwhahahahaha!!! (His plans always fell short)

Warfpat is so happy to have another lab rat ego he could have fun with! He could his him as a puppet! Or a pet! Or bend his mind into insanity! Or warp his reality into nothing but chaos! Or-! Yeah… Matt smacks Warf for trying to already abstract Ness’s mind. Ignoring his intentions, Ness is friendly towards Warf, but only because he feels like if he isn’t, Warf might switch his vital organs around. Warf pouts at his restrictions, but still claims he can still have fun with his new toy friend!

Overall, half of the egos sees Ness as an escape from their messed up lives, and the other half sees him as a puppet to use for themselves. And Ness is still excited about learning what these egos can give his life to make it more adventurous.

(Also did you know there’s an anti-septiceye version of Matpat? And I might add in Matthias Patthias too, but who knows?)

#iswm mack #ahwm the hermit #madpat #warfpat #darkpat #the detective #matpat #fnaf ness

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darkmaga-returns · 1 month ago

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By Finian Cunningham Strategic Culture

November 14, 2024

It’s early days yet. However, there are signs that President-elect Trump is moving toward a detente with Russia over Ukraine.

One good sign is that Trump will not invite Mike Pompeo or Nikki Haley to join his cabinet when he is inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president on January 20. Both of these figures were rabid anti-Russia hawks during Trump’s previous administration. There were suggestions that Pompeo and Haley might return with senior posts in his second administration. But Trump has announced the pair will not be offered new positions.

Another positive sign is from people close to Trump’s inner circle who are letting the Kiev regime know – rudely – that the U.S. military aid spigot is being turned off.

Donald Trump has yet to hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin. But both leaders have already expressed a willingness to negotiate a peaceful settlement over the Ukraine conflict.

Another promising sign of potential detente between the United States and Russia is the sheer panic among European leaders. The news of Trump’s election last week has caused most European elites to scramble like scared children on hearing “boo!”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron are consoling themselves by urging Europe to “come together” in the wake of Trump’s stunning election victory. The collapse of Germany’s coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is an early casualty of the Trump impact.

European leaders fear that if Trump pulls the plug on military aid to the Kiev regime they will be left holding the can to fund the proxy war against Russia, which the weak European economies have no chance of sustaining.

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 2 years ago

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Psycho Analysis: Gus Fring

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Breaking Bad is known for its fantastic cast of characters, all of whom have some level of critical acclaim and iconic status. Seriously, go to Wikipedia and go to any character’s page from the show (basically every major character has one) and look at the “Reception” part, pretty much all of them are universally beloved. Chief among that crowd is the only villain in the show to give our rascally villain protagonist Walt a run for his money, the criminal mastermind that is Gustavo “Gus” Fring.

If you think I’m going to do anything other than add to those heaps of praise, you’re surely mistaken; I love Gus as much as anyone else who has seen the show. But where most are willing to overlook certain aspects of the character that don’t work so well because he is cool and gay, I acknowledge those flaws and love Gus anyway. We are not the same.

Motivation/Goals: Gus is a businessman, plain and simple. Be it Los Pollos Hermanos or his secret meth business, Gus wants perfection in every aspect of his professional life. That being said, he’s a pretty fair boss, and if you pull your weight you will be rewarded; he treats his employees at Los Pollos Hermanos so well that you know the show takes place in a fantasy world, because no boss is that nice. And he was way too lenient with Walt all throughout that man’s career working with him.

Of course, Gus is also driven by revenge. Don Eladio, Hector Salamanca, and the rest of the cartel are responsible for the death of his lover Max, and Gus refuses to rest until the entire operation has crumbled, with only him left standing tall and Hecor lefty broken and crippled to be finished off last as he’s the one who pulled the trigger. It’s a very classic villain motivation, and it helps give a little bit of sympathy to a character who is otherwise too cold and mysterious to really delve into the mind of. At any rate, it makes it very easy to root for Gus and cheer him on as he plays his supposed superiors for suckers and orchestrates their downfalls all while coming up with dozens of plans to cover his own ass.

Performance: Giancarlo Esposito has such an air of elegance and menace to him when he’s playing Gus. You can really see why he man ended up typecast after this, playing cunning antagonists, because he really kills it here. He does have one incredibly major flaw, though: He’s not a native Spanish speaker like Gus is. This leads to pretty much any point where Gus is required to speak the language falling flat, especially since most of the time he’s up against actors who are actually fluent and even if you’re not a native speaker you can pick up on how clunky he is in comparison to Michael Mando or Tony Dalton.

Final Fate: Gustavo Fring got outplayed by both Walter and Hector, and the result is perhaps one of the single greatest villain deaths of all time.

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As many have pointed out, it is genuinely hilarious how Gus hated Hector so fucking much that he refused to die in the same room as him. And hey, maybe this isn’t very accurate to how a person would realistically look after taking an explosion directly to the face… But it’s one hell of a cool visual. Sometimes it’s better to check realism at the door for the sake of symbolism and cool prosthetic gore.

Best Scene: I think it is genuinely hard to top Gus’ awesome moments, even if he doesn’t ever really get an entire episode of focus. I think his crowning moment, the moment where we as an audience and Walt as a character learn that us is not even remotely fucking around, is his silent preparations before he comes up to his lackey Victor and violently slits his throat in “Box Cutter,” before equally silently getting dressed once more. Right before leaving, he simply says, “Get back to work” before leaving a stunned Walt, Mike, and Jesse behind.

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There’s also Gus taking down Don Eladio and all his capos in “Salud.” It’s such wonderful, beautiful vengeance, and it’s all made better by the fact Gus poisoned himself, went to the bathroom, neatly placed a towel on the floor and knelt down on it, and then induced vomiting. This man would pick the fruitiest way imaginable to save his own life.

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Finally, there is his scene in “Fun and Games,” the first and only time we see Gus just out enjoying himself. We get to see him pretty obviously flirting with a sommelier, but as soon as the man leaves for a moment Gus makes the decision to commit himself fully to his mission and rule out the possibility of love again after what happened to Max. This is the moment where we see Gus fully become the man we know him as in Breaking Bad, and it’s honestly pretty tragic. He could have been happy if he’d just let go some of his hate, and maybe he’d even still be alive.

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Final Thoughts & Score: Gus is one of the best villains ever to grave television, and considering he’s in a show filled to the brim with some of the greatest villains ever devised, that’s really saying something.

Part of what makes him so genuinely great is just how utterly unknowable he is. Over the course of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, he is almost like a god of the criminal underworld, untouchable and mysterious. What very little tidbits we get of his past paint a conflicting picture that could mean any number of things, and at every other point he manages to command respect and fear from all those around him, with those not wise enough to do so ending up dead by his masterful machinations. It ultimately makes the single scene where we see him not doing business, the one where he flirts with the man at the bar, so much more impactful. We see that Gus has rejected his humanity, his chance at ever being happy again, so that he can be consumed by his work and his vengeance. Gus is what he is by choice.

It’s why, even if it’s not really “good” that Walt won, it is so satisfying and cathartic. Gus spends his screentime pulling off superhuman schemes and feats of vengeance, orchestrating the deaths of the entire Salamanca family and his own cartel superiors, and yet he is done in by an absolute bumbling buffoon of a criminal like Walt. It’s a classic case of David and Goliath, with the untouchable adversary being taken down due to viewing his foe as so far beneath him that he didn’t realize he was screwed until it was too late. Gus was sadly too smart for his own good, never bothering to consider the erratic chemistry teacher could ever pull off anything big enough to defeat him.

With all that, Gus gets a 10/10. With how much I love Gus and how I consider him one of my favorite villains ever, you might be wondering why I didn’t bump him up to a 10.5 to denote him being a cut above the garden variety 10. Well, Gus has one issue with his character that I feels really hampers him in crucial moments: His inability to speak Spanish. Giancarlo Esposito, despite being an absolutely fantastic actor in every other regard, does not speak Spanish and needs his lines given to him phonetically. Native speakers have called his accent stilted and unnatural, and it has led to moments that should be epic and powerful such as his monologue to Lalo before killing him becoming nonsensical gibberish to trained ears. Considering that character is a native Spanish speaker, this is an absolutely unforgivable and glaring flaw. It certainly doesn’t ruin the character, but it does hold him back just a little bit.

But it really does speak volumes that as soon as Gus is taken out, the quality of the villains just plummets. The final season has Walt facing off against a bunch of Nazis and fucking Lydia, the annoying businesswoman. The final season is still peak, but boy are those villains living in Gus’ shadow. In spite of his flaws (or, well, his singular but rather major flaw), he’s still one of the greatest villains in television history, and is up there with Walt and Saul as the greatest villains in the series.

#Psycho Analysis #Gus Fring #Gustavo Fring #Breaking Bad #Better Call Saul #giancarlo esposito #Youtube

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