#remember kids the government is not here to help you

[xxxemilyg1996]

Guess who just got denied a second time for disability income benefits! It's been over 2 years and I'm still living in abject poverty in a house that should be condemned and relying and my sister to provide for me. Yay.

[asgardian--angels]

keeping honeybee hives as a way to ‘save the bees’ is the equivalent of claiming factory farmed chickens are somehow stopping greater prairie chickens from going extinct lmao

[determinate-negation]

please take a second to read this and donate to mohammed’s new campaign. this is #192 on the vetted gaza fundraiser list. heres my longer post about him and the new campaign

mohammed @save-mohamed-family has been through so much. at the start of the war his mother, father, four sisters, and their entire families were murdered by israel in a bombing. he lost his home, his job, and was badly injured but he told me he doesn’t care what happens to him, he just wants his remaining family to be safe- his wife and three young kids.

his wife has uterine cancer but hasnt been able to get treatment because israel has destroyed cancer treatment centers. his kids suffer from skin diseases and are scared by the bombings which are constant and relentless. available medicine is really expensive and your donations are the only source of income for him and his family.

you can read more in his own words on here on his blog.

please put yourself in his shoes and think about how absolutely devastating it is to lose your entire immediate family, your home, your job, everything you had. everything about your life before gone and destroyed. what would you do to try to save the loved ones you still have? please help him and his family survive this genocide and eventually be able to evacuate from gaza.

remember that a lot of our tax money and resources are actively going towards the army and government that killed his family and is continuing to destroy gaza, i think the least we can do is donate and support him

$4,912 raised of $50,000

[writer-in-theory]

"It's a wonder Steve's survived this long, Jesus H. Christ," Eddie hissed.

Eddie hasn't stopped pacing the hospital waiting room ever since Steve was taken back for 'testing'. The doctors had listed out various scans but there were too many acronyms to keep track of. All Eddie knew was that Steve had been hiding his pain for at least a day, maybe longer, until he collapsed at work with Robin.

That was the second worst call Eddie had ever gotten in his life.

"Harrington?" the doctor called out then, holding onto a metal clipboard tightly and looking around the busy emergency room. In an instant Eddie was on his feet, practically sprinting to where the doctor was standing.

"How is he, doc? Get to keep all his fingers?" He wanted to joke, but the words fell flat in the sterility of the room. The last time he'd been here had been after...No. The Upside Down had long since been closed off from their world and Vecna was disintegrated into that weird otherworldly ash. It was over.

"Are you family?"

Nancy and Robin had prepped him for this one, too. In everything but the law, Eddie and Steve were husbands. They'd had a wedding with Robin and Dustin as their Best (Wo)Men and Wayne as their officiant, in the middle of the night where no one would notice but them. They'd celebrated their fifth anniversary two weeks ago, they were the loves of each others' lives. But to the government, to this doctor, they weren't anything but friends who shared a bed. Fuck the nineties.

"Yeah, he's my brother-in-law," Eddie answered, knowing when Nancy showed up they could pass this lie off decently. "How's Steve doing?"

The doctor gave him a long look, but otherwise nodded and rechecked his clipboard. "Mr. Harrington is getting prepped for emergency surgery, currently, as he's s—"

"Emergency surgery? What do you mean surgery?" Already Eddie could feel the tell-tale warning signs of panic as his heart began to race and his palms got sweaty. Surgery wasn't good. They weren't supposed to do this. No more hospitals, no more surgeries, no more 'wait and see's. They'd promised after last time, Steve promised.

"Sir," the doctor pushed, looking more irritated than concerned. "This is a routine procedure, we see it all the time. Mr. Harrington has a case of appendicitis, pretty bad by the looks of it. Has he been feeling any pain lately?"

"Yeah, yeah the bastard has," Eddie hissed, not sure if he was about to laugh or cry. Appendicitis. Fucking appendicitis. He'd had that as a kid, he still remembered all the popsicles and ice creams Uncle Wayne let him have in the days after, cooped up in the trailer watching boring TV shows while all his friends were at school. "Is he already in surgery? Can I see him?"

"He's being prepped, but you can see him. We gave him some medication to calm him down and ease his pain, so Mr. Harrington may be...out of it," the doctor warned as he led Eddie through the maze of hallways behind the front desk. "Next time, let your brother-in-law know he shouldn't ignore this kind of pain."

"Oh don't you worry, doc, I'll make sure to pass on the message," Eddie answered, practically glaring at the closed hospital room door. Fucking appendicitis and Steve had ignored it, passed it off as a pulled muscle after a run.

Seeing Steve in a hospital bed didn't get any easier, though it was hard to be angry or scared when the man's head lolled across the pillow to reveal a brilliant, out-of-it smile Eddie had never seen before. "Eddie!" Steve cooed, reaching his arms out for the other man.

Eddie couldn't help but laugh, crossing the distance quickly so he could press Steve's arms back to the bed. "Hey, c'mon now, Harrington, don't wanna pull that IV line out."

"Did they tell you they're stealing my organ? They're stealing it, Eds!"

"It's a pretty useless one anyway, you won't even miss it."

Steve's face scrunched up at that, like he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "How dare you! Of course I'll notice one of my little guys got separated! What if he gets lonely?"

"You're..." Eddie tried not to laugh, if only because he's sure that'll make Steve fly off the handle even further. He scrubbed a hand across his tired face, sure his expression was full of nothing but fondness now for the man laying in the hospital bed. "You're afraid your appendix will get lonely?"

"I just...they're all meant to be together, you know? You can't separate one and expect it won't get lonely. Don't let them steal my organ, Eds."

"I," Eddie began, unable to help the smile that pulled on his lips. "Stevie, baby, it's not stealing if a doctor does it. They're taking it out because it's being a troublemaker. It doesn't belong there anymore, you can't keep trying to make it fit somewhere it doesn't."

"Never stopped me before," Steve answered with a little slur. "Maybe I like troublemakers." Then, leaning over with his hand by his mouth in a conspiratorial whisper, he said at full volume, "I mean you, Eddie."

There was no laugh like the one Steve was able to pull from him, of that Eddie had learned years before. He laughed until his chest hurt and tears gathered in his eyes, until even the nurse peeked their head in to check on the two of them.

"C'mon, Stevie. You go be a rockstar in there and I'll be right beside you when you wake up. We'll go get so much ice cream you forget about your stolen appendix," Eddie offered, pressing a kiss to Steve's non-IV lined hand.

"I'll be such a good rockstar you gotta put me in the band," Steve answered, blowing a kiss to Eddie as the surgical team came in to wheel him off. "Love you, Eds."

Warmth spread through his chest, warming him from the insides out until Eddie worried he might burn up from the intensity of Steve's love. "Love you too, Steve."

Eddie stands and watches as they wheel Steve out of the room, laughing as Steve yelled after him.

"I can't believe you're letting them steal my poor appendix, Munson! I won't forget this!"

[such-expensive-mistakes]

When Oliver Queen was dead, he ended up in the Infinite Realms, where he inadvertently became the mentor to teen ghost hero Phantom. After Ollie came back to life, he made a point of reaching out to Phantom, just in case the kid needed anything.

DCxDP Week prompt: found family

Author's Notes: I've tried to make this accessible as possible to those of you who aren't familiar with the Arrowfam, but here are links to character primers on Oliver Queen, Connor Hawke and Mia Dearden if you want them. If you are familiar with GA comics, then just know that this is set loosely during the 2001 run. And finally, the idea of a hero in the Infinite Realms helping mentor Danny was largely inspired by Blueseabird2's fic Grave Promises. (It's excellent! If you haven't read it, go do that!)

-

"Do you remember it?" Ollie asks, looking at Superman out of the corner of his eye.  They're standing in front of Oliver's grave.  Always made the right enemies. It's a hell of an epitaph; Ollie wonders who came up with it.  Roy or Dinah, probably.

"Remember..." Superman says.

"Being dead."  

Supes gives him that same look everyone seems to be giving Ollie these days, like he's not quite sure if Ollie is all there in the head.  

"Never mind."  Oliver waves a hand.  "Just thinking."

-

He does remember it, is the thing.  He remembers the endless Infinite Realms, as green as any of Hal's constructs.  He remembers the ghosts-- the ones who had originally been alive like him, and the ones that had never lived at all.  Humans and aliens and otherdimensional beings, all together in one place.  He remembers being in the same costume he'd died in, only color-flipped to red.  (That was just wrong.  Red was Roy's color, not Ollie's.)

And he remembers Phantom.

He'd met Phantom pretty early on.  Time in the Infinite Realms was tricky; it didn't move like time did on Earth.  Sometimes it went slower, sometimes faster, sometimes it even seemed to go backwards.   So he didn't remember exactly how long he'd been in the Realms before coming across Phantom, but it didn't feel like long.

Phantom had been chasing down some magical artifact when he'd come across Oliver-- or rather, Red Arrow-- who had picked a fight with an asshole ghost way more powerful than him.

Some things never changed.  But hey, ghost arrows were pretty nifty.

Phantom had helped him out, and in return Ollie had offered to help Phantom with tracking down the artifact he was looking for.  As they talked, it quickly became obvious that Phantom was doing the whole teen hero thing-- and not just in the Realms, but on Earth.  He clammed up when Ollie asked too many questions, but it was pretty clear that he didn't have a mentor or anything.

"Do you have the Teen Titans in your world?" Oliver asked, having learned by that point that the Infinite Realms connected every dimension out there.

"Yeah," Phantom had said, looking wary.

"You should talk to them," Oliver said.  "It helps to have someone out there on your side, who knows what you're dealing with."  The Titans had been good for Roy.  Not just friends, although they were that, too, but an extra support system.  

But Phantom shook his head.  "I can't."  And then he'd gone on to describe the Anti-Ecto Acts and the GIW.  

Ollie had never exactly been a fan of the government-- too much corruption, too many rich assholes using the system to protect themselves-- but this still managed to surprise him.  And while he was pretty sure his own world's Teen Titans wouldn't stand for this kind of thing-- or even the JLA, no matter how badly they sometimes overreached-- he had no way of knowing whether Phantom's Teen Titans were the same ones he knew.  

"Tell you what," Ollie said.  "Next time you get a chance, track me down and I'll show you a few things.  I don't know how much help I'll be with superpowers, but--" 

"Really?" Phantom had asked, then surprised Ollie by hugging him.

That was the start of it.  They'd tracked down the artifact, Phantom had left the Realms to go back and do his hero thing on Earth, and Oliver was left to second-guess himself until the next time Phantom came around.  

Oliver wasn't exactly a perfect mentor.  He'd done his best for Roy, but there were so many things he would do differently if he had the chance.  But he was better than nothing, which was what Phantom had been working with before.

Phantom didn't need to learn archery; he had superpowers.  But Ollie managed to teach him a thing or two about picking your shot and waiting for the right moment.  About trusting your instincts and dodging bullets (or ectoblasts).  

Phantom was cagey about anything that wasn't hero work, but Oliver managed to glean a few details.  He had a couple of living friends who helped him out, he was frequently chased down by ghost hunters, and most of the town he was based in didn't think particularly highly of him.  And that was on top of his whole rogue's gallery of villainous ghosts, not to mention the GIW.

"You can't make people like you," Ollie advised him.  "Even if you do all the right things.  You just have to trust yourself and ignore the public opinion."  God knew plenty of people had hated the Green Arrow over the years.  

It had been rewarding, in a way Ollie had almost forgotten, watching Phantom grow as a hero.  Watching him grow more confident and more skilled-- and Ollie wasn't giving himself credit for all of that, but he'd helped bring those qualities out.

And then, Oliver came back to life.

-

"Where to next?" Roy asks, as they drive out of Central City. Ollie appreciates that Roy is willing to follow his lead on this, even though it's clear Roy thinks he's being ridiculous.  Sure, Wally would probably have let Ollie have that old ring of Barry's if he'd asked, just like the JLA would probably have let him have the diamond-tipped arrow.  But those things weren't theirs to keep or give in the first place.

"Amity Park, Illinois."

Roy gives him a skeptical look over the top of his sunglasses. "The hell is in Amity Park?"  He's bracing himself to hear about some other memorabilia Ollie left behind upon his death, something else that wasn't disposed of the way Ollie had requested.  Something else that other people-- even Roy-- think insignificant.

That would be easier to explain than this.

"Maybe nothing," Oliver says. "But I need to be sure."

-

Finding Amity Park in the first place is a task and a half.  It's not on the map Roy keeps in his glovebox, and they have to ask directions at multiple gas stations across Illinois before they arrive.  

It's immediately clear that they're in the right place.  Amity Park is a small city-- barely even a city, really.  But the property damage evident on the streets and the buildings is on par with the aftermath of an alien invasion.

Roy slides off his shades.  "What on earth..."  He glances at Oliver.  "Ollie, what is this?"

A green streak shoots across the sky, followed by a white one.  

Phantom.

"Follow them!"  Ollie points at the ghosts.  

By the time they arrive, it's a stand-off.  The other ghost has disappeared, but Phantom is hovering twenty feet off the ground, dodging blasts from a couple in brightly colored hazmat suits.  

The Fentons.  Ollie had heard a few stories about them while he was in the Infinite Realms, though Phantom had been reluctant to talk about them.

"Ollie," Roy says.  In his voice, Ollie can hear all the suppressed rage he himself is feeling, watching a child-- a superpowered child, but a child nonetheless-- getting shot at.

"Not yet."  Ollie wants to help, but he doesn't want to make things worse by jumping in without thinking.  Their help isn't needed in the end; Phantom manages to disappear from sight while the ghost hunters are distracted.

Oliver tells the whole story to Roy over dinner at the local fast food joint.

"Jesus Christ," Roy says.  

"So you see why I want to talk to Phantom," Ollie says.  

"Aren't you already training two kids already?  You gonna add all of this on top?"  

"Connor doesn't need training.  He could probably teach me a thing or two.  And no one is training Mia in anything."  Okay, that last part isn't quite true; Oliver knows for a fact that Connor has been giving Mia lessons in archery and hand-to-hand.  But as long as she's not trying to put on a costume and fight crime, he'll pretend he doesn't know.  Hell, it makes him feel better, knowing that she has a trick or two up her sleeve.

"Phantom can't be much older than she is," Roy says, a hint of judgment in his tone.

"Phantom is already dead," he says.  Roy flinches a little.  "And he doesn't have a Hal Jordan to bring him back."

They go back to their burgers.  It's not until Oliver is crumpling up his wrapper that he speaks again.  

"Look," Ollie says.  "This is a lot bigger than Phantom.  And based on what I know of him, he's not going to want to leave Amity Park.  But I want to let him know that someone's got his back."

Roy claps him on the shoulder.  "More than just one person."

-

Tracking down Phantom for a conversation is harder than it sounds.  Oliver doesn't know how much time he even spends out here, rather than in the Infinite Realms.  Not to mention the handy ghost power of invisibility.  

He suits up and stakes out a rooftop downtown, with Roy doing the same on the other side of town.  He's just getting ready to pack it in for the night and try it again tomorrow when a familiar form materializes next to him.

"Arrow?" Phantom asks.

Oliver smiles.  "Hey, kid."  

"What-- how-- you're alive?" Phantom sputters a little.

"Am now," Ollie says.  "A friend of mine brought me back."  He gives a quick overview-- Green Lantern, godlike power, decided what the world was missing was one Oliver Queen.  

"I'm going to do what I can about the Anti-Ecto Acts and the GIW," Oliver says.  "But if you ever need anything, give me a call.  Or just track me down in Star."  He hands a slip of paper with his phone number and email on it to Phantom.  

"Danny," Phantom says.

"Sorry?"

"My name.  It's Danny."

"Oliver."  Ollie holds out his hand and Danny shakes it.  "Good to meet you, Danny."

-

For a while, he only hears from Danny through irregular emails and the very occasional phone call.  Ollie leans on his Justice League acquaintances to help repeal the Anti-Ecto Acts and get rid of the GIW.  It's slow going-- much slower than Ollie would like.  Too many JL members are advising caution, wanting to find out more about ghosts and how dangerous they might be before they take a stand.  Luckily, neither Superman and Wonder Woman were happy about Oliver's news, and hold a lot of sway with the American public.  And rather conveniently, a number of reporters have suddenly begun looking into the Anti-Ecto Acts, stirring up public sentiment against them even more than before.

Things are looking good.  And then, Danny shows up at the front door of Oliver's brownstone.  

Oliver is making himself a sandwich when he hears the knock at the door.  Mia (who had finally gotten Ollie to agree to let her be Speedy a few weeks back) is with the Teen Titans for the weekend, and Connor is working at the youth center for most of the day, so there's no one else here to answer the door.  Ollie wipes his hands on a kitchen towel, and opens the door.

Ollie doesn't know it's Danny at first.  The Danny he met was a ghost, complete with jumpsuit and white hair and superpowers.  The kid that shows up at Ollie's front door is a living, breathing kid.  He's got pale skin and dark hair and he can't be any older than sixteen.  He's a little on the thin side, though given his age, he could just be going through a growth spurt, and the backpack slung over his shoulder is decorated with a NASA patch.  

"Ollie?" the kid asks. 

"That's me," Ollie says.  "What can I do for you?"

"It's Danny.  Phantom," he clarifies in a low voice.  "From Amity Park."

He can see it, now that he knows to look.  The face and build are the same, just color-swapped.

“I need your help,” Danny continues.

The kid looks like he’s about to fall over from exhaustion or stress or both. 

Ollie opens the door a little wider.  "Come on in.  I was just making myself some lunch.  You can tell me what's going on."

Danny follows him into the kitchen and takes a seat at the counter.   Ollie finishes the sandwiches and slides one over to Danny.  

Danny doesn't pick it up at first, busy fidgeting with the sleeves of his hoodie.  “I don’t know where to start."

"Well, I gotta say," Oliver says.  "You're looking pretty alive for a dead guy.  I mean, same could be said for myself, but I told you how that happened."

Danny grimaces.  "About that.  It's kind of complicated."

Oliver leans against the opposite counter.  "Hit me with it."  

He already knows it's bad.  He was worried about Phantom in the first place; that's why he gave Danny a way to contact him if necessary.  Whatever made Danny travel halfway across the country to see him?  It can't be good.

"My parents are the Fentons," Danny starts.

Immediately Oliver knows the story is going to be worse than he anticipated. "The ghost hunters.  The ones who built the portal."  Ollie had heard all about that portal during his sojourn in the Infinite Realms-- some from Phantom, some from other ghosts.

"Yeah.  Well, the portal didn't exactly work at first.  My friends wanted to see it, and..."  Danny shrugs.  "It worked better than anyone gave them credit for, it's just that they accidentally put the switch on the inside."  

He can see where this story is going.  "And you accidentally turned it on."  

"Yeah.  It killed me, but all the ectoplasm coming through the portal brought me back to life.  So I'm only half-dead."  Danny finishes up his sandwich but Oliver, who is familiar with the eating habits of superhero teenagers, hands him another one.

"I'm guessing your folks don't know."  

"My sister does.  My parents don't."  Danny fidgets with the sleeves of his hoodie.  "That's not important."

It seems a little bit important.  

“It don’t know if there’s anything you can do,” Danny adds. “I just… I didn’t know where else to go.”

“You can stay here as long as you need to," Ollie says.  There's an extra bedroom that Stanley used as an office, back when this place belonged to him.  He'll need to get the junk cleaned out, but it should work for Danny.  "But it might help if I had a few more details.  Is someone gonna come looking for you-- or for Phantom?"

"I don't think so," Danny says.  "Well, the GIW might, but they're not super active outside of Amity Park."

"We'll handle them if they show up."  Oliver would love the chance to put a few arrows in them, and he's sure Connor and Mia would feel the same.  

There's obviously more to this story than Danny is currently telling him, but Ollie isn't gonna press.  Not yet.  Long and difficult experience has taught him how badly that usually goes when dealing with teenagers.  

Danny finishes up his lunch, and Ollie shows him around, eventually leaving him to hang out in the living room and watch TV.  Ollie himself starts packing up the junk in the spare room.  Danny might have to sleep on the couch for a day or two, until they get a bed for him to use, but it's an alright couch.  Ollie has certainly slept in less comfortable places.

He doesn't realize how much time has passed until he hears Connor call him from downstairs.

"Dad?"  

His tone of voice is carefully measured, but it's enough to remind Oliver that Danny is downstairs-- and that he didn't let Connor know about their new guest.

He dashes down the stairs and, sure enough, Connor and Danny are watching each other warily from other sides of the living room.  Danny in particular looks like he wants to bolt.  

"This is Danny," Oliver says.  "He's gonna be staying with us for a while.  And Danny, this is my son, Connor.  He's the other Green Arrow."  

"Nice to meet you," Connor says to Danny.  Then, "Dad, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Ollie follows Connor downstairs to the training room in their basement.  He has no idea how far Danny's enhanced senses extend outside the Infinite Realms-- or even if they work at all when he's not a ghost-- but Ollie suspects this conversation might not be as private as Connor is hoping.

"Are you sure about this?"  Connor asks.  

"He doesn't have anywhere else," Ollie says.  "What do you want me to do?"

Connor runs his hand over his face.  "I don't know.  But have you even talked to Mia about this?  When did you even meet this kid?"

"It was a sudden development," Ollie says.  "So no, I didn't.  But I don't think Mia's gonna tell me to send him packing."  He knows that's not what Connor is worried about; for all her bravado, Mia is still insecure about many things.  "As for how I met him... that's a bit of a story."

"Okay," Connor finally says.  "As long as you're sure."

Ollie clasps his shoulder.  "I appreciate it."  

-

They don't explain anything further to Connor that night, which is probably unfair to him.  But Ollie doesn't really want to make Danny explain more than once, and Mia won't be back until the next day.

Danny sleeps on the couch, and in the morning, he helps Ollie and Connor clean out the spare room.  Mia shows up a little after noon, having gotten a ride back from one of her powered friends, and finds the three of them eating pizza in the living room.

"You better have saved me some," she says, as she tosses her overnight bag on the floor.

"Didn't your friends feed you?" Ollie asks, but he passes her the box of pepperoni.  

Mia takes a slice and perches on the back of the couch, right next to Danny.  "Hi!  I'm Mia."  She gives Danny a look that is probably intended to be flirtatious.  

Danny looks a little like a deer in the headlights.  "Uh, hi?"

Connor raises an eyebrow at Oliver, and yeah, maybe having a teenage boy staying in the same house as Mia is a bad idea.  Then again, he's closer to her age than the guys she usually hits on.  

"This is Danny," Oliver says.  "Danny, Mia is my other kid.  She's also Speedy."  

They give Connor and Mia the cliff's notes version on ghosts and the Infinite Realms.  Danny knows a lot more than Ollie does about all of it, but he's much worse at explaining.  He either gets lost on tangents about inconsequential details, or he assumes they have more baseline knowledge than they do.

"I'm sorry," Mia says.  "Can we go back to the part where ghosts exist?"

"We've fought actual demons," Connor says.  "How are ghosts harder to believe?"

"Ollie was never a demon," Mia says with a shrug.  Then she narrows her eyes at Oliver.  "Were you?"

Ollie laughs.  "Definitely not."  

-

The next week or so is pretty quiet, by their standards.  The Green Arrows and Speedy go out and handle low-level crime in the city every night, though Phantom stays in at Ollie's suggestion; if the GIW is looking for him, it's better if he lies low.  It's a little worrying how easily he agrees.  It had never been that easy to convince him to do anything when they were training in the Infinite Realms.

Mia, who is better with technology than Ollie is, helps Danny send a message to his friends, letting them know he's safe.  

"It's better if I don't give them too many details," Danny says.  "Anyone who's looking for me will be watching them.  All of our devices are encrypted, thanks to Tucker, but I don't want to take any chances."

Danny comes with them to help out at the youth center, even while Ollie tells him that he's welcome to stay home and play video games or whatever.  Danny hasn't said anything about it, and so Ollie hasn't either, but Danny doesn't seem to want to be left alone for long.

Oliver wonders if that's because he's worried about himself or about them.

"So, where do your folks think you are?" Ollie asks at one point. 

Danny shrugs.  "Does it really matter?"

"Well, I'd like to know if I'm likely to be charged with kidnapping."  Connor and Mia both shoot him judgmental looks, but it's not like either of them were under any illusions about Ollie's ability to be delicate.  "I mean, I can handle it if I am, but I'd like to be prepared."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Danny says, and that's the subject closed for the moment.

Mia corners Ollie one afternoon at the youth center, while Danny is playing basketball with some of the kids.  Danny is losing, badly.  Turns out he's incredibly clumsy when he's not using his powers.  The kids don't seem to mind, though, and Danny is a pretty good sport about it.

"We're keeping him, right?" Mia asks.

Oliver gives Mia a level look.  He hasn't noticed anything beyond some flirting on Mia's side, but that doesn't mean much.  

"Not like that," Mia says, rolling her eyes.  "I mean, he's cute, but he's kind of dense."

"Funny, I'm pretty sure the same has been said about me," Ollie jokes.

"Whatever he's not telling us... it's got to be pretty bad, right?" Mia says.  "But he seems happy here.  And we won't let anything happen to him."

There's a lot Oliver could say here: Danny has parents, he has friends, he has a home he obviously misses.  By almost every measure, he's far more powerful than Ollie or his kids, and whatever has him scared is quite possibly out of their league.  But the truth is, he feels the way Mia does.  

"It's up to him," Oliver finally says.  "But he's welcome to stay as long as he wants to."

-

Green Arrow and Speedy are crouched on a rooftop, taking aim at a couple of drug dealers, when Connor's voice crackles across the comms.

"I've got eyes on some guys in white suits," he says.  "At Fifty-first and Green."  

That's halfway across town, though nowhere near the brownstone.  If something goes down in the next few minutes, Connor is going to be on his own.  

"Don't engage," Ollie says.  "We're on our way."

They break up the drug deal and make their way toward Connor, who has been updating them on the GIW's movements the whole while.  

"I think they're looking for something," Connor says.  "They keep stopping and checking some kind of device-- I think it's a tracker of some kind."

"They're looking for Danny," Mia says.  

"How did they even know he's here?" Ollie wonders, but neither Mia nor Connor have any idea.  He makes a split-second decision.  "Mia, head back home and keep an eye on Danny.  Tell him Connor and I are handling it."

Mia is obviously put out by being sent away from the action, but she complies.  Oliver catches up with Connor, perching next to him on the edge of a roof.  Down on the street, a couple of men dressed all in white exit a white van and wave around a couple of handheld electronic devices.  They don't look up, which seems like a mistake from people who ostensibly deal with ghosts.  Convenient for the Green Arrows, though.

Trailing the GIW agents is a piece of cake.  Their all-white getup makes them clearly visible from a distance, and they seem to rely on their equipment rather than their eyes or ears.  

Their apparent incompetence makes Oliver get a little cocky, and that's where things go wrong.  He lands on the building closest to the agents, sure that they won't look up and see him-- and he's right.

Unfortunately, their device starts beeping just at that moment, and the two men are suddenly on high alert.  Ollie gets the bad feeling that something about him is what set it off.  They pull out their guns and look around wildly, until one of the geniuses gets the bright idea to look up.  That's when they start shooting wildly at Oliver and Connor.  

Their aim isn't great, and whatever kind of energy weapons they're using are only powerful enough to do some superficial damage to the building facade, but Ollie isn't eager to find out how it would feel to get hit by one of those.  Fortunately, he and Connor are both much better shots than these guys.

They shoot the weapons out of the agents' hands first, then Ollie puts an arrow through one guy's hand while Connor puts one through the other guy's foot.  

For a minute, it seems like it's going to be that easy.  Then, three more white vans come peeling down the street and a dozen more agents pour out.  Now, it's Oliver and Connor who are pinned down, ducking behind the roof's edge to avoid getting hit by those energy weapons.  

Ollie puts an arrow through another guy's shoulder, and is just a smidge too slow getting back out of the way.  The energy blast is going to hit him right in the shoulder.  He braces to take the hit--

A green shield appears in front of him.  The energy blast hits it and dissipates.

For a moment, Ollie thinks it's the work of a Lantern.  And then he sees Phantom, a bright white and glowing target hovering above the street.  

The GIW agents have completely disregarded Ollie and Connor, and are frantically shooting at Phantom.  Phantom is dodging the blasts easily; there's no sign of the clumsiness that he's beset with when he's a normal human.  One of the agents gets an arrow through his shoulder, and Ollie spots Mia perched on a roof across the street.  

In hindsight, he really should have expected this.  Neither of those kids are the type to sit at home when they could be helping instead.  Even so, he doesn't like it.

With Danny distracting the agents, it's much easier for Ollie, Connor and Mia to hit them.  They may be outnumbered, but the GIW agents are terrible shots.  At some point, the agents seem to realize this, too, and flee back into their vans, limping and bleeding, and drive away.  

"Follow them?" Connor asks.  

"No," Ollie says.  "I don't think they're going to try anything else tonight."  

The four of them make their way back to the brownstone.  

"I told you to stay here with Danny," Ollie tells Mia, once they're inside and putting away their gear.  

"Did you really think I was going to listen?" Mia asks. 

Ollie runs his hands over his face.  "A man can dream."

"Besides," Mia adds, "from where I was standing it seemed like we bailed you two out.  Right, Danny?"

With a flash of light, Danny transforms back to his human form.  "I'm sorry," he says.  "I don't know how they knew I was here."

"I'm not sure they did," Connor says.  "They were looking pretty hard for something before they went after the two of us."

"But they were looking for me specifically," Danny says.  

Ollie gives Danny a closer look.  He's clearly nervous.  More than just nervous, he looks like he's on the verge of taking off and running.

"What makes you so sure they're here for you?" Oliver asks.  It's not that he doesn't trust Danny's instincts, but he doesn't feel like he's got the whole picture.  

Danny leans against the workbench, almost knocking a set of half-finished arrows to the floor.  "They've been trying to catch Phantom since the beginning," he says.  "I kind of made their lives difficult."

"Good," Connor says, crossing his arms.  

"Plus, a lot of Amity Parkers kind of... don't like Phantom?  So the GIW heard about what a menace I was, and that didn't help.  But then you got Superman and Wonder Woman and all of them to talk about how bad the GIW and Anti-Ecto Acts are, and that helped, and-- I had it handled. "

"So what happened?" Mia asks.  

"My parents found out.  And I kind of freaked out?  And I flew off, and the GIW caught up to me."  Danny looks around, takes in their stricken expressions, and hurries to add, "Not for long!  But then I headed back home and my parents were telling everyone I was dead.  I didn't know what to do, so I came here."  

Oliver's head hurts just thinking about this mess.  He walks across the room and wraps an arm around Danny.  "We'll get this figured out," he promises, though he's not entirely sure how.  "First things first.  What do you want to do about your parents?"  

Mia scowls at him-- she's clearly already formed her opinion on Danny's parents.  Ollie can't say he disagrees, but he's made his own share of mistakes in the parenting department.  He hopes that the Fentons might be able to come around, if only because Danny clearly loves them.

"The GIW..." Danny begins. 

"I've got a few ideas about them."  Ollie is a little torn between hunting them down himself, pointing Supes or someone in their direction, or letting it leak to the public that these government lackeys chased a kid halfway across the country.  "Do you want to go back to your parents?"

"I don't know," he says. "I miss them, but... I don't know if they'll believe I'm really me. They think all ghosts are evil. But even if they believed me..."  He trails off.  

"You can stay here," Mia insists.  "Right, Ollie?"

"Of course he can."  He didn't actually need Mia's prompting for that.  "You're welcome to stick around as long as you want, but you should at least stay until we get the GIW shut down."  

Danny looks around the room at the three of them.  Whatever he sees must reassure him because after a long minute, he nods.  "Okay.  At least until then."

[sleepynovalunosis]

Come on, Sugar, Let Me Know.

contains: public heavy petting, marking, posessive!steve, afab!reader

a/n: y’all can thank rod stewart for this.

you and steve rarely got date nights. running around hawkins, protecting the kids 24/7; you felt like a married couple without the government stamp of approval. tonight was different, though. tonight was the night that you both finally remembered..you're in your youth. why should you be running around all the time? why shouldn't you take some time for yourselves?

so that's how you end up here-back pressed against steve as his arms envelop you, snaking around the front of your torso. one of his arms travels upwards, angled across your chest as his palm holds your shoulder. his other arm travels downwards, tugging you into him by the dip of your waist. your head is lulled back against his shoulder, the music travelling through the bar suddenly muffled. all you can focus on is the way steve breathes into the crook of your neck, brushing against the shell of your ear. you reach your arm up, fingers draping the back of his neck as you pull him in closer.

"hmph--" he murmurs into your flesh, and you can swear it's just shy of a moan. everyone else on the dance floor is to preoccupied with themselves to even notice or care how close you and steve are getting. so when he starts pressing kisses against your shoulder, who are you to stop him? you can't help how good it feels, especially with no one else around. you feel free-like you're both actually acting your age, and not saving hawkins from impending doom for once. besides, a night out certainly wouldn't be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

his pecks grow more sloppy, open-mouthed kisses replacing them. the warmth of his mouth melts you, feeling weak in the knees. you can feel your body relax, feeling like putty in his grasp. he feels it too, tugging you closer to him, tighter. "steve-" you moan, gasping softly as he sucks into the flesh of your neck, feeling that familiar warmth nestle in the pit of your stomach. you feel it flip as he groans into you, nipping and biting your neck, soothing it with kisses after. his hand slides down your hip, fingers slipping under the front of your skirt. you gasp, tensing, “steve-what if someone sees us?” you hiss, feeling his hand travel to your clothed pussy. “who’s gonna see?” he asks, feigning concern. “hm?” he presses, his thumb lazily circling your clit, effortlessly causing you to buckle your knees.

“ah-!” you gasp, and he presses a kiss to your head. he’s right-no one is paying attention. “steve-“ you breathe, gasping for air. you finally writhe from his grasp, spinning around to face him. you study his face as you try to catch your breath, his eyes wild. after a moment, you both break out into laugher of mutual disbelief. how long have you both had this in you? how long have you wanted steve to shamelessly show you off like this? how long has he?

your rosied cheeks are flushed with warmth, his lips cherried and swollen from kissing you so much. his hands meet your cheeks, cupping your face with adoration. “bathroom?” he asks, and you immediately agree, nodding your head rapidly-both of you taking off into a fit of giggles, nearly tripping over your own feet to get there.

[ghost-on-my-trick-till-i]

hey I wanna talk about this right here.

im your resident "super normal about Yomiel" and this just breaks me it.

you ever think about all Yomiel has been through. he was wrongly accused of selling government secrets and it ended in his untimely death, but his death was only partial. his body may no longer be living but his soul still lives on. by the time he remembered who he was and got his body back, his fiance had killed herself. and due to being legally dead there was no home for him to create new relationships and get back that life he had lost. he was dead but not allowed to die.

he wanted so badly to get back at those involved in the incident that caused his death, so much so that he was not only willing to kill, but cooperate with a foreign country. he worked on his revenge plan for at least five years, most likely more.

the only thing he had to call a friend was one cat, a cat he named after his dead fiance. Sissel was all he had, he had no home, no family, no friends, no job, no life. he was driven insane via pure loneliness.

but despite that, all it took for his revenge plan to be over, was to be understood.

for the first time in ten years, Yomiel met someone who not only listened to his story, but felt bad for him. thats all it took.

Now think about Lynne. Lynne who had been held hostage as a kid, and now being targeted for being there. her idol was to be executed for a murder he didnt commit, her mentor had been caught in an explosion and had broken many bones, a child she had been taking care of for five years had been kidnapped and now they were due to die. and its all the fault of the guy right in front of her.

but she listens to what he had to say. she cries for him. Lynne despite everything has decided to be empathetic to someone who really doesnt deserve it, but it manges to help him realise all hes done. his revenge was over.

i just really appreciate this moment. it really gets me man. the Yomiel Lynne dynamic needs to get more attention, i need them to talk, about everything.

AAAAAAAAAAAAA

[ilysmcoups]

hi guys !

this is a plea, a call for help from one student to another.

I know you are all waiting for the Rental Romance Mingyu fic to be published and I can't lie, so am I.

HOWEVER, I physically cannot post when my brothers and sisters are dying on the streets. The country i live in has practically announced war on its students. I can't fit the whole thing here so I'll just say it in short even though I'll be missing out on a lot of details.

Bangladeshi students started a protest for the reformation of the quota system in Bangladesh. What started as a peaceful protest turned into a warzone across Bangladesh when the police started shooting at the unarmed students. This quota system is a system that has an effect on government jobs, which gave 30% quota on the govt. jobs to the children and grandchildren of those who fought the liberation war of 1971.

That's right. 1971. 53 years. However, most of the freedom fighters did not accept this quota system or the "allowance" they got, claiming that "we fought for independence, not for this."

Now, instead of having this 30% quota reformed, they opened fire on unarmed students, killing over 1000. Though the official body count is 250, countless eyewitnesses state the count is much more. I, myself, doubt how can the official count be 250 if there are 80+ unidentified bodies that had to be buried without anyone claiming them.

This has turned into a war of getting the dictatorial reign of our Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, to step down from her position as she has made no effort to stop the police or even once, admitted to her faults. In fact, 40% of the deaths are caused by the student political wing under her, Student League.

To this date, 4th of August 2024, we suspect the death count to be over 1500. This includes 10+ kids, starting from age 4. These kids were shot with bullets, from helicopters flying low, in their own homes. The safety of their own homes. On the balcony, through the window and even, one bullet piercing through the metal of the grills of a window.

Remember, I said that this isn't even half of it so if this seems long to you, imagine the rest. There are countless videos on social media. With all this happening, I am sorry but as a student myself, I cannot keep quiet.

I'm sorry if this shows up on tags you do not want it to show up on, but my country is burning. Please, please, please, spread awareness. International coverage is what we need the most right now. My brothers are dying, my sisters are dying.

Will I be next?

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 18

part 1, prev part

The seat vinyl creaks when Steve sits down next to him. Having come back after dropping Dustin off. Wayne wasn’t expecting him to but here he was. Sitting and playing with the hem of his sweater.

“The kid home?”

Steve nods. Eyes glassy. “How long has Eddie been doing that? Cursing at you.”

Wayne shifts in his seat. “Twice. That I’ve been here at least. Had to take a break after the first time, heard he swore up and down at the nurses. They had to restrain him, so he didn’t pull the IV out.”

Or worse. Eddie’s not a violent person. But in this state, there’s really no telling what he’ll do. He’s still remembering how to be himself again.

Wayne thought that he’d be angrier at them restraining him. He wasn’t though. They had to put their safety first, and he understood that. It was his own hands that have restrained him twice now. Knowing the unusual strength that he has while fighting. All his energy rushing to do so, exhausting him.

Leaving him just like he is now. Sleeping.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to see that,” Steve says softly. “I know it can’t be easy. I barely knew him and I’m upset, I can’t imagine what you’re feeling.”

Wayne doesn’t even know what he’s feeling half the time. He can’t even start to care about how other’s think he’s feeling.

“How did you and him end up together over spring break anyway?” he asks to skirt the conversation. Offering the olive branch he should have extended the first time he realized that Steve knew the real truth.

Steve lets out a long sigh. “It was Dustin really. When the news broke that morning, Dustin and Max came into the shop and convinced us to find Eddie. We did, he told us what happened, and we knew that it was true. Then we went looking to try and find the person who did it.”

“Did you?” The question has depth beyond those two words. Wayne searching the way Steve responds to see if this is the same person that put his boy here. If that person is still a threat to them all.

“Yeah,” he nods. With lingering uncertainty. “If everything went the way we planned, he won’t be coming back.”

It shouldn’t have to have come down to kids. This fight, this hunt, whatever it was, Wayne’s not so sure why it was highschoolers chasing after them. Not the police, or the government. Not like Wayne trusted them in the slightest. It just seemed like a better option than children.

The conversation pauses, both wondering what to say next. Still bridging that gap from acquaintances to friends. If that’s anything close to what they are going to be. Wayne has found friends in unknowing places these last few weeks. People adding him on a roster he never thought he’d be a part of. Supporting him through all of this.

Helping him through the hardest time he’s ever gone through.

“I talked to Dustin, told him to take a break from visiting Eddie for a few days. Told me you said the same.”

“Yeah, I did. The kid pushes himself to do more than he needs to.”

Steve nods, crossing his arms. “I know. I love him to death, but he doesn’t know when to give up. Especially when the people he loves are hurt.”

Another pause.

“I wanted to thank you for being there for him, it’s been helping him a lot.”

There wasn’t a scenario in Wayne’s mind where he would ever not be there for the kid. It was the easiest decision he’s had to make since all of this started.

“It’s no problem. He’s a good kid and I know Eddie cares for him a lot.”

“I do too. He’s like a brother to me and this has been hard for all of us. And, I haven’t been able to be there for him as much as I want to be, with all of the things I’ve gone through since spring break. Your plate hasn’t exactly been empty either. Thank you for taking the time to look out for him. He might not show it, but he’s really grateful that you’re here.”

Wayne can’t help but smile at that.

next part

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[and-so-he-rambled]

Costume

(Gotham Rogue Vlad Masters)

Masterlist

“You’re going to fight Batman?” Daniel’s curious eyes peeked over the table, watching Vlad feed material into the sewing machine.

“Not exactly, I’m planning to avoid him as much as possible, but I’m sure we will cross paths.”

“Are you going to fight him with your superpowers?”

“No, remember how no one can find out we’re special? Not even Batman, he’d turn us in to the bad men.”

“Oh.” Daniel continued to watch him as he cut and arranged black material. He’d gone light on any body armour since he didn’t need it and needed the extra movement. He did have some for appearances and in case his powers still were on the fritz by the time he went out. He was getting better with time, but it wasn’t perfect.

“You should be a Badger.”

Vlad paused, looking at the child.

“Pardon?”

“A badger! Wait here!” The boy ran off, leaving Vlad staring after him.

He returned with his animal encyclopedia, plopping in on the table and pointing to a honey badger.

“You call me little badger and so Jazz showed me, I’m this one.” He pointed to the badger on the next page, a European badger. “But these ones are called Honey Badgers and they’re really cool and mean, and you should be one like Catwoman is a cat.”

Vlad thought that over. It did seem on brand for a Gotham rogue to have a theme, and while he was only planning on petty thievery it couldn’t hurt. He had gone more for the vampire look once his fangs had grown in but a badger was different enough that nobody would connect the two identities.

“I’m not calling myself Badgerman.” Daniel giggled at that, delighted. “Perhaps you’re on to something though.”

“Would you help me pick a design? I just can’t choose myself.”

Daniel’s eyes lit up in joy as he ran away to go find his drawing pad.

Jazz and Daniel worked together for the next few hours, his sister keeping him from making it too complicated. They ended up with a catsuit with a gray stripe down the back with lots of secret pockets and zippers. The mask he had to make a few alterations on, but it had a more American badger design with white down the center of the face and up the cheeks, leaving two stripes of black over his eyes. Jazz vetoed the full cape, with both Vlad and Danny complained about, but he managed to sell her on the shoulder cape.

“I can’t believe I’m going to become a two bit criminal for a giant bat.” Vlad murmered at he started in on his sixth hour of costume creation. He’d cheated with being able to change his ghost clothing at will after a few years of trial and error, this was hard. “I was supposed to be a scientist.”

Jazz was face down on the table, but she raised an arm to synthetically pat at him.

“Th’ goal is t’ avoid th’ bat.” She reminded him sleepily before falling back alseep. He took a break to bring her to bed.

The first goal when they got a payout was to get an apartment with their new identities. As much as he wanted them to stay ghosts it wasn’t feasible for the kids. They needed lives, to be children. Daniel was getting better control of his powers with daily training and eventually he might be able to go to school.

Vlad knew they couldn’t stay in Gotham forever, that once day the government would catch up to them and they’d have to disappear again, he was pretty Jazz knew it too. He needed to give them something before that happened. This time he’d spread the money into off shore accounts, they’d never be left with nothing again.

[luveline]

Hi jadeybabes!! Like everyone else I’m adoring the soulmate prince au and I’m wondering if we could have a peek into Steve’s thoughts and feelings about finding his soulmate after searching so long and rushing to a quick wedding even though they hardly know each other?

Like we’ve seen reader’s apprehension and insecurities mixed up with just how kind and pretty she thinks he is, and I’m wondering what’s going through Steve’s head? Love you!

hi lovely, love u ♡ prince!steve au fem, 1.2k

His private gardens are silent beyond the low hum of dragonflies zipping across the pond and the creak of his hammock. The old trees he's suspended between don't move an inch, but the netted fabric Steve lays on curls tight with every slow swing.

He can smell hyacinth where it grows at the perimeter of the bluegrass, and the fragrant cocoa of his hot chocolate steaming on the paving stones beneath him. There are a hundred beautiful things to savour out here in the evenings, but Steve can think about nothing but you. Your eyes, the timid sweet smile you give him when he's touching you. Your voice, and how you speak to him when you're alone. 

Steve knows he's likely the only person fortunate enough in his entire kingdom to meet his soulmate when he desired it. Which isn't to say he didn't hold out hope when he was young, thinking one day he'd meet them, a diplomat's daughter or the child of a visiting King. He knows it was stupid to assume his soulmate would be another royal, but when you're a kid you believe what you're told. 

"Well, of course she'll be educated," his mother would say, sitting two feet away at the dining table, an oyster spoon in hand. "Slight, well-mannered, quiet. You'll be king, so she'll need to be strong. She'll need to know how to take a beating." 

Steve remembers thinking, Why? It's not as if I'll hit her. 

It's still true, but he can guess what she meant: To be thrust into the spotlight and with little choice in the manner, you have to have a strong disposition. Steve can't not be a Prince. His soulmate can't not want to marry him. She'll need to buckle up. 

He doesn't technically agree with his mother's thoughts back then, but he understands them. Steve believes you have much more choice in the manner, and he's dedicated to giving you that choice even if the wedding is being forced on you both. He wants to make this something you want too. 

Sighing, Steve rakes a hand through his hair. He needs time to himself, without Robin or Munson and especially without his mother's lady's maids. Steve finds his days stolen and his time delegated, richocheting between government, education, fencing, fittings, toning, training. He can keep up. He doesn't mind. But without an hour alone every now and then, he'll explode. 

He stretches out as much as the hammock allows with a frankly hideous groan. His neck and shoulders pop. What he really needs is an hour with the masseuse, Claire. Before Steve met you, he thought she was his soulmate. She has nice hands. 

He hears you before he sees you, your footsteps on the pathway. He immediately sits up from the hammock with mild grace, standing in the grass with no idea where to put his hands. 

He clasps them behind his back as you come into view. 

"Hi, Steve," you say hesitantly. 

He can't help it —he sees you and a smile splits his face. Trying not to come on too strong is out the window. 

"Hi," he says. You've stopped a couple of feet away. The light of your soul mark is muted to near invisibility, tinged somewhere between pink and purple. It looks ethereal against your skin. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine. Uh, Robin said you'd be here. That they'd let me through." 

"Only you," he says. He told them quite concisely that you're the single person permitted to interrupt his time alone. 

"I can come back later." 

"No, tell me what's wrong." 

"It's… Why do you assume something's wrong?" 

"Because you've willingly sought me out?" he asks with a well-meaning laugh. 

It's the wrong thing to say. You shift from foot to foot, rubbing your palms together sheepishly. "I guess it was stupid. I'm sorry, you can, uh, you can go back to what you were doing. Sorry, Steve." 

"Wait a second!" he says, though he drops his volume when you flinch. "Wait, no, don't– Don't leave, I didn't mean that you can't come and find me unless there's something wrong. I want to talk to you. Really badly. That's why I told them to let you in." 

"About what?" 

"About everything," he says. 

You and Steve sit on one of the steps leading down to the fish pond. It's a beautiful feature with mirror clean waters and water lilies, their petals a quiet pink melding into sunshine orange. He points at it, his head inclined to yours. 

"Nymphaea aurora," he murmurs. The water ripples, a darkening purple reflection of the sky as the sun sets. "They're bred for the colour specifically." 

"Do you like those ones?" you ask him. 

"I like all of them." He doesn't know how to explain how he feels, the dawning hope of being close to you, the magnetic tethering. "We could get different stuff if you wanted. It'll be your garden too, soon," he says, watching fondly as you draw your legs a touch closer and bend at the waist, hugging your thighs. "Are you tired?" 

"Kind of, but I know you're busy tomorrow." You want to talk to him as much as he wants to talk to you. He tries hard not to feel smug. 

"I'm really sorry. We shouldn't be separated right now, we should be spending the week together." It's a common phenomena. People meet their soulmates and disappear for days on end together, appearing later to beg forgiveness, cheeks aglow with joy. He wanted that with you. He wants whatever he can get.

Steve drops his voice to a whisper, bending at the waist to meet you eye to eye, "Do you want to run away with me tomorrow?" 

You don't flinch, wince, or smile. Tentative, you whisper back, "You couldn't run away." 

"Just for the day. We'll wear fake eyeglasses and sunhats and slip out in the morning when they change the guards. I've done it before." 

"You have?" 

"So many times. What do you think of that?" 

"What would we do all day?" you whisper. 

"Anything we want. Sneak into the opera house, eat dinner in the square from the food carts. We can finally get to know one another. Just you and me," he says softly.

Your tired smile tugs at the corners. 

"Okay. Yeah, I want to go." 

He reaches across the gap to stroke your cheek, a brisk, wanting line from the highest point to the skin shy of your jaw. In the evening dark, your face awash with the milky light of the appearing moon, you're the prettiest girl he's ever seen. 

You laugh softly and turn your face away, shaking your head before sitting up altogether. 

Steve sits up. "Then we'll go. But we should head to bed now, I'll have to wake you up in a few hours. They've started to expect my escape in the morning." 

Steve walks you back to your room. He wants to kiss you goodnight, and there's a pause where he thinks about it before telling you goodnight. When your door closes behind you, he has to stop himself from knocking and asking if you want to leave now. 

He's eager to get to know you, but you both have time. 

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Something Wicked This Way Comes AU Skits:

A government agent: Would you like to join our team of highly trained and special indivi-

Reader: F*ck off

Government agent: I really think you'd like this program of ours-

Reader: I said f*ck off

Government agent: But you haven't even heard of what you'd get-

Reader: I'd get brainwashed and set on your personal enemies like a dog, believe me, we know the shtick, now f*ck off! I'm drinking my beer!

Reader: is nursing on a root beer

Government agent: knocks the drink out of Reader's hands

Reader: ...

Reader: You little f*ckin' @&>/ !!!! tackles them, biting and scratching, then kicks them out of the soda shop

Reader, answering why they haven't sought out their old "pals", Wolverine and Sabretooth: Well, would YOU try to seek out someone who you haven't had a decent conversation with since the early 1900s who then stabbed you in the guts after his brain got scrambled, or seek out the guy who got so fried in the noggin he tossed ya off a freakin' cliff after beating you to a bloody pulp? No? Well, that's what I thought!

The X-Teens: What the h*ll??!!😨😰

The Brotherhood: That's b*dass!!!🤩😍

The adults: Who did you say you were, again, Mx. Reader? 🧐🤨

Wolverine: I tore their guts out? Poor kid... Hmmm... something still isn't adding up...

Sabretooth: Eh, I toss a lot of people off a cliffs... and turn a lot of people into bloody pulp. Good on them for surviving! Except they seem too familiar to be just a random hit...

Reader: sweating bullets Um... I'm... leaving, right now! runs off, disappearing into the streets

Everyone: ... Okay, we need them as our new member-

Reader, seeing the X-Teens broke into their house and took something: Oh you little...

Reader: JAMES LOGAN CREED HOWLETT!!! GET YOUR F*CKIN *SS DOWN HERE TO FIX YOUR BRATS' MESS, OR SO HELP ME I WILL DRAG YOU BACK HERE BY YOUR F*CKIN' EAR!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!

Logan: Who the h*ll is screaming at 1:00am in the morning?!

Logan: spots his kids sneaking into the mansion carrying an old and stained box

Logan: Kids. What. Did. You. Do.

The X-Teens: ... Um... we, um... maybestolesomethingfromReader!! But we had to! They're not telling us something, and we think it's important!

Logan: Well, it looks like you're all returning it, unless you want to be in the Danger Room for the next five hours 😡

The X-Teens: Please, just a peek! 🥺

Logan: ... Ugh, fine, just one look. Then we're gettin' in the car and returning it, you hear me?

The X-Teens and Logan, looking into the box: 😶

The box: full of video tapes, recorders, old papers and journals, and different rocks and fossils and old heirloom jewelry

Logan: Okay, fine, you take one thing, something that would be hard to miss-

Kitty: Done! grabbed an old recorder

Logan: I'll hold onto that, since you kids got us into this mess

Later-

Logan, listening to one of the many recordings in shock: It's been nearly two centuries, but I still miss James and Victor, even if they were both quite brash at times... Boys, right? ... Ha... I think Jimmy is called "Logan" nowadays... I think I should leave him be; he seems happy with his friends, he doesn't need me anymore... I suppose Victor doesn't need me, either... I guess it's hard to miss someone that they can't remember... well, I think that perhaps this summer I'll be able to finally pass-

Logan: pauses the old recording

Logan: ... I need to find them, NOW-

[tarre-was-right]

ROUND ONE: MATCH-UP TWO (CORRECTED VERSION)

Remember, this is NOT about who would win in a fight. This is about who makes the best leader for Mandalore as a whole.

Explanation post

Seeding

Propaganda below the cut! You can submit more on this post and I will reblog it back to here!

KORKIE KRYZE

Anon: props for Korkie! We don't know enough to say that he'd be bad at the job like some people! He probably learned some of both what to do and what not to do from his aunts which gives him a leg up in the actual ruling part of things!

@spacetime1969: The kid's got that mandokar spirit. A little more practice in leadership and he could really shape up into someone great.

Anon: Korkie Kryze would be Satine's heir (if we assume she's a monarch rather than an elected official), he was raised to have a position in government, he helped end the career of a corrupt government official, he took classes under Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano. Additional propaganda: He's my special little guy.

Anon: Korkie has been training basically his whole life to lead Mandalore, has seen first hand the struggles that Satine’s Mandalore had, he also knows what went wrong with the more traditional rulers of Mandalore, so he is perfectly poised to compromise the pacifist ideals of the New Mandalorians and the traditional values of the other citizens of Mandalore.

Anon: For Korkie propaganda: he was literally raised for the role; he showed himself to be a good leader and concerned with his people well-being; he actively works for and fights for his people when we see him; also he's loyal and smart which is always a bonus.

SABINE WREN

Anon: Girlie is the eldest daughter of House Wren, with ties to House Viszla— and therefore has a claim to the heritage of Tarre himself. With the smarts and training her position gave her, she has always put her family and Mandalore first. She made a mistake as a child, and it has been one she has been making strides to set right since such time. She recovered the Darksaber that Maul stole, and began resistance to the imperial threat, battled and fought honorably for her people and family. Respecting both New Mandos pacificism and not discounting their efforts of resistance as well as paying homage to her warrior heritage, she was further trained by the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ahsoka Tano to meter her flaws. When she first had the sword, she acknowledged she was too young to lead, and gave up her sword to her elder. Now older, and hopefully wiser, the last standing heiress of clan Wren absolutely has it in her to lead Mandalore in a new era.

@spacetime1969: She's arguably one of the only two people on this list who actually won the darksaber in a proper duel (Not when she reclaimed it from Maul, but when she fought Saxon for it). Not really the point of the poll I know, but it could help her get political support. She rallied her clan and their allies into a rebellion against the Empire. She was the one who legitimized Bo-Katan's rule as Mand'alor by giving her the darksaber. She has experience leading from her time in the rebellion.

[fluentmoviequoter]

Do Something!

Requested Here!

Pairing: Jim Street x fem!reader (works an LAPD desk job)

Summary: 20-David is tired of watching you and Street pretend not to be in love with each other, too oblivious to realize your feelings are reciprocated. When you distance yourself from Street, they have to encourage him to do something.

Warnings: brief angst, vague mentions of insecurity, fluff, comfort at the end

Word Count: 2.3k+ words

When you transferred to work a desk job in LAPD SWAT, mostly comprised of completing paperwork and applying for grants and government funding, you were warned of several things. Those warnings, focused on the officers' high-pressure lifestyles and gruff exteriors, did not mention how easy it would be to fall for one of them.

The moment you met Jim Street, he captured your entire attention. Several months into your new job, you have fallen in love with him. He is a SWAT officer, incredibly handsome, and absolutely out of your league. So, you’ve decided to watch him from a distance, do what you can to help him, and hope your feelings pass like a high school crush. Unfortunately, falling in love with someone isn’t as easy to move on from.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Hondo,” Hicks calls from his office doorway. “We need two accounts of yesterday’s raid for the paperwork. They’re waiting for it.”

“I’ll go,” Street volunteers.

“You want to do paperwork?” Hicks asks.

“No, he wants to see the girl who submits it,” Luca answers. “He’s in love with her but won’t admit it.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Street argues.

“Which part?”

“Uh, the love part. I don’t even know her.”

“Street, kid, you don’t have to know someone to fall for them,” Deacon says, patting Street’s shoulder. “But I’ll give the other account and then get out of your way.”

“Hey, try to pick up some courage on the way!” Luca calls after Street.

“You could always just tell her you like her, ask her out, send her a letter, whatever you do,” Deacon reminds Street.

“She doesn’t feel the same,” Street laments.

Deacon shakes his head, wondering what he did to have to deal with not one but two oblivious idiots who are in love with each other but won’t admit it.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Hi, Sergeant Kay, Officer Street,” you greet. “This should be quick.”

Deacon knows the drill, and you type while he tells you what happened. When he concludes, you print it and pass it to him for proofreading and his signature. Carrying through on his promise to Street, Deacon leaves as soon as he’s done, praying that something happens while you’re alone in the office.

“Alright, your turn, Officer Street.”

“You can just call me Street,” he offers.

“Okay, Street. Just start talking whenever you’re ready. Tell me everything you remember.”

As you did with Deacon, you type quickly, keeping your eyes on the screen so you don’t get distracted by Street sitting across the desk. After you print the report, you sit back and watch him read it. You must avoid daydreaming, and luckily, Jim passes the paper back to you before you can begin.

“Thank you,” you say, inhaling deeply when your fingers brush his.

“Need anything else from me?”

Everything, you think, yet you say, “That’s it for now. Thank you for coming so quickly. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to return the favor.”

Street pauses as he stands, and for a moment, you have a glimmer of hope that something will happen, but then he says, “Thanks,” and walks out of the door.

Sighing, you slouch in your chair and take a few breaths before returning to your duties.

✯✯✯✯✯

Street and Luca are sparring, and Luca barely misses Street’s face when he suddenly drops the punching pad.

“Whoa, dude, what the heck was that?” Luca exclaims.

Street is looking over his shoulder, so Luca turns quickly, shaking his head when he sees what made Street speechless and immobile. You’re standing with Hicks, dressed in one of your nicest outfits. Street overheard you mention something about a proposal meeting, but he didn’t consider how beautiful you would look for it. Granted, he thinks you’re always beautiful, but his mind wanders to how you’d look on a date with him, and he distantly acknowledges that he is a goner.

“Are you going to stand there and drool over her or do something?” Luca asks.

“What?” Street asks, snapping his mouth closed as he turns to Luca.

“Just ask her out, man, she clearly-“

“Is out of my league. I’m not going to ruin the little bit of friendship we have.”

“So you finally admit you like her.”

“No. I just see her a lot, I guess.”

“You guess,” Luca repeats sarcastically. “You’re an idiot, Streeter.”

Street doesn’t argue, and Luca considers actually punching him in the head to knock some sense into him.

✯✯✯✯✯

When you return from the proposal, you are in a great mood because the private investors love your ideas and feel empowered to do something bold. As soon as you enter SWAT HQ, you begin looking for Street. The worst case scenario is he says no and never wants to see you again, which would be terrible, but you’re hoping for the best: a yes.

Hearing Street’s voice outside the situation room, you smile and round the last corner. Street is talking to Molly Hicks, though, and you freeze, letting your smile fall. Street laughs at something she said, her voice quiet enough that you can’t hear. As Street reaches up to grasp her forearm while he replies in a whisper, you realize that you misread everything you thought was a signal.

Rushing to your office, you close the door and lay your head on your desk. You thought Street liked you, too, and that’s why he was a little awkward and different around you. But, no, he chose Molly. And why wouldn’t he? She’s probably better for him than you ever could be.

Your computer chimes with an incoming email, and you brush your hands over your forehead and the top of your hair before burying yourself in paperwork. On any other day, you would procrastinate finishing the more involved forms. Today, you blow through them quickly, desperate to keep your mind off Street and maintain the distance you’ve put between you. If he likes Molly, who are you to get in the way of that?

✯✯✯✯✯

“Molly, Street, to what do I owe this… pleasure-adjacent incident?” Hicks asks.

“Dad,” Molly chides.

“Sorry. What do you want? And, Street, if you tell me you’re dating my daughter-“

“Oh, no, sir,” Street interjects. “We tried once and… we’re good.”

Hicks raises his hands in a request for someone to tell him what’s going on.

“Fine, I’ll ask,” Molly says. “Can SWAT officers date other LAPD employees?”

“Depends on the person, their departments, histories.” He looks over to Street to add, “For example, a SWAT officer and a, let’s say, grant writer and secretarial employee, would be able to have a relationship. The officer just may have to give action reports to a different employee to complete the paperwork without bias.”

“Oddly specific example,” Street jokes. “But I still think this is a terrible idea.”

Molly rolls her eyes. “Jim here thinks that his feelings aren’t reciprocated.”

“You’re kidding me, right? I didn’t think you were this oblivious.”

“Rude, sir,” Street argues.

“I called him an idiot,” Molly adds.

“Yeah, that fits, too,” Hicks agrees.

“This isn’t really helping my confidence level, guys.”

“I’m sure your ego can take it.”

✯✯✯✯✯

You usually leave around the same time as Street, but after waiting for five minutes and seeing no sign of you, Street walks out alone. Inside your office, you’re putting the finishing touches on a report, glad to work a few minutes longer to avoid Street. He may not talk to you much outside of work, but he’s incredibly perceptive and would probably catch on and ask what’s wrong.

Truthfully, you want to move on from Street, want him to be happy no matter who he is with, but you refuse to let him go, though you never really had him. 

Street’s motorcycle is gone when you exit, and you sigh, realizing it will be a long few weeks of avoiding him while your heart heals. If your heart heals.

✯✯✯✯✯

Walking toward your office, you turn when you see Street. It’s been three days since you last saw him, more than that since you talked, but seeing him still makes you feel something. Not only the heartbreak of knowing he chose Molly but the initial happiness stemming from the joy of falling in love with him.

Luca walks by, stopping and taking a few steps backward as he realizes you’re hiding in a doorway. He sees Street down the hall and pieces everything together.

“What’d he do?” Luca asks.

“What did who do?” you reply.

“Street.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s like dealing with middle schoolers,” Luca huffs as he walks away.

When you peek around the corner, Street is gone, and you rush to your office and close the door behind you.

✯✯✯✯✯

The path to Hicks’ office goes straight past the man you’re trying to avoid, but you have time-sensitive documents to deliver. Steeling your nerves and straightening your shoulders, you walk straight to Hicks’ office without looking for anyone in particular.

After you enter the office, Street watches the door. Hondo asks a question, but Street can only focus on you and why he can’t seem to spend any time with you recently, never seeing you for more than a few seconds at a time.

“Street!” Hondo yells, finally getting his attention.

The office door opens, and Street immediately looks away again.

“Oh my- Street, just do something!” Luca exclaims, pushing him forward. 

“Like what? She clearly doesn’t like me! She won’t even look at me! You want me to tell her I love her when the most time I’ve ever spent with her alone was to finish paperwork! That’ll go well, Luca, thanks so much for the great advice.”

You clear your throat behind Street, and when he looks at you, you gesture toward your office. Street follows wordlessly, assuming this is the beginning of being let down slowly. You, however, are doing everything you can to hide your smile. It sounded like he was talking about you, and that’s all the hope you need to put yourself out of your misery. A bad answer is still an answer, and right now, closure sounds better than another sleepless night wondering why you’re not good enough.

✯✯✯✯✯

“So,” Street begins, leaning against your desk.

“Were you talking about me?” you ask, getting straight to the point. “Let’s stop dancing around whatever this is between us, okay?”

“Yeah, I was talking about you,” he confesses. “I’ve had feelings for you for a while, but I thought you didn’t feel the same.”

“What kind of feelings?”

“I- I think I’m falling in love with you. I’ve never felt this before, but I like it.”

“What about Molly? I saw you laughing with her, and-“

“Have you been avoiding me because of that?” Street interjects, realizing that the morning before he talked to Molly was the last time he saw you.

“Yes,” you whisper. “Because you looked happy, and I didn’t- I couldn’t deal with losing you if I was still seeing you.”

“Losing me?”

“I assumed you were with Molly. You said you thought you were falling for me, but I know that I am in love with you. Seeing you happy with someone else while I was too scared to tell you how I feel hurt.”

“Molly was telling me that I was stupid for not telling you,” Street explains, his usual personality beginning to shine through the awkward nervousness.

“Now what?”

“Hicks said we be in a relationship.” You furrow your brows, and Jim clarifies, “It’s not against the rules for us to date, I just have to finds someone else to do my paperwork.”

“Do you want to be in a relationship with me?”

Street notices a shadow hovering outside the door before another joins. He motions for you to be play along, taking your hand as he answers, “No, that’s not what I want.”

You follow his eyes, smiling when you realize someone is listening in.

“Okay,” you answer sadly, interlacing your fingers with his. “Then why’d you say all that?”

“I was confused. We’re- we’re never going to work as more than friends.”

✯✯✯✯✯

“What is happening?” Luca asks.

“This can’t be right,” Hicks answers. “They’ve both been acting like different people and now they’re not going to do anything?”

Hondo moves against the door and can’t stop it before it opens, and Luca topples inside. When he looks up, Street is sitting on your desk, and you’re standing between his legs, his arms around your waist, and your hands pushed in his hair.

“Did you pretend to break up and then start making out?” Luca asks, rolling his shoulder as he stands. “That’s messed up, man.”

“So is eavesdropping,” Street deadpans.

“No more longing looks or hiding in hallways?” Hondo asks. “You’re all good?”

“Better than good,” you answer, smiling at Street.

“Bye,” Street adds, his attention back on you. “Close the door and get away from it on your way out.”

Luca wants to ask for more information about why you hid from Street, having missed the part about Molly, but decides to ask later when he sees you leaning in again.

After the door closes, you hear Hicks inquire, “Did we make a mistake?”

“A big one. They’re going to be inseparable and intolerable,” Hondo answers.

“I think they’re pretty cute together,” Luca says.

“Me too,” Street mumbles against your lips, holding you close so you don’t slip away again.

This moment and the idea of a future being happy with Street is worth everything, you decide. The sadness and long nights have made room for a love you didn’t know existed.

“Still think you’re falling for me?” you tease.

“I may need more information before I update my claim,” Street replies, smiling lazily as he cups the back of your neck to bring you in again.

[hippielittlemetalhead]

Never Took The Time (To Forget) part 4.1 : With a Capital 'P'

Part 4.2 (Hey Dingus? Idk, the title for that one is up in the air.) will be up as soon as I have it somewhere I like (doing a different character's pov instead of Hop so it's giving me some trouble). Felt really bad that I hadn't updated in a while and this one was getting longer than I expected and I hadn't even gotten Robin really talking yet so... Happy Valentine's Day?

Part 1 (Hop Fucks Up), Part 2 (Pride and Prejudices: Joyce Edition), Part 3 (One of Us)

Family Video and the Arcade were two of the few businesses still operating after the inter-dimensional earthquakes that had tried tearing their town to pieces. Hop knew the kid who used to run the place for his uncle, Keith, had split town with his folks (said uncle in tow) leaving the store and arcade in the care of whatever employees had been willing to stay on payroll while the world fell apart.

He watches as Harrington's (more banged up than never remembers it being) car stops in front of the video store, parked parallel to the curb across at least 3 parking spots, as a wildly gesticulating Robin rolls herself out of the idling vehicle, jabbering loud enough that Hop can hear her voice from down the block. With most cars owned by the folks of Hawkins being commandeered by Owens' government goons to fill the gaps left by lost military vehicles it doesn't much matter but Hop can't help a bit of an eye roll at the kid's audacity.

But then again, he catches himself thinking, Steve was one of the only 'civilians' in-the-know and was well-known for carting around and protecting proven assets to the War Of The Worlds shitshow going on. So was there really an issue if the kid was one of the only cars on the road anyway and because he was even more read-in on the situation than even local law enforcement? If he was not only transporting and protecting people the government had a vested interest in but had proven himself more effective than even Hop and Joyce in wrangling the kids who had basically been saving the world for the last 4 years? If he kept them safe and out of harm's way in the thick of it but also kept them entertained and out from underfoot during the downtime?

Hell, the kid being one of the only employees left at some of the last businesses in town these brats would have any interest in almost guarantees the whole lot of them are continuously stocked in movies, snacks and quarters to distract them from even the most world shaking of calamities.

It hadn't occurred to him until just now what it meant for The Party that Steve and Robin seemed to be the only ones willing to hang around behind the counter at the arcade and sell and rent movies to shell-shocked townsfolk and tight-lipped government goons alike. Fuck, Lucas and Mike were right. He was an asshole.

He's pulled out of the slow spiral of realizing Mike Wheeler of all people had been right about something by Steve hollering one last "Love you, Bobby!" at a grinning and waving Buckley as she flung open the video store door and stumbled inside. He waits for the car and it's driver to round the corner before he gets out of his own government-issued station wagon. Fuck but he missed his truck.

"Welcome to Family Video, I literally just got here so you're gonna have to give me a minute before I can help you."

"I'm uh, I'm not here for a movie." He can tell she recognizes his voice (and it's a little impressive how quickly she clocks him since he's spoken only a couple words anywhere near her maybe twice in his memory. Girl has a good ear) from the way her entire body stills for a split second before whirling back into the hurricane of motion he's come to associate with her.

"Afraid we've only got movies round here, officer. You want any other medium of entertainment I'd suggest the arcade or the distribution yard." She's still not looking at him, hands busy shuffling papers and flipping open VHS cases. "Sorry, guess we'll have to catch up another time."

Hop sighs, running a hand over the short growth he's slowly getting used to again. He'd almost shaved it down again but El had been so happy when she'd realized they were growing out at about the same rate. He couldn't ever say no to her.

"Look, I know you don't like me. And it has been brought to my attention just how much I fucking earned that. But I- I need your help here, to fix it."

The flurry of movement doesn't stop but it's tighter, she's fiddling with something shoved up her shirt sleeve and tapping at the casing of a button connected to a wire leading into her green vest. Bright blue eyes are focused on him and he's almost reminded of the no-nonsense look Nancy Wheeler gets whenever they're faced with the world ending, but the girl in front of him is colder. He has no doubts that where Nancy Wheeler would tear down giants for what she believed is right, Robin Buckley would burn the world if it meant saving her people.

"Fine. He'll be back from his patrol-" He didn't remember assigning a patrol schedule and he's not sure if this is Steve's own initiative or if he's been roped into something by Owens' people. "in about twenty minutes. You have fifteen. Now why should I help you?"

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[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Just wanted to let y’all know that I’m about to get real busy for about a week. I’ll do my best to post on the 3rd or 4th, then again on the 7th or 8th. Thanks for understanding! ❤️

Tensions rise the longer El sits, motionless, in front of the staticky TV. Finally, she speaks. “I see her.”

Steve holds up a hand, stopping all conversation. “Is she alive?”

“Yes. Scared. I- I can’t reach her.”

“That’s okay. Is she safe? For now?”

“For now,” El agrees. “But not for long.”

“How long do you think we have?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay. That’s okay. Can you look for Will, or are you too tired right now?”

“I’m tired. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be, it’s alright. I know how this ends already, remember? Here, want me to take the blindfold off?”

“Yes, please.”

“Robs? Tissue for her nose?”

Robin sprints off as Steve kneels behind El to untie the blindfold. “You did great,” he murmurs. “Thank you.”

“I looked.”

“Which is more than any of us can do,” he reminds her.

“Quick question,” Eddie says, raising his hand. “What in the hell is going on?”

“She’s got superpowers,” Steve says. “Hey, El, want us to blow up the labs while we’re at it?”

Eleven manages a shaky smile. “That would make things easier.”

“So, yes?”

She chuckles and leans into him. “I don’t know. I’m very tired.”

“Yeah, okay. Let me get you upstairs and into a bed, yeah?” She nods, looping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes. He chuckles. “I guess I’m carrying you, then?” He asks, but stands anyways, shifting her so she’s in a more comfortable position. “We can talk more once I come back downstairs,” Steve tells the rest of them, “as long as you can talk quietly.”

Nancy smirks. “That might be a little difficult for this group.”

Steve grins, shakes his head, and brings El upstairs. “My bed? Or there’s a guest bed that no one uses.”

She yawns. “Yours?”

“Sure,” he agrees, pushing open his door and tucking her in. “Y’want the door open or closed?”

“Open, please.”

“Alright. Need anything before I go?”

She shakes her head, smiling up at him. “Thank you, Steve.”

He winks at her. “Don’t tell anyone, but you’re my favorite.” She giggles and yawns again, and he chuckles. “Okay, bedtime for real. Night, El.”

“Goodnight, Steve.”

As he walks downstairs, he hears the group talking. He rounds the corner and sees Eddie, Nancy, and Robin in one conversation while the boys have a different one. “Okay,” he says, loud enough to get their attention. “First things first, we need food. If anyone has anything against pizza, speak now or forever hold your peace.” He raises a brow when the boys all start speaking over each other, yelling out their topping preferences. “I’ve known you for three years,” he reminds them. “I know what you want on your pizza.”

“Prove it,” Dustin says, spark in his eyes.

Steve rolls his eyes. “You just want me to prove even more that I’m from the future,” he says, but points to each of the boys in turn. “Pepperoni, meat lovers, pepperoni.”

Lucas narrows his eyes at Steve. “Lucky guess.”

“Christ, what is it going to take with you? You like basketball because you watch it with your dad. You want to try out for the team but are scared you won’t be good enough. You are, by the way, and I help you with some of that. Your little sister Erica is a brat and a loudmouth but you love her and her weird obsession with government.”

“Don’t forget about El,” Robin adds. “She’ll want pizza when she wakes up.”

“Yeah. Eddie? What do you want on your pizza?”

Eddie smirks. “What, you don’t know?”

“I don’t, actually, because we meet while you’re on the run from something you didn’t do. There’s not much time for small talk, and you deferred to the kids when it came to food.”

Eddie looks at him for a long second before nodding. “I like pepperoni just fine,” he says, and Steve nods.

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