#Steve Jobs The Next Insanely Great Thing

[2001hz]

'Steve Jobs The Next Insanely Great Thing!' Wired Magazine Issue ad print (1996)

[supernovafics]

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!actor!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 3.2k words

warnings: asshole!steve, explicit language

summary: you're hoping for the best, perhaps even some sort of miracle, but from the first phone call to the first meeting, it's pretty clear that everything that has been said about him is oh so true

CHAPTER ONE | ❝𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉❞

Steve Harrington’s Newest Film Wins Big at Golden Globes but Actor nowhere to be found at the Awards Show… Partying in Vegas Instead? Full story here!

YouTuber calls Steve Harrington a “Jerk” and “Extremely rude” in podcast documenting her time working with him on the 2020 film “When the World Ends”

Steve Harrington: Another Pretentious Actor or Misunderstood Recluse?

Watch this video of Steve Harrington flipping off Paparazzi in NYC

You’d gone down somewhat of a rabbit hole.

And at first it was supposed to help you. 

There was no problem you couldn’t solve, and this Steve Harrington problem was just another thing to check off of your never ending list. You were in search of any piece of information that would tell you that the next three months being his assistant would not be the absolute worst. Anything that said that he was at least somewhat of a good guy, that the narrative of him being an asshole wasn’t actually the only narrative out there.  

However, you’d ended up feeling even more worried than how you initially felt when Jessie told you everything hours earlier. It seemed as if every article about him included something bad, and the only good thing they would say about him was how great of an actor he was— how he was close to being the next Leo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix, etc etc— which you already knew and didn’t care that much about because that information wouldn’t help solve your problem. Him being a good actor didn’t mean that he had a good personality, and every single article seemed to tell you exactly that; except the paparazzi thing because that sounded completely justified since paparazzi sucked. 

In the end, when you forced yourself out of the hole because it was nearing midnight and you had to wake up early, you convinced yourself that maybe all of those articles weren’t even completely true. It wouldn’t be the first time that celebrity news outlets exaggerated their stories to make them more interesting; maybe his reputation as an insanely rude person was actually not as true as it was portrayed to be. And you let that hopeful, and potentially delusional, thought put you to sleep. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Jessie: Here’s Steve’s number

Jessie: Once again, thank you for doing this!

You’d forgotten that you asked her for his phone number last night during your deep dive of him. 

You simply stared at it for a moment before texting Jessie back a quick “Thank you” and moving on to look at the other notifications that were taking over your phone; the slew of emails that came through in the middle of the night and early morning along with voicemails from calls you’d already missed because even though it was early for you, on the east coast it was already almost ten. It probably wasn’t healthy to wake up and immediately throw yourself into your work, but it felt like second nature at this point.

When there was somewhat of a lull in your day and you were sitting on your couch after enduring an hour-long Zoom call with the Executive Producers of the movie along with the heads of every department to make sure that everyone was on the same page for filming, you decided to finally call Steve. It felt slightly weird having to call him instead of a secondary person to talk about what you needed to, but you didn’t want to call his actual assistant who was probably not supposed to be thinking about her job right now.

You honestly didn’t expect him to answer, and you thought you’d have to leave a voicemail and hope that he’d get back to you sooner rather than later, but he answered on the fourth ring with a quick, “Hello?” 

“Hey,” You responded and then tried to mask the surprise in your voice by letting out a small cough. “I got your number from Jessie Robbins. I’m going to be your assistant during the filming of Fear of Lonesome. My name is–”

“Doesn’t matter,” He interrupted you. “You said you’re going to be my new assistant?”

You still told him your name anyway and then answered his question. “Yes, just for the three months of filming. I wanted to call before it starts in a week. Just to get any numbers that are important, or if there’s any specific information I should know.” 

He sighed as if he was completely annoyed by your voice and the fact that you were calling him right then. “My other assistant has all of that information. I’ll text you her number.” 

“Um, okay, thanks. But–”

He hung up before you could finish your statement and you stared at your phone for a moment before dropping it next to you on the couch. That short interaction with him was more than enough to let you know that those articles you read last night were all so very true. 

You let out a sigh in frustration and then another one when your phone pinged with a text message from him with the number of his real assistant. According to the text, her name was Sheila. 

There was no way that you were going to call a pregnant woman that was on bedrest due to stress; stress that you quickly concluded was probably caused by this job and having to deal with Steve Harrington on a daily basis. 

Therefore, you instead decided to text her, asking the same stuff that you’d just asked Steve, but barely five minutes from the moment you hit send, she called you. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, I would’ve texted you back, but all of this felt like way too much to type,” She began and then immediately continued. “I sent Steve all of the information that the new assistant would need, and why I am not at all surprised that he didn’t give it to you. Text me your email and I’ll send you the folder. It has the numbers for everyone else on his team, and there’s also a calendar with all of his commitments and stuff for the next few months. It’s pretty empty because of filming, and he likes to fully prioritize that, but his publicist might throw something in here and there because he likes to force him to do some public events even though Steve despises them. So, I’d say just check it every now and again.” 

That folder sounded like the holy grail. You could feel your frustrations slowly easing away. “Yes, thank you so much.”

“No problem. I hope that will make things a bit easier for you. Steve can be pretty intense most of the time,” Sheila said, and that made you further imagine what these three months would be like; signs were still pointing to bad. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Yeah, of course.”

“Why is he…” You trailed off unsure of the best way to finish your question.

“An asshole?” Sheila concluded for you, and it was hard to bite back your laugh.

“I was gonna be slightly nice and just say rude, but yours works too.” You said, letting out another small laugh. “Why is he like that?” 

“He’s just really serious. Never does much else but work. I swear I don’t remember the last time he did anything fun.” 

Hearing that answer surprised you. It also meant that the Vegas article was definitely a stretch. You couldn’t help but wonder what the truth was, but you decided not to ask. 

“How do you deal with him?” 

Sheila was quiet for a moment, as if she was really thinking about her answer. “Eventually he’ll grow on you. Kinda like a fungus? Sorry, that was probably a horrible analogy.” 

“No, that sounds like it’ll be accurate,” You said and then silently prayed that these months would fly by.

“If you’re ever confused or need anything, or just want to rant about him, don’t hesitate to call or text me. I’ll be stuck in the same place until this baby’s out of me.” 

Sheila was really nice, and you could tell that she genuinely meant her words, but you didn’t want to have to bother her again; she deserved a break from all of this.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You’d woken up at five thirty in the morning on the first day of filming with a text from Steve. 

It was his coffee and breakfast order and the name of the place that he wanted you to get it from.

Seeing that text from him almost made you want to laugh given that the last message you’d sent him was you thanking him for Sheila’s number which went unanswered.

There were a bunch of things that were already being thrown at you when you got onto set that morning, but you decidedly avoided it all to first head to Steve’s trailer. 

You were determined to make the day go well; hoping that it would set a precedent for what the next few months would be like. And giving him his stupid coffee and breakfast order sounded like the best first thing to do to make sure that everything went well with you two. 

When he opened the door after you gave it three quick knocks, you greeted him with a smile. 

“Hey, good morning,” You said as you handed him the coffee and the bag with his breakfast sandwich. You then pulled out the folded piece of paper that had been in your back pocket, giving that to him as well. “The shooting schedule for today.”

“Mhm,” Steve said, placing the paper and bag down somewhere next to him. He took a sip of his coffee before pulling out his phone and focusing his attention on that. He glanced up at you for a brief moment and his eyebrows slightly furrowed as if he was surprised you were still standing there. “I’ll call or text you if I need anything.”

Before you could say anything in response to that, he shut the door. 

This was your life now. 

In hindsight, maybe it was dumb of you to think that you’d have some sort of an actual introduction with him— especially with how the last, which had also been the first, time you talked to him went— but still, a small part of you had been hoping that you’d be proven wrong. 

You were kind of over hoping for that now, though. Because at this point, it was pretty clear to you what he was like, and it would definitely be dumb of you to continue to hope for something different. 

You’d dealt with an insane amount of rude people in Hollywood— actors, actresses, directors, pretty much anyone that at some point had some sort of seniority over you— and some of them had actually been worse than Steve. But there was something about this interaction that took the cake for you. 

Maybe it was because those past moments had been one-offs. Yes, some random actor or Hollywood exec had been a dick to you, but it would be a rarity if you had to talk to them again. However, with Steve Harrington, you’d have to deal with him for the next three months. 

You started walking away from his trailer and somehow almost immediately ran into Jessie. 

She started to smile at you until she noticed the look on your face. “Oh no, you look mad. What’s happened already?”

You plastered on a fake smile. “Oh, everything’s going fine. I gave him his coffee and stupid breakfast sandwich, he said he’ll call or text if he needs anything, and then he closed the door in my face before I could say anything.” You dropped the smile and gave her a deadpan look. “I honestly don’t even think he knows my name.”

She grimaced before giving you a hopeful smile. “I’m so grateful for you. These months will speed by, I promise.”

“Ninety days and counting,” You said, trying to match her hopeful smile but it still felt too fake. 

She opened her mouth to say something else, but your name being called on the small walkie talkie hanging from your back pocket interrupted her. 

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Jessie told you as she started heading in a different direction, and you nodded before grabbing your walkie talkie.

“Yeah, I’m here,” You responded, making your voice sound as light as possible. “What’s up?”

Darryl, who was the head of the art department, proceeded to tell you that an important part of the set had yet to be delivered and they couldn’t finish preparing the set that would be used in today’s scenes without it. 

You let out a sigh as you took a quick glance at your watch; 7:30am. “I talked to the delivery company yesterday and they said they’d have it here by 7. I’ll call them again right now, and I’m headed to you now too.”

Even with the immediate stress you felt from this situation that you now needed to fix, it somehow still felt easier than having to deal with Steve. For the time being, you could focus fully on your actual job and keep your mind far away from him. Until he ultimately needed you for something, and the thought of that made you inwardly roll your eyes. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

When your phone pinged with a notification you expected it to be something from Steve. Even though you’d given him the lunch he requested barely an hour ago, you wouldn’t have been surprised if he wanted something else. Instead, it was a notification that his calendar had been updated. 

His publicist, whose name you learned as Tom, put an interview on the schedule for today; an interview that Steve would need to get to in three hours. Sheila was very right when she said that he’d just randomly add things to the calendar. 

Filming for the day wasn’t over yet and was still supposed to go on for a while, but you were already thinking of ways to somehow make this work. And as you headed to Steve’s trailer that was the only thing on your mind.

Your knuckles rapped on the door a few times and you could hear his voice through the door yell out a loud,“Yeah?”

You took that as your cue to enter instead of waiting for him to open the door, which you assumed would never happen. 

He was sitting on the small couch that took up the farthest part of the trailer with headphones in his ears and a script in his hand that had his full attention. He pulled one headphone out and looked at you. 

“Tom set up this interview thing with BuzzFeed for today. It’s in about three hours. I can tell Jessie that we have to end filming a bit earlier today, which should be fine if we–”

“No,” He interrupted you with a shake of his head, and you fought the urge to roll your eyes because of how often that was happening. “Tell Tom I’m not gonna do that.” 

You looked at him, confused. “What? Is that allowed?” 

Steve shrugged. “He’ll deal with it.”

You almost asked him why he was refusing the interview, but you had a feeling that he wouldn’t give you an answer and he’d probably just get annoyed at you.

“Alright then,” You said instead as you started opening the door. “I’ll call him now.” 

Steve simply nodded at you before putting his headphone back in and turning his attention to the script again.

The phone only rang a few times before you were met with a British voice saying, “Hello?”

“Hi, yes, I’m Steve’s assistant for the time being,” You said, quickly introducing yourself because you wanted to get to the point of the call as fast as possible. “He said he’s not gonna do the interview that you set up for today. Um, sorry.” 

You weren’t entirely sure why you were saying sorry, but it felt awkward having to do this, especially since Steve gave you no reasoning as to why he said no. 

“Of course he did,” Tom said with a scoff. “I swear to God this kid is gonna drive me to start smoking again, and my husband would kill me if I did. Fucking hell.” You were unsure if he was talking more to you or himself. “Are you with Steve right now?”

It was easy to tell that that question was directed at you.

“No, not anymore, but I can relay any message you’d like me to give to him, if you want?” 

“Yes, tell him that this is the last time he’s gonna pull this shit. No more fucking back out of things that are meant to help his career. We are not having another fucking Golden Globes incident,” He said, and with the amount of irritation behind his words, it almost felt as if it was you that was being scolded by this British man. 

“Got it, I’ll tell him that,” You responded, although you knew when you gave the message you’d probably make it sound a bit less profane and angry. 

Hearing him mention the Golden Globes made you think of something. You knew that Steve had ditched the awards show, but the actual reasoning why was still a mystery to you. And you had to admit, you were a bit curious; just like the rest of the film world. “Can I ask what the whole Golden Globes thing was about?” 

Tom let out the longest sigh in the world before saying, “He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay home.”

You laughed at that because you assumed that he was joking, but when you were met with nothing but silence you stopped. “Oh, you’re serious.”

“Sadly so serious,” He told you and then sighed again. “And just like you barely believed that, of course no news outlets would think that was the reason either, so they pulled any story out of their asses. Like, he’d actually go to Vegas? Jesus Christ.” He muttered something else under his breath that was too hard for you to make out. “And it was hard to play the sick angle because no one would believe that unless he was actually hospitalized, and doing that felt a bit too dramatic.” 

All of that information was a lot to take in, but you still nodded even though Tom couldn’t see you. 

“Wow, that’s, um, really… Wow.” You ultimately settled on saying, which was barely even a real sentence and you mentally kicked yourself for being at such a loss for words right then. 

“Yeah, that was definitely the best twenty-four hours of my life,” He said and you could easily hear the sarcasm dripping from every one of his words. “Actually, disregard giving that other message to him, I’ll just yell at him later. When is filming done for the day?” 

You looked at your watch and then let out your own sigh. “In four hours.”

“Okay, got it,” Tom responded, and you assumed the conversation was going to end there, but then he continued. “How’s he been to you so far?” 

Surprisingly, the question actually felt genuine and it made you feel as if you didn’t need to lie and make things sound better than how they actually had been. “He looks at me as if he hates me, so it’s been fun having to endure that for the past seven hours.”

“Don’t worry, that’s just his face. He probably doesn’t actually hate you.”

There was something about Tom’s response that made you laugh. “Okay, so when should I know for sure? If he throws his coffee in my face or if he murders me? Well, I guess if he murdered me I’d be finding out a little too late, but at least I’d be able to haunt him.”

“You’re funny,” He said with a chuckle. “I wish we could keep you around longer.”

“Do not put that out into the universe.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

next part!

[kaylawritesfics]

can you write some headcanons where you're johnathans twin sister or something and your dating Steve?

Dating Steve Harrington and Being Jonathan’s Twin Sister

headcanons

summary: what it’s like to date steve “the hair” harrington while being a byers kid

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader (byers!reader)

WARNINGS: mentions of canon typical violence, plot inconsistencies bc i have the memory of a goldfish

note: gonna try not to make this one as annoyingly long as my steve x henderson!reader but we will see !! this has no spoilers for stranger things 4 bc truthfully i don’t remember it enough to write the plot out

You and Steve definitely did not get off on the right foot at first. “King Steve” and his obnoxious friends relentlessly tormented your brother, going as far as breaking his camera.

Tommy H and Carol teased you sometimes, as well, but your friendship with Nancy Wheeler protected you from receiving the same torment that your brother received.

When you found out your younger brother, Will, had gone missing, you and Jonathan found comfort in each other, both of you recognizing the horrible and frankly, insane state your mother was in.

Steve had even (reluctantly) brought over a casserole, which he claimed was from his mother, but in reality, he and Nancy spent hours looking for recipes and had multiple trial casseroles waiting at home to be eaten.

After seeing how caring and sweet Steve really was, your feelings for him began to change. You really appreciated his help and support while things were going to hell in Hawkins.

After Will was finally home and things were relatively back to normal, you and Steve had even started a small friendship, much to your brother’s distaste. However, even Jonathan didn’t hold much of a grudge against Steve after they reconciled.

You were especially thankful the following year, when Steve had taken the party under his wing, protecting them when things started to go to hell again.

Around the same time, Steve and Nancy’s relationship came to an end. You noticed Jonathan and Nancy had been spending more time together as well.

While Will was possessed by the Mind Flayer, Steve became a support system for you. While Jonathan was seeking comfort from Nancy, you found yourself frequently wrapped in Steve’s arms.

Obviously, in a purely platonic way. Steve was a great friend, a fantastic friend, even.

These new relationships greatly confused you and Jonathan.

“What’s up with you and Nancy?” “What’s up with you and Steve?”

Even though the situation is a little confusing, Jonathan is the biggest Y/N and Steve supporter. No matter how many times you explain that your relationship with Steve is completely platonic, Jonathan still doesn’t believe it.

“Yeah, right. You don’t see the way you look at him.” “Jonathan, I swear to god”

Even Will joins in, teasing you about your “nonexistent” crush on Steve.

“I drew this picture for you. There’s you, me, and Jonathan, and then over here is Steveholdingyourhand” The words rushed out of his mouth and he held back a laugh as you grumbled but still took the drawing.

Steve loves coming over to your house. His house is so quiet and cold. He thinks your house feels more like a home. Even though it’s small and sometimes a little messy, he thinks it’s cozy and warm.

He also loves Joyce and Will. Joyce has this need to take care of any kid who walks into her house and Steve is absolutely at the top of the list. His mother isn’t like that at all so he definitely basks in the attention.

Will makes Steve wish he had a younger sibling. He tries to spend as much time as he can with Will. Next to Dustin, Will is the kid in the party that Steve is closest to. Will loves Steve and appreciates that Steve listens to him and lets him ramble on about DnD, his favorite TV shows, etc.

The next summer, Steve takes a job at the new Starcourt Mall. You like to visit him at work, coming to order ice cream at least 3 times a week. Sometimes, you take Will with you.

Robin bugs Steve about you for weeks, encouraging him to ask you out.

Of course, right when he finally builds up the courage, things start to get bad in Hawkins again.

You and Steve don’t reunite again until after the Battle of Starcourt. While the Scoops Troop were infiltrating secret Russian bases, you and the party were focused on whatever the hell was going on with Billy Hargrove.

You’re sitting outside the burning mall when Steve approaches you. Your mom, Will, and Jonathan are all okay and everything feels like it could relatively go back to normal.

You notice the cuts and bruises littering his face and the bags around his eyes. His hair is falling in front of his face and you tenderly push it back for him. His arms wrap around your waist and he pulls you in for a hug that lasts suspiciously longer than usual.

“I love you.” He spits out quickly before his adrenaline rush wears off. He’s frozen and it feels like it takes centuries for you to respond.

“I love you, too” He releases a breath, leaning down to kiss you softly.

A few feet away, Will nudges Jonathan, pointing to the scene in front of them. Jonathan groans, squinting his face up in disgust at the sight of his sister locking lips with Steve Harrington.

“You owe me $20.” “Yeah, yeah, I know” Will smiles proudly, glad that at least something good came out of this disaster.

Jonathan and Steve weirdly become pretty good friends after this. While Jonathan is still fiercely protective of his baby sister (who, in reality, is only 3 minutes younger than him) and would kick Steve’s ass for a second time if he had to, they find out that they actually have a lot in common.

Steve fits right in with your family. He’s very respectful and kind and they all love him so much.

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

Proposal

Part One of Three Years

Masterlist | Year One

Pairing: Nathan Bateman x Reader

Rating: Explicit - 18+ Only.

Length: 4.3K

Notes: ....Hi! This is the first of 2-3 fic drops. I'm hoping to push all five chapters of this fic out this weekend. Also I started writing this before the current AI market explosion. Not beta-read. Never beta-read.

Warnings: Cursing; angst; enemies to enemies who fuck; tech-talk; angst (I know I said it before but really); Nathan being Nathan

Summary: He’s shorter than you thought he’d be.

Nathan Bateman isn’t unattractive, or short, even, he’s just…Shorter. 

Of all of the things that you thought you’d feel about Nathan Bateman’s visit, surprised wasn’t what you thought would be first. Shit-scared, sure. Insanely nervous, absolutely. Surprised by his height? Not on your list.

“This could be huge for us.” 

Jenn looks at once desperate and wild-eyed as she paces in her office. You watch her closely, taking in the dark circles under her dark eyes. Her typically California-tan skin is pallid from her recent late nights, and her days spent indoors. The company is running her ragged—and this potential seed money from Nathan Bateman is throwing her into the craziest tizzy you’ve ever seen. She sweeps her hands through her frizzed auburn hair before she raises her nails to her mouth.

“I mean,” She mutters, continuing to pace, voice muffled as she chews her nails, “If we get Bateman’s backing, that’d be great, but if I can get him on the board.” She stops finally, turning to face you, lowering her chewed nails from her mouth. “That would send us into the fucking stratosphere.” 

“...Okay,” You sit up a touch. You don’t want to be a buzzkill, but you need to bring Jenn down from the fucking stratosphere. “Nathan Bateman has scheduled a meeting. Okay? A meeting. One,” You raise your finger. 

“He’s having his team go over our numbers—” 

“I know that. He’s doing the due diligence that anyone coming in would be expected to do. Just, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket when we haven’t even gotten the basket yet.” 

“Come on,” Jenn groans. “I could be the next Steve Jobs!” 

“Yes, you absolutely could. But if you keep putting your focus on the idea stuff and not on the structure and application stuff, you’re going to be the next Elizabeth Holmes. And honey, I love you, but you do not look good in orange.” 

Jenn deflates just a little, slouching back against the windows that stretch from the floor to the ceiling. 

“...It clashes with my hair,” She grumbles. 

“I’m not saying don’t be excited at all," You insist, "I’m just saying…We’re bringing him in to talk about financing. How freaked out would you be if you went on a first date with someone and instead of asking for a second date, they said, Hey this was fun, let’s get married.”

“...Pretty freaked.” 

“Right. And asking someone to join the board is like a business-y 3.5 carat pear cut diamond on an infinity band. So. Let's schedule an All Hands, give the team a heads up, get them prepped. Before that, though, we need to get you some fucking lunch and some sunshine.” 

“You’re my sunshine.” 

“Awww,” You coo before you get up, adding, “Seriously. Get your phone and your sunglasses, we’re going out.” 

“But I have an email from prod—” 

“Production about the user profile settings set to drop at the end of the week. I know, I answered it already. Phone. Sunglasses. Lunch. Let’s go.” 

"You'll be here, right?"

You frown, shaking your head in slight confusion, and Jenn clarifies: "For his tour. You'll be here?"

You consider, glancing at your phone. If you can get the time off—but that's no guarantee.

"I'll try."

--  

When Jenn started Sc(ai)le three years ago, you’d had no idea that it would take off the way it would. You knew that Jenn was brilliant, you’d never had a doubt about that. But you couldn’t have anticipated how quickly varying industries moved to scale AI. Jenn had assembled a team of engineers, scientists, and sales reps. She trusts her teams, and they work hard to keep the company in motion.

But Jenn still insists in being very much hands-on everywhere she possibly can, sometimes to hers and the company’s detriment. She needs a Chief Knowledge officer, a Chief Information officer, and a Chief Marketing officer. She has a Chief Tech officer, a Chief Financial officer, a Chief Compliance officer, a Chief Data officer—all incredibly knowledgeable in their fields. She wants a board, too, but you’re worried that the company may still be too young for it. 

You work with the SVP of Marketing now and again, helping her to manage the way marketing materials are created, where they’re stored, and how they’re distributed. You’re working with Sc(ai)le part-time, on a temporary basis (though it’s technically been ‘temporary’ since the company started). Jenn needs an official team, with people that can work with her full-fucking-time. You have a full-time job at a separate tech company, one that’s well away from the AI space. You’d been worried their hackles would be raised when you informed them that you’d be taking a part-time position elsewhere, but they hadn’t even flinched. 

Hell, your manager had asked you if you’d be able to get them an employee discount. You may just have to take a few days off for Bateman’s visit.

You don’t blame Jenn for being so excited, or so nervous. 

Nathan fucking Bateman? This is huge. 

But if both of you have your heads in the fucking clouds, neither of you are gonna make it out of orbit. So you’ll keep yourself grounded, and bring Jenn back down to Earth if you absolutely have to. 

-- 

He’s shorter than you thought he’d be.

Nathan Bateman isn’t unattractive, or short, even, he’s just…Shorter. 

Of all of the things that you thought you’d feel about Nathan Bateman’s visit, surprised wasn’t what you thought would be first. Shit-scared, sure. Insanely nervous, absolutely. Surprised by his height? Not on your list.

You glance over at Jenn to find her tipping her chin up, slapping on her I Should Be On the Cover of Forbes smile. It’s the smile that’s brought every other investor on board. It’s the smile that’s brought on every single team member in the company. Now, you can only hope that it’ll bring Nathan Bateman into her coffers.

Where you’d typically leave Jenn to finesse any other investor, you stick close by. You trail Bateman and Jenn by a few steps as she directs him around the offices, and the facility. 

He asks a fair number of questions. A few are unexpected, but for the most part, they’re things that you and Jenn had anticipated. The three of you come to a stop overlooking a row of engineers. You don’t want to appear nonchalant, but with Bateman and Jenn focused elsewhere, you allow yourself to lean back against the wall, eyeing the room. It’s then that you see an engineer flagging you down, a harried look on her face. You glance toward Bateman and Jenn’s heads and make sure they’re distracted before you push yourself off of the wall, skirting around the two and walking over to her as calmly as possible. 

“What’s up?” You ask, crouching down beside the engineer’s desk. 

“The marketing team sent through a brief about the user profiles—” 

“Uh-huh—” 

“And there’s an error regarding the, uh—The functionality.” 

“Okay. Where’s the problem, what’s the fix?” 

“Our systems are starting at Mac- or Blue-OS compatible.” 

“But not Windows?” 

“Most of the companies we use don’t touch Windows OS anymore.” 

“But we have got a few clients that do.” 

“Yes, we’re—We’re working on it. But this can’t go out like this, it’s not correct.” 

“Okay,” You nod, mind racing through the possible, necessary fixes. “Okay. Could I use your laptop for a second?” 

“Sure.” 

The engineer starts to stand, but you wave her back into her seat, just turn the laptop toward yourself. You hurriedly log into your email on a web page, and tap out an email to the marketing SVP. 

“Mac and Blue only,” You reiterate as you type. 

“—But not Windows, yep.” 

“Do we have an expected date on Windows functionality?” 

“Q2 of next year—Maybe Q1, but—” 

“We don’t wanna over-promise and underdeliver,” You shoot the engineer a smile. “I appreciate the honesty.” 

The engineer nods hurriedly. You feel her casting a glance behind you, but you’re already turning back to the laptop, practically hammering the keys as you send out the message. You lean back, reading and rereading the message before you CC your work email, Jenn’s, and the engineer in question. Then you send it, straighten up, and sign out of the email. 

“I’ve put myself and Jenn on the email, we will take it from here. Thank you so much for flagging that—And if anything comes up, please text, email, slack me. Anything.” 

“Thank you!” 

“No, thank you,” You insist, patting her shoulder. You straighten and turn, and freeze immediately at the sight of Jenn and Bateman standing just behind you. You swallow thickly, fighting to keep a straight face. 

“I didn’t mean to hold up the tour,” You apologize. “You guys could’ve moved on, I would’ve caught up.” 

“Everything alright?” Bateman asks, nodding toward the engineer. 

“Yes. Just a little communications update.” You give them both a reassured smile. “Why don’t we continue?” You add, nodding down the hall. 

--  

“What are you doing for dinner tomorrow?” 

It’s a question that he should be asking Jenn, and that’s why your mouth works wordlessly, your brow furrowing heavily. It’s a bad look—Nathan Bateman has asked you a simple question, and you’re floundering like a landed fish. 

“Uh—Shoving something in the microwave, probably?” You manage with a shaky laugh as you put your laptop into your bag. You haven't been able to take the time off as much time as you’d hoped, and you’ll have to make up what time you have taken to keep yourself on track. “I’m working a double, so, I’ll get off shift around one in the morning.” 

“A double.” 

“...Yes? It’s when you work two shifts at—” 

“I know what a double is.” 

Jeez, of course he does. 

“Right. Sorry. You seemed—...Anyway.” 

“I seemed what?” 

Confused is the wrong word to use with this man. 

“Inquisitive?” You offer. Nathan’s brows tip impossibly higher, his chin angling down to gaze at you over the tops of his glasses. 

“One,” He finally confirms. “How’s 1:30 for you?” 

“For what?” 

“For dinner.” 

“I—I don’t think I’ve ever eaten dinner that late in my life. I don’t even go out that late anymore.” 

“But you’ll make an exception?” 

“Do I have to?” 

When he smiles, you know that you will have to. 

“I’ll send you the details.” 

That’s it. He breezes away from your desk space. He doesn’t offer to walk you to your car; he doesn’t ask you any questions about what you want to eat, or what you like to eat. He just walks away. You look after him for a moment before you look down, taking up your laptop chord and wrapping it with a mutter of, 

“Dinner at 1:30 in the morning? Not in fucking college anymore…What’s even gonna be open that late for fucking dinner?” 

You think, and then giggle. 

Maybe Nathan Bateman is going to take you to McDonald’s. 

--  

“You ever been here before?” 

“Uhh…” You peer down at the menu. It’s timeworn, and splattered with what look like gravy stains. At least—well, you hope it’s gravy. “Nope, can’t say I have.” 

The diner has a vintage bent to it. The seats are all coated in robin’s egg blue vinyl; the floor is tiled like a checkerboard; the walls are pepto-pink. There’s a jukebox in the corner, but the oldies being played in the diner are coming from a few recessed speakers in the ceiling. You glance up again as you hear Bateman shifting in his seat. He’s lounging back in his seat like he owns the damn place. 

…Maybe he does own the damn place. 

It could explain why they’re open so late, at least. There are a few other people in the diner, a ways away. Now and again, an explosive swell of cackling laughter will pass over your way before one of their party hurries to hush them. You glance back curiously as you hear one of them add, 

“Dude, you’re gonna get us kicked out again.” 

“So how long have you known Jenn?” Bateman asks. 

“Oh, gosh,” You turn back to him. “Since Kindergarten. She’s my oldest friend.” 

“You two seemed pretty close during the tour yesterday.” 

“Did we?” 

“Insomuch as you were her shadow.” 

You close your mouth, reaching for your water. You had shadowed because Jenn had asked—but you’re in no position to quibble with this man. You’ve no need, either; he goes on: 

“How was your double?” 

“It was fine.” 

“What are you working on?” 

“I work at a company that produces technical books and longform guides for—” 

“I know where you work, that wasn’t my question. What are you working on.” 

The bored, irritated tone in his voice raises your hackles, and it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. But you swallow your annoyance in favor of giving a straightforward answer: “Right now, a quantum software engineering roadmap.” 

“Are you enjoying it?” 

“The writing can be a little dry, but the subject matter is interesting.” 

“Hm…” Bateman nods, his eyes sweeping your face curiously. You fight the urge to shift or fidget under the scrutiny of his gaze. 

Can you ask questions? Are you allowed? Why does this man make you feel like you’re in a damn interview? Your gazes break as a waitress comes over, a pad in hand and an expectant smile on her face. You instinctively offer her one in return as you order. You don’t really hear what Bateman orders; you’re too busy wracking your mind for things that came up on yesterday’s tour—pain points, questions that Jenn promised she’d get back to him on. 

“So,” Bateman’s voice snaps your focus back to him, and you arch your brows as you meet his eyes again. “In your opinion, what’s the company lacking?” 

It’s a slap of a question. Your brows manage to inch higher. Oh…God. No wonder he didn’t want to do this with Jenn around.

“Uh…” Is your initial succinct answer. You clear your throat, taking your glass up for another sip, gathering yourself. You could say that Jenn has everything she needs, save for capital. You could say that the team is rowing as one one, your little unsinkable ship, the Sc(ai)le. 

But Nathan Bateman is a genius, and a billionaire, and a man with a low tolerance for bullshit. 

“She needs a complete C-Suite,” You admit firmly as you set your glass aside. “She needs a solid, knowledgeable team behind her. We’re doing the best that we can now, and the Chief positions that she has filled are pushing the company in the right direction, but the ones that she doesn’t are slowing down growth. We need a CMO and a CKO and a CIO, like...Yesterday. We have a lot of data, and we have a lot of marketing materials—and the seniors VPs in those positions are doing the best they can, but you can only fill a leaky bucket so many times before the handle breaks. The company doesn’t have the capital to bring those positions on, and until it does, the company’s going to continue to grow at half-speed because the plane’s being flown while it's still being built."

Bateman doesn’t react for a moment. His silence makes your stomach twist with nerves; your palms are sweating. 

“I didn’t think you’d say that,” He finally says. You can’t help but laugh a little. 

“Look—I could tell you that we’re all one happy family, and that the only thing wrong is the fact that bluebirds don’t land on our shoulders and code for us—” Your stomach flips as Bateman’s lips twitch with a smile, “But you’ve already been inside. You’ve looked through our books, you’ve seen the facility. And if you’re going to go in on investment, you’re going to see the dirty laundry anyway. I may as well show you where the hamper is.” 

“You like your metaphors.” 

“It’s the writer in me.” 

Bateman’s brow quirks a touch as he nods. 

“...Why aren’t you full time?” He asks. That question throws you for a loop. You shake your head a little—like it’ll knock an answer loose. But the answer—the truth—is that you and Jenn haven’t worked well together in the past. Sure, you’re part-time now, but you hardly ever interfere with her day-to-day unless it’s to coax her out of her office to get some air or a meal. You prefer to take your time with a project, and Sc(ai)le is in a growth period where time is of the essence. 

“...It’s not…” You start, brow furrowing as you grapple for a reasonable answer, “What Sc(ai)le does, it isn’t what I do.” 

“The company has technical writers.” 

“...Yeah—” 

“It needs someone that knows how to compile the information, translate it for the average consumer—” 

“But—” 

“Just tell me they can’t afford you.”  

Your chest twinges with indignation. 

“That’s not true,” You insist. 

“So they can afford you.” 

“That’s not what I—” 

“Which one is it?” 

“You’re twisting my words, and I don’t appreciate that.” It leaves you more harshly than it should, and you damn your tone immediately. There’s no way scolding this man is gonna bring him on board. You realize that your shoulders have scrunched defensively and risen toward your ears, and you force yourself to relax them. But Nathan’s lips just twitch again, his eyes bright with amusement. 

“...Why aren’t you full-time?” He repeats. 

“I told you. This isn’t what I do.” 

“It could be.” 

You don’t want to make the concession, but the look on Bateman’s face tells you that he’s got you pinned. So you give a small, begrudging nod. 

“Hypothetically.” 

His smile widens at your confirmation. You want to smack him. 

But that really won’t bring him on board. 

--  

You expect Jenn to grill you for your time with Nathan the second you get in, but she’s grabbing your hand and hissing, “He’s here, and he’s waiting.” 

“What?” You ask dazedly, pulling your sleeve back to eye the watch face where it rests on the inside of your wrist. “He’s not supposed to be here for another two hours! I didn’t see an email—”

“He didn’t send one! He just showed up!”

You pull Jenn to a stop in the hall, slowing her with a gentle, “Whoa, whoa—Okay. Look at me.” 

Jenn stops, eyes wide, head shaking minutely as she tries to continue walking toward the conference room, insisting, “We’re already late—” 

“Slow down!” You urge. She looks stricken, and you immediately feel guilty. You take her hand in yours, giving it a squeeze before drawing in a deep breath. Jenn hesitantly does the same, pushing it out when you do. You draw in another, and are relieved as she copies you, some of the tension melting from her face as she closes her eyes. You watch her pull in and push out one more deep breath before she opens her eyes slowly, nodding. 

“Thank you,” She breathes, patting your hand before she tugs down the hall again. 

--  

“I like what I’m seeing.” 

Bateman’s assertion shouldn’t surprise you, but it does. Sc(ai)le is a good company, something that would make sense in his portfolio. But he’s so steady and calm as he peers out of the office of Jenn’s window. 

You don’t like how he’s commandeered the space behind her desk. She shouldn’t be sitting on the other side of it with you; she should be behind it, with him—or he should be on your side. 

Still, Nathan pushes himself off of the window, turning to face Jenn. His gaze flickers to you before he looks down at something laid out on the desk. 

“Your initial proposal was…Whadda we got here…” Bateman tuts as he turns a page. You think he must be dragging it out for suspense—there’s no way he doesn’t have those numbers memorized. Sure, it must be chump change to him, but it’s still a big fucking number. “One million for a fifteen percent stake in the company.” 

“That’s right,” Jenn nods. 

“I’ll give you four.” 

“...Four?” Jenn repeats dazedly. 

“Four million for what percent?” You ask before she can leap up, kiss the man on the lips, and accept. 

“Fifteen,” Bateman affirms. Your eyes narrow at him. This doesn’t feel right. He adds, “I have one condition, though.” 

“Name it,” Jenn nods. You glance at her nervously. You’re certain that if he told her to strip naked and run through the office covered in spray cheese, she’d do it right this second. 

“You come on as CKO, CIO, and CMO.”

Your brow furrows as Jenn turns to you. Who comes on? Jenn? She’s already CEO for fuckssake—

And then Jenn turns to you, eyes wide and insistent as she nods toward Bateman. Your head snaps to him, stunned. He’s waiting with that same patient, bored expression that he'd given you with all throughout dinner. 

“You want me to take on three C-Suite positions?” You ask, brows raising. “Are you that strapped for cash that you won’t spring for two more people?” 

Jenn hisses your name in warning. You know it’s the wrong thing to say, but to your surprise, Bateman just smiles and leans against Jenn’s desk. 

“Hear me out,” He waves your irritation off. “I want to roll the positions of CKO and CIO into one. Chief Knowledge and Information officer.” 

“And add Chief Marketing officer on top of them.” 

“That’s right. You’re much quicker on the uptake than you were the other night. No, it’s alright—I’m sure the double shift and the late dinner had you off your game.” 

You want to argue, but Nathan is already turning his attention to Jenn. 

“Four mill for a fifteen percent stake,” He reiterates before nodding toward you. “And her.” 

What would Jenn get if you didn’t come on? One million at fifteen? Two million at thirty? Nothing at all? You can’t bring yourself to look at Jenn just now—you know you’re getting a pleading expression. So you keep your eyes on Bateman, and his expectant expression. He knows he’s got you backed into a corner. 

“...Does this condition have a term limit?” You ask. Bateman purses his lips, seeming to think for a moment. Then he levels you with an ungodly answer:

“Three years.” 

You feel like you’ve been punched in the gut. You only just manage not to double over with it. Three years. Three years inhabiting two positions that you never wanted or asked for. Three years working with your oldest friend on her passion project, knowing that you will lock horns on approach. Three years of Nathan Bateman hanging over your head. 

You can’t face Jenn. One look at those hopeful, doe-like eyes and you’re going to fold like a house of cards. You can’t look at Bateman. One look at him and you’re going to lunge in, slap him silly, and ask what the fuck is wrong with him. 

You look down at your lap. 

Three years. Three years or what? Nathan pulls his backing? Asks for repayment? That could level the company, and everything that Jenn has worked for would disappear overnight. 

Three years. 

You don’t ask about the pay. You don’t care about that. You’re not doing badly as it is. Two C-Suite positions (well, three) would surely pay you more than you make now, but still. 

Three years. 

You’ve been considering leaving your current job. You’ve been chugging along happily, though you’ve started to get too settled, too bored. Too complacent. But you've been ducking away from management positions at job after job because you just don't want to be in charge of people. You want to be fully in the action, working on the words, not floating above them and giving them a thumbs up or a thumbs down. This isn’t like anything you’d consider throwing yourself into. 

Three years. 

This is bigger than you and Jenn. Pumping more money into this company would give Sc(ai)le the chance to expand its staff, upgrade it's tech, bring on a more comprehensive QA team.

You draw in a deep breath, giving a small hesitant nod. 

“Alright,” Leaves your mouth before you can talk yourself out of it. 

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Bateman bats back without missing a beat. You can hear a note of triumph there, one that makes you want to reach into his throat and rip out his layrnx. Jenn is springing out of her seat, pumping Bateman’s hand enthusiastically and telling him that he won’t regret it. You’re staring down at your hands, your head and chest feeling hollow, like you’ve just been jailed for three consecutive life sentences. 

Three years. 

Bateman’s hand enters your field of vision, outstretched and patient. You eye it for a moment. 

You could still tell him to go fuck himself. But you glance up at Jenn, and find her beaming down at you. Her eyes are bright with joyful tears; her hands are clasped to keep from visibly shaking. 

You can’t tell him to go fuck himself, and he knows it.

So you suck in a deep breath and raise your hand, shaking Bateman’s without meeting his gaze. 

“We should grab a drink to celebrate,” He insists. You let go of his hand and push yourself up shakily. 

“I—Have some things I need to sort out. You two go on,” You add, slapping on an encouraging smile and turning to Jenn. 

“Sure,” Bateman concedes. “You have a letter of resignation to write.” 

You pat Jenn’s shoulder on the way out, hardly meeting Bateman's eye as you go. You get into your car, and drive back to your apartment. You mechanically unlock your door, drop your keys in the bowl by the entryway, kick your door shut. You don’t bother to turn the lights on. The sun is streaming in through your front window with a vengeance. You walk over to your bar cart and take up a bottle of whiskey. You don’t bother with a glass. You just plop into your favorite armchair and curl up. You don’t cry. You don’t scream. You just stare blankly at the wall. 

Three years. 

Next Part: Year One

Tag list: @missredherring ; @fantasticcopeaglepasta ;  @paintballkid711 ; @massivecolorspygiant ; @blueeyesatnight; @recklessworry ; @amneris21 ; @ew-erin ; @youngkenobilove ; @carbonated-beverage ; @lorecraft ; @moonlightburned ; @milf-trinity ; @nolanell ; @millllenniawrites ; @chattychell ; @dihra-vesa​ ; @videogamesandpoorlifechoices​ ; @missswriter ; @thembosapphicclown ; @brandyllyn ; @wildmoonflower ; @buckybarneshairpullingkink ; @mad-girl-without-a-box ; @winchestershiresauce ; @aellynera ; @writefightandflightclub ; @thedukeofcaladan ; @beepboopyoda ; @foxilayde ; @revolution-starter ; @rachelwritesstuff ; @queen-of-elves

[starry-eyed-steve]

Sandra's Fic Wrapped 2023

Hello <3, it's the last day of 2023, and I wanted to give some love to all the amazing fanfics I read this year. Each one of the people mentioned here is so talented, and everyone should check out their entire work.

(Disclaimer: all fics mentioned are Steve Harrington x reader)

Here are my top reads from this year (in no particular order)

Wildfire by @curiositydooropened (completed series, enemies to lovers) This fic has one of the best world building, I need this to happen in s5, actually. Doesn't shy away from discussions of ptsd and overall, it was so well done. I still have to finish it, but I know Amanda did an amazing job with it. <3

Glitch by @munsonsreputation (series, friends to lovers) This fic is just so cozy and cute. Reader insert felt like a very well-rounded character. You will love all the interactions with the other characters. It's just so well done. <3

whip it! by @schoopsahoy (one shot) This fic was cuteness overload. Loved the confident reader insert, and overall, the character dynamics were so well done, esp Steve and the kids <3

don't think twice, it's alright by @hawkinsquarry (part of a series, hurt/comfort post s4) I think this is one of my fav hurt/comfort pieces I've read this year. The interactions between reader and Steve are so tender. Overall, this was perfect <3

Into Open Flames by @kurokoros (completed series, established relationship, horror, set after s2 canon divergence) This fic has amazing world building. The original monster is so terrifying and well done that I was on the edge of my seat all the time. I adored Steve's character so much, kinda wish the show would have handled his character that way instead of what they did in s3/4. Overall amazing writing <3

confetti by @slashersteve (series, single!dad Steve) My favorite single dad Steve fic out there. I still haven't read the latest part, but I had to mention this series. It's amazing. The characters feel so real, and you'll fall in love with Steve's daughter <3

become the sun by @headkiss (one shot, strangers to friends to lovers) This was probably my favorite summer fic. I adored the small beach town vibe. Overall, that was such a cute read. I still need to read this year's Christmas fic, which I know will be great because last year's was amazing. <3

the view between villages, part one: good bones by @sattlersquarry (completed series, choose your own adventure, s3) Listen this is one of the most creative works I've read. The amount of work that was put in it is insane. You play an active part and get to choose how your story ends. This was such a fun experience <3

the swindling of steve harrington’s heart by @stevebabey (one shot, strangers to lovers) This was such a cute fic, like Steve asking for dating advice in the Hawkins Post was just sweet. I loved all the interactions between him and the reader. If you need a pick-me-up, this is your fic <3

and they were roomates by @sunshinesteviee (one shot, friends to lovers) This fic was just so cute. I loved Robin being kinda in the middle of this and sick of their bullshit. Overall, amazing writing and a quick read if you are feeling down and need cheering up <3

almost paradise by @hawkinsindiana (completed series for now, ST rewrite covering all seasons) I said it so many times, but this is one of my overall favorite stories. Kinda wish we had the reader character in the actual show because it makes so much sense. The writing is amazing, I even shed a few tears towards the end. I can't wait to see what's in store for s5. Also, check out the various blurbs that go with it. There is so much work being put into this, and it deserves a bit more love. I'm gonna re-read the whole thing next year. <3

steve zombie!au by @luveline (compilation of blurbs and one shots) This is one of my fav AU, I can't just choose one thing, so I linked the entire masterlist Their relationship is just so special. I love the world building and the other characters. It's amazing <3

no good at waiting by @familyvideostevie (completed series, sorta enemies to lover farmer market au) This is one of my fav series, and we got such cute blurbs this year from this universe. It has such a cozy vibe to it, great world building and characters. <3

Any Way Out by @hairrington (one shot, angst, ex boyfriend Steve) This fic was a mix of heartache and comfort. Nadia is one of my fav Steve writers out there so everyone check out her entire masterlist. <3

some kind of muted blue by @thecreelhouse (one shot, dark themes, deals with things like ptsd) This was so devastatingly beautiful, I loved that this fic explored Steve's felings so much, something we don't get to see in the show. This was just amazingly written <3

[b0n3s-is-gay]

I'd love a Darry Curtis x Reader where the reader finds out she's pregnant and she tells Darry and later the gang.

Maybe set after they're married and Pony's about to start college?

Le gasp! That is a great idea! (I got caught up in a lot of school and a bit of insanity, excuse my lateness)

Surprise Shorty!

Tags: Married life, mentions of Baby Fever, Darry being a softy for babies, Darry Curtis x Wife reader, Fluff, Alive Johnny and Dally AU!, set in the future.

Synopsis: Having a moment alone and her least favorite aunt, Aunt Flo, being late. You decide to take a pregnancy test after weeks of Darry trying to get you knocked up.

A/n: I'm not good at this, head empty moment. Sorry- I also did my research on these pregnancy tests, they're weird.

(Credit for the lovely banner goes to @cafekitsune )

I sighed as I leaned against the counter, the 2 hour mark coming up for the pregnancy test. I hadn't even consulted Darry when I bought the stupid thing but I needed to know because I had already missed my period. The damn test took so long but it would be worth it. Beep, beep, beep.... My small baking timer chirped. I grabbed the time and turned it off before turning to look at the little box, hoping to see the brown circle on a yellow background. I said a silent prayer to whatever was up there before I looked at the mirror. It was right there, the brown circle telling me that I was carrying for two. "Well... Darry did it." I hummed as I kept looking at the mirrored box. I sighed and grabbed the box, walking it to our shared room so I could put it on our bed before I started dinner. I fixed the room up before walking to the kitchen. After two hours, I had a nice dinner enough to feed an army. I knew who would be here, first to last. It was always Two-bit first because he worked around a bit. Then Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally; they always traveled in a group after what happened with Bob. Sodapop, Steve, and Darry would be home last because Darry always picked up the two best friends from their jobs. Just as I started to put the dinner rolls in the oven, the train of people started coming in all in the order I predicted. Two-bit came in, said hello, grabbed a beer, and walked to the living room to watch Mickey. When I started the french onion soup, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally walked in. Pony gave me a hug, Johnny nodded his head softly, and Dally waved hello before joining Tow-bit in the living room. When I pulled the dinner rolls out of the oven, the final three walked in. Sodapop nodded tiredly, Steve grabbed a beer and smiled, and Darry came up behind me and gave me a kiss. He squeezed my hips before walking to our room to get changed out of his work clothes. I simply smiled and waited for him to find the test sitting on our bed as I got everyone served. "Darling, what's this?" Darry asked as he walked into the kitchen holding the pregnancy test in his hand, confused since it was a newer model of a pregnancy test. I shrugged, handed him a bowl of hot soup with a dinner roll, and kissed him. "Show it to Pony or Sodapop, they'll know what it is Pumpkin." I laughed as I sat down at the dinner table with the rest of the gang, smiling as I watched Darry with a grin while eating my own soup. Sodapop and Pony looked up from their separate conversations. Darry set the box on the table before sitting next to me to eat a hot meal. Dally, Sodapop, Ponyboy, and Two-bit all focused on the test; you could've heard a spoon drop. I sipped on my water before I heard Soda speak in a nonchalant tone. "So... am I gettin' a niece or a nephew?" Darry choked for a moment and coughed before speaking up. "Come again?" Darry asked as he looked at Sodapop, confused about what he just said. Soda shrugged before Pony spoke up, laughing before explaining. "Darry, that's one of 'em new at home pregnancy tests. It's sold at drug stores and I think I saw a few at the DX yesterday." Darry looked over at me shocked. I shrugged again and kept eating my dinner, knowing he'll need a minute.

[weheartchrisevans]

Chris Evans, for a generation of moviegoers, is Steve Rogers, the ultimate good guy. But we saw in things like Knives Out that he can play smarmy and sinister really well. Lloyd is, as you say, the antithesis of heroic. How did you work with him to get to that level of villainy? Clearly he’s unleashing himself in a lot of ways.

Joe Russo: He is. And what’s great was Chris, is that we were talking to him at the end of the Avengers movies and talking about what he was going to do next in his career. He said, “Look, I think I’m comfortable enough in my life now. And I’ve done well enough that I’m just going to take risks.”

So it was appropriate for us to ask him to play the sociopath and not the hero because we felt like it’d be more challenging, an exciting role for him. And if you know Chris in real life, he is very different than Captain America. He has high energy. He’s funny, he’s quirky. And I think most people think he is Steve Rogers. He’s not, and that’s why we know how good of an actor he is. And it’s how truthful he can be as an actor. This is definitely a character that’s created for scene stealing and to be out there and entertaining in his insane villainy. And so we really just cut him loose and said, “Go nuts with it.”

Anthony Russo: We have an analogy for this experience in our careers. When we were making Welcome to Collinwood, which is our first real movie, it was being produced by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney. And George Clooney ended up playing a smaller role in the film. It has to help us get the movie made. And I remember when we were talking with George about the role and we’re like, “Oh really, really sorry, George, that it’s a smaller role.”

He said, “Are you kidding me?” He goes, “My job as a leading man is to show up and let everybody else steal the scene from me.” He’s like “Now I get to steal the scene.” So he relished playing that role in that movie. And I think it’s very similar to Chris. Again, he’s used to having to carry the lead. You have to be the character that’s relatable, understandable; he got to walk away from all that for this role, which I think is really liberating to performers.

- JOE AND ANTHONY RUSSO DISCUSS BRINGING THE GRAY MAN TO LIFE | Nerdist

[venzilanddeathcult]

AWESOME SHIT IVE BEEN LISTENING TO RECENTLY HAVE A PEEP ! ! ! !! !

LONG POST COMING UP UH OH

too lazy to make that 2023 retrospective just yet so instead i'll talk about some of the albums i heard for the first time recently

MEET THE RESIDENTS

(by The Residents)

got sent this album by a moot and it's honestly one of the most fucking interesting things i've ever heard, it has this kind of silly but nicely off putting sound with the first half being this mish mash of some really odd (and enjoyable) songs that all kinda join up together with some really nice transitions and the second one having longer more ""conventional"" (for this album at least) separate songs, my favorite of which being the one i linked

some seriously good shit i'd recommend anyone reading to give it a listen even if it's not your cup of tea (it definitely is mine)

discovering this kinda stuff is one of the reasons i use tumblr in the first place

CHILDREN OF GOD

(By SWANS)

on the replies to one of my previous posts i was told this was one of SWANS' peaks and i can't say i disagree, this album is so FUCKING good every single song on it is brimming with atmosphere and there are so many highlights it's hard to choose just one, considering this album came right after Holy Money (the next album on this list, since i listened to both) it's insane how different this album sounds to their earlier stuff, but it's seriously great. haunting album and extensively memorable, definitely one of my favorite SWANS albums.

on the other side of the coin though...

HOLY MONEY

(By SWANS)

...was probably my least favorite SWANS record! (or maybe Cop)

Mind you, Greed is actually one of my favorites, and i love the way it sounds and how fucking brutal some of the songs on it are, but there's something about Holy Money that really just didn't catch me as much, and i felt the new versions of Greed songs (Fool and Money is Flesh) just really weren't that interesting, and Fool especially kind of diminished the spaciousness i loved so much about the original version.

It's still a very good album (it's SWANS, come on) but it definitely felt like a bit of an afterthought, like leftovers from the previous album that should have just been in it. The live versions of these songs go hard as fuck though listen to PUBLIC CASTRATION IS A GOOD IDEA (yeah) if you want to hear them in their fullest potential. brutal stuff.

and finally..

1000 HURTS

(By Shellac)

I fucking love Shellac's debut (At ACTION PARK), but never explored much of their work aside from it until i saw this album in a moot's top albums list, and got to thinking damn maybe i should listen to more of their stuff, and boy am i glad i did.

It was very very weird hearing Steve Albini sing after being used to Big Black and the first Shellac album, but i think he did a really solid job and i found myself enjoying his vocals a lot throughout the album

the songs were all really mean and noisy and immaculately produced like any proper Steve Albini project (them god damn drums!!!) and i've been compelled to give it a listen every time i scroll past it on my files. good shit. give it a listen

[grabyourpillow]

"So, you have an interesting friend," Steve's mom says, while they are putting the dishes into the dishwasher, and getting the table ready for dessert.

"But, you know son," his dad interjects. "He doesn't seem like the kind of person who will enable you to... "His dad makes a wheel-like gesture. 

"To what?" Steve plays dumb. 

"...You know, move forward in life."

"Yes," his mom interjects. "We know it's been hard for you, not getting into college, and with these little jobs... But they're not forever, you know that." 

 

That hasn't been hard at all actually, Steve wants to say. I have great friends. I love my life. I fought monsters. What has been hard has been figuring out everything alone.

 

But his parents wouldn't understand any of that.

 

"Oh he's not my friend," Steve mentions casually instead.

"He's not?" His parents exchange confused looks. 

His mom looks relieved. "Oh, I see. You decided to do that poor guy a favor–" 

"He's my boyfriend," Steve states, calmly.  

 

His parents freeze. 

His mom gasps, leaning onto the faux-marble countertops. 

 

Steve watches it nonplussed. His father sighs and massages his temples, his brows furrowing.

"We have a plane tomorrow first thing in the morning. We don't have time for this," he says, checking his golden watch.

"Let me speak to your mom," he commands.

 

Steve nods and walks to the living room, where they had set up the table.

Eddie shoots him an inquisitive look when Steve sits back down. 

"Everything's fine," Steve smiles back, reassuring.

 

Even if they do throw him out, which, Steve doesn't think they will, he's so rarely over here anymore it wouldn't make that much of a difference. 

He'd have to tell the kids pool parties were over though.

 

It really is okay. And Eddie seems to sense that.

 

"Dude these macaron? Thingies? Are insane." Eddie tells him excitedly.

"Yeah. Mom says they're very difficult to make because... Humidity. Don't know didn't get it. Anyway– she doesn't cook often. Much less bakes. So, enjoy."

They try out every little pastry-thingie, sharing snippets, pretending to be on a British cooking show.

"The gianduja notes in this one, dear" Eddie snickers. 

"I think the ylang-ylang in this one overpowers the faint taste of delicate... Instant coffee from Walmart" Steve improvises back, the corners of his mouth twitching.

 

Steve's parents turn up like fifteen minutes later. His mom is twisting her fingers, slightly uncomfortable. "It was uhm lovely having you here Eddie."

"But it's getting quite late, wouldn't you agree?" His father completes, looking at Steve.

That's the tone he always uses when he's about to have a conversation with Steve about his future and tell him he's a disappointment.  

 

Steve quickly glances at Eddie's watch. They have given his parents two hours. 

"Oh yes, dad I agree," he stands up, and extends his hand to Eddie "Come on Munson, we're leaving." 

"Okay," Eddie takes it and springs up, without question. If he notices Steve's parents' flabbergasted expressions, he doesn't comment on it.

 

"Well it was nice meeting you, Mr. Harrington, Mrs. Harrington," Eddie bows a little, and respectfully shakes hands with both of them, while they still stand there like stone statues who have forgotten their purpose.

 

His father stops Steve at the door, while Steve is putting on his shoes. "We'll talk about this next time, son."

Steve shrugs. "Sure." 

He knows they won't.

 

_

 

"Rich people are f*ing weird."

Steve snorts. "Yeah."

"But that wasn't so bad? Eddie says, kicking gravel on the pavement.

 

Steve smiles wildly.

 

"Oh yeah. It was perfect."

___

<<Beginning <Previous

Read on ao3 (not the only thing in the chapter, read beginning notes)

[foliosriot]

between the charcoal & the cigarette smoke (6159 words)

artist!steve harrington x eddie munson ao3 if that’s what you prefer :)

drawing has been the only thing maintaining steve’s sanity. between school, his parents, and the little gremlins he is somehow friends with, drawing keeps him calm and distracted (most of the time, at least).

because if he were being honest, he never expected to actually be good at drawing when he first started out in middle school. but one minute, he was doodling stick figures on his math homework, and the next, he was submitting his pieces into the hawkins high’s art gallery. it felt great to finally be recognized for a talent that wasn’t basketball or swim.

but as suspected, his parents — most notably his father — did not believe his artistic abilities were going to get him anywhere in life, or provide him with a well-paying, respectable job; that it was blasphemy to believe a talent other than a sport would benefit him in the long run. steve constantly called bullshit on that but would never say it to his father’s face.

however, robin and dustin were the complete opposite, as they were overwhelmingly supportive of his artistic endeavors. they constantly wanted to know what he was working on and would snoop over his shoulder when he was doing nothing but simply doodling. they were incredibly kind and enthusiastic about his passion, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t want to slap both of them on occasion due to their nosiness.

it’s steve’s senior year of high school. he’s taking art classes both semesters, and they’re honestly the only things he is looking forward to regarding school other than graduating.

for first semester his drawing class is the last of the day. he sits in the far back corner, furthest from the door. from there, steve can get away with sketching and doodling his classmates as an excuse to work on different angles of the human body. sometimes, if he likes the sketch enough, he’ll hand it off to that person. (he remembers one time he did a doodle he was incredibly proud of of penny young. the shy, soft spoken girl started tearing up when she realized what it was. the interaction had made steve’s entire month.)

if he had to guess, steve is sure that he has drawn just about every one of his art class classmates at least five times in the first couple months of school. and, much like most forms of art, he never liked the end result, even if he knew subconsciously he wouldn’t be handing it off to whomever he’d drawn.

steve huffed a quiet sigh as he pushed aside his half-finished project that is fortunately due next week. he didn’t have the motivation that the piece demanded at the moment, so he instead opted for people watching, propping his chin up on his palm.

in the front row he spotted noah truman. the kid was one of the best basketball players steve has ever seen, so that granted him instant popularity. but noah was also incredibly kind and humble, something that lacked amongst the popular cliques like a famine.

a row behind noah, three seats to his right, was mary peters. she was an insanely talented artist who just so happened to be friends with robin. mary played flute in band and steve can recall a few instances where robin had mentioned her by name.

to mary’s right in the back row steve saw—

his attention was immediately drawn to the classroom door swinging open, and in walked eddie munson. the wild-haired boy looked a little flustered as he entered, briefly pausing in the doorway before shambling to the nearest open desk. whispers from various people disturbed the quiet classroom at eddie’s entrance.

he watched as eddie fumbled around with what little school supplies he had. he watched eddie's hair bounce against his shoulders and the way his large, gaudy rings glinted in the harsh classroom lighting. the burn rising up his neck that would inevitably shade his entire face in a bright cherry red forced steve to turn his attention away.

eddie is on his second attempt at senior year. he’s known around school as “the freak”, a moniker that has always baffled steve. but it was also something steve didn't want to know more about. although, unfortunately, over the years he's been able to assume just what people meant when they called eddie a freak.

the super senior is the head of the hellfire club, the dungeons and dragons club, and is probably the most flamboyant person steve has ever encountered. his devil may care attitude was undoubtedly annoying at times, but steve couldn’t help but admire it, as well as just eddie himself. eddie is never not unapologetically himself day in and day out. steve wishes he could have just an ounce of eddie's confidence.

steve also finds eddie insanely intriguing for reasons unknown. maybe it was the way he held himself so confidently, or maybe the hair atop his head that looked so soft, or maybe even the way eddie could set ablaze a wildfire inside steve without even trying.

okay, maybe steve was a little hasty with his definition of  “intriguing” . frankly, eddie is intriguing, yes, but he is also insanely attractive. because billy hargrove may have been the one to kickstart steve into questioning his sexuality. but eddie had been the one to confirm his pondering.

steve wishes he could watch eddie play the guitar. the little rugrats have told steve countless stories of eddie, especially the ones of him playing his guitar. he always imagines eddie losing himself in the music as he strums manically and dances his fingers across the fingerboard expertly. he assumes eddie to be very talented at his craft, and the yearning to witness a performance of his in the pits of his soul is twisting up inside him with little to no remorse.

he’s never even had a legitmate conversation with the guy! but steve wishes he could. even if it’s in passing, like when he’s picking up the kids from hellfire. that's the only time eddie ever truly acknowledges steve.

steve knows he should continue working on his assignment. he knows watching eddie munson in the middle of art class is horribly idiotic for many reasons. but he opens up his sketchbook and begins sketching eddie anyways.

eddie is completely unassuming as he scribbles away on a sheet of paper. his hand is sporadically shifting across the page, his pencil squeaking on occasion. steve can’t see much of his face from behind his curtain of hair, but he can almost bet that eddie’s face is screwed up in concentration, solely dedicated to whatever he may be working on. steve aches to know what he may be writing or drawing.

after a few minutes and way too many looks up, steve lifts his head once more so he can get another glance at eddie in order to get his wild mop of hair just right.  but as he does, he makes eye contact with eddie. they both have a certain look on their faces, like they weren’t expecting to be looking at each other at the same time. steve feels his ears instantly burst into flames with embarrassment, and does not hesitate before swiftly shifting his gaze back down to his sketchbook. he hadn’t realized it was steadily becoming filled with countless drawings of eddie.

by the time the final bell rang, steve shoved his things in to his backpack as fast as he could and hurried out the door. he could have sworn he felt someone’s piercing eyes on him as he headed down the hall towards the parking lot, but he didn’t dare look back; he needed to get himself and robin to work in time for their joint shift.

robin was leaning against the passenger side of steve’s car lazily picking at her nails when steve showed up. the best friends greeted each other as they got in to their respective seats in the beamer.

as he drove, half-listening to robin’s rambling about vickie and band class, steve still felt embarrassment digging through his chest from eddie catching him looking at him. it dug deep through his heart and lungs, and he couldn’t understand why. he just hoped it would diminish by the time art class came around tomorrow.

by the end of the week, steve had filled three more pages of his sketchbook of shaky and messy drawings of eddie munson. and he knew he would be drawing eddie even more in the future.

now, here steve sat in art class friday afternoon. he had sneakily angled his chair in a way so he could study eddie. steve wanted to get his facial features and curly, wild hair and his heavily ringed hands perfect. after all, eddie was just too much fun to not draw — his expressions and mannerisms were an absolute riot to scribble down and get just how he wanted.

at least that’s what steve thought before he eventually caught eddie’s eye again. it seemed as if eddie had been watching him long before steve had even lifted his head to look in the metalhead’s direction. when their eyes met, humiliation escalating speedily through steve's nervous system, eddie gave him a small tight-lipped smirk that felt strangely warm. steve couldn’t detect any anger or disgust, especially when eddie shot him a quick wink before casually bringing his attention back down to the piece of paper on the desk before him.

steve was rendered motionless and speechless, because what the fuck was that about? his mouth was hung open, the sensation of his tongue being exposed to the stale classroom air demanding he slam his teeth back together. so he did. the click of his jaw forced steve to silently sputter and look away from eddie’s relaxed form.

that interaction clung to the forefront of steve’s brain for the rest of class. it would not vacate his thoughts, even as robin rambled beside him in his car after school, with dustin cutting in occasionally from the backseat. his friends’ voices were simply serving as white noise as he mulled over eddie’s reaction from art class.

“oh!” the suddenness of robin’s tone shift was finally able to jolt steve out of his head. “did you finish the rough draft of my dnd character? dustin has been pestering me to pester you to get it done.”

dustin let out a yelp from behind steve, spitting out a defensive retort before turning around and just agreeing with robin’s statement.

steve rolled his eyes, momentarily tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “yeah,” he says. “it’s in my sketchbook. somewhere after the drawing i did for lucas.”

robin nodded in response in steve’s peripherals. she reached into the backseat and dug through steve’s backpack at an awkward angle in order to retrieve his sketchbook. (dustin honestly could have just handed it to her.) at last, she got it, and sat back in her seat properly before flipping through it to get to the page she was in search of.

after a few moments of pages whispering, robin spoke up, saying, “steve, i’m not finding it. are you sure you said—“

robin cut herself off, and it genuinely terrified steve to say the least.

”uh, rob? you good over there?” he asked her carefully.

”steve, why the fuck do you have, like, four pages filled with nothing but eddie munson?”

at his best friend’s words, steve could have sworn he stopped breathing. his eyes widened, and he could feel the telltale fiery sensation erupting in his chest of none other than embarrassment. dustin’s yell was no help either, certainly not when the boy lurched forward to join robin in looking down at his artwork.

he’s been fucking caught.

”th-that’s nothing- i didn’t tell you—“

”steve! why have you drawn eddie ‘the freak’ munson so fucking much?” robin snapped at him. her tone didn’t seem judgmental or condescending, or anything of that nature. she just seemed curious more than anything. but the bite in her voice still stung steve somewhere deep inside himself.

steve doesn’t give her an answer. he can feel dustin’s genuine surprise and interest radiating off of him from the back of the car. robin’s eyes were flickering between steve and the book in her hands, impatiently waiting for steve to speak. but he couldn’t find it in himself to say anything.

so he shrugged, leaving it at that.

robin and dustin continued to gaze down at the sketches and doodles of eddie munson in the precious pages of steve’s sketchbook. that fiery feeling had exploded into an inferno as he kept driving, coincidentally, to eddie’s trailer for a dnd night-in. it would be robin’s first proper game, and eddie had apparently made the decision of moving tonight’s session to his own home to give robin a nice, comforting welcome into hellfire. but when steve pulled into the itty-bitty yard out front of eddie’s trailer, a black hole opened up in his stomach, swallowing the wispy flames of the stupid fire within him.

dustin told him goodbye before rushing out of the car. robin carefully closed the sketchbook then set it on the dash. she looked over at steve, who was avoiding her eyes.

”we’re gonna talk about that sooner or later, steve,” she says gently. she opens the car door and starts getting out before pausing and turning in his direction for a moment. “but they’re really nice. you’re incredibly talented.”

then she shut the passenger side and headed after dustin. steve watched her walk inside the trailer, catching a glimpse of eddie just beyond the threshold. that’s when steve decided he needed to get out of there immediately.

putting the car into reverse, steve swerved out and away from the trailer park before heading back to loch nora for the night. at least until he had to go right back again to pick up robin and dustin. the pit of darkness inside of him just kept growing at what that could entail.

when steve arrived home, he hurried inside, hardly acknowledging the empty driveway. the emptiness of the large house felt like a tomb, something he hated even thinking about. so he tried to tune out the screaming silence as he made his way up the stairs and down the hall to his room.

the plaid wallpaper of his room felt pitiful. steve hated the choice but his mother had picked it so he had to be a good son and at least tolerate it. but he ignored the insipidness of his room as he began anxiously pacing.

robin was on to him. she was so on to him! there's no way she isn't, as they are twin flames, two sides of the same coin —  honest to fucking god platonic soulmates.

just from the four or so pages of his sketchbook that she had seen, robin had to have been able to decipher just how steve felt about eddie, despite never really getting to properly meet him. the thought that she had figured him out so fast made vertigo cloud his senses, nausea tugging feriously at his intestines.

it wasn't that the idea of robin finding out that steve is (99.9% sure he is) bisexual isn't what is making him so skittish. because if anything, robin would love him regardless, that is if he liked both men and women, or if he grew an extra head that insisted on being called isildur.

he supposed it had to do with the fact that it would get out to the party eventually, especially if dustin had interpreted the myriad of eddie drawings correctly. either way, the drawings were going to reach the party one way or another, and thus make it all the way to eddie.

in all honesty, eddie finding out wasn't the most glaring side effect of steve's mishap; it was his reaction. for all steve knew eddie could blow up and want nothing more to do with steve. or — and, god, how this one makes his blood congeal in his veins — eddie ends up reciprocating.

steve didn't even know if eddie was gay! but all signs pointed to him being on one end of the queer spectrum or the other.

before he knew it, it was already 10 o'clock, meaning it was time to pick up dustin and robin from eddie's.

and if steve had to splash several handfuls of cold tap water to his face before he left the house, no one would know but him.

steve's entire body was jittery as he drove in the familiar direction of the trailer park. his fingers kept flexing against the steering wheel and his thighs were tense and his shoulders were pushing up towards his ears. he couldn't get his heart to slow down or blink away the faint swirls of black from his vision.

it just got worse as he rolled down the dirt road to eddie's trailer. there, he saw mike, will, and lucas already climbing into nancy’s car. the eldest wheeler gave him a kind wave as she drove past him.

in the pale light of the munson’s porch light, steve could see robin and dustin talking with eddie. the sight of all three of them together made his stomach toss and turn.

dustin gave a grand farewell to eddie before hopping down the porch steps to get into the car. he immediately began babbling on about what had happened in the campaign, even if steve wasn’t fully paying attention. because admittedly, he was much more focused on his best friend talking to his crush in soft voices.

before long, robin finally said goodbye to eddie and made it to the car. as steve waited for her to get in and buckled, he remained looking at eddie, who was softly illuminated by the withering lightbulb up and to the left. the boy was leaning against the front door just watching steve. a small smile was barely visible on his face.

that made steve panic, so he reached for the gearshift and quickly went into reverse before driving back to the main road.

robin and dustin were conversing about the campaign. all of their words went in one of steve's ears and immediately vacated through the other. his heart was rapidly bashing against his chest as he headed towards dustin's house. so it must be a good thing that he could get to the henderson house in his sleep as he had been disassociating the entire drive.

and before he knew it, the car was parked on the curb as dustin headed inside his home. as the curly-haired boy closed the front door behind him, steve released a heavy breath that had been torturing his diaphragm for the past ten minutes.

he shifted gears and they were off once more. but just a few minutes had passed before robin said something to him.

"sleepover?" she prompted gently.

steve shut his eyes for a brief moment. he glanced over at his best friend who was waiting patiently for him to answer.

"okay," he sighed. so steve didn't hesitate to take the road that would take him to his house instead of robin's.

they continued in silence and the trepidation that was looming in the backseat of his beemer was driving steve insane. he could feel it reaching forward with cold, dark claws that would inevitably sink hungrily into his flesh.

when they get to steve’s house, steve hurries and unlocks the front door, but he fumbles with his keyring. he can feel sweat beading along his hairline as he struggles to insert the proper key.

steve finally gets the door unlocked and pushes it open for robin. he steps inside after her, and, as he’s locking it back up, he begins anxiously stammering.

”i-i know you— what you thought w-when you s-saw the, uh, uh— drawings, and it’s not what—“

robin cuts him off. once steve has clearly succeeded in locking the door once more, robin gently slips her hands around his biceps. at the contact steve falls silent. his heart is throbbing violently in his throat and he doesn’t know if he can turn around and face his best friend.

”steve.”

at this point steve is choking on his heart. he can’t breathe, nor can he stop shaking like a fucking leaf. but he allows robin to carefully turn him towards her. once he’s facing robin, steve sees that she’s smiling fondly at him. the pressure from his very life force being lodged in his esophagus was causing tears to build up, thus blurring his vision.

“come on. let’s go upstairs,” robin tells him gently as she moves her hands down his arms until her fingers are laced through his own.

and steve lets her guide him up the stairs and to his room. he lets her close the bedroom door with a soft click. he lets her sit him down on his bed, his brain feeling like mush as they sit in silence for what feels like a century.

“tell me what’s going on,” robin says. her voice is gentle and it soothes steve like no other.

steve breathes heavily for a few moments before he feels ready to speak. he gingerly fingers at the hem of his jeans.

”i didn’t even mean to do it,” he begins. “i didn’t consciously decide i-i was gonna end up with, um . . . with so many drawings of—“

he cuts himself off. he can’t say his name. he can’t utter eddie’s name, because if he does, it becomes real. whatever it is becomes real. steve can’t do this.

”it’s okay, steve.” robin lightly places her hand on his knee. “take your time.”

steve clenches his jaw. he squeezes his eyes shut and he wishes the tears burning his retinas would make him go blind. he wishes that, if that were to happen, robin would forget all about the stupid drawings and just leave it be.

but steve knows he needs to get this out. he knows he needs to figure this shit out. and who else better than his lesbian best friend?

after a rattly deep breath, steve finally goes on.

”for practice, i draw my art classmates,” he explains quietly. “i’ll sketch them a couple times before moving on to the next person. but when eddie came in to class the other day, i just . . . i couldn’t stop drawing him. i just kept drawing and sketching, and i honestly didn’t care when he caught me looking at him. shit, he winked at me!

”but, uh . . . i-i think i’ve always, always had this thing. um, like, just a want to talk to eddie. especially since the little gremlins became freshmen and joined hellfire. th-that’s when i got all the stories of him that weren’t rumors. when i got so much unwanted information about a guy i-i don’t even truly know.

”then it got to the point where i just . . . god, i just wanted to fucking know him. and from there came a little light in my stomach, a-and i—“ steve sniffled deeply. “i haven’t felt like this since nance. i haven’t felt such want since i liked nancy. and i’m terrified. i don’t think eddie even likes me, like, at all. probably still thinks that i’m . . . i’m a douchebag.”

steve pauses. his heart is galloping wildly like a horse inside his chest. he can feel the throbbing of his pulse just under his jawline. he’s uncomfortable, but the look robin has fixed on him is so kind and loving.

”i think i like him, rob. like . . . like him.”

robin was quiet after steve finished talking. she stroked his leg with her thumb idly, her fingernail barely grazing his pant leg.

then she spoke.

”thank you for telling me, steve,” she tells him. “and i need you to know that this does not change my perspective of you. i love you no matter what.

”but, if you want some advice, i think you should tell eddie. either tell him, or start a friendship with him. i think he’d like that just as much as you.”

  steve spent the weekend obsessing over what he was going to say to eddie. how he was going to say it. when he was going to say it. he was obsessing in a way he hadn’t in a long time.

when monday came, steve finally felt prepared enough to talk to eddie. he had more than one personal pep talks in to himself in the mirror, and he felt confident enough that he could at least start a conversation.

however, when fifth period was nearing its end, steve knew he was going to fuck this all up. he knew this would end both in tears and flames if he didn’t back out now. but robin had been so insistent that he talk to eddie. she seemed so sure of a positive outcome.

so with only a few minutes to spare, steve ignored the finale of his teacher’s lecture and wrote a quick note that he was going to subtly drop in to eddie’s locker. he wrote: if you’re okay with it, i’d really like to sit with you during art. -s.h

and he did just that as he was walking past eddie’s locker to get to art. nobody seemed to notice what he was doing or even seemed to care. but steve felt a tidal wave of pride and relief overcome him as he made his way to sixth period.

steve was buzzing with nervous, jittery energy as he waited for eddie’s inevitable entrance. his leg was bouncing and his heart rate was skyrocketing.

by the time the bell rang, signaling sixth period had begun, eddie still hadn’t shone. but was steve truly surprised? no, not entirely. eddie was notorious for being late and skipping classes entirely.

he was quickly losing hope. he couldn’t stand the thought of eddie not showing. because here he was, missing eddie munson. maybe he should give up this stupid crush. maybe robin was wrong, that her odd optimism was misplaced.

steve didn’t bother acknowledging the opening of the classroom door. he was halfheartedly working on his art project as someone sat down in the chair next to him. and that’s when he felt his heart take a nosedive deep into his intestines.

”psst.”

no. this could not be fucking happening.

”hey.”

maybe this was a dream, and steve will wake up in a few seconds.

”hey, stevie.��

fuck.

steve froze. he slowly angled his head to look at the body next to him. his eyes widened to see that eddie “the freak” munson was smiling small at him. eddie’s hair was as wild as ever. his rings were bold and shiny. and his eyes—

oh god, his eyes. his brown doe eyes were so beautiful this close. but there was a smudging of black underneath them. and it took steve a second to realize that eddie was wearing eyeliner.

holy shit, eddie was going to be the death of him.

”hi,” eddie said quietly when steve was finally looking at him, albeit red as a cherry. eddie reached into the pocket of his leather jacket, taking out a folded piece of paper. “i got your note.”

steve was rendered completely speechless. he could not believe what was happening right now. maybe he was going crazy? maybe he really was dreaming, and this was the part of the dream right before it altered into a terrifying nightmare of epic proportions?

but the way eddie was looking at him was mesmerizing. his face was relaxed and happy as he kept on staring at steve. if this was a dream, steve wishes he would never, ever wake up.

”um—“

steve couldn’t utter anything else. his throat was dry and he felt like he was on the verge of having a breakdown. but eddie just smiled bigger at him.

”here let me try this again.” eddie stuck out his right hand, and steve’s attention was immediately drawn to the prominent veins and the tarnished silver ring. “hi, i’m eddie. it’s nice to meet you.”

steve was definitely going into cardiac arrest. he was such a fucking goner.

but he still reached out and shakily placed his hand in eddie’s, and was quickly taken aback by the callouses that rubbed against his softer skin. honestly, it wasn’t unpleasant. steve kind of liked it.

”uh, i-i’m steve,” he stammered. “nice to meet you.”

eddie gave him a toothy grin as he gently retracted his hand. the metalhead folded his arms on the desk before him then laid his head down, his right cheek pressed down so he could remain looking at steve.

”not to be too forward or anything, stevie—“ steve had a tiny coronary at the usage of that nickname again “—but henderson may have mentioned some drawings. i would love to see them.”

steve was going to kill dustin. it wasn’t an if anymore; it was a when and where. he was going to destroy dustin if it were the last thing he would ever do.

although, steve couldn’t blame dustin entirely. dustin saw some doodles in steve’s sketchbook of his other older guy friend, one of whom he looks up to very much. of course, he was going to say something to said other older guy friend.

it took a moment for steve to collect himself before he was clumsily reaching for his sketchbook. with shaking hands, he flipped to the pages that were filled with nothing but eddie. and once he got there, he shoved the book towards eddie and slumped back in his chair.

steve anxiously watched eddie thumb through the various pages that were filled to the brim with his own face. his expression didn’t change, nor did his body language.

finally, eddie gently shut the sketchbook and looked up at steve. there was a certain twinkle in his eyes that had steve’s brain shutting down.

”those are all of me,” eddie whispered.

steve only nodded.

but eddie didn’t seem disgusted or revolted or angry. the same soft look on his face from earlier was even softer, his gaze never falling away from steve.

honestly, eddie seemed overjoyed that he had been drawn. he was now beaming at steve, who had begun drawing into himself. but the obvious flush crawling all over eddie’s face had steve sitting forward again.

”you’re, um . . . you’re really fun to draw,” steve said in reply, his voice just as quiet.

eddie lifted his head and leaned in to steve’s space, though he kept a fair distance between them. steve wished he could close that distance forever.

”yeah?“

that little smirk on eddie’s face had steve’s stomach doing flips.

steve felt himself burning up from the inside out. he knew his face was beet red and his heartbeat was thumping out of control.

steve gave eddie a little nod as he nibbled on his lip.

eddie immediately clocked the action, his eyes darting down to steve’s mouth for a brief moment before locking gazes once more. steve swore he could see flashes of something oddly familiar reflecting in eddie’s irises.

“do you wanna hang out after school?” eddie asked him, his face still fairly close to steve’s.

”yes,” steve said without hesitation.

this earned another wide, nothing but teeth smile from eddie. his smile made steve see stars.

”awesome. you wanna come over to mine? my uncle will be at work.”

and that’s how steve found himself driving behind eddie’s van after school, after explaining to robin what was happening. he had obviously been talking way too fast for robin to understand, but she had definitely seen eddie obviously looking at them from where he was parked a few car spaces down. she had then went in search of nancy.

when they arrived at eddie’s trailer, steve suddenly became nervous. he was scared and anxious and so fucking hot. jesus christ, it wasn’t even november yet, why was he so hot?

then he was walking behind eddie into the trailer, and he was reminded of why he was boiling alive.

eddie didn’t hesitate to lead him down the hall to his bedroom. steve was overwhelmed with the sight of band posters, piles of clothes, stacks and stacks of books, various dungeons and dragons memorabilia, and two different guitars. but he would be lying if he said it didn’t feel like a home.

steve was dragged out of his head by eddie. steve had been looking around the other boy’s room completely in awe, blind to the fact that eddie had been watching him with fondness. but steve finally stepped fully into the room, moving his eyes to his shoes.

”hey.”

and then there was eddie, standing right in front of steve. his presence was so overwhelming but in the best way possible. he smelt like cigarettes and cheap cologne, with an undertone that was so undoubtedly eddie, it made steve’s head spin.

”there you are,” eddie said once steve looked up at him. eddie smiled at him. “where’d you go?”

steve swallowed nervously.

”i just really like your room.”

eddie’s smile softened. “thanks, stevie,” he told him. he then slipped his hand into steve’s. “come here.”

eddie guided steve over to his bed. he had steve lie down on his back, looking up at the ceiling. eddie joined him and then pointed upwards.

”i’ve got some glow-in-the-dark stars and shit up there,” he explained in a reverent tone. “my uncle got them for me a couple months ago. i’ve been wanting to show you since.”

this made steve stop. eddie had something he’s been wanting to show steve for months? that could not be true. never in a million years could that be true.

but eddie sounded sincere. steve felt deep in his gut that eddie was being honest, that he genuinely wanted to show him these glow-in-the-dark stars and planets that were a gift from his uncle.

steve turned his head to look at eddie. eddie was still staring up at the ceiling, but it just gave steve an opportunity to admire his immaculate side profile. he followed the slope of his nose with his eyes, the frizzy bangs against his forehead, the pink of his lips that steve had a sudden urge to kiss and touch.

eddie must have felt steve’s eyes on him as he shifted to look back at steve. steve was honestly and truly stunned by eddie’s beauty, and it made his chest physically ache.

before he realized, steve was reaching forward until his index finger collided with eddie’s chin. eddie froze at the contact, but didn’t do anything to stop steve.

so steve lightly grazed his fingers along eddie’s face, jaw, and neck. he greedily idled on his adam’s apple and the black smudges of eyeliner. he ran his thumb along eddie’s dimple, followed by the tracing of eddie’s lips.

eddie’s lips were soft and plush. they had been stripped of layers and layers of skin, but that didn’t bother steve by any means. he just kept touching eddie.

”i like you,” eddie said out of the blue, causing steve to stop his movements. “i really like you. i’ve been trying to come up with an excuse to sit with you in art for so fucking long. then when dustin mentioned those drawings, i knew i had to do that soon.”

steve smiled gently as he began moving his thumb once more.

”i really like you, too,” he replied. “and it scares me. but i’m okay with that. i’ve been wanting to get to know you since henderson started talking about you.”

eddie returned the smile as he leaned in further, invading more of steve’s space. but even with the heat between their bodies and the too intimate touching on steve’s part didn’t deter either of them.

”that right, sweetheart?”

steve was going to die from all of these nicknames, guaranteed. he nodded anyways, hoping that eddie would call him sweetheart til the end of time.

steve was now cradling eddie’s face. the barely-there stubble was oddly comforting under steve’s palm. eddie couldn’t take his eyes off of steve’s bright pink lips.

”you’re really pretty.”

from eddie’s reaction, steve knows he has never been called that. eddie locks eyes with him, his mouth hung slightly open, his skin an inferno beneath steve’s hand. eddie’s face is flushed and he is more than flustered.

then eddie has his mouth on steve’s, and steve can taste the cigarettes on his tongue and the chapped skin of his lips and the stubble rubbing against his chin. steve shifts his hand to the back of eddie’s neck, with his fingers curling through that wild hair. eddie has his arm securely wrapped around steve, his hand gripping at the material of his shirt.

now, if steve were being honest, drawing is definitely what keeps him sane. but after today it’s become a close second.

[maple-the-awesome]

We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Chapter 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x GN Reader

Words: 1,875

Overview: Given your old-fashioned personality and obsession with all things 1940s to 1980s, it’s no wonder that most people refer to you as an ‘old soul’ who would’ve rather lived back then than in the modern era. Little do they know, you already did, but with your previous life as Hollie Stark cut short, you’ve been left with some…unfinished business, to say the least. Top of your list? Finally getting to marry your thought-to-be-lost fiancé.

Series Masterlist 🤎 Marvel Masterlist 🤎 Fandom Masterlist

CHAPTER ONE: WORSE TIME ALONE

"How many laps did you make?"

"Six...you?"

"24," despite how out of breath you currently are and the roll of your eyes at Steve's smug face, you still manage to crack a smile between the constant huffs of air exiting your mouth.

"I'll have you know six is very impressive. I watched kids in school cry after just one," you defend before chugging down the contents of your water bottle.

Glancing at the blond who practically towers over you from where you sit on the ground, you notice he looks like he could run at least seven more laps before breaking a sweat,”...hey, there's this diner a few blocks down that has really good burgers. We should go."

You knew what he was going to say before even asking the question which is why there was slight hesitation behind it. Regardless, you still chew on your lip when he gives a shallow chuckle, shaking his head," sorry...I've got plans today."

"Oh come on. Super soldiers need to eat, right? And plus, I heard this place has a great senior discount," you press on despite feeling a pierce of guilt in doing so. You're fully aware of what today is, however, there's still a part of you that wants him to confirm it himself. Why? You’re debating your true intentions. Maybe you feel bad that he thinks he has to spend today alone. Maybe you secretly don't want to spend it alone yourself. It's a hell of a day for that, after all.

Despite your hopeful smile and false ignorance to the date, Steve doesn't budge with his answer, although, he does give you an apologetic smile," sorry, but I can't cancel today. Maybe next time."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Rogers..." Once again, he chuckles which sounds more convincing this time around much to your relief, however, it's only a temporary fix to the aching you feel internally.

It's been three years since Steve returned after having been miraculously frozen in ice; a possibility you had never expected and quite frankly believed to be some cruel prank when the news first reached you. Hollie had been alive for nearly thirty years after Steve's 'death'. You had been living your second life for twenty-two years. Not once did you think Steve could possibly still be alive after all that time, so it's safe to say you felt very conflicted upon seeing him for the first time in decades. You were happy- never mistake that-, there's just one tiny problem: he doesn’t know your secret.

If you were still Hollie and visibly old as dirt, your reunion with Steve would've been a tearful one because he'd know exactly who you are and the history you both share. The problem is you aren't still Hollie and, honestly, you'd be offended if anyone said you look ninety-five.

Right now, in this life, you are (Y/n), a talent agent of SHIELD entrusted with working directly alongside the Avengers. Until that moment three years ago, you had never met Captain America. It's a consequence that you know enough about the forties to help him adjust to the modern era. It's pure luck that you seem to understand him as well as you do. It's a secret to him that there's so much more to you than meets his eyes.

You'd be breaking your biggest rule by telling him you're Hollie. Now, it’s not to say you haven't toyed with the idea before. You want desperately to tell him, but at what risk? You'd look truly insane telling him you're his dead friend not to mention you might lose your job if you insist on it too much. One wrong reaction could cause a domino effect that destroys everything you’ve been working to preserve. It doesn’t matter what today is; that’s a risk you refuse to take when you’ve worked this hard just to have your past life’s family still around.

"You doing good?" Natasha leans back against the counter, her arms stretched out as she looks over to you. Even with her question, you don’t look away from the scene before you.

The boys are in a circle in the living room with Clint making some poor joke that still manages to make the whole group laugh. Usually you love nights like this where you can watch everyone let loose from their busy lives, but tonight has been different. Tonight you feel suffocated. Even Steve was smart enough not to put himself through the pain, giving Tony some excuse similar to the one he had given you this morning. You should’ve just done the same.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know, I'm a spy trained to recognize body language and you've been pretty distracted all night. Somethings on your mind," it's no longer a question, but rather a statement. She knows it's true and so do you.

Taking a sip of your drink, you keep your lips against the glass for an extended amount of time while debating how much you should admit," today’s an...anniversary of types, you could say."

Natasha's expression softens. True to her words about being a gifted spy, she can tell simply by that glimmer in your eyes that you aren't referencing something joyful," and you've been keeping it to yourself all night? Do you want to talk about it? We can go somewhere more quiet."

You inhale a bit too deeply which you know she hears, but you face her with a soft smile anyways," thanks, but I'll be fine. It would be a lot to explain."

'Too much to explain,' you take yet another drink from the glass that's basically empty before pushing yourself off the chair,” I think I should get going. I don’t want to walk home too late.”

Natasha's eyes follow you, the frown on her face evident,” do you want me to drop you off? We can steal one of Tony's cars and go for a drive around town. Might distract you a bit."

Her offer would be tempting any other time, but you shake your head while wiggling on your coat with a smile," nah, I'm an adult and a trained agent. I think I can walk myself home."

"Leaving already?!" Tony calls out, the rest of the group turning heads to you with smiles," the night's still young!"

"I'm tired and old. I can't stay up as late as all of you," you half jest, smirking at his groan as he throws his head back in mock annoyance.

"Hey, don't go around saying you’re old. If you're old, then what does that make me?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure Steve would be happy to invite you on bingo nights and show you his old man diet if you ask him. Have a goodnight everyone," you receive a chorus of 'goodnights' before the evaluator doors shut, leaving you alone to fall back against the mental frame with a tired sigh.

The distance from the Avenger's Tower to your apartment isn't terrible. Just a few blocks to the subway and a train ride away. You manage to echo out most of the trip with your own tired thoughts which are normally a welcomed distraction from all the weird smells and strange people, however, they only manage to weigh you down further tonight.

Even upon closing the door of your apartment, you let go of a heavy sigh before kicking off your shoes somewhere you don't care where. Shedding your coat and letting it simply fall to the ground, you practically drag your feet into the bedroom where you carelessly collapse onto the soft covers of your bed. You remain there for a good few minutes, soaking in the familiar scent that your friends often joke reminds them of their grandparents, then again, they say everything about your house reminds them of an old person. The only person who appreciates your antiques is Steve which is no shocker.

Looking up, you meet eyes with the picture on your bedside which makes your heart even heavier than it has been all day. You've really tried today; you've tried to think about something else and distract yourself from the past, yet here you are teary eyed after an entire day of keeping your emotions damned up from your friends; emotions you worry they could never understand.

You carefully pick up the picture before rolling onto your side with it in hand. You smile sadly through the darkness," you know how many times I hear people say time heals all wounds? Meanwhile I'm here nearly seventy years and a new life later, still heartbroken...Crazy enough, I actually think it was worse this year, too. Then again, I think it might be because of the 'situation'.

"Steve always goes to the museum on days like this. They got this nice little exhibit set up for you there that he visits. I wanted to offer to go, too, because I feel bad that he has to mourn on his own and honestly, I didn't want to be alone today either, but it's not exactly easy to weasel my way into that part of his life. If I were still Hollie to him, sure, but I think it would be pretty weird for me to tell him as (Y/n) 'yeah, I miss him just as much'...I don't think that would make him feel any better.

"I spent most the day in the lab with Tony actually. I think you'd like him. He's just like a mini Howard, but like, the good parts. I mean, I love Howard, he was just an idiot when it came to raising kids. I was always worried he might drop the ball with Tony, especially without me around to spoil him with attention, but I gotta say, he ended up pretty good with all things considered. A smart ass like his dad, but that's just a Stark thing. I doubt you'd deny that."

You take in a breath, hesitating before continuing," I'm grateful; I really am. Even in a new life, I get to remember all the amazing times I had as Hollie. I've even been lucky enough to build this life around those I knew and loved as her. I still get to be friends with Steve even if he doesn't realize the bond we have, and I get to be proud of Tony which I wish I could tell him without it being weird. It’s just…I miss you so much, James.

"They say people are reborn when they have unfinished business to tend to, but all I ever wanted as Hollie was to marry you. I can't exactly do anything about that when you're not here, although, I wish I could...Like I told you sixty eight years ago to this day, I can't imagine spending my life with anyone other than you and as I hope you can see, Barnes, I sure meant that; one life to another, you're the only one for me," you press a kiss to the picture while squeezing your tear-filled eyes shut as if that would magically bring your fiancé back. Looking back at the picture of his smiling face, you try your best to smile back even if it’s a broken one," I wish you were still here with me, James…"

NEXT CHAPTER➡️

⬅️PREVIOUS CHAPTER

[iam93percentstardust]

"all the things you said" ironfalcon? ♥️

me: may would probably like something nice and serious for this prompt me: ...nah

all the things you said

sam has a twitter account. well, actually, sam has three twitter accounts: his personal, the official captain america one he runs jointly with steve, and Things My Billionaire Boyfriend Says (tony doesn't know he runs this one).

mostly, the things sam posts to that one are funny, things like tony yelling at dum-e for gleefully spraying the entire lab with the fire extinguisher after one (1) tiny ("so tiny you couldn't even see it, sam!") fire, or things that are absurdly sweet like the time tony was legitimately baffled he couldn't just take sam on a last minute anniversary trip to venice ("because some of us have jobs, tony").

and then there are the times when tony says something so ridiculous only a rich person could have said them ("why can't i bring the gold-plated golf clubs with me? hammer's are only silver and i have to rub that in his face"). those usually get a lot of responses along the lines of "eat the rich," to which sam always response with "oh i do ;)" and a picture of tony's amazing ass in whichever well-tailored pants he wore most recently.

it's a great account and it's a lot of fun for sam, who has to make fun of something or else he'll go insane with all the superheroes and geniuses and fucking gods he lives with. so naturally, clint has to go and ruin it all.

"hey tony, did you really tell the president that he could wait to talk to you until you were finished with your pedicure?"

"yea--" tony's eyes narrow. "how did you know that?"

clint makes the mistake of looking at sam first.

the next tweet on the account is a picture taken by natasha of sam crashing through the window, falcon wings already extended, as tony chases after him with the caption "the billionaire might be bad but the boyfriend isn't much better"

Send me a title and a ship!

[ruthofrhythm]

Last chapter out now!

The crystal clear sky perfectly complemented the beautiful scenery in front of him. Steve had never seen such a beautiful wedding. Actually, now that he was thinking about it, Steve had never actually gone to a wedding. It was a good one to be his first.

Jonathan had done a great job dressing up the backyard behind the new Hopper-Byers’ house to make it fit for a wedding. There were artfully placed streamers connecting the trees that El had joyously put up and an array of flower petals outlining the aisle Joyce would walk down. It wasn’t super fancy — but they wouldn’t have enjoyed that kind of thing.

Steve knew Joyce was previously resistant to the idea of getting re-married; he didn’t know the details of her first marriage, but it didn’t take a genius to realise it wasn’t great. But after she rescued Hopper (after they realised Hopper was alive all along, which was still insane to Steve), they started dating for real and it quickly became serious enough for them to decide on marriage. Originally, they’d decided on doing a small civil ceremony at civic hall. But El had gotten so excited at the premise of a wedding — something she’d seen featured extensively in her soaps — that the whole thing had slowly escalated into a whole wedding.

Eddie nudged him, handing him a glass. “Fruit punch for my fruit punch.”

“That’s not even a pet name. You’re ridiculous,” Steve said, gratefully drinking the cold drink. He pulled at the collar of his shirt as the stifling heat was getting to him and the clothes didn’t help. It was worse for Hopper who was standing in his suit, slowly sweltering, as he paced at the altar waiting for the ceremony to begin. Jonathan and Will were waiting far more patiently with him, talking him down from his nerves. He had nothing to be worried about; he’d gotten so much advice about his vows that they were sure to be perfect — or maybe a mess, if he’d taken any of the kids seriously. Either way, Joyce was so in love with him that no matter what went wrong, it wouldn’t matter.

“Anything is a pet name if you try hard enough, Steven,” Eddie said.

“Alright, Edward,” Steve said, rolling his eyes. His name wasn’t even a shortened form of Steven, not that it stopped Eddie from calling him that. He’d quickly learned that while he could call Mike ‘Michael’ and Will ‘William’ without too much fuss, calling Max ‘Maxime’ was off-limits if he wanted to retain control of all his limbs.

“Next up is Jonathan and Nancy’s wedding, huh,” Murray joked, leaning back, pointing at the two in question in the row behind him. Steve felt a pang of emotion at the sentiment. Nancy glared in response, about to erupt, when the wedding march started playing from the speakers hidden in the bushes. Saved by the music, as they all turned to watch Joyce walk down the aisle.

She was splendid in her cream dress and brilliant smile that was only rivalled by Hopper’s own. She walked down the aisle a little too fast, as if she was so excited she couldn’t wait the extra 10 seconds to match the pace of the music. It was endearing.

The priest started talking, welcoming them for coming to the event. He started reciting from the Bible and it didn’t even bore Steve the way Mass normally did.

Steve’s eyes welled up as he looked on at Joyce and Hopper’s clasped hands as they started their vows. The wedding was beautiful — it wasn’t overdone or ornate, but true to their relationship. Every vow was personalised and from the heart. They loved each other so much, it was insane to witness.

“Gonna be honest. I thought I’d be the one crying at this,” Eddie whispered.

Steve forced a smile. “So did I.”

Steve tried to get ahold of himself. It was ridiculous to be jealous right now. This was a happy day and Steve was ruining it.

It was just — Steve wanted this, too. He wanted the dream wedding with all his family there to support him. He wanted the wedding with the priest and the legally binding paperwork. But most importantly, he wanted the dream wedding with Eddie. And he knew that’s not how it worked. You could either get the wedding with the family, the priest, the legalities or you could get the boy. It wasn’t a choice to Steve. He wouldn’t give Eddie up for anything.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to see it. He just wished it was possible to have it all. He wished he could get married to Eddie. It was impossible for him to watch Joyce and Hopper without getting hit by this intense wave of jealousy.

“You okay, Steve? You seem kinda upset.” Eddie whispered, careful not to distract from the ceremony.

“I just want to marry you,” Steve blurted out. He clasped his hand over his mouth. He did not just say that to Eddie. They hadn’t even been dating for 6 months yet.

“It’s kinda frowned upon to propose during someone else’s wedding, babe,” Eddie said.

“I’m not proposing,” Steve squeaked out. If he was, he’d do a much better job of it. There’d be champagne involved. And rose petals. He’d plan a speech and everything.

“Well, it kinda sounds like you’re proposing.”

“No. I just meant that one day, in the future, I’d maybe like to marry you,” Steve clarified, though that didn’t sound that much better. Steve always came too strong, and it had ruined one relationship already, but he just couldn’t stop himself.

“One day, in the future, I’d like to maybe marry you, too. But why did that make you all upset?”

Steve stared blankly at him. He filled away the first part of Eddie’s statement because if he thought too closely on Eddie’s words, he might explode. “Eddie, we can’t get married.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not legal…” Steve said, trailing off. There was no way Eddie didn’t know that, right?

“So what? Nothing stopping us from inviting our friends and family and vowing ourselves to each other. Plus, who knows, one day, maybe in the future, it could be legal,” Eddie said.

Steve smiled. Though he couldn’t ever imagine such a thing, it was nice to imagine. “Alright, Eddie. One day.”

Steve took Eddie’s hand in his as he focused back on the declaration of love in front of him.

[killyspinacoladas]

so we’re saying that steve was also drunk at the halloween party so he didn’t take in much of what nancy said. the next day steve confidently reminded nancy of what she said. he said that nancy believed that they killed barb, meaning he did take in what she said about her trauma, he just chose not to acknowledge it (he only thought about his own feelings and the part that concerned him instead of nancy’s own feelings). don’t get me wrong, steve also deserves to have his own opinions and feelings but he actively chose to ignore nancy’s feelings to make a point on his own.

if we’re being real here, no one’s speculating that steve just left the party, we literally watched him walk out and close the door (should i say aggressively). there was no sign of him returning or speaking to anyone else. ‘speculating’ that he just went out for some fresh air is really just looking for an excuse not to put steve in the wrong. not saying nancy is completely innocent either but steve clearly left. he was obviously pissed and not in the mood to see nancy. he left her alone.

steve said he ‘figured’ jonathan would take her home. he just assumed he would take nancy home. lucky he was right or things could’ve ended a lot differently for both of them

Sorry this took so long, it got buried in my notifications.

When I said he was drunk and latched onto the love part, I meant that the love part was the only thing he could probably deal with in that moment. When you're drunk, sometimes heavy topics are harder to even understand much less want to talk about. I could see him just latching onto that at the time but then once he'd sobered up he started thinking about the rest of the things she said. I'm not saying that's a good way to handle it, but he was a drunk teen and that's how he handled it.

I think the situation they were put in was insane and they both handled their grief differently. Steve didn't know Barb as well as Nancy did so idk if that part of her speech in the bathroom hit as hard as "our love is bullshit" did for him.

Also, we know that the Duffers are notoriously bad at developing Steve's emotions/trauma. This guy literally got tortured in season 3 and they didn't mention it again. The Duffers have so many characters to write for that they don't put a lot on Steve other than comedic relief, which I honestly think is a mistake. You can't give him an incredible redemption arc and then just leave it at that.

So yeah, a lot of my interpretation is assumption because that's all I have to go on. They've fleshed out the kids' traumas, Hopper's trauma, Joyce & Jonathan's trauma, and Nancy's trauma, so assumptions are all I have for Steve (and Robin).

As for Steve leaving the party, I get it. It probably wasn't the best way to handle things. I'm not saying he was right to leave her, but we know that people make dumb decisions when they are hurt and also drunk. Also his "I assumed Jonathan would take you" wasn't about taking her home from the party, it was him saying he assumed Jonathan would take her to school that morning. About the party Nancy said "and then you took me home" to which Steve said "no, that was your other boyfriend", so that implies he knew Jonathan took her home that night, which implies he stuck around long enough to see that or say something to Jonathan.

Again, I don't think leaving her was the best idea but I also don't think he abandoned her completely based on what he said in the alley. But I do agree he didn't do a great job listening to what was really bothering her, and even he admits that later when he says he was a shitty boyfriend.

[acosmiceducation]

The only financial product you need to know

If I had a dollar for every instagram post, Motley Fool article or personal finance “expert” who claimed to know which stocks to buy, what was hot and what you should get in on, I’d have enough money to give everyone reading this article enough money to retire right now. Picking individual stocks (if you intend to make money) is a very long arduous process. To be effective at it you need to understand the following about each stock you merely consider:

What type of business it is Profit to Earnings ratio (P/E) Earnings per share Past performance Current share price compared to past performance Past, current, and future plans for major dealings within the business A general understanding of the economy as a whole and how it relates to this stock Who is running the company and what does that mean for the future share price Staying up to date on daily news and trends …And ideally a lot more….

And even if you do that for every one of the thousands of publicly traded companies around the world you could still get it wrong and lose your money.

Let’s look at an example. Enron, the former energy giant:

This is a well-known case of a booming energy company where in the year 2000 brought in $101 billion in revenue! There were headlines everywhere telling investors to buy the stock. In March 2001 the stock was trading at $55/share. By October it was trading at $33/share and Wall Street was screaming “BUY”! On November 29th it was trading for a mere $0.36/share and Credit Suisse First Boston said to “hold”, it’ll go back up right?. But 3 days later the company filed for bankruptcy and that was it. All the money investors had in Enron was gone. It turns out for months they were fraudulently covering up their debts while publicly claiming their profits were great.

Don’t get me wrong, one of the fastest and most reliable ways to build insane amounts of wealth over time would be to put all your money in just a few companies that have huge potential. Just imagine if you put all your money into Apple in the 1980s, you’d be filthy stinking rich now, much richer if you had just put your money in an ETF, but we only know that now. If we put ourselves back in the 1980s it would have been almost impossible for you to have predicted how well Apple would have done. Steve Jobs was fired in the mid 80s and Apple had a very rough following decade. The company very well could have gone under meaning you would have lost all of your initial investment. Unless you are willing to risk losing all your money, I do not recommend this approach.

In fact, I made this mistake early on in my investing days. I was lured in by the headlines “Put $1000 in this stock to see your money increase 10x in the next decade”. “This is one stock I’m buying hand-over-fist this month”. “You’ll regret not buying this one energy stock now”. I get it, it’s sexy! Individual stocks have no management fees, and have the potential to earn you tons of cash. I mean, the next Tesla, or Apple, or Amazon is being publicly traded for dirt cheap right now. I just have no idea what the name of that company is, and looking for it is more likely going to be a waste of your time. But hey, if you want to spend hours, or even an entire career researching and picking the best stocks go right ahead, just know that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. There are tons of people already making a living doing that. They’re called Mutual Fund managers and how many of them consistently beat the market (the average return of the stock market)? It’s a ridiculously low number. Basically unless you’re ultra good at it like Warren Buffett or Ray Dalio, eventually you’re going to screw up.

But there is a solution! Honestly it is one of those things in life where it really is almost too-good-to-be-true. Enter the ETF.

Full article on my website! https://acosmiceducation.com/etfs/

[adultswim2021]

Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! #30: “Brownies” | September 29, 2008 - 12:30AM | S03E10

The great thing about Awesome Show is that it’s inconsistent in the way it approaches the host segments. Tim & Eric usually introduce the show as themselves, but not always. There’s usually a gimmick, but sometimes not a strong one. But a lot of times, it’s this: They are dressed like dorks in front of something resembling a J.C. Pennys photo studio shoot. They’ve done a handful of episodes like this, and they vary only slightly. I characterize it as burn-out, or just the fact that you can only do a certain number of truly distinct set-ups.

I think so little of this that I found it a little jarring when this episode’s host segment, which seems rather thin and dashed-off to me, featured bloopers where the cast and crew are beside themselves with insane laughter before shooting it. The premise is Tim’s mom sends Tim a box of brownies, and they are so tasty that he and Eric just start going hog on them. That’s basically it. It's fine, but not great.

The first sketch of note is Linsey Porch singing “I Can Wait”, which is a bouncy sounding song about being a creepy stalker. The “Come Over” woman, Jennifer Mims, is the object of Linsey’s creepy affection. The song defensively says what he’s doing isn’t “rape”, and the end of the song features a bit of a reversal where Mims gives a big Lynchian smile to indicate that she’s into it, suggesting maybe that this is actually a bit of kinky role-playng. Tim & Eric watched this as part of their Valentines watchalong and kept calling this one “so fucked”. It has its charms, but it almost feels like an imitation Tim & Eric sketch to me. 

There’s a reprise of the Business Hugs sketch, and it’s just alright; seems kinda like leftovers though. Wise shares with us his personal cell-phone number so he can help you out personally, which is nice of him. The scene transition is the best part, where a little Ray Wise bounces onto Eric’s bed. The editing is maybe the best part of this whole episode. 

The next scene is Tim & Eric in bed, in their respective homes. Eric calls Tim so they can indulge in their nightly ritual of saying a friendship prayer before dozing off. They are both still chowing on brownies. This scene is good. They both doze off and wind up sharing the same dream, they are both climbing a mountain made of brownie, that they start eating and tripping out on. I like this okay, but I don’t find it that funny. The little Doug edits are cool. They are clearly going for something a little more purely for-stoners here, I think. I also like Tim’s tiny sunglasses he’s wearing in bed (which Eric wears in the dream, for some reason). 

The next sketch is the very Memorable Gettin’ It Dunn: a public-access style talk show starring Richard Dunn with his guest Tanese Gray. He plays a word association game with her, using the words “pizza” and “plibt”. He eventually outros out of this segment by hitting play on his tape deck and having reggae music play, which he says is his favorite. I love this bit. It's too bad that it's so short, and that they didn't produce a full-length version of this and make it available as an extra on the DVD.

The next sketch is “The Facts Machine”, which is a Fax Machine that just prints out facts. This one’s okay, but they made the choice to speed it up and I think they did that to “save” the sketch. There are funny jokes in this, but they whiz right by. Bob, who’s been used pretty sparingly in this season, does the voice-over for it. I forgot about this sketch entirely, so I guess it qualifies as “forgettable”. But I like it.

Steve Brule returns! Here he advises you to get your stomach doubled with a synthetic stomach/esophagus combo that lets you eat unhealthy junk without digesting it. This is a gross idea, but it has some funny bits. I laughed at the line “I love to eat bad foods for me”. Just perfect dumb-guy phrasing. 

The final scene of the season: Tim & Eric have eaten the brownie mountain and can’t wake from their dream. As they scream in anguish, we get a trippy sequence featuring different characters from the season, superimposed over floating brownies. It’s set to a song sung by Frank Black of the Pixies, a detail I forgot about. It’s sorta cool, and it seems like they’re making a conscious decision to free themselves of the custom of doing cliff-hangers at the end of each season. Good call. But this feels very clip-showy, because it more-or-less is.

There are a few deleted scenes from this season whose intended placement isn’t clear, so I’ll touch on them here. First there was Kazual Swordin’ with Kaz, the Asian fella that Tim always tries to kiss on the lips. He plants one on him good, eventually, so look out for that. This series of sketches is about Kaz teaching you how to use swords to do things swords don’t normally do, like pick up trash or open a locked door. These are funny, but I can kinda see why they were cut. Some of this footage does get used in a season four episode!

Another deleted sketch features Tim as a whispery singer-songwriter who sings a song with a single line about nobody loving him. It’s well-done, but slight and not laugh-out-loud funny. There’s also a sketch that’s a commercial for a browntooth (which is like bluetooth) "friend". The premise is that bluetooth headsets make you look crazy while you're having a conversation using one, so this service offers you an actual man who will pretend to be having a conversation with you to cover it up. The spokesmodel is a maladroit woman that they attached a cartoon mechanical spider thorax to. Her name is “Daniel_”. There’s some amusing touches, but the premise is sorta lame and I’m glad they cut it.

I can definitively call season three the worst season so far, and it might be the worst season ever. But I remember season four being a little better, and I honestly can’t remember season five that well. I still think the show is great, it’s just spottier than it’s ever been. But usually there’s at least one inspired bit per episode. But, you usually say that about shows like SNL, don’t you? If it’s a numbers game, Tim & Eric has the edge; 11 minutes to find the funny vs. 90 is a much better batting average. 

EPHEMERA CORNER: 

Gettin’ it Dunn (full length version).

There is actually a full-length eleven-and-a-half minute version of this; originally intended to air as a full episode of Awesome Show. I don’t remember where Tim & Eric said this, but I remember them giving an interview or something and saying they didn’t want to “sacrifice” a regular episode of Awesome Show for it. That’s too bad. I could name at least one episode I would have happily sacrificed for this. I remember thinking at the time that it was a shame that they had a definition in mind for what a “regular” Awesome Show was, but I guess I get it now. 

I watched the whole thing in preparation for this write-up, and it would’ve been a season highlight if it actually had aired as-is. Dunn tries to be sweet with Tanese, and it’s clear that he’s seriously been pursuing her as his girlfriend, and mentions that they first met ten years ago. She sorta humors him. At one point the lower-third under her name changes from “Richard’s Girlfriend” to “Richard’s Friend” at one point when the conversation gets a little more explicit about their dynamic.

There’s one moment in particular I think about often: she teases Richard for wearing little shorts all the time, and says “you like to swim in your little shorts”. Dunn replies “I don’t like to swim in water” “What do you like to swim in?” “Use your imagination, dear”. I assume he means pussy, but it barely makes sense, and it’s so funny how cutesy he’s being. 

MAIL BAG

*professor chaos's sidekick from South Park pointing at the titties on the robot chicken dvd* Bob & David did it, Bob & David did it!

I’ll never forget David Cross being mean in the commentary about the topless woman they got for Mr. Show, who calls her nipples a “bummer” and regrets not asking to see them in the audition process. I hope his wife Amber Heard made him apologize for that one.