#THE AMOUNT OF BLOOD ON ED’S HAND IN THE TRAILER

[theclaravoyant]

trying not to spiral over every single detail but since this is the spiralling over every single detail website how bout when Ed tells those kids “now don’t bother stabbing, chances are they’ll survive. you want a good slash.” is he telling us how to defeat the plot armour . is he telling us what the non survivable injury is .

[mimicha-arts]

Date: 09/29 SPOILERS FOR S2 Part 1

I don't know how many times I rewrote everything, my documents flew away for dozens of pages, so I will divide my post into several parts.

I like to theorize and explain things to myself, but at the moment every new question that comes up contradicts every answer I found. I don’t have a lot of time now, and unfortunately I have to write first, then translate. So I don't know when I will be able to edit the next part and post it.

In the first post I want to talk about time, number of attempts, and what the original reality is. My friendly reminder - this is all just empty speculation and I'm just having fun (while crying actually). I'm pretty sure that when we get trailers and more information about canon, I'll change my mind a lot. But that's it for now.

Time

The events in s2 take place in a short time. In the last interview it was said that about 3 days had passed. so. October, 23th - Lu Guang was stabbed, Cheng Xiaoshi was interrogated during the day, the events in the hospital placed during the evening. October, 24th - Chen Bin's funeral, Cheng Xiaoshi dived in his photo October, 25th - dive in Li Tianxi's photo, interrogation of Li Tianchen, time loop, Lu Guang's kidnapping October, 26th - everything that happened in the theater and in the tunnel Plus taking into account the time (about a month) they spent in the hospital, ep12 ends at the end of November/beginning of December, congratulations. The start of the new year is almost here, have we really crossed the critical point for Cheng Xiaoshi and he won't be forever 21? Heh.

9/13 is not the date of Cheng Xiaoshi's death,  it has to be 9/12. Below I will describe why I think that this is not his first attempt, and in this case more than 5 minutes have definitely passed. Time has not stood still, seconds are passing. Lu Guang's watch does not say five in the morning, but midnight and five minutes. The date of the password is Lu Guang's reminder, corresponding exactly to the time of the dive. If that's the case, I believe that each new reality is a new password corresponding to the time of  diving, as a reminder of the previous failure. 

Technically, I think that Cheng Xiaoshi actually died at 5:35 in the original timeline - this date was indicated, everything led to it, but in the end it was not shown  in s2 itself. The events in the tunnel do not correspond to this time, since the actions took place earlier (the meeting at the theater was scheduled for 3 am, the rest of the events happened very quickly, the whole action couldn't have lasted for 2 hours and a half, so I think everything happened before approximately 4 am or so).

It coincides too well with this broken time in the Overthink. So, I am desperate enough to believe that  Cheng Xiaoshi's death occurred at 05:35 (as actual time). Even if the specific time in the ED can be perceived as 5:20, because that is literally the reason why Lu Guang broke the time - his wish that Cheng Xiaoshi could live, his love for Cheng Xiaoshi. It is possible that time passed in the original reality - literally from this moment until the last attempt at 00:05. So maybe. While Lu Guang lives one life after another, in fact, Lu Guang is truly “frozen” in this 12-13 September, and not even a day has passed in the original timeline. Why do I think that exactly this amount of time has passed (more than five minutes, but less than a day)?

It’s difficult to say at all that Cheng Xiaoshi died in the photo studio in the first place.

There are changes in the design of their room.

Lu Guang probably washed the blood from his hands, so he spent some time for it, but did not change his clothes, still covered in blood, even has traces of blood on his face. (Did Cheng Xiaoshi touch his face before he died? Did Lu Guang himself cry, covering his face with hands? Oh, boy)

I'll talk about details in the next part.

Again and again

I feel sorry for him. He is the most pathetic, most selfish, most insane person in the universe. I love it so much.

I believe we have not yet seen the actual chronology in terms of events, but we have seen the original timeline in terms of Lu Guang's insane room.

I’m sure this is not his first dive; we have always had the symbolism of constant resets. Again and again, again and again, again and again. I think there have been many attempts. As many as there were photographs he could find - if the ability works the same way as Cheng Xiaoshi use it himself, and he should be the author of the photo, we can only cover our heads with our hands and cry.

This is Lu Guang's POV - Lu Guang already knew that the death node cannot be changed (meaning he already tried), but he still wants to use the very last attempt to try.

He looks so dead inside, it's impossible. In my understanding: he initially used earlier photographs that were closer to September, the death of Cheng Xiaoshi in the original reality, and then dived deeper and deeper into the past, into more distant events.

Let's go back to s1. It is still difficult to say how many times the events were repeated. Lu Guang himself confirmed it in his words that this happened more than once. There have been a lot of attempts, he himself said “no matter how hard you try".

I think that “last chance” meant just that, last chance. From what he said, we know that a photo can only be used once. If s1 showed us the events of the current timeline, which I believe, this was probably one of the earliest photos that Lu Guang could use - a photo that happened before their first meeting. Back to their real beginning. This… tritely has a beautiful and symbolic logic behind it. Current events are “all or nothing.”

The photo studio from the flashback is the original universe, this reality is not destroyed, he returns to it after each original attempt. We know that Cheng Xiaoshi died many times in many different ways. If there have been many attempts, if the attempts are limited to photographs, all he can do is use them from some original point.

Like I think he can't get an "infinite" number of attempts by using the photos again within the "past" he returned to. In my opinion, “dive within a dive” is impossible. I don't think that after diving, there is a possibility of another dive by the same person inside the diving - because it makes more sense if Lu Guang has an invisible timer that reminds him - the time is running out.

I think the design of their room in the original timeline confirms this. Their table is always full of books, there are things, lamps, even framed photo. Everything is empty. If these were the events immediately after Сheng Xiaoshi's death, would their room be so lifeless?

I'm inclined to think that Lu Guang went through all their belongings, used every possible attempt to find suitable photographs that would allow him to try to rewrite the events again.

I find destroyed or burned photographs more symbolic of failed attempts being burned, too - after all, a photo can only be used once, everything is changing, it’s not a time loop. Every used photo, every reality that doesn't turn out well, is another crossed out opportunity. But remembering his words about the destruction of photos - I think that we will see this again in the context of the fact that he destroyed the photos himself. It is quite possible that he destroys the photo after the dive to erase the reality/time where Cheng Xiaoshi died again as a fact. Because… otherwise a terrible situation will arise. If Lu Guang possesses himself from a photo, then after leaving it after Cheng Xiaoshi's death, the original!Lu Guang moves back to the original line, while Lu Guang from the rewritten timeline remains in the timeline where Cheng Xiaoshi is dead (and if the events are rewritten so deeply, it is not at all clear what will happen to his memory). Therefore, I am sure that the original Lu Guang must destroy the photographs because of this as well.

I was wondering if he destroys the photo while diving, right after it - maybe that's how the mechanics could work, I would say, of how he "locks" himself into a certain reality. But since I believe that he should return to the "original point", I do not think that this is possible - if he doesn't need to come back, if he just "dives after diving" further into the next timeline, it won't make sense: more photos can be taken, attempts won't end with a limit. But do I like this idea for the last attempt? That he has to live his entire life from the very beginning without a “save point” to return to? Oh. Yes. Note: I considered the possibility that there is no original timeline as a starting point for diving, that he dives again after diving inside the dive itself, destroys the photo immediately inside the dive, that everything is repeated again, no limit either. Just at some point Lu Guang himself decides there is no point in continuing to use any photos from this period, so decided to use a photo corresponding to the very very beginning. But in doesn't make sense, in any case he will have the opportunity to take more photos that he could use for further dives, this does not create a " the last try" point (even if it was possible, also knowing Lu Guang’s character, I don’t think that he could partly “give up”, partly take such risks voluntarily)

But it's still questionable. Because, if the original timeline exists, all dives were made from there, then a simple problem arises - given Cheng Xiaoshi's ability, all dives take place in “real time”, i.e. in the original reality the same amount of time should also pass. We all understand that this is impossible, it is difficult to imagine how many attempts Lu Guang made, how many years actually passed.

So, if we believe that the “original reality” is a thing, then the combination of their abilities, becoming a “perfect fusion,” has other limits, other specifics of using and/or the original timeline is so broken that time only passes when Lu Guang exists in it.

The original universe… or?

I hope I've made it clear enough before - in my opinion the original timeline was shown to us in terms of the timeline from where he dives into the photos. Their room. Because there must be something that creates a limited number of attempts.

But I have some doubts about the fact that what we saw in the vision or flashback is the original timeline, too. Yes, they could have shown us the very first death of Cheng Xiaoshi, this would even be logical, but the problem is that this is only relevant if we agree that Lu Guang has white hair from birth.

Considering that the hints themselves within the series may turn out to be a joke, I still haven't completely dismissed this idea. The only characters with unusual hair color are twins, but they are like that at least because of genetics, they inherited it from their mother. While the issue with Lu Guang remains open.

Therefore, I am considering 2 simple options: 1. Lu Guang's hair was originally white from birth, so we shouldn't expect him to have a different design in the original timeline. Or Lu Guang's hair turned white before Cheng Xiaoshi's death for some other reason. Then we can safely say that the events of the flashback is the original universe.

2. Lu Guang's hair was not originally white, but his hair gradually turned white with each dive attempt due to overpowering, trying too many times, and overusing his abilities.

If we consider the second option, then:

The flashback events shown to us are one of the later attempts, for example, the penultimate one, which is generally a possible option. That version of death, when Cheng Xiaoshi received a very similar injury to Lu Guang - that why the flashbacks were specifically about this late attempt.

The events shown to us are this current reality in which Cheng Xiaoshi was/has to be the 7th case, and this is exactly the death that was intended for him in this timeline - but this period of time, from April to September, was cut out and "stolen", just as case 7 disappeared. And that in the most recent attempt, not only was time rewritten “from the very beginning,” from the very first photo, but something else happened to prevent Cheng Xiaoshi’s death at the appointed time.

The one who was supposed to die in the photo studio when Lu Guang was stabbed - was Cheng Xiaoshi himself, and what was shown was not a flashback, but Lu Guang's vision of how things could have been different (if we perceive the forest not as a literal location, but a symbol) . I doubt it, but let's leave this possibility open.

Why do I even think that the white hair theory could be real? Of course, maybe it's just the light, but maybe… Due to Li Tianxi's memories and abilities, taking over the memories from the other reality in which Lu Guang lived, Qiao Ling's hair also changed a bit. Pay attention to the only white strain in her hair. This is an extremely interesting and rather intentional detail.

If this is the case, then Qiao Ling's white hair is a hint. This does not mean that every attempt is 1 white strand of hair. It's not that… literal. This is an artistic way of allowing the viewer to speculate if this is the case.

I'm not betting on any particular idea, given that things can't be that simple and we don't really know how September-April will be explained. Another problem is why Lu Guang is wearing a watch on his other hand in this shot. Everything may be different, case 7 may be about a completely different character. But I also think many things will be connected at some point.

Photos and OP

There are a lot of photographs. So many. As we remember from Dive Back in Time. There will be two key ones - thanks to Vortex.

One of which is precisely related to the moment that allowed Lu Guang to travel 6 years (or more) into the past - to the moment they even met. Would this be a photo at school? Was it an accidental photo left behind? I have much more painful though. Their “very beginning” has a huge chance of not being high school time, but as I mentioned before, I’ll leave that for a separate post.

But the other one? I can’t imagine clearly, of course, but for me there are 3 ways:

This is about the current timeline - September-October were influenced by the use of a different photo - it will let us understand what the 7th case and one of the main storylines.

The starting point from where Lu Guang began his attempts to save Cheng Xiaoshi and change his fate. The core one.

If we believe the hints in the art book, the intro, the dark design of Cheng Xiaoshi, then the photo will be from the moment where something happens to make CXS become depresso!CXS.

I had hopes that the teaser would be about s3, and thus something would become clearer in my head, but… For now, we can only build theories for the next year or two.

Thank you for reading ~

[gvfgal]

*New* 13. Pandora’s Box

Barbarian. Biker!Jake

*18+ series, minors DNI

A/n: Six chapters left after this one!! I’m doing my best to get these chapters out as quickly as possible, and I appreciate your patience with me & for sticking with me for so long 🤍 This is a shorter chapter but a loaded chapter, and things are really going to start picking up from here through the end! As always, leave your questions, comments concerns wherever you see fit, and enjoy!

Content Warnings: some criminal activity.

Word Count: 3.2k

Jake sat on the floor of Rex’s trailer, shielded by the mass of the couch, as he stared into the hole full of money. The sight of it was overwhelming—a mix of relief, suspicion, and dread churning in his gut. He had hesitated coming back over, not because of any assumed danger but because of the sheer uncertainty. He simply didn’t know what to do with the secret buried in that hole. Who knew about this money? He’d never gotten the nerve to ask anyone yet, afraid it would dig up something that was meant to stay buried. How long had it been there, had Rex started the collection before Jake fled to Arizona? And most troubling of all, how much blood was on it?

His mind raced with possibilities. It could be old club money that Rex stashed away for a rainy day, always keeping the well-being of the club in mind. Or it could’ve been something more sinister, tied to some dark deal Rex had been involved in before he passed. Jake knew his father wasn’t always on the straight and narrow, but this amount of cash suggested something big, something that had to be kept hidden. The thought of Rex dealing privately with the EDS, or worse, crossed his mind. He felt a pang of guilt for doubting him, no matter his feelings towards him, but the evidence was literally staring him in the face.

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to piece together the puzzle. The first thing he needed to do was figure out exactly how much was there. Maybe that would give him a clue about its origins. Was it enough to settle old debts, or was it a fortune that could change lives? The numbers mattered, not just for practical reasons but because they might reveal a pattern or a connection to Rex’s past dealings.

As he began counting the bundles, memories of Rex flickered through his mind. Times when he had been unusually tense or secretive, conversations abruptly ended, and unexplained absences. Had Rex been hiding something all along, even all those years ago? Jake felt a chill run down his spine. The money was a lifeline, but it was also a trap, a ticking time bomb that could explode in his face at any moment. He had to be careful, not just for his sake but for you and the baby.

The thought of you and the life you were building brought a brief sense of clarity. He had to protect you, and that meant handling this money—whatever its source—with the utmost caution. As he counted, the enormity of the situation settled over him like a dark cloud. This wasn’t just about the money; it was about uncovering truths that had been buried, secrets that could upend everything he thought he knew. And as much as he wanted to run, to hide from the mess Rex had left behind, he knew he couldn’t. This was his burden now, and he had to find a way to bear it.

“Hey,” your voice rang out behind him, causing him to jump out. He didn’t even hear you enter the trailer, too engrossed in his own thoughts. Luckily for him, you lingered by the door, and the couch served as a barrier between your view of the money.

“Hey Cherry,” he replied, keeping his cool. He stood from behind the couch and crossed over to you so you wouldn’t feel the need to come any closer. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

You looked around the trailer, a little thrown off at the fact that Jake was anywhere near it after trashing it months back. Remnants from that rampage were still evident in the room.

“What are you doing over here?” You questioned skeptically.

Jake shrugged, “nothing. This place just needs a lot of repairs. I’m trying to see if it’s worth fixing up and selling, or if I should burn the place to the ground.” He began snickering at his own comment, but stopped when he saw the look on your face.

“I’m kidding.”

You gave him one more once over, taking not of the concealed nerves before focusing on the topic at hand.

“Anyways,” you draped your arms over his shoulders, “I just wanted to come tell you the Angela and I are gonna go grab lunch and then do some baby shopping. Maybe some shopping for me too,” you added sweetly.

Jake grinned at you, placing a slow kiss on your lips, “how much money do you need?”

You squinted your eyes and pinched your fingers about an inch apart, “maybe that much?” Jake laughed at your demonstration, and you closed the gap between your fingers, “or this much, if you’re willing to let me use the card.”

Jake shook his head at you and reached into his back pocket to pull his card from his wallet, “you’re hard to say no to, you know?” He smirked.

Your eyebrows perked up in amusement, “imagine when there’s two of us doing it.”

Jake handed the card over to you, and you thanked him with another kiss.

“I think that’d be even better.”

Satisfied, you stepped back, “well I’ll let you get back to it then. See you at home for dinner?”

Jake nodded, “you three have fun, try not to go too crazy, there is a limit on that thing.”

“Bye,” you blew him one final kiss just as Angela pulled up across the street, honking her horn no sooner than she came to a stop, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

When he heard Angela’s car pull off again, Jake turned back towards the money, a shaky breath leaving his mouth, there was still a decent amount of money left waiting to be counted, and if he wanted anything close to an answer, he needed to get back to counting.

Six hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. That’s how much was hidden in the walls of Rex’s house, and this number held no significance to Jake whatsoever. He thought that figuring out the amount would help him get at least one step closer to uncovering the source of the money, but it did nothing to help. He was still stuck at square one, and he didn’t know what his next move would be.

As he put the last bundle back into the wall, he felt a pang of frustration. The secrecy, the mystery—it was all too much. He secured the cover over the hole, ensuring it was as inconspicuous as before. Jake decided to do some cleaning up to pass the time, hoping the physical activity might help clear his mind. If you were to come back over, at least it would look like he did something productive instead of just sitting behind the couch for hours on end.

He swept everything that wasn’t memorabilia into large dumpster bags, loaded them into the bed of his truck, and hauled them off to the dump site. The physical labor was a welcome distraction, but it did little to quiet his racing thoughts. After that, he spent a few hours tinkering with his bike, more to pass the time than because there was anything actually wrong with it.

When you texted him saying you were craving steaks for dinner, he immediately stopped what he was doing. He cleaned up his tools and headed to the grocery store to gather the necessary items. The entire time, his mind raced with thoughts of what to do next with the money. He felt cornered, desperate for answers but afraid to dig too deep.

He even hesitated to ask Ace about it, fearing it would reveal something that was meant to stay hidden from him. The weight of the secret was growing heavier by the minute. By the time he got home, his desperation had reached a peak.

There was one person, lingering in the back of Jake’s mind, who might have some answers. Hesitant but desperate, he knew he had to reach out. As he stood in the kitchen prepping dinner, he dialed the number of the first and last person he thought he’d be seeking answers from.

“Hey, son,” Vicky answered casually after letting the phone ring for a long time. She spoke as if it hadn’t been months since she last heard from him.

“Hey, ma. It’s good to hear your voice.”

“I can say the same for you. What’s been up in your world?”

Jake caught her up on everything, mainly the news of your pregnancy and that it would be a girl. Vicky was over the moon, then scolded Jake harshly for waiting so long to tell her. He hardly listened as she rambled on, and once her ranting came to an end, she took a deep breath, and the warmth returned to her tone.

“I’m happy for you, Jake. Both of you. Becoming a grandmother this year wasn’t exactly on my bingo card,” they shared a small laugh, “and lord, I wish I could see the look on Rex’s face hearing that news.”

There it was, an opening. “Hey, speaking of Rex, mom…” The line was silent. “Do you know of any… endeavors he might’ve had outside of the Barbarians? Anything he was doing to make some money outside of the club?”

Though Rex and Vicky had their own tumultuous relationship, Jake knew his dad trusted her. She was a tough woman.

He was met with more deafening silence, a quiet so lethal that Jake began to feel constricted underneath it.

Finally, Vicky responded, “Rex had a lot of secrets, Jake, like we all do. And he was a complex man. He did a lot of things for the sake of the club, but I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t a selfish bastard at times.” Her words shocked him, but they still weren’t giving any answers.

“But he’s dead now,” she continued, “and whatever secrets he had, they should be left buried with him.” Her tone switched, now pleading, “You’ve got enough going on in your life right now, becoming a father, working with the Barbarians. Trust me when I tell you, that is a Pandora’s box you don’t want to open.”

It was then that Jake knew he was on to something. Though Vicky was being cryptic, he knew she was very aware of what he was inquiring about.

“You know, don’t you?” Jake’s voice lowered into the phone, ceasing all other activities to focus on the call, “About the money in the wall. You know what I’m talking about.”

“Jake, don’t,” Vicky warned, her tone clipped and venomous, “You don’t want to go there. Leave it be. Please.”

He was about to press her again, growing frustrated with her silence, but before he had a chance, you pranced in the front door with a hoard of shopping bags in hand.

You were smiling and oblivious to the tension in the room, holding up the bags as if to say ‘get a load of this’ before attempting to lug them over to the couch.

“Ma, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later,” Jake rushed Vicky off the phone as he came to assist you, though he wished the conversation didn’t have to be cut short. He wanted answers.

Vicky didn’t protest one bit, hardly saying goodbye before hanging up the phone. Jake shoved all his emotions down for the moment, not wanting you to see him in that anxious state.

"Looks like someone had fun," Jake grinned, pressing a kiss to your cheek as the two of you lined up the shopping bags along the couch.

"You’ll understand why once you see some of the stuff I got," you teased, a sparkle of excitement in your eyes as you perched on the edge of the couch, already reaching into one of the bags.

Jake's tension eased momentarily as he watched you pull out two tiny onesies. The sight of the soft fabric and the thought of your little girl wearing them brought a rare, genuine smile to his face amidst the storm of thoughts swirling in his mind.

"Okay, I have to admit, those are pretty cute," he conceded, his grin widening as your excitement became contagious.

"That’s not even the best of it," you squealed, carefully tucking the onesies back into the bag. Jake leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching you with a blend of amusement and affection. The way your eyes lit up made the weight on his shoulders feel a little lighter.

"I have an idea," he said, his tone softening. "How about I make us some dinner, and after we eat, you can show me everything you got?"

"Sounds like a plan, babe," you agreed, rising from the couch and walking over to him. Jake reached out, pulling you into a warm embrace, the feel of your body against his soothing the frayed edges of his nerves.

"Steaks?" you mumbled into his chest, your voice muffled but content.

Jake chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. "Yeah, Cherry, already got them ready to throw on."

You looked up at him, resting your chin on his chest, eyes full of love. In that moment, you felt like the luckiest girl in the world, and the way he looked at you made your heart flutter.

After a comfortable silence, you spoke, your voice soft with emotion. "You know, when I first met you, I told myself I wasn’t gonna fall in love with you. Now look at us."

Jake’s mind flashed back to that first night, standing in your driveway, hearing you say those words: "You don’t want me, Jake. I’m not the kind worth loving." At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now, the memory seemed absurd. You were the only thing worth loving, you and the little girl growing inside you. Everything else faded away in comparison.

"Are you happy?" he asked, his voice tinged with vulnerability.

You pressed a tender kiss to his chest before looking up at him again. "The happiest I’ve ever been in my life."

Your answer warmed Jake, filling him with a sense of security he hadn’t realized he needed. For a moment, the shadows in his mind receded, replaced by the simple, overwhelming truth that you were his anchor.

"Alright, those steaks aren’t gonna cook themselves," he said with a playful grin, releasing you from his embrace and giving you a light slap on the ass before heading back to the kitchen.

As you carried your shopping bags into the bedroom, Jake’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, the screen lighting up with a text from Vicky. His heart sank as he read the message, his expression hardening.

Vicky:

I love you, son. And I’m very happy for you. But please, don’t ever bring up that conversation with me again. I don’t want to get involved in it, and I don’t want you involved either. Take care. We’ll talk again soon.

Jake stared at the message longer than necessary, his eyes drifting out the kitchen window to Rex’s trailer. The sense of unease that had momentarily lifted came crashing back down, heavier than before.

"Christ, Dad," he muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. "What the hell did you get yourself into?"

The warehouse was bathed in a sickly yellow glow from the flickering fluorescent lights overhead, casting long, jagged shadows that seemed to crawl across the floor. Nicky, Frogman, and Renegade stood off to the side, Nicky’s eyes cold and calculating as he watched his men work. They were wrapping and stashing bundles of cash, securing the money as instructed. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned—his plan. But that was precisely the problem. If things were going smoothly for him, then Jake’s plan was also succeeding, and Nicky couldn’t stomach the thought of his efforts being overshadowed by the so-called ‘genius’ of the Barbarian Prince.

“You gotta think of something, Nicky,” Frogman whispered urgently, his eyes darting around to ensure no one else could overhear their treacherous conversation. “This shit is going too well. If it keeps up, those assholes are gonna be lining up to vote Jake in as president, all because they think he saved our asses.”

Nicky shot him a venomous glare, though the truth in Frogman’s words cut deeper than any perceived disrespect. “You think I don’t know that?” His voice was a low, dangerous growl. “Jake’s already got the upper hand just by being Rex’s son. The old man’s shadow still looms large over this club, and everyone’s lining up to kiss his ass.”

Renegade, who had been shifting nervously on his feet, glanced over his shoulder to ensure no one was within earshot before leaning in closer. “So what’s the play, Nicky? I’m with you on this—I don’t want Jake calling the shots either. But we can’t just sit here with our dicks in our hands waiting for him to take the crown.”

Nicky’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the wall beside him, echoing the ticking clock in his mind. He’d been wrestling with this problem for days, and now, with time running out, he knew it was time to act.

“We just have to make sure that last shipment doesn’t make it to Alejandro.” The words slipped from his lips like a venomous whisper, hanging ominously in the stale air.

Frogman and Renegade exchanged uneasy glances before turning back to Nicky, their confusion evident. The pieces of his plan were starting to come together in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more twistedly satisfying it became.

“How do you plan on doing that?” Frogman croaked, his voice barely audible, as if he were afraid of what Nicky might say.

“We make it disappear—temporarily, of course. Then we create a situation that points all fingers back to Jake. The EDS will rip him apart before he even knows what hit him.”

Renegade nodded slowly, though doubt still lingered in his eyes. “But what if it backfires? What if Jake figures out what we’re up to before it goes down?”

Nicky shook his head, stepping closer to the men, his eyes gleaming with a manic intensity. “It won’t have a chance to backfire. This’ll happen so fast, he’ll be too busy trying to save his own skin to come after us.”

The men nodded, the weight of the plan settling in. Nicky could feel the adrenaline starting to pump through his veins, the thrill of impending chaos overriding any lingering uncertainties.

“Okay, but—” Frogman started, only to be cut off by Nicky’s impatient huff. “But what, dipshit?”

Unperturbed by the insult, Frogman pressed on. “How are we gonna make it look like Jake’s the guilty one? What makes you think Alejandro’s gonna believe you over him?”

Normally, a question like that would have pissed Nicky off, but with the ace he had up his sleeve, there was no need to worry.

A sly, slimy grin spread across Nicky’s face. “You leave that part to me.”

Taglist: @edgingthedarkness @earthgrlsreasy @wetkleenex-gvf @hollyco @dannys-dream @slut4lando @josh-iamyour-mama @gretasfallingsky @takenbythemadness @scoreofinfantryvines

[trashmouth-richie]

͎l͎͎e͎a͎͎v͎͎e͎ ͎m͎͎e͎ ͎i͎͎n͎ ͎t͎͎h͎͎e͎ ͎d͎a͎͎r͎͎k͎ 🦇🌑

a spooky tale of the night things went bump in Hawkins, the aftermath and how things had been affecting your boyfriend, Eddie months before you both were on the run.

tw: possession, ptsd, nightmares, drug use, cheating, vecna lives, mean!evil!Chrissy , mean!Eddie, a sprinkle of Steve and Dustin! yay we love them. Mike wheeler, ew! This runs the same course as season 4, I just thought it would be cool to see Eddie’s life before spring break of ‘86 and what it would be like if he had a girlfriend, you baby— that’s you!

eddie x fem! reader

“No, no!” 

  He could feel the razor sharp teeth sinking into his flesh, gouging his sides like butter under a hot knife. It was all too real. 

  It always was. 

  The nightmares presented around the anniversary of that day. The day you almost lost him. 

  You did what you always had, holding him close to your own body, pressing your lips to the plains of his shoulder blades, running the pads of your fingers over the pink marred scars delicately to remind him it was just a nightmare. 

  That he was safe with you.

  You weren’t around when it happened. he didn’t want you down there, instead your position was right side up with erica and Lucas at the Creel House. 

  “I’ll be fine,” He had teased, rolling his eyes as you fretted and pouted that you couldn’t go with him. He kissed the knuckles of your right hand, those infamous dimples dipped into his cheeks, “I’ll be right back.”

  Only he wasn’t right back.

  He was choking on his own blood when Steve hoisted him through the gate into the disheveled remnants of the Munson trailer. 

  A day burned into your memory. A day he still suffered from. No matter the amount of medications he was on to help numb the nightmares. 

  “It's okay Eddie,” you whispered softly into his skin, “you’re here with me,” 

  His shoulders begin to release the tension he was holding, fist gripped hands softened as much as the guitar calluses would allow. 

  He shifted his weight to his other hip, facing you. His puffy eyes moved erratically trying to gain security in your face as you smiled softly at him. 

  His hand presses to your chest to feel your heartbeat trying to mimic his breathing to yours. He’s warm, sweaty and hair a nest around his face.

  He would take it all back if he could— selling to that bitch Chrissy to make a quick buck. Running and hiding at Rick’s. Dodging your phone calls because you had been in another fight about whether or not he could just move hellfire so Lucas would be there, and why he was selling to Chrissy.  

  Moves and counter moves. And those 4 days, Eddie had made the worst ones. 

  “‘m sorry, fuck, I’m so sorry.” 

  Years had passed and it still felt like it was yesterday. The red lightning striking behind his eyelids every night before he went to sleep, a reminder of the world that crawled with demons and creatures beneath his feet, just aching for another gate to open and make the two worlds collide. 

  The embarrassment hung heavy on his features, tinging his marble cheeks pink, a silvery tear fell from his grove of lashes. 

  Guilt riddled through him from those days, and the months leading up to it, he had no idea what was happening.

  He promised Steve and the others that he wasn’t a hero, then cut the sheet and rammed through the door to give them all time.

  Scoffed and told you he’d be fine then ended up laying in a puddle of his own blood, Dustin screaming for him to stay awake. 

  Swore to Wayne that he would graduate that year, but ended up hospital bound for months and missed graduation again.

  Flashes of your face, your eyes, the sweet nectar of your lips played through his mind. Your voice was the only thing he heard, maybe it was the loss of blood that numbed him, he wasn’t sure. But one thing remained, your voice was the only thing he could hear.

“Ed please, please let me come with. I wanna be with you.” 

  Your relationship was hanging on by threads in March of ‘86. He had loved you for years, knew every single freckle and imperfection on your skin. He loved the way you had shown up to every concert cheering for them when the bar was silent and empty. He had been the one to teach you a little about cars when you sat on the ground beside him watching as he cranked a wrench this way or that. He knew the spots to kiss below your ear to summon the pretty noises, just for him. 

  You were the love of his life, and he was yours. Two outcasts finding each other and sticking like glue. 

  But the past year had been hard on him, he was back in school again, super senior times two, and he fell deep into the facade the town had molded him into. He was angry, feeling the weight of the heavy chip on his shoulder, the pounding ache in his skull.

  It wasn’t your fault, but somehow you were the easiest to push away. 

  He became mean, became everything they thought he was, leaning into his reputation. And as much as he fooled the others you knew that wasn’t the Eddie you had fallen for. 

  The Eddie you knew was sweet. And not just a nice guy but affectionate in ways you didn’t know anyone could be. 

  He’d open doors for you, carry your books to class, pick you up before school and drop you off every day, even on days you worked at the bar wiping slimy tables, he’d wait for you shift to be over, tipping and whistling when you walked away, letting the whole bar know you were his girl. 

  He wrote mushy songs about his love for you that would make the rest of the band gag. Promising you the moon and the stars while laying out on the top of his van, Eddie was wrapped around your finger, just as much as you were around his. 

  November was the month she had left, and it was always tough for him, but that year it ate at him. The pain from abandonment spread like wicked vines in his chest and he lashed out at anyone who crossed him. 

  It hurt when he started picking fights, bickering over what songs you played in your car, tossing the tapes out the window, laughing when you got mad. It hurt worse when he ignored you all together, heated fights ending with him unplugging his phone from the wall jack, not wanting to hear your pleas. 

  He stopped calling, stopped staying for your shift at the bar, claiming he had something else to do. DnD and weed became his only escape, usually finding solace in your arms, your kisses, but he had outgrown them, outgrown you. 

  That day was the same as any other Friday. 

  He had picked you up for school, wearing his hellfire shirt and greeting you with a sleepy smile and a morning cigarette, one he had inhaled and held while he pressed his lips to yours, only breaking away and pushing the smoke from his lungs and into yours when they were screaming. 

  “You look pretty, who’s the lucky guy?”

  It was a running joke between you, but somehow the joke fell flat when it was rumored that Chrissy Cunningham was seeking him out. 

  you blew the smoke between your lips and settled into the velour seats of his van, “oh just some curly haired metal guy, always wears the old leather jacket we found in Indianapolis three years ago, super good lookin’ kind of a dick, lately.” 

  He scrubs his hands down his face, “c’mon babe don’t start this shit again.” 

  You were still hurting from your argument last night, he just couldn’t understand how it was a big deal that Chrissy seeked him out to do special k with her, at his trailer, alone. 

  “I’m not starting anything, I just think her intentions are more than getting high.” 

  “It’s an easy sixty bucks, triple what it’s worth— I’d be stupid to turn it down.” 

  “Or just stupid to do it.” 

  The two of you had argued for hours over this, ending the phone call with a slam into the receiver on Eddie’s end. And tear stained pillows on yours. 

  Crazy to think now how that was what was killing you, your boyfriend who was pushing you away. 

  You were so naive, then. Not knowing that within a day's time, Chrissy would be found dead in Eddie’s trailer and he would be missing. And whatever her intentions truly were wouldn’t matter. 

  “No need to apologize,” you whispered into the dark, fingers moving his bangs from his face. 

  He pulled away, reaching for the lamp on his side table and pulling his knees to his chest. “Thought I was past this shit.” 

  “Your doctor said the possibility of them coming back is higher than them leav—”

  “I know—” he barked, rubbing the heel of his palm into his eye, “sorry, fuck I’m tired of it— it’s been six years!” 

-

After Hellfire was over, Eddie paid Mike to make sure you got home safe, which led to you throwing the velvet bag of dice at his chest, demanding answers. 

  “So I’m not allowed to be at your place when she’s there?!” your finger nails dug into your jeans as your hands pressed into your hips. 

  “Oh here we go—“ Eddie breathed out annoyed, “it’ll take a half hour, tops.”

  “so since it won’t be that long it shouldn’t be a problem for me to be there when Chrissy and her skanky ponytail show up, right?” 

  “Well, I’m driving her there.” 

  You almost laughed in his face at his hurtful joke, but when he peered down at you, you knew his dimples wouldn’t show up and he’d tickle your sides kissing you frantically and laughing. 

  He was serious. 

  Driving that cheap tramp to his place, making a sale, doing k and then what? You could see the web she was stringing along, and you knew he did too. He was just playing dumb. 

  “.. wow munson, (a name you only called him when you were mad) hope she swallows.” 

  Rolling his eyes he muttered, “Jesus Christ sweet—” 

  “Don’t sweetheart me!” You said shoving his chest with all your might, he didn’t even tip back onto his heels. “You can use the sixty dollars to pay for your new script when you catch something.” 

  “Grow up, it’s not like that,” he grumbled, blowing you off and walking away from you. 

  “Really?” You chirped, following him to the back of his van, “tell me what it is like then, because last time I checked- I didn’t have guys over at my house without you.”

  “It’s just a sale,” he gritted through his teeth, slamming the back of the van door, “don’t fucking pretend like you weren’t doing the same shit before we started fucking.”

  That was exactly your point. And the fact that he could say it and not even bat an eye or see what her intentions were was fucking insane. 

  Your tongue pressed into your cheek and you ripped his guitar pick necklace from your neck, and threw it as his reeboks, “fuck you.”

  Stomping over to Nancy Wheeler’s station wagon, you hopped in the passenger seat. 

  “Drive Wheeler.”

  “Huh?” Mike said confused and nervous that he was the one to drive you home. 

  “Fucking drive!” 

-

  Whatever could have or would have happened between Chrissy and Eddie never did, she was dead within ten minutes of being at the trailer. 

  And Eddie fled, making a pit stop to grab the only thing important to him, the only one who would believe him, you. 

  You had never seen him like that before. His eyes were wider than they ever were. At first you thought he was fucked up on some bad shit, maybe Chrissy convinced him to do some coke or even worse. 

  “Aww the princess wouldn’t put out?.” You seethed before attempting to slam the door in his face, he caught it with a thick hand and shoved his way in. 

  His face was ghost-white pale, eyes wide and scary like he was a little kid and witnessed a true monster lurking beneath his bed. 

  “Shut up, we have to— c’mon,” he grabbed your wrist and drug you up the stairs to your bedroom, once there he began opening up your drawers and tossing clothes onto your bed. 

  “What the hell are you doing?” you protested, trying to stop him from ripping your entire room apart. 

  “I can’t,” and this was the first time you saw your boyfriend break, he was always strong, holding you when your own mom left with her many boyfriends, brushing your tears away at the end of a sad movie, but here he was, tears stinging his eyes, crying while he held a combination of his clothes that you kept in your dresser and yours. “…can’t explain— right now, please baby, fuck please! Help me!” 

  you did as you were told, opting to ask questions later, you nearly tripped down the stairs with how hard Eddie was dragging you behind him, he stopped in the kitchen and grabbed the first food items he could think of, and thirty seconds later you were in his van, watching him wipe tears from his eyes as he sped through town. 

—

He had never told you the most frightening part of his nightmare, and it wasn’t the bats or vecna or the way he felt like he was suffocating. Or Chrissy’s body snapping like a fucking twig under a bears claw, it was worse than all of that. 

  “It’s the same thing over and over again,” Eddie said between puffs of a cigarette, your warm hand rubbing his back like you always did on bed nights,  “I’m lying there almost dead, and I can see Henderson, feel the bats teeth, but…”

  “It’s okay Eddie, it was traumatizing— but you’ve come a long way, and I’m so proud of you.”

  The truth is what scared him the most. 

-

  “You’re scaring me Eddie,”

  “Yeah- well I’m pretty fucking scared right now too, I have no idea what I— fuck I’m losing my mind.” 

  His foot was pressed flush with the floor, no time for stop signs. 

  “Just tell me what happened so I can help!” you yelled, unable to calm yourself out of fright.

   He turned to look at you and you swore he aged 10 years, “She’s fucking dead, I don’t know how, I don’t know why. She flung into the air like a fucking squirrel or some shit and then she- she, and then she snapped.” 

  “She snapped? Like she went crazy? Like a witch?”

  “What? No, not like a witch! She snapped like her bones fucking snapped and then she fell to the ground and she was— dead.” 

  “Jesus.” 

  “We need to hide, it won’t take very long for someone to notice there’s a dead bitch in my living room.”

  —  

  “You were right.” 

  “What?”

  “She— Chrissy, she wasn’t there that night to buy from me. I didn’t, I swear to you, I had no idea.” 

  “It was so long ago Eddie, it doesn't matter now.” 

  “It does..”

  -

  “I wanna be with you.” 

  Running from the cops, finding out about the upside down and helping your new found friends discover vecna and his curse still couldn’t stop you and Eddie from bickering. 

  He was pissed that you had dove in the water after Robin and Nancy, even more pissed when you resurfaced and found you helping Nancy wrap up a badly bleeding Steve. 

  You were mad that he ate all the honey comb back at Rick’s before you even woke up, leaving you with a rumbling stomach and a growing hatred for him. 

  And worst of all, you were still upset that you were both in this mess. Imagine if he had just listened to you and Chrissy would have died at her own house or better yet at Jason’s. You and Eddie wouldn’t be reeking like an ogre’s armpits and your socks and underwear wouldn’t be soggy.

  And now he didn’t even want you with him.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said with an eyeroll, his chin dipping into the green vest, “I’ll be right back.” 

  -

  Chrissy didn’t come over for drugs, the minute her door slammed in the van she was all over him, rubbing his thigh and walking her nails up his chest. 

  It felt good to be wanted by someone else. He wouldn’t deny it. He felt like you were his past and he wanted something new, something… more. 

  Someone like Chrissy Cunningham. 

  She wasn’t prettier than you were, but she was cute, and he had a crush on her for as long as he could remember. 

  Plus, her boyfriend was the biggest asshole in all of Hawkins High so how great would it be to find out his girlfriend was cheating on him with the freak? 

  He thought of you.

  His girl.

  Your smile, your witty little jokes, the way your curves felt in his hands, how you were the first girl to actually give a shit about him. 

  He loved you, goddamn he fucking loved you. 

  He started second guessing everything that was happening. Suddenly Chrissy’s nails felt like talons and her perfume smelled like rancid rotting fruit, he pushed her away in disgust, and her eyes flickered a sinister shade of milky blue. 

  But before anything could happen, before her lips could even touch his, and before he could tell her to get out and find another way home, she was dead. 

  —

Blood was fountaining from his mouth, he made Dustin promise to take care of the others. And before Dustin could beg him to stay, he heard your voice. Pretty and musical, 

  Eddie bear. 

  You had called to him like an angel. 

  My sweet sweet Eddie, how fucking dumb are you? 

  He couldn’t get away from it, he tried to focus on Dustin’s voice but it was no use. 

  I’m glad you’re dying, you worthless fuck. Now you can lie with that whore, forever. 

—

  “I— I know it was Vecna, but it— fuck baby it’s your voice.” 

  You didn’t cry easily, not anymore. But the tears hit the tops of Eddie’s bare shoulder before you can catch them. And you sob into his neck. 

  “I love you, sweet girl— I’m sorry I’m so sorry.” 

  It wasn’t a secret how much you didn’t like Chrissy, even now when she’s been buried for years you still couldn’t forgive her. 

  You had heard what her plans were when you were stacking paint supplies for Ms. Greenly in the supply closet earlier that week. Her locker was right next tk the closet door snd you could hear everything she was saying. 

   She was talking to Carol about her plans of seducing Eddie, how he had become so hot this past year, how Jason wasn’t filling her needs anymore. But maybe if she got under some trailer trash like Eddie— it would help her appreciate how good she had it. 

  She had just wanted to use him for her own benefit, using the fact that he had liked her years before to win him over. 

  “Plus,” she added, “have you seen the dog he’s dating? Barf.” 

  You may pried open her locker after that, and you might have poured red paint on her Pom poms. But it wasn’t anything she didn’t deserve. 

  Eddie never told you about what he heard when he was fighting for his life that night. 

-

  You had cried so hard when Steve rolled up to the creel house and hollered for you to get in, Eddie was sprawled in the back nearly dead. You jumped in beside him, holding his head in your hands and asking a frantic Dustin what had happened. 

  The rest of the days were a blur. Eddie was stable but in extreme amounts of pain. Feeling guilty that he was the one to come back and Max was still in a coma, bones shattered like Chrissy’s were. 

  You rarely left, visiting every hour you could and sharing Eddie’s hospital bed. 

  “I’m sorry baby, I’m so fucking sorry,” he repeated it almost every hour, you thought it was for him almost dying and refusing to let you come with, but now you understood. 

Six years has passed and you both left Hawkins the week after he was cleared from the hospital. Both unable to stomach the idea of staying in a town that quite frankly was formed on the hubs of hell. 

  Hawkins was your home, but it was filled with toxic memories. Ones that you and Eddie had put behind you, ones that never got brought up. 

  You were in love again, no longer fighting, promising to be together until you were both old and gray. Eddie was the same boy you fell in love with in the band room years before, sweet as can be. Your hero. 

  And maybe it was Vecna’s curse brewing that wedged between you and Eddie to begin with. Vecna saw that he was valuable, much more use to him as a leader among an army of the undead than just an undead soldier. 

  That was Will’s theory at least, explaining why Eddie was distancing himself, why his head hurt all the time why he became so mean and vile, and why he was driving you away. 

  Vecna acted through Chrissy, taunting and teasing him, coming into his dreams and promising him power, riches, and companionship. 

  The nightmares were like a ticking clock, acting on the same four chimes as Vecna worked, four nights of hell for not obeying his orders, for not joining him. 

  For now, he waited in the shadows. He’d wait for however long it took. Waiting for his right hand Kas, to return. 

[dearabby1990]

Chapter 36: Forever & a day

The drive back to yours felt longer then usual you dozed off sometime during the drive only to be woken up by the car hitting an odd amount of bumps in the road. You don’t remember there being many potholes on the way home from previous drives around town. You slowly raise your head to look out the window & take in your surroundings noticing you’re nowhere near home with the amount of trees you see & the dirt road you’re currently cruising down. “Uh Gareth where the hell are we going?.. what happened you finally got sick of me now you’re gonna murder me or something ahaha” trying to make light of what’s happening because you’re extremely confused “No Jame I’m not gonna murder you ya nut hahahaha it’s a surprise though & I’m not allowed to say but I will tell you that you’re gonna love it & that’s all I’m saying & nothing more” you start to get excited but still have that nervous feeling twisting around in gut like a swarm of butterflies claimed shelter inside of you. Gareth makes a sharp right down a small dirt trail & you start to realize you’re near you & eddies special spot it’s in the woods near the school but also close enough to the lake & then you see it. The twinkling of fairy lights & the burning of several candles & there he stands next to the table your love dressed so handsomely. Hair done to perfection a maroon button up black slacks new black converse & two bouquets of flowers with a million dollar smile. Gareth turns his head to you & takes your hand for a moment “Jame we’ve been friends since we were literally in diapers & me & Eddie are best friends blood buddies hellfire for life, you’ve both had a hell of a ride so far in life & there’s no two other people I root for then you & Ed. You both deserve to be happy & I’m glad you both found that in each other now that being said go get your man & thanks for being the best sister figure I could ever ask for” your eyes fill with tears you peck him on the cheek “thank you for always being so sweet & supportive Gareth you have no idea how much me & Eddie appreciate you truly” one more peck & you hop out of the car & run into Eddie’s arms. You take in his cologne the smell invading your senses like a drug you just can’t get enough of “hey princess” Eddie whispers as he rubs small circle on your back “hello handsome” he leans back to take you in & hands you flowers “I know you love lily’s I just wasn’t sure what kind & I want this to be perfect & I wa-“ you cut him off in a kiss feeling him smile against your lips “Eddie they’re beautiful & I love all Lily’s this is perfect” you sway side to side holding them & smelling each of them & look up through your lashes at him as he gestures for you to sit at you & his special table all decorated & a picnic basket filled with foods that look like he made himself “Wayne helped with the food a bit I didn’t wanna burn the trailer down” he said chuckling putting everything on the table “Ed’s is all perfect thank you pretty boy” his cheeks a shade of red you’ve never seen before he takes out a bottle of wine “it’s a special occasion & I know you love your moscato” he pours you both a glass & you both sit & enjoy the chicken cacciatore that Wayne & Eddie made which is absolutely delicious not to mention Wayne made your favorite dessert peanut butter cake with chocolate buttercream after you made it for him once you gave him the recipe with promises not to share with a soul because it came from your mom’s cookbook she handmade you when you were 12. She was very family oriented & wanted me to have every family recipe for when she was no longer here. You still wonder what the special occasion is but don’t wanna push it you here funny noises coming through the trees it scares you at first until you notice Jeff Gareth & Freak come from the shadows with some of their band gear & then see Dustin Mike & Lucas. “Hey guys oh my I haven’t seen you boys in awhile you run up hugging the younger ones before heading back to Eddie. “love what’s going on?..” he smiles at you “you’ll see beautiful just you take a seat we got the rest”

The younger bunch came with wood pallets in hand making a mini makeshift stage for the boys to set up on Eddie sneaking glances at you shooting winks or blowing you kisses when you catch him. You sit patiently kicking your feet as you sit on the bench dustin comes & plops down next to you. “Uh yah know.. I know you haven’t been a part of our party very long but regardless you’ve been one of the best parts of it & we’re all so glad to have you, you’re like the sister we all so desperately wished for im an only child so all you’ve done for me.. for all of us I just wanted to say thanks & that we all love ya” you hug him tightly “what’s with today is this make Jamie cry day haha I love you guys too” he goes to leave but you grab his wrist & pull him towards you to whisper “just so you know you’re my favorite don’t tell anyone” you wink at him & he gives you that Henderson megawatt smile & heads off toward the guys. The guys are all set & Eddie grabs the wireless mic “Tonight is gonna be one for the books not just for corroded coffin but for me & this beautiful vixen right here I love you sweetheart & hope to spend the rest of my life showing just how much I truly do so this is for you” Eddie’s fingers start to glide across the strings as they begin playing “Heaven” by Warrant your heart clenches eyes filling with tears he doesn’t take his eyes off of you until he feels the lyrics closing his eyes pouring his soul into it like the most perfect work of Art 🎼”I don’t need to be the king of the world as long as I’m a hero of this little girl… Heaven isn’t too far away… Closer to it everyday…No matter what your friends might say… How I love the way you move.. & the sparkle in your eyes… There’s a color deep inside them like blue suburban sky.. When I come home late at night And you're in bed asleep I wrap my arms around you So I can feel you breathe… I don’t need to be a Superman.. As long as you will always be my biggest fan… Heaven isn’t too far away… Closer to it everyday!!.. No matter what your friends might say… We’ll find our way!!”🎼 totally captivated by him as he by you the song starts to dwindle down & Eddie clears his throat before stepping closer to where you’re sitting “Sweetheart I just want you to know that everyday with you is like heaven, you have no idea how much light you’ve shined on my dark & twisted life. Before you I never believed in love or soulmates or any of that shit but the moment I laid eyes on you it was electrifying I just can’t explain it it’s like the voice in my head was just telling me to look over where you were & I felt this pull a magnetic energy drawing me towards you & then the first time I got to kiss you I knew for sure my soul found so desperately what it was looking for I’ve been with girls before you & none of them have made me feel the way you do. I feel like we’re destined for each other like we had one another in another life or time or space. Being with you feels like home to me you are home & if I didn’t have you I just know I wouldn’t be able to survive it my heart is yours eternally & what I wanted to ask is if you’ll have me for the rest of our lives” you’re hysterical shaking & sobbing Eddie steps off the pallets & kneels down on one knee in front of you “Ed’s?” He takes your hand all the boys are standing behind Eddie dustin & Lucas are crying & you hear a sniffle from behind you only to see Steve,Robin, Nancy & Jonathan smiling at the both of you “You’re it for me there’s no where else I’d rather be then wrapped up in you grow old with you our souls finally intertwined in the way the universe intended… Jamie Antoinette Baker.. would you do me the honor of being my wife?” Your breath hitches & you nod like a mad woman “YES!!” He quickly slides the ring onto your finger & engulfs you into a hug spinning you around to the point you start feeling dizzy. Everyone around you yelling & whistling. Dustin is full on sobbing along with Robin being surrounded by all your favorite faces the people you now call family life is starting to become something you’ve never thought it’d be

[masivechaos]

Heeey ! I’ll send you an “orion” with Eddie !!

He’s been back from the upside down, out of the hospital for a week but hasnt been out once, as Dustybuns big sister you decide to check on his friend (and you have the biggest crush on Eds) you end up staying for a while, helping around the trailer, with his wounds, his touch deprivedness … fluff-gaaaanza ❤️❤️❤️

stay!

eddie munson x gn! reader | 0.6k

warnings: wrote it as a fem! reader but there's no gender indication so i made it gn and same for being dustin's sibling. also, it's not like exactly what you asked, it's like inspired? hope you still like it!

masterlist/ stranger things masterlist / navigation / taglist 

You awoke as you felt a presence in the room. You sat up slowly, rubbing your eyes and seeing the frame of a body “Eddie?” you whispered, a yawn passing your lips. A sort of grunting could be heard as an answer and you leaned forward to be closer to the boy. “What’s the problem?”

Eddie ignored the question, one hand flat on his stomach, the other reaching for the medications on the kitchen counter. You were sleeping in the living room, on the couch as Wayne was out for the night and you wanted Eddie to rest correctly so you left him in his bedroom, letting him know he just had to wake you up if something was wrong. Something he apparently didn’t do.

With almost shut eyes you got up off the couch to join the boy. You rested your hand on his, looking up at him “Go back to bed. I will bring everything” Eddie didn’t even try to protest, too tired to think about anything else.

He walked back to his bed with heavy and exhausted steps while you gather painkillers, bandages and disinfectant in your arms. When you entered his room you saw him laying on his back, covering his old bandages now tinted with blood with his hands.

It pained you to see him like this. Eddie was the brightest person you knew, he was a literal ray of sun, always smiling and joking around. And the upside down event extinguished his light, but it didn’t die, he was still his optimist self, he was just drained.

You sat down next to him, handing him medication with a glass of water. You then carefully removed his hand from the wound “Let me see it” you whispered before taking off the bandage as gently as possible but you could hear him groan in pain. The wound healed a little but it was still not pretty to see.

“I’m going to disinfect it” you warned as you apply the product to a cotton disc. Eddie let you know it was okay with a small head nod but he winced when the disc touched his skin. By instinct he drew his hand to his mouth, biting it, hoping to feel less pain. “I’m sorry”

“It’s fine” he breathed once you were done. You looked down at him with an apologetic smile before continuing to clean his other wounds. He just closed his eyes the entire time letting out quiet whines.

When you were down you asked him to sleep before getting off the bed. But as you were almost out of the room you heard Eddie talk “Can you stay?” he asked, using the small amount of strength he had.

You turned back on your heels “I want you to get some rest, Eddie” of course, you liked the idea of being close to Eddie during such a tender moment but you were afraid you would hurt him in your sleep.

But Eddie just opened his arms “I need you” he simply said, waiting for you to come next to him. You could only smile before laying down on his sheets. The bed was small so you were pressed against him but you weren’t going to complain when his arm wrapped around your waist, bringing you to his chest. 

You could feel him drifting off, his body relaxing in your embrace. With your head on his now scarred bare torso, you heard the small and quiet “I love you” he mumbled before falling asleep.

Your lips immediately tugged up, he was so sincere in the way he said it. You nuzzled further on his chest “I love you too”

⋆ ★ eddie munson taglist:@sw34terw34ther @cauliflowertree @moonlitmeeks @rhydianissuperior  @loveeharrington @mad-elia @jackys-stuff-blog @vintagepearlss @gilmore-angel @heartfucks @moondemon123 @kidcuisinesvcks

[ali-r3n]

Supernatural Things {Chapter Two}

Dean Winchester x Reader x Eddie Munson

The Winchester's delve deeper into their investigation as Y/N and her friends try to be there for Eddie

Idea by @justfcknkillmealready

Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Supernatural and Stranger Things stuff like blood, Smut

Series Masterlist

Dean put his firearm to the side and walked over to the small motel table.

Dean put his firearm to the side and walked over to the small motel table.

"What is it?"

"Chrissy Cunningham was found in the Munson's trailer and the last person to see her was an Eddie Munson."

"So you think this Eddie Munson is our demon?"

"Has to be."

"Alright." Dean walked towards their weapons bag and dug through it to find their demon killing knife. "Let's gank this Son of a Bitch."

Sam turned and rested his arm on the back of the wood chair. "Hold on, Dean. Something about this doesn't seem right. I mean, I've never seen a demon do something like this before."

Dean shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Dean and Sam sat in their motel room. The younger Winchester did research as the oldest cleaned his gun.

"Hey Dee, I think I got something here," Sam stated.

Dean put his firearm to the side and walked over to the small motel table.

"What is it?"

"Chrissy Cunningham was found in the Munson's trailer and the last person to see her was an Eddie Munson."

"So you think this Eddie Munson is our demon?"

"Has to be."

"Alright." Dean walked towards their weapons bag and dug through it to find their demon killing knife. "Let's gank this Son of a Bitch."

Sam turned and rested his arm on the back of the wood chair. "Hold on, Dean. Something about this doesn't seem right. I mean, I've never seen a demon do something like this before."

Dean shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

"I think we should do a little more digging before he go in guns blazing," Sam countered. "If this is a demon, than it is the strongest one we've ever been up against. We should be prepared."

"Fine. Where do we start?"

Sam turned to grab the Hawkins' High yearbook on the table and opened it to a page.

"We talk to his friends."

Dean walked over and grabbed the book from him.

"The Hellfire Club? Yeah, thats not suspicious at all."

"Y/N? You there, Sweetheart?"

Y/N quickly unzipped her backpack and reached in to grab the walkie-talkie.

"Eddie," she hissed. "Are you nuts? Do you want to be found?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in public."

"Are you okay?" she asked.

There was only static for a few moments until Eddie answered, "trying to be...under the circumstances."

"Hang tight. I'm on my way."

"Be careful."

She stuffed the radio back into her back and quickly paid for her haul before she ran to her car.

Y/N parked a reasonable amount of distance away and hiked over to Reefer Rick's boathouse. She knocked on the door to alert the frightened Metalhead inside that it was her and not the cops.

It swung open and a ringed hand grabbed her wrist to yank her inside.

Eddie closed the door and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"I missed you too, Ed." She rubbed his back. "Are you gonna let me go or do you need a minute?"

He sighed into her shoulder. "I need a minute."

"Take as long as you need."

In matching black suits, Sam and Dean approached the opened garage.

"Hey," A curly haired boy wearing a sleeveless red plaid flannel over a Hellfire Club T-Shirt said. "Can we help you?"

"Yeah, I'm Agent Holt, this is my partner Agent Wilson." They flashed the teens their fake badges. "We're with the FBI. We have some questions about a friend of yours, Eddie Munson."

The boys shared a look.

"We don't know where Eddie is, Sir. We haven't seen him since the Hellfire Club meeting 2 days ago."

"Whats your name, Kid?" Dean asked.

"Gareth."

"Gareth. Did you know its illegal to lie to an FBI Agent?"

He shook his head. "I'm not lying to you, Sir."

Gareth visibly began to sweat and get nervous as Dean stared him down.

"Are you sure about that?"

Sam nudged his brother with his elbow to get him to stop.

"Has he been acting strange?" The Younger of the two asked.

"Strange? He's Eddie Munson. Strange is kind of his thing."

"Is this about Chrissy?" Jeff asked. "Because Eddie wouldn't hurt anyone. He may look scary but its just an act. He's the nicest guy in town."

"Yeah. People don't see it because they just judge him by the way he looks and the music he likes."

Sam and Dean shared a look before the former gave them a grateful smile.

"Thank you."

As the brother's walk away, they were stopped by one of the teens.

"We're all worried about him. We don't know where he is, but he may be at Reefer Ricks."

"Reefer Ricks?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrows.

"Eddie's supplier. He stays there sometimes."

"Where does this Reefer Rick live?"

Eddie shoveled cereal in his mouth as the group sat around the Boathouse.

"We usually rely on this girl who has super powers, but, uh those went bye-bye," Steve stated. "So, uh..."

"So...we're technically in more of the kinda..." Robin added.

"Brainstorming phrase."

"Brainstorming."

"There...There's nothing to worry about," Dustin added.

Steve scoffed.

Y/N nodded. "Yeah. We just need to find a way into the Upside Down, find a way to kill Vecna, and..." she trailed off as she looked around at the wide eyed group who all stared at her like she grew a second head. "I'm not helping, am I?"

"No."

"Not at all."

"Why did you think that would be helpful?" Eddie asked.

"Anyway," Steve said to change the subject. "The important thing is that you lay low. If the police get their hands on you, they'll lock you up and throw away the key."

"Yeah," Eddie frowned. "That's not helping either."

Y/N kneeled next to her best friend and touched his knee. "We'll figure this out, Eddie. I promise. I won't let you go to prison."

Eddie rest his forehead against hers.

"Thanks Y/N/N," he whispered.

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

I knew that I would expand on this blurb at some point

Supernatural Things Taglist:

@toxic-aries @websterss @jesssimblrorwhatever

Eddie Munson Taglist:

@meaganjm @sweetpeapod @eddiemunsonsfavbitch @fangirling-4-ever @zzokks @mattymurdocksbitch @fillechatoyante @luvbug4728 @doll-in-the-walls @ches-86 @shenevertricks1831 @urlocalhippie2029 @celestair @ruinedbythehobbit @purple-storm

@meaganjm @sweetpeapod @eddiemunsonsfavbitch @fangirling-4-ever @zzokks @mattymurdocksbitch @fillechatoyante @luvbug4728 @doll-in-the-walls @ches-86 @shenevertricks1831 @urlocalhippie2029 @celestair @ruinedbythehobbit @purple-storm

@sarai-ibn-la-ahad @livslifeonline

Stranger Things Taglist:

@valeriiecameron @maruushkka @rainbows-dreams @april-foolish

Stranger Things (Billy excluded) Taglist;

@sleepyhead1456

[aion-rsa]

The Incredible Hulk’s Diminished Legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Love it or hate it, one of the things that makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe work is the long term synergy. With Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, over a decade of movies came together to pull off one of the most entertaining spectacles of our time. It’s a universe that, for the most part, feels consistent and it builds on itself as each movie feels like an essential cog in a larger machine.

Some cogs are bigger than the others, though, and when it comes to “the others,” one can’t help but notice that 2008’s Incredible Hulk is something of a black sheep in the Marvel movie roster. These days, they’re just starting to dust it off as a property with the return of Tim Roth’s Abomination in She-Hulk and William Hurt’s General Ross’ gradually increasing role in the universe itself (he’ll appear in Black Widow and possibly other projects soon enough).

Now, there are plenty of reasons why Incredible Hulk is the green-skinned stepchild of the MCU. It made the least amount of money (about $42 million less than Captain America: The First Avenger, which was the second worst showing), the lead actor was recast afterwards, and its status as a Universal co-production meant that it would be the only movie in the first three Marvel phases that would not get its own sequel, no matter how popular Hulk was in the Avengers movies and Thor: Ragnarok.

It’s not like the MCU acted like Incredible Hulk never happened, but the creators definitely had a tendency to shove it into the corner and be somewhat vague about its existence. It became easier as the MCU became rich with more and more properties, but early on, it was very much the rage-filled elephant in the room.

The Hulk Design

There were a couple of ads for Avengers: Endgame that included shots from all the previous MCU movies in chronological order. For one, when it came to Incredible Hulk, all it had to show for it was Hulk’s fist bursting through the wall. In another, they just used shots from later movies and hoped nobody would notice. That’s because CGI or not, Ed Norton’s Hulk and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk were two very different beasts. Not only did they roughly resemble their actors, but Norton’s Hulk was more of a giant, angry bodybuilder with green skin while Ruffalo’s came off as more Cro-Magnon, like a shaved gorilla.

It means that while they could talk about Hulk’s exploits, they could never really show any flashbacks, as it would just look awkward. Similarly, Incredible Hulk filmed a cut opening where Banner tried to shoot himself, but the Hulk wouldn’t allow it. While it was a bit too extreme to show, Banner at least got to talk about it happening in Avengers.

The Effect on the World of the MCU

When you look at the events of Incredible Hulk, it keeps things focused on the characters and not the world at large. Sure, it would have been bigger news if the Abomination defeated the Hulk and went on an even bigger rampage, but that problem was nipped in the bud. If you’re a citizen of Marvel Earth, all there is to know is that some soda has been recalled and there was a monster fight in Harlem.

In the movies themselves, the only time the Harlem fight is brought up is in the background of Iron Man 2, where Nick Fury’s map signals it as a place of interest.

With the exception of the Hulk straight-up existing, the most lip service his movie got early on was the scene in Captain America: The First Avenger where Steve gave blood for further study. They needed something to give Emil Blonsky down the line and turn him into an angry Ninja Turtle.

Speaking of…

Whatever Happened to the Abomination?

Of Marvel’s Phase 1 villains, one died, a couple vanished confusingly into space only to come back later, and three were taken into custody. Ending up in custody means you’ll be back soon enough because prisons usually can’t hold the type of enemies who can throw down with the Avengers. Usually.

In other words, it’s pretty damn impressive that the Abomination has been kept off the grid since the Hulk choked him out in Harlem. She-Hulk will be his first real appearance since then, but his name has been on the tongue of Phil Coulson on Agents of SHIELD a few times.

The scene of Tony Stark appearing at the end of Incredible Hulk to confront General Ross is something that came off as a big deal at the time, but afterwards didn’t make too much sense. Piggybacking off the Iron Man post-credits scene, Stark was seemingly trying to recruit the Hulk into the Avengers. That didn’t exactly jibe with what they were going for afterwards, so they released a short film to make sense out of everything.

The Consultant featured Agent Coulson and Agent Sitwell discussing the unfortunate decision by the World Security Council to demand the Abomination join the team. After all, Blonsky is a decorated veteran and the Harlem incident could easily be blamed on Banner. Fury wasn’t in a position to refuse the Council, so the only hope was that General Ross – the guy in charge of Blonsky’s captivity – turned them down. And so, they sent Tony Stark. That final scene in Incredible Hulk was reframed as Tony Stark obnoxiously asking for the keys to Abomination for the Avengers and Ross being so annoyed by his antics that he straight-up refused.

Afterwards, Abomination was namedropped a couple of times in Agents of SHIELD, which is par for the course considering early Agents of SHIELD was about reminding us about stuff that happened in the movies and saying, “We’re part of all that!” According to the show, Abomination was kept in a special prison in Alaska that only a select few know about. There was an episode where SHIELD’s main prison lost power and one of the writers realized that they probably needed to note that Abomination wasn’t going to be an issue in this situation.

But hey, at least he finished his story. The Leader on the other hand…

Samuel Sterns and the Fate of the Leader

At the time, it was the right play. Tim Blake Nelson played the kind of surprise villain you’d find in your average CGI animated Disney movie. As Mr. Blue, he existed as Bruce Banner’s potential salvation, only to be revealed to be kind of over-the-line and sinister in terms of his gamma experiments. After turning Blonsky into the Abomination, Sterns was knocked to the floor and a sample of Banner’s irradiated blood dripped into the open wound on his head. Sterns seemed especially jazzed with a crazed expression as his head started throbbing and increasing in size.

And then…nothing! Not even a mention in a different movie or Agents of SHIELD. That’s what happens when you set up a villain for a sequel and then have legal reasons keeping you from making that sequel. That said, there is a follow-up to what the hell happened with Sterns.

Back in 2012, a prequel comic was released to coincide with the first Avengers movie. The Avengers Prelude: Fury’s Big Week showed that the events of Iron Man 2, Thor, and Incredible Hulk all happened over the course of a few days. We got to see those storylines from the perspective of SHIELD, especially a very overwhelmed and fatigued Nick Fury. That makes sense for the stuff with Tony Stark in Iron Man 2 as well as Mjolnir and the Destroyer in Thor, but what of Incredible Hulk?

As shown in this story, Black Widow was in the background of its events, keeping an eye on everything and realizing that she was way in over her head. She played clean-up on the Sterns situation by coming across his giant, mutated head in the aftermath. Sterns was quick to figure out her homeland from traces of her accent and thought to bribe her in some way, but she stonewalled him with a couple of bullets to the legs.

A year later, Sterns was shown floating in a tank, unconscious, as various SHIELD scientists studied him.

Will we ever see the Leader pop up in the MCU? I can’t imagine Tim Blake Nelson is too busy to appear on She-Hulk at some point.

Betty Ross

Bruce Banner’s old flame is now nothing but a footnote. Considering Banner moved on to another relationship and then another planet, there was never a reason to reintroduce Betty. The only nods to her were Tony Stark naming his Hulkbuster armor “Veronica” (get it?) and the Russo Brothers saying in an interview that Betty was one of those turned to dust by Thanos.

Maybe one day we’ll see Red She-Hulk. Don’t hold your breath, though.

Thunderbolt Ross

General Thaddeus Ross does the heavy lifting for keeping Incredible Hulk relevant. The guy came back for Captain America: Civil War, a movie that didn’t even have the Hulk in it! But it did give him the Henry Gyrich role in a time when Gyrich was probably off-limits since he was considered part of the X-Men corner of Marvel (he already had a very minor role in the first X-Men movie). A familiar face, Ross got to be the government liaison type who spoke with logic, but came off as an antagonistic killjoy.

Right or wrong, Ross’ insistence that the Avengers sign with the Sokovia Accords ruined the team in the face of Thanos’ rampage against the cosmos. He still got to show his respects as Tony Stark’s funeral at the end of Endgame.

Yet, that’s not the last we’ll see of him. In Black Widow, Ross is shown in the trailers. We don’t know his role quite yet, but there’s a lot of fan speculation that Ross might tie into the next roster of the Avengers. Maybe a team that’s government sanctioned and controlled. Maybe a team that’s an awful lot like the Thunderbolts.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It does seem that as the MCU reaches further and further outward, it looks back more and more on the events of Incredible Hulk. Then again, I doubt we’ll be seeing Ty Burrell’s Leonard Samson turn into a gamma-irradiated psychiatrist with long, luxurious hair any time soon.

The post The Incredible Hulk’s Diminished Legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/38YGDRp

[peoplemagrpg]

I ditched Google for DuckDuckGo. Here's why you should too

What was the last thing you searched for online? For me, it was ‘$120 in pounds’. Before that, I wanted to know the capital of Albania (Tirana), the Twitter handle of Liberal Democrat deputy leader Ed Davey (he’s @EdwardJDavey) and dates of bank holidays in the UK for 2019 (it’s a late Easter next year, folks). Thrilling, I’m sure you’ll agree. But something makes these searches, in internet terms, a bit unusual. Shock, horror, I didn’t use Google. I used DuckDuckGo. And, after two years in the wilderness, I’m pretty sure I’m sold on a post-Google future.

It all started with a realisation: most the things I search for are easy to find. Did I really need the all-seeing, all-knowing algorithms of Google to assist me? Probably not. So I made a simple change: I opened up Firefox on my Android phone and switched Google search for DuckDuckGo. As a result, I’ve had a fairly tedious but important revelation: I search for really obvious stuff. Google’s own data backs this up. Its annual round-up of the most searched-for terms is basically a list of names and events: World Cup, Avicii, Mac Miller, Stan Lee, Black Panther, Megan Markle. The list goes on. And I don’t need to buy into Google’s leviathan network of privacy-invading trackers to find out what Black Panther is and when I can go and see it at my local cinema.

While I continue to use Google at work (more out of necessity as my employer runs on G-Suite), on my phone I’m all about DuckDuckGo. I had, based on zero evidence, convinced myself that finding things on the internet was hard and, inevitably, involved a fair amount of tracking. After two years of not being tracked and targeted I have slowly come to realise that this is nonsense.

DuckDuckGo works in broadly the same way as any other search engine, Google included. It combines data from hundreds of sources including Wolfram Alpha, Wikipedia and Bing, with its own web crawler, to surface the most relevant results. Google does exactly the same, albeit on a somewhat larger scale. The key difference: DuckDuckGo does not store IP addresses or user information.

Billed as the search engine that doesn’t track you, DuckDuckGo processes around 1.5 billion searches every month. Google, for contrast, processes around 3.5 billion searches per day. It’s hardly a fair fight, but DuckDuckGo is growing. Back in 2012, it averaged just 45 million searches per month. While Google still operates in a different universe, the actual difference in the results you see when you search isn’t so far apart. In fact, in many respects, DuckDuckGo is better. Its search results aren’t littered with Google products and services – boxes and carousels to try and persuade people to spend more time in Google’s family of apps.

Search for, say, ‘Iron Man 2’ and Google will first tell you it can be purchased from Google Play or YouTube from £9.99. It will then suggest you play a trailer for the film on, where else, YouTube. The film is also “liked” by 92 per cent of Google users and people searching for this also search for, you guessed it, Iron Man and Iron Man 3. The same search on DuckDuckGo pulls in a snippet from Wikipedia and quick links to find out more on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon or iTunes. For the most part, the top of Google’s page of results directs you towards more Google products and services.

Go further still and search for ‘Iron Man 2 cast’ and Google displays a carousel of names and pictures right at the top of the page. As a result, 50 per cent of all Google searches now end without a click. Great for Google, bad for the list of websites below that also contain this information and that you will never visit. Do the same search on DuckDuckGo and the top result is IMDb. It might sound small but issues like this are fundamental to how the internet works – and who makes the most money from it. Google’s prioritisation of its results, and a perceived bias towards its own products and services, has landed the company in hot water with the European Commission slapping it with multi-billion pound fines and launching investigation after investigation into alleged anti-competitive behaviour. What’s good for Google, the commission argues, isn’t necessarily good for consumers or competitors.

Then there’s privacy. Search for something on DuckDuckGo and, for the most part, you just get a list of links or a simple snippet with exactly the information you were looking for. And it does all this without storing or tracking my search history. Nor is what I search for collected and shared with advertisers, allowing them to micro-target me with a myriad of things I’m never likely to buy. The ads I do see in DuckDuckGo, which the company explains makes it more than enough money to operate, are more general. My search for bank holidays in the UK returned an advert for a package holiday company.

A quick office survey revealed similar search banality: recent Googles included ‘capitalist’, ‘toxoplasmosis’ and ‘hyde park police’. For the most part, what we’re looking for online is simple: it’s definitions, companies, names and places. Where DuckDuckGo has struggled is when I look for something incredibly specific. So, for example, search for ‘film Leonardo Dicaprio goats scene’ in DuckDuckGo and it doesn’t work out you’re looking for Blood Diamond. Google does. While Google, with its vastly greater tranche of search data, is able to second-guess what I’m after, DuckDuckGo requires a bit more hand-holding. That doesn’t mean I can’t find what I’m looking for, but it does mean I have to modify my search term a couple of times to narrow things down.             

But such moments are rare and fleeting. Yes, Google has more bells and whistles. But such bells and whistles are, once you stop seeing them, easily forgotten. A realisation that most of your online searches are really bloody obvious is somewhat liberating. You don’t need to be tracked and targeted to work out the name of that hideous earworm that’s been stuck in your head all day (in my case it was Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles, I don’t know why). DuckDuckGo helps you find it in the same way Google does: you tap in a random line of lyrics, it finds them on a site with song lyrics on it and voila, the earworm is dead.

It’s not a fair fight, but it is one, oddly, where the small guy can compete. It might seem ludicrous – DuckDuckGo has 78 employees and Google 114,096 – but often the outcome is the same. For the majority of your searches David, it turns out, is just as good as Goliath.

[itsiotrecords-blog]

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Professional fighters, newborn babies, and the supporting cast of Deliverance aside, pretty much everyone has a mouthful of teeth. We use our ivories on a daily basis, mashing up food and smiling at friends, but we often take our thirty-two teeth for granted. And that’s just too bad. As it turns out, the human tooth is incredibly strange and is surrounded by weird and wild facts like…

#1 Actors’ Teeth There are quite a few actors out there who lose or gain a few pounds for a role, but that’s nothing compared to the stars who attack their teeth. For the 1999 classic Fight Club, Brad Pitt knew he needed to radically alter his appearance to play anarchist Tyler Durden. After all, if you start up an underground boxing club, you probably won’t end up with a movie star smile. Pitt paid a dentist to chip away at his chompers, giving Durden a much edgier look. But you don’t need to be an A-lister to go all method on your mouth. For his role as Stu Price in The Hangover, comedian Ed Helms also made a quick trip to the dentist. If you’ve seen the film, you know Stu pulls out his own tooth on a bet. Of course, the actor wasn’t willing to go quite that far in real life. But Helms was a man literally born to play the part of Stu. Helms was born missing a tooth, and at the age of fifteen he filled the gap with an implant. When it came time to star in The Hangover he simply removed the fake. The process was probably a bit painful, as it involved unscrewing the implant and screwing a plug into the gap in his gum. Talk about dedication. However, the award for hardcore dentistry has to go to Viggo Mortensen. While filming Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Mortensen was busy bashing orcs at the Battle of Helm’s Deep when things got out of hand, and Aragorn accidentally broke his tooth. But instead of stomping off to his trailer, Mortensen wanted to keep  filming and insisted that someone glue his tooth back on. Fortunately, director Peter Jackson decided to cut and sent Viggo off to receive proper medical treatment. Still, you have to admire the man’s work ethic.

#2 The Norwegian Tooth Bank There are all kinds of bizarre biological banks, from sperm banks to blood banks to banks full of eyeballs. But in Norway scientists are busy working on an even stranger special facility just for storing milk teeth. Also known as deciduous teeth, milk teeth are the extras we lose as children, and researchers from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) hope parents will donate these little incisors and bicuspids to their ever-growing tooth bank. Scientists are currently working with 100,000 children in the hopes of building the largest tooth bank in the world. But why would anyone want milk teeth in the first place? It turns out that these temporary teeth are excellent indicators of what pollutants are in the environment. By studying them, along with blood and urine samples from the parents, MoBa researchers can learn how environmental contaminants affect a child and mother’s health. As of 2013 the bank had 17,000 teeth, all kept in envelopes and locked away in the University of Bergen where no tooth fairy can ever find them.

#3 Teeth Tattoos They might sound like something out of a sci-fi novel, but teeth tattoos are actually quite popular these days. Applied to a cap or crown, these images are permanent and come in all shapes and sizes, from pictures of George Washington to sail boats to phrases like “Bite Me.” Scientists at Princeton and Tufts are taking teeth tattoos in a completely different direction. Instead of ink, they’re using graphene, and it isn’t for art’s sake. These tattoos are actually electronic sensors, and they’re a bacterium’s worst nightmare. Imprinted on silk, the tattoos are placed onto a tooth, and after water washes the silk away the graphene remains and monitors the mouth for bacteria. Powered by electrodes and an inductive coil, the tattoo uses antimicrobial peptides to latch onto germs. Thanks to the electricity in a bacterium’s cell membrane, a signal is sent to a nearby antenna which scientists use to determine what kind of bacteria is crawling around inside your mouth. You still need to brush, though.

#4 The Fake Braces of Asia In the west, most people think of braces as geeky, ugly and kind of uncomfortable. But beauty is relative, and in Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, braces are considered super cool… and super illegal, thanks to the rich kids. In cities like Bangkok braces can run up to $1,200, which is a little expensive for most Thai kids. But like everything else owned by the rich and powerful, braces suddenly have an air of wealth and status about them. That’s where fashion braces, or kawat gigi untuk gaya, come in. Running about $100, these braces are sold in markets, beauty salons, and online, and can be customized in all sorts of styles like Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty. You don’t even need a dentist to wear fashion braces. Do-It-Yourself kits are extremely popular, despite the fact that they’re against the law in Thailand. In 2012, two teenagers developed deadly infections thanks to fashion braces. Authorities were also worried about the amount of lead found in the wires and were concerned kids might choke on loose pieces. Wanting to prevent any further deaths, the Thai government outlawed the practice, threatening to punish producers with up to six months behind bars. But that only gave rise to a thriving black market for braces.

#5 Buddha’s Teeth When most people think about relics, they generally picture Christian artifacts like the Holy Grail, the True Cross and the Shroud of Turin. But Buddhism has its share of holy objects as well — many are from the Buddha’s own body, including quite a few plucked out of his mouth. If you ever visit Sri Lanka be sure to drop by the city of Kandy, where you’ll find the sage’s left canine on display in the Temple of the Tooth. After the Buddha’s cremation, the tooth became a symbol of power. Whoever owned the canine had the right to rule Sri Lanka, and it was passed down from monarch to monarch. As you might expect, quite a few people squabbled over the tooth, and holy men were forced to hide it from time to time until it finally ended up in Kandy for all the world to see. On your next trip you can stop by the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in Singapore, where you can admire another one of the philosopher’s pearly whites surrounded by prayer rooms and ornate dragons. However, the weirdest of all the Buddha’s teeth is without a doubt the one in Rosemead, California. Worshippers claim the two-inch molar is actually still growing and even possesses miraculous healing powers.

#6 John Lennon’s Tooth Michael Zuk isn’t your average dentist. This Canadian has filled plenty of cavities, but when he isn’t pulling teeth Zuk is busy working on an odd experiment that involves John Lennon’s tooth. How did a dentist from Alberta get his hands on one of Lennon’s pearly whites? In the 1960s, John gave his rotten molar to his housekeeper, a woman named Dot Jartlett. He thought it would be a nice gift for her Beatlemaniac daughter, and the tooth stayed in the Jartlett family until 2011 when they sold it for over $30,000. The buyer was Michael Zuk, and he had some very weird plans. He’s used the tooth to draw attention to mouth cancer and even let his sister use a fragment for her sculpture of Lennon’s head. However, his ultimate goal is to clone the rock star. Zuk has allegedly teamed up with a group of scientists who’ve begun sequencing Lennon’s DNA. If all goes according to plan, the singer will make his big comeback in 2040. Only this time Zuk will make sure Lennon stays away from “drugs and cigarettes.”

#7 The Incredibly Creepy Jesus Statue Visit any Catholic church and you’re bound to spot an icon of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. Most of these statues are made out of wood or plastic, but if you take a little trip to San Bartolo Cautlalpan, a small town outside Mexico City, you’ll find a figurine that’s a little more lifelike than the rest. In early 2014 experts from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History were restoring an icon of Christ known as “The Lord of Patience.” This 3’8” wooden statue depicts Jesus moments before his crucifixion, sitting down and staring into the sky. Dating back to the 18th century, this statue was scheduled to undergo restoration, but when researchers started X-raying the piece they noticed something extremely odd about its teeth — they had roots. Upon closer examination, the researchers found that the Lord of Patience was fully equipped with eight human teeth, and judging by the size they were probably removed from a healthy adult. But why would anyone put real teeth inside a wooden statue? Well, perhaps it was a way of scoring points for the afterlife. Back in the day, believers would offer up hair clippings to make wigs for icons. Researchers believe that a faithful churchgoer probably yanked out a few spare ivories as a way of proving his or her devotion to God. That brings a whole new level to the Biblical “tooth for a tooth” business.

#8 The Boy With 232 Teeth Ashik Gavai was a seventeen-year-old Indian boy in a lot of pain. The right side of his jaw was swelling up like a balloon, and the local doctor didn’t know what to do. Worried the culprit was cancer, his parents took the boy to a team of specialists in Mumbai. Once they started poking around inside his mouth the doctors made an incredible discovery. Ashik was suffering from a complex composite odontoma. A benign tumor was growing on the teenager’s jaw and essentially turned Ashik’s gums into a tooth factory. Over a seven hour operation, doctors removed 232 “pearl-like” teeth from the boy’s mouth. The four surgeons even discovered a “marble-like” brick and were forced to use a hammer and chisel to break it apart. Hopefully the doctors removed every rogue tooth in Ashik’s mouth. If not, there’s a chance the odontoma might return. At least there’s a bright side to this macabre little tale — the world record for tooth removal from an odontoma is thirty-seven, so perhaps Ashik might get his name into Guinness.

#9 The Man With A Tooth In His Nose Nose bleeds are pretty common. In fact, three out of five people will suffer from “epistaxis” before they die. But if you’re experiencing nose bleeds once or twice a month, then there might be a problem. A twenty-two-year-old man was getting tired of constantly having to shove cotton balls up his nose, and after having multiple nosebleeds over three years he finally went to see his doctor. What the physician found was kind of horrifying. There was a tooth growing in the man’s left nostril. It was about one centimeter long and had erupted through the floor of his nasal cavity. Surgeons were able to remove the tooth without any problems, but why was it there in the first place? Well, about 0.15% to 3.9% of people in the world actually have spare teeth. Known as mesiodentes, these extra chompers turn around and grow the wrong way, occasionally popping up inside the nose. It’s kind of disgusting, but at least it’s understandable. But sometimes our genes get screwed up, and then things get really freaky. Take the case of Doug Pritchard. Back in 1978, Pritchard was a normal 13 year old kid living in North Carolina when his foot started to hurt. He put up with the pain for several weeks, but when he couldn’t take it anymore he went to the doctor… who found a tooth growing in his foot. Sounds like a bad horror movie.

#10 Tooth-Eye Surgery We’ll end with one of the craziest surgeries ever invented by man. In 2009, Martin Jones was a forty-two-year-old man who’d never seen his wife. Years before his wedding day he’d been blinded by an explosion of molten aluminum, but a corneal specialist named Christopher Lui promised to restore his vision with a radical operation known as modified osteo-odonot-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP). And it involved Martin’s front tooth. After removing one of his canines, doctors drilled a small hole in the tooth and placed a lens inside. Next, they stitched the tooth into his cheek, allowing it to develop vessels and tissue before sticking the canine into Jones’ right eyeball. With the new lens firmly in place Jones could suddenly see everything, including his wife’s face. Despite its effectiveness, MOOKP isn’t used much in the United States. American surgeons prefer a technique known as Boston Keratoprosthesis, which involves a prosthetic cornea. However, later in 2009 a team of doctors at the University of Miami became the first surgeons to perform the MOOKP operation in the U.S. The patient was a woman named Sharron Thornton who’d lost her vision due to a condition known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Thanks to one of her teeth and some mucus-filled cheek tissue, today Ms. Thornton can see everyone and everything around her.

Source: TopTenz