#i also thought i loved a man before i realized i'm lesbian

[velvetvexations]

I'm not a trans woman, just a trans person who has been very active in trans and queer spaces, so it actually makes me really sad to see so many transradfems absolutely vilify femboys and gnc men because from what I've seen a LOT of trans women start out as gnc "men" or femboys or drag queens even just expiriementing in a safe place that welcomes that before realizing they're actually women and heading out(or even still being there hanging with the people who welcomed them when they were unsure and needed a community that wouldn't treat them like a freak for saying "I don't want to be masculine anymore").

Like so many trans men and mascs start out ID-ing as butch lesbians or just butches/tomboys in general and they don't turn around and vilify non-transmasc butches and tomboys as like...transandrophobes or women play acting as men, and most of them keep their ties to that community because again, that's where they were welcomed and sheltered while they figured stuff out.

And I know SO many asexuals who thought they were bi before realizing they were ace and while that isn't exactly the same they don't like, turn around and attack bi people for welcoming them as a member of the club when they needed support.

I mean it is just my perspective and I'm just one person and again I'm not a trans woman but nearly every trans woman I know who didn't like come out as a 6 year old started out just dressing up as a girl for fun first and hanging out in gnc, femboy, and drag spaces. And isn't this also why we have egg jokes about femboys and gnc men(as much as I don't like them)?? Because it's common to start off there before cracking and realizing "oh I'm a girl actually"? Why are transradfems being like "yeah I started here but everyone ELSE there is a transphobic freak" like???

It just...idk it's really sad to see transradfems attack gnc men and femboys and drag queens even because like, you obviously don't owe them anything or have to view them as your saviors or whatever but there's undeniable community overlap and seeing that ignored in favor of pretending anyone wearing woman's clothes while IDing as a man is clearly a massive transmisognist freak who deserves to be attacked when that's what a lot of trans women started out as is like...what?

Makes me really sad. We're supposed to be in this together, right? We're all deviants in one way or another, I even count otherwise cishet but still gnc men as my queer allies, like it or not imo back when Finnster ID-ed as a cishet man I still thought they were one of us(I mean getting banned from twitch for adjusting your bra strap seems like some textbook misogyny and even transmisogny but what do I know), we're all under attack for just trying to live the lives we want to live. What good does it do to divide us up like this. How are those of us who don't know right away going to find our footing if we don't have safe spaces to expiriement with people who will love and support us and cheer when we figure out who we truly are? How are those of us who are deviant but not trans supposed to thrive without support and acceptance?

Isn't that what this is all supposed to be about?

It's depressing. Thank you for your thoughts, anon. <3 I appreciate that others see this same thing and also despair. It makes me feel like I'm not cracking up to know that this is alarming to you as well.

[imaginarylungfish]

ok evidence for bakudeku (and/or togachako) to become canon:

- so mha starts out really normie/cishetero because we are shown good (heroes) and bad (villains) presented as a binary. this is a popular-held belief in society (i'm writing from the perspective of someone from america).

- but the story is now changing into bad (villians) isn't necessarily all bad and irredeemable. bad is just seen as bad because of trauma (especially childhood trauma).

- and we may end up seeing more "reform rather than prison" ideas pop up later too

- in other words, this manga/anime is liberal-leaning. queerness and progressive politics usually go hand in hand.

Hori is constantly presenting us with "shades of grey" vs. "black and white" thinking. Queerness is a shade of grey. How can it not be included at this point?

[unclewaynemunson]

“I need to tell you something.”

Shitfuckno. Eddie doesn't even know why he's still surprised. This is how it always goes, after all. He should probably just give up and stop dating altogether – again.

Steve looks at him exactly as ominously as the words I need to tell you something require. Perfect Steve. Funny Steve. Sweet Steve. Sexy Steve. Steve, who Eddie had genuinely believed to be different.

Eddie sighs, barely suppressing a dark chuckle while he turns away from that perfect face. He doesn't want to look at Steve when he'll tell him the undoubtedly messed-up shit he's about to spill.

“Lemme guess, you're married?” That was what the last guy he dated told him, seven months after they got to know each other. It can't be much worse than that, can it?

Steve grabs Eddie's hand, causing him to involuntarily jerk up his head and meet his eyes.

“How did you know?”

Jesus H. Christ. Not again.

Eddie roughly pulls his hand out of Steve's grip and laughs a joyless laugh.

“Apparently I'm a good guesser.”

He stands up from the park bench the two of them had been sharing. “Well, Steve, this has been a blast. You should go back to your wife, or husband – don't tell me, I don't even wanna know – and I should um, get going. Maybe tell the next person right away what they'll be getting themselves into. Would save them a lot of wasted time, just in case cheating and going around other people's backs isn't really their thing, y'know.”

“Eddie, wait, let me explain!”

Eddie picks up his pace, but Steve, stubborn as he is, easily keeps up with him.

“I'm really not interested, man.”

“It's not – I'm not cheating on her!”

“Okay, so you have an open marriage, good for you. Still the kind of information you could've shared with me, say, three months ago, don't you think?”

“She's a lesbian.”

And that makes Eddie freeze on the spot. It takes Steve two steps before he realizes Eddie has stopped moving; he walks backwards until he's standing right in front of Eddie.

“She's my best friend,” he says, immediately using Eddie's stunned silence to his advantage. “Robin, my roommate – I told you all about her. We wanted to buy a house together and that turned out to be very complicated when you're not... Well, when you're not romantically involved. So we got married. For the, um, practical reasons. We never – we're like siblings. I love her like a sister. But she's also my wife. Platonically.”

It takes a few seconds until Steve's words sink in. Then, Eddie leaps forward and basically collapses into Steve's arms, needing to hold onto him to prevent himself from crashing to the ground.

Steve's arms are warm, strong, and as safe as ever.

“Eddie, are you okay?” Steve asks softly. His lips brush against Eddie's ear while he speaks, and worry colors his voice.

Perfect Steve. Too-good-to-be-true Steve.

“Jesus Christ, Steve,” is the only thing Eddie manages to say.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,” Steve says. “It's just – I've gotten some, um... Less than ideal reactions, in the past, whenever I told this when I was seeing someone. So I thought it'd be better to wait until things were getting serious.” He sighs, tangling his fingers in Eddie's hair. “I didn't wanna scare you off. Are we – are you okay?”

Eddie nods. He lifts his head from where it's resting against Steve's shoulder and raises his hands to squeeze them around Steve's face.

“We're okay,” he says. “And I'm sorry I didn't want to listen to you. I–” He stops; he can't find the words right away. It's still difficult to talk about those things; to let himself be vulnerable. But Steve has been honest with him, so it's only fair to return the favor.

“I've been hurt, Steve,” he confesses. “More than once. I've had some really shitty experiences with dudes not being honest with me. I thought that that was what was happening again, and I couldn't – I couldn't go through that again. Especially not with you.”

“Jesus, Eddie, I'm so sorry.”

“It's okay,” Eddie rushes to say, pulling Steve even closer towards him. “I trust you.” And as soon as these words leave his mouth, he knows it's the truth.

“I do want to be absolutely clear about one thing, though,” Steve says.

Eddie leans back in Steve's arms to give him an expectant look.

“Robin is my wife. I'm not planning on that to change anytime soon. We've been through a lot together. She's been the most important person in my life for years. We own a house and a dog together, and I love her more than anything. I like you a lot, and I promise you I'm all-in with you, but... Robin is still my number one. And that's not gonna change overnight. I need you to be okay with that.”

Eddie swallows. He looks into Steve's eyes. All he sees is a man who is honest, who loves his friends deeply, and who refuses to make any compromises when it comes to love – whether it be the platonic or the romantic kind.

It doesn't scare Eddie off; it only makes him fonder of Steve.

He smiles, glances around to check if they're alone, and presses a quick kiss against Steve's lips.

“I think I can live with that,” he says. “As long as I'm the only one who gets to do this.” He closes his eyes and lets his lips meet Steve's again.

The sigh that Steve breathes into their tentative kiss is one filled with relief.

[hoodedjelly]

my Jenny, Tuck, Brad, Shelden, and Vega older designs ^__^

i'm watching mlaatr, still not done, i think i got like 10 more eps (and if i'm being transparent i skipped around eps... i just wanted to see vega...). And i'm absolutely loving the show!!!! i love these characters a lot, didn't like Shelden at first i'm going to be honest, #1 Shelden hater for a bit there. but he chilled out in season two and i started to ship breldon with that too so now i just love him so much.

more about my personal headcanons:

Jenny: - I am under the belief that she is transgender. Jenny was made genderless, so her deciding to be a girl was strictly her choice and i believe that makes her trans. (She's also a lesbian) - she did grow a bit, im not gonna explain how idc really i just liked her being a taller lady :-) - she has A LOT of different cute outfits and hair styles, honestly too much to draw. she never transforms back into her base show outfit when crime fighting, she just fights in her cute summer dress she don't care. - her and vega are dating grrgrgrrrr - when vega is in rule she makes it so there is complete free access between earth and cluster prime for citizens in both places. - I say that cause i think when jenny is older she moves in with vega, technically living in cluster prime but visits earth like everyday. And brad/shelby/tucker/wakeman visit cluster prime - Jenny also hangs out with the nicktoons unite gang, but i deffo feel like its just that secondary friend group that you don't talk to with for months. when you talk again its the same goofiness as before - i think danny calls for her help when he needs it (also manny) Tuck: - he is still a little shit but we love him - adhd boy - questioning cis (he/him) - he got into robotics/stem and builds little silly things - with that, he gets help from Shelby - pretty much just a silly teen, he's on the internet a lot and has "cringe" interests - but idk he's having fun and being silly and finding himself (those interests is stuff like sonic and among us) Shelden(Shelby) - honestly kinda nervous about ppl thoughts on my Shelden, idk it makes so much sense in my brain - hits you with the transfem beam (she/they) Pansexual (she just wants anyone type of vibe) - I think when jenny is visiting vega often that leaves Shelby and Brad hanging out alone a lot. which they don't mind honestly, they are actually good friends! - but during that they just get closer and start catching feelings. Shelby eventually lets go of her feelings about jenny and realizes they were a real jerk and weirdo to her. brad helps them through that and eventually her realizing she's trans. blah blah they in love and kiss at some point. - Shelby is also a furry lmaooo her fursona is a cat.

Brad: - bisexual cis man (he/him) - Still his old brad self if i'm being honest. - totally forgot to say i think all 3 of them go off to college together (even though jenny doesn't have to i feel like she would prob want to just for the experience, but tell me if you think differently i'm still unsure) - i really don't know what else to say sorry brad! he's literally just as silly as ever man. he's just also gay - i will say here i feel it takes a lot longer for shelby and brad to start dating then jenny and vega. they got that slow burn kinda shit going on, since a lot of that is shelby being confused about her feelings. and jenny and vega just hit it off right away if im being honest, very high school sweethearts. - (also i think shelby makes brad make a fursona to match hers, so brad got a dog fursona)

Vega: - Lesbian cis (she/her) - That ending of her just ruling cluster prime was just so crazy to me cause like, aint she like 16? - i think she has a lot of stressed nights and fearing she's not doing the right thing for her people, and jenny tries to help as much she can - that is why jenny visits so much, she wants to help her. - very much got those nights were she accidently falls asleep at her desk, jenny finding her and giving her a blanket and a kiss goodnight - it's not like she's unhappy, she is actually very very passionate about her work and wants to NOT be like her mom - and yeah she deffo goes to robo therapy for the stuff with her mom. - i think it's a conflict where vega is scared her mom is gonna come back and jenny has to reassure her that if she does they'll get rid of her for good.

imma be honest a lot of my hcs are pretty half-baked and random things, im sure im going to think of more stuff in the future but that will be in different posts.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for breaking up with a man to immediately date a woman?👩‍❤️‍👩

So a couple of years ago I (at the time 25F) identified as bisexual and ace. I had dated before, but it was all long distance relationships, and all men. At this point, I was single, and while in university, I met a guy (Jake, 26M) and he confessed he was into me. I only really thought of Jake as a friend, but I agreed we could date- because I've always confused platonic/romantic feelings, and foolishly thought I could probably "grow into" the relationship, like my previous ones. Jake is smart, friendly, very sweet and supportive, thoughtful, I didn't see why we couldn't date! But of course, as relationships do, suddenly he becomes more physical, more affectionate with me- which duh, we're dating, I should've expected this- but it blindsided me.

I would very frequently communicate to him what I was comfortable/uncomfortable with, and he'd be okay backing off and taking things more slowly, but would occasionally gently push my boundaries. I'd have to remind him that I wasn't comfortable, and he'd back off and would tell me it's okay- but I don't think he meant it. I think he was hoping I would "get over" these uncomfortable feelings and give him what he wants, eventually. It got to a point I was uncomfortable even being alone with him, because I knew he'd start acting this way. I was deeply appreciative of his patience, since I know I was being weird about our relationship.

While this is happening, I was venting to my dear friend Mary (25F) about how I felt terrible, how I felt stuck, and Mary would support me, hear me out, and comfort me. I had also met Mary in university, and Jake and Mary knew each other and were also friends. We were all a part of the same friend group- but I only would talk to Mary about what was going on between me and Jake.

A few months of this passes, and it occurs to me that I had a crush on Mary. A real, actual, true crush. One I'd never felt before in any of my other relationships- I had a connection with her, she and I understood each other. One night, we jokingly both kind of confessed to each other at the same time. It was then that it all clicked for me- I'm not bi… I'm a lesbian. It's why I've felt that I've had to "grow into" my previous relationships with men. I never truly was attracted to them, and just thought that was how all relationships were. Mary was the first person I actually felt like I could be myself.

Anyway- Mary knew about Jake obviously, and I told her up front that I'd need time to break up with him. She understood completely. I broke up with him the next day or so in person, quietly, in private. I didn't tell him about Mary, nor about me realizing that I'm a lesbian. I just said that I didn't think we could work out- that he wants more than I could give, and that I wasn't good for him, he deserved someone better. He understood, but he was very upset. And angry. He threatened me with a "If you date anybody in our group- we won't be friends anymore." and stormed off. I cried, but figured I deserved it. He truly cared about me, and I feel like I lied to him through our whole relationship- even if I didn't realize it.

Mary and I dated in secret shortly after, to prevent Jake from finding out and hating the both of us and causing turmoil in our group. He went around and told all of our male friends to leave me alone and not to touch me, so I'm pretty sure he never suspected Mary. I only found out about this because one of said other male friends approached me and told me what Jake had said- Jake never made this apparent to me.

But me and Mary? I've never been happier. We cuddle, we kiss- we do everything you'd expect in a relationship, and I'm never uncomfortable. And when I AM uncomfortable, Mary leaves it alone. She never pushes my boundaries unless I try something on my own terms or we talk about it first. She's a dream come true, and she's beautiful and I love her.

Cut to years later- me and Mary have been together for 10 years now. We've both graduated university, we live together, and we're soon to be married. We're still very close with our friend group- we regularly meet up for movie nights, dinner outings and dnd sessions. Jake's still one of our best friends, and he knows that we're dating, now. I've never addressed me and Mary to Jake directly, so I've never known how he's felt about us.

This is years after the fact, of course, and Jake is still a wonderful friend and (seemingly) has moved on/doesn't care about me and Mary. But I'm occasionally haunted by this mess that I caused, and I feel like I was terrible to Jake. So, Tumblr, I leave you all to judge me. Was I the asshole?

[faithandfairies]

So, I'm re-watching Rizzoli & Isles and here's what I got. Maura is bisexual, Jane is a repressed lesbian and Maura fully realized that she was in love with Jane when Jane got shot in season 1. She's been treating Jane completely like her wife since then.

I also genuinely believe Maura only stayed with the surgeon as long as she did to make sure Jane got the best medical care possible. Especially after what happened with Frankie. There is no way I think she would have been able to tolerate that insufferable man that long otherwise. She literally left him the moment she realized Jane would be just fine and whatever pain Jane was still experiencing was psychosomatic.

Maura also likes sex. And the only reason she's going after Giovanni is for sex as she's said because as she said herself she loves Italians. The truth is she loves Jane and the only thing she's not getting from their relationship is sex.

It's very interesting because in season 1 Maura was looking for meaningful connections with men. For a man to have it all. Now she either only really pursues superficial connections with men or if they're more meaningful the guy is a male version of Jane.

And something else is hitting me now. I wondered before why they didn't have Jane just get with Dean because I thought they were believable as a couple. With the compulsive heterosexuality Jane was at least somewhat into him.

But they had her get with the soldier and get pregnant by him instead. They had no chemistry and I thought that was the reason. To drive home that she was a lesbian. But she liked him and was pretty comfortable in his presence and I realized just now that he looked like a male version of Maura.

And that now makes me think that the only reason she was with him as long as she was was because of the long distance thing, as in it's easier to maintain a romantic relationship you're not that into from a distance, and because he looked like a male version of Maura.

It's also interesting that he gets introduced in an episode where nothing is what it seems. The homicide victim gets linked to that one guy in the military. There's photographic evidence of their relationship just lying around. And it isn't until the end of the episode that we find out the victim was actually in love with another soldier and the only evidence of it is that they were wearing each other's dog tags. Literally, that's how they deduced those two were in a romantic relationship and they were right. And we don't even get their story from them because by the time the relationship comes to light both parties are dead.

Jane is also very into Maura, truly loves her. She allows from Maura what she doesn't from anyone else, including that Maura bosses her around. She has very butch mannerisms even with her completely feminine physique. And with that she's jealous and protective when it comes to Maura in the way guys often are when they believe a woman is theirs. But she's just completely in denial. Which given what we learn about her upbringing and what her mom is like makes complete sense.

[forever-rogue]

hi there i hope you’re having an amazing day!! i was hoping to request a steve harrington x fem!reader fic. they’ve been together for a few months but reader hasn’t come out to him as bisexual. she knows steve will be accepting but still has a sense of hesitance bc of his king steve era in high school. steve notices something is going on and tries to figure out what it is. reader eventually confesses what’s been happening in her mind and comes out. steve comforts her and tells her he’s proud of her. but then he tells her that he’s also bisexual and he was afraid to be vulnerable and share who he is until he met the reader. thank you so much, your writing is amazing!!

AN | As a fellow bisexual, I love this! Enjoy because it’s soft and sweet 🥺

Warnings | Language

Pairing | Steve x Fem!Reader

Word Count | 2.3k

Masterlist | Steve, Main

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Robin?" your voice was so soft and timid that she almost didn't hear it. She looked up from the movie returns she was sorting through and raised an eyebrow in question. You sighed heavily before hopping onto the counter and anxiously swinging your legs back and forth.

"C'mon," she sat cross-legged on the ground and looked up at you with curiosity glittering in her eyes, "out with it."

You cast a furtive look around the store, checking to make sure that Steve wasn't there. Which was unrealistic, considering you knew he was doing his afternoon classes at the local university. You'd stopped by to bring Robin lunch…and pick her brains but right now it all seemed so hard.

"Ummm…okay,” you clutched at the edge of the counter, holding it so tightly that your knuckles were turning white. You opened and closed your mouth a few times, trying to search for the right words, “how did you know…or I guess realize that you were a lesbian?”

“Oh? Has the dignus finally made you realize that you don’t need men?” she joked and your face warmed up as you shook your head .

“N-no,” you shrugged, fingers anxiously drumming along the countertop, “I love Stevie, in all the ways, but I think I might…like women too.”

She snorted in amusement but when she saw the look on your face, Robin broke into a fit of giggles. You sighed softly and offered her a look that was nothing short of desperation, "oh. Oh. You're not…joking, are you?"

"No," you shook your head, playing nervously with your hands. You knew that Robin was the last person to judge you, but it still felt hard. You allowed yourself a quick peek at her and saw nothing but tenderness on her soft features, "I'm not."

"Babe," she stood up and threw her arms around you, squeezing you tightly but causing you to relax, "first of all - congrats on the revelation! And secondly - what's wrong? What's got you upset?"

"I guess just…it feels wrong," Robin reached up and gently wiped the tears that had rolled down your cheeks away, "I'm with Steve! Like it doesn't even matter but it's been nagging at me. What if I'm just making this all up in my mind?"

"I'm going to tell you that no matter what you think or the fact that you're with Steve and clearly so in love with him it's disgusting, who you are matters," she reached for your hand and held it gently in hers, "its a part of who you are, whether or not you're with a man or a woman."

"I do love Steve…more than anything,” even the mere thought of him was enough to give you butterflies, “but I feel like this is something that’s a part of me too.”

“Then it’s important and it matters,” she promised and that made you relax a little bit, “both can be true, you know. You can love and be with Steve, and at the same time, you can still be bisexual. Even if you never date anyone else, that’s still a large part of who you are. And the people that matter will understand; if someone doesn’t understand, then they’re not your people.”

“Those are some wise words,” you sniffled slightly, moved by her kindness and love, unable to stop yourself from wrapping your arms around her and giving her a tight hug, “thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for,” she insisted with a kiss pressed to your cheek, “that’s what friends do.”

“And you’re the bestest of them all,” you seriously didn’t know what you would have done without them, “seriously.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Despite Robin’s words of reassurance, you still antagonized over what to do next for so long. At least that’s what it seemed like….in reality it had only been a few days but when your mind was so full of a million different thoughts it seemed much longer. Steve had noticed that something was off, and had asked if something was wrong a few times but you never provided him with an answer. 

You brushed it off and just claimed that you were tired, but you knew that he knew you weren’t giving him the full truth. One of the many wonderful things about Steve was how patient and gentle he was. He knew that you’d come around and tell him what was going on when you were ready.

But as you laid next to him at night, trying to fall asleep in his arms, in your own shared apartment, the spaces where you felt the most loved and safe, you still felt a bit of nervousness. There were so what ifs swirling around your mind; what if you told Steve that you were bisexual and he hated you? What if he didn’t support you? What if he didn’t believe you? 

So many questions all at once. 

Eventually, however, everything had to come to a head. And it happened just as you imagined it would; easily and effortlessly.

You’d beaten Steve home and started cooking dinner, thinking nothing of it. The two of you often split these types of chores, but one of the things you always loved was that you both ended up in the kitchen together. 

“Hey lovely,” you’d been so lost in your thoughts that you hadn’t heard Steve come in, let alone walk into the kitchen. You looked up from the sauce you were currently making on the stove and offered him a soft smile. He crossed the kitchen and stood behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder, “missed you today.”

“Hello, my love,” you turned your head so you could kiss his cheek, making a small sound of content as he squeezed you gently, “missed you too.”

“What can I do to help?” he asked softly and you shook your head, “come on, there’s gotta be something I can do.”

“Pour us some wine,” you nudged him in the direction of the cabinet so he could grab a couple of glasses, “and be generous with the pour.”

“I think I can handle that,” he grabbed the glasses and made quick work of pouring some of the sweet red you liked, setting the glasses down on the counter. You carried on but stopped to take a drink before giving him a berry sweet kiss. But despite how normal you believed you were presenting yourself, Steve could still tell something was bothering you, “honey girl, what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?” you asked softly, slapping a stiff smile on your face, “hmm?”

“Something’s been on your mind,” he whispered softly, “and I can tell it’s been weighing on you. Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

You swallowed thickly, attempting to make your face as neutral as possible. You took a long drink before turning to him, "nothing is going on, my love."

He inhaled deeply and you could tell that he had so much more on his mind but was trying to process exactly how much to say. Eventually he just nodded, a slight frown tugging down the corners of his mouth, "alright. Y-you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Of course I do," you set your hands on his broad shoulders and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek, "I trust you more than anyone else."

"Good," he offered a little half smile in response before gently touching your cheek, "let's go out for ice cream after dinner, huh?"

"Ooh, that sounds lovely!" You beamed at him and he relaxed slightly. At least you were still mostly yourself…the rest, he hoped, would come out in time. All he wanted for you was to be happy and he wanted to share in that happiness.

But he was a calm and patient and gentle man, and he would be ready to be there for you and support you whenever you were ready.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was late, so late that the only things keeping you company were the night insects and hooting owls. The window was open bringing in a much needed and gentle breeze. You were on your side and staring out the window into the darkness, unable to find sleep and opting to count stars instead. Steve was fast asleep next to you, an arm slung around your waist as he snorted gently. 

You had been so close to telling him your little secret for days now, but you just couldn’t quite bring yourself to do it. Every time you were ready to, it felt like a giant pit had lodged itself into your belly. 

“Oh Steve,” you wished it out into the void more than anything, not expecting that he was awake or would even register that you were talking to him, “I love you so very much.”

“Hmm,” you felt him shift slightly and almost froze up as his arm tightened around you, “love you too, angel.”

You stiffened when you realized that he was awake. You weren’t sure what it was, but for some reason, whether it was the cloak of night or the hope that he was half asleep and wouldn’t remember this, you felt brave. You reached for his hand and laced your fingers together, that familiar sense of safeness and security settling into your bones. 

“Can I tell you something, Steve?” your heart was hammering as you closed your eyes and swallowed the lump in your throat. 

“Anything,” he promised, pressing a few soft, featherlight kisses to your shoulder, “nothing could ever change how much I love you.”

“I-I know,” you choked up and took a moment to compose yourself, “I think…no, I, umm…I’m bisexual.”

He said nothing for a moment and your mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusion.

He didn’t believe you. He hated you. He wouldn’t love you anymore. He was going to break up with you.

“It’s been on my mind a lot lately and I’ve just been thinking about it,” you wanted to cry when you felt him pull his arm from around you, “and I never want to keep secrets from you. I-I’m sorry but I just wanted to tell you.”

When he still didn’t say anything you were all but ready to pack your bags and leave. But then he sat up and leaned against the headboard and flicked on the light on the nightstand. You looked up and when you didn’t see anger on his face, you followed suit and looked at him with wide eyes. 

“S-Stevie?”

“Is that what’s been on your mind?” he asked softly, so different than what you had initially expected. You nodded slowly, unable to contain the tears that started to roll down your cheeks which he quickly wiped away, “baby.”

“I was scared to tell you,” you confessed, “I didn’t know if I should.”

“You never have to be scared to tell me anything,” he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, “I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to share that with me.”

“Me too,” you smiled when you felt him take your hand and start playing with your fingers, a method of keeping you both calm, “I thought about not doing it at all ‘cause it doesn’t really matter.”

“Why wouldn’t it matter?” his pretty honey caramel eyes narrowed in confusion, a look so cute and puppy-like that it made your heart melt, “of course it matters.”

“Because I’m dating you,” he took your hand and pressed a kiss to your knuckles and then your palm, “and you’re a man and I’m a woman and…I don’t ever plan on not being with you so…in a way it felt like it doesn’t matter.”

“It’s a part of who you are,” he put a finger under your chin and turned your face up to meet his, “and it matters no matter what. Being with me doesn’t change that.”

“Thank you,” you wrapped your arms around his neck and let him pull you into his warm, strong body, burrowing your face into his chest and inhaled his familiar scent, “I love you so much.”

“Can I tell you something too?”

“Anything.”

“I am…bisexual,” you pulled back from him and looked to see if he was being serious or joking, not that you’d ever expect him to joke about something like that. When he offered you a soft, dopey little half smile you realized he was telling the truth, “just like you.”

“I…Steve,” you put your hand on his cheek and looked at him incredulously, “I…wow. But…how come you never said anything?”

“I guess it’s really a pretty simple answer,” he too felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, “I didn’t really think it mattered. But then…when you told me, I realized it did matter. Just like it matters with you, it matters with me too. And no, I don’t ever plan on not being with you either. It’ll always be us, angel.”

“I love you so much,” you just beamed at him. This had gone very differently than what you had expected, even in the million different scenarios that had run through your head. You kissed him, a slew of different emotions running through your veins, taking his face in your hands and throwing every bit of love you had at him, “so, so much.”

“I love you too,” he pulled you fully into his lap, settling his hands on your hips, “I’m glad we were able to finally get this out there.”

“Me too,” you agreed, softly, “you are everything to me, Steve Harrington.”

“You are everything to me, angel,” he tenderly kissed your temple, “I love you everything you are, you have been, and will be.”

[silverskye13]

I absolutely adore your writing style. You've mentioned being inspired by authors. Care to share which ones and/or some books you'd strongly recommend? I'm in a but of lurch on books I want to read right now and your writing style really scratches a certain itch so finding something similar would be lovely

I've answered this question a couple of times but! I will always answer again. I read a lot of books :3

I will warn you, I read a lot of epic/high fantasy. If that's not your thing, you probably won't like a lot of my recs, whoops.

This got really long I apologize. Once again. I read a lot.

T. Kingfisher

In my opinion, anything written by her is a win. Her World of the White Rat series of books are by far my favorite [Clocktaur Wars, Saint of Steel series, Swordheart], but she also writes very good horror, and her Sworn Soldier books are kickass.

She is a major inspiration for my writing style, especially internal thoughts and sense of humor. I try to emulate her way of having fantastic characters think and act on mundane things [i.e. a scary paladin man who gushes about knitting].

Blanket warning that all of her Temple of the White Rat books are romantasy, rated E for explicit. But as someone who normally hates [or just doesn't get / enjoy romance books] I still recommend them. The world is rich, some of them have intense horror and suspense moments, and the characters all have amazing dynamics and chemistry.

My favorites by her are: Paladin's Strength, Paladin's Faith, and What Moves the Dead

Nicholas Eames

Still on the style inspiration train. I really sat down and studied his use of description and character voice shortly before writing Redstone and Skulk. If you like how I handle descriptions, planting and worldbuilding, I recommend reading his work. I do a yearly reread of Kings of the Wyld, and while I didn't like Bloody Rose as much, it does an awesome breakdown of problematic heroes.

These books are rated R, for graphic depictions of violence and some pretty raunchy humor/language. The first book Kings of the Wyld has very light romance [unless you count Clay Cooper increasingly thinking about how awesome his wife is, or the group's barbarian falling in love with an avenging angel], but Bloody Rose does have a lesbian bard main character who falls in love with a kickass tattoo witch. I love them, your honor.

Terry Pratchett

I mean, yeah, everyone recommends Terry Pratchett, and if they don't, it's because they haven't read his books in a while and forgot to recommend him. I really like his Death books, and the Samuel Vimes books. For the standalones in Discworld, I also really, really liked Small Gods and Monstrous Regiment. If you like my style of optimistic storytelling [no matter how dark, there is always a happy ending] read his books. And if you like RnS's existentialism, the idea of struggling with, and against, death, read Morte and Reaper Man. Especially Reaper Man.

The Ranger's Apprentice Series by Jonathan Langan

YA fantasy at its finest! If you like how I handle character dynamics and ride-or-die friendships, you will like these books. I was reading these books a lot when I started really really writing in high school, and I didn't realize just how much they inspired my writing style until I reread them last year. Rated PG, maybe PG-13 in the later books when the characters are older and the stakes are a little higher. It's a fun low fantasy world set in Basically England, and it's just. Nice. Will and Horace are so dear to me.

Also apparently he is restarting? The series? Rebooting? New protagonists. I haven't read any of them yet but I am looking very interestedly.

--------------

More books in no particular order that I am recommending you read because I love them:

---------------

House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

High fantasy, PG-13, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Religious Persecution, Fantasy Nazis

This is the second book in a series, but I couldn't get into the first book and only read this one, whoops. This book basically poses the question: what if Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, but the last man on earth who believes in God isn't as nice, and has some major character flaws, and also doesn't like God. Also also, what if this was set in Fantasy World War 2, and he was forced to work for the Nazis. This book is very grim, and focuses on a medical unit during Magical World War 2. There are a lot of wound descriptions and war crimes. But it made me feel a lot of things, and I was genuinely upset one of the characters stayed evil at the end of the book. There is no Good and Evil in this story, only Evil and Morally Gray. If that isn't your thing, give it a pass, and I mean that. There are Themes here that are made to make you uncomfy. But there is also found family, and some really strong questions about religion and morals, and the book really makes you Think about the character decisions. I liked it a lot.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

High fantasy mystery thriller, R, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Language

Oh it's good. It's so good. Holmes and Watson style mystery in a world where everyone has biological mutations and enhancements powered by Kaiju that rise up every year to try and murder everyone. It's really cool. I was hooked from beginning to end. The main character is amazing, with hilarious deadpan humor, and his Holmes is an eccentric autistic woman with zero filter. The "Rated R for Language" above is 98% because of her.

[Note: I'm not an authority on good autistic representation, but I feel like she stands out as really well done. It makes more sense in the context of the novel, but she's created a space for herself where things like noise/light sensitivity are used to her advantage, hyperfixations are portrayed both as useful to her craft in research and a hazard to the people she's interrogating, and she has managed to trick half the cast into thinking her "quirks" are because of augmentations she doesn't have. It was a really cool and original way of putting autism into a character without infantilizing or "unfeeling logical machine"-ing them in the process. If that's something you've been looking for representation-wise, I think this is worth checking out.]

Aside aside, the world building is cool. The characters are cool. They mystery makes sense. I just. I can't talk about this book too much or I'll tell you the whole story. I get too excited.

Aliens: Phalanx by Scott Sigler

Sci-fi horror, PG-13, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Language

Ever wanted to get into the Aliens franchise but thought the sci-fi was a little much? Ever wanted to know how medieval peasants would handle a xenomorph invasion? Do I have the book for you!

This book is sci-fi horror that takes a turn for the vengeful at the end. Made me feel a lot of things. Got really emotional over some of the character deaths. But when the characters win, they win big, and their achievements feel weighty. You really get the sense of human tenacity clawing life back from the jaws of post-apocalypse. And also? Xenomorphs? Cool? If you've seen the movies, you'll really appreciate how this book takes the conventional tropes and spins them. And if you haven't, the story attacks them in an original way that explains it to the uninitiated. If you know nothing about the movies you will still know what's going on.

Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold

Fantasy adventure, PG-13, Minor depictions of violence, mystery/puzzle elements

Fun books? Fun books. Ever wondered what would happen if an uninitiated, but very kind and sweet 18 year old boy was possessed by an ancient demon with a great sense of humor and near limitless power? Now you know! Penric and his demon Desdemona have fantastic rapport, and every book in the series just further cements how awesome their relationship is. Fast little reads in a great little universe. And the gods are cool.

The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron

Epic fantasy, R, Graphic Depictions of Violence, major and minor character death, sexual themes, language

Gritty realistic knights -- fighting very unrealistic magical creatures. They're outmatched, but not out skilled! Especially with the Red Knight leading the way. These books had just, an awesome way of drawing me in. Cool world, interesting if flawed characters, and a growth arc that turns an entire company of criminals and mercenaries into basically paladins. Plus there is an awesome overarching plot involving god-like dragons and angels.

The only downsides to this series is there are a lot of characters and POVs, and the author is not afraid to kill them off at a moment's notice. Characters you've grown to love over three books will be killed off screen when a monster took flight, or a boglin hoard swarmed the front lines. I won't finish the final book in the series because I will be uh, incredibly pissed if one of my favorite characters dies, and I'm getting the vibes she probably will >:/

Alas, this is the nature of grim-dark fantasy.

Cameron has written other books under different pseudonyms, but to date this series is the only one that's really sunk its teeth in me.

Covenant of Steel Trilogy by Anthony Ryan

Low Fantasy, R, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major and minor character death, religious persecution, language, sexual assault

What happens when a criminal's entire crew is slaughtered for their crimes, and the only survivor turns into a religious zealot? No wait come back it's good I promise! The Pariah starts pretty grim and heavy. We reach our character's emotional low point about a third of the way through the first book, but what blooms from that is a slow burn about faith, and the danger of a Saint who gets to build her own radicalozed morality, rising on the tide of her faithful followers. It is all told in memoir format by the main character, before the final chapters where we get a sense of his here and now, which is a format that Ryan loves writing in [his Bloodsong series does this as well, and while that series is good, it's clear every fumble he made writing that he tried to fix writing CoS]. If I had to really pin this book down, I would have to say it's the story of Joan of Arc if she had actually succeeded in her crusades, and how dangerous she would have been because of the blindness of her followers and her own feelings of personal holiness. The main character even falls for her charms, heck, I as a reader fell for her charms. It was only after she started massacring "heretics" that I started to go, "Wait a fucking second, she's the antagonist???" If you like really intense stories about how insidious the side of "good" can be, and the terrors of religion, and just the epic slow burn of that building up and breaking down, give this a read. However, this is a very dark series. Read with caution and care. By the end I was very burnt out on all the death and atrocity.

Cold Storage by David Koepp

Thriller/horror, PG-13, Depictions of Violence, Fungi-based body horror, Language

Not nearly as intense of the last rec! Cold Storage is the story of a mutated mold spore that works just like that stuff that makes ants do weird things -- but to people! Oh and also it's about some really funny main characters that don't know it exists, even though it's growing right below their feet. A lighter read that will give you some good scares, and a pair of characters you're desperately rooting for. I love it :3 it's a fun romp. Mind the exploding deer.

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Sci-fi, PG-13, Depictions of Violence, Language

Another fun romp! Murderbot is a security unit made to protect humans -- and it's hacked its programming and just wants to sit down and watch TV all day. Unfortunately, humans are very good at getting themselves killed, and SOMEONE has to keep them safe. At least Murderbot is programmed to do it correctly.

This story starts as fun sci-fi, and as the books progress, really breaks down the lines between human sentience and... Well, any other sentience. It asks hard questions about whether something Must be human in order to be accepted in a society, and how badly we as people want to fit everything into understandable boxes -- even if the things we want to understand don't fucking like it, thank you very much! There's a lot of fun action, a lot of characters that have really won my heart, and, man, I just want Murderbot to be happy.

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

High fantasy, R, graphic depictions of violence, sexual assault, language, major character death

A thief accosts a knight on the road -- and ends up going on a road trip with her filled with witches, monsters, giant corvids, man-eating goblins, giants, and more! All to save a princess. This book really grew on me when I read it a second time. The magic system is cool, the world building is stellar, the goblins and giants are fucking scary. The character has a dirty mouth and his humor runs to the toilet a lot, so keep that in mind. This is by far the lightest and funniest book Buehlman has ever written though, so if you like it, brace yourself for grim dark if you read the rest of his work. Especially if you read Between Two Fires.

There's my book recs! Have fun!

[sidekick-hero]

(steddie | teen | 2.7k | tags: animal shelter workers Eddie and Chrissy, platonic stobin, background buckingham, Idiots to lovers | @steddielovemonth prompt Love is when you look at his lips for half the conversation because you can’t stop thinking about kissing him by @starryeyedjanai | AO3)

This was all Robin's fault, Steve decided as he sneezed violently, his eyes burning and his throat itching. He was just trying to be a good friend to her, supporting her in whatever crazy ideas she had after her breakup with Vicky. Because that's what friends do, right? Support you in your pain and later help you clean up the inevitable mess when you come to your senses.

So when Robin asked him to drive her to the nearest animal shelter, he didn't hesitate.

Okay, maybe for a minute or so, but he quickly caved when she explained that she was clearly doomed to die alone, so she needed to go all in. Become the crazy lesbian cat lady she was so clearly meant to be.

Hence, the animal shelter to acquire said cat.

Steve expected to drive her there, look at some cats, and drive home because some helpful shelter attendant would explain to Robin that getting a cat was a bigger deal than she thought. He expected Robin to be sad and maudlin for a while, but ultimately glad because Steve loves her, but they both know that not even her potted plants survive more than a month.

What Steve didn't expect was to meet the man of his dreams.

They arrived early in the evening because they both had to work, and the shelter was surprisingly less busy than they had expected for that time of day. The waiting area of the Visitor Center was blissfully empty, which was a relief to Steve, who had been dealing with noisy customers all day and could feel a headache coming on.

Meandering up to the registration desk, they were greeted by a perky and really pretty blonde girl. Her name tag read Chrissy and she greeted them with a dazzling smile that Steve couldn't help but notice was directed more at Robin than at him. Either she immediately recognized which one of them was here to get a new pet, or she was smart enough to notice how amazing Steve's best friend was.

Steve hoped for the latter, which meant that instead of a hairy, clawed monster, Robin might be taking home the number of a pretty girl to help her get over her breakup.

"Hi, my name is Chrissy, how can I help you?" the woman chirped, and Steve had to nudge Robin's shoulder because she kept staring at Chrissy instead of answering.

"Oh, uh, hi. I'm Robin, this is Steve. We were looking for a cat." Then, realizing how that sounded, she hastily backtracked. "Or not we as in together, because we're not. That would be gross, he's like my brother. He's just helping me find a cat because he's my best friend, totally platonic with a capital 'P'."

Wow, Steve thought, he hadn't seen Robin ramble like that since before she started dating Vicky two years ago.

Fortunately, Chrissy seemed to find Robin's rambling endearing rather than off-putting, as her smile only brightened at Robin's explanation.

"Oh, you two are so cute. I totally get it. My best friend also works here and people always think we're a couple. Which we definitely are not." Chrissy told them before picking up the phone from her desk. "Speaking of which, I'm going to call him and tell him we have some potential pet owners who want to take a look at our cats."

She dialed a number from memory and it only rang twice before someone apparently picked up. Chrissy explained the situation and asked if they could take a tour before ending the call.

"Eddie will be with you in a few minutes. One of our dogs has taken a special liking to him and is demanding some extra belly scratches. Eddie won't admit it, but this dog has him wrapped around her paw." She laughs fondly at the thought. "Anyway, you can sit over there while you wait."

As they waited, Steve couldn't help but notice that Robin kept looking over to where Chrissy was typing on her computer. He leaned over to whisper, "Maybe you won't die alone with a bunch of cats after all."

Before Robin could answer, someone cleared their throat next to them, startling them both. They whipped around in unison to find a young man standing in front of them, and Steve could feel himself staring, but was unable to stop.

Because Jesus Christ, right in front of him was the prettiest guy Steve had ever seen.

Eddie, Steve guessed, had dark, unruly curls that he wore in a messy bun at the back of his neck, with strands framing his face. He was tall, at least as tall as Steve, maybe an inch or two taller, but more on the slender side, with legs that went on for miles and a tiny waist that Steve was dying to get his hands on. Big, dark, doe eyes looked at them with a friendly expression, and full lips curled into an inviting smile.

Steve was a goner from the start.

"Hi there, you must be why Chrissy called me here. I'm Eddie, nice to meet you," he greeted them, extending his hand to shake theirs. His hand was warm and Steve could feel the calluses on his ringed fingers. It conjured up images in his mind of those fingers wrapped around things other than his hand, dangerous thoughts.

"Hi," Steve squeaked, immediately wanting to put his hand over his mouth. It seemed that smooth had gone out to buy cigarettes and Steve had a suspicion that it wouldn't be back anytime soon.

When Eddie looked at him expectantly, it took him an embarrassingly long time to realize why.

"I'm, um, I'm Steve, and this is Robin, my friend. Best friend. Platonic friend."

Yes, smooth was gone, and it had taken his dignity with it. Great.

Next to him, he could see Robin suppressing a laugh at his flailing, the traitor. This was what he got for trying to be a good friend: Mockery.

Eddie looked like he was suppressing laughter too, but on him it just looked endearing.

"Okay, Steve, Robin. Follow me, to the kittens!" Like a man leading them to war, he marched off, clearly expecting them to follow. Looking at each other in silent agreement, they did.

They passed a large fenced area, and Steve could make out kennels at the far end of it. Following Steve's gaze, Eddie explained, "This is where our dogs stay. Most of them are allowed out during the day in the fenced area you see there, but at night they sleep in their crates."

Eddie leads them to a large, plain-looking house. "This is the cat house. We keep them behind glass walls because the little minxes would definitely climb through the bars and disappear. Come on in."

Inside, they were greeted with the distinct smell of several animals in a rather small space, but Steve was pleasantly surprised that the smell wasn't that bad or intense. Next to him, Robin immediately started cooing at the cats playing on the other side of the windowed rooms, which caused Steve and Eddie to share an indulgent smile.

Eddie was great, showing them all the cats and telling them stories about where they had come from as far as he knew, what they were like, what they liked and disliked, and was clearly very fond of his charges.

Robin and Steve were both hanging on Eddie's lips, but for very different reasons. For while Robin soaked up every word Eddie said, Steve soaked up every tiny movement of that pretty, pretty mouth, imagining how it would feel pressed against his. He kept nodding along, humming his agreement here and there, sometimes saying "yeah" or "definitely," as if he could hear any of their conversation instead of dreaming of kissing Eddie senseless.

That's the only explanation he has for why, after maybe thirty minutes of looking at cute cats, Steve and Robin both ended up with cats in their arms while Eddie prepared the adoption papers. At some point, Steve must have agreed to adopt a little fur ball, and now Eddie was all excited and happy, bouncing up and down as he explained that they were hoping to find a home for this set of siblings where they could still see each other. Apparently, Steve and Robin had promised to bring them together to play whenever possible.

"You can't believe how cool this is, we had almost given up hope that they would find someone. Chrissy and I had even discussed doing it ourselves, but Cerberus, my dog, doesn't like cats, and Chrissy didn't want to take two cats at once. But she loves Buttercup, so maybe she can visit her sometime? I know she would love that," Eddie adds with a wink in Steve's direction, and Steve begins to feel lightheaded. "And to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing Buttercup and Tornado again either."

Was Eddie saying what Steve hoped? Robin seemed to think so, because she perked up immediately. "Oh, you two could come over this weekend and see how they are settling in. Since Steve and I are neighbors, it would be easy to visit them both on the same day."

And that's how Steve ended up with a tabby cat in his house and the worst allergic reaction he's had since Joyce brought home a stray cat while Steve was over for dinner and some cat hair got into his food.

When he knocked on Robin's door the next morning, Steve felt terrible, not only because his sinuses were shot to hell and his mucous membranes were rebelling, but because he felt like he was letting Eddie down. He knew he was allergic, but when he realized what he had unwittingly agreed to, he felt so stupid and pathetic that he didn't want to back out and explain why he hadn't said anything before.

"Steve, oh my God, you look awful! What happened?" Robin greeted him as she opened the door with Buttercup curled up in her arms. The cat was purring like crazy and Steve was happy to see that at least one of them was doing well with the whole pet adoption thing.

" I might have forgotten to tell you that I'm allergic to cats?" Steve said in a thick, congested voice. To be fair, he thought it wouldn't be an issue because he was so sure Robin wouldn't go through with adopting a cat. Or that he would.

"You're what? Steve! You just adopted a cat. What did you think was going to happen?"

Fair point. It looked like coming clean was his only real option here. It's not like Robin hadn't done stupid things when she had a crush on a girl, okay?

"I didn't want to adopt a cat! Hell, I never thought you would go through with it either, but I certainly never planned on bringing one home myself. I thought we'd get there, talk to one of the attendants, then go home and sleep on it and you'd realize you didn't really want a cat and we'd never go back."

Robin looked extremely unimpressed with him now, and even Buttercup had stopped purring and was looking at him with one eye half open.

"So what happened to change your mind?"

"Eddie," Steve said in a low voice.

"I beg your pardon?" She had heard him, but she made him say it again.

Steve sighed and repeated in a louder voice, "Eddie happened. I didn't even know what he was talking about because I was distracted by his mouth. I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late and I didn't want to disappoint him."

"You're such a Dingus, Dingus." Robin thankfully didn't sound angry or mocking, just exasperated and fond. "So what do we do now?"

"Keep the cat and hope it doesn't kill me?" Steve tried, already knowing that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

"Steve."

"Robin."

Putting Buttercup down and grabbing her keys from the small table next to her, Robin stepped forward and closed the door behind her. With a reassuring hand on Steve's shoulder, she said firmly, "Listen, we have to get Tornado back. You look like you're going to keel over any minute."

"But Eddie -"

"Wouldn't want you to die either. He looked at your ass way too much to want you dead."

That made Steve perk up. "He did?"

Smiling indulgently at him, Robin nodded. "He did. So let's get you cleaned up and pick up some allergy meds on the way to the shelter."

That's exactly what they did, and by the time they got there, Steve was feeling a little better. Tornado was in his crate in the back seat, strapped down, and when Robin took him out of the car, Steve's heart broke a little at the sight of him. He really wished it wouldn't literally kill him to have Tornado living with him.

Chrissy greeted them as cheerfully as yesterday, if a little more confused.

"Hey Robin. Steve. What brings you back, is everything okay with Buttercup and Tornado?"

Explaining the situation to Chrissy would have been bad enough, but Eddie had to choose this exact moment to walk by and see them. He walked over to them, greeted Steve with a warm and dimpled smile, and Steve had half a mind to just tell Robin 'never mind' and go back home to his slow death by asphyxiation.

He would have done just that if Robin had not known him too well. When Eddie asked the same thing as Chrissy, she walked over to Eddie and gently placed Tornado's box in his hands. "Steve had a bad allergic reaction to him this morning."

It warmed Steve's heart that Eddie's first reaction was genuine concern. He took a step toward Steve before remembering that he was holding the cause of Steve's condition.

Setting the box on the floor, he closed the distance between them and placed a hand on Steve's arm.

"Oh God, are you okay, Steve?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now, we picked up some meds on the way and they've already kicked in."

Eddie's thumb traced his shoulder under his shirt and he wasn't sure if the lightheaded feeling was a lingering effect of his allergic reaction or just the way he was reacting to Eddie.

"So you didn't know you were allergic?" Eddie asked and Robin snorted beside them.

"Oh, he did," she muttered, and Steve wanted to kill her. The impulse intensified when Eddie raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Um, well, yeah. I kind of knew?" It sounded like a question, and Eddie's eyebrows had completely disappeared beneath his bangs. "I just didn't say anything," Steve added, aware that he was digging a deep, deep grave for his dignity if it ever came back from getting cigarettes with his smoothness.

"But why?" Eddie sounded genuinely confused, and Steve couldn't blame him. Saying it like that made him sound a little crazy.

"I was... distracted and only realized what I had agreed to when it was too late. You were so excited and happy that I couldn't bring myself to tell you that it was all just a small misunderstanding."

Even now Steve couldn't help but stare at Eddie's pretty and very kissable lips as he said this. Maybe he should see a doctor about this.

Or maybe not, because it almost seemed like Eddie was looking right back at Steve's now. "Distracted by what?" he asked, suddenly even closer than before, his eyes still on Steve's mouth. When did this happen?

Licking his lips impulsively, Steve felt a thrill run through his body at the way Eddie's eyes darkened as they followed the movement of his tongue.

"By...you," he admitted softly. "Your lips. They are very distracting."

A dimple winked at him as Eddie smiled at his words. "Are they?"

"Yeah.'"

They were so close now, breathing the same air as they talked, and Steve could feel Eddie's words as much as he heard them.

"Yours too, you know?" Eddie replied and why were they still talking?

Without thinking, Steve closed the last few inches between them and kissed the lips that had gotten him into this mess in the first place. He was willing to forgive Eddie, though, because by God the man could kiss, his lips as soft and supple as they looked, and his tongue warm and wet as it skillfully licked into his mouth.

They only broke apart at the sound of two people clearing their throats in unison.

Maybe Steve wouldn't take a cat home after all, but something told him he'd get something better to keep.

[keithbutgay]

vat7k headcanons?

oh my gosh my time has come (you will probably regret this)

so first off imma reference my like three other posts i've made on the topic because i'm a nerd

starting with lgbt+ headcanons-

hugo is genderfluid and likes men i don't make the rules (he/she/they)

i am very much a trans varian truther. in my mind they use he/they pronouns and is also very biromantic

transing nuru's gender too- i love transfemme nuru (she/her) and also she's a lesbian definitely

yong gets the aroace nonbinary treatment

okay moving on to headcanons about languages-

its canon that varian speaks like three languages but i headcanon that he is fluent in coronan, saporian, and is learning the dark kingdom's language

hugo definitely knows so many languages because he gets around. i like to think he's fluent in ingvarran, coronan and bayangoran

i love the idea that yong is still learning coronan and that hugo sometimes has to translate for him or they repeat things for him sometimes because varian talks too fast or they use an unfamiliar word or like accents trip him up

on a seperate note in my mind coronan is german, bayangoran is mandarin, ingvarran is farsi (based on this post)

one of my favorite possible vat7k storylines is when hugo finds out about varian's past and i love the idea that he found out because of a wanted poster they found- perfect angst potential. on that note, i also believe that the rest of them would have heard about varian (the alchemist) when he was still wanted for example

hugo would have been told about him from donella, whether he was always told to be better and be like varian, or that he admired varian and thought he was really cool and dreamed of working with him

nuru had heard about him through horror stories about the kidnapping and attempted murder of the royal family. she most likely would have been scared of varian when she found out, not trusting him not to hurt her

i honestly think yong wouldn't understand. i don't think his parents would have told him if they even knew, and he would have been like seven at the time, so

hugo was varian's bi awakening except not really. he had liked guys before that but hadn't realized that was what he was feeling

they definitely met cass while on their adventures and she definitely had a girlfriend

ruddiger and prometheus hate each other

hugo is extremely jealous of ruddiger as well. ah yes him, his boyfriend, and his boyfriend's raccoon that's taking up all his attention

firmly believing in hugo showing up one day with period products because he might be a loser but he's not a jerk and nuru not knowing how to tell him she's trans while varian (also not out) comes up and just takes the pads being like 'thanks i needed these'

varigo-

t4t obviously

also they're both neurodivergent i dont make the rules

they hate each other but like not

like in the sense that, if they were asked if they liked each other, they would be like ew gross no i hate this man

and then at the end of the conversation varian kisses hugo on the cheek and is just like see you at home babe and everyone is like w h a t

they argue nonstop, to the point of being violent, and then someone changes the subject and hugo's in varian's lap

obsessed with that one au where they were in prison together

also obsessed with hugo dropping the piano on eugene's head

this entire post

might add to this later but here you go have fun!

[bengiyo]

Only Friends Ep 6 Stray Thoughts

Last week, everyone went on cute dates, revealing fascinating layers about three of our pairs. Mew is blind with love and gave it up for a man who did not answer "What do you like about me" in a way specific to Mew at all. Boston is hinting at settling down and getting turned on by Nick working out more and changing up his style. Sand is basically taking care of Ray, who keeps shoving Sand's hand in his pants. Boston, seeing Ray experience a modicum of joy, violated all guest rules and blew up his relationship with Sand in Sand's apartment while partaking of Sand's weed; a huge party foul. Sand realized how much of a clown he's been. I am embarrassed for everyone.

Happy (F*cking) Birthday

Mew was raised by lesbians. So much makes sense.

I remain embarrassed for Mew.

Friends fight, warns the teacher. I sure hope so!

You don't want to be friends with someone who sneakily recorded you? Boston, pot-kettle-black.

PINK MILK! WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK! Of course a Jojo show is going to have the seller be out of it.

I'm so ready for the outright brawl between Sand and Top.

Oh, Sand, that ploy with the phone was smooth. Nick is a techy, though, so he's probably going to notice you went through his voice recorder app.

Can't believe Mew let this man convince him to get his eyes lasered.

Damn, does everyone use Ray when they're trying to deal maximum damage to the whole group?

This dark room scene was well done, but I'm always irritated by Boston scoffing at relationships and commitment before reeling Nick back in.

Ray surprised Boston briefly with that reveal, but you can't keep a bad bitch down. Boston won that round, too.

Cheum, why are you stirring up shit at this party?

Damn, the sketches are a good play. I respect the game, Top.

I'm with Ray. Mew was cuter with glasses.

Ray went in on everyone but didn't reveal about the sleeping around.

What is it with Ray always treating Sand like he's for sale?

Is Mew using a soundbar as just a speaker? What a specific detail.

Now, there's my child of lesbians. Way to make that reveal as dramatic as possible, Mew.

Mew finally made that man cry. Now I'm ready to see the unraveling.

This was fantastic! Everyone keeps riling up Ray whenever they want to cause the most problems. Sand does not care about these people and accomplished his goal: Top loses Mew. Now he'll get to save Ray from himself again and wrap him up further. Boston also got embarrassed after starting shit with him. Even the lesbians caught strays! Sand takes this round.

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 18 thoughts:

Well that sure just happened

I'm fine

Noelle ate my daughter. But I'm fine. It's fine.

Her girlfriends are gonna save her!

I'm fiiiiine

Anyway, that's like, the end of the arc so there's a lot of other stuff that happens!

Taylor casually drops that she's mostly blind in conversation and Brian kinda freaks out. Understandably.

She got eye drops that she is supposed to be doing but never mentions doing them. I'm very disappointed in her. I'm also worried her eyes aren't going to ever get better.

I do love that the moment Dinah says she only has a 58% chance of going home and Taylor realizes it's because of her, she forces the situation by taking Dinah home right away. She is far from perfect, but she does have her moments.

RACHEL LET DINAH PET HER DOG!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! LOOK AT THE GROWTH!!

One of my favorite lines, when Taylor asks Dinah the chance of trouble before they go into the medical clinic "When there's trouble, it's you.  Eighty percent of the time." Just, kinda embodies the spirit of Worm I think.

I'm still fine.

Taylor sure thinks about Rachel as Rachel a lot now, instead of mostly as Bitch. GAAAAAY.

I really want to know what's on those papers Dinah left for Taylor. Triumph saw them but didn't seem to react. One might have been a message for him, since Dinah would know he would see it. Something that will come into play later maybe.

I love Parian making a giant wiener dog for everyone to ride on. Like, it is a definite upgrade in transportation from "door with glass stuck in it dragged down the street" but it doesn't have much of a supervillain vibe to it.

Noelle just starts it off with grabbing possibly the strongest cape available in Brockton Bay. At a minimum, one of the most versatile to clone. No big deal. Not like even just normal Vista could become very dangerous if she wanted to be evil.

Freaking PRT all "this is a Class A instead of a Class S cause Eidolon is a big man baby and needs to punch something all on his own to prove he's strong". Sure are helping people Alexandria. Good job. What a hero.

I think Eidolon is Bargain Bin Scion. Scion Lite. Blue Light Special Scion. A shitty version of Scion created by Cauldron basically.

Clockblocker is so fucking fascinated with Skitter it's amazing.

Tattletale made Eidolon maaaaaad! I love her.

I'm perfectly fine.

The scene with meeting the Chicago Wards, oh god I loved it so much! Skitter tells Bitch to clear the plywood out of a window and she just instantly fucking kicks it open, then a giant swarm comes in and swirls around everyone and covers Skitter, making her hair move and trailing bugs behind her like a gown, and then starts speaking with the swarm. And Tattletale waits until the perfect moment before asking the Wards their names and powers, very clearly backing Skitter up as her 2nd. Just such a "ok I was playing nice but now I need you to know who you are working with!" power move. Fucking amazing. Also it was Skitter being assisted by Bitch and Tattletale! GAAAAAAAAAAAY!! LESBIAN SUPERVILLAIN POWER POLYCULE!

I think Grace has neat powers but could have been more creative with her name. I fucking love Tecton though, assume tinker. Dude has got to love fights like this, where he is allowed to do all the property damage he wants. He'd make a good villain.

The other two are kinda neat too but they didn't last very long.

Every time they are going anywhere Bitch specifically offers Skitter a ride. GAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

I love seeing the range of power adjustments the clone Vistas get. Some are pretty basic - can do stuff from farther away or not be slowed down if a lot of people are around - but then we get ones like Paper Mario Vista and Imagine Dragons Vista, with much more wild powers.

Everyone stand back while Eidolon goes and shows us all how strong he is! God.

I'm 100% FINE.

Side effect of being blinded probably, but it is neat how good Taylor is getting at listening, and sometimes even seeing, through her bugs! Just listening in on Eidolon and Noelle from blocks away.

Imp almost gets crushed to death by Eidolon's gravity power cause she ignores warnings from Skitter to run. Sounds about right.

Noelle making rat clones and bug clones (that Skitter can't control) is fun.

Fucking projectile vomit attack suddenly! Did Noelle absorb the girl from the Exorcist??

Texas Wards kinda getting their ass kicked. (Also what the hell is going on in Texas that the whole state apparently just has the one Wards team, vs most places have a Ward team per city?)

Fight is going kinda poorly. Travelers show up to help! And then Trickster betrays everyone to feed my daughter to Noelle! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm fine.

The Most Powerful Man in the World Interlude thoughts:

Scion just really is empty in there isn't he?

Not a person, just a construct of the entities in 3 dimensional space. Sphere moving through Flatland and being seen as a circle style. No mind, just does what this guy tells him.

Duke is a very good dog.

Kevin talking about Scion 100% sounds like someone talking about a lover that has been lots of trouble for them but that they just can't quite.

Lisette is having a weird day.

I really wonder how the next Endbringer attack is going to go now that Scion has been told to kill them. Wonder if it'll be different.

Crusader Interlude thoughts:

Shockingly, it turns out that the Nazi is an asshole. News at 11.

Night and Fog were basically constructed by this Gesellschaft group. Seems like a branch of Cauldron pretending to be Nazis for more control over things. Or maybe not directly a branch of Cauldron, but they get powers from Cauldron. Maybe not related, but they make weapons, which is very much what Cauldron can do, and we haven't seen anyone else yet reliably make powers with control over the outcome.

This poor TA is having a bad day.

Taylor triggered 2 or more times in that locker. I was 100% positive of that the second the TA said "You can’t really distinguish a single trigger event from having two in quick succession." I probably should have realized this earlier.

Really curious where Theo and Aster's stories are going. I could see one or both of them being a major part of the end of the world (based on stuff from Trickster's visions on stuff from Noelle's interlude I'm thinking a 3rd or 4th generation cape might play a part in it), but I could also see them being red herrings.

Theo is upset but realistically getting abandoned and left with the PRT is the best option that could have happened to him.

Jessica Yamada Interlude thoughts:

This poor woman

Faultline Interlude thoughts:

OH MY GOD Gregor and Shamrock are super fucking cute together!!!!

Faultline is amazing and very organized and detail oriented and an assertive leader who wears a dress shirt with slacks and cowboy boots and threatens to get a bullwhip and I would really like her to tell me what to do k thx.

Not positive I would trust the minor precog abilities of Shamrock to make me Simurgh proof, but it's better than nothing.

The quarantine zone of the city of Madison is doing great!

Wasn't expecting to get to see Matroyshka again, that's neat! She should probably stop eating people but otherwise she's fun.

Faultline just not being able to stand Tattletale is wonderful. I hope they bother each other for years to come.

I like this crew, so I was not happy that they got really fucked up by Contessa. But I also want to like Contessa (as much as I can like someone who works for Cauldron) and this did make her seem really badass.

Noelle Interlude thoughts:

I'm fine.

Regent keeping up the jokes under pressure, good for him.

Finally got some good descriptions of Noelle's powers doing stuff which was very good.

I'm fine.

Also fun to see various clones and their powers.

AND THE VISION! OH MY GOD THE VISION! So much good info from that. It helped me get a much better idea of things and confirmed a lot of things I already thought. (Like Cauldron has basically hijacked an entity, more or less. Not the details on how though.)

I'm fine.

The fact that Noelle can let the god dandruff take control is interesting. Like her connection never got fully closed compared to other people. Which is what I assumed only taking half a vial did. Really curious to see if we ever get more info on Oliver.

Her Earth Bet self is like, 15 years younger. But still has the same name. Kinda wild.

I'm fine.

Also her Earth Bet dad gave her the name Echidna, which like, I get it's the mother of monsters or whatever, but I can only think of the cute adorable little creature!

I'm fine.

I obviously wish Eidolon had been able to defeat Noelle and save my daughter but him having a big sad about it not being fair that he can't get stronger is pretty funny too. I do not like the guy.

I'm fine.

I'm sure Tattletale has a plan and everything will work out.

I'm fine.

I'm 100% absolutely fine.

[ghostlymarauder]

MONSTER HIGH G3 IS NOT AS INCLUSIVE AS MONSTER HIGH G1

EDIT: THIS IS JUST A RANT, DON'T TAKE IT SO SERIOUSLY LOL

Maybe that sounds crazy. Maybe it's been said a million times. Anyway, I'm just ranting about my 3 am thoughts.

I know in G3 we have non-binary Frankie (who also has a prosthetic leg), and the Draculaura doll is more curvy. But as far as I'm concerned, they took everything else that made Monster High inclusive.

For starters, and I know it was never actually confirmed, but still, Clawdeen is lesbian (bisexual at best). Once again, it was never confirmed, but in my opinion is a theory popular enough for the Monster High management to hear about it.

If they really wanted to make it more inclusive, why did they not confirm Clawdeen sexuality and give her a female romantic interest?

No, they had to break up one of their best couples. This leads me to my next point, what the fuck are Cleo and Deuce doing being separated?

The first G1 dolls literally came as a package. If you got one, you got the other. That's how much of an obvious couple they were. And not only that, in the Boo York movie, they broke up for like five minutes before realizing they didn't want to be without each other.

Which, in my opinion, it's so fucking cute because they come from completely different worlds. Cleo is royalty, Deuce is just a normal guy. Cleo is a little too superficial, and Deuce looks like he never showers. But they love each other and that's enough.

And you know who else loved each other and that was enough? Clawd and Draculaura. What do you even mean with "Clawd likes Cleo"? That man was in love with Draculaura, that man would've done anything for her, and you're telling me they also broke them apart?

Especially since they made Draculaura curvy, it would've been beautiful to see them together. Because it would've been a great plot point to have jock, almost-bully Clawd evolve into falling in love with curvy, smart, witchy Draculaura. But no, they just separated them.

On a completely different note. What the fuck is Gil doing without his tank? Do I even have to explain why this is taking inclusivity out of the Monster High concept? He couldn't live without his tank outside the water. Ergo, he was limited without his tank. If you ask me, this is Monster High equivalent to something like hearing aids (and this is just an example, there are many other things you could compare Gil's tank to)

Also, Ghoulia talking bothers me a lot. First of all, she was the smartest of the group, but we couldn't understand what she was saying, which added a lot of comedy since us, the spectators, were only pretending to know what the fuck Ghoulia's plan was. And I repeat, she was the smartest of the group.

The smartest of the group couldn't communicate like everyone else. I won't even explain why that is fascinating in itself, because it just is and it added so much depth to whole story. And to add more to my problem with G3 Ghoulia, why is she standing straight and walking at a regular speed?

Ghoulia standing like a zombie was, again, to me, a form of inclusivity to all the kids out there who had some walking impediment, or, in general, had any chronic illness that stopped them from moving around. And her walking slow as fuck was just straight-up funny (especially that one web episode where she got a motorcycle).

There's a lot of things I do like about G3, as I think it improves the brand in wonderful ways, but they definitely took some of the most essential things that made Monster High what it was.

[bludino]

My headcanons of the gangs genders/sexualities

I am mentally ill I refuse to stay silent any longer

#1 Pomni- Bi

Pomni is a depressed, anxious little cat who keeps getting soggy despite her best attempts to get dry. She's so sad and keeps getting knocked down and that feels like the bisexuals I know and love. She probably smokes cigarettes with shaky hands and stares at the wall in the shower. Such a little loser who probably bites. Love her.

#2 Ragatha- trans and lesbian

Lesbians love sewing!! I thought I was a lesbian and I sewed then!! In honesty I made Ragatha a lesbian bc I can't stand ragatha x Jax I have to stop it at all costs I'm sorry. I feel like she's an elder gay she has such a maternal energy to her. Pomni loves it Ragatha gets the blow dryer when she gets soppy again. Also my impulses are to make every character transgender and same sex attracted.

#3 Jax- trans and gay

I made him gay so I can have him all to myself. Half jk he's my favorite character so I projected the shit outta him. He's gay and trans because he's got that t-boy swagger and I wish it so.

#4 Gangle- ace/aro

This one is also projecting. I just think it's funny if Zooble reads through Gangle's 200,000 word novel and they ask her "You're are/ace why are you even into this" and Gangle just shrugs. I think she has a shirt of the contemplative wolf and loves it unironically.

#5 Zooble- genderfluid, pansexual & ace

Bold to assume Zooble gives a fuck. They feel what they feel when they feel it, a real go with the flow thing. Zooble and Gangle are best friends, they smoke and listen to queen on the grammaphone Zooble has bc they're cool and vintage like that. I fucking love Zooble they're unbothered, moisturized as they can be in a circus hell scape and satisfied.

#6 Kinger- trans and bi

What a crazed man. Look at him. He's definitely sexually experimented with men before he met his wife but never realized it had a label until Pomni told him. What a wife guy you know Queenie was his whole world he loved her so much. It was breakfast in bed for her everyday. He can't cook though so it's probably fruit loops and frozen waffles. He probably has a homoerotic relationship with Caine where they're both oblivious to how they sound to other people. He's just trans he's always known that. He has chest scars. Don't think of the implications.

# 7 Caine- fuck if I know

Maybe he's gay. Idk. He really likes Kinger though in some aspect he's into men. He's not supposed to have favorites but he does. He does little things for every character but he likes Kinger wayyyy more.

[shima-draws]

Okay so. I'm like, 99% done with V3 and I realized I've barely shared like any of my thoughts here so. SPOILERS AHEAD

-The fact that Ryoma wanted to die and was fighting to find something to live for only to find out that he had NOTHING...that shit was sad bro

-Was NOT expecting Kirumi at all but in retrospect it's the least suspicious ones that you should be the most suspicious of. Also her execution was p brutal

-ANGIE WITH THE CULT...the fact that she managed to brainwash half the group had me terrified. Also her Atua worshipping got real old real fast. I hate religious cults lmao I was literally sitting there like "I REALLY hope she's the one to die this chapter" bc if I had to read one more sentence of her being like "Atua will save us all <3" I WOULD have gone to play in traffic.

-Angie needed to go but TENKO 😭 She was just a hopeless lesbian in love with Himiko she did not deserve what happened to her

-Speaking of Himiko I was kinda meh about her at first but after the chapter 3 trial her character developed so wonderfully...it was so nice to see her grow and change and learn to express herself 🥺

-TRAINING TRIO MY BELOVED FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER I would kill for them genuinely.

-My hatred for Kokichi only grew as time went on but after forcing Gonta to kill. MAN. That trial was so heartbreaking Gonta was just trying his best to protect everyone :"( Kokichi's such a little shit

-Kaito brushing off his illness as just him being afraid of ghosts AGGHHHH I knew there was something wrong from the start but seeing it progress and get worse was just 😭 I was literally sitting there like. Does he have a terminal illness. Oh my god he's going to die isn't he. NO HE'S MY FAVORITE PLEASEEEEE

-Was NOT expecting the space colony twist but even more so was the fact that the world ended...not once, but TWICE

-Me during chapter 4: How much you wanna bet next chapter Kokichi's gonna get killed and Kaito's gonna be the one who kills him Me during the chapter 5 trial: FUCKING. CALLED IT!!!!!!

-MAKI FALLING FOR KAITO and admitting it right before his execution.......my heart can't TAKE this shit please!!!!

-Kaito dying from his illness before the execution was even over...Monokuma being pissed about it...everyone looking at him and going HA BITCH YOU THOUGHT! Kaito beat you!!

-Also me during all this: NOT KAITO THAT'S SHUICHI'S EMOTIONAL SUPPORT BOYFRIEND

-Keebo going off the rails was not on my 2024 bingo card but here we are

-KAEDE DIED FOR NO REASON?? She didn't actually kill Rantaro. My girl was innocent after all huh 😔

-Me, 3 chapters in: Tsumugi is so boring she literally brings nothing to the plot whatsoever. She's just...there Me, during the chapter 6 class trial: OHHHH. THAT WAS INTENTIONAL. I KNEW they wouldn't just have a useless character that should have been my first clue honestly

-Also me: Why do the Monocubs even exist. They've done nothing but comedy routines and die this entire time. They're literally pointless?? I've been watching Game Grumps play V3 and every time they come on screen Dan and Arin collectively sigh together. LMAO

-Imagine me with my jaw on the FLOOR once everything was revealed to be fictional. It's all a lie?? They Truman Show'd this shit?? Neither of the first two games MATTERED?? (A friend explained that DRV3 is in a separate universe than the first two games so that calmed me down a little lmao I would have been so pissed if it were actually the case that everyone from the first two games were just. Not real. Didn't actually exist. It was all faked)

Anyway I'm not completely done with the game yet I'm at the tail end of the chapter 6 trial so we'll see how things go from here 😬 This has been a wild ride. An emotional rollercoaster for sure

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Eddie was staring at Steve. Normally, he loved it, but Eddie was looking at him in concern. Steve sighed and paused the movie, turning to face Eddie.

"What's up, Eddie?" Steve asked. "Did you want to talk about something?"

"I don't know how to tell you this, but I've noticed it, and I'm not sure if you have or not, but I figured that you should know," Eddie said.

"Is this about you staring at me all the time?" Steve asked. "Because I like it."

"Look, I know Robin means a lot - wait, you noticed me staring at you?" Eddie asked. "Hold up, you LIKE it? No, wait, getting back to the topic at hand."

"So, what's this about Robin?" Steve asked.

"Well, I noticed she's been spending a lot of time with Nancy," Eddie said.

"They're friends," Steve said. "What are you getting at?"

"You're not worried that Robin is developing feelings for Nancy?" Eddie said.

"Why? Because she's a lesbian and that automatically means she must have feelings for the only girl her age who's seen the same shit she has?" Steve asked. "Just because she's hanging out with a girl doesn't mean that she has feelings for her. I mean, I'm a bisexual and I hang out with Argyle a lot but that doesn't mean I have to have feelings for him. I mean, he does have really great hair."

"You have made very good points," Eddie said awkwardly.

"And even if she did have feelings for Nancy, sure, it would be weird, but I'd get used to it. Besides, I'm over Nancy," Steve replied.

Just then, the front door opened, and Robin came pouncing into the living room. Speak of the devil.

"Hey, what are you two ladies talking about?" Robin asked.

"Oh, we're just talking about the fact that Eddie thinks you have feelings for Nancy," Steve said.

Robin stared at Eddie, who blushed. She burst into laughter, leaning against the doorway. She bent over, clutching her stomach, and pointed at Eddie. He threw up his arms and covered his face with his hands. Finally, she managed to stop laughing and wiped her tear stained face.

"Me and Steve are close, but we're not that close. I've never really had a friend that's a girl before, and it's been a long time for Nancy since she's had one. Besides, Steve means too much to me. In that situation, one of us would have to put our feelings aside in order to make the other happy. I believe in any relationship, there needs to be an equal give and take. Our friendship is also a relationship even though it's platonic, and if we can't take friendships seriously, how are we supposed to take romantic relationships seriously? You know? So, even if I did have feelings for Nance, I still wouldn't be able to do anything with it because it would make me uncomfortable that Steve had once very strong feelings for her and that would make me question just how much we're alike. Are we too alike? Do we spend too much time together? Are we, in fact, combining like I suggested we should? Am I slowly turning into Steve Harrington? It's a risk that I just can't take," Robin said. "There's too much weirdness. Besides, if Steve, a man, can handle putting his feelings aside, then I, a woman, can handle it too. We're all capable of loving more than one person and finding someone else."

Eddie and Steve at her. It was the longest rambles in the history of Robin rambles.

"Okay, that last part about turning into me. Should I be offended? Also, have you thought about this before?" Steve asked.

"A little after everything that happened, but then me and Nancy talked about it. We realized that it was the trauma bond. We're really good friends who can laugh about it now. It still urks me to think about it. Plus, as pretty as Nancy is, there's no beating redheads," Robin said dreamily. "Sorry, I didn't tell you about it, Steve."

"I totally get it, but you know you don't have to sacrifice anything for me, right?" Steve asked.

"I know I don't have to, and I'm not sacrificing anything. There's no feelings, remember? Besides, your parents never sacrificed anything for you. Someone in your life should, considering you almost sacrificed your life for me, for the kids. Me giving up the possibility of a relationship is nothing compared to you nearly getting beaten to death. There's nothing to give up, anyway. I have feelings for someone else, and Nance is focusing on college," Robin said. "I love you, dingus."

"I love you too," Steve said, sniffling.

"So, Eddie, tell me why you didn't just ask me?" Robin asked as she turned to Eddie, her arms crossed.

"I was worried that Steve might still have feelings for Nancy, and I was worried about his feelings getting hurt. I was totally ready to whip out the ice cream," Eddie mumbled. "Okay, from here on out, I promise not to talk about shit I know nothing about."

"Yeah, right," Steve and Robin said.

"Or, and here's a thought, you could just go straight to the source next time," Robin said and winked at him. "I totally get why you did it. You know what, I'm going to leave you to chew him out."

They watched Robin leave and waited for the sound of the front door to close. Steve stared at Eddie, who refused to look anywhere but him.

"Eddie," Steve said. "Eddie, look at me. Other than being a good friend, was there any other reason why you were worried about me?"

"I don't know, would you hate me if I said yes?" Eddie asked.

"No, because I would be a hypocrite since I feelings for you," Steve said.

"You do?" Eddie asked, and Steve grinned, nodding.

Eddie crawled over the armchair, over the end table, causing him to knock over the lamp and crawled into Steve’s lap. He kissed Steve deeply, and Steve laughed against his lips. Eddie pushed him down onto the couch and straddled his waist, slipping his tongue into Steve’s mouth. Steve gripped his waist, sighing into his mouth and broke the kiss.

"So, we're not finishing the movie?" Steve asked.

"Nope."

"You're paying for that lamp."

"Does it have to be with money?"