#steve's sexuality meta

[amarriageoftrueminds]

Can't stop thinking about the idea of CATFA as a propagandised version of the Captain America story which exists in-universe and Steve seeing it and being absolutely livid about how 90% of it represents him.

.

Examples: being furious that it doesn’t mention his mother (his moral compass) anywhere, or his socialist politics pre-war, implies he only wants to fight to be like one of the guys and get a girlfriend?! (barely mentions Nazis),

implies he simply cannot have had any romantic attachments before serum, yet skims right over his disabilities as if his only problem was just being short, posits that Bucky would’ve spent his last night in Brooklyn off on a double date with two total strangers rather than with his own friends and family, (no mention of the Barneses anywhere?), 

has Steve scoffing at the idea of working in a factory (when he’d consider himself lucky to get a job in the times he grew up in), almost his whole relationship with the Howlies relegated to a single silent montage, none of the details of their missions shown except one, not a single girl in his USO tour gets a mention or name, ditto none of the women of the SSR/Army/that the Howlies met in the field, and wastes most of the screen time on that creepy violent nepotism-hire who was convinced Steve had given her some kind of secret signal he wanted to date her (at the time he just thought she’d taken the hint and was trying to beard him??), 

also puts her, Stark and Phillips in places they never went (why would a scientist, an old CO and an intelligence analyst be in Italy, or in the middle of a battle?? that’s not their job!), 

says Steve would waste his last precious moments of contact talking to a woman he’s not dating rather than saying goodbye to the men who’ve been fighting beside him for over a year?? 

And that he wouldn’t even bother to look for Bucky’s body?? (Only thing it got right was how much Bucky mattered to him / being a big part of why he wanted to fight!)

[reineyday]

thinking about how steve was homophobic and misogynistic in s1 but they gave him a chance to be faced with a demogorgon when people needed help and he stepped up. everyone lauds him for that, and he's become a fan favourite. yet when billy, finally in his right mind after being possessed the whole season, gets the opportunity and chooses to do the same--stepping up to take a killing blow for el--people dont offer him the same grace? why. :(

the biggest (reasonable) argument is always 'billy dying was not a redemption' and it's not, you're right. steve stepping in to whack a demogorgon with jonathan's nail bat wasnt a redemption either; his redemption came with him apologizing to them both, and then working to show nancy that he's a better person as they deal with the fallout of s1, and being gracious about jonathan's presence in nancy's life. he got the chance to show he's changed and managed to redeem himself because he lived, and billy unfortunately didnt. but you cant deny that his final moments proved that the potential for him to change is there, and that makes a difference.

[fizzigigsimmer]

Instead of putting a whole essay in someones tags I will put it here. 😆  It always baffles me when fandom decides that a male character exploring homoerotic desires for the first time is suddenly a trembling innocent, but it particularly annoys me with Steve because no matter what pairing I am reading, it feels like many writers go out of their way to ‘sanitize�� his sexual promiscuity point blank.

I’m not talking about when writers are purposeful in their exploration of a character discovering new layers to their identity, and how that effects their behaviors. I’m talking about when we consistently make Steve shy, awkward, and blushing just because Billy, Eddie, or Guy of The Moment looked his way. It’s when we consistently downplay his fuckboy past with some vague line about how he only slept with a few girls before Nancy, or we outright say fuck what you heard, Nancy was his first, when nothing in the canon actually supports that theory. Or when we decide that breaking up with Nancy = a full personality transplant, where sure he might have been a fuckboy in the past but now he’s blushing and completely unattractive to the opposite sex, stuttering and lame, and liable to faint if Billy even suggest they fuck nasty. Like where is that coming from? Steve Harrington likes to fuck. Trademark that shit. 

Some of this I think can be blamed on the Duffers bad writing choices, but even they didn’t go so far as to imply that Steve wasn’t trying to get laid. Even they seem to understand that Steve can still be maturing and seeking a stable relationship while also enjoying casual sex. The gag was he went from being able to smash whenever he wanted to batting zero because ‘oh no’ he’s in the real world now and in the real world he’s just a loser at a dead end job in a dorky outfit. Which just goes to show you what the Duffers know about getting laid.... 😆 I’d be able to pay for their therapy if I had a dollar for every time my friends smashed some broke dude with no prospects because he was pretty. Shut up Duffers. Anyways, let Steve fuck.

[laundrybiscuits]

(purify our misfit ways tag | AO3)

When he wakes up, Eddie’s stretched out next to him, still clutching his book, snoring a little. Steve waits for the panicky feeling to come back, looking at Eddie and looking at the way the morning sun is bright on his skin, but it never hits. It’s just Eddie. Strange, clever, funny, kind.

It’s weird to think how Steve hasn’t known him all that long, but it already feels like Eddie’s a part of him now. More a part of him than high school or prom king or Scoops Ahoy; maybe about the same as monsters and a backyard pool that he doesn’t ever use anymore. 

He feels kind of dumb, not noticing something like that about himself. He thinks it’s probably not the kind of thing that comes out of nowhere, but he doesn’t like thinking about anything he might’ve missed in the past. 

It’s not like it matters, probably, because Eddie hadn’t been offering anything last night, so it’s just Steve here by himself in this. It sucks, because if he’s going to have a big gay revelation, he should at least get to fool around with a guy about it. Maybe he can still do that, though—there are bars and stuff, right? He lies there for a little while, just looking at Eddie, trying to remember every stray rumor he’s ever heard about homosexual lifestyles. He’d never thought it would be important to know, but he guesses now he’s got to learn all the rules. 

Obviously he can still go with girls, or at least he will as soon as this dry spell’s over; it just seems like kind of a waste not to try this new thing out, now that he knows it’s an option. Maybe it’s easier with guys or something. Guys usually want sex more than girls, right? So it seems like it would probably be pretty simple to get laid, if you knew for sure a guy liked other guys and you wouldn’t get decked for asking. 

Would Eddie deck him for asking?

Steve’s stomach picks this moment to remind him that this is a lot of complicated thinking to take place before breakfast, and he eases off the bed. It’s not like they’re even touching or anything, so it’s not that difficult to get up without waking Eddie. 

He stands there for a second, just looking at the way Eddie shifts a little to stretch into the warm place where Steve used to be. 

Steve’s shirt looks and smells like it was dragged through a bush, which isn’t too far from the truth, so he swaps it out for a shirt he finds on the floor which doesn’t smell too bad. It smells a little bit like Eddie, actually, which is kind of cool. That’s probably a benefit of dating a guy that he’d never thought of before—getting to wear his clothes, or getting him to wear yours. Well, maybe some girls wore their boyfriends’ shirts, but not as regular clothing, and it’s not like Steve ever got to wear his girlfriends’ stuff. 

He leaves before he can get sidetracked thinking about that too much, and runs right into an old guy making coffee in the kitchenette. 

“Uh,” he says. 

The old guy looks him up and down, and Steve’s heart starts to pound. If his dad had caught some guy coming out of his bedroom, wearing his shirt…

“Sit yourself down, have something to eat,” says the older guy. “You can call me Wayne. I’m Eddie’s uncle.”

“Yessir,” Steve says, automatically, and sits down. 

Wayne grimaces, and Steve realizes that he’s seen that same expression on Eddie’s face. “None of that, now. Just Wayne’ll be fine. You okay with cereal, son?”

“Cereal’s great, Wayne,” says Steve. Being polite to parents—or, well, parent-type people—is like muscle memory at this point. He used to be good at this. “Really appreciate it, thanks. I’m Steve Harrington.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Steve Harrington. Hope I didn’t interrupt you running out on Eddie.”

“Running—um, no sir. I mean, Wayne. It’s not like that, I swear.” 

Steve feels like he’s been bracing for a punch to the jaw and suddenly he’s getting his knee kicked out from under him. So far, being into guys is turning out to be a lot like being into girls: getting cornered by stern parent-type people wanting to know his intentions and assuming the worst, while Steve pretends like he wasn’t thinking what he was thinking a few minutes ago. 

He takes the cheerios that Wayne hands him and tries his most winning, parent-pleasing smile. “I’m a friend of Eddie’s who got a little too tired to drive last night, so he let me stay over.”

Wayne snorts. “Heard that one before. Okay, Steve Harrington, I’ve got to get to my shift. Help yourself to coffee, and you better not leave before saying goodbye to my boy.”

“Yessir,” says Steve. 

As the door swings shut behind Wayne, the words heard that one before ping-pong around Steve’s brain. Does that mean—it could just be a turn of phrase, or it could mean that Eddie’s—that there have been—

Wayne didn’t seem all that surprised to see a boy coming out of Eddie’s bedroom. It’s not solid proof of anything, but Steve’s worked with less. And now that he’s got most of a bowl of cheerios in him, he’s pretty confident that even if Eddie’s not interested, it’s not like Eddie’ll take a swing at him or anything. Plus, Robin would definitely take Steve’s side in this, and it’s not like Eddie’s going to ditch Robin too. 

Huh. That’s another good thing about this whole situation, he realizes: it’ll be something he has in common with Robin. She’s probably going to be stoked to hear it. And he still likes girls too, so that’s double the things they have in common. 

He washes up and grabs a mug that reads ROANE COUNTY 4-H FAIR ‘77 from a shelf. It has a llama wearing a hat on it. He’s just pouring a nice hot cup of coffee when he hears shuffling footsteps from the direction of the bedroom. 

Eddie’s standing there, still barefoot and in boxers, looking sleepy and confused with one side of his hair all messed up. Steve feels a little shot of adrenaline go through him, just a nice little buzz, like the feeling he always got before a swim meet or a basketball game. Not nerves, exactly, just his body letting him know it’s go time, that there’s something big coming up just ahead, right in front of him. 

“Hey,” he says.

[bylertruther]

not getting my hopes up but by god do i really really reeeeeaaaaaaally want at least One (1) scene between robin and either will or mike :(

[findafight]

Controversial headcanons/opinions! That are mostly about Steve now that I read them back.

1. Stancy’s biggest roadblock is Nancy’s inability to admit she’s wrong/makes mistakes.

2. Jancy’s biggest roadblock is Jonathan’s parentification. Jon loves Will, but some of his devotion to him is tied up in that - something I think fandom tends to overlook. We’ve already seen that Nancy either forgets or underestimates how much the Byers rely on Jon and I would not put it past her to view him looking after Will on the same level as her having to look after Mike & Holly.

Even once it’s revealed and they talk about it, it’s going to open a rift between them.

3. Joyce doesn’t give a shit about Steve and never will. Hop gives a shit reluctantly, in a mostly professional capacity but will be haunted with guilt if Steve dies.

4. Karen Wheeler is a shitty person and if the Duffers wanted me to think different maybe shouldn’t have teased her considering sleeping with a kid her daughter’s age. Also doesn’t give a shit about Steve, but is better at hiding it.

5. Billy, while being in the closet and brimming with self hatred, did not have a crush on Steve - he wanted the weird codependent yet weirdly void of sexual tension friendship that Steve would go onto have with Robin.

The fact that Steve hated him and was constantly ignoring him or pushing back at him was part of the appeal. That and the fact Steve’s a bitch - Billy thought that was hilarious.

6. Steve intelligence wise is average and actually has a fairly broad general knowledge - he just has difficulty with the terminology and isn’t great at explaining things to other people.

7. Steve’s kids are Dustin, Max, Lucas and Erica. He will absolutely protect the other three, but any presence he continues to have in their lives is a by-product of the other four.

8. Mike has a on again/off again crush on Steve and it’s part of the reason he turns into an angry cat around him.

9. We will meet Vickie’s entire family before we see the Harringtons on-screen.

10. Jon would *not* react well to Stargyle happening - he refuses to believe Steve is queer, assuming he’s just messing with Argyle/trying to get revenge on Jon for cheating with Nancy (for added tragicomedy, this is how Steve finds out about that).

11. Eddie likes ABBA. I have no fucking idea why fandom seems to think that he’d hate it and has me genuinely questioning how many people in fandom have met an actual metalhead. I know he’s a pretentious douche, but *Jesus*.

12. Whatever else happens between them, Robin will always hold a grudge against Nancy for not knowing who she was when they were first introduced. Steve has the excuse of being a popular kid who was ignorant of his surroundings at all times. Robin is the person who could swipe Valedictorian out from under Nancy but chooses not too. See also, Barb and the handful of grudges she has with Nancy regarding Steve.

omg so many anon! let's do this. long post so I'm going to add a readmore!

Yeah I mostly agree? The inability to let Nancy apologize or be wrong I think really sets back her growth as a character no matter what, and it's really pronounced with stancy! It is something that could be resolved but I do not think the show will do that. Steve wasn't the person Nancy needed in s2, but maybe he is now. Idk there's better stancy meta out there haha There are issues they have I'd love to see addressed but. doubtful they will. Idk if nancy will end up single (like I think she should) but I also don't know if they're actually going to follow through on stancy revival in s5 or just leave jancy as is.

2. Jonathan's parentification!! Absolutely agree. He needs to work through his inability to move on and look to the future for himself. His focus is on Will, who needs more of an older brother from him than another parent, especially now Will is closer to the age Jon was when everything started. Jon is defined by his family, and them needing him. But we sort of see in s4 that Will is growing up, El is too, and they don't need him in the same way Will needed to depend on him in earlier seasons, and Jon is spending time smoking with Argyle, but not actually dealing with what he's feeling.

this is room for Jonathan to develop character-wise, but it's also so interesting how his parentification has been an issue with Nancy! Like she wants to be a priority, but Jon can't do that, because he hasn't figured out how to 1) focus on himself and his wants 2) let himself look at the future as something that isn't looming but something to look forward to!

God I would love to see him figure out what he actually wants and how to balance that with his loyaty to his family in the show! or read a jon focused fic where he gets to deal with these things.

3. Joyce doesn't like steve :'| why would she? he's just some guy to her that Jon didn't like and who used to date her son's girlfriend. Steve's not on her radar at all she doesn't give a shit about him lol (I should write more of the joyce doesn't like steve fic)

4. uhg yeah I think I've already posted about alternatives to the stupid Karen side-plot where it's like. random pool middle age affair man, flirting with mr. clarke, or just her making moves on her own husband to show she wants to make changes in their marriage and the fair being a little date for the wheelers or SOMETHING to make her not creepy and actual have it mean something to her character? or just. not! include! any karen plotline at all!

5. billy is interesting because i would say there might be some one-sided sexual thing happening between him and Steve, and Steve hating and ignoring him would totally egg him on with whatever was going on in his brain. idk if he wanted it actually actionable but was probably going for some weird and very intense pscho-sexual homoerotic relationship. maybe not what could be described as a crush but certainly not whatever stobin has going on (though if he had lived stobin would have also pissed him off lol)

6. Yes! steve can understand a lot if he's given time to understand it. like he's just not a genius or talking fast, and he asks clarifying questions so he (and everyone else) knows exactly what's happening. maybe that might look like he's getting left behind but he's making sure everyone is on the same page, which is actually an important part of plans and sharing info. I'd also say he'd probably have pretty good head for strategy!

7. Dustin, Max, Lucas and Erica are absolutely steve's kids! thank goodness we got Steve and Max content in s4, but I'd love to see more of Steve and Lucas and Erica! I do love Steve with El too, because I think they should and could have a great dynamic, but that's all fanon, unfortunately. Mike and Will having some kind of relationship with Steve are just byproducts of Steve being friends with the others.

8. Mike and his mortifying crush on steve is so precious to me. He'd be so mad about it. It'd be so funny. to me. not for him. but for me :)

9. Harrington parents will remain an unsolved mystery haunting the fandom forever and always. We will know the names of Robin's grandparents and their pets before we see or hear anything more than Mr. and Mrs. Harrington.

10. I am obsessed with this idea. I love stargyle sort of coming out of nowhere for other people. My favourite. They can bond over having great hair and being a chauffeur for children not related to them. Jon side-eyeing this so hard even tho maybe he's been focusing on Nancy and their relationship when steve and argyle are having their Bonding Moments. The confrontation of Jon accusing Steve of getting with Argyle to mess with him, Steve going "what the hell. why would I have an elaborate polt to mess with you that included pretending to be queer? and kissing a man? multiple times??"

and Jon blurting about how of course he would to get back at jon for cheating with Nancy and steve just stopping. and trying to clarify. and Jon digging himself deeper. ooooooh. something to think about and expand on?? 👀👀👀

11. it was the 80s and disco was way out of style but also. who doesn't like ABBA. don't trust anyone who doesn't like at least one ABBA song. suspicious. Eddie would be vocal about his hatred for Progressive Rock though.

12. Robin and her grudges!!!! omg yes if robin was holding herself back from being valedictorian she'd be Pissed that Nancy didn't know who she was. like at least know your rivals! that in combination with the barb thing and all the steve things. Robin's not letting it go. I love her pettiness she's so funny and great. Queen.

[vidavalor]

I'm obsessed with your Crepes post and Ineffable Husbands Speak but I'm stuck on when Azi says "angel, demon, possibly explode." Wouldn't that say they hadn't tried it? I feel like there's a lot happening with the language in this scene and I'm not seeing it. Could you write about that? I will bring you fucking boxes of caramels if you can make that scene make sense haha.

Hi there! I can try. :) Thanks for reading the post & for the ask. I made chocolate chip cookies today so please help yourself.

You know how we've been chatting here about how Crowley & Aziraphale use words like "wily", "thwart" and "smitten" that have multiple, sometimes contradictory, meanings? A violent or religious one but also a romantic or sexual one? "Explode" is another one of those words and it changes the meaning of the Discorporated!Aziraphale scene quite a bit from what it might seem to be at first.

One of the definitions of "explode" is to disprove ideas that were previously thought to be true or potentially true. To "explode a theory" is to uncover new information that allows you to render a theory untrue.

"Explode" is also an example of using destructive language as sexual metaphor, which they do pretty frequently, and we'll get into when I finish the meta one of you requested that I write on the "seeds of destruction" scene in S1.

I'll get into it in more detail in the future but, imo, the Discorporated!Aziraphale scene is actually suggesting that Crowley and Aziraphale once thought they might harm one another if they were to have any sex that brought them into too much direct contact with each other's, uh, holy water and hellfire, but that they eventually exploded that theory and have been, uh, exploding each other more expansively for some time as a result.

Queer history allegory incoming:

Steve walks merrily down the street/with the brim pulled way down low/ain't no sound but the sound of his feet/machine gun's ready to go/are you ready?/hey/are you ready for this?/are you hangin' on the edge of your seat?/out of the doorway/the bullets rip/repeat it to the sound of the beat...

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Light on the Darkside - Chapter Twenty One.

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty

Tag list - In the comments. Please DM to be added/removed.

Words - 3,849

Warnings - 18+ throughout. Topics cover depression, suicide and eating disorders. Minors DNI!

“Babe, if you get glue on my seats, your arse is getting slapped. Or bitten.” 

Ella’s lips pursed, slowly curling into a grin as she looked out from beneath her lashes at him. “Don’t you threaten me with a good time.” 

He chuckled filthily, very much looking forward to having a night in a hotel with his wife, where he could make as much noise as he liked while having sex with her, all while feeling the long, dark red false nails she was glueing on shredding his back to pieces.  

“Just you wait, princess. You’re gonna be sore.” 

“What are you two grinning about?” Lyra suddenly spoke from the backseat, removing her headphones to detangle the wire, Freya asleep next to her (as per the usual with any car journey lasting over fifteen minutes) and Zara reading while her i-Pod blared.  

“Nothing your ears need to be picking up on,” James confirmed, unable to keep the smirk from his face. 

“Is this about auntie Andrea accidentally answering the phone while she was... you know... with uncle Steve this morning?”  

He barked a laugh, still entertained at her gaffe of rolling over on her phone and ending up giving James a live action rendition of her sexual howling, only aware of such after hearing his voice boom “G’won, Ands! Give it some, darlin’!” from the phone’s speaker. Lyra only knew because she’d walked into the kitchen at the same time her dad was relaying the hilarity to her mum. “Nah, not about them.” 

“Old people shouldn’t be having sex still, it’s disgusting,” she snorted, her eyes then rapidly flitting between her parents. “Wait. You two don’t still... do you?” 

James shared a side eye with Ella, unable to fully bite back the wide grin. “Number one; we’re all late thirties and early forties, not dead. And number two; you know when we ask you to keep an eye on your sisters of a Saturday morning? Guess what we’re doing?” 

There was a pause, Lyra curling her lip in the exact same way her father did too when he was displeased. “Ugh! So that means you were doing it this morning? That’s so wrong!”  

“What?” he exclaimed, his laughter filling the car. “How’d you think you three got here in the first place? Massive amounts of banging your mum, innit.” 

“Dad!” 

“I’d do it more often if I wasn’t so busy.” 

“Dad, stop it!” 

His laughter only escalated further, Lyra frowning deeply, Ella hiding her face behind her hands. “Okay, enough mortifying our eldest, baby,” she finally spoke, reaching to squeeze his thigh.  

“What? That was tame compared to what I could have said,” he shrugged, snorting again when Lyra made a whining noise in the back. 

“Are we far from auntie Mary’s? I don’t mind getting out to walk,” she bargained, James gesturing around himself with an outstretched hand. 

“Yeah, monster. Pedestrians are a real common thing on the effing motorway, ain’t they?” he snorted. 

Putting her headphones on again, she frowned heavily. “Why’s my dad have to be like this?”  

“Because I’m shitting awesome!” he chuckled, not that Lyra could hear, the sound of who he recognised to be black metal band Satyricon blaring loudly through her headphones again. At least two out of three of his offspring had picked up his taste in music. No prizes for guessing that the second was Freya.  

Although Ella’s tastes had changed drastically over the years, now listening to a whole host of alternative music as well as her beloved dance, the black sheep of the family where music was concerned was most definitely Zara, being a little pop princess. The other two, though, they lived and breathed metal.  

It also gave their eldest severe bragging rights with her friends, her little group of die-hard metalheads all amazed over who her dad was, and who she got to hang out with backstage at festivals every summer since she’d been a baby. There weren’t very many twelve-year-olds who could boast that they’d sat on the shoulders of Nergal, frontman from extreme metal band Behemoth and good friend of her parents, while watching their dad on stage at Hellfest.  

Ten minutes after leaving the M6 and they were pulling into the new-build estate on the outskirts of Glenfield in Leicestershire, where Mary now lived. Even though she was no longer in Warwickshire, it was actually closer, just half an hour up the motorway from their home in Atherstone.  

Pulling into her driveway, the lady herself opened the front door with her usual huge, beaming grin, padding out in her slippers. “Where’s me kids?” she announced, receiving three huge smiles after opening the back of the truck, unclipping Freya from her car seat and bundling her into a hug. “Hello, my little peach! Hello!”  

“Auntie Mary, I made fire!” 

“Ya’s never did, pet! If we gave you matches, there’d be nothing left, like!” she laughed, tickling her. 

“I might’ve let her put lighter fluid onto the fire pit yesterday when I was burning a load of old wood,” James confirmed, scratching his chin. “She might’ve sprayed on a bit too much, innit.” 

“How big were the flames?” 

He snorted, still entertained. “About four and a half feet.”  

She threw her head back, laughing hard as she imagined it, James moving to give her a hug and kiss. “Eee, I meant to ask ya’s, how’s ya mam getting on at the moment with her hip?” 

“Finally got a date for the op. I’m taking her up there on Tuesday morning for the pre-surgery meeting and all that.” A life of activity, especially horse riding and running around an arena for eleven hours a day while she’d taught others how to ride had left Alice with an issue in her left hip, with it being decreed she would need a full replacement.  

“Well, give her me best won’t you, sweetheart. I know how it is with having both of mine done,” Mary spoke, greeting the other two girls with warm cuddles and kisses, Ella too. “Now, have ya’s got time for a cuppa, or are you shooting off?” 

“I will, and yeah, we’ve gotta shift off, unfortunately. Need to get moving before we get stuck in piles of weekend traffic.” James confirmed, moving to begin taking the girls bags from the back of his truck. With their parents hugged goodbye, the kids all ran into Mary’s house, ready for a weekend that usually involved films, lots of sweets and camping out with her in the lounge. As for her parents... 

“Right! Let’s go do this, babe! Let’s go eat too much, drink too much, and I don’t think there’s any such thing as too much sex, but let’s give a shitting good go, innit, Mrs. K?” James spoke as soon as they got back into his truck, waving goodbye before roaring off, motorway bound.  

Their next stop was back the way they’d came to collect Steve and Andrea, the four not seeing the sense in taking two cars on the same route when they lived so close by. As soon as James saw his best friend’s wife emerge from the house when they pulled up twenty minutes later... 

“Alright, porn princess! Should have charged me by the minute for that this morning!” 

Andrea hid her face, Steve guffawing behind her. “Oh, fuck right off, James!” 

“What? Sounded like you were giving the old man a right good seeing to! It’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it!” 

“Oi, less of your mouth, sunshine,” Steve warned, sliding back the cover on the rear of the truck and putting their bags in. “I’ve already had one gobby shit to deal with this morning!” 

“Wolf?” It usually was their youngest, the five-year-old child exactly as mouthy as his father was capable of being.  

“However did you bloody guess?” he spoke, climbing into the back of the truck and clipping his seatbelt in. “So, I’ve took ‘em up Sainsbury’s this morning to get them snacks and stuff on the way to their grandmas, and we’re waiting in the queue when all of a sudden, he shouts ‘look daddy, it’s Batman!’ I’ve turned around, yeah, and he’s pointing right at this poor Muslim woman wearing all the garb,” he began. 

“A burqa,” Andrea filled in. 

“That’s it, one of them! And he wouldn’t shut up about it, fucking Logan chipping in an’ all, asking her if they could go to the bat cave! Thank fuck the woman in question thought it was hilarious, said it was nice to be profiled as a superhero rather than a terrorist for once. Nah man. Them kids. Fucking mortify me every second of the day!” he laughed, James exploding as he turned right at the end of the road. Wolf was nothing if not complete hilarity.  

“That’s top grade funny, man,” he began, wincing a tiny bit thereafter. “I feel bad for that woman, though. Poor bird can’t even dress how she wants to without being accused of all that bollocks. I bet Batman really did make a welcome change, innit.” 

“Nothing will ever beat Freya and that poor woman who’d had her arms amputated, screaming ‘are you the Venus de Milo?’ at her across the beach in Newquay,” Andrea began to hiss, her scream giggle filling the car. 

Ella turned with wide eyes. “I have never been so bleedin’ embarrassed by her mouth. Thank god the woman found it as hilarious as she did!” It was indeed lucky that most people understood the innocently unfiltered nature of children. At the mention of the event, James and Steve roared, the former remembering how he’d had to abscond to the sea to have a few moments to laugh it out. He’d been impressed, though, that at two years old Freya had remembered the name for the famous armless statue.  

A drive of four hours got them to the capital, the four checking in at their hotel before hopping in a black cab to get over to Camden, where the food festival was taking place. 

“How’s them fleas doing, dickhead?” James spoke over Snedders’s shoulder, kissing his cheek as the drummer turned to eye him disapprovingly.  

“My fleas are pedigree, I’ll have you know, Jim,” he replied, giving his mate a big hug in welcome. “Happy birthday for Thursday, you old bastard. Here, Nell got a round in, for once.” 

“Oi!” his new wife exclaimed as she released Ella from her hug of greeting, passing James a pint while pointing at Snedders. “Gonna catch a fist to the chops for your mouth, Liam.” 

It was still bizarre, hearing anyone refer to him by his actual name. Snedders, Sneds, flea circus, or uncle Ginge, as James’s kids liked to refer to him as. “Aw, Jim mate, there’s a place over there doing a challenge. If you can finish the Carolina Reaper chili fries, you win a hundred quid and your food for free. Said to the missus as soon as I saw ‘em, I said, our Jim’ll be up for that.” 

James nodded, grabbing Ella’s hand. “Easy fucking money, my friend.” Taking their drinks with them, they all walked over to the truck in question, James requesting the aforementioned fries.  

“I think you’re about to lose a hundred quid,” his wife spoke, eyeing her husband with a grin. “He eats phal curries and doesn’t even flinch.” 

The man heaping chilli over the fries smirked in a way that should have made James feel much more worried than he did. “A phal scores one point two million on the Scoville scale. Carolina Reaper’s are at one point six million. Best of luck, buddy.” 

Taking the fries, he dug the fork in, eating the first mouthful with relative ease. Then the second. That was when the spice kicked in. “Shitting hell, that’s a bit warm, innit?” 

Blowing out a long breath, he frowned, continuing to eat. “Mother fucking hell, that’s proper aggressive!” His friends all laughed, never before seeing him react in such a way to spicy food. 

“Good freakin’ god,” Ella chuckled, “has my baby met his match?” 

“Never!” Another mouthful was forked in. 

“I think the wife is right, mate. Is the cast iron stomach about to be defeated?” Steve spoke, wiping a tiny bit of the sauce from the side of the tray and popping his finger into his mouth. His eyes nearly exited his skull. “Nah! What the fuck? Oi mate, did you get that from a fucking volcano?” he cried at the vendor, coughing, quick to down half of his pint.  

“I can finish!” James vouched, another mouthful going in at he felt his face beginning to bead with sweat, turning to Ella. “Wanna try a bit, darlin’?” 

“No. Big time no, baby. You enjoy it,” she spoke, shaking her head in wonder. The things he put himself through. Truly, he didn’t need the hundred pounds, but James being James, he wanted the bragging rights. Even though his mouth felt like the epicentre of a blast furnace. 

“Mate, your arse is gonna be like the gates of hell tomorrow morning,” Snedders chimed, hardly able to believe he’d finished half of the food already.  

“I’ll worry about that then!” On he continued, a few people gathering to watch until much to the disbelief of the people who had served him the meal, he finished it entirely. It was not without feeling like his head was about to explode, though, the meal perhaps the most painful he’d ever eaten.  

“Here, bud, have that. Well done!” the vendor spoke, handing him a glass of milk as well as five twenty-pound notes, the small assembled crowd applauding his success. With the glass of milk downed, his mouth began to tingle a little less, James heading to the toilet portacabins to wash his hands and mouth, making sure he had every last trace of spice rinsed away.   

The rest of the group chose much less violently spicy foods, Ella almost choking on hers as she attempted to take a bite of the chicken gyros stuffed flatbread. 

“G’won, gorgeous,” James nodded, “you’re used to wrapping your mouth around way bigger things than that!” 

“What, before she got with you, Jim?” Steve couldn’t help but chirp, grinning widely as Ella’s laughter failed her attempt at a bite. James gave him the death glare, as standard. 

“Shut your hole!” she pointed at her husband. “And you!”  

“What?” Steve chuckled, “just sympathising with your plight, honey!” 

Ella grinned, winking. "Don't you worry, mate. I married very well in that respect.” 

Her husband beamed, aiming a raised middle finger at Steve. “That’s fucking told you, innit?” 

“How’s your mouth now?” she asked, Steve distracted by Andrea bringing him a drink.  

“Like I’ve got a fuckload of angry bees stinging my tongue, but getting better.” he admitted. God, it really had been a painful eat. It tasted amazing, though, he had to admit. The full entourage had arrived with them after a further hour, Jane and her husband, Sam and her boyfriend, as well as Dan (hilariously with a girl he’d picked up on the train down there) and finally Gaz and Hester.  

Of course, her dalliance with Steve had ended the moment he’d become acquainted with Andrea, and with Gaz and Jane never being anything more than a one night stand all those years ago, eventually the pair had struck up a connection, marrying five years before and now with their first child on the way.  

“Sorry we’re a bit late, Jim,” Gaz began, greeting him with a hug, “had to pull over about five times on the hard shoulder so this one could honk her guts up!”  

Yes, Hester was suffering severe morning sickness, which she felt to be a very unfair description since with her, it could often last all day.  

“Bit queasy, eh, Hest?” James spoke, kissing her cheek. 

“Oh god, darl. I feel like death. But I’m here, raising a glass of pop to your status as a forty-year-old!” 

“Stop shitting reminding me.” he muttered, Hester laughing as she held a soft hand to her tiny bump. While she gravitated over to where the other women grouped together, Steve and James decided to have a little fun at her husband’s expense.  

“Telling ya now, mate,” the former began, swigging his pint of Guinness, “you will never know rage like that of your wife in labour. It ain’t beautiful and it ain’t serene, no matter what they tell you.” 

His eyes widened a little. “Seriously?” 

“Oh, yeah,” James began, pointing at Ella. “The number of times she threatened to cut my bollocks off with the first two. They get vexed and I’m telling you, man, you will be enemy number one for knocking ‘em up in the first place, innit.” 

“Hold on,” Gaz spoke, scratching his head, “didn’t you say it was great with Freya?” 

“Yeah, yeah with her it was fucking over and done within a few hours. Proper speed birth. We were in at 5am, the destroyer of worlds flies out four hours later and by five in the afternoon we were on our way home again. But that was just her. Thirty-nine hours with Lyra and nineteen with Zara. Screaming, shouting and blood everywhere. I lost the feeling in my right arm for two weeks from where she bit down on it, but you gotta do what you gotta do, mate.” 

He gulped, his friends absolutely falling to pieces laughing. “Just giving you a heads up an’ all that!” Steve spoke, gripping Gaz’s shoulder and giving him a little shake. “And then, my friend, then there’s everything that comes after it! Ya get roughly twenty minutes of sleep at any given time when they’re babies, all while being shit on, pissed on and thrown up on by the new tiny overlord of the house.” 

“And you can forget being able to have any relaxing time, like taking a bath on your own unless you go after they’ve gone to bed,” James added, shaking his head. “They have no clue over personal space so they will dive all over you and kick you in the balls. How Freya ain’t fucking neutered me by now, I dunno, man.” 

Steve laughed hard, licking Guinness foam from his top lip. “She still throwing herself in with ya, yeah?” 

“Yeah! Get a fuckload of bath toys lobbed at my bloody head, stood all over, hair fucked around with. Only time she’s bearable is when she’s knackered and then she curls up on my chest and falls asleep. Then I’m stuck there in the bath with the chaos of the night fast asleep, and I can’t call for Ella or I’ll wake her up. So, I’ve gotta try and get out, not drop the wet child on her fucking head, get her dry, pyjamas on, put her in bed and then get back to my stone-cold bath for all of five minutes before she wakes up and comes steaming in again, gabbling her nonsense.” 

“See, that isn’t putting me off much, because Freya is a fucking riot. I’d love a girl if she was like her,” Gaz spoke, laughing as he remembered the various escapades of the tiny demoness of darkness. 

James pointed at him, arching an eyebrow. “Everyone says this, but living with the right honourable princess of doom is another matter entirely. With the screaming and the using my back as a trampoline, kicking me in the dick and yanking my hair, the bathtime invasions, trying to get in the bedroom when I’m trying to get in her mother, the wailing fits, hiding my keys so I can’t go out without her, trying to assemble her own murder of crows by yelling at them at five in the morning, yanking my piercings out, colouring in my tattoos, threatening strangers with witchcraft and in general, being more mental than anything I saw when I was sectioned!” 

Steve and Gaz were in hysterics by the time he took a deep breath after rattling off the list. “But you wouldn’t change her for anything, right?” the latter spoke.  

Change the destroyer of worlds, the commander of the army of the dead? “Nah mate. She’s top grade amazing.” 

“Threatening someone with witchcraft, shit, that’s quality!” Steve guffawed, James nodding vigorously. 

“Didn’t like being smiled at by the nice lady in Sainsbury’s, so screamed that she would, and I quote, ‘do a black magic on you!’ while I’m just standing there, face palming myself to death and trying to think of ways I can shut her up. Ain’t easily done. Even if you cram a lolly in her gob, she’s still loud. It’s just muffled noise.” 

How time had changed the men. Twenty years before and they’d have been standing there talking about women, usually. Now there they were, married fathers, chatting happily about their kids. “Still, though, nobody beats Wolf threatening to blood eagle that fella at the zoo for telling him not to try and climb into the lion enclosure.” 

Steve threw his head back, booming a laugh. “Yeah, and me carrying him away by the arse of his jeans, explaining that it isn’t eight hundred AD and he ain’t a Viking either.” 

Indeed, the tiny versions of them where, whether Steve or James truly wanted to admit it or not, chips right off of their blocks. Hearing his phone beep, the latter pulled it from his jacket, opening up a picture message from Mary. There they were, the three little people who his heart thrummed endlessly for, covered in cake batter and beaming widely.  

He kept it to himself that he’d only been gone from them for six hours, but already, he missed them. Becoming a father was one of the best things he’d ever done, after the happy accident that was Lyra’s conception, making him a dad much sooner than he expected he would be at twenty-seven. Since then, the urge to breed had collared him strongly, to worship his wife’s body as he spilled into her, gave her another two babies, that urge still existing within him.  

They’d said they’d stop at three, and mostly he was content with that, but there was nothing more beautiful to his eyes than seeing Ella pregnant. She’d glowed with sheer radiance throughout each of her pregnancies, thriving as she’d carried his daughters, James unable to keep his hands off her. Nobody thrived on sex quite like a horny pregnant woman.  

Except maybe two parents who found themselves child free and drunk later that night, James ducking down and throwing Ella over his shoulder as they walked across the quiet hotel foyer.  

“Been a while since I’ve thrown you over my shoulder, Mrs. K,” he chuckled, smacking her bum and pressing the button for the lift to descend.  

“It’s throwing me around the bedroom I’m more invested in the idea of,” she spoke as he stepped in, placing her back down on her feet. 

Leaning to her, his lips pressed soft to hers, hands roaming over her hungrily. “Yeah. You can definitely count on that, innit.”  

[fandomfluffandfuck]

At one point in Captain America: The First Avenger, someone in the crowd (I’m pretty sure it was Hodge) says “Nice boots, Tinker Bell!”

Tinker Bell is a fairy.

Hodge. Fucking. Knew.

How did he know? Did he hear something????

Did he hear someone creeping around Steve’s tent, maybe he saw a copy of the Hobbit or possibly saw a man in a messy sergeant’s uniform walking out of the tent at a weird hour of the night?

Just wonderin. 👀

As fun as it might be to imagine overhearing noises 😏 I can't get away from the thoughts I saw expressed in a meta posting floating around here somewhere--

I just spent way, way too long looking for the Steve-centric post, because I wanted to link it, in which the conclusion is outright drawn that they [the soldiers fighting in WWII, watching the USO tour show Steve stars in] were throwing shit at him and saying shit to him because they assumed Steve was gay.

The soldiers would've assumed his sexuality because Steve was a visibly physically fit man. So, why else would he not be in the fight unless there was some reason for the military to reject him (like being gay). Plus, with the whole song and dance of the show, coming across as "feminine" and "showy"... they put two and two together, assuming Steve's gay...

Anyway, yes, not my conclusion but a meta put out that I cannot find the rightful owner to, unfortunately.

[stranger-rants]

Harringrove Ask Meme 💜

There's so much hate going around right now, because people can't handle the support that we give to Harringrove. So, I'm making this ask meme for fans to pass around. I tried to keep the questions positive. I don't want Harringrove fans to feel bad because they don't ship them the same way as others may.

Put a number in reblogger's ask box to ask them these Harringrove specific questions!

When did you start shipping Harringrove? (How long have you shipped them?)

Why do you like Harringrove?

What does being in the Harringrove fandom specifically mean to you?

Have you participated in any Harringrove events? Which ones?

Have you made any friends and/or established any meaningful relationships in the Harringrove fandom?

What's your favorite dynamic between Steve and Billy? (interpret how you like)

What do you headcanon about their identities? (sexual, romantic, ability, ethnicity, etc.)

What are your favorite Harringrove tropes?

Are you currently invested in a Harringrove fanfic? (What is it?)

What is one of your favorite Harringrove fanworks of all time? (fanfic, fanart, fanvids, meta, etc.)

Who is one of your favorite Harringrove authors or fan artists? (Shout out time!)

Do you create fanworks for Harringrove? (includes meta posting)

What's an AU you're interested in seeing?

What does Billy like about Steve?

What does Steve like about Billy?

How do you think they would get together in canon?

If they were able to be together, how would you imagine Billy and Steve when they're old?

What's your favorite thing about Billy and Steve individually?

Who are their number one supporters in canon out of their peers? Why?

If any of the adults could "adopt" Steve and/or Billy, who would it be? Why?

Also, if you haven't already - check out and vote in this poll. Some people are being very nasty in the tags about Harringrove getting any attention. 💜

[numericalbridge]

001 for Dariraine or 002 for Lilith.

Hi! Thank you for the ask!

Dariraine

when I started shipping it if I did: i can't remember, but probably when the 'Oh, Titan' aired and there was more art of them.

my thoughts: i don't actually actively ship it (even in my dariraine au the focus is not exactly on romance), mostly because i don't usually ship anything in the specific fandom way; but the dynamic of the two rebel leaders who started at the wrong footing via misunderstandings and then became closer is really interesting to me, both platonically and romantically. Plus i usually enjoy good romantic side plots between secondary characters. And as a platonic dynamic, their scene in Oh, Titan was such an unexpected but pleasant surprise. They were so fun! But, as i've mentioned before, the way ER was written and the way their friendship was there just for 1,5 scenes still leaves their canon dynamic in a very weird place for me, so i only see it as a ship in an AU/as somewhat removed from canon.

What makes me happy about them: i like that they had seemingly overcome their differences and reached a certain level of trust between ER and Oh, Titan. Yet at the same time they can and will annoy each other with stupid little things. Like, they sounded very fond of each other when they were explaining things to Luz, then it was immediately followed by Darius teasing Raine over their acting, and Raine tormenting Darius with the team name, only to then switch to the scene where they are holding that scroll together at the rebel table? A+ moments.

What makes me sad about them: in-universe it's that they have lost so much time they could have spend working together, all because of the mistrust/miscommunication/whatever ended their schooltime friendship. And on meta level it's that Darius wanted to protect Raine, as they have said themselves + whether intentionally or not it was implied that he agreed to not involve Eda (even when it would mean going with more dangerous plans), so it seems like he indulged Raine a lot, but we never got a moment of Raine doing the same for him.

things done in fanfic that annoy me: i don't think i've read any fic with them as a ship (sorry if i am forgetting anything) because usually shippy dariraine fics are either smut or they are a side pair in a long story that i am not interested in. But when it's platonic their friendship is often just there for them to give each other relationship advice rather than exploring their own dynamic. Also the way their personalities flip-flop depending on the fic type, when it's clear it is just meant to serve other dynamics rather than an actual attempt at characterization (for example, if it's a Hollow Mind fic and it's dad*rius then Raine would be soo over the top ruthless, but if it is a raed*a fic then it's the opposite and Darius just doesn't care about 'some teenagers')

things I look for in fanfic: at this point just a fic about their own dynamic whether platonic or shippy😭

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Eda or Camila for Raine (no one understands ramila like i do😐), and Camila or Perry for Darius

My happily ever after for them: they participate in the rebuilding and reforming of the Boiling Isles while annoying each other and at the same time being ready to kill for each other.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: they switch

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: just working on something together like the scene at the end of Oh, Titan. Or scheming.

Lilith

How I feel about this character: i really liked season 1 Lilith as an antagonist and the flashbacks of her dynamic with Eda when they were younger. I never doubted that she would be redeemed, but i don't like how her arc was handled in season 2, especially season 2b, especially Oh Titan.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: no one, obviously

My favourite platonic relationships: her friendships with Hooty and Steve were very cute. Her relationship with Eda was mostly really interesting, and her relationship with their mother - even if not positive - was interesting too.

My unpopular opinion about this character: i think both her and Luz's arcs would have benefitted if their s2 relationship was more complicated; and i don't like how Lilith - especially considering how she behaved in King's episode in s2a - was presented as this good historian who will uncover the truth, while a brown woman was apparently the bad corrupt historian.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Short answer - i wish her arc and character development were finalized in a serious manner in Oh, Titan episode, and earlier episodes had more focus on the initial awkwardness between her and Luz until it would have been resolved in the time travel episode.

Long answer: I wish her treating Luz as if Luz was a teacher in s2e2 was presented as something Lilith did because she was feeling awkward after what happened between them in s1, with Luz acting awkward in return. Then the tension between them would have been a plot point in the time travel episode, and it would've been resolved by the end of it. As a follow up, in ASiAS instead of the Azura sub-plot, Luz and Amity would have gone to do research with Lilith - resolving Amity and Lilith's mentorship offscreen and freeing time for Willow, Gus and Darius. And in Oh, Titan, Lilith's arc would've ended on a serious note via her travelling with King and Steve and reacting to common people and helping them during the montage, and then a serious conversation regarding King and her worldview.

a headcanon fact: I think she and King would develop a great relationship during the time skip.

for this ask game

[carsonian]

Cap-IM Rec Week: It's About the Yearning Tuesday

@cap-ironman, happy Tuesday:

"take my heart clean apart" by mistymountainking (@stovetuna)

He’s tired, so tired of waiting, tired of touches with no meaning, tired of holding his breath when Steve’s in the room, tired of keeping this love to himself. “I can’t—I can’t, if you don’t mean it.” Tony comes home exhausted after an SI event. Steve acts as welcoming committee. It's an old, careworn routine they've perfected over the years, but tonight ends up going in a very different direction.

Perhaps the strongest debut in the fandom. Like the rookie player that trots on and has all the commentators going, "wait, how old's this fucking kid?" Genuinely had me rocking back and forth the first time I read it, it's that motherfucking good.

"and so we rebuild" by raeldaza

Sometimes, a voice whispers: you will never atone for your mistakes. Tony believes that, believes it so strongly some days he drowns in it, but he still tries. Tries through Starfleet, tries through inventions, tries through missions. Then, one day, he meets his new Captain, and things change.

Steve's yearning in this is so palpable that it makes for its own story, not-so-subtly putting its footprints down in the background. This fic is THE happy meal; world-building = BLISS, characterisations = JOY, pining = ECSTACY, resolution = DELICIOUS. It even has a cherry (nudge nudge spoiler spoiler) on top.

"Like How Your Heart Works" by ishipallthings and zappedbysnow (@ishipallthings, @snowzapped)

“I don’t mind waiting for my first kiss. I just hope that when it happens, it’ll be important. And I want it to be with someone who really wants my first kiss too.” (Or: the one where Tony is pining, Steve takes the long way around to realizing he’s in love, and there’s clothes sharing.)

What's better than mutual pining? AVAC mutual pining! Duh. This one's toothwrenchingly diabetic and utterly sincere; it'll give you cavities. The gorgeous fanart is the loveliest bonus. Honestly melts my heart to look at. Listen. I know what I'm about, and this fic is EXACTLY what I'm about.

"Hating Steve Rogers" by nanasekei (@elcorhamletlive)

The thing about hating Steve Rogers is that it shouldn’t be easy - but it really, really is.

Tonyyyyy girllll your crush is showing babie!!! Stop twirling your hair and kicking up your feet!!! We getttt it. You "hate" him sooooo much, omg you just wanna eat him right up!!! ...unironically brilliant Steve Rogers meta.

"The Ghosts of War" by scifigrl47 (@scifigrl47)

(For the Cap/Iron Man Big Bang 2014) Steven Rogers never wanted to be king, but he knows his duty, and he does it well. Lord Tony Stark, the king's appointed consort, does his duty as well, even though he'd enjoy his duty more if it actually involved sleeping with the king. As it doesn't, he's just resigned. The war that made Steve king and cost him nearly everything may be over, but a meeting of old enemies might stir up some ghosts none of them are prepared for.

OG yearning and misunderstandings fic. The big behemoth daddy long legs of getting your wires crossed. I will forever laugh n slap my leg at Steve's histrionics over T’Challa "wooing" Tony.

"Talking Bodies" by itsallAvengers

Coincidentally, the physical effects of romantic and sexual desire match up very closely with the physical effects of fear. But it's not a problem-- it's not like anyone is going to be able to hear the way your heart speeds up, or see the minute dilation of your pupils, are they? They'd have to be some sort of Superhuman to do that. And what's worse than a Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and concluding that you're in love with them? A Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and thinking you're terrified of them.

The stakes could not be funnier and the yearning could not be heartier. The misunderstandings make the pining so much more fun to behold and the resolution is uber Hot! Love Steve's droopiness as the delicious backdrop to Tony's he's-so-sexy freakout.

And now we've arrived at the moment for that much-needed "I've been in love with you for YEARS!" / "Wait--what?!" / "Not that it matters...because we will only ever be friends..." / "NO! I love YOU." / "What??" / *cue passionate makeout* conversation. AKA: the end!

Go forth: SteveTony lovers, fuckers, ambassadors, champions, perverts, freaks, losers, dreamers, legends! Read, re-read, kudo, comment, spread legs and spread love.

[wynnyfryd]

Dialogue Tag

Prompt: share a section of dialogue that we like from our own work! It can be funny, sad, ridiculous, mysterious, plot-centric or just characters shooting the breeze…anything! And it can be from a WIP or a posted fic! It can be short or long! Let’s celebrate our beloveds having a chat.

thanks for the tag @mcneen! tagging @steddielations @starryeyedjanai (remember like a month ago when y’all asked me for yoga steve 5 excerpts? 😂) @legitcookie @gorgeousgreymatter-x @thorniest-rose

“Baby?” Steve asks. “You good? Can I come in?”

“Yeah.” Christ, his mouth is dry. “Yeah, it’s open.”

The door slides open, a draft of cold air when Steve pulls the curtain back to poke his head into the shower, and he huffs a quiet laugh when the breeze makes Eddie shiver. “Just checking on you,” he says with a soft, smitten grin.

Goddamn.

If he isn’t just beautiful.

Fucking gorgeous, holy shit.

“Whatcha doin’ in here?”

His head tilts to the side, and Eddie can’t even handle that. Golden retriever looking ass. Little sunshine boy, seriously, what the fuck.

“Ohhh, you know. Just like, falling into a hellish pit of sexual meta-analysis or something.”

“Uh… wha-?”

Nevermind. He sways forward to boop the tip of Steve’s nose. “What are you doing, beautiful?”

Steve lets out a giggle that makes him sound like a little kid. “You’re ridiculous,” he grins, eyes getting all scrunched. “And I didn’t catch, like, a single word of what you said before you called me beautiful.”

“That’s because you’re vain.”

“Am not!”

“You should be,” Eddie shrugs, turning back toward the taps.

[madwheelerz]

Since there's already a meltdown happening, I will calmly express my opinions on Mike's sexuality and leave y'all with a message.

So, if you've hung around enough, you probably know that I think Mike is gay. I'm going to highlight some of my points that I've been wanting to talk about for a while, but didn't because of well *wildly gestures at the meltdown*.

Anyway,

1) The entire fiasco with comparing Mike's reaction to the ladies store with his reaction to the fleshflayer and the comment about him being scared.

2) This is actually what I came to think about. The reason I don't think Mike likes girls has to do with a variety of things, but outside of Will he's the only one of the party that doesn't mention how hot Phoebe Cates is.

They removed his crush on Jennifer Hayes, which I always find odd because we wouldn't even be having a debate if that was there. El is the only girl he's shown to date, but their portrayal is so...juvenile ig?

Like the contrasts between byler and mlvn start immediately from the season that they get together. The sheer difference in his reaction between getting dumped by El vs. his reaction to Will yelling at him.

You could also argue that Nancy and Steve didn't have a particularly deep connection, but we don't doubt he likes girls. He flirts with the customers, and he gets a date to the pep rally. We see him with other girls.

Jonathan is the only character we see who has eyes for one person. We don't doubt his feelings for Nancy, though. We hear him and Nancy go on about the traits that they love about each other.

I know Mike has a girlfriend, but so do Dustin and Lucas. An offhand comment about how great Phoebe Cates looks or an implication of him having a crush on Jennifer Hayes would go a long way.

3) His realization when he kissed El. I think he definitely realized something at that moment.

4) Meta stuff - "boys only", finds a girl in the boys' locker room and is upset, kicked out of the girls' bathroom.

Anyway, who's to say for sure anyway. I will not be interacting with the tag for a bit. Parting message in the tags. Above all, stay safe y'all.

[thestobingirlie]

Hello to start with I was concerned about where u went but then realised oh new username excellent crisis averted...

ALSO the main reason I'm in ur inbox is I need a little shitty steve characterisation vent so here goes:

I keep coming across (accidentally) those characterisations of steve (in steddie context) where he's like "i love to be subby and give up control bc I've always had to be in control and it's a relief to take a break from this." And like. canonically steve is the one whose autonomy is always the most hijacked like he's just dragged along with the major plot decisions everyone else makes - i remember a beautiful piece of meta i read a while back that summarised its point in a line like "steve hasn't made a single decision for himself since he chose to go back in the byers house in s1."

Also i believe you've discussed a bunch in the past (or one of your mutuals did?) that he is very much a take charge kind of guy, taking as an example all the russian base shenanagins and his role in those.

And that plus societal/peer/parental pressure (particularly during 'king steve time') to be a certain kind of guy and live a certain way makes me think in fact he would be the complete OPPOSITE??? In regards to needing to give up control if anything I think he'd want to take it back (both in a life decisions and potentially in Sexy Situations kind of way).

Optional extra point that i change my mind on back and forth, in the particular context of steddie I'd almost put eddie (if you had to place them into this specific d/s retaking/giving up control dynamic which you absolutely don't have to) into that characterisation of feeling relief in not having to be in control, as he's the one always having to constantly push back against society and assert his "freakishness."

Long rant over, thank you for always being the blog I can click onto and scroll if I want to read a salty accurate take about fandom characterisations!!

glad you were able to find me again! honestly it’s still kinda crazy to me that people like… recognise my username and seek me out lmao.

i will always be here for some salty takes. you know that post that’s like, what if my hobby is being a hater? literally me.

oh i love that line! yeah, i think it’s really interesting how steve has increasingly not had any control over the direction that his life is going in. he’s a character that is very much so at the mercy of others. like, thinking about the last two seasons, he was tied up and beaten, then strangled and eaten. even looking at the very way that he’s getting injured, it’s all something that he couldn’t fight against!

getting back on topic tho, yeah, i really dislike the super subby idea of steve that is incredibly pervasive throughout the steddie fandom. it just feels so out of character. like, obviously sexual preferences don’t necessarily have to align with a persons personality, but they just really aren’t writing about steve anymore.

yeah no i agree, steve has admitted that he went along with shit in high school because he wanted to be perceived a certain way, so i think it would make more sense that he would want to take that control back in any way he could, be himself in a way he couldn’t before. also. not to get crass, but steve just seems like someone that really enjoys giving, even in the bedroom. like, he wants to make sure the other person is having a good time. and so, i think it makes sense that he would want at least a little control over that.

yeah, i do not think d/s dynamics make sense for steddie’s relationship, and i think it’s kinda weird that people feel the need to make their sex very restrictive and kinky. but also i agree that i think it makes more sense for eddie to be… the not in control one. i also think eddie would like the feeling of being desired. like, eddie is an outcast, he’s a freak, even if he’s welcomed that role. i think he would definitely enjoy king steve being the one, kind of, reaching out and going after him, in that way.

but yeah, i do not like subby steve, and i think it’s weird the extent to which people have decided that steddie’s sex life has to involve kinks that often directly contradict their characters. obviously, enjoy what you enjoy and have fun writing smut, i just do not like it.

[narcosfandomdiscord]

narcos october masterlist ii

This masterlist is for days 11-25 of the @narcosfandomdiscord's october prompt event, which you can read about here and join in!

For days 1-10 of the event, check out masterlist i, and for days 26-31 of the event, check out masterlist iii.

(Note: character x character indicates a romantic/sexual relationship; character & character indicates a platonic one.)

October 11 — Day of Fun

Create a non-visual, non-fic fanwork: quiz, game, playlist, incorrect quotes.

↳ Narcos Incorrect Quotes by @proceduralpassion — many characters from OG & MX

October 12 — Day of Death

Kill a character who lives in canon.

↳ Behind The Curve by @drabbles-mc — Hugo Martinez Sr. & Hugo Martinez Jr, 1.4k

↳ It's You by @proceduralpassion — Rafa x Reader

.

.

October 13 — Day of Life

Create a fanwork in which a character avoids their canonical death.

↳ Adamant by @drabbles-mc — Enedina x Claudio, 2k

↳ Undefined by @artemiseamoon — Danilo x OFC, 1.1k

↳ I'm The Sky To You by @proceduralpassion — Carrillo x OFC, 1.1k

↳ Chasing ghosts and choices by @hausofmamadas — Enedina x Claudio, 1.7k

.

.

October 14 — Day of Support

Create a review, response, or analysis of a Narcos or Narcos Mexico fic, in the style of an Amazon review or a NYT book review or something like that. Please keep it constructive and positive, no roasts.

↳ In defense of Wonderbread White: Eureka!Character moments by @hausofmamadas — Steve-centric fanfic analysis

↳ she's got the range by @ashlingnarcos — analysis of the #narcoctober fics written by @drabbles-mc

Quote prompt: “I got you.”

↳ Debts Paid by @drabbles-mc — Navegante & Salcedo ficlet

.

.

October 15 — Day of Absolute Filth

Create a smut fanwork that includes three different kinks and/or sex acts (basically you could tag it with at least three tags that are Pure Filth).

↳ Control pt 2 by @artemiseamoon — Verdin x OFC 1.5k

↳ First on Speed Dial by @drabbles-mc — Steve x F!Reader 1.5k

↳ XTASY by @proceduralpassion — Rafa x Reader 1.4k

.

.

October 16 — Day of Surprises

These prompts were revealed at the start of the day.

Create a fanwork that focuses on dreams, either literal or metaphorical.

↳ not in this life by @narcolini — Güero x Reader ficlet

↳ Crumbled to Dust by @drabbles-mc — Carrillo x F!Reader (+OC Diego Ramirez), 1.2k

↳ TO THE SMASH N GRAB CREW by @hausofmamadas — Smash & Grab Crew, also Kenny x Cici, gifset and meta

↳ One Uniform by @proceduralpassion — Trujillo focused ficlet

↳ To live and leave fast by @hausofmamadas — Andrea x Carrillo angst and smut, 2.3k

.

.

October 17 — Day of Rare Treasures

Create a fanwork about a character that only shows up in one (1) season of the show. the rarer the better honestly

↳ Marta fanart by @tofuwildcard

↳ One day at a time by @artemiseamoon — NYC hairdresser from Narcos S3, trauma recovery, 1.2k

↳ Cómo Puedo Ayudar? by @drabbles-mc — Sal & Cece Garza, 1.7k

↳ Denouemont by @proceduralpassion — Dani x Walt ficlet

.

.

October 18 — Day of History

Create a fanwork about characters experiencing, participating in, or witnessing a real life historical event (could have been depicted in canon or not) e.g. moon landing.

↳ The Moon Landing by @garbinge — Javi & F!Reader, 1.3k

↳ Get To You by @proceduralpassion — Javi x OFC, 1.2k

Create a fanwork about two exes meeting unexpectedly.

↳ Ninety Days by @drabbles-mc — Walt x GN!Reader, 2.9k

.

.

October 19 — Day of Hurt

Create a fanwork about a character so emotionally or physically hurt that they can’t help but start crying even though they don’t want to.

↳ Could've Been It by @proceduralpassion — Javi x OFC ficlet

.

.

October 20 — Day of Comfort

Create a fanwork about a character getting exactly what they need from someone unexpected.

↳ Best Bet by @drabbles-mc — Carrillo & Connie, 1.3k

↳ Walls Closing In by @proceduralpassion — Amado x Reader ficlet

.

.

October 21 — Day of Women Who Will Step On You For Free

Create a f/f-centric fanwork.

↳ At Your Service by @drabbles-mc — Andrea x F!Reader, 1.3k

↳ Don't Question by @proceduralpassion — Maria Elvira x F!Reader ficlet

.

.

October 22 — Day of Cross-Fandom Pollination

Create a fanwork that includes at least one Narcos character and at least one character from another fandom.

↳ Flying In (1) by @drabbles-mc — Narcos OFC & multiple Narcos and Mayans MC characters, 2.8k

↳ Family Reunion by @drabbles-mc — Steve & Rick Flag (from Suicide Squad), 2.3k

↳ A Bad Habit by @artemiseamoon — Chepe x OFC, Lalo Salamanca x OFC, Better Call Saul crossover ficlet

↳ Borgias & Narcos Mexico crossover fanart by @tofuwildcard

↳ And You? by @garbinge — Jax Teller (Sons of Anarchy) & Steve ficlet

↳ The Job by @proceduralpassion — Billy Russo (The Punisher Netflix) & Miguel ficlet

The occupational hazards of living by @hausofmamadas — Rust Cohle (from True Detective) & Barrón, 4.5k

.

.

October 23 — Day of Threes

Create a fanwork that includes three items you can currently see.

↳ Sweet Dreams, Angel by @proceduralpassion — Steve x Connie ficlet

Create a fanwork including three canon characters. extra difficult version: three canon characters that have never met.

↳ Acquaintances at Best by @drabbles-mc — 3 characters are: Steve, Jorge Salcedo, Don Berna, also Steve & Javi, 2.7k

.

.

October 24 — Day of Monsters

Create a fanwork about a character turning into a supernatural creature.

↳ Wolf Pack by @artemiseamoon — Ramón & OC ficlet

↳ Amado as an angel fanart by @tofuwildcard

↳ Night of the Comet by @proceduralpassion — Walt x Reader ficlet

Quote prompt: “The world isn’t made up of heroes and monsters. Just broken people balancing between the two.”

↳ Hard to hate up close by @hausofmamadas — Andrea & OC, 3.2k

.

.

October 25 — Day of Wow, That Escalated Quickly

Create a fanwork that begins in a canon-compatible place, but ends up going somewhere more dramatic.

↳ Distant Echoes by @proceduralpassion — Carrillo x Juliana ficlet