#but trying

[timethehobo]

A pocket cowboy.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Second Chances

Written for @steddieangstyaugust challenge, day 1.

The world was dying. Not just Hawkins, but the whole world, invaded by the creatures of the Upside Down, the particles that made people sick, killed crops, infected water...if it wasn't the end, then it was damn close.

Steve often thought about the moment everything went to shit. Even when Barb died, when Bob died, when the whole mall burned down, there was at least a shred of hope. Even when Chrissy got lifted in the air and her limbs broke like an unwanted doll, there was a plan, something to do. A chance to make things right for the rest of them. It wasn't difficult to pinpoint the point of no return - Eddie dying.

Here was the thing. Steve didn't really believe in time travel, and he was way too high on the Russian truth serum to even consider what it would entail if it ever proved to be true.

Lo and behold, the Hawkins lab of 1990, infected by the creeping decay of the Upside Down, made it possible. Steve found himself transported back to the day of their failed mission to kill Henry. But not just normally transported - inserted into the mind of his younger self, one that wasn't scarred, limping, and on the verge of giving up. And that was great. Steve thrived when he had something to do, and keeping Eddie alive was something to do.

He didn't really care about his real time. If erasing his present meant saving Murray from getting torn in half, Jonathan and Nancy nearly bleeding out, Robin losing her eyesight, and always seeing Dustin's blank, hopeless stare, well. That was fine. He hated to see people he loved suffer. Hence the operation "Save Munson from his heroic awakening and keeping that stupid walkman intact."

It should have been easy. He prepared everyone. He told Eddie what would happen. He instructed Lucas and Erica to ensure Max lived too. He explained that Eddie wouldn't make a difference, but Dustin would mourn him forever and never recover. Eddie nodded, agreed.

Max was saved.

And Eddie got fucking killed again.

Steve got snapped back to the portal in his present with angry tears still in his eyes. "Oh no, you don't!" he muttered and dove in again. The combined mission of "save Max and Eddie" was now just "make Eddie stop dying."

He tried sending Eddie to the Creel house in his place. Explained again, with more detail. But did that rocker wannabe asshole listen? No! The first rustle of demobat wings and he was back, being torn to shreds.

No. That wouldn't do. Again.

Dustin had tried explaining time loops to Steve, but even in his limited understanding, he didn't consider this one. He wasn't trapped anywhere, fucking Eddie Munson was trapped there with him, in a repeated self-worth session that went "self-destruction is a no-no."

Still, he kept dying. And Steve kept trying. No one was going to out-stubborn Steve Harrington.

And finally, one miraculous day, it worked out. Eddie didn't die, Steve did. He felt the familiar "whoosh" of being dragged to his real time, terrified but excited to see what awaited him after, and then...

Then he was back at their makeshift camp in March 1986.

Steve didn't understand. He was staring at the all too familiar scene when a calloused hand grabbed his shoulder and dragged him away. "A word, your majesty."

"Munson, what the-!"

It was Eddie, of course. He'd seen him so many times, talked to him so often, learned about his life, his childhood, his love for Wayne...but there was something different this time. Eddie's eyes seemed much older.

"I know what you're trying to do here, Harrington, and it isn't happening, hear me?" he hissed, and Steve finally understood what seemed so off.  Eddie always looked scared, no matter which attempt, no matter Steve's words or actions. But now, Eddie Munson seemed determined. Angry.

Steve shook off his hand. "What do you mean not happening, Munson?" he whispered, fighting for the last shred of self-control. "Saving the future, that isn't happening? Huh?"

Suddenly, his head snapped back. It took him a good moment to understand that Eddie hit him. "Is that what you call it?!" Eddie hissed back, then snuck a quick glance at the rest of their group. Fortunately no one noticed yet. "Do you even know what you did, Harrington? You fucking died. And everything went to shit."

Glaring at Eddie, Steve rubbed at his sore cheek. "You want to talk about things going to shit?! Do you even know what happens after you die?! People get hurt. People lose hope. And Dustin has never recovered, so there! You have to stay alive no matter what."

Eddie threw his head back and laughed, but it had no joy in it. "Oh really. Well, have you spared a single thought about how he feels, knowing you died to fix the past? How Robin feels?! Do you think that everyone is alive in the future you have so graciously created?! No, Steven. Things are shit and can't be unshitted."

That gave Steve a pause. "Wait.  What do you mean, everyone isn't alive? Who died?"

Eddie scowled at him and crossed his arms. "I'm not telling you. Let's just agree that the future when I'm dead is the better one. Deal?"

"No fucking deal." Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, frowning at the forest ground. "What the hell, man. This was supposed to fix things! Even with Max alive, it's still the same?"

"Yep. Not just the same. Worse. I don't know how to explain it, but...they just need you. Without you, it doesn't work."

"Well, without you it doesn't work either!" Steve spat back. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Eddie shrugged. "I don't know. If things go to shit, the portal will activate anyway, right? So one of us will make it there, if at least one of us lives. So how about we both try to live this time?"

Sighing, Steve nodded. "I've tried everything else, so we might as well. As long as you stop sabotaging my future fixing or whatever by dying."

Eddie grinned and offered Steve his hand, knuckles still red from punching Steve. "Shake on it. No pointless heroisms!"

"If you can keep your word, I'll keep mine, Munson."

...

It wasn't on their first try, not even on the tenth or twentieth. One of them would always find themselves at the portal, jump in, repeat.

And then, by pure chance and a truck load of luck...they lived.

Well, their younger selves did.

Steve sat down on the grimy dead grass of the Upside Down, his limbs heavy. "I think we did it," he told Eddie as he landed next to him. "Something changed."

"Yep. I think..." Eddie trailed off, his voice quieter, weaker. "I think we avoided our futures. Which both sucked, by the way. But that also means..."

"It means we don't exist either," nodded Steve. "I thought so. We'll be gone soon, I guess." He leaned against Eddie, slumping against his shoulder. "It was an honor saving the world with you, Munson."

Eddie laid his head over Steve's nodding. "Likewise, Harrington. I'm kinda bummed we won't see the new future. But I sure hope it's a better one."

Closing their eyes, they let the time take its course.

...

In the new 1990, Eddie Munson woke up next to his boyfriend, Steve Harrington. It was the favorite part of his week, the one free day they shared, when they could cuddle and trade lazy kisses. Eddie was a hedonist by nature, and while he did his best to understand Steve's morning runs, he managed to persuade him that after saving the world, they deserved the one peaceful day only for themselves.

Steve was quiet that morning, and Eddie, always the inquisitive one, had to ask. "What's on your mind, love?"

"I just keep thinking about...you know. That day in March," whispered Steve, running his fingers through Eddie's hair. "I still don't remember it. You don't. But everyone else does. I'm just wondering if it's just a coincidence, that we blanked out and everything went just right."

Eddie smiled at him, but his eyes were serious. "I try not to think about it much," he admitted. "I don't want to jinx it, what we have. I won't look the gift dragon in the mouth. I'd like to think we were possessed by a divine inspiration or something."

Steve snorted and pulled him closer. "What, like angels?"

"Sure. We were possessed by our guardian angels and they made sure we'd survive, fix the world...and have this. Us."

Laughing, Steve pulled Eddie into a kiss. "I'll take it. Guardian angels, wherever you are and if you even exist...thank you."

Eddie snuggled closer and nodded into Steve's hair. "Thank you for everything."

[gravity-falls-fanatic89]

I have to work tomorrow, which I don't want to, and want to get my energy back to do things....I just chronically sleep when I don't work.

[cursedcazzledazzle]

How's your tumblr experience going so far?

mostly very chaotic um still trying to figure out what’s going on but honestly I’m loving it it’s great here (slightly but pleasantly surprised)

[take-care-with-your-glasses]

Mini updates

Leukemia tests to check the progress/cat vaccination and de-worming.

I have been feeling so stressed lately that I barely sleep. Oh so many things to process that it overwhelms me.

Living in a tiny place while I fix the kitty, feels quite lonely. She doesn't leave the room as the owner of the house has two male cats and she doesn't like to socialize (either them, to be honest). So I feel guilty when I have to trick her somehow, to take the meds and go to the vet.

I'm working as fast as possible so she is ready to travel and I meet my final destination.

My poor baby.

In the case of my disease, even my periods are starting to make me feel really sick. One day I was bleeding everywhere in the floor and again, isn't anything unexpected but after what happened I guess all the stress made it happen faster. My brother changed my life for the worst and sadly, it is what it is, I guess.

But I try not to worry about the bruises and what's going on as much as possible. There are friends who need me. Even more, now that this stupid war is happening and even inside my country with this crisis.

Thanks a lot to those people who help me and donate. Remember you can ask me a little sketch. Is not that much but hopefully means something.

Please, if possible, help me with a little comission so I can buy food, meds, and can keep fixing my little angel cat, so she can travel safely and also has her food ❤️‍🩹🫂

Ko-Fi I can try sketching something. Examples of my sketches and lineart are there and all over here ❤️‍🩹🫂.

Sorry about the not so good news, but can't do much right now :(. Didn't expect for this to happen.

[xxnomadsxx]

okay. Ik this is a long shot but WHAT IF Cooper’s egg was found by Branch and the rest of the grey troll village in your Nomads AU? Cuz like, random funk troll egg falls out of the sky. Cooper raised by slightly grey Funk trolls so he doesn’t need to wonder why no one else looks like him this time unlike Pop Village. May wonder why he’s super bright pink compared to everyone else though.

and since Cooper is super bright and happy, they give him some camouflage cloak and makeup to wear when outside? and omg what would the reunion look like this time?

AHHHHH!!! I love this idea! I’m contemplating if I want it canon?

If the egg was found by the village he would be taken in immediately! The Funk trolls in the village would take him in since they know a funk troll egg when they see one (some would speculate that he was apart of the royal family but they never could tell) Cooper once hatched would be the brightest troll in the village, which was a surprise to most (considering most abandoned troll eggs become grey trolls) he wouldn’t grow up with any insecurity of what he is, instead it would be replaced with why he was brightly colored (which causes other issues) he gets told why everyone’s grey but never truly understood what it was like to be sad…till he got older

Since he grew up not surrounded by happy ignorant pop trolls he becomes slightly different he is still an oblivious goofball, who is a lot more serious in situations as well as paranoid and he is always aware of his surroundings (all trolls in the village get these qualities due to living in the village) his colors dim slightly due to living in the village but he is still the happiest troll.

He would wear a bigger and darker cloak then other trolls (mentioned in past post) as well as mud and paint on his body to make him look less vibrant to predators.

The reunion would be completely different, one he wouldn’t be there for world tour, so it would come in after the village is found by poppy and brozone. (The village would get connected to the other tribes) it would take time for the royal funk family to find him since he looks way different, but once his family find him it’s a lot sadder to look at the scared dim troll then happy (Cooper would be terrified by the funk family just coming up to hug him) eventually he would be ecstatic by the fact he has an actual family. The funk family is still on edge and would get therapy for him immediately (he would be happy to have a new friend to talk to and also go funk family being good parents) eventually he’d become happier and maybe even get his color back completely.

Send more things I LOVE answering questions!!!

[quantum27]

just wanna say I'm not reblogging or posting any sonic 3 spoilers. if I really wanna reblog it I'll tag it but otherwise for now it's going into drafts to be reblogged at a later date.

I mean. A good portion of the movie is a lot of sa2 plot beats but still! don't have to worry about spoilers from me.