The Bandit King

Steve is always talking about the kids. About driving them to school and taking them to doctor appointments or trips. It's sweet, actually, how devoted he obviously is to his kids.

There's Dustin, who Steve is always driving everywhere and bragging about how smart he is. And there's also Max and Erica, his girls who have Steve around their fingers.

And, well, maybe Steve is young to have three kids already, but who's Eddie to judge?

But then Steve is mentioning a Lucas too when he talks about his kids, and a Jane, and okay now Eddie is kinda freaking out. He's been trying to give Steve space and time, to let Steve set the pace and decide when he wants to have the 'do you wanna meet my kids?' conversation, but Eddie can't help but blurt out, "Babe, how many kids do you have?"

Steve looks at him funny, as if Eddie is not making any sense. "What do you mean?"

"You've already mentioned at least five different kids. Is there any more?"

"Oh, they are seven in total."

Seven. Seven fucking kids. How the hell is that even possible? Steve is twenty-six!

"Jesus, how old were you when the first of them was born?"

Understanding glints in Steve's eyes and he laughs so hard that Eddie is a little offended. Who wouldn't be a little frantic after finding out their new boyfriend had seven kids?

"Do you wanna meet them?" Steve asks suddenly, unable to hold back a grin.

An hour later, Eddie finds himself meeting not a bunch of kids but a bunch of grown adults, well in their 20s too, who are very nice and cool but also extremely protective of Steve.

Maxine "I mean was it really murder or that bad if he was suffering i'm just saying" Baker

Ellen "Some things I just Think Are Not My Business but if You did it I don't judge You" Baker

- he waited for georgia for 15 years

- named his horse milkshake after her

- he went to her WEDDING

- he watched her fall in love so many times and he still stayed

- he lets her throw and talk him around in s1 and 2 its so cute

- he made her feel safe enough to be herself around him and to talk about her problems

- he was the only one there for her consistently when she was struggling the most, someone she knew she could rely on

- he never judged or yelled at her EVER

- he punched her abuser because her own husband couldn’t

- then proceeds to apologize when she finds out because he was violent

- lets her be vulnerable with him and cry in his arms

- was respectful and apologizes when they kissed because he didn’t know if she would be more confused with everything that was going on

- was gentle with her when they finally kissed (when he held his hand behind hers so she wouldn’t hit it on the wall hshdjdncj)

- literally confesses to murdering all her husbands and he said “idc” !!!

Also the PI is insanely creepy for believing a seventeen year old girl marrying a guy in his 30s-40s and the guy disappearing is some Black Widow who does it for the kicks.

Which honestly - as if Robin lets any man's sperm near her. If someone is getting her pregnant, it's Steve for sure.

Steve will be like:

"What if he gets all my genes for his brain. Our kid will be so stupid."

And Robin, feeling mushy once again, just answers: "Then we get an incredibly emotionally intelligent kid. So what they don't know math or quotes from books. They are good people."

At that point, they won't know he's still alive, as far as they know, he probably starved to death by then. But Stratt insists they send it anyway. If nothing else, it can be a gift for their newly discovered neighbors, the Eridians. Afterall, what's more friendly than sharing food?

The Eridian scientists study the contents of the care package. It's full of shelf-stable human food that they do their best to clone/replicate for Grace. There are also some seeds that store well for the years of travel they experienced. Radish, lettuce, tomato, beans, etc. (Potatoes would be a great callback to "The Martian")

Protector of Ghosts

Even big scary ghosts need affection and emotional support.

[Image ID: A digital drawing of Danny Fenton in a hoodie looking murderous while gently cradling the face of a monstrous Phantom with one hand. Phantom's body is black and shadow-like with glowing neon green ribs, palms, eyes, mouth, ghostly tail and fire for hair. Phantom has four hands, three of which he is using to hold onto Danny, and the fourth hovers reverently over the human hand cradling his face. /. End ID]

Original sketch under the cut:

They start simple, children’s stories with basic words and sentence structure, but eventually, they’re able to try things like poetry or more culturally relevant texts. They have years to do so, to refine the language between them that they essentially become amateur linguists for each other.

Rocky likes the Lord of the Rings. He likes the Dwarves and their penchant for creation and craft. He also likes Frodo and Sam, that they survive. He likes when Grace has them watch the movies, being able to understand the differences between the two but also visually see all the ways in which Frodo was the same and yet changed. How Sam got to have a family after, even if Frodo went with the Elves.

He resolves to make the dome on Erid for Grace. And to visit him, so that he doesn’t have to send Frodo away. That Frodo will get to see Sam’s family and be a part of it since he was what made it possible.

He asks Grace to read the books to Adrian when they get to Erid and enjoys Grace’s laughing agreement.

And now Rocky and Adrian equally love Grace. They always argue over who gets to bring him to their work (Adrian likes to have him for feedback for the bio-dome and Rocky likes to have someone to talk to while he tinkers). They both watch over him when he sleeps and Grace wakes up to two Eridians very, very close to his face.

They’re the couple with the third wheeling friend, except they are all equally happy about the arrangement. Rocky and Adrian go on a date, just the two of them, one time and get asked by no less than six people if Grace is okay.

And it's obviously a probe. It's made of weird material you probably don't recognise, and it survived the atmosphere 100% intact. It looks completely alien.

You know aliens exist, but this is a whole new level. Your team takes it back to the lab, run tests, and finally open it up.

And you discover messages and information from an alien species. Sound recordings and physical items and everything you could ever want to know about the Eridians. This is information equal to what humanity sent out with the Hail Mary, only coming back from someone else. It's incredible.

And on the inside of the probe's shell is another message, painted in English:

when grace is really in his 90s and bedridden, actually close to dying, one of the last complex series of equations he does is finding the fine line between an atmosphere that would permanently damage rocky and one that would immediately make his own head explode.