#Season One Episode Eleven

[ilargeicontradictmiself]

Oh shit they mentioned Chuck's pilot shit, i thought we were doing pilot amnesia

[quietwingsinthesky]

“least favorite” isn’t anywhere close to bad. it just shows how damn hard the competition is going, but we’re talking about gold medals all around for each actor i’ve seen portray the doctor so far.

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Twenty-Six: The Hellfire Club

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 3,303 Warnings: tooth-rotting fluff Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! I can't believe we're on the last season!! Buckle up, friends, 'cause it's a lot this season!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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The phone ringing startled me awake as I sat up straight in the bed. Looking at the clock, I tried to count three hours backward from the time shown, slightly struggling before jumping to my feet and rushing to the phone, answering with a groggy and breathless, “Hello?”

“Can I read this to you?”

I sighed at the sound of El’s voice before answering, “Of course, sweetie.”

She always read me her letters that she wrote to Mike, asking for my advice on whether or not it sounded good enough. “Okay. Here it goes. ‘Dear Mike, today is day 185. Feels more like 10 years. Joyce says time is funny like that. Emotions can make it speed up or slow down. We are all time travelers if you think about it. For example, this week is going very fast. I think because I am so busy. I have to make something called a visual aid. I hope Mrs. Gracey will give me an A. Some exciting news; Joyce got an amazing new job. She gets to work at home. She says she loves the freedom. Will is painting a lot, but he-he won’t show me what he’s working on. M-maybe it is for a girl. I think there is someone he likes. Because he has been acting… weird. Jonathan is acting weird, also. I think he is just nervous about college. He is still waiting for his big letter. I hope he and Nancy get to go together. But I don’t know how he’ll ever get to college because his car is still broken down. His funny friend Argyle has been taking us to school. His hair is longer than mine. And he and Jonthan like to smoke smelly plants together. Jonathan says the plants are super safe because they come from the Earth, but to not tell Joyce. Me? I’m twice as happy now. You were right. It just takes time. I think I have finally adapted. At first, I missed all the spring flowers, but now I find it pretty here, too. I even like school now. I am still best at math, but my grammar is good now also. Thanks in part to Olivia back home. It helps that everyone is so nice here. I have made lots of friends. Even so, I am ready for Spring Break, mostly because I get to see you. I am so excited to see you, it is hard to breathe. Are you excited, too? I think you will love it here like me. I think we will have the best Spring Break ever. I hope my spelling was better this time. Miss you. Love, El.’”

She breathed deep on her end of the phone, silently asking me what I thought. Taking a drag from my cigarette, which I rarely ever do, I nodded my head before saying, “It’s good! But the part about friends? I’m not sure that should be in there.” El’s kept her word on telling me every detail when she calls me. This bitch Angela bullies her to no end, and it pisses me off to the point where I want to get in my car and drive to California to beat the shit out of this girl… but I can’t since she’s a minor and I’m 19 years old. “Maybe just tell him the truth?” I took another drag, holding it for a moment as I said, “The truth–” I blew the smoke from my lungs. “Is a lot better than having to cover up your lies in front of him when he’s there in a couple days.”

“Livvie! Are you smoking again?” Mom hollered.

“Shit,” I whispered, dabbing my cigarette.

“Steve will be here soon!”

Holding the mouthpiece of the phone, I hollered back, “Okay!” Sighing and shaking my head, I removed my hand, saying into the mouthpiece. “Listen, get ready for school, do the finishing touches for your visual aid that I know you’re gonna kick ass on, and have a good day at school, okay? I’m sorry this phone call is short.”

“It’s okay,” El said. “Can I call you tonight?”

“I’ll be at Steve’s, but sure,” I smiled. “You can call.”

“Okay. Argyle is here. I finished my visual aid before I called you.”

“Okay, sweetie. Have a good day at school.” “I will. Bye, Olivia.”

“Bye, El.” I hung up the phone, yawning after I did so. Going into the kitchen, I made myself a cup of coffee, adding my sugar and cream into it before taking a sip and walking back into my room.

No, Steve’s parents didn’t come home last night. Dustin needed help with something for school, so I told him I’d come for the night to help him. My plan was to go back to Steve’s, but I ended up falling asleep on Dustin’s bed, him waking me up to kick me out of his room. As I entered my own room, my phone was ringing, so I walked to it, picking up the receiver, answering with, “Can’t I just enjoy a cup of coffee this morning?”

“Good morning to you, too,” Steve said.

Sighing, I said, “Oh. Morning, baby.”

“Hey, listen. I’m gonna leave here in a few minutes to come get you and then pick up Robin, okay? So, be ready this time.”

I chuckled. Last time he had to come get me from my house I wasn’t ready for work. He and I had had… a night and I was super tired the next day, so I didn’t wake up with my alarm. We were late for work and Robin was late to school that day.

“Okay, I’ll be ready.”

“Promise?”

“Promise! I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I hung up the phone, taking another sip of my coffee while looking at my closet door. I set my mug down, walking towards the door when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. “What?”

“Liv, I need you to stall Mom,” Dustin said.

“And why, pray tell, do I need to do that?” I asked, turning to look at him with my arms crossed.

“I’m talking to Suzie and I need you to not tell her what’s going on behind my door.”

Scrunching my face in disgust, I said, “Dustin, I don’t need to hear you two have radio sex.”

“We’re not! It’s something about school,” he exclaimed.

Sighing, I said, “Fine. Whatever. But you owe me.”

“Thank you!” he said, running back across the hall to his room, sliding his door closed.

I turned back to my closet, finally able to go into it to pick my outfit for the day; a graphic tee, comfortable but tight-fitted jeans and my Converse. I’ve been working with Steve and Robin at Family Video since October and I have to say I quite enjoy it. Not the whoring out my boyfriend part, but everything else about the job, aside from Keith, is awesome!

Once I was dressed, I heard talking on Dustin’s Cerebro, that he somehow installed in the house, so I poked my head in to see what was going on.

“That’s a negative, Dusty-bun,” Suzie said.

“Son of a bitch,” Dustin said, pressing a button on his radio. “Try tigers86.”

“Tigers86, copy that.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked, walking into his room, sliding his door to a crack.

“Liv, not now,” Dustin said. 

I sighed, “Alright. Oh! I can’t pick you up tonight. Steve and I are going to the game and then I’m going back to his house.”

“Fine, whatever,” he said, going back to his radio.

“Jiminy Crickets, Dusty,” Suzie said. “I’m in.”

“Holy shit,” he said.

“Wait, is she… is she hacking into the school system?” I asked.

Dustin and I jumped at the sound of hearing pounding on his door, Mom’s voice ringing on the other side, “Dusty, what’s going on in there? You’re gonna be late.”

Mom went to open the door just as Dustin shouted, “Don’t come in! I’m naked!”

She shut the door before saying, “Oh, Livvie! Steve’s here!”

I said, “Shit!” at the same time Dustin said into his radio’s mouthpiece, “Running out of time here!”

I walked out of his room as I heard Suzie tell him to hold on. Walking past Mom in the hallway, she told me to grab a slice of toast on my way out, which I told her I would, grabbing it and a banana before rushing out of the house, hearing Steve honk his horn. “Alright, Harrington! I’m coming!”

Opening the passenger side door, I tossed the banana at him, my piece of toast hanging between my teeth. As I buckled my seatbelt, he backed up out of our driveway and started towards Robin’s house before he sighed out and said, “Good morning, Henderson.” “Harrington,” I said, muffled through a bite of toast. I shook my head while taking the toast from between my teeth, saying, “Ew. No.”

He chuckled, handing the banana back to me. “You’re lucky I let you eat in my car.”

“At least I brush the crumbs off my legs when I get out of the car.” I finished my toast by the time we got to Robin’s house. Getting out of the car, I brushed the crumbs off my jeans, turning to go back in the passenger seat when Robin called out, “I need the front, Henderson!”

When I turned to face her, she shoved her shako into my hands, the yellow and white plume sticking out of the top. Yes, I know marching band lingo, shut up.

As we started driving, Steve was telling her about our date we had the other day when we had the day off. “And then we went to Enzo’s and had an amazing dinner–”

Leaning between the seats, I interrupted, “I literally thought he was going to propose, it was so freaking romantic.”

“And then we went back home and watched a movie–”

“Cuddling on the couch before I fell asleep to the movie.”

“What, no sex?” Robin asked.

Chuckling, I said, “No. Not that night. The next morning, however…”

“Gross.”

“You asked!” I exclaimed.

“Liv, I’m not fully awake yet. It is 7:00 in the morning, we have this stupid pep rally, and I woke up looking like a total corpse.” She pulled her face back after fluffing her hair a little bit.

“Oh, you’re worried about a basketball pep rally?” Steve asked. “You expect me to believe that?”

“Newsflash, Steve, you were in the pep rallies, remember?” I said, poking his cheek.

“Yeah? So?” Robin said. 

“We all know what this is about,” I said, looking at her profile. “He’s not buying any bullshit. This is about Vickie.” I smiled at her as she turned her head to look at me. “Absolutely not.”

“Yes, it is, and you know what else I think?” Steve said.

“I don’t care–”

“I think you gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you’re around her.”

“You just gotta be yourself, love,” I said.

“You’re both quoting me to me, you do realize that right?” Robin said.

“Well, maybe you need to listen to yourself,” Steve said. “Ever think about that, smartypants? I mean, I listened. Look at me. Boom. Back in business.”

Looking at him, I deadpanned, “You’ve been in business, Steve. For over a year!”

“It’s not the same thing,” Robin said. “And Liv’s right.”

“Plus, when you asked out girls, they all said no,” I said. “Big deal. Nothing happened, other than your ego getting bruised–”

“I ask out the wrong girl, and bam, I’m a town pariah,” Robin added. 

“Yeah, I’d buy that, except Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl,” Steve said.

“We just don’t know that, do we?”

“She returned Fast Times paused at 53 minutes, 5 seconds. Do you know who pauses Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds?”

Silence.

“Oh, my god,” I breathed. “People who like boobies, Robin!”

“Ew, don’t say boobies!” she said.

“I like boobies, Steve definitely likes boobies, you like boobies! Vickie definitely likes boobies,” I said.

“Wait, you like boobs?” they both asked.

“We’re not talking about me.”

We got to the high school, Robin and I getting out before I handed her her shako hat for the pep rally. We hugged before she ran off with her friends, chatting and walking them as she met up with them.

“Were we like this?” I asked, leaning over a little bit.

“Yup,” Steve said. 

I looked at him, our eyes meeting. I smiled as he leaned in closer, our lips meeting for a second before I heard kids through the opened windows saying, “Get a room, Harrington!”

We pulled apart as I groaned, resting my forehead on his shoulder. “Get me off this campus before I beat the shit out of these sophomores.”

He chuckled, driving off to our day job that helps with the bills… metaphorically speaking.

~~~

I was standing with Steve on our side of the counter when the phone rang, and because I was standing by the phone, I turned around and picked it up, answering it with “Family Video, this is Olivia speaking. How can I help you today?”

“Liv, I need you tonight for Hellfire.”

Chuckling, I said, “No way, Dustin. Not tonight.”

“What?! Come on!”

“I don’t even know how to play! Plus, I’ve got a date with Steve tonight.” I turned my head over my shoulder, watching Steve help out a female customer. 

“Just move your date this one time! Come on.”

“What, to hang out with you and Eddie? I’ll pass this time.”

“What about Steve?”

“Negatory, little brother.”

“He’s just jealous because I have another older male friend.” 

I heard the smug little smile on his stupid little face. “Yeah, I don’t think he feels the same. Besides, Steve and I really dig each other. I think that he could… well, I know he’s the one.” I watched as some girls walked into the store. “Oh, I got– well, Steve has customers. I’ll call you back.” I hung up the phone, faintly hearing Dustin say that he’s at school.

Turning my head over my shoulder, I whispered, “You're on, babe.”

~~~

Once we were done with our shift, Steve and I went to grab a bite to eat before heading to the basketball game. I said hey to Nancy as we walked in and gave a small wave to Lucas with a thumbs up. He slightly smiled back at me, going back to his warm ups.

After Steve and I found a spot in the bleachers, I turned into him after he put his arm around my shoulders once we sat down. I looked up at him, asking, “Baby, would it bother you if we won this game after we’ve graduated?”

“Interesting point,” he said. “Thanks for bringing that up, babe.”

I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his middle while still looking at him. He looked down at me, giving me a chaste kiss on my lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said, a smile ever present on his face.

The principal came up to the microphone that was in the middle of the gym, asking, “Everyone now please rise for our national anthem.” You could hear everyone standing, collectively. “Singing for us tonight, we have a very special guest. All the way from Nashville, our very own Tammy Thompson!”

I clapped while looking confused at Steve as he looked over at Robin, a confused look on his face as well. Tammy started singing, the microphone giving feedback as she did.

“Told you,” Steve whispered. “Muppet.”

“Oh, my god,” I whispered, trying to hold back my laugh at either Steve calling her a muppet or her singing, I couldn’t decide. Maybe a little bit of both.

“Okay, she does sound like a Muppet,” Robin whispered.

“Oh, my god, totally,” I heard Vickie agree. “She sounds like Kermit.”

“I was thinking it was more like Miss Piggy.”

I snorted, turning my head into Steve’s shoulder, his hand coming up to rest on cheek from my shoulder.

When the game started, we got two baskets right off the rip. I honestly didn’t get basketball, I just knew the basics from what Steve had tried to explain to me over the years. But everytime he got to what he thinks is interesting stuff, I would always fall asleep. 

I swear I was getting whiplash just watching the boys run up and down the gym, shooting baskets, colliding with one another, almost getting into fights with other team and the ref.

Seeing movement from the corner of my eye, I looked in Lucas’ direction, seeing him running onto the court. “Oh, my god. He’s putting Lucas in. He’s putting Lucas in!” I exclaimed, jumping in my seat, happy that one of my kids is actually playing.

I knew three of them were on school grounds with Hellfire, so I wasn’t worried about them. I wasn’t worried about Lucas either, moreso happy for him that he’s finally getting to play.

Steve was enthusiastic as ever, standing and shouting at our players to shoot the ball, to pass it, to not travel with the ball. I swear to god, seeing him in this element turned me on like no freaking other.

Steve and I were standing, the ball being passed and dribbled around before he said, “Shoot it!” as one of our players got the ball, making the basket.

A few more points in and Jason, the captain, called a timeout. The team huddled together as the drumline started to play a cadence. I secretly did band throughout middle school and freshman year of high school. I quit once Steve became King, not wanting him to be associated with a “nerd.”

Once the game continued, Jason got the ball, and from what I heard from Dustin, Jason’s a cocky motherfucker who thinks he's the top dog of the high school just because he’s King. No one will ever meet up to Steve as King.

Jason shot the ball, not making the basket at all. Ha ha! That’s what he gets. Lucas grabbed the ball as it bounced off the rim, breaking out of the huddle to run a few feet from the basket, turning around to make the shot as the buzzer went off.

You could hear everyone collectively stand again as the ball flew through the air. I could feel Steve behind me as we watched the ball bounce off the rim to the backboard and into the basket, giving us the Championship win!

Steve and I jumped, excited for Lucas and excited for the win. He wrapped me in his arms, giving me a kiss on the lips as the players and cheerleaders ran over to Lucas, chanting his name.

We had waited outside for the team to come out after hitting the showers, Lucas spotting us right away.

“Oh, my god,” I exclaimed, giving him a big hug. “Congratulations!” 

“Thanks, Liv,” he said. When we pulled apart, he kept his hands on my shoulders. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course!” I said. “I wouldn’t miss my little brother playing for the world!”

He smiled before looking at Steve, giving his thanks to him as well. Jason and his small crew came out, calling Lucas over to them. He walked with them as Steve and I started our own journey to his car. 

I stopped him as I watched Dustin and the rest of Hellfire walk out of the school. He spotted me, raising his hands in the air. “Liv!” Dustin shouted. “We won!”

Giving him a smile, I raised my thumbs out to him, letting him know I was proud of him.

Steve and I went home that night and celebrated with a movie and popcorn, clothing optional.

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

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

Additional Note:

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on April 22, 2024

[seaweedstarshine]

Thinking about the convolution of Eleventh Doctor's expressions of love for River Song in Season 7B. He does not trust Clara. He is utterly (wrongly) convinced that he and Clara are playing a grand manipulative game together. “What are you, eh?! A trick? A trap?!!”

So naturally, the last thing he should do in this game is to clue his opponent in on something that could be used to hurt him. Something like River, so painfully near the end of their time together, whose data ghost he can always see, who “it would hurt too much” to acknowledge. He can't let Clara know of the loss which constantly floods his senses; (“You are always here to me. And I always listen, and I can always see you,” he professes, once Clara has vanished into his timestream).

And yet. River fills his every moment (irregardless of any sneaking out for dates with increasingly-young Rivers while Clara is asleep like he did while the Ponds slept, which would explain his absence when the TARDIS is hiding Clara's bedroom). Even though it's not strategic, he can’t help but tell Clara about her. The best defense he can manage is to phrase it as if River isn’t as important to him as she is. Not only is avoiding her first name in his grief; he's also completely avoiding pronouns; which seems extreme given that he's still mentioning her as often as: “Oh yeah, of course he has! Professor Song! Sorry, it's just I never realized you were a woman.”

Leave out the emotion — leave out the details — don't show the cracks in the armor — play the part — win the game.

“Well, there's no point now. We're about to die. JUST TELL ME WHO YOU ARE.”

[emblazons]

"Now I know the truth. It is not me. It is you. You are the monster."

Eleven (El) Hopper in Every Episode - Season IV

character start!bonus:

[r-u-s-a-l-k-a]

gay/bi mike wheeler discourse is so hilarious from my pov. I'm here sitting on my bench watching you all going at each other's troaths virtually, eating popcorn and knowing that Mike is straight, that the Duffer Brothers are lazy and they wrote Will to be in love with Mike because they wanted to take the safer route : sad gay kid pining over his straight best friend. They didn't add a new character for Will in season four because it wasn't suitable for Will and Mike storyline. If Argyle wouldn't have existed and in his place there would have been the new Will's love interest, what the fuck would Mike have done for eight episodes ? Will's storyline would have been different, he couldn't be Mike's counselor. Will and Mike's storylines in season four are attached not because there is this big plot twist around the corner and by*ler will be endgame, it's because of cheap, lazy writing. They didn't know what to do with both of them. So it's really funny reading this whole online discourse "Mike is clearly gay" "Mike is perfect bi representation" when i am here with a bitter taste in my mouth thinking that in good hands, in hands that really cared about queer identity and queer representation Will Byers would have been treated differently.

[mayra-quijotescx]

When Stephen has his outburst about how his family is 'like something out of Edgar Allan Poe' 18 minutes into the episode, he has absolutely no idea how right he is and in what way

[rogers-attic]

does anyone else kinda get stranger things vibes from the american dad episode ‘echoes’ or just me??

[oceanwithinsblog]

so here i am again ... just caught up with the last two episodes of season 7b ... and i feel like banging my head on a wall :)) what's new :))

[southie-dakotie]

Man. Roosterteeth being Actually Gone is whack. I think if Dex and I had never swapped our favorite shows we probably wouldn't have gotten together, so like... thank you RT for making a show abt sim troopers that Dex became an encyclopedia about? Bc without that I never would have gotten neck deep in it with him

[bylertruther]

season five isn't going to be the byler show because we all have brains and recognize this is an ensemble sci fi show obviously, but it is kinda funny to hear people argue that because the duffers specifically point out in their pitch that will is gay and gets kidnapped soon after realizing it, then in season one have everyone who isn't "in the know" assume that this occurred because he's gay, thus really linking this realization with his disappearance both supernaturally and also to those outside of the main cast. this means that you can't separate the two. there's more to it of course, but will being gay and the consequences he faces for that is intertwined.

not only that, but they then reveal his kidnapper to be will's perfect character foil--love vs hate, light vs dark, hope vs despair, optimism vs cynicism, freedom vs subjugation, light wizard vs dark wizard, etc.

vecna spends all of season four preying on those who are traumatized and "other". he enshrouds them in their darkness until they succumb to it and believe it to be true, and gains strength from their despair.

what does will spend all of season four doing?

he stays by mike's side and banishes his deepest, darkest insecurities by basking him in his light. he listens to mike's worries and his secrets and tells him no, you're wrong, you're absolutely wrong and here's why. this is who you really are: someone worthy, capable, and strong. don't listen to that voice in your head; it's lying to you, mike. he gives mike hope and a way out of his darkness. he frees him from the grips of self-hate out of the goodness of his heart, not because he stands to gain anything from it.

vecna uses people's darkest and scariest memories to trap them and will uses one of mike's happy and safe memories to help him.

vecna gains strength from pain and rage and will gains strength from love and acceptance; acceptance that he felt from mike all his life and then acceptance that he specifically received from jonathan in the back kitchen.

time and time again, season four made sure to show us that they are two sides of the same coin and will's story cannot be extricated from mike and his romantic love for him, so like... season five is not going to be the byler show, but it also ... kind of is going to be the byler show lmao.

if season five is going to feature will then automatically it will feature mike and if it features them then it will pick up on their unfinished plot from season four and if love and acceptance are vecna's weaknesses and love and acceptance are what byler feel and receive from each other then... how is it not the byler show?

obviously other stuff is going to happen because they're not the only two characters in a romance show, but like ... to act like season four [for them] wasn't all about their relationship, the unsaid things that sit between them, and how will's love for mike is not only what made him able to finally say i love you to eleven for the first time but also precisely the love that he was trying to get from her, and that somehow that isn't going to bleed into season five and be resolved and be the exact kind of love and acceptance that will defeat vecna because will's otherness is rooted in his queerness and season five is literally his coming of age and also he's the focus and we'll be exploring his relation to everything because he is In Fact Actually connected to Everything and always has been is just .... weird. and nonsensical.

[quietwingsinthesky]

I think the nature of Clara haterism on Tumblr can’t be fully understood without the historical context of 2013. Namely that by the time of DW season 7b Moffat was widely hailed as The Bogeyman Of All Misogyny Ever. Clara was considered THE prototypical Shallow Moffat Girl, and she became a sort of figurehead for everything wrong with the show. (Bc everyone was maybe 14 and Smith was too beloved to insult.) Consequently, she evokes a kneejerk bad faith reading response in many users even today.

yeah, alright, i can see that. i am surprised that, at least as far as i’ve seen, amy & river don’t get the same treatment? or if they did, it hasn’t persisted half as long as opinions on clara have. Because having now seen how all three of them were written, amy got treated. so much worse with The Misogyny™️, and River bounces between ‘actually a fascinating character’ and ‘moffat wrote a sexy girlboss who wants to fuck the doctor’ so hard it gives me whiplash. (and i say this as a River enjoyer, I love her and she deserves so much better lmao.)

Of the three of them, I think Clara actually comes out a lot better written overall? She’s allowed more space to be a character rather than be a woman, if that makes sense. Sure, bit of a rocky start in s7, and I can certainly see why the Impossible Girl thing could be aggravating to some people. (I think it was. Fine. fantastic episode conceptually that sort of fell apart when it came to actually doing anything.) but Clara in s8 (and the start of s9) is fantastic. Her relationship with Danny and the Doctor is messy and deceptive and so understandable. “Listen” as an episode almost felt like ‘hey what if the clara putting herself in the doctor’s past was actually interesting and impacted him’. Her becoming more like the Doctor, especially after losing Danny, both as an effort to hold on tight to the only person she perceives as keeping her moving forward and giving her a purpose AND because to her, the Doctor is able to lose so much and not be destroyed by it and she wants that (without really understanding just how much this life is fucking him up, too.), is just. fantastic.

where was i going with this. i have no idea. my point, i think, is: i guess i can see how initial reactions to clara might color a less than flattering picture of the rest of her, but :( consider: i love her so so much and everyone should be niceys to her.

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Four: The Body

Author:@harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) (eventually) Word Count: 4,346 Warnings: lil' bit of angst, Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! I’m sorry this is late! All is explained in A/N2. We don't get much of Steve in this chapter. BUT!, If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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After I had cried in Steve’s bed for what felt like hours, I decided the best thing I could do was go back to the Byers’ house and be there for Jonathan and Joyce, his mother.

As I biked up their driveway, she spotted me and looked confused. When I threw my bike down and walked up to her, she stuttered her question, “Wh–wh–what? Olivia, what are you–? How did you–?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I answered, hugging her. When I pulled away, I kept my hands on her shoulders. “What matters is that we find out what exactly happened.” I had my own theories. I looked up at Jonathan, seeing him almost retreat back, but I walked up to him and gave him a hug, squeezing him, to which he squeezed me back.

Callahan came up to us and explained what they had to do and for us to wait for a moment. He looked at me and sighed, knowing that I was big trouble.

Where’s Dustin, Lucas and El? I told them to bike home and to make sure that El made her way back to Mike’s. Now, whether they did or not is another story.

Joyce grabbed my hand and had me go inside with her while Hopper explained their theory.

“A trooper found something in the, uh… water that’s at the quarry,” he explained. “Uh, our working theory is that, uh… Will crashed his bike, he made his way over to the quarry and uh… accidentally fell in. The Earth must’ve given way.”

My eyes never left Joyce as I watched her shake her head lightly, Hopper calling her name.

“Joyce? Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“No,” she said, voice trembling. “Whoever you found… is not my boy. It’s not Will.”

Hopper said her name again as she looked back at me, squeezing my hand. “It’s not my boy,” she whispered.

I put my hand on her back, nodding my head, “I believe you, Mrs. Byers. I do, I really do.”

“You’re supposed to be home,” Hopper said.

I sighed, “I know. I heard the sirens and got curious. Can you blame a girl for being curious? Especially because Will’s missing? I babysit him from time to time.”

He sighed and looked back at Joyce, who said, “You don’t understand. I talked to him… a half hour ago.”

Well, consider my interest piqued! 

She let go of my hand and walked to the wall to our right, opening the hidden cabinets as she explained, “He was– he was here. He was– he was talking with these.” She pulled out a bunch of clear Christmas lights.

“Talking?” Hopper asked.

Joyce confirmed as she continued, “One blink for us, two for no. And– and uh…” She set the lights down and moved over to her couch, pointing at the wall behind it that had the alphabet painted on it, big Christmas lights hung above them. “And then I made this so he could talk to me. ‘Cause he was hiding… from that… that thing.”

“The thing that came out of the wall? The thing that chased you?”

I was irritated with him at this point. He wasn’t acting interested at all. I mean, a little boy is missing and his mother is trying to explain what she saw and what she experienced. Hell, I believed her!

“Mom, come on, please,” Jonathan begged, going along with Hopper. “You’ve gotta stop this.”

“Jesus H.,” I muttered, turning to face the hidden cabinets.

“No, maybe he’s… it’s after him!” Joyce cried. “He’s in danger, we have to find him, we–”

“What exactly was this thing?” Hopper asked. “It was some kind of animal, you said?”

“No, it was, uh– It was almost human, but it wasn’t– it had these long arms and… it didn’t have a face.”

Interest is highly piqued! I turned around, looking almost surprised.

“It didn’t have a face?” Hopper questioned.

Jonathan walked away, his bedroom door slamming shut a moment later. I’m not exactly sure what happened after that for a few moments, but when I zoned back in, Joyce was sitting on the table with Hopper squatting in front of her.

“After Sarah,” Hop said. “I saw her, too.  And I heard her. I didn’t know what was real. And then I figured out it was all in my mind. And I had to pack all that away. Otherwise, I was gonna fall down a hole… that I couldn’t get out of.”

“No, you’re… you’re talking about grief,” Joyce whispered. “This is different.”

I couldn’t take hearing anymore of this, so I stepped outside, waiting by the cop cars. When I saw Hopper come out of the house, I made my way towards him. “You don’t believe her, do you?”

“Go home, Olivia,” he deadpanned.

Walking with him towards his truck, I said, “Not until you answer my question, Hopper.” He turned and looked at me for a moment before I asked my question again.

Hopper’s eyes danced between mine before he sighed. “I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure?” I asked, tears slowly springing into my eyes. “How can you not be sure?”

“Look, her son just died–”

“That’s bullshit,” I said. “We have a theory–”

“Who does?”

I swallowed, hard. “I-I meant, me. I have a theory. But I can’t tell you.”

He quietly groaned, squeezing his eyes with fingers. He sighed, deeply before saying, “Go home, Olivia, or else you’re coming back to the station.”

“I can’t do that to my mom again,” I whispered, looking down.

He got into his truck, starting it up. I watched as he looked back towards the house before looking back at me. He turned off his truck and pulled his hat forward to cover his eyes.

I walked back towards my bike, getting on it and biking back home. I couldn’t help but check in on Dustin after I snuck back in through my window, thanking God he was in bed asleep. When I made my way to the kitchen, I stopped in the living room on my journey, seeing my mom still awake, watching the 11 o’clock news. I looked at the TV, slowly sitting on the couch as the reporter did his thing.

“Byers’ body was found in the water of this quarry by state police earlier this evening. It was discovered by state police David O’Bannon, just after dark. The state police are mounting an investigation to determine Byers’ cause of death, but an initial inquiry–”

I shook my head and got up, Mom calling my name. Not wanting to hear it, I went straight for the kitchen, the intended room I wanted to go in. Getting myself a glass of water, I let a few tears stream, aching at the loss of one of my favorite pre-teens.

Once I made it back in my room, I grabbed my favorite shirt and put it on before settling into bed. Breathing in the scent of the shirt, a few more tears flowed, this time for a completely different reason.

~~~

The phone ringing at quarter to eight brought me out of my slumber. I answered with a very groggy, “Hello?”

“I need you to come to the coroner's office with me and my mom.”

“Good morning to you, too, Byers,” I said, tossing the covers from my form. “Why?”

“I think my mom wouldn’t want you there, too, since you were there at the quarry last night. Plus, she likes you, so…”

I sighed, running a hand down my face. “Yeah. Give me a few minutes. I’ll meet you there.” I hung up the phone, sighing before yawning. I wasn’t much of a morning person, but I’d do anything for my brother’s friends.

Once I was dressed, I grabbed a piece of buttered toast with jam on it, kissing my mom on the head. I ate the piece of toast on my way to the coroner’s office on my bike. It was a little difficult, but I made it in one piece.

When I walked inside, Hopper was there, who looked thrilled that I had showed up.

“Go to school,” he said.

“Well, good morning, Chief,” I boasted. “Lovely morning we’re having.”

Without missing a beat, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

I sighed. “Jonathan called this morning. Said his mom would want me here.”

They walked in just then, Joyce looking shocked that I was there. I gave Jonathan a look that he almost cowered back at, telling me with his eyes that I needed to play along for his mom’s sake.

Once I told her I wanted to be there for her, her eyes softened and she nodded. The doctor led us to the back, Hopper staying back. Standing at the window, looking at the lifeless body under the blanket, I felt sick, so I excused myself. As I was walking away, I heard Jonathan tell Joyce something probably didn’t agree with me at breakfast.

I sat across from Hopper after getting a small cup of water. It had taken me a couple minutes to drink it, and once I had, I noticed Hopper’s impatience starting to show.

“What’s taking so long?” he asked.

“Well, everything’s been a bit chaotic around here without Gary,” the clerk said.

“Without Gary? Where’s Gary?”

“Well, I thought you knew. Those men from State, they… they sent Gary home last night.”

Hopper and I looked at each other, before we both asked, “So, who did the autopsy?”

“Someone from State.”

Our eyes stayed locked on each other as I leaned back, crossing my arms and one leg over the other, giving Hopper a look of “Believe us now?”

Jonathan came out just then, looking sick as a dog. He sat next to Hopper, taking his jacket off.

“How’s your mom doing?” Hopper asked.

“Oh, goodness,” I muttered, quietly.

“I don’t know,” Jonathan answered.

The phone rang right before Hopper asked, “How long has this stuff been going on? With the lights and, uh… Will and the thing in the wall?”

“Since the first phone call, I guess.”

Brows pinched together, I asked, “Phone call?”

Jonathan nodded, looking down before saying, “Ya’know, she’s had anxiety problems… in the past.”

“Your dickhead of a father sure as hell didn’t help,” I muttered.

“Language,” Hopper muttered.

“Sorry.”

“But this,” Jonathan continued. “I don’t know.” He breathed in deep before audibly sighing. “I’m worried it could be… ugh, I don’t know.” He hung his head, sniffling before sighing once again. Looking back up at me, he added, “She’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”

I could see the tears in his eyes from here, so I stood up and walked over to his chair, sitting on the armrest, pulling him in for a sideways hug.

In addition to Steve being my best friend, Jonathan was also a very good friend of mine. Yes, it was because of our brothers, but we became our own friends while Dustin and Will were getting to know each other through play dates.

Even though I didn’t have the slightest clue on what the Byers’ were going through, it still broke my heart to see the both of them in this state. Especially Joyce.

“My mom,” the older Byers boy said. “She’s tough.” He chuckled, which caused me to chuckle out a “Yeah,” Hopper agreeing.

He put his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder, saying, “Hey. She is.”

Speaking of the tough Byers woman, the doors opened up to her coming out of the hallway, the coroner yelling, “Ma’am! Ma’am, I need you to sign!”

“I don’t-I don’t know what you think that thing is in there, that is not my son!” Joyce said.

The three of us stood up at that point, Hopper saying, “Joyce, wait a second.”

“No!” Joyce walked out of the building, so I decided to follow after her. 

“Joyce!” I yelled, stepping outside. She turned and faced me, asking, “If you saw him, would you believe it’s him or something else.”

“Listen, I believe you. 100%,” I said, nodding with wide eyes. “I believe you. I have my own little theory on where your littlest is. I can’t tell you right now, but–” She tried to interrupt me, but I simply continued, “But I will tell you when I feel the time is right. I have to get more information to back my theory up, but I promise you, you will be the first person I tell.”

Jonathan came outside then, so I told them that I had to get to school and to keep me updated on anything else that happens. After I biked to school, I went to the office and told them I was Hopper and the Byers’ at the coroner’s office and to call Hop if they didn’t believe me. When I left the office, I went to my locker, seeing a note inside.

Hope everything is okay. Meet me in between the buildings by the gym. Need to talk. -Nance

I sighed, closing my locker. When I made it to Nancy's preferred meeting place, I stopped in my tracks. “Steve?”

“Olivia?” he asked back, just as surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I asked her to come,” Nancy said. She began to explain about her going back to Steve’s house the day before to look for Barb while I made my way over to the two.

“So, wait a sec, I don’t understand,” Steve said. “You went back to my house?”

“To look for Barb,” Nancy answered.

I leaned against the building behind me, sighing.

“Yeah, okay, but,” Steve said, quickly looking back at me for a moment. Almost to check to see if I was still there before continuing, “Why didn’t you just talk to me? That’s crazy.”

“Crazy,” I dragged out.

“I don’t know, I-I was scared,” Nancy said.

“You seriously think you saw a guy in a mask just hanging out in my yard?” Steve asked.

I walked over to them, creating a triangle with them as I asked, “You saw a guy in a mask? Why didn’t you ask me to come with you?!” “You were with Dustin,” Nancy said. “But I don’t think it was a mask.”

“But he had no face?” Steve asked.

I quickly looked at him. More info for my theory. I looked down, my eyes dancing around as I muttered, “Theory.”

“What?”

I shook my head and looked up. “Working theory. Nance, your retort?”

“I don’t know!” she said. “I don’t know, I just– I have a terrible feeling about this.”

“Oh, this is bad,” Steve said. “This is really bad.”

“You’re telling us!” I exclaimed.

Steve leaned against the building I was just leaning against as Nancy asked, “What?”

“The cops,” he said.

“What about them?” I asked.

“They're gonna wanna talk to all of us now. Tommy, Carol, everybody who was at the party.”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” I said, holding my hand out. “It wasn’t that big of a party. Just a minuscule of a get together.”

“Liv, my parents are gonna murder me,” he exclaimed.

“Calm down,” I sighed.

“Are you serious right now?” Nancy asked.

Looking at Nancy, Steve said, “You don’t understand. My dad’s a Grade A asshole.” Looking at me, he said, “Olivia, you should know that.”

I sighed and looked at Nancy, waiting for her to give her retort, which she looked at me expectantly. “Oh, I need to respond?” She nodded, so I sighed and looked at Steve. “Barb is missing, Steve. And you’re worried about your dad? Who’s never home?”

“Are you talking to the cops?”

“Well, yeah. Because of Will,” I answered.

“Well, when you talk to them next, just don’t mention the beers. It’s just gonna get you in a lot of trouble again. Barbra’s got nothing to do with it.”

“Steve, the Chief doesn’t even know I was at your house Tuesday,” I said, raising my arm a bit before slapping my hand on my outer thigh. “I told him I was at home the whole night before I heard sirens, which I’ll try and explain later.”

“So, you won’t mention being at my house?”

I looked at Nancy, the both of us scoffing before she said, “I can’t believe you right now.” She walked away, saying, “I can’t believe you.”

Steve called her name a couple times as she continued her walk away from us. He looked back at me, his eyes asking what he did wrong.

“Are you serious?” I asked. “Steve, let me spell it out for you.” I stepped closer to him, thumb and forefinger pressed together, hand waving as I enunciated, “It’s not about you right now.” I walked away, ready to leave campus again, but knowing I had to stay.

I walked by the school’s payphone, hearing it ring. Looking around to see if anyone is going to answer, I decided to pick it up, hesitantly saying, “Hello?”

“Liv?”

“Mike?”

“I need you to come to my house.”

“Why?”

“Please. I need your help.”

“This must be serious. You never ask for my help.”

“Liv!”

“Okay! Damn. I’m coming. Give me a few minutes to bike there.” I hung up the phone and audibly sighed. “Why me?” I asked no one. Turning and going straight for my bike, I noticed Steve leaning against his car, head in his hands. When I got my bike and started to ride past him, I watched as he looked up, the annoyance clearing his face as he saw me.

“Liv! Hey, where you going?” he asked.

“Home!” I said. “But I’ll be back!”

~~~

Walking into the Wheeler’s basement, I noticed the place was a mess. Mrs. Wheeler didn’t pay me for tidying it or cleaning it when it needed it… because she didn’t know I did it for her. Deciding I’d do it for her later, I made my way up the basement stairs into the kitchen.

I hollered for Mike, who responded with, “Nancy’s room!” I chuckled to myself, climbing the regular house stairs to the bedrooms, stopping at Nancy’s.

Seeing the makeup brushes out, I giggled. “Mike, I don’t think Nancy’s colors are going to look good on you.”

He looked at me with a deadpan look. “Can you come put this shit on her face?”

I walked into Nancy’s room, saying, “Language,” while setting my backpack down. Sitting in front of El, I noticed a small smile on her lips. “Hey, sweetie. So, as I’m putting this makeup on your face, I’ll tell you what the products are and stuff, okay?”

She nervously nodded her head, which made me smile.

“You’ll get to use it,” I said. “Especially if you’re gonna live here with Nancy.”

That a small giggle from her as I reached in Nance’s makeup box for her powder and brush. Once I put that on El and explained what it was, I moved on to blush then to the rest of the products. She was hesitant about the mascara, but once I told her a trick that I use for when I put my own on, she wanted to try by herself. 

The boys were in the basement, finding things for El to wear; a dress and a wig. They brought them up to us as soon as we were done with makeup. She had asked with her eyes if I could stay near the door like before, so I said that I would.

I heard the door open up behind me, turning to see El in a blonde wig and a light pink dress. I smiled, putting my palms together, bringing my fingertips to my lips. “Beautiful before. Beautiful now.”

“Wow,” Dustin said. “She looks–”

“Pretty,” Mike said. “Good. You look pretty good.”

El walked to the mirror, almost stunned at seeing herself all done up. She whispered, “Pretty,” as I walked behind her, putting my hands on her shoulders. 

“Like I said, beautiful before. Beautiful now.” I smiled, which caused her to smile back.

~~~

When I got back to school, Callahan and Powell were there. I rolled my eyes to a close, sighing.

“Miss Henderson,” Powell said. “What a nice surprise.”

“Hello, Officer Powell,” I greeted. “Am I going back to the station?”

“No, but we do need to talk with you. Follow me, please.”

He led me to the cafeteria, where Nancy and Mrs. Wheeler were, to my surprise.

“Nancy?” I asked, setting my bag down, sitting next to her. “What are you–?”

“Let’s cut to the chase,” Powell said. He began his questioning, Nancy and I answering to the best that we could.

“This argument you three had?” Powell said. “What exactly was it about?”

“I wasn’t involved,” I said, hands up. “I was in Steve’s room, getting some dry clothes while Nancy and Barb talked. I’m not sure what it was about.”

Nancy sighed. “It wasn’t really an argument. Barb just wanted to leave. I didn’t, so, I– I told her to just go home.”

Powell looked from me back to Nancy. “Then what?”

“Then I went upstairs to put on some dry clothes.”

“And the next day, you went back and… saw a bear, you’re thinking?”

I looked at Nancy as she closed her eyes for a moment, opening while saying, “I don’t know what it was, but… I think–I think maybe it took Barb. You need to check behind Steve’s house–”

“We did,” Callahan said. “There’s nothing there. There’s no sign of a bear.”

“And no car,” Powell added.

“Oh, I drove that night,” I said. “So, there wouldn’t be any car.”

“Look,” Callahan said. “We figured that Barbra came back last night and then she took off, went somewhere else.”

“Has she ever talked to either of you about running off?” Powell asked. “Leave town, maybe?”

“I didn’t know her that well, so…” I said.

“No,” Nancy answered. “No, Barb wouldn’t do that, ever.” She pointed at me and said, “Liv would, but not Barb.”

“Thanks, Nance.”

“She wasn’t maybe upset about the fact that you were spending time with this boy?” Powell continued his line of questioning. “Uh, Steve Harrington?”

“What? No!” Nancy said.

“Maybe she was jealous because she saw you go up to Steve’s room?” Callahan asked. He looked at me, a confused look on his face. “You two are still close? Why were you up there?”

I sighed. “I still have a stash of clothes over there from, like, two years ago.” I looked at Nancy, saying her name.

“It wasn’t like that,” Nancy defended.

“Like what?” Callahan asked.

“Steve and me, we’re… we’re just friends. We… we just talked.”

“Now was this before or after you changed out of your clothes?”

Seeing the uncomfortable look on Nancy’s face, as well as the almost disturbed look on her mother’s, I looked at the officer’s saying, “Alright, boys. I think we’re done here. Your rounds of questioning are over.”

~~~

For some reason, Hopper had directed his call to my personal phone in my bedroom, so when I answered it, he said he needed me right away at the coroner’s office, and that he’d pick me up so I didn’t have to bike in the dark.

He and I made it, albeit a little awkward. I watched him pick up his hat and then set it back down. He looked at me and told me if I said a word, he’d throw me in a cell and to get out of the truck once I agreed.

He told the front desk clerk that he forgot his hat and that I was there to help him look before we both walked down a hallway, seeing a security guard that Hopper punched out.

“Damn, Hopper,” I said as he grabbed the guy's keys.

He didn’t say anything, he just unlocked the door, motioning for me to follow him in. When he closed the door behind me, I shuddered, not wanting to be in this morgue. When we went into the next room, I swore I was going to be sick.

“Stay strong,” Hopper said, pulling the drawer out that had Will’s body in it.

“Hopper!” I exclaimed. “What the hell–”

He pulled the blanket back, revealing Will’s body. Tears immediately came to my eyes as  I looked at him, a kid that was like my own brother. Hopper walked away for a moment before walking back to the drawer, pulling the blanket back further.

He put his hand on the body, gasping. When he pulled his hand back, he looked at me. “Come feel this.”

I walked over, putting my hand on Will’s body, except… this wasn’t his body. It didn’t feel like regular skin. When I looked up at Hopper, we both had a look of shock on our faces. “We told you.”

He exhaled heavily, pulling a pocket knife from his pocket. He opened it, almost hesitantly. Nodding his head, he put the knife to the body, retreating after a moment. Looking back at me, he asked, “What if it really is him?”

Shaking my head, I said, “It’s not. I can feel that it’s not a real body. It doesn’t even feel like normal skin.”

Hopper looked back at the body, breathing heavily for a moment before plunging the knife into the belly button and cutting to the bottom of where the ribs should be. It looked like he was struggling, too. He reached his hand in, pulling out cotton. He looked back at me, saying, “I think it’s time you reveal that theory.”

“Not yet,” I said. “We have to tell Joyce first about this.”

“Not yet,” he repeated my words. “We have to make a trip first.”

“Hopper, I can’t. My mom worries enough when I’m in my bedroom and she can’t find me.”

He sighed. “Alright. I’ll take you home.”

“Thank you, Hop.”

He took me home and told me to stay in the rest of the night, no matter what. And that’s what I did.

Ya’know, it feels good to follow the rules every once in a while… and spending time with my mom watching game shows.

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

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! so, reason for the late upload is because our laundry had gotten backed up so bad to the point where i unknowingly spent all of my monday washing, drying, folding and putting away the laundry. never uploaded tuesday because a baby migraine appeared out of fucking nowhere! i'm am so sorry!! but, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

Additional Note: i know that some of y’all are waiting to see your requests, and i promise i’ll get to them. the writer’s block hit really bad with them. atb is the only thing i have motivation to post for at the moment.

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​​ @quanticobae​​​ @mischiefandi​​​ @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak​​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on November 29, 2023

[celestielswp]

✧･ﾟ— MAKIMA GIF PACK

below the cut you will find #24 gifs (540x304) of MAKIMA from CHAINSAW MAN S1 Ep11.

these gifs were made from scratch by me, so please do not repost into gifsets/gif hunts or claim them to be your own. you can crop these for icons, or use them for crackships and edits but you MUST GIVE ME CREDIT IF YOU POST THEM PUBLICLY; please also like and reblog!

(click the title to be taken to my masterlist!)

[emblazons]

"My battery is low, but. It will recharge. I can fight."

Eleven (El) Hopper in Every Episode - Season III

heartbreak hotel!bonus:

[stargummiesxox]

i drew a little something