#anyways A Dolls House but make it The Wheelers

[jonathanbyersphd]

Anyways I don't care what the play says in my personal headcanon Karen met Ted either

1. Her freshmen year of college when he was a senior & she didn't finish her degree

or

2. Karen's parents were acquainted with Ted's parents and they met at a holiday party when she was a senior in high school and he's like 5 years older than her

[henrysglock]

“To hear me talk, just pull my string…but wait till you hear what I tell you to do.”

Most obviously this connects to Chrissy being her mother’s doll, programmed with a handful of lines and made only for beauty…but Talky Crissy has some weirdness I’d like to look at.

Her tag line is very ominous (see: the opening line of this post), and she has a younger friend worth looking at:

Velvet. She’s blonde, she has a yellow dress, a purple dress (shown later), or a pink dress, and she’s younger than Crissy by a lot.

Velvet’s main tag line, as opposed to Crissy’s authoritative one, is “I can pose and move, can you?”

(All of these dolls have retractable hair, btw. That’s the defining feature, that they can have both short and long hair.)

Let’s get into what really haunts me here re: Stranger things.

The fucking costuming and set design.

I cannot escape the fucking IMAGERY in this show.

First off we have the Creels and the doll imagery…and identical outfits to the talking dolls.

It comes back for the Wheelers, but in a more subtle way (ft. El in the pink dress, which is eerily similar to Velvet’s, and blonde wig because that was her as Mikes sister/cousin).

Something something “each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before it”…something something Holly and the demogorgon (Henrygorgon) in ST1…something something Vecna/Henry refusing to or being unable to kill El…something something accidental sibling deaths and swapping places/trying to replace them with other people…Something something El in Nancy’s dress and a blonde wig wanting to be Mike’s sister…

And that’s not even touching on Holly being played by identical twins. Anyway. I’m chewing on the meta of all that, and I might pop out a separate post about it later. Moving on.

The other thing that gets me are the tag lines and who is paralleled to whom.

Crissy, Virginia paralleled directly by outfit

Guess what’s new? I can talk to you…but wait till you hear what I tell you to do.

[laughs in “she somehow new it was me” and “she wanted to lock me away”]

Does anyone want to tell me who’s really making the moves within the Creel family?

Velvet, Alice paralleled directly by outfit and doll imagery:

My hair swings, and it grows too. I can move and pose, can you?

It’s so…non-threatening in comparison. It is however, giving “all while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day”.

Looking at Alice’s line about the Creel house being like a fairytale…She may have been more accurate if she called it a dollhouse.

A brief note—

Velvet has a younger sister, who also looks just like our Chrissy:

This is important, since our Crissy figures and Chrissy are not the same people. Our Chrissy, just like Velvet’s little sister, is younger than everyone else involved.

[thequeenofthedisneyverse]

Chucky series rewrite part 1 - Killer Family au

The TV series severely disappointed me so, I decided to rewrite it.

Jake Wheeler/Valentine

Jake is what you call “the quiet kid in the corner”. He’s artistic and crafty, and enjoys reading in his spare time. His mom died when he was eleven, which was only two years ago. His father, Lucas, developed a bad drinking habit afterwards and became heavily emotionally and somewhat physically abusive to Jake.

When the power suddenly goes out, the drunkard heads to the basement. When he resets the breakers, the lights come on to reveal Chucky and Jake right next to him. The doll pukes up some sort of liquid, causing Mr. Wheeler to get electrocuted. 

“I wish you were dead”

Jake was shocked nonetheless but couldn’t find himself to hate the sight. When his father collapsed, he was well���happy. His father was dead, and he couldn't be happier.

Jake turns out to be related to Tiffany and since she's his only relative, he goes to live with her.

Devon Evans 

Devon is what you call the “Sunshine guy that everybody likes to talk to”. He's a bright, smart, and averagely optimistic person. He’s very sweet and kind as well (to the people he wants to be kind and sweet to). He and Jake are childhood best friends, after Jake's mom died they kind of drifted apart but Devon likes to say hi from time to time. But it’s a little awkward sometimes. 

He loves true crime stories, hence why he has a true crime podcast. Dev loves puzzles, mysteries, and being creative. Devon has two happy and loving parents that smother him to death with love. 

However…Devon is a psycho just like Jake. Devon has killed three people in his life. Once when he was at a family reunion, he pushed his uncle down the stairs. His uncle was the type that shouldn’t have been around kids. His family knew this yet still let him be around anyway.

The second time was with this mean old lady that lived next door to his home. She was a racist so he snuck in her house and put rat poison in every bit of food she had. She died of course. 

The third time was when a boy showed too much interest in Jake. To Devon, Jake was his, and he’d be damned if he let anyone take him away from him. So, Devon was the one who showed up to the date spot this guy set up and killed him. 

Fortunately for him, that’s when Jake showed him. And that was also the day Jake fell more in love with Devon.

Also, his favorite thing to make is Grape Jelly & BBQ meatballs, it’s his family’s staple recipe. 

Lexi Cross

Prime definition of “Alpha bitch in charge”. She’s spoiled, vengeful, selfish, but by some miracle she has a heart in there. And that heart is only for her little sister and her dad, her mom can burn in hell for all she cares. 

Lexi has killed six times in her life, all for vengeful reasons. Think of The Ballad Of Sara Berry when it comes to her. She’s also a childhood friend of Devon and Jake, but they drifted away a little before Jake’s mothers death. Her death actually amplified the distance. 

She’s sarcastic, bitchy, snobby, and a little entitled but she’s caring…in an odd way. She kind of does aggressive affection. Her little sister is going to stay the same, I don't know how to write autism so if anyone wants to give me pointers PLEASE do.

Nadine Hearty

She’s still a sweetheart and the nicest person you could ever meet. She became friends with Devon after they both turned nine so they’ve known each other for a while. She’s still a kleptomaniac as well.  Her hobbies include crafting, watching cute TV shows, drawing, singing, and collecting nickels (among other things). When she grows up she wants to build an educational amusement park! 

She was raised by her grandmother but after she died in a car accident the girl was placed in foster care at the age of 11, and hasn't been adopted in two years. 

Nadine only killed once and it was partially an accident/out of self defense. A girl, who she thought was a friend, hated her because the guy she liked found Nadine more fun to be with (No, Not Devon). So, she invited Nadine on a “picnic” near a cliff's edge. Things started out fine until Sasha pulled out a knife. 

A scuffle happened until Nadine ended up just two feet away from falling. Sasha lunged at her but Nady, knowing what to do, moved out of the way. The girl then fell off of the cliff and snapped her neck.

Nady knew she was going to be blamed if she said anything so...she didn't. She packed up everything on the cliff and pretended that she wasn't there.

It still sticks with her....haunts her

-

She, and Partially Devon, are the levelheaded ones of the group. Jake/Lexi are going to mirror Chucky, Devon is going to mirror Tiffany, and Nadine is going to mirror Glen.

I'm still figuring stuff out but if you have questions let me know!

[twoidiotwriters1]

Starcrossed Losers III (Josh Wheeler xReader)

A/N: Sometimes I wonder like, maybe you guys don’t care about the plot and just wanna see some dorks fall in love? but I have to warn you, I’m planning on making this pretty much a slow burn, probably something I should’ve said since chapter one lmao anyway, please leave some feedback after you’re done reading! we appreciate it lots :)

Words: 1,900

Warnings: Swearing, hands going down ghoulie’s throats, descriptions of violent deaths and blood. 

Previous Chapter // Next chapter

I had spent the majority of that hour just walking in circles trying to find a solution to our current problem when Angelica came back telling us about the security Eli had put on the place. Not gonna lie, I was impressed. Suddenly, another of those horrible screams echoed to remind us that we’re not alone. And after Angelica mentioned how we could always kill whatever it was the source of the noise, Josh was very reluctant about it.

“We’re not killing anyone. This was the last place where Sam was seen. She’s the only kid I knew who loved the mall.”

“You didn’t know a lot of kids then,” I snort.

Josh stares at me in annoyance but continues his speech anyway.

“What if she’s this Witch?”

“You think she turned into a ghoulie?” Angelica scrunches up her nose.

“You said it yourself, we have no idea what’s going on. If there’s even a chance, I have to help Sam”

“Eye roll, you only like Sam ‘cause she may have touched your dick.”

I snort again, totally amused. Josh’s frown only grows deeper and I raise my hands in defeat.

“My bad. Gonna go and... I don’t know, get snacks or something.”

While I’m walking away I still manage to hear a few sentences of what Josh is saying.

“This is not about getting some handy from some rando. This is love.”

“Is he listening to himself?” I shake my head, “this guy’s crazy...”

Don’t misunderstand. I do believe in love. The thing that I don’t believe is Josh’s speech of true love and loyalty. How can I, when I know that he met Sam for only a few months before the nuke? Do I think it’s impossible to fall in love in such a short notice? Nah, I think it’s totally believable. The thing is... okay, don’t judge. But the thing is that we’re teenagers, right? I mean, hormones are wild right now, you can be crazy in love with someone and still look at Chris Hemsworth and wish he would crush your head with his thighs or... whatever it is that you dream, I definitely don’t think about that. I’m more of a Chris Evans lover.

So yeah, I’m sorry if I don’t fully think that Josh, a seventeen-year-old boy, would have zero attraction to anyone who doesn’t have Sam Dean’s face. We’re all human, for fuck’s sake. I dated a guy while still completely whipped for Alex. And Alex dated several people too. And he had a talent for that, believe me.

Listen to this: don’t fall in love at all. If you wanna feel loved, get tons of friends: mutuals on twitter, tumblr or fucking facebook for that matter. They’ll always tell you pretty things. Or hug your parents. Your siblings. Literally, do anything but fall in love. I know it sounds like this beautiful thing from heaven but love is far from being the solution. 

Crap. I’m sounding like a bitter asshole, aren’t I? I’m sorry. The apocalypse it’s taking a toll on me. Maybe I should take some time away from Glendale, go to a far land and never come back, maybe I should- HOLY FUCK THE WITCH IS HERE

I stand there, terrified of moving in a way that might warn her of my presence. I gather enough courage to walk away, little by little without turning my back to her so I can make sure she hasn’t noticed me. Unfortunately, it also means I can’t see Josh behind me, holding his skate like a shield with one hand, and a long stick with a chord at the end with the other. 

“Don’t freak,” He whispers, and I react the only way anyone would react if a voice talks to their ear when they’re alert: I scream.

The woman stands up and I quickly stand behind Josh’s body. Hey, he’s the one holding the shield! I have nothing. Luckily though, she doesn’t attack us and instead, she walks further into the store.

“Sam!” Josh calls her out.

“You don’t know if that’s Sam!” I hiss.

Josh doesn’t listen to me and keeps going, so I keep going as well. We lose her after a few seconds and turn around just to see her standing right in front of our faces.

“Fuck!” I jump so high that in a different context I’d have been embarrassed. But right now I’m just praying to any god ‘please, let me make it to next month’.

“Sam?” asks Josh, and I wanna reply with ‘Stop calling her Sam, can’t you see she’s got curly dark hair, you blind shit?!’

But someone else starts singing behind the witch and when she turns around I can see Angelica standing there and I’m both, thankful and pissed that even a twelve-year-old girl has a way to defend herself and I only got my skates. She cuts her hand and the witch immediately rushes over to attack, leaving us safe. Of course, now it was our turn to chase down the two so Angelica wouldn’t get eaten.

“Angelica!” Josh stops in front of a store and I hear him mumble, “dummy...”

I get there a moment after and I see the woman leaning over a small body. I gasp, covering my eyes and asking with a thin voice, “Is it bad? How much blood is there?”

“Dummy” I hear him say again, this time in a more flat voice.

“Hey, dummies!” And that’s definitely Angelica, and she’s definitely not where I thought she was, so I uncover my eyes and I get to see when she pulls down the metal curtain, trapping the witch inside the shop, “so, is that thing your girly-friend?” 

He steps closer, “Sam? it’s me. It’s Josh.”

I’m about to reply that there is no way in hell that’s Sam when she talks back.

“Josh,” Her voice is weak and dry, “Josh Wheeler?”

Josh softly laughs beside me, nodding at the girl, “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Josh Wheeler?” She stands up and walks towards the curtain, removing the hair from her face and smiles wildly at the boy. Yup, that’s definitely not Sam, “Present.”

“That’s not Sam! That’s not fucking Sam at all!”

Yeah I know, I called it.

The woman repeats his words and smashes the doll’s head against the curtain.

“Wait,” I raise my voice, suddenly recognizing her, “isn’t it...”

“Ms. Crumble?” Josh and I ask in unison.

Yes, she was. Holy shit. Angelica goes off about how this is an amazing discovery ‘cause Crumble is capable of saying more than two words. Then Crumble goes off on how much she hates the new world and decides to walk straight into one of the mannequins. After a while of watching Angelica make goggling eyes at our former teacher, Josh and I decide to move on.

“Look I gotta go.”

“Yeah, me too,” I say, crossing my arms, “I’m not wasting more of my time with any of you”

Angelica tries hard to convince us, but her speech does the opposite effect on me. She says that there’s a mind with functional thoughts in every ghoulie. That our parents aren’t totally gone, and I refuse to believe she’s right.

“Ghoulies aren’t good. And they certainly aren’t people, Angelica. Not anymore.”

I’m one to know, I learned that the hard way with pretty much my whole family. I went to my house after the nuke exploded and boom! My parents were suddenly trying to eat my face. I had to lock them in their room before going over to Grandma’s. And grandma had turned out to be fucking vicious as hell, even for a ghoulie. So I set her on fire along with my uncle, aunt, and her entire house. 

Anyway, I left Glendale to reunite with my sister Katie, more prepared than the last two tries. Part of me prayed for all the precautions to be unnecessary at the end, cause I was tired, and all I wanted was a goddamned break. I just wanted to see my sister. When I had to smash her head with that chair, it felt like I was the one agonizing. 

But I convinced myself it wasn’t Katie anymore. That thing was a monster and I had to get rid of it so my sister could rest. You can understand why then, hearing Angelica say those things kinda made me want to run away and never look back at any of their faces. 

“This isn’t gonna bring your parents back,” replies Josh, “I need to go and find Sam. Soon as I figure out how to get past Eli’s locked and booby-trapped doors.”

“I can get you out,” Says Ms. Crumble, “I have a key.”

She frantically searches through her stuff while talking to some dusty doll heads and I know, I know this has to be a bad dream. I’m not actually here, I probably fell asleep on the couch after eating too much. Crumble says she put the keys on a clapper and she (of course) starts clapping, dropping the doll heads on the process.

“I remember now. I ate the keys” Crumbles laments, “I needed the iron. Hold on.”

“I was wrong,” I whisper, “every time she opens her mouth I feel like I’m having a stroke”

Josh quietly chuckles beside me, and we share a look of complicity. Glad to see I’m not the only one who doesn’t have a clue of what is happening right now.

Crumble sits on the chair closest to her and in a matter of seconds opens her mouth impossibly wider than any mouth should be allowed to. Then she puts her hand inside.

“Shit, shit, shit...” I cling to Josh’s arm and hold it tight with both hands, “I’m in hell. This is the worst thing I have ever...”

“This is the best thing I have ever seen,” Angelica cuts my comment, “and I once saw a robot kill a monkey in a knife fight in Thailand.”

“I’m never sleeping again,” I can practically feel my soul leaving my body and fleeting to another continent. Crumble pulls out her hand and... it’s another fucking head. How many dolls has she beheaded?

Crumble lets us know that she can’t reach the keys and Angelica offers to help. She says no, then asks Josh to do it instead.

“Are you gonna eat my arm?” His voice is fearful, I can tell he really doesn’t wanna do it.

“I don’t know,” she says, laughing right after saying it.

“Josh?” Inquires Angelica.

I grab him by the shoulders so now he’s looking at me.

“No,” I say, “that’s crazy Josh, you can’t put your arm inside a Ghoulie’s throat!”

“Just a sec,” He looks at me with wide eyes, but takes a deep breath and shakes his head, not really answering to me, “okay.”

“Josh!” I insist, “please, we can find another way to get out, just don’t do it!”

“I have to,” Even if he doesn’t say it, I can complete the phrase with what I know for sure is going through his mind: For Sam.

Taglist.

@letsbloodmagic​

[saltmageelliexiv]

So, what has the Mun done?

Driven 100 mph - Yes. Don’t do it kids. It’s actually kinda terrifying.

Ridden in a helicopter - Nada. Won’t catch me in one anytime soon.

Gone zip lining - Hell to the no

Been to an NFL game - Fuck that noise. If I wanted to see grown men fight over a ball, I’d watch my brothers try and play basketball

Been to Canada - Nada.

Visited Florida- Nupe.

Visited Mexico - Try again.

Visited Las Vegas - Yes, and I stick to the point: Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I say that cuz I gambled a couple times with my daily fun budget [Basically my budget I allowed for fun every night I was there] and lost it. Though I did make back double what I lost later.

Eaten alone at a restaurant - Yes because sometimes I just don’t feel like cooking.

Ability to read music - Uhhhhh do lyrics count....?

Ridden a motorcycle - Ridden and driven one. See question #1.

Ridden a horse - Yes and then promptly fell off.

Stayed in a hospital - Yes, on a couple occasions for different reasons.

Donated blood - Tried to, did once and then promptly passed out soon after.

Been snow skiing - Yes, and broke my leg doing it.

Been to Disney World - Nope.

Disney Land - Nada. What is the difference between the two anyways?

Slept outside - Uhhhh for camping? Does that count or do they literally mean outside....

Driven a stick shift - I did and it was a -nightmare-

Ridden in an 18 wheeler - No.

Ridden in a police car? - Yes, but it was because my car broke down. A cop saw me and she was nice enough to take me off the bypass and drop me off someplace I could use a phone to call for help.

Driven a boat - Does a jetski count?

Eaten Escargot - Fuck no. I don’t eat shellfish already, and even if snails aren’t seafood, it still remains in a shell and tastes gross.

Been on a cruise - No.

Run out of gas - Yes, and it was not fun Freddy Flinstone-ing the car back to my house.

Been on TV - Briefly in the background and even then you could barely see me.

Eaten Sushi - Yes.

Seen a UFO - Nope.

Been Bungie jumping - Fuck that noise, I am scared of heights.

Been stuck in the house for days - Aside from this quarantine? Yes, because a blizzard froze the doors to the exit of my apartment building, and it took two days for them to dig us out.

[Tagged by: @maiden-born-in-snow @eligos-venator @ivyffxiv]

[Tagging: @kugane-bois @damien-belmont-ffxiv @vesper-aldaine @bunni-binch @blackenedhelm @wildname]

Also, source for the doll-maker can be found here!

[hunnywrites]

Arcade Dreams: Chapter Seven

Summary: There’s a new girl working at the Palace Arcade and Hawkins’ Family Video. Billy can’t stand her, and the feeling is mutual. No matter what everyone else seems to think.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: The Christmas party is finally here! We’ll see a small appearance of Steve, a little more Cheryl and some seed are finally about to be planted in the Billy and Teddi garden. Enjoy!

“Warren, come on, buddy! Fingers out of your nose!” Teddi called down from her spot in the life guard’s chair. He jumped, turning to look at Teddi with wide eyes. He hid his hands behind his back. 

“Sorry, Teddi!” 

Teddi couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as she shook her head. Billy’s class had ended around twenty minutes ago, and a few of the kids were still splashing around in the pool while they waited for their parents to pick them up. Thankfully they had all taken to Teddi pretty well. Even Sophia had decided she sort of liked Teddi after deciding there was no way she and Billy were dating with how often they bickered. 

“That Brian kid keeps staring at you.” Teddi rolled her eyes at the sound of Billy’s voice. She looked down to see him leaning against her chair, sticking a piece of spearmint gum into his mouth in lieu of a cigarette. Teddi knew this already. Brian was in the same grade as Teddi and Billy. He was on the soccer team, and he was kind of an idiot. But he looked like Patrick Swayze, so all of the girls liked him. 

“And what of it, Hargrove?” she asked in a bored tone. Billy crossed his arms, watching Brian from across the pool. 

“And I think he might wanna ask you out, weird girl.” she chose not to let him know how annoying she found it that he sounded so amused. Teddi was mostly just glad that there was no sign of awkwardness between them since that day outside of Melvald’s. They were right back to their normal routine and she couldn’t have felt more grateful. 

Teddi thought about the idea of Brian asking her out for a moment before shaking her head. “Yeah...no thanks.”

“Are you sure you’re not a lesbian?”

Teddi rolled her eyes. “I’m not a lesbian.”

“Fine. So if Brian isn’t your type then what is?” he huffed, turning to face her. 

Teddi shrugged. “Rob Lowe’s pretty hot.”

“Oh, so you’ll bang Rob Lowe, but not me?” the tops of his ears were getting red again like they usually did when he got annoyed. 

“Anyone would bang Rob Lowe over you. And I won’t sleep with you because you’re an asshole. I’m fairly certain we’ve been over this. Besides, you don’t even like me.”

“You think I like any of the girls I hook up with?”

Teddi couldn’t help but laugh. “Hargrove, that’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard. And what do you care anyways? Shouldn’t you be over there hitting on the moms?” Billy only scoffed. “And why are you suddenly so interested in my love life anyways?”

“I’m just thinking if you get laid maybe you’ll stop being so uptight.”

Tedd rolled her eyes. “God, you’re a pig, you know that?”

Billy completely ignored the comment. “What, you don’t want a date for the party this weekend?”

“Do you have a date to the party?”

He shrugged. “I might take Cheryl.” he didn’t really want to take Cheryl. He was pretty sure that a blow up doll had more personality. But she was a sure thing, so who was he to pass that up? He felt a wave of satisfaction when he noticed how annoyed Teddi looked. 

But she didn’t say anything. “I’m not really looking to date. Guys our age are way too needy and stupid.” and on top of it all even if she wanted to date she didn’t have the time for it. There was also the added frustration of her home life and the fact that she would have to be insane to try and drag some guy into that on top of the fact that she was planning on leaving Hawkins in the next few months. 

“Mr. Myers more your speed?” he asked with a grin, nodding over to where Mr. Myers was pacing up and down the length of the pool in his speedo. Teddi and Billy broke out into a fit of snickers as they watched him try to catch the attention of all the women lounging poolside. 

“No, I’ll definitely pass. I'm just not interested in dating I guess. Maybe in college or something.” She said with a shrug.

Billy pushed off of the chair and shook his head. “Whatever you say, weird girl. It’s my turn up in the seat. Freddy said you can head off to the arcade.”

“Awesome.” Teddi hopped down from the chair and rushed off to the locker room to change. She was back out of the locker room in record time and almost outside when Brian stopped her. 

“Teddi, hey. How’s it going?” Teddi almost felt horrified when she realized that Billy had apparently been completely onto something. 

“Uh, it’s good. Just got off my shift so I’m off to the arcade…” she was trying to be as polite as possible, but Teddi did not want to have this conversation. 

“Right, sorry. I just wanted to ask, uh, are you going to that party this weekend at David’s?” he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“Yeah. Heather invited me a few days ago. I mean, I’m pretty sure I can go at least.” she should have just lied and said she had to work. 

“Cool, cool. Uh, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go with me? I could pick you up at the arcade?” the thing was that Teddi was bad at saying no. Well, she was good at it when it came to Billy at least. And even though she really, really didn’t want to go to the party with a date, it was a little too hard to look at Brian’s dumb, pretty face and tell him she wasn’t interested.

“Um...sure, alright. I get off at eight, okay?”

“Dope...well, later then.” he gave an awkward wave and walked off. Teddi looked over to where Billy was sitting. He was grinning at her from ear to ear. Teddi shot him a mocking look and flipped him off before she ducked outside and rushed over to her van. How did she keep digging herself into holes like this? Before she could stop herself she got this horrifying image of going on double dates with Brian, Billy and Cheryl. She groaned and dropped her head down onto her steering wheel. God she hated Hawkins. 

---

It was Friday, the night that she had been dreading the entire week. She could barely focus on her work. The kids in the arcade could have staged a full mutiny against Keith and she wouldn’t have realized it was happening. She felt stupid for being so nervous. It was just a party. Teddi had gone to plenty of parties back when she lived in New York. But then things had been different then. There hadn’t been the pressure of money and responsibility that she had now among other things. 

The fact that she had a date wasn’t making things any better. She would be stupid to say she wasn’t attracted to Brian. He wasn’t exactly her type, sure, but still he had one of those smiles that made you forget what it was you were talking about. 

Teddi hadn’t really had a good idea of what to wear either. It was just a house party, but the added date aspect made her want to put a little more effort into it. She ended up choosing a black, off the shoulder top with a plaid mini she had just bought not too long ago. If she paired it with the same pair of boots she could usually be found in she would look nice, but not like she had tried too hard. She ended up changing out of her work uniform in the arcade’s break room and deciding to hang out behind the prize counter to wait for Brian. 

“Wow, you actually look like a girl.” Keith had said once he saw her.

“...Thank you, Keith.” she sighed. 

“You got a hot date?”

“Brian’s picking me up for that Christmas party. You know, the one that you said you’d rather light yourself on fire rather than go to?” he wasn’t wrong to think that way either. Teddi kinda wished she could do the same right about now. 

“Brian Jean? How’d you swing that?”

Teddi let out a heavy sigh. “I wish I knew.” it wasn’t like she was ugly or anything. The idea of a boy asking her out wasn’t so completely insane. She was no Nancy Wheeler or Cheryl Burns, sure, but Teddi just kept to herself mostly. She was sure that if Brian hadn’t had a little brother that was in Billy’s class at the pool he never would have known that she existed. At least now she could technically partially blame Billy. That made her feel a little bit better. 

“Look at him,” Keith said as Brian walked into the arcade. “He’s like...prince charming. You have got to tell me how this party went tomorrow.” 

Teddi looked over at Keith with an amused grin. “I thought you didn’t want to go?” 

“I don’t. But I still wanna know what happens.” he gave her a pointed look as he disappeared off into the arcade as Brian walked up to the prize counter. 

He flashed Teddi one of those dazzling smiles of his. “Hey. Man, you look totally hot.” 

Teddi let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, thanks. I mean I’ll freeze my ass off, but at least I’ll look good, right?” she joked. She grabbed her coat, smiling when Brian helped her put it on and followed him out to his car. He even opened the car door for her too. Teddi had to admit that she was impressed. Although with spending so much time around Billy lately she’d probably find anything halfway nice was impressive. 

It was a short ride to the party. Brian made polite small talk with her during the drive. As dumb as he was, Brian was a fairly easy guy to talk to. She could feel her anxiety about all of it fade a little bit the more they spoke. Maybe having a date wouldn’t be so bad.

When they got to David’s house there were a few dozen cars already parked in the lawn. Teddi wasn’t sure when exactly the party had started, but she was sure that by now it had turned into a rager. The Christmas lights that had been hanging from the roof were now hanging halfway off and strung down the driveway. There was a light up Santa that was face down in the lawn, and three of his reindeers were nowhere in sight. Three guys that Teddi recognized from the football team were all passed out in the driveway with beers clutched tightly in their hands. 

“Wow, guess we missed out on some fun, huh?” she asked with a small laugh as they weaved their way up towards the front door. Brian opened it and stepped aside to let her in. Jingle Bells was playing far too loudly inside. 

“Oh don’t worry, dude. I’m sure we can catch up,” he said reassuringly. “You want some punch or something?” Teddi nodded, peeling off her coat and tossing it into the pile that sat by the front door. She didn’t envy David for having to clean all of this up tomorrow. I looked like a tornado had passed through his living room. 

Brian gave Teddi a thumbs up and disappeared into the crowd. This was the part that she hated most about parties. The awkward waiting around. She also didn’t really recognize anyone there. There wasn’t any sign of Heather so far. She’d spotted a quick flash of Steve Harrington when she had walked in, but he had quickly disappeared into the sea of people. She and Steve were pretty good friends. They’d met through Max and her friends. But Teddi hadn’t seen too much of him during Christmas break since Steve was working with his dad for a little extra cash. Eventually Teddi guessed that no one would really notice her standing there. They were all far too wrapped up in whatever they were doing to notice. But she still felt super exposed somehow. And besides, it felt like Brian was taking a long time.  

“Well Goddamn, Larsson. You clean up nice,” Teddi sighed loudly and turned to face Billy. She had to admit, he looked good. His leather jacket hung over a black button up shirt that was of course unbuttoned low on his chest. The same necklace he always wore dangled against his bare skin, and she was pretty sure his jeans were a full three sizes too small. She could also smell his cologne from where she stood. “How come you don’t dress like this for me?”

“Shouldn’t you be balls deep in Cheryl Burns right about now?” she asked, rolling her eyes. Teddi was a little surprised that she hadn’t spotted Cheryl yet. She was sure that Cheryl and Billy would’ve been attached at the hips all night.

Billy flashed a devilish grin at her. “That what you think about in your free time, Teddi? Me balls deep in other girls?” Teddi scoffed. Billy smirked, shrugging and looking at the room around him. “I lost her a while ago. She was starting to get on my nerves. Where’s loverboy?”

Teddi cast one more hopeful glance around the room. “He was supposed to be getting us drinks, but I think he might have gotten distracted by something shiny.” she said with a heavy sigh. Billy only held out his beer to her. Teddi raised an eyebrow.

Billy rolled his eyes. “Just take it. I’ll get another one,” Teddi only eyed him suspiciously. “Jesus Christ, Larsson. I didn’t drug it or anything. I’m trying to be nice.”

Teddi almost suspected Billy was drunk. But he was still a little too grouchy and seemed too alert. Maybe hell was freezing over. She hesitantly took the bottle from him and mumbled a thanks. Before Billy could say anything else, Heather had run over and was grabbing Teddi by the wrist. “Ohmygosh. You came! This is such an awesome party isn’t it? Come on, we’re playing beer pong and I need a partner!” and suddenly Teddi was being dragged through the party and outside to the back patio to play beer pong. 

The rest of the party was sort of a blur. Teddi wasn’t great at beer pong. She never really had been. She also had way too many of the red and green jello shots that had been passed around. And there hadn’t been any sign of Brian the entire night. Or at least if she had seen him she didn’t remember. Mostly she just remembered drinking with Heather and dancing to Jingle Bell Rock with her on the dining room table. Billy had joined in on a game of beer pong towards the end and he was of course amazing at it. 

After that, Teddi had seen him a few times here and there. He hadn’t been drinking that much. Mostly nursing a beer and one of the green jello shots after Teddi had practically forced it into his mouth. But after Teddi and Steve Harrington finally found each other and belted out a drunken duet of Baby It’s Cold Outside, Teddi had lost all track of Billy. 

But now it was late. And even in her current state, Teddi had no idea how she was supposed to be getting home. She was lounged out on the couch and trying her hardest not to fall asleep when someone shook her a little too roughly by the shoulder. “Christ, what?” she complained, trying to shove whoever it was away from her. 

“Wake up, Larsson,” it was Billy. “Where’s Brian?” he asked. 

“There you are!” Teddi said, her hands latching onto Billy’s arms as if he’d disappear at any second. Teddi narrowed her eyes as she tried her hardest to spot Brian in the living room that was slowly emptying before she shrugged. “Ugh. Who knows. God, what a dick. He like totally abandoned me. I can’t believe Keith called him Prince Charming.” she crossed her arms. 

Billy rolled his eyes. He hadn’t seen Brian himself the entire night. Maybe Teddi had scared him off. Even Billy had been impressed with how hard she could party. She was constantly surprising him. But it was getting late now. Teddi needed to get home. He’d looked everywhere for Cheryl already, but he hadn’t seen her in a few hours and Carol had said she’d seen Cheryl leaving about an hour before. So he pulled Teddi up into a sitting position. “Alright, Larsson. I’m gonna take you home. Can you stand?” he was sure if Max saw this she’d shit a fit. He was being nice. 

“Yes I can stand,” Teddi huffed. She braced herself on his arms and tried to stand, but her wobbly legs gave out from under her and she fell back onto the couch laughing. “Nope! Guess not!” she giggled. 

Billy shook his head. “Let’s go, Ted. Up you go.” he grunted a little as he scooped her up into his arms and headed for the door. 

“Wait, wait! My coat!” she complained, trying to reach for the pile of coats by the door. 

He huffed and stopped. “Which one’s yours?” Teddi narrowed her eyes again before jabbing a finger at her puffy, black coat. Billy yanked it from the pile and handed it to her. Teddi was a pain in the ass when she was sober, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that she was even more of a pain in the ass when she was wasted. The kids in his classes at the pool were less of a mess than she was. 

Teddi gripped onto both Billy and her coat tightly as they made their way outside and to Billy’s Camero. “You’re strong.” she sighed out. Billy couldn’t help but smirk, his chest puffing out just a little bit. Alright, so maybe drunk Teddi wasn’t so bad. He opened the passenger side door and gently set Teddi inside before buckling her seatbelt so she wouldn’t be sliding all over the place. 

He got in after her and lit a cigarette before driving off. In a million years he would never have guessed that he’d be driving a drunk Teddi Larsson home. But he guessed there was a first time for everything. 

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #228

“blood on her skin, dripping with sin, do it again, living dead girl.”

How many sugars do you like in your tea? Man, I find A LOT of tea or coffee questions in surveys. Anyone who reads these knows by now I hate tea. Ever heard of a band called The Dresden Dolls? I fucking love "The Gardner," but it's the only song I know. What was the last movie you saw that made you laugh out loud? Idk, I watch movies so rarely. Who’s your favorite superhero? Deadpool, if you count him (technically an anti-hero, I kno). Otherwise, I don't really know. Possibly Spider-Man. What does your regular attire consist of? Pajama pants and tank tops lmaoooo. Popsicles or Ice cream? Ice cream. Are you good at solving math problems in your head? It's almost impossible for me to. Even simple addition. What kind of M&Ms do you like best? Normal chocolate ones. What is the last thing you tried on in a store? Uhhhh I think formal shirts when I was actually working on getting a job... Are you comfortable enough around your friends to change in front of them? No. Does your best friend wear makeup? No. Have you ever dated someone in secret? No. How do you get splinters out? Tweezers. Do you ever send people good morning texts? Sara sometimes. Is there someone who makes you blush when you just say hi to them? No. Do you kiss your pets? Of course. Why did you go to church the last time you went? My then-friend was having a serious "reborn" and devout Christian phase. Who’s the richest person you know? I don't know. How old is the oldest person you know? I also don't know. 90-something. Who's the last person who asked your name? My math professor needed a refresher when handing out test results. Have you ever been so drunk you couldn’t even talk right? No. Do you know anyone with a million middle names? I know someone with three or four. Do online dating sites ever work? For some people. When you were a teenager, did your parents set rules about dating? No. Have you ever lived with a person who you tried to avoid at all costs? No. Have you ever committed a crime that directly harmed another person? No. Did you grow up in an urban, suburban, or rural area? I guess suburban/rural mix? Which disease do you personally think is the most horrible? Alzheimer's. What is your worst childhood memory? I mean it depends on what stage of childhood, but I'm going to assume you mean like, pre-pre-teen years. In that case, just my parents fighting. Do you remember where you first drove to after getting your license? N/A What did you get into trouble for the most when you were a kid? Fighting with my little sister, probably. What is your biological sex? Female. What is the oldest gaming console you own? A GameBoy Advance. Of all the houses you’ve lived in, which has been your favorite? If you excuse the bad memories, my previous one. Do you get sunburnt easily? Oh yeah. What’s the color of your front door? White. Your favorite ice cream flavor: It alternates between just plain chocolate and vanilla. How many people have you been really in love with? Twice. Your favorite song at the moment: "Necessary Evil" by Motionless In White feat. Jonathan Davis. What’s most important for you? My well-being. Do you snore? No. What are you looking forward to right now? Mark's next big project comes out October 30th and I can't physically wait, but after that, all I care about is December getting here so I can go up to Sara's. What’s the earliest you’ve ever had to wake up for work? N/A Do you use reusable shopping bags to reduce waste? No, but I wish... I don't do the shopping in my house, so it's not really my decision. How many times have you moved? Three times *really*, but you could kinda say four when Jason, me, and our two friends/another couple moved into an apartment together; my name was in no way involved as being an official resident, but it eventually came to a point where I was there every day and night for quite a while. Do you know anyone who has changed their first name? Yes. Do you know anyone who has been on life support, and survived? No. Do your parents have a strong relationship together? HA HA fuck no. They've been divorced since I was like 16. Have you ever read any of Charles Darwin’s works? No. Do you think there are more dimensions than what we’re able to perceive? I lean towards no, but it's possible, sure. Does anyone in your family have schizophrenia? Yes. Do any of your neighbors have loud children? No. Who would you say is your hero? Mark, my mom, Sara. You can only shop at one store for the rest of your life where would it be? If you're talking about in order to buy everything, from food to clothes, I'd have to say Walmart. Do you text type or do you type out all your words? Mostly the latter, but I'll use "lol," "otw," stuff like that sometimes. Have you ever given money to a homeless person? No. I'mma be real honest, I don't think I ever would. I just DO NOT trust people. It's fact that the money is usually used for alcohol and drugs, and I've seen news of more than enough posing assholes. Who are you living with? My mom and pets. What are your opinions on colored contacts? Cool as fuck, wish I could wear them. Are you comfortable with your body? Fuck no. What is one thing in your life that is no longer there, that you miss? A social life. What do you believe is the best thing about being a kid? No responsibilities. Life is just simpler. Last time you had a s'more? Shortly after Sara left when she visited. We had leftover stuff so Mom and I made a few. Do you like peppermint candy? Yeah. Do you like spearmint or peppermint gum better? Peppermint, I think. Do you prefer fruity flavors over minty ones? Yes. Do you have a little Pink brand dog from Victoria’s Secret? No. What is the last thing you blew? Idr, I'm sure some kind of food. What’s the last gift you received? Sara got me a mug with a super relevant Markiplier quote sobs- What did your parents do today? I don't live with my dad so idk, but I know my mom's at work. What is the symbol for your type of computer? It's just the brand name. Do the clothes you’re wearing have any type of symbol on them now? Skulls. Do you like peas? NO. Where is your favorite place to be massaged? I wouldn't know, but probably my shoulders? Do you like composition books, or spiral notebooks? Spiral notebooks. The person you like, what color eyes do they have? Brown. So what is your favorite physical feature about that person? She has a freckle on her hip that is so fucking cute. What kind of four wheeler do you have? I don't have and never have had one. Do you live where there are a lot of cows? Sure, I guess. What is your favorite animal with spots? Probably snow leopards. Give me your opinion on sports. I don't have a problem with them (save for like, boxing and ones that can seriously harm people), but I'm not into them. Why do you play the sports you do? N/A Do you actually care about your school work and what grades you make? Yes I care. Do you have a typical family, or a weird one? Honestly a pretty broken one. Do you have a favorite letter? Probably "z," particularly in cursive. From the room you're in can you hear a door shut when someone arrives there? Sometimes. What states have you been to in the past year? Just NC and Illinois. Well, I obviously flew over other states, but I've only stayed in those two. Have you ever sleepwalked? I have not. Do you want children? Why/why not? "Hell no. I don’t like kids and I don’t want the rest of my life to be centred around one." <<< That's a great description for myself as well. I know I would be a fucking awful mother, too. Not as in I'd be mean to my child, absolutely not, it's just I barely manage to take care of myself a lot of the time. I'm not emotionally fit for that job and the stress it entails, at all. And yeah, being willing to make someone else my world is something I'm never doing again. I want my attention to stay on myself, my spouse, and pets. Do you have any credit card debt? Hi, I'm 23 and don't own and never have owned a credit card. Who do you go to for relationship advice? Honestly, I don't. I look within myself for those answers, really. I think I'm pretty intelligent and aware of how to maintain a healthy relationship. There's been times I've talked to my mother about things, but yeah, she's not the greatest to talk about all that with. What was your favorite way to spend a summer day as a kid? Swimming. Have you ever been scammed? Not successfully. I think. Did you ever take a personal finance class in school? None were offered at my high school. I don't know if they are now at my college, though, but I don't think so. They need to be, and mandatory. I don't have the slightest goddamn clue how to handle money. How’s your mental health? Are you feeling well? I'm going through a rough patch right now. School is stressing me. Not having a job and struggling with money to the extreme is about to make my hair fall out. Do you struggle with acne? Not anymore. Did you have a Xanga page back in the pre-Myspace days? I've never had a Xanga. Around what year did you start using the internet, anyways? I was like, 9-10? Maybe even earlier with Webkinz and Neopets, idr. I know I started RP in 2005, and that's when I was very actively online. Do you have any uncommon interests or hobbies? A few. Forum RP is definitely the "weirdest," hence why I hide it publicly. Then there's photographing roadkill. The LOOKS Mom tells me I get when I'm on the ground next to a dead animal, lol. I've had questions, stares, and cars turn around aplenty to make sure I'm okay. I'm really self-conscious about doing it, but I really love doing it for the purpose of forcing eyes onto just how brutal roadkill can be because of us, and the validating comments I've gotten about it online pushes me to keep going with it. Well, that and of course just sincerely enjoying it. That being said, I like gore - in moderation, and some kinds are just off-limits without me getting grossed out. "Vulture culture" (the use of naturally deceased animals in some form of artwork) is also something I am very very interested in. Wet specimens of anything are cool as all fuck. There's a load of unconventional things I enjoy. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set at in the winter? Uhhhh idk, 70-something. Have you ever fostered an animal? No, but I am 110% fostering opossums once I get my own place and am authorized and properly equipped to do so. What is something you thought you’d never like, but you enjoy now? Hm. OH, ketchup. I hated that shit as a kid. Did your parents ever not let you watch any television shows as a child? Yeah, but none in exact come to mind. Basically like, MTV and stuff like that was a big no. How old were you when you had your first kiss? Who was this kiss with? I just turned 16. It was with Jason, my first "real" boyfriend. Have you ever betrayed one of your parents in any way at all? Doing what? I don't think so. What are your favorite stores to go to when you visit the mall? Hot Topic and Spencer's is like all I care about that we have available near here. Has anyone ever told you they don't like the way you run your life? Ohhhhhhhhhh, I wasn't the only one who experienced that with her. At all. Does it bother you when you comment someone’s pictures and they don't even comment you saying ‘thank you’ or comment one of your pictures? I find it rude if they in no way acknowledge a compliment, yes, but you don't have to say thanks. Just like, like/hearting the comment (I'm using Facebook as my platform here) says enough to me that you're appreciative. Now for the second half of the question, that's stupid. I don't care if someone doesn't comment on a picture. Or anything. When was the last time you had a shot? Are you behind on those right now? I had a few numbing shots into my gums when I had a cavity filled early this month/late last month since my tongue ring finally caused one. I'm not behind on any required ones. Have you ever had a really rare disease, virus, or illness? Really rare, I don't think so? When was the last time you just, genuinely went somewhere with friends? Been a looooooong time, idk. Probably not since I was still friends with Colleen. Would you consider yourself a hygiene freak, or do you not care much? Neither of those fit me. Though I'm more likely to neglect myself out of the two. It depends on how I'm doing. That hasn't entirely healed since recovery. Are you old enough to live by yourself or are you just mature enough? I'm definitely old enough, just not independent or healthy enough, or financially capable. What is one thing you stopped doing just because everyone else stopped? I've never moved with fads. Have you ever been considered the freak of your class at any time in life? "Freak" seems a bit strong of a word, but "the weird kid," probably. Have you ever been to a Sea World before? Which one in which state? As a kid, yes, in Florida. I wouldn't now as an adult; I do not even remotely support their captivity of whales. I don't know all the facts behind their business so can't speak for all the animals, and I am not against all animal captivity so long it is providing and with good purpose (conservation, education, etc.), but nothing will make me pay to support the incredibly incompetent housing and mistreatment of whales. Do you believe in any kind of magic? Is it the stereotypical kind? *shrugs* I mean I dunno, define "magic," I guess. I personally believe some form of greater intelligence created the universe, and I suppose that's "magic." The person I copied this from brought up a great point, too: Science itself can seem pretty magical, so where do you even draw the line? Ex., the evolution of caterpillar to butterfly. That shit's fuckin' wild. A living thing melts to mush and is reformed in an entirely and completely new body. With wings, dude. There are truly a lot of natural things that occur in our world that make that line we've created blurry. Are you currently working on any kind of project at this moment in time? An argumentative essay on climate change in College Writing, if you call that a "project." I haven't started writing truly in-depth yet and may switch my focus to arranged marriages (seems random, yeah, but they're from a set list of options relevant to the book we read), only because I get fucking heated talking about climate change, and our professor made a point of not "preaching," and I also have to be capable of writing a paragraph of concession, that being an acknowledgment of the opposing point and considering its views, but. I don't think I could give climate change deniers' mindset even a sliver of genuine thought. As absolutely awful and appalling as they are, at least I can see a reason (a terrible one, but you get me) like hastening procreation in arranged marriages. Okay wow rambling ANYWAY yeah, in the starting stages of writing an essay. Which do you do more: read books, spent time online, or watch television? I'm like... always online, so yeah. What do you do the most when you’re online? Listen to/watch YouTube. Which foot is bigger, your left or your right? I don't know, I've never noticed. Do you think you’re too old to go trick-or-treating? Personally I believe anyone should be able to, but by society's standards, I am. Do you have a bobblehead? No. Have you ever had a themed b-day party? As a kid, yeah. Were you afraid of heights as a child? Nope. Do you think it’s stupid when you’re dying to have someone pray that you don’t feel afraid? (I would want them to pray that I live, personally) No? I don't believe that there's power in prayer period, but it's kind, realistic, and encouraging to hope they stay unafraid. Death is natural and happens to every single living thing, so truly, we shouldn't fear death all too much. What’s the strangest thing you’ve wrapped a present in? Uh nothing? Do you enjoy and appreciate life? Or is this something you need to learn? I appreciate it very much, but I do need to learn to enjoy it more. Have you ever made a pom-pom out of yarn? No. Have you ever had a lead role in a play? N- oh wait, in Sunday school as a young child, I was Mary in one. I don't remember HOW large the role was, but I would assume it was relatively big. Do you know how to use iMovie? I've never really tried it. I could probably figure it out pretty quickly, though. Would you raise your kids differently than your parents raised you? In some ways. For one, I would fucking not spank them. What was the best part about college? I most enjoy the flexibility of my schedule. It's not a 7-hour or whatever day every weekday. If you were homeschooled, did you come up with a school mascot? If so, what? N/A How many times a day do you check your cell to see if you have a text? Whenever it vibrates. Ever wonder if the person you hate will become the person you marry? *Hated but lmao that might just happen. If you could live in three places, a year each, where would they be? Germany, California, and maybe Canada. Your choice of transportation for anything: camel, jet pack or carriage? Carriage, probably. Think of a movie and now give me that movie title: The last person said Titanic so now I'm thinking romances, so The Notebook. Quote a line from that movie: "Tell me I'm a bird." "If you're a bird, I'm a bird." I wanted that as a tattoo with my spouse one day once upon a time. Aw! A line from your wedding vows is now: I want to recite the Corpse Bride vows with my partner. I don't feel like looking them up rn. Name a song: "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Marilyn Manson, 'cuz that's what I'm listening to. What’s a line from that song? "Sure as God made black and white, what's done in the dark will be brought to the light." Name your two favorite characters from a TV show or movie: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Lust and Envy, probably. When was the last time you fell asleep in a car? I dunno. How often do you think about death? Not too often? Do you believe what comes around goes around? Not always, but cause and effect makes it so sometimes. What about everything happens for a reason? NOPE. Can you sing? Not well. What kinds of little advertisements are on this page right now? None rn. Has something really heavy ever fallen on you? I don't believe so. Do you have any freckles on your feet? No. If you wear makeup, what colors do you usually wear? Black, when I do. I barely ever wear makeup, though. If you have more than one pet, do they ever get jealous of each other? BENTLEY DOES, particularly with guests (once he trusts them, anyway). If Teddy is getting attention, odds are he's gonna come on over and stick his nose in it. Do you have any brightly colored pants? No. Is there a room in your house that you don’t like going in? The laundry room. It's either hot or cold as fuck, depending on the season. Can you solve a Rubik’s Cube? No. I'm not good at planning future steps. Do you remember the last question you were asked? What did you answer? Well, besides the last survey question, I really don't. Besides salt and butter, do you put anything on your popcorn? No.

[clary-jace]

mileven, one of them is a foreign exchange student AU

ohhh this is really interesting! i like it! 

so, mike signs up to be host an exchange student at school. he decided to sign up after nancy moved out and after his parents got divorced because they had an extra bed and his mom was itching to have another person to take care of now that she was alone, for all intents and purposes. 

of course, he’s expecting a boy because usually the school doesn’t have boys living with girls, so he decides that he’ll let the exchange student sleep in his room and he can either sleep in nancy’s old room or down in the basement. it’s not a big deal, the exchange program is only for six months anyway. 

but of course, as things usually do in mike wheeler’s life, things don’t go the way that he had planned for them go. because when he gets his assignment, he has a girl. a girl named jane ives. she’s from france, and according to the guidance counselor she’s an absolutely lovely girl. 

now, mike isn’t exactly jazzed about the idea of living with a girl, not that he things there’s anything wrong with this girl of course, but he didn’t expect to have a girl living at his house. this was not something he had planned for. but, the guidance counselor tells him that there are no other options and if he doesn’t let jane live with him, then she won’t have anywhere to go. 

that, naturally, makes mike’s decision for him and he starts mentally preparing for jane to arrive. his friends tease him about the fact that he’s going to have a girl living at his house, but his mom is way too excited and frantically starts planning for their new visitor. holly is also very excited. 

when jane finally does arrive, mike is floored, because turns out that jane is like the prettiest girl that mike has ever seen in his entire life and she has the cutest french accent and she pronounces his name the same way he’s sure that an angel would and oh no he thinks, he’s going to have to live with her for the next six months and not fall in love with her 

jane is a quiet, well mannered girl who is overly polite and apologizes a lot and loves spending time with holly, because she lets jane just sit with her and color and play with dolls and honestly, the sight of them together just makes mike fall for jane even more

it takes a while for jane and mike to really become friends, the language barrier definitely holds them back, even though jane speaks english to a degree, a lot of the slang words that mike uses go right over her head, but eventually they find a common ground

one night mike wakes up the middle of the night and finds jane alone in the kitchen and they have a heart to heart, where jane reveals that she’s come to america to see if she could have a better life here. her mom has died recently and she doesn’t want to go back to france and live all by herself, or with people she barely knows 

she also tells mike that her middle name is eleanor and mike affectionately starts calling her el, as she reveals she doesn’t really like the name jane all that much. she just about grins so wide her face splits when he calls her el for the first time, though. 

through the next couple months, mike and el continue to grow closer and el becomes friends with will, dustin and lucas, all of whom make her laugh and are nice to her and make her feel including 

as the semester draws to an end, mike and el have a heartfelt conversation in which el tearfully reveals that she doesn’t want to leave hawkins, that mike and his family have become like family to her and she doesn’t want to leave any of them behind and never see them again 

mike tells his mom this, and his mom promises to help her. mike also tries to ignore how much he doesn’t want her to leave because he’s fallen in love with her. 

eventually, the local chief of police, jim hopper, an old friend of karen and joyce’s who bonds with el not long after they meet for the first time, promises to give her a place to live. he’s been lonely lately and el tells him that she thinks she could trust him. 

when el goes to tell mike that she’s staying in hawkins, he’s so happy that he kisses her. he doesn’t mean to and he immediately regrets it because oh my god, el never gave any indication that she wanted him to kiss her. but then el kisses him back. 

send me an au and i’ll give you 5+ headcanons about it

[hellimagines]

Worth My Time--Billy Hargrove

Masterlist

Request: “Hey i was wondering if you could do a billy hargrove story where the girl reader ends up meeting billy whenever hes out looking for max and he shows up at her house but max isnt there and he comes in bc the reader gives him directions to the next house & she just got out the bath (pretty much the whole scene with mrs wheeler in ST2) except the reader is the sister and they never seen eachother before & they’re both really turned on with one another and end up fucking then. thanks so much!!! (cont.) also in the story i just sent in can billy have short hair like dacre really does but everything else can be billy lol if that makes sense! sorry forgot to add that in.”

Summary: When a certain blond interrupts your bath, it’s safe to say you’re a little mad.

Warnings: slight smut, cursing

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Wheeler!sister

Word Count: 1,207

A/N: I’m sorry this isn’t full smut. I’m sort of burnt out when it comes to Billy smut, so I’m really sorry!

It was late, around 8 o’clock or so, and you found yourself submerged in your warm bath. Your (h/c) hair was pulled into a messy bun, making sure none of the dry strands came in contact with the water or the scented bubbles. You had never felt more blessed in your entire life. For once, you were the only one home. Your parents were out on a date night (the first one they’d had in months), your twin sister Nancy was out on a rendezvous with Jonathan Byers, and your younger brother, Mike, was out with his friends. So you were left on your lonesome, chin deep in cherry scented bubbles with your Signature Soy candles releasing sea blossom and peach dahlia aroma’s. You could feel yourself drifting off, bubbles fizzing at the tips of your fingers and occasionally floating high enough to pop on your nose.

But then. Then the most obnoxious knock you had heard came from your front door. Your eyes flew open, anger bubbling higher than the ones in the bathtub. You waited, not making a sound. There weren’t any cars in the driveway, so maybe the visitor would think nobody was home and leave. But then there was another knock, more incessant than the last. Then another. And another.

“Oh for the love of…” you grumbled, pulling yourself out of the bath. Bubbles clung to your wet skin, and you didn’t bother washing them off- you wouldn’t be entertaining your guest for long anyways. You ripped your black, velvet robe from the back of the bathroom door and haphazardly wrapped it around you. It formed a perfect V down your chest, stopping slightly below your boobs. The robe kept them covered, but you didn’t pay much attention to it as you stormed down the stairs, making sure your visitor could hear your angry stomps.

You swung open the front door, with full intent to wreak havoc on the person in front of you. However, the only thing you could muster was, “What the fuck,” when you were met with Billy Hargrove. He stood at the front door, his red shirt barely buttoned past his belly-button, and his leather jacket around his shoulders. He had cut his hair recently; the once long, curly blond locks were now short and wavy. His eyes racked up and down you, a lazy smirk forming.

“Hello to you too, Wheeler,” he grinned, propping his forearm on the door frame, leaning forward a bit. “Didn’t mean to catch you at a good time,” he snickered.

“Then leave,” you snapped, beginning to shut the door. But his boot had shoved its way through, keeping the door from closing.

“Can’t do that, doll,” he sighed. “Ya see, my little sister, Maxine, has gone missing,” he said sadly, a false expression on his face. You rolled your eyes, cracking your jaw in annoyance.

“You and I know damn well you don’t give two shits ‘bout  Max,” you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest. Unbeknownst to you, this only made your unsupported boobs lift up, your robe slipping slightly. Billy’s smirk grew, as he struggled to keep his eyes trained on your own.

“That’s where you’re wrong, babe. I care about Max. And I’d very much like to find her. You wouldn’t happen to where she is, would you? Only take a moment to get an address,” he grinned, briefly flicking his eyes over your shoulder to confirm that nobody else was in the house. You thought for a moment. You could just give him the address of the Byer’s easily, and send him on his way. It would only take two minutes, at most.

“Hurry up, it’s freezing,” you snapped finally, opening the door wider for him. Billy came in, eyeing you as you shut the door and began to walk to the kitchen.

“Wouldn’t be so cold if you had on more than that robe,” he snarked, leaning over your kitchen counter. You snapped your head up at him, giving him a glare.

“I was having a nice bath before you showed up, actually. I didn’t exactly have time to get dressed,” you huffed, ripping off a piece of paper from the tablet hanging on the wall. You reached into the kitchen drawer and pulled out a pen.

“Didn’t mean to disturb you princess,” Billy snickered, watching your every move. You rolled your eyes and returned to the counter, leaning across from him.

“She, and the others, should be at the Byer’s. They usually play Dungeons and Dragons here, but because Will’s been having a tough time lately, I guess they went there,” you explained to him, beginning to write down the address. Billy couldn’t hear you. He was too focused on the way your chest pressed against the countertop, your hand furiously scribbling down words. The black robe had slipped off your shoulder slightly, and he could see faint traces of bubbles in the divet of your collarbone.

“Well,” he said slowly, removing himself from the counter, “if she’s over there and just playing a board game, then I guess she’s not in any danger,” he said, moving himself closer to you. You looked up at him, your eyebrows furrowed.

“Hargrove, what the hell. You drive all the way over here, make me get out of the damn bath, stand in the cold while I’m dripping wet, only to tell me ‘it doesn’t matter’? Are you shitting me?” you exclaimed, slamming the pen down on the counter. Billy was right beside you now, his blue eyes no longer trying to hide their gaze as they travelled your body.

“Mhmm… Let me make it up to you,” he hummed, reaching a finger out to diffuse the bubbles in your collarbone. Your skin shivered at his warm touch, your cold body wanting to get closer.

“And why should I do that? What makes you think you’re worth that kind of time?” you asked, quirking an eyebrow as he stepped forward, his hand sneaking around to your waist. He jerked you closer, your hands slamming into his chest.

“I’ll show you I’m worth that kind of time,” he whispered, before leaning down to kiss you roughly. A small gasp escaped your mouth, but you reached up to run your hands through his hair, tugging at the short strands.

His hands gripped your hips, lifting you onto the counter behind you, the cold marble causing you to shiver. His mouth nipped from your lips down your jaw, sucking a dark mark at the edge of your jawline.

“I can’t cover that up, Hargrove,” you yelped, yet the legs you had around his waist pulled him closer.

Billy smirked against your skin, making his way down to your chest. “That’s the point, doll face. Now shut up, your bath is gonna get cold soon,” he purred, pulling the velvet material of your black robe away from your boob, exposing your nipple. Instantly he pulled it closer to him, sucking on the sensitive flesh. You tilted your head to the side, using your grip on his hair to keep him in place as you moaned quietly.

If this is what kind of time Billy Hargrove was worth, than you didn’t mind at all.

[causticsunshine]

alright so i had a need to write out some more fluffy headcanons for this au (previous headcanon post here) after writing a smutty one shot earlier. 

minor warning that some of the laws regarding same sex couples’ rights hadn’t been passed in california (i think i said they’re in cali? well anyway they are, whoopsie) yet so some of it’s fudged because i wanted them to get their happy ending. so, not completely historically accurate because in terms of rights, i technically jumped forward a few years. but they’re happier for it. just a warning! 

anyway, here we go (and it’s way too damn long so i put more under the cut):

so they have yngwie and that’s all going well but they still wait a few years before having kids. i imagine they’re probably 29/30 when their daughter is born 

billy is stilll terrified even if he is ready and steve keeps talking about ‘when we have kids etc., etc.’ and billy just knows it’s time

but he’s still terrified, alright? even after all the work he’s done on himself, after everything he’s done both on his own and with steve’s help to get all that hate and hurt out of his system, he’s so damn scared he’s going to fuck this kid up

and some of that anger comes back because if he’d had a decent dad growing up he wouldn’t have this fear that he’s going to further perpetuate the cycle of abuse

as they’re going through all the pamphlets and attending all these meetings and workshops about surrogacy and adoption steve can obviously see something is upsetting his partner even as billy’s eating up all the information faster than they can get it

one night after they’ve been hooked up with a case worker who’s going to help them with all the legalities and track down a proper surrogate, steve settles down next to billy on the couch with the dog at their feet and says, “i know you’re scared.”

billy blusters and is all everyone’s scared of being a parent, steve but no, steve softly takes billy’s face in his hands and rests their foreheads together, i know you’re afraid you’re going to be like your dad.

and billy panics but he lets it out because they’ve worked on this for so long, about being honest and talking about shit that pisses them off and scares them, and steve just listens and watches billy’s face the whole time, his chest just aching because he knows billy’s still got that fire in him but he’s not really pissed off at the world anymore – he’s calmer and softer and smiles more and he holds steve’s hand when they walk the dog and kisses him at the grocery store without fear?? he’s just grown so much and steve knows it’ll be ok

so he does his whole pep talk thing once billy’s voice is all ragged and raw and he looks completely cut open and scared and he talks about how good billy had become with max and the other ‘kids’ when they entered high school, even after the fight at the byers’ and max hating his guts; and how well they get along with him now as adults, seeing him like they do steve, as a big brother figure 

and then he talks about the times he caught holly wheeler asleep on his lap during campaigns at the wheelers’ place - before the two of them were dating and billy was barely a senior in high school, just enough of steve’s friend to get invited to dnd nights - and how he learned that billy secretly played dolls and watched tv with erica in the sinclair’s living room when he went to pick max up from having dinner at their house (without neil knowing, of course)

and yeah billy absolutely goes red at that and mumbles that steve shouldn’t have known that in the first place

and at the shop he helps manage (and eventually owns) people come in with their kids all the time and he’s never annoyed or pissed off if they’re there and making racket

“do you remember that one time i came by the shop to pick you up for dinner and this young mom came in with a busted tail light and her baby wouldn’t stop crying-” “oh my god stop you fucking sap-” “don’t be an ass, just shut up and let me finish”

and so he continues, “and she kept apologizing and was obviously losing her mind because the baby wouldn’t stop crying so you had kyle take care of the tail light and you took care of the baby? the second you picked him up he stopped crying.”

yes billy remembers; he’d done it because he felt so bad for this poor eighteen year old mom who looked so ready to cry herself, but the second he picked the baby up he just looked at billy and billy looked at steve who was waiting in the office and saw the whole thing like it was a fucking sign from the heavens that they were meant to have a kid someday

but yeah all the encouragement finally had billy convinced to call their case worker the next day so they could make an appointment to finally look over the possible surrogates she’d been aggressively finding for them

(all the kisses and the good slow fucking he got from steve after all the verbal praise definitely helped too)

and the appointment comes along and they spend a few weeks going through paperwork and profiles and a few unsuccessful interviews which really stress steve out

but then they meet up with this girl that looks scarily like she could be one of steve’s cousins - long brown hair with a bit of curl, big brown eyes, lots of freckles and moles - and her name is sarah, she’s a year or two younger than billy, a law major working as an apprentice at a divorce firm

and they meet up with her at this coffee shop and yeah fifteen minutes in they both know they want her to be the surrogate because she’s so fucking funny but so professional about the whole thing too? like she’s got all the paperwork and agreements there ready to go over

honestly she is a little thrown that a guy like billy, who’s helping manage a garage and auto customization shop, who listens to hair metal and used to have a mullet, who’s always nearly shirtless and swears up a storm, wants to be a dad so bad but when he goes off to the bathroom steve talks about how billy’s been pouring over pamphlets and parenting books and wants this so bad she’s immediately sold

(they later find out she wants to do this because her twin sister and her partner want to have kids one day and if someone could help them have a kid she wants to help another gay couple have that, too. steve maybe gets teary eyed at that)

then there’s the rest of the pre-med stuff they have to go through and all the painstaking paperwork, etc. etc. billy just wants their kid already like he’s already picking up paint chips for the nursery even though steve keeps telling him to slow down because he’s heard all these horror stories where surrogates don’t work out and he doesn’t want billy to get his hopes up too high

but everything goes through fine and they tell the doctors they’re playing a game of chance and send both of their ‘samples’ in with steve teasing that whoever loses this round gets their turn next time and billy kisses him so hard and nearly tackles him to the floor then and there

it takes a few tries - all three of them getting more frustrated with each failure - before it finally takes and when they get the call that it’s happening, in nine months you’re going to be parents. billy hears it from steve while they’re both at work and he has to excuse himself to the office for a few minutes as he cries happy tears over the line to his partner

steve definitely sheds a few tears, too, and everyone at the office hears him sniveling in the break room

they go to every ultrasound and check-up and keep little copies of the sonograms in their wallets, send a few back to hawkins for joyce and hopper, for max, for dustin because he calls religiously and wants updates because now he’s an uncle.. a few go to new york, for nancy and jonathan and when the first one arrives nancy calls steve and cries

(steve reluctantly sends his parents a few updates even though his dad refuses to believe that him and billy are going to stay together and his mother just wants to play grandmother when she feels like it, is otherwise going to fill the gap of being a proper grandparent with luxury baby goods)

“at least we won’t have to break the bank on the good baby shit because your mom’s gonna buy it all for us” “babe that’s not the point oh my god”

(you can imagine that billy sends nothing to the hargrove residence)

they don’t ask for the sex, just leave it up to surprise and sarah just rolls her eyes because she wanted to know so she can get the baby some gifts 

“why does it matter if it’s a boy or a girl, everything the kid wears is gonna be fuckin’ rad” “billy our baby is going to be spitting up on everything plus i don’t want my infant son or daughter looking like high-school-aged you straight outta the womb”

then on april 6th they get called to the hospital at seven a.m. - it’s a saturday and at first they’re cranky - because sarah’s in labor and billy nearly kills yngwie in the process of getting dressed and while steve’s running around the house making sure they have everything then they’re out the door

sarah’s in labor for five hours and they pop in for half a moment to say hello when they get there, then sit down right outside and park it there, waiting anxiously 

and oh boy eventually they get ushered into the room because sarah wants them to cut the cord and everything and they’re both horrified watching from across the room, completely disinfected and wearing scrubs

finally the baby is born and both of their hearts stop the second they hear the cry and sarah groans and mumbles out a oh my god finally please take your baby so i can sleep

they get to cut the cord together with the shakiest hands and then she’s whisked away to get checked out by the nurses and weighed and everything before the both of them are situated in this big quiet room just a few doors down from the delivery room and finally get a good look at their daughter 

they decide on charlotte grace and she has their hyphenated last names, harrington-hargrove - “because it’s alphabetical, billy” - and her middle name comes from billy’s mother, born april 6th 1996 at 12.07 p.m.

it’s so obvious that billy won out that first round, with her obvious button nose and the little bunch of curly blonde hair on the top of her head, but then he leans in close and whispers, your turn next time, then right in steve’s ear

billy, who has finally gotten a grip on his composure and had silently cried into steve’s shoulder the whole time they were getting her prepped, gets to feed charlotte first but she doesn’t take to it right away, whining and fussing around the bottle even as he whispers sweetly to her and steve’s heart fucking swells up ten times too big for his chest at that

then steve starts running a finger down her nose and she grips it tight in one tiny fist, then she settles enough to get fed

yeah they totally cry a couple of times whilst at the hospital and again when they have to go home for the night

they do get to bring her home the next evening though, with billy nearly having pitched a fit in the parking garage trying to get the car seat buckled into the backseat until steve rolls his eyes and passes the baby to him and so he can take over 

(billy sits in the back the ride back home but he leans up from the middle seat to hold steve’s free hand over the seat divider)

yngwie goes nuts when they get home and trails whoever is holding the baby at all times, perches next to them on the sofa with his muzzle just out of baby charlotte’s reach, and he just watches as they’re sitting there in awe over the fact that holy shit, we have a baby, we’re parents

sooo yeah that’s how it goes?? more shall come soon i promise

bonus: billy and steve both accidentally put breastmilk in their coffees at some point because sarah keeps bringing more over and has moved from individual bottles to quart-sized bottles that block the presence of the half and half and 2% they’d much rather have in their morning pick-me-ups

[derryhawkins]

The Switch (ch 3)

summary: Mike and Richie, a pair of twins people describe as a loose canon when their together, come up with possibly the worst idea they could ever come up with – switching lives and personalities. Mike lives Richie’s life in Derry, Maine while Richie lives Mike’s life in Hawkins, Indiana. Their idea could either miraculously work out, or burn down in flames. (see moodboard & small snippet here)

a/n: i don’t think I’ve mentioned it but this takes place in the 80s; end of ‘86 start of ‘87.

warnings: [for the entire fic] swearing, idiotic boys, child neglect, accidental heartbreak, teenagers being teenagers, angst at some point. [for this chapter] rich sees a clown doll and almost has a panic attack at the end

chapter 1 chapter 2

ch 3 -- working out the kinks

Making plans to do something or ideas that aren’t so simple, come with bumps and halts and things that cause a bit of trouble along the way. Mike Wheeler and Richie Tozier figured that out quite quickly. Their plan to switch lives, basically, wasn’t as full proof as either had thought. There were multiple things that could cause anyone to instantly take notice it was Richie and not Mike, or vice versa.

They had made a list on what distinguishes themselves from one another. Well, Richie made it after realizing that The Switch (the name of their plan, he doesn’t care if Mike doesn’t like it) was going to be a tougher thing to accomplish than he first thought. It was a rather short list, just eight seven things that could cause anyone of their friends or family members to say, “You’re not Mike/Richie.” After finished it, he handed it to Mike who read over it.

KINKY KINKS IN ‘THE SWITCH’ a list by Richie Tozier ;)) 1. Glasses. 2. Hair. 3. Clothes. 4. Jane El Hopper. 5. Humor/the way we talk. 6. Jobs, maybe? (sorry bro, I work at a movie theater) 7. Our friends.

There was a eighth number, Mike realized as he read over the list. It was scratched out completely; one word right beside the number eight. Mike squinted at it as if it would help him read through the scratched out word, but it was no use. Because not only had Richie scribbled over it, but he had marked through the word with a Sharpie on both sides of the paper. Mike frowned and looked out of the bedroom where Richie had rushed out minutes before. He stood up from the desk in his room and walked out to find his twin, the paper in his hands.

Mike ended up finding Richie in Holly’s room. Richie had squeezed into a pink, tiny plastic chair and had his legs bent between him and the table he was unable to fit them under. A small light blue plate and tea cup sat on his knees while Holly pretended to talk to one of the bears. It was clear the foul mouthed twin had been caught by Holly Wheeler and unable to get away. Before Holly could see him as well and rope him into ‘tea time’ with her stuffed animals and plastic dolls and his twin, Mike dashed back to his room, leaving Richie to suffer alone.

Sure, he was curious about what the seventh thing was on the list -- but not curious enough to get roped into his little sister’s tea time.

Eventually, they figured out how to solved numbers 1-3 once Richie had gotten away from Holly and once they weren’t around anyone else. The party had come over for a short time, and then they all piled into Dustin’s truck and headed to Will’s house to hang out some before more family members came around for the holidays. Joyce Byers was so excited to see Richie, engulfing the boy in a tight hug as she admitted to missing him.

(It was a hug Richie liked to call the Mom Hug. It was warm and comforting and something he was almost unfamiliar with since Maggie Tozier never hugged him, and Karen Wheeler merely gave him loose, short hugs).

At some point they finally got home and finally sorted out that for the first thing on the list, Mike just wouldn’t wear his contacts. They both had shit eyesight. They both had glasses and eye contact prescriptions as well, but Richie almost always wore his glasses and Mike almost always wore his contacts. It was a way for everyone to tell them apart. To make sure they still had the same terrible eye sight, Mike took out the contacts and put on Richie’s awful glasses.

“Unfortunately, we still have the same shitty sight.”

“You’re gonna have to wear those.”

“That’s why I said unfortunately. At least my glasses are decent looking.”

“They’re still fucking huge...”

“If you make a dick joke, I’m disowning you.”

For the their hair, Mike had to not straighten his hair. Yes, Michael Wheeler straightens his hair nearly everyday and has been since seventh grade. It was neater looking and tamer; it was also another way people could tell the twins apart. Richie, on the other hand, had to make an extra effort everyday to straighten his hair. He complained just thinking about it.

“Some waves come out anyway, why fucking bother?!”

“Richie, I swear to God, if you want this to work you gotta use the damn straightener.”

Their clothing was something much simpler and took little to no effort to change -- they just had to switch wardrobes. Which meant, Richie would stay at the Wheeler house in Hawkins while Mike left for Derry with Maggie Tozier and a suitcase of ugly Hawaiian shirts and graphic tees. Neither were really complaining. It wasn’t like either of their style was horrible. Well, Richie’s choice of shirts could be sometimes, but so could the sweaters Mike wears on the occasion.

Richie really wanted to be a hater of Mike’s ugly Christmas sweaters, but he was actually rather jealous. The sweaters were ugly as hell, and he wanted them all. Mike didn’t really mind his brother’s hideous Hawaiian shirts and sometimes crude t-shirts, either. Most of them were comfortable to wear. 

(No, they don’t already have a small stash of each other’s clothes because of that).

(...that’s a lie).

“So, about Miss Jane El Hopper,” Richie spoke as he entered the nearly empty kitchen. Nancy was out with her boyfriend, Jonathan Byers, while their dad went to work and Karen went to the park with Holly; Maggie was doing some last minute shopping. So, they were home alone and free to talk about their plan up until one of the Party members comes over -- if not all. They had all been informed that no one but the twins were currently home.

Mike didn’t even look up from making his lunch as he said, “You’re not kissing my girlfriend, Tozier.”

“But if I don’t it’ll blow our cover! A major kink in The Switch, Wheeler,” he said. As his brother turned around to put up the sandwich ingredients, Richie reached over the counter and grabbed the cheese and ham sandwich. He quickly took a bite of it before laying it back on the plate, and acted as if he did nothing wrong as Mike turned back around.

“Make your own damn sandwich, asshole,” Mike quickly said and snatched the plate off of the counter. He inspected the rather large bite Richie had taken as he said, “Let’s get her in on the plan.”

“Can she keep secrets?”

“She’s a girl with secret abilities that Hawkins has no idea about.”

Richie hummed and nodded. “Touché.”

“What about your crush?” Mike asked after a second of silence.

Richie’s eyes slightly narrowed as he stood straight. “What about my crush?” He asked, moving away from the counter to fridge. As Mike spoke again, he searched for something to eat.

“Pretty sure you probably flirt with her if you genuinely like her. So... Who is it? I mean, if I don’t flirt as you to your crush, then it’ll be a give away, too. Or show that you’re not interested.”

He picked up a pudding cup from one of the shelves but quickly set it back down. Richie’s fingers tapped against his thighs as he stood there, just looking into the refrigerator. “Um... It’s no one,” he quickly said. He then spotted a pomegranate in the back of the middle shelf and grinned to himself before reaching in and grabbing it.

Mike scoffed at the answer. “Okay, yeah, that’s a lie.”

Shutting the door with his foot, Richie went and grabbed a sharp knife. He instantly busied himself with the fruit as he said, “My crush wasn’t on the list, so, really, it doesn’t matter.”

“Do you not want me to know who it is or something?” Mike asked, before taking a large bite from his sandwich. Uncharacteristically, Richie stayed quiet and focused all his attention on the pomegranate as he cut it open. Mike sighed right as the front door opened.

“Dustin farted! Dustin farted!”

“That was Max!”

“Don’t bring me into this, Noodles!”

“Hey! That is Richie’s name for me!”

“Dustin farted and he has a guy crush on Rich!”

“Oh, not you too!”

“Well, who can resist the Richie Tozier?” The younger twin smirked as the group of friends entered the kitchen; Lucas, Max, Dustin, and Will. As he made eye contact with Max, he winked at her. The redhead just scoffed and rolled her eyes as she went over to Mike and stole his sandwich. She took a bite before handing it back to him.

“I can,” she said.

Lucas chuckled and let an arm go around her shoulders as they stood beside each other. “Don’t wink at my girlfriend, Richie,” he said.

“Rather me wink at you?”

“Beep beep, Richie!” Mike laughed out at seeing Lucas’ face. It was a saying he heard Richie’s own friends use, so Mike started using it, too. It was limited to him and who Richie called the Losers. No one else really used the ‘beep beep’ other than them; occasionally Will would say it, or Nancy if needed, but that was all. Never did Max, Lucas, Dustin, or Eleven say it.

Richie merely grinned as Lucas shot him the middle.

“Hey, where’s El?” Mike asked.

“Oh! She told me to tell you that she’s having a father-daughter day with Hopper,” Will said. “And tonight she’s doing something with Mom, but said she’d call you in the morning.”

“That’s good,” Mike said sincerely. Jim and El haven’t gotten to have some father-daughter time because of school and his job recently, so Mike was happy they were spending time together. And Joyce Byers and El had a thing on certain nights where the woman taught the girl different things like knitting, or just watched soap operas. “That’s good,” he repeated, but quieter.

For a few minutes, the group just stood in the kitchen as everyone helped themselves to different snacks before they all made their way downstairs to the basement. Richie was still working on the pomegranate, though, so he put the fruit in a bowl and grabbed some napkins, and slouched on the couch with Max as the other boys sat at the table. Though, at some point, Richie spotted one of Holly’s clown dolls sticking out of the blanket fort against the wall. He nearly shit his pants at seeing face of the clown, also letting out a short yell before realizing it was fucking doll.

It wasn’t alive.

Max looked up at Richie, bewildered. “The hell, man?” She asked.

Mike whipped his head around to look at his brother, and the three others did the same. “Dude, what...” The question died on his lips, though, as he notice the clown doll. He instantly remembered what had happened that one summer with Richie and his friends; Richie had called him after it happened and just cried to him. Mike instantly jumped out of his seat and grabbed the doll from the fort; Holly shouldn’t have been in there in the first place.

“It’s just a doll,” Lucas said.

“Hey, clowns are creepy,” Dustin stated as Mike rushed up the stairs to put the doll back in Holly’s room. “The makeup is...”

Richie blocked out their conversation as he tried to ignore the memories of that one awful summer. He couldn’t, unfortunately, and it soon started to get too much, so he gave the bowl of pomegranate to Max and raced up the stairs as well. He ran into his brother at the top, who instantly saw the panicked look and slightly shallowed breathing. Richie felt himself be pulled into a loose but comforting hug.

“It was just a doll, Rich,” Mike whispered.

“You’re real, right?” Richie asked in return. “You’re not gonna turn into some fucking werewolf or...you know?”

“No. I’m very real. I’m very much Mike Wheeler, okay? I’m with you and always will be, Richie.”

Richie numbly nodded and hugged his brother back. He was quiet for some time before he asked, “Who the hell gave Holly that fucking doll?”

“One of our aunts, I think, on her birthday.”

“I wanna burn it.”

“Honestly, she hates it. She might let you.”

“Good.”

“You okay now?” Mike asked pulled away from the hug some time later -- a few minutes at least. He watched as Richie ran his hands over his face, glasses on his head, and nodded. “Alright,” he whispered. “I’m going back down, but call Bill or one of them if you need to.”

After fixing his glasses, Richie nodded and gave a small smile. “Think I might. Thanks,” he said.

“Hey, not a problem,” Mike shrugged and started down the stairs. “Come back down when you’re ready.”

“Yeah, I will.”

Richie found the nearest phone and dialed the familiar number of Mike Hanlon. It turned out that the Losers had gathered at his place, all together once again, so Richie took turns talking to all of them about different things until he remembered his pomegranate with Max. Shortly after that, he finished his conversation with Stan Uris, hung up the phone, and raced down stairs back to his fruit.

TAG LIST: @irredecent @vimra @jinglejamie

[maruwrites]

The Revolution Pt. II

Summary: Dustin thinks he’s finally gonna have a quiet, normal childhood after the events with the Demodogs and Dart, until a new threat shows up at his house in the form of a 17-year old girl.

Word count: 1,892 (whoops)

It’s not like Dustin hadn’t thought about it.

In the List of Things Dustin Henderson Had Dreamt About, having a sibling was very high up, along with holding the high score in all of the games in the arcade (that would prove to be a little more difficult since Max had moved to Hawkins) and piloting the actual Millennium Falcon (downright impossible, unless he settled for pretending to ride the model designed for the movie in a studio somewhere in Hollywood). But having a sibling, yeah. Not too hard, right?

He never really wanted a father. Her mum worked hard for them, was a loving parent and just the right amount of spacey, which gave him some freedom but did not make him feel overlooked. That came in handy when the events of Demodogs took place not long ago. And honestly, he had met Mike’s dad, so he was not impressed. Sure, Lucas’ father was a nice person, but Will’s was just the absolute worst. No, no reason for a kid like Dustin to search for a father figure.

But a sibling, that was something else. He adored Nancy and thought it might be cool to have an older sibling like her, even with all the bickering that went on between Mike and her. And anyways, he could appreciate the bickering. Hell, he wanted it. Okay, maybe not a sister, since Nancy was always yelling at Mike to stay out of her room and Erica kept calling Lucas a nerd and stealing his action figures to play with her dolls. She made them kiss, for Christ’s sake. He-Man was not a kisser.

But a brother, yes. Definitely. Will had a great relationship with his big brother, who adored him and went out of his way to make the kid feel good about himself. Maybe Dustin’s brother would have done the same. Maybe Dustin’s brother would have watched sci-fi movies with him, helped him during a particularly extensive Dungeons & Dragons campaign, put on some nice tunes in the car while they drove to school together. 

He had pictured a cool, older brother. He had definitely not pictured the girl sitting on the reclining chair in front of him, nervously tapping her fingers on the duffle bag sitting atop her lap.

“A SISTER?!” Lucas yelled.

The kids were on the Wheeler’s basement, where they reconvened after a very urgent message from Dustin, who kept calling “Code brown! Code brown!” on the walkie-talkie. Code brown wasn’t as bad as code red, but it still meant “things were turning to shit”, according to him.

Dustin closed his eyes, turned to Lucas exasperated and opened them, their faces a few inches apart. “Buddy, you don’t have to yell. I’m right here.” Lucas rolled his eyes.

“That’s the weirdest thing ever.”

“Dude, that’s the weirdest thing ever?? We fought a Demogorgon last year, his army of Demo-dogs this year, El here can move and break things with her mind – her mind, Lucas –, Will was taken to another dimension and was possessed by a freaking monster, I adopted a goddamn swamp monster, whose face opened up and he ate my cat – and that’s the weirdest thing ever?”

“…Yeah.”

“Ugh, I know right?,” Dustin said, looking defeated and falling on the couch behind him. 

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t appreciating the attention, especially from Max. It’s not that he didn’t know Lucas and her had kissed or whatever, but he still had a crush on her and it made him feel nice that she was invested in his story as much as everyone else. ‘Don’t care,’ he thought, hearing Steve’s voice in his mind. ‘She’s just gonna break your heart and you’re too young for that shit.’

“Half-sister,” she corrected, looking at Lucas. Everyone looked at her with a puzzled face. “She’s not his sister, she’s his half-sister. There’s a difference.”  Mike ignored her and rolled his eyes. “So, now what? Is she gonna live with you? What does she want? Who is she?”

“Here it is…” Claudia lingered as she extended the girl a glass of water.

“(Y/N).”

“(Y/N),” Claudia repeated, sitting down on the couch next to Dustin. The girl had realized two things: one was that she hadn’t introduced herself, which made sense since her mind was going a million miles per hour, anxiety through the roof as it had been for months. And two, was that that was the very first time she heard her mother say her name. Her mother. Who didn’t even know her name. That’s weird, right? Parents are supposed to know their kids’ names. But then again, (Y/N)’s life had always been weird. 

It sounded nice. Until Dustin repeated, in a slightly disgusted voice.

Her mother looked at him, ready to reprimand him, but she backtracked soon enough. This was a shitty situation and he was just a child. The best course of action here, and especially with a kid like Dustin, would be to explain everything thoroughly. Claudia looked at (Y/N), then at her son, turning to him on the sofa. The young girl couldn’t wait a second longer, knowing that she would listen to the story of her own life told through another perspective.

“I… Here’s what happened.” She took a deep breath. “It was a mistake, honey. Your father travelled around a lot for work, he was rarely ever here, even in the beginning of our marriage. I was always alone in this house, and I just really needed to talk someone. This man, he was really sweet and caring. So I made a mistake.”

(Y/N) looked down at her hands. So she was a mistake. ‘Nice, very nice,’ she thought sarcastically. (Y/N) took a deep breath and remembered the words: “Sarcasm is the last refuge of the weak mind”. Well, that’s what she was, right? Weak.

Dustin felt weird. He had never met his father, and his mother rarely talked about him, if ever. This felt like an important moment for him, as he might finally get some answers. 

Claudia kept going.

“I panicked. This was around the time your dad had been in Canada for months, so he would’ve known and I don’t know what he would’ve had done if he had found out. I went through hell in those nine months, trying to hide the pregnancy whenever he came home, which was only for a few days at a time. Your Aunt Sylvia helped me. She helped me conceal my pregnancy and gave up the baby as soon as she was born,” she said, throwing the girl a quick glance.

‘I don’t know what he would’ve had done if he had found out.’ 

That sentence stuck to Dustin’s mind like glue.

“When I had told David, this other man, what was going on, I didn’t think he would be happy, but he was. He was ecstatic. He was in love with me and had always wanted a child. Maybe in his mind, being pregnant with his kid would force me to leave your dad, but I couldn’t. Your aunt and I were convinced that David would’ve made things more complicated, so I lied to him. I told him I had had an abortion. That’s the name of your father, (Y/N). David-”

“I know.” she answered flatly. “I found out he didn’t knew I existed the hard way.” At her sudden unpleasantness, Claudia looked down at her lap, sorrow and sadness taking over her features. (Y/N) felt Dustin’s eyes on her and he looked pissed. 

Damn, (Y/N) had every right to be rude. She had driven all the way to her father’s farm in the middle of nowhere only to have the door slammed on her face. It took weeks until he finally accepted she wasn’t lying, or looking for money, or going crazy. 

But for some reason, having that curly-haired boy angry at her made her feel bad for Claudia.

“When I reached out to him, he was actually… relieved? When he finally realized that I wasn’t lying, I mean.” This was the most (Y/N) had talked. “As much as he’s upset that you lied to him, which he is, he’s more happy that you didn’t go through with the… procedure.”

The look on Claudia’s eyes were indecipherable. (Y/N) thought she saw a spark of hope, a tiny slither of light upon the notion that a man she once loved didn’t really hate her. Her mother offered her a small smile, and that seemed to have satisfied Dustin.

There was a silence, the wheels turning for everyone as they tried to understand everything that had happened. 

Dustin had to face the fact that his father hadn’t been a very nice person, which he had known to some extent. And the fact that his mother was a flawed woman, which was a little harder to comprehend.

“(Y/N), I’m sorry. You got caught up in this mess and you’re only-God, you’re 17-years old, aren’t you? You’re just a kid. How did you find me? How did you end up here?”

“I don’t know. I guess she’s looking for answers, or some dumb shit? She’s staying at this hotel, I think. She’s not gonna live with us. And she’s just a boring, dumb teenager, who cares.” Dustin turned his attention to the top of the stairs, where someone had cleared their throat. Steve was standing there, hands on his hips, an annoyed look on his face.

“I regret ever giving you my number.”

“Where the fuck have you been?” Dustin complained.

“Uh, I was living my life? What’s so urgent, dipshit?”

“The new member of the Henderson family.” Lucas snickered and Dustin glared at him.

“Yeah, Paws, right? I met that stupid cat, he did this.” Steve pointed to a scratch in his left hand, while he approached the gang. “He’s hardly a new member, and this does not constitute an emergency, butthead.”

“No. Dustin’s sister,” El said.

“Half-sister,” Max corrected one more time.

“Oh my God, who cares?” Mike yelled, glaring at the new girl. Lucas came to her defense, Max complained that Mike was still being an asshole, Jane stared at them, confused, and Will just kept rolling his eyes, telling everyone to calm down because none of that was important at the moment. While the heated argument was going on, Steve sat down next to Dustin.

“What, the, hell, Dustin.”

“My mom had a daughter before she had me, and I just found out today because the fucking girl showed up at my house,” he said, annoyed. “See, Steve?! That’s what you get for being late. I specifically called a code brown and you took too fucking long to get here and now-”

“Don’t get fresh with me, dumbass.” Steve interrupted. He rubbed his chin and ran a hand through his hair. “Is this for real? Do you want a ride home? Do you want to talk about it?”

Dustin looked at the screaming gang and then at Steve. He felt tired all of a sudden and just wanted to go home. Perhaps Steve would help him, as he had helped the last time. His advices and words of encouragement had been really cool the last time, maybe he would be able to help Dustin one more time. 

“Yeah, sure.” They both stood up.

“Also, I’m sorry. This definitely constitutes an emergency.”

[fears--all-the-way-down]

“All students are to go directly home. It’s going to be bad out there.” There was a teacher standing in the middle of the hall giving marching orders. The crowd had gathered and commenced in boisterous chatter. After all, early dismissal meant freedom. There wasn’t a single student at Hawkins high who wasn’t all in for a snow day. The cheers and chit chat filled every inch of the hall, “Dust, you coming? ...Max?” Mike took down the hallway shouting. His keys hung from his pointer finger. “We don’t have all day you dumb shits.” he called out, cupping a free hand over his mouth to make his already shrill yell louder. As if there was a fire instead of a school day dismissed by 10:30. Lucas was by his side, angrily gesturing for them to hurry up. Turning to glance behind her she threw Dustin a look, brow raised, asking him what his plans were. “I gotta make sure mom’s home safe and shovel out the driveway.” score. She didn’t really feel like sitting in the Wheeler basement with the idiots anyway. Not when a snow day meant an excuse to actually spend time outside in the snow. “Max, give me a ride?” Thank goodness for the way he thought. “I guess if I have to,” she whined, all fake. Last thing she wanted was Lucas or Mike to catch onto the fact that what she wanted most was to be alone with D. “you’re closest to my house, it’s only fair.” whatever excuse he wanted to make out she’d take. “Whatever. You both suck.” Mike wasn’t happy with their refusal. Yet she knew for a fact that once they got in the basement it wouldn’t matter. He and Lucas would be wrapped up in video games sooner than later. They’d blow up the discord trying to get D to join. By the look he’d given her, he wouldn’t be taking in that participation. Mike and Lucas both turned around and headed out the double doors and she finally relaxed, backpack hanging off her shoulder. “Dusty! Hey… Dusty!” shit. Couldn’t they just get out the damn door without anyone else trying to derail plans? Why was that always too much to ask for? “Dusty, my mom’s stuck at work tonight. Wanna come hang out? I could use some help with the driveway.” Carmen’s sing-song voice dolled out till she was standing right in front of him, hugging her school books to her chest and looking up at him through thick lashes. Max wanted to gag. Dramatically she turned sideways, banging her head back against the locker set behind her. She could see D peering around Carmen and biting the inside of his cheek with the finally grown in perls. He was trying not to laugh at her, trying to keep up appearances for Carmen. That was just the type of respectful gentlemen he was and hated to be called. Claudia had done right by him. She didn’t listen to the exchange between the pair. Instead, she saw the saddened expression the senior girl had when she turned from the boy she had her eye on. Had it been anyone but Dustin, Max might have felt bad. No, screw it, she didn’t care for the emotions of petty girls. Instead, she stepped into his light of sight for a second and turned towards the double doors, his eyes traveling her in ways they only did when the boys were out of sight and mind. It made a smirk cross watermelon chapstick lips. “So… your mom took my keys this morning so I wouldn’t drive in the snow today.” she spoke casually as he caught up in pace with her. Out of the corner of her eye she watched his hands raise for a moment, twitch, and then grab a hold of the straps of his backpack. She knew that had they been off school grounds he would have thrown an arm around her, “I think this calls for a race of who can get home fas…” but apparently she wasn’t allowed to finish her thought. The green scarf around her neck was being tugged, softly. His lead was followed. Fresh falling snow crunched under worn old cons. “D…” he was in full control then, pulling her underneath the bleachers and kissing her full force. A kiss that made her head scramble and heart stop. She hated that he had so much control of her to do this type of thing, to make her metaphorically (and literally) fall to her knees. The part about it was, Dustin didn’t even seem to notice that he made her putty in his hands. Max Mayfield was so wrapped around his fingers. Careful and calloused fingers were threaded through red locks as she leaned her head into his hand comfortably. His patchy facial hair that Claudia mourned about still brushed her cheek, neck, and collarbone. ”mom’s home tonight.” he bruised into her neck as if the words held any bearing. As if they hadn’t acted out under her roof time and time again. The wind chill meant nothing, the falling flakes were a background sprinkle. Even his cold fingers felt warm against exposed skin as he played with the denim of her belt loops. She hated him. A slight whine made its way past her lips as he left go of her jeans and moved his hands away from her. The cold of their surroundings coming right back to her as she slid her frozen hands under the dark colored tee shirt and flannel he had on and rested against the muscled flesh there for a moment. “If you’re going to start something D, you’d better finish it.” a practical purr came out, near enough to begging. Not even a moment later she felt it, the chill that stretched down her back and replaced any warmth of turn on that might have lingered. The cold snow clung between oversized white sweater to green lace and all the way down the back of tight jeans. His clearing of snow from the bleacher behind her was going to leave her drenched all the way home. “You son of a bitch.” she bit out, immediately. As he let out a warm and wholehearted laugh, leaning in and pressing a simple kiss again her open mouth, catching her bottom lip. To which she requited, against her better judgement. He picked her up then, causing her to squeak in the way he had once over chocolate pudding. “I’ll make it up to you Sunshine.” she grunted as he laughed, clearly still thrilled with himself.

[koncreates]

I just had a dream where these two... drawing spirits??? Decided I was some sort of "chosen one" or something and gave me this power to where anything I drew would be real and anything I picked up would change size depending on my perspective (holding things close to my eyes would make them big, holding things fat away wiuld make them small) Anyways (this is where the dream starts) i had to go through this house that wad like an banksy statement on art culture and how you have to conform to certain styles and color schemes to be popular and to make money, and hiw it was more important to tell an artist that you liked their work than to give them money (???) And so the main bit wad like you would go through this house in the path it led you on from room to room, but you were seeing through the walls of otger rooms you had already been in and hearing people critically discussing your art. I thought this was a lot of fun until i got upstairs where a record player was skipping and obviously scratched and playing the same line from "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and the decor changed from the "grandma's house old lace" aesthetic to a "old wooden landing area you only see in certain nightmares that you might have lived in" feel. I looked around. (and this was also where the house seemed to stop guiding you because there was like, a room to the right after you came up the stairs, a halleay to the left with a really brightly yellpw lit room to the left of the hallway, and two more staircases to tge right of the hallway with one before and after the room to tge left) There was smeared blood in tge room to the left (the room to tge right was dark and i got a bad vibe so i skipped it) and it was like quardened off by a three foot tall glass wall that you could reach over, and at the end of the hall and the room tgere was this guy who was painting with the blood of his wife and child???? And i just freaked and ran doen the nearest stairway and I KNEW someone was following me. I ended up closing myself in a closet that had suddenly appeared, but I knew whoever was chasing me knew where I was and low and fucking behold this guy ive never seen before sticks his head in the door and is lile "Don't worry, dont be afraid" and I'm like "fuck off??? How am i not gonna be scared rn???" Then another guy who is heavier in stature but looks like the other guy (tbh they were both pretty attractive NGL lmao) shows us and they fling the door open and drag me out and like, they start pushing me by the arms and shoulders back through and up the house and im just mouthing "HELP ME" to anyone who passes by us, but i guess they just thought we were part of the art piece hhhhhhhahaha. Anyway they took me back upstairs and make me look at thus guy who is very obviously a Ken doll and the wife and child are Barbie and Kelly dolls and im like wow thanks brain. The two guys then tell me that i "need to train my skill" or something??? And i guess that was a metaphir for "time for the lucid part if the dream to start" because they shived me in this resident evil lookin fuckin room and told me to stay alive and Im like fUCK YOU GUYS I DONT HAVE WEAPONS (and ill skip the part where i decided to be lucio so i could heal myself but the guys made me stop because i wasnt playing by the rules damn them) so i just have to resort to like, finger guns and telling myself that the melted flesh assholes attacking me were dying. I died (or my "healtg meter"?? ran out??) And dude 1 rushes in and picks me up and looks really worried about me and keeps whidpering things like "just hold on, dont give up just keep struggling and fighting" and i am too weak to really move or talk but you bet im thinking how predictable this was and if this asshole really loved me like he keeps saying then he wouldn't have sent me in with no fucking weapons. Then the dream skips forward to where I'm walking down a highway with grassy hills to eithet side (ya know like any highway inset in the ground in a green area) and a bunch if characters that i appatentky drew are following me and my persina Sylas is there in tge background and tbh i just feel really frustrated and worried for an unknown reason? I walk by a really big crash where a 18 wheeler is fallen on sone dude whi is somehow still alive so i just use persoective and pick up the thing (and give it to a little kid OC lmao) and THEN TWEEDLE DEE AND TWEEDLE DUM FUCKIN ASSHILES FROM THE HOUSE (Note: not actually tweedles dee or dum) show up and keep saying shit like "This is too soon!!" And "we cant let her join the goddess!!!" And so ofc I decide that joining whoever this goddess is sounds like the best course of action. I woke up after that but it was a roller coaster of emotions and the moral of the story is that "Chaos gods/art spirits shouldnt try to force me into plot corners in my dreams or I'll god mode through the floor and clip into the final level)