#but the the that's just the shit with Steven

[runraerun]

darling, dearest, dead

written for the @steddiemicrofic challenge for November | prompt: guard | wc: 532 | rated: G | cw: major character death (but not really?) | tags: angst with a hopeful ending, Ghost!Steve Harrington, GhostHunter!Eddie Munson

There’s a legend that the first person who gets buried in a cemetery becomes the guardian of all the other souls buried there after. They become a reaper of sorts, ferrying the newly dead from this world to the next—a place they can never go.

This is what happens to Steve Harrington, aged just eighteen when he tragically dies in the Starcourt tragedy in ‘85.

Steve, who dies but doesn’t move on. Doesn’t go peacefully into that good night, or however the hell the saying goes. He can’t.

Steve, who attends his own burial, but despite how loud he screams into the faces of his loved ones, goes entirely unheard.

He eventually gets it, of course. Despite what everyone thinks (thought? Do they still think of him?) Steve isn’t stupid. He catches on quickly when the first few souls come wandering up to him, lost and alone. Steve can see the path they’re supposed to follow, even when they can’t. So, Steve takes the time to explain to them what he knows, tries to comfort them, before guiding them towards the afterlife.

It’s a curse, really. Eternal isolation. Decades pass but Steve remains. The few souls he speaks to are always so eager to leave him. In the end, Steve’s left alone.

And then one day, Eddie Munson comes stomping through his cemetery.

—🛡️—

“What’s with the get up?” A dark haired stranger asks, startling Steve, “there an anime convention going on or something?”

Steve’s eyes trail up and down the newcomer. He wants to make a comment about the strange attire he died in, but upsetting the newly departed usually isn’t a good idea.

“It’s my work uniform. I didn’t have time to change.” Steve explains, a well-rehearsed response. The Scoops uniform that he can never shed was always a point of interest for people. “Sorry, I didn’t see you come in.”

This is the first time Steve’s missed a burial. Strange.

The guy snorts, “don’t apologize. I’m the one intruding. You visiting someone? I can wait to do my shit.”

Steve frowns, brows creasing where they come together. “No. I’m just… waiting.” He answers.

“For the ghost?” The stranger asks, his interest clearly piqued.

Steve blinks. “The ghost?”

“Yeah, y’know. The ghost that supposedly haunts this graveyard. Legend has it it’s some guy who died way back in the 80’s—there've been sightings for like, thirty years, but no one’s been able to actually record anything decent. All the pictures are super blurry. But I intend to change that. I’m Eddie, by the way. Ghost hunter and semi-professional psychic.” Eddie grins, giving a strange little bow in his introduction.

Wait…

“1985?” Steve asks.

“Yep,” Eddie pop’s the ‘p’, “The year Starcourt burned down and old Steven Harrington bit the dust. You know the story?”

Steve didn’t need to breathe—not anymore. And yet, he still felt short of breath. Lightheaded.

“It’s just Steve.” He clarifies.

“Yeah?” Eddie snorts, “how would you—”

A light seems to go off in Eddie’s head. He pales, eyes widening.

“You can really see me?” Steve can’t help but laugh, tears stinging his eyes.

“Yeah, I can see you, Steve.” Eddie mumbles, stunned, looking like he’d seen a ghost.

—

tagging: @sleepy-steve because they let me rant about reaper Steve to them<3 check out her reaper!eddie fic: here!💘

[have-you-seen-my-sanity]

Their comfort zone

Jake Lockley x afab!reader

Summary: Jake tried to re-establish connection with Steven's former steakhouse date. She was mean to them and now Jake seeks comfort in you.

Cw/triggers: Comfort, fluff, one or two curse words.

This has been requested via pm and wishes to stay anonymous. :)

"Wait, Dylan. Give Steven another chance, he didn't–"

"No. Whatever freakshow goes on in your head, I've already told you. Lose. My. Number!"

Jake took a breath. "Come on, I just told you about us."

There was a short sigh, then the call ended.

-

Jake slumped back, taking a moment to process the nerve wrecking call.

After a minute he dials another number - yours.

"Hi Jake." came your soft voice which made him smile.

"Hey there. Listen... I just had a rollercoaster of a call.. can I come over for a bit to clear my mind?" Jake's voice was soft, almost broken.

You've never experienced Jake this sad, only his tough, calm and menacing side, so this is a surprise.

"Of course, Jake. Is everything alright?"

"I'll explain everything once I'm there. Thanks by the way." He had a genuine smile on his face for your understanding.

Jake ended the call, getting dressed in his usual attire and his trusty hat.

It wasn't long until Jake knocked on your door.

When you opened it, Jake had a small smile on his face, not wanting to come off too hurt.

"Hey, thanks for letting me stop by."

You smile. "You know I'm always there for you guys." you stepped to the side, inviting him in.

While Jake made himself comfortable in your living room, you were in the kitchen, making tea.

Once you returned, you put both mugs down on the coffee table. "I know you guys prefer black coffee except Steven, but I thought tea might be better." you chuckle softly.

Jake smiled widely at you, taking his mug. "No it's completely fine. The tea is actually the right thing I need rightnow."

You sat down beside him on the couch, sipping on your tea. "So, what do you wanna talk about?"

"Well," Jake started, "you know the woman Steven was supposed to go on a date at the steakhouse?"

"Yeah. The one he accidentally forgot." you nod.

"Exactly," Jake gave a curt nod, "so, I called her, wanting to make her forgive us and give Steven another chance."

"What did she say?"

Jake sipped on his tea. "She was a total bitch about it, not letting me finish talking."

He continued. "She was so mean to us. Poor Steven was so done with her and Marc tried reasoning too, but she kept insulting us." Jake sighed.

Putting your mug down, you scoot closer to him, wrapping your arm around his shoulders. "Jake, she wasn't worth it. You all deserve better." you smile softly.

Jake put his hat down. "Really? You think that? I just want to be there for Steven and Marc."

"Yes I think that," you began running your fingers through his hair, making Jake lean into your touch, "you three deserve nothing but the best." you say gently.

Jake closed his eyes, smiling. "Holy shit, hearing you like that... I think we are falling for you."

You giggle. "Even Marc and Steven?"

"Even Marc and Steven." Jake admits softly, wrapping his arms around you.

Jake pulled back, looking at you with a soft expression. "Hey, do you mind if we stay for tonight?" his tone was sincere.

You smile. "Yes, of course!"

"Thanks, mi amor." Jake hugged you tighter, the three of them are looking forward on spending the night with someone who could understand them - you.

-------------------------

Wanna get tagged?

Tags:

@nekoyin @steven-grants-world @iolaussharpe-24 @buckyssugarchick @sugarplumz100 @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @krakenkitty @silvernight-m @lunaana-02 @ivystoryweaver @chaithetics @mooksmouse @heavydirtysoulsblog @faretheeoscar @deceasedream69 @sejanusxfan

[fortnightdjo]

Steddie 😈

Steve sucks his thumb to focus or to calm down and self regulate

Steve is walking back and forth in his room and he sucks on his thumb he knows it’ll mess up his teeth but he can’t help it. Eddie is supposed to come over sometime soon, and Steve is worrying about it because he had Eddie come over so he confess to him, but he got so distracted by his worrying and thumb sucking that he did realize what time it was, the front door downstairs unlocks and opens (he gave Eddie a spare key), Steve doesn’t realize it tho.

“Harrington~!” Eddie calls out in a sing song tone, the stairs creak as he comes up the stairs, Steve’s door is cracked open just enough to where Eddie can see Steve sucking his thumb and pacing around, Eddie finds it adorable. Eddie opens the door slowly, he clears his throat. Steve turns around and quickly takes his thumb out of his mouth.

“Ed! Heyy…” Steve says nervously

“Stevie. What are you doing?” Eddie smirks

“Nothing. Just waiting for you.” He wipes off his thumb on his pants

“You suck your thumb?” Eddie says in a knowing tone

“No! No I don’t” Steve quickly answers he doesn’t want Eddie to think he’s weirds or abnormal, even tho Eddie himself is weird and abnormal.

“Steve. Stevie. Steven. You’re fine.” Eddie walks closer to him

“…it’s weird I know. Just forget you saw that, please”

“Oh come on Harrington! Look at me, you seriously think I care that you do something weird? It’s cute. “

“It’s embarrassing!”

“You know what, I forget about it. You called me over here because you wanted to talk to me in person? Miss me that much Stevie?”

Steve sighs heavily. He runs his hands thru his hair.

“Uh yeah. Before I say it, just promise me you won’t be mad or freaked out….please”

“What it’s not like you have a crush on me or something?” Eddie says, he doesn’t mean it in a “I don’t want Steve to like me” he means it more like “PLEASE LIKE ME STEVE!” Way

Steve heart drops when he says that. He clears his throat. His breathing becomes heavy and his face becomes hot. He feels embarrassed, he knew he didn’t have a chance with Eddie.

“Oh… no! No… uhm I just. Uh.. was having problems with my car…yeah it’s making noises.” Steve blurts out, it’s the first thing that came to mind.

Eddie feels disappointed. “I’ll fix your car right up stevie! But you look way too nice just to tell me about your car problems, you got a date or something?”

“Uh no. Just what I put on today. So can you help me with my car? I need it for tomorrow because I’m supposed to take shit head to the arcade” Without thinking steve puts him thumb in between his teeth. He lies even more, he’s doing nothing tomorrow, well now he’s going to sulk and wallow in sorrow.

They go downstairs and to the front where Steve’s car is parked. Eddie pops the hood and starts to get to work.

“So uh what did you say was wrong with your car?” Eddie says, not in his usual happy cheerful tone but in a disappointed tone.

“The engine is making funny noises, like it’s loud weird noises.” Steve says he catches on to Eddie’s disappointed tone “Eddie are you alright?”

“Yeah? I’m fine Steve why?” He lies thru his teeth. They are both oblivious idiots.

Steve puts his thumb in mouth and shrugs.

“Dunno. You just sound…uh disappointed?” Steve says he looks at worried

Eddie smiles at Steve sucking his thumb, the image warms his heart.

“Stevie. I just don’t know why you would call me over at such an hour and looks so nice just for me to help with your car…over the phone you sounded nervous and….” The realization hits Eddie.

“Steve.”

Steve shys away.

“Oh Eddie I-. I’m sorry, I just…Eddie I really like you, like a lot. Uhm but I know now that you obviously don’t-“ Eddie cuts him off with a kiss.

“Steve I haven’t never wanted anymore more then I want you! What I said back there was complete self doubt please ignore that!” He hugs Steve.

Steve puts his thumb in between his teeth.

“You mean… you like me back!”

“I just kissed you Steve, of course I like you back!”

The end

[mackmp3]

☕how the writers delt with river song

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP THEY DID MY GIRL SO DIRTY there are so many. good river song moments. and there are so manythat make me want to tear a strip off steven moffat like every goddamn episode with her they have to make some obnoxious sex joke or some Honey Im Home type shit & i understand this is like. A Moffat Theme & i dont always hate it but goddddd its so reductive like there is so much!!!! that could be done with her character !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is overshadowed by haha what if she was sexy like STOPPPPPPPPPPPP.

like silence in the library was a really good character lead in & i like her!!! as a character !!!! even the overly flirtatiousness unfortunately that would work on me but even aside from that. she is a good character let down but the sheer pull-it-out-of-your-ass writing of her backstory. like?? she could regenerate cos she was conceived in the tardis okay thats really cool much weirder stuff has happened when it comes to tardises & making babies but then WE SeE THIS FOR LIKE. ONE OR TWO EPISODES BEFORE THEYRE LIKE WHOOPS THAT DOESNT WORK ACTUALLY COS SHE'S DEAD UHHH SHE BETTER UHMM IDK SAVE TH E DOCTOR OR SOMETHING WHATEVER> COS HER ENTIRE LIFE HAS TO REVOLVE AROUND HIM. HASHTAG MARRIAGE AMIRITE like even the fact that her entire life was shaped around him isnt a Bad Idea it just feels like no one considered the tragic impies (implications) of this, & simultaneously doing amy so dirty in the process as well like??? she loses baby mels & then discovers she was her (never previously mentioned) childhood friend but then she uhhhh dies & turns into this woman you already know and them????? barely eveer mention it again???? holy shit?????????????????????? amy & river is a freaking horror story but one that the writers seem imcapable of dealing with because sOMEONE is too busy making obnoxious jokes about married life

a lot of thsi is specific to the General Vibes of the eleven era stuff as well which was in general so so weird about women & while its not like twelve or any of teh other doctors are expemt from this eleven is a massive dick to people quite a bit & a lot of this falls on river b/c he is seemingly (iirc i havent seen some of this stuff for a while though it Haunts Me) almost careless? with her? like a sort of 'welllllll she's here now so it was all okay in the end :)' sort of attitude ignoring that she went through A Fuckton Of Stuff before she was even a concious human(mostly??) being

even the husbands of river song is tragically guilty of some of that stuff like. she's seen some wild shit & she should have known it was twelve wayyyyyy way way quicker. like i understand why she didnt for plot reasons but she is in fact very intellegent like. she's allowed to show that. unfortunatley sometimes women cant be smart & have their boobs out at that same time I GUESSSSSSSSS

also the nine & river audios from earlier this year? i really like archipelago i listened to that a couple of times & i thought it was really powerful but AGAIN the writers make river So Fucking Obsessed With Romance like. you'd let it go by that point. nine had literally just proved he's the most aro guy in the universe (good for him) and shes stillllllll flirting at him. which. imo she wouldnt do anymore because, shock horror, she does actually like him as a person & values his company and you would think you would be friends wit hthe guy YOU ARE GONG TO MARRY OR WHATEVER. NOT THAT THEIR MARRIAGE WAS PARTICULARLY ROMANTIC EITHERIM GONNA BE SO REAL. obviously sex is important to her & good for her but yikes. it doesnt need to be mentioned so often.

like its the whole 'inherent tragedy of waiting for a time traveller' stuff which i do eat up every time meeting her in silence of the library & knowong that there is so much more there - VERY COMPELLING !! really good character intro augahagaauuaajaaajahhahahahhhh but nooooo her Entire Fucking Goddman Life has to revolve around being manipulated & The Doctor AS WELL AS !! the completely uncalled for ohhhh im a PSYCHOPATH ( <- unfounded & demonstrably untrue lowkey this is saneism right. thats an ableism there yes? ) thing they alllwaysssss have her say like well!! shes not !! theres 'youre talking about commiting a murder'/'no im not, i'm actually commiting a murder' which i like & is funny & she would say that and then theres teh vauge oooohhhhh im so Freaky & I Have A Gun or whatevr like augsugsaihuahahaouoauauoouauoauoauoauuo

also twelve & river had freaky t4t bi4bi aroallo sex after the end of husbands of river song but no actual dw writer is enlightened enough to see that because they have to flatten her into The Doctors Wife & she would have had a far better dynamic with 12 than with 11 (not that i'm biased) i wish they got more time togetherrrrrrrrrrr also you should listen to the bekdel test (diary of river song audio with missy)

[cringecompanionapologist]

Why Turlough Is Rarely Written Well

Classic companions have a habit of falling into Susan/Ian/Barbara archetypes. You have Men (strong, attractive, brave, good at the physical stunts the often older Doctors can't do), you have Women (okay there's actually some variety with this one since they're the most common. There are the sensible women who have none of the Doctor's shit or the plucky girls who love assisting the Doctor but are often written as stupid for plot reasons.), and you have Children (usually girls, but Adric also fits perfectly into the archetype. They're young and vulnerable but usually made abnormally smart to make up for it, with the exception of Dodo because the writers didn't know what to do with her).

Sometimes things can mix. Leela and Ace basically functions as all three categories at once. It's why they get so much EU material. They can fill basically any companion role depending on what you need. Some are sort of vague in their roles. Victoria switches between Woman and Child, not as a combination, but as if the writers didn't always agree on which one she was. Nyssa probably isn't a child, at least not by Season 20, but she generally plays the Child companion role. And, as I said, the Woman companion role is all over the place.

But, generally, Man doesn't have to be male if you're willing to let a girl fight and Child doesn't have to be a child if they still come across as innocent and/or unfamiliar with the world around them.

Throughout the 60s and 70s, Woman evolved (compare Barbara's role in the show to Jo's. This isn't bashing Jo. The character were just handled very differently) and Child was sort of phased out due to not fitting the UNIT setting. Man was also phased out once the Doctor learned space martial arts. You could also say that UNIT collectively was Man. This led the show to slowly transition from three companion teams (Man/Woman/Child) to two companion teams (Man/Woman or Man/Child depending on the team) to the single Woman companion you see throughout most of the 70s. Harry Sullivan was a brief revival of Man but you once again had a Doctor who could do the action stuff himself, so the writer's weren't sure where to go with him and he was written out after one season. The show stopped having male companions (unless you count K9, but I'd put him the secret fourth category of Robot).

The the 80s happened at the decided to have male companions again, but Tom Baker was still Tom Baker, and Peter Davison was the youngest, most physically capable Doctor yet. So, they took the Child archetype that had previously been exclusively female (Susan, Vicki, Dodo, Victoria sometimes, Zoe) and gender flipped it. Adric is basically a gender flip of Zoe, a teenage mathematical genius that stows away in the TARDIS and basically forces the Doctor to adopt them.

But then Adric blew up, but they still wanted a male companion around, and we got Turlough. And Turlough doesn't really fit any of the archetypes. He's not the brave, physically strong Man and he's too generally familiar with the world to be a Child. He's an alien, an outsider to what the audience thinks of as normal, like Leela and Nyssa, but he's lived on Earth for a while and is familiar with it enough to hate it. He doesn't carry that same sense of innocence.

That leaves Woman and though female companions had covered Man before, they'd never really reversed it. The sort of did at times with Steven, since he was sort of a merge of Ian and Barbara, but that was because the writers were used to having Barbara around and weren't sure how to make the show work without that role.

Turlough doesn't really fit the Woman archetype either. The Sensible Woman variant has to have a certain moral high ground and Turlough's morally ambiguous. The Plucky Girl variant needs to either be enthusiastic about travel, or be either very brave or borderline oblivious to danger. Turlough is very much aware of danger and is not a fan of it.

So Turlough doesn't really fit anywhere. Writers struggled to figure out what to do with him. Too much of the traditional companion role, especially for Men, was defined by courage and selflessness. Turlough had to learn to be that way as a character arc. There had been companions that struggled with being brave before. Susan and Victoria come to mind. But Susan was kind of all over the place and Victoria started off being pretty brave before being in constant peril made her a nervous wreck and she chose to leave the TARDIS to save her sanity.

So, you end up with a companion that didn't really fit any archetype and the previous companions he could most easily be compared to were Susan and Victoria.

So, when writing Turlough, writers end up with two choices: to lean in or back out. They could write Turlough in a way similar to Susan and Victoria, intelligent enough to be reasonable competent, but physically and emotionally fragile. Or, they could try to make the character a bit more like earlier male companions, except he's complaining about it the entire time.

Writers prefer backing out to leaning in. That's because there's a bit of a double standard when it comes to gender stereotypes. You give a woman traits more associated with men, it's usually received positively. Leela stabs people, Ace beats up a Dalek with a baseball bat, everyone loves it. And they should. It's great. But when it's the other way around, giving a man traits more associated with women, it's usually based in negative traits and not received well.

It isn't always that straightforward. A female character who's assertive and tries to take charge but doesn't usually stab or beat people up will be classified as a "bitch". Strangely, a male character who's cowardly might also be called the same word. "Bitch" is apparently an insult specifically connected to gender nonconformity. Women who are too bold and men who aren't bold enough.

I've written before about how this affects fandom (and a good number writers) attitude towards Tegan. She's assertive, but not in a beat-up-daleks-with-a-baseball-bat sort of way.

This makes the TARDIS team of Tegan and Turlough interesting. They both play gender in a way that's usually seen as negative. Writers, if they want the characters to be likable, have to tone it down. Or, they play it as annoying and something for the audience to make fun of. They can't just accept it. Which would be the most interesting thing to do.

In my previous Tegan rant, I said there should be a story where the Doctor has to overcome his pride and listen to Tegan in order to save the day. She might not be a STEM genius, but she can be right about something. I also have another vague idea, a conflict between Tegan and Turlough, that would focus on Turlough saving the day by being non-confrontational.

The premise is that Tegan and Turlough get captured and locked up in a prison. Tegan fights with the guards and tries to escape, while Turlough tells her not to bother because the Doctor will show up and rescue them. Time goes by, the Doctor gets stuck in another plotline, and Tegan and Turlough are at risk of being executed. They can't just wait this out. Tegan gets more frantic in her escape attempts and more annoyed with Turlough, who is intimidated by the guards and doesn't really seem to be trying.

Then, there's a brief period where Tegan and Turlough are outside their cells, quite close to the keys to their cell. The guards are keeping a close eye on Tegan in case she tries anything, but they're not watching Turlough as closely. They don't think he's going to try anything. He basically uses Tegan's usual quarrel with the guards as a diversion so he can grab the key. Tegan catches on to the plan.

They're returned to their cell but Turlough doesn't actually have the key. Tegan gets pissed that he wimped out and this was all for nothing, only for Turlough to reveal that the cell is unlocked. He didn't take the key. There were keys to multiple cells around and he swapped their cell's key with another key, so the guards used the wrong key on their cell, leaving it unlocked. No one expected anything of him and there wasn't a missing key to attract attention. He found a way out to get around the guards without confronting them.

Then, to avoid making Tegan look bad for being defiant, she frees the other prisoners and rallies them to overpower the guards and escape, because sometimes the direct approach works too. Then they both have to rescue the Doctor.

I should probably just write this fanfic, but I don't have enough specific details yet.

Anyway, writers who try to make Turlough more "masculine" are cowards and boring.

[livedtough]

She isn't yelling at him, which is...worse, maybe. It would be easier if she'd yelled at him. He can yell, he can fight, but he doesn't know how to handle her upset. She's worried about Steven, and so is he, but he doesn't know what he's supposed to do with that. He just wants her to stay out of her way, to let him do his damn job, but that doesn't seem like it's happening.

Maybe he should have been honest with her from the start, but the hope had been that this would blow over, that the situation with Steven would be smoothed out, and none of this would have to happen. God, there's enough shit going on already. But he doesn't want to talk to her. She's not his friend, she's not anything. She's a stranger, and whatever the hell is going on with him, with his head, that's not anything for her to know. His armor may be cracked, but it won't break.

He doesn't want her here, doesn't want her putting her shoes on like she's his friend, like he's going to let her come with him without any problem. Like this is a friendly little walk they're going on in the middle of the night. He huffs as she speaks. Of course Steven doesn't want to be involved. That's the point. That's his point. But it's too late. He thinks it might be, anyway. He'd like to fix it, if he can, but the damage might already be done. "I don't know," he answers honestly. "I think it's me." Maybe she's not helping, in fact he's sure she's not, but he doesn't think it's her fault. It's his, and he hates himself for it.

She stands, and he tenses, not ready to strike, but preparing to. He will, if he needs to. It won't be the precision strike of a viper, but the frightened tearing of a cornered wolf. "What? You think I'm just gonna let you tag along? I'm not in the market for a chaperone, and the sooner you let me go, the sooner I can get back in this apartment and to bed without anyone knowing. So get out of my way." He couldn't say it wasn't even a decent idea, but it wasn't one he was willing to entertain at the moment.

"I know ... I know." She should be angry - part of her is, more is going to be, but it's all going to have to wait until afterward, when she has a chance to decompress. If she has a chance to decompress.

But the fact is that if Marc had just told her this in the first place ... she gets why he wouldn't, but she would have understood better than she did to just 'get away from Steven'. She's not sure yet exactly what their deal is, and she's juggling enough worries that that's actually a minor one; ahead of it is what's happening and what to do about it. Not least because she can see the cracks in Marc's armour that he's trying to hide.

"Believe me," Her voice is low and even as she wrestles with her socks and shoes, "I'm absolutely positive that he doesn't want to be involved." Steven was fine - or as fine as Steven gets - until recently. Until somewhere in their timeline around her meeting Marc, and it flickers through her thoughts that ... "Did you think it was happening because he was hanging around with me?" Again it's not an angry question. In fact she's nodding - in his shoes, with ... whatever the deal is going kerwhacky, it would have been a logical jump.

"Marc ... please." She stands now, bordering on anxious, fingers laced together in a way that's close to wringing her hands, "I can't let Steven wake up alone somewhere strange again. I can't. He's a mess, and he's trusting me, and I can't let him down. You said yourself, we both already know what we are. Let me come with you as a safety net, in case ... well. Things don't go as planned."

[dameronalone]

The post you just reblogged about infantilizing autistic characters and specifically Steven Grant is actually one of my favorite things ever and I wished people talked about it more. I remember watching MK when it first came out and seeing Steven and being like omg he’s just like me!! because a lot of the times I don’t really connect with autistic characters for one reason or another but seeing Steven and seeing him have the same mannerisms and characteristics as me was so so wonderful and the fandom was great at first and it seems like the more time passes and the farther we get from when the show stopped having new episodes, he gets characterized so differently than how he was in the show. Like yeah he was awkward and unsure around Layla but also look at the circumstances!! Everyone’s turned him into an uwu baby child and forget that he got angry and he was smart and he was brave and he was an adult man and not a child regardless of him being autistic. Idk, I just really liked that post and I was so glad to see someone on the same page as me and I wanted to share my thoughts lmao

dearest anon you are more than welcome to come in my inbox and talk abt Steven, autism, and how irritating fandom ableism is, because I'm always ready to talk about any of it. I'm glad that you felt seen by my frustration! a lot of times I'll mention it or even post about it and it's like yelling into the void

I think the wonderful thing about Steven is that he feels so authentically autistic, him and Marc both (and im assuming Jake as well, but it's just too soon to tell in which ways he will experience/be visibly autistic) and I think that's both the uprising and the downfall of it because in not using the word "autistic" in the show it paves the way both for genuine connection AND the surface level ableist "aw steven" mentality we see a lot now

i was watching the first two episodes the other day, mostly because I'm rewatching for Steven- an aside, but fandom had honestly put me off Steven. ofc I loved him so much but I couldn't truly connect because the (imho) accurate Steven that I liked to think about and analyze is NOT the Steven we see in 98% of fanfiction or tumblr posts. but anyway I was watching the first two episodes and I gotta say, for as much nervous stuttering as he does in fanfiction, he really- listen I think he does a reasonable amount of nervous stuttering when he is IN truly stressful situations that have him completely off kilter.

you can't really script your way out of a conversation with a creepy guy trying to tell you abt his lord and savior ammit the croc

anyway. all this to say, I completely understand where you're coming from and I'm really glad you felt seen in my own frustration. it's always validating to see someone else verbalizing a deep rooted but glossed over issue that bothers you

just!! reiterating your point!! he's knowledgeable!!! he's angry!!! he's incredibly brave!!!! he's not afraid to stand up to Marc or khonshu or harrow or anybody!!!! he's an adult man with a job and a place to live!!! that doesn't make him any better or worse than someone who may not have a job BUT people just love to turn autistic ppl into helpless little uwu babies and its SO obnoxious and irritating and insulting. he IS capable!! Steven is SASSY he is a BITCH he fantasizes about killing his boss!!!!! he bargined the world for marc (and his) freedom!!!! hello?????

steven would not like the majority of the people who claim to like him..

at any rate lmao. my inbox is always open!! happy to talk 🫶

[sp0o0kylights]

Grass is green, water is wet, and Jonathan Byers does not like Steve Harrington.

These are known facts in the universe.

Computers were going to take over the world, a “mobile” phone was being invented, and Steve Harrington had lost most of his hearing.

These were unknown facts--rumors even, if you will. Eddie had never seen even a grain of truth to support any of them. 

(Well, maybe the computer thing, but only because Grant and Dustin both had made a couple of convincing arguments.) 

So he doesn’t think about it, when his freshman gang up on him. 

Doesn’t even factor the “can’t hear well” thing in, when he was tasked (demanded, whined, bitched and moaned at) with helping them explain to Steve why going to the release party of the new D&D box set, located at a hobby store only a mere 2 hour drive away, was important.

Eddie’s not even sure how the little shits got him to agree to do it until he’s standing in the parking lot in front of the former King himself. 

“The store’s leading up to the release with a handful of one-shots.” He’s explaining, unsure whether to pull out the bored act or play up his court jester persona, and thus mixing and matching on the fly. 

He does not care if Harrington doesn’t know what a one-shot is. 

“They’re releasing the set at midnight. You have to be there to get it though, you can’t have someone else pick it up for you because they only got a certain amount in.” 

Harrington’s frowning (no surprise) but it’s not until Eddie is well into his spiel about how his van is already full with the elder members of Hellfire, and thus has no room for the freshmen, that he realizes Steve isn’t quite looking at him. 

Is in fact, looking over his shoulder.

Eddie stops. Follows Harrington’s gaze.

Parked across from Steve’s Beemer, is Jonathan Byer’s barely working clunker car. 

A handful of steps in front of it, and thus nearly right behind Eddie, is the man himself.

His hands are still moving, mouth shaping words silent as he goes, his gaze locked not on Eddie or the kids--but on Steve. 

Who turns back around as Harrington’s eyes slide right back to him. 

“And this is taking place next Friday?” He says, in that sort of annoyed but resigned way parents aim at their children. “After school?” 

“I’d like to go during  school, but the freshmen insist you wouldn’t let them ditch out.” Eddie tells him. “They had two separate arguments about it.” 

Loud ones, that had interrupted the game and given Eddie a migraine. 

Once again Steve’s eyes slide away from him, to Jonathan. 

“They’re not skipping school.” He says suddenly, a glare forming and Jonathan makes an annoyed noise. 

“They argued about skipping, they’re not going to.” He says aloud, and finally steps up so that he’s next to Eddie instead of behind him. 

“Munson slow down, I can’t sign as fast as you’re talking.” He adds, in the hang-dog grumble he’s notorious for. 

Eddie stares at him. 

“Can he seriously not hear me?” 

“No.” Steve and Jonathan answer together. 

“I can kind of still hear,” Steve adds, gaze returning to Eddie’s face. “But its more loud music or noises. I can lip read, but you’re also talking too fast for that.” 

Without pausing, he turns back to Jonathan and says; “Why can’t you take them?”

“It’s Friday.” Byers deadpans. 

Eddie’s not an expert on sign language, but his hands somehow looked deadpan too. 

He’s not sure how Jonathan did that. 

“So?” Steve snarks back. 

What follows is an argument that Eddie is not, at all involved in, mostly because he’s too busy handling the fact that Jonathan Byers has learned sign language, for Steve Harrington, apparently, and given the tone the argument is taking they still don’t even like each other.  

Eventually the argument ends, Steve throwing his hands in the air and demanding that Jonathan owes him. 

(Eventually Eddie will corner the ever so quiet Will Byers and ask why the hell his brother learned sign language for someone he clearly fucking hates.

“Oh they don’t hate each other.” Baby Byers would say, in that shy, quiet way of his. “I think they’re actually friends now?” 

“You think?”

“Well--you’ve seen them.” Will shrugs. “I think being mean to each other is kinda their thing.” 

‘What the hell.’ Eddie would think, right up until he stumbled across one of the kids sign language books. 

Byers the Elder, he decides, isn’t the only person who should learn sign language to chew out Harrington properly.

The pay off is immediate. 

Or at least, the pay off of watching Steve’s shocked face the first time Eddie signs something vulgar at him is, anyway.)

[mizie-izie]

oh man guys oh man. are you guys seeing this?? do you guys see some kind of pattern here???

[random-lil-illing]

i had a vision,,, asexual dps fans what do we think

[daweyt]

Wallace Stevens, from “The Collected Poems; ‘Sunday Morning,’” published c. 1954.

[gatoburr0]

She’s such a good mother figure it makes me cry.

Quick something because my brain has rotted to a degree.

[dandelionjack]

quick question steven. what did you mean by that last bit there

[therealraewest]

I can't believe Khonshu took Steven and Jake in the divorce

[cephalopod-celabrator]

Why does every animated kids adventure show progress from Season 1: Malcolm and Jana help their neighbor who's a talking frog with his taxes but uh-oh, the taxes turned into monsters and they've got to fight them! to Season 3: Jana must kill the reanimated corpse of God meanwhile Malcolm must contend with the embodiment of existential suffering which has burrowed into his mind and is unraveling his sanity. Neither of them will ever be the same.

[whatadumbfool]

"t-theyre right behind me arnt they ?" ass look

alt black and white version + no light or whatever