#dustin is a clueless genius

[space-invading-pigeon]

Dustin being mad at Steve because he caught the guy kissing Eddie

Steve and Eddie being hurt that Dustin is a homophobe

Robin finding out that Dustin is actually mad because he didn't know Steve liked Eddie, because Dustin thought everyone found everyone attractive

Steve has to apologize to Dustin for not keeping him informed on his love life while Eddie guffaws in the background like an asthmatic horse

****

"I'm in a very loving and committed relationship with Suzie but if Lucas kissed me I would thank him."

"Dustin, I will climb out of this hospital bed and kick your ass right now."

"Max, you would cry if El kissed you so I don't want to hear it."

[moonlit-imagines]

Screw Dumb Boys

Dustin Henderson x reader

warnings:

a/n: sowwy this took so long i hope u like it cuz i did actually enjoy writing it!!

prompt: @littlegaaby: “Hello! I would like to request a one-shot for Dustin Henderson from Stranger Things with a reader (gn or fem) who is very jealous of Dustin with Suzie, as if they were friends in love before Dustin went to camp and the reader is jealous of the way Dustin tries to talk to Suzie using his brain and the reader vents this to Max over the walkie talkie and Dustin ends up listening, it could end very cute with him and the reader confessing! I'm not sure if I explained it correctly haha, feel free to delete if you're confused and I'm sorry for the bad English, have a nice day!”

When Dustin came back from camp, you were ecstatic. The whole day, you couldn’t stop rambling about all you could do together to make up for lost time over the summer. Seriously, it was driving everyone crazy. “Y/N, we’re all excited to see Dustin again, not just you.” Mike finally interrupted and you looked to Max in your anger, the only person who understood your feelings here. She shook her head, trying to communicate it wasn’t worth the trouble and you’d soon see Dustin later today.

Well, when Dustin got home, things changed. He couldn’t wait to tell the Party about Suzie—his girlfriend from camp. Your soul practically left your body at the news, despite the skepticism of your friends.

“He’s probably lying, y/n.” Max tried to comfort you after you abruptly split from the group. “He’s a boy, he’s clueless. The rest of us have all had boyfriends and girlfriends, he’s just trying to catch up or something and had time to make up a story while he was bored at camp.” She was reallt convincing, but you didn’t think Dustin was lying. Especially to you. He was really your best friend and once you were calm enough to rejoin the group, he gushed to you about her.

“She’s super smart. Genius, actually. And she’s funny in a really mature, intelligent way. Very refreshing. And she’s pretty—long hair, dark eyes, nice smile.” Dustin was getting increasingly annoying by the second and it looked like you were about to burst a blood vessel.

“You notice anything wrong with y/n?” Lucas asked from across the room. You were staring off into space and boucing a leg while Dustin continued his ramblings. “They seem…off.”

“Yeah, they were like, super excited for Dustin to come home and now they’re just sitting there. Where did all those plans they were talking about go?” Mike added, looking to Max for an answer.

“What? I don’t know anything…” She defensively replied, but Lucas knew better.

“Wait…no way…” Lucas started laughing and tapped Mike on the shoulder. “Y/N likes Dustin. That’s why they look so pissed, he’s talking about his fake girlfriend and they’re getting jealous.” Mike continued observing and his jaw dropped. “I’m right, aren’t I?” The boys started cackling at the idea and Max was quick to hit both of them to quiet them down before you noticed. But she knew you needed a quick save.

“Shit, y/n!” Max yelled, looking at Lucas’s watch. “We gotta go, we’re gonna be late!” You looked confused a moment before it clicked that she was attempting a rescue.

“Oh, shit! Sorry, guys, I’ll call you later.” You grabbed all your stuff and ran out the door fast as possible without explanation with Max to follow, laughing as soon as you two got out of earshot, but you were still very upset. “I don’t think he’s kidding.”

“Oh, come on! Even if he isn’t, apparently she lives in Utah. Like that’ll last.” She tried her best to support you, but you were still coming down from the excitement of seeing him. This was a huge letdown and a devastating blow. “We can do something to get your mind off of it. Who cares about boys anyway? I’ll even break up with Lucas again and we can be single together. Screw dumb boys!”

“You’re a good friend, Max.” She finally got a chuckle out of you and she gave you a hug. “Can we get McDonald’s?”

—————

In all the turmoil of the Mind Flayer, you couldn’t get over your failed romance with Dustin. You thought the stress was honestly making it worse, and you were really getting tired of fighting for your life.

“He’s so stupid!” You shouted from the backseat with Max and Steve in attendance. “You seriously didn’t tell Dustin I liked him?” You started taking it out on Steve as he drove.

“No, no!” He defended, trying to focus on the road and saving, you know, all of Hawkins. “Y/N, don’t you think if I knew, I would have told him? I didn’t even think the girl was real, if I’m being honest.”

“It’s fine, y/n. He’s not the only guy in Hawkins.” Max tried to comfort you with the same old story.

“How many people in Hawkins are going to understand what we’ve been through. We have a connection, and I’m not gonna just give up because he’s got a girlfriend, you know?” You bit your tongue and took a breath. “Is that messed up?”

“I think it’s romantic.” Steve answered. “I mean, you guys go way back. You shouldn’t stop fighting for him.”

“Hey, we haven’t heard anything from the others in a while?” Max changed the subject, you’d been waiting for an update on the other teams for a while now. “Where’s the radio?”

“I have it.” You moved and heard it beep, meaning you’d just released the button. You were sitting on it. The blood drained from your face as you realized that you just broadcasted your very private conversation to everyone you knew. “Shit!”

“Hey, don’t worry. Maybe you just pressed it!” Steve said, going pale since Dustin might have just heard him gunning for a breakup of his very new and first relationship.

“Is that true, y/n?” You heard Dustin call over the radio. “Over.”

“Maybe. Over.” You nervously responded and Max grabbed the radio from your hand.

“Mind your business, Henderson!” Max yelled into the radio.

“You didn’t say over. Over.” Said Dustin.

“Over!” She yelled and tossed the radio on the front passenger seat. Your face was buried in your hands and you were already crying, Max did her best to console you since you did the most embarrassing thing anyone could ever do. “We’re almost at the spot. What do you want me to do?”

“Hide me from him.” You told her.

“I can help with that.” Steve added.

Once you’d reached the meeting spot. Dustin was waiting for you. Steve and Max were basically forming a wall to hide you, which was even more humiliating. You could hear the boys giggling over your pain, but Dustin pushed through Steve and Max and gave you a hug.

“I’m sorry.” He told you. “I am stupid.”

“It’s okay.” You responded, bursting into tears iver all the stress. Loss, embarrassment, and fear all catching up to you at once. “I’m glad you’re happy, Dustin.”

taglist: @locke-writes // @ripoffadora // @mrs-steve-harrington // @captainshazamerica // @imaginesbymk // @randomawesomeperson102 // @augustvandyne // @summersimmerus // @azazel-nyx // @simp-legend // @prettysbliss // @sapphireplums // @beth-gallagher22 // @ravenstrueluv // @you-bloody-shank //

[hellfirenacht]

Reader ==> Join a Cult?

Isekai Chronicles Master List

FIRST CHAPTER HERE >> START HERE <<FIRST CHAPTER

Chapter Summary: Summery: You're kind of weird, even for the freaks of Hawkins. Explain yourself.

Notes: This is reposted for formatting issues.

How the Hellfire club was allowed to light real candles in the prop department was a mystery to you, one that was clearly not OSHA compliant. It was stuffy in the room, the air a bit stale with the lack of proper windows or ventilation but no one else seemed bothered by that. Around you, everyone was talking and chatting with each other while Eddie finished setting up the table. 

He was picky about where everything went, you’d noticed. Eddie was lost in his own world as he consulted his notes, as well as Zack’s notes. You were starting to like Zack, he was the one who would often bring snacks and take notes of everything that Eddie would say during these sessions. Like everyone in Hellfire, he was intense but you were growing used to that. 

As you set your own stuff down by your chair, you caught Gareth's eye, and once again he seemed less than thrilled by your presence. You had no idea what his problem was, as you’d barely spoken to him in the few sessions that you had been with Hellfire. 

“What’s up?” you asked, meeting his eyes. If he was going to stare, he may as well speak. 

He shook his head and looked away. 

“Okay, good talk.” you said to yourself. “Let’s do that again soon.”

Dustin dropped down in the seat next to you, pulling out his own character sheet and pencil. He turned to you and handed over a sheet of paper with a few paragraphs scribbled on it in messy, barely legible handwriting. 

“I was thinking about what you said with how your old group played D&D.” He said as you took the paper. “So I thought about my own character and I also came up with a backstory for him.”

Your eyes lit up at that and you immediately looked over it. It wasn’t very in depth, but it was something. His character was a bard, the same class as you, with an ambiguous backstory where his bard was either already mad or just very good at pretending to be mad. It honestly fit in so well with the idea of a Cult worshiping a litch. Even just a few small paragraphs of backstory made your heart swell and for a moment you felt like you were back at home. 

“I based him kind of on Murdock from the A-Team.” Dustin explained. 

“Who?” You asked before even realizing about what you just said. 

“What do you mean ‘who’?” Ah, so Gareth WOULD speak to you now, when you had asked a stupid question. “Matt Murdock form The A-Team? You don’t know who that is?” 

Even this seemed to catch Eddie’s attention and all eyes were on you now. Dustin’s face was panic stricken, and he quickly looked at Mike for help as you scrambled to find an explanation on why you never seemed to have the best knowledge of pop culture around you. 

It’s not like you were completely clueless. You’d grown up with bits and pieces of the 80’s, but you were from a very long time from that. You knew about cultural touchstones, but the details of news, media, stars, and shows were outside of your wheelhouse. 

“I- well that’s because....” you trailed off. 

“She was home-schooled!” Dustin finally blurted out. 

You stared at him for a moment. Dustin Henderson was a goddamn genius. He’d just handed you the answer to most of your problems on a silver platter. 

Your shoulders relaxed and you did your best to look sheepish. “Alright, I guess the secret’s out. Yeah, I was home-schooled and wasn’t always allowed to watch tv or anything. Crazy religious parents and all that.”

“So you had weird religious parents, but you still played D&D?” Gareth asked, looking skeptical. 

“I never said they knew I played. I just said that I played.” you said, fidgeting with your mini-fig. “Once I turned 18, I was able to get away from home. So, there you go. There’s the big damn secret as to why I’m so weird.”

Eddie reached over and took your figure from you, setting it where it was supposed to go on the table. “So you snuck around your parents to play D&D?” There was an excited glint in his eyes that made your stomach twist. “Even with all the satanic panic bullshit that’s being fed to everyone?”

“Well, you see I was really looking forward to actually summoning demons and being possessed by the devil, but when I realized it was just a bunch of weirdos rolling dice to play make-believe I figured that was fine too.” Your joke was met with the sound of laughter at the table and Eddie’s grin widened. 

“You’re a real freak, you know that?” he asked. There was no higher compliment paid to you in the time that you had spent in this world. 

“I had my suspicions for a while.” you said. “I like this cult better though. Weirdly enough, you all are the least terrifying people in this town.”

“You were in a cult before?” Jeff asked. 

Mike and Dustin were giving you the ‘hey, you should shut up and keep it vague’ look. However, you were you, and shutting the fuck up was not really your strong suit. 

“I was home-schooled. Most people who were home-schooled are in some sort of religious cult.” You explained. “At least, in my home town they were. Can’t really say anything about other places. But yeah, just because it was vaguely Christian doesn’t mean it wasn’t a cult. I don’t like to get into it too much.” You somehow managed to cut yourself off before you started making up random rituals for your time ‘home-schooled’. 

At least this way, any gaps in your knowledge of this world could be easily explained away. Don’t know an actor? Home-schooled. Have weird expressions? Home-schooled. Something you DID know? Teenage rebellion and escaping the cult. 

You’d have to find a way to thank Dustin later. 

“No wonder you’re so weird.” Gareth muttered. 

“Yup, that tracks. Now are we gonna sit here and let me trauma dump about my tragic backstory, or are we going to infiltrate a cult? I came here to roll dice, and dammit I’m gonna roll dice today.” You slammed your pack of dice on the table. 

Satisfied, Eddie fell back on his throne, and there was a shift in the energy in the room as all eyes fell to him. In an instant he went from being Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson, to Dungeon Master. Suddenly the stuffy room wasn't as uncomfortable, and the candles lit around the room seemed less concerning. How Eddie was able to command the table so easily was beyond you. For the next few hours, everything faded away; Hawkins, work, papers- none of that mattered now. 

It was just you, your dice and your party. And for now, that was enough. 

Tumblr User ==> Leave a Prompt

[steddie-fanfic-recs]

Not-So-Secret Secret Admirer

by FeatherForARose

Rating: General Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Character: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Dustin Henderson Additional Tags: Secret Admirer, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, Flustered Steve Harrington, Clueless Steve Harrington, I'm Bad At Tagging, Family Video (Stranger Things), Oblivious Eddie Munson, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Supportive Wayne Munson, Gift Giving, Idiots in Love, Light Angst Words: 21,724 Chapters: 10/10

Summary

When Steve won't stop complaining about constantly striking out, Eddie comes up with the genius plan to be Steve's fake secret admirer. He definitely won't catch feelings along the way... definitely not...

[belokhvostikova]

Right. Well. I hope you're ready for this because I have a lot to talk about for yearbook 🤣

Firstly, I loved the structure of this chapter. A day in the life of Eddie, centered around his session. How Ms Kelly has had to draw him out over a few days. Because yea, he's made it there in the first place, but it doesn't automatically mean he's gonna be a model of open conversation and spilling his guts straight away. Felt very real that, like 'well I've shown up, what more do you want from me?'

Him just having a minute and sitting observing everyone from his van. Like his little moment of calm. It actually was like a scene from a movie, it reminded me of the first episode of season 4, as Robin is getting out of Steve's car and we're dipping in and out of everyone's conversations and goings on. Loved this.

Then his view of R coming into school, how he held back but still gave her that sign of solidarity with the thumbs up. He's so precious, I can't cope. And she needed that so much, her thinking about it later on to get her through the shitty parts of her day was perfect.

R's dad telling her that she basically deserves anything awful that happens to her, just for being a good person. Urgh that guy has some serious issues. Of all the people that need some therapy...

Then Chrissy! She made so many smart choices in this chapter. You've characterised her really well in this. Like she's presented as this really sweet and kind person in the show, but would she have stayed true to that when it mattered in a difficult situation with an audience? I love that you have her do that. Their lunch scene with Dustin was hilarious. Eddie's 'WHAT?!' After the marriage talk 🤣 pal, you would have her in a hot minute.

Really enjoyed the coaches comedy relief after the Jason/Eddie confrontation, and that R and Eddie had more conversation. Especially when it's flirting, could read them like this all day 😍

Honourable mention to Wayne again, for basically being a solid parent and showing Eddie what 'stable' looks like. I hope R meets him at some point and thinks 'oh shit, this is what a dad's supposed to look like'

Strange note for me to end on but I love how you full name everyone when they're not in direct conversation with each other, I've noticed it the past few chapters and it feels very 'Morgan Freeman doing a narrator voice over' and I'm here for it. Can't wait to see what happens next! 🖤🖤

Yes! I've been waiting for you. *in ominous voice*

Let me tell you, when I first began writing this chapter, I just completely free-balled it, I had no clue what was going to happen. I began writing the first couple of paragraphs, when it hit me. This story should totally revolve around Eddie's session AH- I felt like a fucking genius!

I honestly loved that added detail of him just observing. When I write I feel the need to just insert the most meaningless details, but I think it does a good job with just setting the mood around the story. If anyone is every struggling with writing, truthfully, adding specific details can really help!

And the little thumbs up 😭 everyone needs a little thumbs up from Eddie Munson! Especially after that sick interaction with her father, ugh 🤮

Our Chrissy Cunningham redemption arc has been completed! 🩷 I loved how sweet her character was in the show, and I definitely wanted to stick by that, but of course, I wanted to emulate a changing relationship between her and Jason, one where the other person is just someone who's not who they used to be. And given that it's implied that her mother is taking quite some control over her life, I really wanted to be able give her the opportunity to do what she wanted.

And we loved their little "girl talk" with a clueless Dustin.

And I love the idea of Reader meeting Wayne. Especially since we already got extremely intimate moments in her bedroom, I can definitely add some raw moments in his house.

And I think I've said this before, but I FUCKING RAGE OVER USING CHARACTER'S FULL NAME!!!!! Makes me feel like an actual fucking author with merit, lol. And I'm falling onto my knees knowing you get that feeling, too, and you noticed it in the first place! 😩

Thank you so much for your support! 🥹❤️

[edhellfire]

@hargrove

Whatever was happening in Hawkins, Eddie was clueless to it. Not because he didn't give a shit. He gave plenty of shits. More like, he had trouble walking himself to the bathroom in the small trailer let alone get out into town to see what was going on. Uncle Wayne didn't tell him much, didn't want him to get involved. And although Dustin and Steve stopped by to check on him, they too kept things from him. Things were bad. It didn't take a fucking genius to figure that one out. Everyone was just more focused on getting Eddie well. The guy was reckless enough as it was, they didn't need him doing something stupid. Or rather, more stupid.

There was a knock on the front door of the trailer. Eddie was somewhere between being awake and being asleep. Those pain killers he was on was some sort of magic. He was trying not to overindulge because he knew he could make a pretty penny selling them later. "I'm coming!" He shouted from his bedroom as he made all the effort it took to sit up from his bed. The wounds were healing painfully slow and he'd ripped his stitches more than once. He looked at the shirt on his bed, "Absolutely not." He spoke to his shirt. One of the biggest struggles he faced in his recover was getting tshirts on over his head. Every time he lifted his arms he felt the sutures tug at his skin.

"Hold on!" He shouted, although the person on the other side at the door had already stopped knocking. "It takes me ten business days to get out of bed!" Always the drama queen. In reality it only took him about three minutes to get from the bed to the front door pulling it open.

His reaction? Confusion. If he'd said two sentences to Billy Hargrove in his entire life that was a lot. He couldn't recall a single conversation. His mind went straight to the worst possible thing. "Max?"

[eskawrites]

okay so we all know Robin is a ride or die best friend, and so yes she would absolutely feel bad for crushing on Nancy because she’s Steve’s ex! Steve might still have a thing for her! but where are all my stories about Steve, who is also super ride or die, backing off his pursuit of Nancy because he realizes Robin has feelings for her???

like, hear me out

Nancy starts hanging out at Family Video more after breaking up with Jonathan because, well, they all hang out at Family Video these days, it’s just the place to be

nevermind that she really likes being around Steve-and-Robin (you don’t get one without the other), that’s probably not important

except Robin, who has gotten comfortable enough around the kids to be cool and banter with them and only ever rambles now to give passionate speeches about why they should rent x instead of y movie, is suddenly blushing and stammering every time Nancy comes into the store

it’s a miracle Dustin hasn’t picked up on it, but then Dustin--as genius as he is--can be kind of clueless

anyway Steve just smirks at Robin one day as Nancy leaves with all the kids and a couple of movies in tow, and when she turns around to question why the fuck he’s looking at her like that he’s just like “so how long have you been crushing on Nancy?”

cue Robin panicking and Steve assuring her it’s alright, really, and they settle into this funny rhythm of teasing each other for falling for falling for the same girl (”but I mean, come on, it���s Nancy Wheeler, of course we did.” “you’re right. who wouldn’t?” “maybe we should get jackets. do you think Jonathan would join our club?”)

no big deal, except meanwhile Nancy is still wondering why she’s most comfortable around Steve-and-Robin, or Robin-and-Steve, and why she’s suddenly driving to Family Video, or to Steve’s house, or to wherever the two of them are whenever she’s lonely

Nancy Wheeler doesn’t get lonely. she doesn’t need to go to someone for comfort. but she finds herself going to Steve-and-Robin all the time anyway

long story short comphet Nancy my beloved (not my usual headcanon but still my beloved) thinks maybe she is falling for Steve again and even works up the courage to ask him out one day at Family Video

Robin overhears Steve letting her down easy

“dude what the fuck, you spent all of spring break flirting with her!” “so?” “so? she asked you out, and you said no??” “best friend code. i’m not going to be with someone if it hurts you.” “that doesn’t matter dingus--” “yes, it does.”

and the thing is, Robin is more in love with Nancy than Steve thinks he ever was. and in all honesty, now that the world isn’t in danger and he has time to think, asking Nancy to be the mother of his six children is weird at best and downright insulting once you remember that she’s Nancy ‘screw that’ Wheeler

so maybe he doesn’t have feelings for her so much anymore. and maybe the weirdly relieved look on Nancy’s face when he turned her down means something

and maybe, maybe Nancy overhears them talking about it, Robin telling Steve yet again that she just wants him to be happy, she can get over her crush on Nancy if it means they’re both happy

and maybe it clicks that it’s less Steve-and-Robin, or even Robin-and-Steve, and more Robin that keeps Nancy coming into Family Video, or hanging out at Steve’s house, or inviting both of them over for movie nights in the basement

and maybe she goes to Steve, potentially drunk and definitely scared as hell, and tells him in a rush of nerves and courage that she thinks she has feelings for his best friend, not for him, and she’s so very sorry

Steve just grins. the next time he sees Robin he makes the very official announcement that “I don‘t have feelings for Nancy Wheeler and henceforth it shall be known that going out with her will not break the best friend code in any way”

Robin rolls her eyes because okay, sure, whatever, it’s never going to happen anyway

little does she know that Nancy is outside with milkshakes, Robin’s favorite tape (courtesy of Steve) playing in her car, waiting for Steve to push Robin out of Family Video insisting he can cover her shift while she goes on her first date

[neonponders]

Thank you for tagging me, @lovebillyhargrove !! And for giving us a new head canon game ~~~

This got long, so I’ll put it below the cut, but I’ll tag you back 💋 🌹

1. Do they get together BEFORE MF possessing Billy or AFTER shit goes down? (Or maybe DURING😲)

I’m available for all of these scenarios haha but I’ve never seen a fic/let where they get together DURING Billy being flayed 😥. Goodness, Steve would really be his angel, then.

2. Who kisses who first?

Steve makes the moves. That boy has no chill. Plus he is miles ahead of Billy in terms of emotional awareness and maturity, so he’s wearing the pants in the relationship for a while lol

3. Where do they have their first sex? (Location) (HJs and BJs count)

As a former teenager with experience living in a small town *cough*. Their cars. You have to make your own private areas, and your parents’ houses are just. Not. It. lol You park your car in a field, a park, somewhere with a lot of trees or other parked cars, and hope to god that nobody gets curious lol

4. Who says 💖 I LOVE YOU 💖 first?

Billy. Steve’s been burned before, right? He’ll do literally everything else to display how much he cares, but he’ll wait for Billy to lay that card on the table first.

5. I believe this fandom is way past having hard feelings about it, so

Bottom!Steve or Bottom!Billy?

Yes to all. I think they have different needs at different times, and are capable of indulging each other / taking care of one another in both ways.

6. Do they give gifts to each other?

I’m always available for a lot of gift giving (sugar boo tropes, eat my ass out). Both of them are so emotionally stunted that I just want them both showered in affection and Stuff™

7. Where do they end up living? California, Chicago, Hawkins... Idk .. Alaska??)))) Any other location?

I see Billy being very attached to California, and both of them being very scarred by Hawkins, but I don’t necessarily think they’d end up in California. Maybe a new part of California, in between sunny southside for Billy, and the foresty north for Steve. I do always write about them living in Chicago/New York, though haha I think the city is a fun reset for both of them.

8. What are their future jobs?

Outside of a mobster lol, I tend to write Billy as a chiropractor / physical therapist. (I want to live vicariously through Steve as his husband cracks his bones like a stale pretzel). I’ve given Steve a lot of different jobs but art therapist for kids is my favorite.

9. Who's a better cook?

They both cook but make different things. The more fire involved, it’s Billy (grilling, southeast Asian cuisine). If it’s breakfast, it’s Steve. Literally any kind of breakfast, whether it’s bacon and eggs, to cheese and broccoli soufflés. Billy does the dangerous cooking and Steve does the tedious cooking.

10. Steve Hargrove or Billy Harrington?

Steven Hargrove or William Harrington. This breaks my brain.

11. What's Max's reaction when she hears they're together?

Depends on whether or not Neil’s in the picture. If he is, then she’s asking Will if he has any more narcotic syringes, because Steve survived Billy enough to be on his way to marrying him, but he won’t survive Neil Hargrove. Hopper will sooner clean up Max’s homicide than put her in prison, though.

If Neil isn’t an issue, she’s fully committed to her sisterly job of being disgusted yet supportive haha

12. Describe in ONE SENTENCE Hopper's reaction when he hears the names Hargrove and Harrington mentioned together? The Q is inspired by this genius post by @freyrapollo (their post is here).

*long, absorbing silence* And then, “Okay, nobody patrol the quarry after 9pm.”

13. Does Robin like Billy OR does Robin hate Billy?

Robin clocks Billy that first moment he walks through the parking lot ignoring literally every straight girl ogling him. I think she mostly feels sorry for him. It’s not easy being queer in Nowhere, Indiana. I think if they managed to interact on an open playing field, they’d get along fine. But in their canon universe, I don’t know. There’s a lot of baggage and layers around Billy; all of his interactions are kind of unfair.

14. What about Dustin?

Robin is fascinated by Dustin. He’s a smaller Steve who is uniquely smarter yet just as clueless lol It’s pretty clear that Dustin helps Steve just be Steve, so yeah: Robin likes him.

15. Fav Harringrove AU?

I’m an omegaverse creep. I’m a slut for mob au’s. Sugar boo au’s. I’m weak for soul mate tropes. s1 Steve and older Billy. I refuse to settle on one.

16. Billy+Camaro=...??? (Not strictly Harringrove, but I can't not to ..)

I want to see him in a Jeep Wrangler lol I think that’d be a good alternate car for him. He’d be one of those No Doors, rag top gone kind of Jeep drivers the moment it’s warm outside.

[onelilhippie]

OUTCAST: chapter ten

story masterlist

i do not own this gif

—

EVERYONE'S BRIGHT idea was to use nancy's sister's lite-brite for communication. so, we ended up huddled over the upside down version of nancy's bed, staring in anticipation for dustin's next move. everyone was getting impatient, especially eddie, who was rocking back and forth, lips pursed. i tried calming him down, smoothing my hand over his back, but he wanted out of here.

dustin's voice suddenly floated through the air, but we didn't catch his full sentence, "-seeing this?"

the air in front of us had lit up, causing the familiar orange hue to pulse. nancy and i ran our hands through it in awe, and we could faintly hear my brother's cackling laugh on the other side. i smiled at the sound, i missed his dumb little face. 

i waved my hand through the mist beside nancy's, watching it run through the spaces between our fingers like fine sand. dustin's voice floated through again, louder this time.

"we're not moving it, but we're gonna unplug it! stand by." he ordered. in a blink, the orange disappeared, and i was kind of sad the feeling had left.

"okay, try it now!" dustin spoke up a second later.

eddie turned to me and bumped my shoulder with his, but i turned to nancy, who seemed to want to be in charge. i nodded to her and she set her eyes on the orange space in front of us, looking a little nervous.

"uh..." she said slowly, touching in front of her. the air glowed, and she drug her finger through the mist that reappeared, drawing the word 'hi' with her fingers. i gasped, completely amazed with the sight in front of me. i turned to eddie, who had the same astounded look on his face.

"that worked!" dustin called, and we all broke into excited smiles. i clapped my hands together and eddie threw an arm over my shoulder, squeezing me in a side hug.

"yes! hi!" eddie exclaimed happily, pulling me into him.

nancy contemplated what to write again, as we had very limited space here. she then began to spell, i watched as she drew the letters: 's', 't', 'u', then 'c' and 'k'. eddie leaned forward, hopeful, humming in conformation.

"you can't get back through watergate?" dustin yelled back. i fucking laughed. of course my brother would make a joke out of this, calling it watergate.

"what the hell is watergate?" steve asked, clueless as ever.

"steve... water. gate." i spelled out for him, shaking my head. robin was nicer in her explaining, talking to him as if he were a child.

"cause it's in water, and it's a gate."

"oh."

"that's cute." eddie smiled, glancing at me as i giggled. nancy turned back to the board, talking to herself as she spelled out our next answer, 'g... u... a...r...d... e...d.'.

"watergate's guarded!" dustin said again, figuring us out. i jumped in excitement, hoping we'd get a plan together soon. everything was going so smooth, maybe we'd get out of here unscathed.

"yes dustin!" i yelled out.

"we think we have a theory that can help with that!" dustin replied. everyone sighed in immediate relief.

"genius child." robin commented. i definitely agreed. without my brother, we'd have been dead a long time ago. no one else could figure things out like dustin could.

"we think watergate isn't the only gate, we think there's a gate at every murder site!" dustin's voice floated in and out. it was hard to hear more than a few words at a time without him cutting out. i turned to the others.

"does anyone understand what he's talking about?" nancy asked us. we all shook our heads no, not at all. i reached out and drew a question mark, hoping he'd understand that we didn't get it. dustin started yelling.

"seriously? how many times do i have to be right on the money before you just trust me!" my brother screeched, ever so loudly. i sighed at the same time steve did, shaking my head.

"jesus christ. this kid's gotta get his ego in check."

"you're telling me. try living with him." i laughed, shaking my head once again. eddie leaned into the conversation.

"it's his tone, right?"

"i know!" steve agreed. i nodded along with them. it was definitely his tone. always.

"okay. so... how far is your trailer?" nancy asked eddie.

"seven miles." he answered.

"nancy?" robin asked, "uh... i know your house here is like, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?"

so, we ended up pulling together some bikes from nancy's garage. they only had four, but i had no problem jumping on the back of eddie's bike, wrapping my arms around his middle and snuggling in. the leather was cool on my skin, and he leaned into me for a moment.

"we'll be okay." he commented, looking over his shoulder at me. i looked up at eddie and nodded, smiling at him. he turned halfway towards me to press a soft kiss to my lips, then turned back around. i fastened myself against him again, my cheek pressed against his back. as soon as everyone was ready, we sped off down the road, headed to eddie's trailer.

˚◞♡ ⃗*ೃ༄

after a long ride of my ass being sore and the sky grumbling creepily, we made it to eddie's trailer park. the bike leaned sideways as we turned onto the driveway for his home.

"right here." he pointed, stopping finally. i groaned as i got off, my back cracking from being super uncomfortable. eddie stood, hands behind his head, stretching, while robin once again rambled.

"that's gotta be a guinness world record or something. most miles traveled interdimensionally." she shook her head, following eddie and i up to his trailer.

"just inhaled a bunch of that crap," steve coughed, spit into the grass, "it's stuck in my throat."

"how do you think im doing?" i asked them both, audibly cracking my neck. steve groaned in disgust and eddie chuckled at me. the other two shook their heads and opened the door, stepping inside.

as soon as we were in, we saw a gate similar to the one in the lake. it was glowing red, pulsing like it was alive. i scrunched up my face, grossed out, squinting at the bright red light it emanated.

"goddamn." steve said, clicking his flashlight off.

"that's nasty." i whispered, staring.

"this is where chrissy died." my attention turned to eddie, "like, right where she died."

the gate was making these awful squelching noises. i was pretry fucking sure it was alive or something like that. it was moving. and it was grossing me out.

"i think there's something in there." robin commented as it started to somehow cave in. i leaned back into eddie, who held on protectively, but also cocked his head in curiosity.

"what the hell is that?" steve whispered. we were all staring intently now, not taking our eyes off the gate. then it broke open, startling us all. nancy and i yelped, and i fell back into eddie, almost knocking us both to the floor.

for a moment, we all looked at each other. we didn't know what could possibly be punching through the gate. steve, seemingly brave, took baby steps up to the opening. we shortly followed behind him, peering up into the gap between the two worlds.

"no way..." steve breathed.

i looked up to see my brother, lucas, max and erica, who had broken through the gate with the end of a broom. but... they were upside down, like they were standing on the ceiling. my brother started cackling his signature laugh.

"hi there! hey marnie!" he waved, smiling. we all said our hellos back. everyone started laughing. i smiled wide, just really fucking happy to see my brother again. my heart swelled at the sight of him and his friends across (?) from us.

"am i high?" i asked. i blinked a couple times, they were still upside down.

"holy shit, this is trippy." robin drawled as my brother laughed again.

"bada-bada-boom!" dustin shouted, looking up (down?) at us.

after a few moments of post-trip giggling, we had to devise a way to get out. dustin and his friends seemed to be quick with it, taking sheets from eddie's real place and tying them together, dragging the mattress from his room and placing it directly where we'd fall. i squinted, noticing multiple stains on his bedsheets, and turned to look at him.

"those stains are uh...i don't know what those stains are." eddie admitted, looking away from us. robin hummed in response, probably trying not to think about it. i was just hoping it was beer or something. i pushed those thoughts out of my brain, and watched as my brother threw the chain of sheets through the gate, defying every physics law known to man, while commenting on the same fact.

"not quite sure how these physics are gonna work. but here goes nothin... there we go! and if my theory is correct..."

he let it go, and it stayed still, without dropping back down (up??) and through the gate. i shook my head, choosing not to question these things. as long as we could get out.

"alright pull on it! see if it holds!" he called through. robin shrugged, grabbing and pulling. it wouldn't budge. my jaw dropped.

"this is the craziest shit i've ever seen in my life. and i've seen some crazy shit." erica said, gazing up (down??? jesus) at us.

"guess i'm the guinea pig." robin said, taking hold of the sheets and jumping up to climb. my mind was totally broken at how this worked, how the sheets weren't falling back through. robin climbled up quickly, and as soon as she passed through the gate, she fell onto the matress on the other side. she sat up, panting a bit.

"thank god. that was fun."

the four of us left looked around at each other, and their eyes landed on me. i shook my head, pushing eddie forward, but he resisted. i shook my head, but he placed his hands on the bare skin of my back, pushing me forward.

"you first, princess."

i blushed at the name and hoisted myself onto the sheets. now i had no upper body strength, so i struggled, but i got up high enough. i couldn't quite get through, so eddie climbed up behind me, pushing me through the gate by the ass. before i had time to react, i flipped upside down, landing on my back on the mattress.

"oh shit." i sighed, head spinning for a moment. i got up, watching eddie climb through and fall on the mattress just as i had. he shot upwards, eyes wide.

"that was fun. shit." i grabbed his bicep, tugging him up off the mattress before steve or nancy crushed him. but, no one came straight after him. instead my vision blurred, my head started pounding. i held onto my head, dropping to my knees and squeezing my eyes shut.

the pain dulled for a moment or two and i stood up, opening my eyes to a dark grey room, those slithering vines covering the trailer around me. hadn't i just fell through the gate to real-hawkins? where was everyone? i spun around, everything was grey and murky, my vision was wavering. once the trailer stopped see-sawing, my eyes landed on a deformed body, limbs at odd angles and eyes missing. it was chrissy, in her cheer uniform, all mangled like eddie had described her back in the boathouse.

i gasped, staggering backwards, my eyes welling with tears.

"do you see this, marnie? this is what happened to your friend. the one you abandoned. have you forgotten her already? need i remind you?" a deep voice rumbled inside my head, accompanied by a painful slide of memores flashing through my mind. the screaming fight with chrissy, how she begged for me to come back. the night she told me we couldn't be friends anymore, only a week after i left eddie. i had yelled and shouted at her, i said the worst things imaginable. i thought, in those moments, that i had a right to be that angry at her. but what if i was hurting her more than she hurt me?

suddenly, chrissy was in front of me, perfectly normal and alive, except her eyes were glowing red. we were in her yard, where we stood that night. where she stood, yelling at me to come back, saying she didn't mean it. that she never wanted this to happen. echoes of her yelling filled my ears, then the words she used about me behind my back, calling me a slut, a bitch, outcasting me just days after we fought, days after she begged for my forgiveness.

"i can't be friends with you anymore, marnie. i'm sorry." chrissy said, eyes downcast. my eyebrows pulled together as i stepped forward, wondering if i heard her right.

"what? did... did jason tell you to do this?"

"jason... he told me he's seen how you look at me. he thinks you're disgusting. and frankly, i do too. i'm not gay, marnie. i can't even look at you right now. i don't... i don't want you. not like that. you're disgusting." chrissy spat, venom clear in her voice. she was the only person i had ever told that i was bisexual. my heart basically broke in two at her words, pain thrumming through my chest.

"w-what? you know i don't look at you like that, you're my best friend." i told her. and it was the truth. i never had feelings for my best friend. but jason was jealous that she paid more attention to me, and chrissy must have outed me to him. he wanted me out of her life, and used anything he could to get what he wanted. jason wanted everyone out of her life except for him.

"you're disgusting, marnie. just leave." chrissy whispered, still not looking at me.

"fuck you, chrissy. i hope you get what you deserve. you're just like your family." i sneered, looking straight at her. i didn't mean it, and i regretted it the moment i said it, but i felt the need to hurt her like she hurt me. chrissy's eyes shot up at me, disbelief rushing over her features. her eyes were now the glassy ones.

i stormed off, fighting the tears that threatened to escape, listening to her call after me.

"marnie come back! i didn't mean it! marnie! marnie! please, i can't do this without you! you're my best friend! marnie!" but i didn't look back. chrissy's voice faded as i walked farther away. if she thought i was disgusting, then i'd stay as far away from her as possible.

i shook my head, trying to push the memory away. i knew that i had to do with her struggling. i knew that i was part of the reason that she decided she needed to turn to drugs. and i constantly reminded myself that.

vecna just wanted to dig at my weakness.

chrissy disappeared from in front of me, and the night sky morphed to red. a clock near me ticked, and the ground beneath me was suddenly slithering vines. i was back in the upside down, surrounded by floating pieces of a half crumbled house. the clock chimed four times.

"i see you and your friends have been looking for me, marnie. you were so close. so close to the truth. how was your first experience here, marnie? i hope my friends had good bedside manner. i've been meaning to pay you a visit, but i've been busy. so very busy." the voice continued as i carefully made my way through this nightmare.

i looked around, seeing these.... what i could only describe as stalks of those twisted vines. one held the body of fred, a kid involved in nancy's investigation. another held patrick, the kid who died at the lake. and lastly, chrissy, all mangled and stuck between the vines.

the sky rumbled, and i jumped once again. i looked around, unsure of what i should do next, unsure of how to get out of this mind game.

"don't worry, marnie. while i'm taking care of your friend nancy, i'd love to show you what's in store for you." the voice spoke again.

a shooting pain ran through my head, like a sudden migraine, and i groaned. my eyes squeezed closed again, and when i opened them, i was on my knees, eddie's head in my lap, blood trickling out of his mouth. he was pale, eyes shiny with tears. my vision was fuzzy, unclear. all i could see was his face, hear the rattle of his shallow breath in his chest. i began to panic, chest heaving but then eddie's mouth moved, as if he was speaking to me. my ears began to ring but eddie's voice played clearly in my head.

"i didn't run this time, right marn?"

my face was soaked in tears, and i was shaking as i held eddie's cold body in my hands.

"eddie?" i shook him, "eddie, please! please don't go eds, i need you!"

sobs racked my chest as i shook him, blood falling from his mouth. i could see my tears falling into his skin, the collar of his jacket, but his eyes were empty. he wasn't answering me, he wasn't waking up.

"this is what will happen if you keep digging." the rumbling voice echoed inside my mind. i buried my face in my hands and wiped the tears off my face with the swell of my palms. 

when i removed my hands from my face, shaking, i was once again in that red nightmare, back pressed against one of the thick stalks of vines. i was still shaking from crying, chest heaving from the sobs. there was a creature in front of me, the form of a man but covered in scaly, slithering skin, vines connecting his shoulder and head, running along his neck. he was close enough to me that i could feel his breath as he spoke, his giant clawed hand raised over my head as if he was about to strike. i could feel my eyes threatening to roll to the back of my head agaist my will. i knew he could kill me at any moment.

"playing the hero doesn't always save the world." vecna spoke, letting go of his hold on me.

i landed on my knees, eyes opening as i heard a cacophony of shouts in my name.

[carol-effing-danvers]

push me, pull you

this is part three of the series “run long, roam far, return soon” part one: “knock me the fuck out (i dare ya, babe)” (cont.) (fin.) part two: “where we grew up”

(click here if you’d prefer to read this in AO3′s format)

“You guys have been in here for over twenty minutes,” Steve complains, turning into the kitchen of the Wheeler’s house – not the same as the one they lived in while Nancy and Mike where in high school. Karen got her heart set on a fixer-upper after Mike left for college and it became a passion project for her. It’s old, charming, and deeply haunted. “What are you two doing?”

Quickly, El turns away from Billy, nervously running her hand over the end of the braid draped over her shoulder. She’s dressed a little nicer than he normally sees her today, in a sweet flowing dress patterned in butterflies that leaves her shoulders bare. There’s always been an innocence to her, despite her childhood, or maybe because of it. A wide-eyed wonder that he secretly hopes she never loses.

Steve notices that Billy looks concerned as he informs Steve “El’s gotten herself ready for a big date.”

“Billy,” she pleads, mumbling at her hands. “I can’t.”

“Just ask,” he coaxes softly. “Even if he says ‘no’, anything is better than wondering. You know that.”

“Ask who what?” Steve asks, confused. Then, feeling like he’s been hit with a frying pan: “Jesus fuck, please do not say Lucas, I will have a fucking heart attack-”

Lucas has spent six years hoping that Max would see what a monstrous snake her husband was and leave his ass and Max has, from what Billy’s told, regretted most of the eight years since they broke up for good. Steve can’t take watching life break El’s heart that way, not sweet and loyal Eleven.

“Henderson,” Billy says, clipped and brusque. “She’s talking about Henderson.”

“Why would you talk El into asking Dust on a date?” he says, even more confused now. “Eleven doesn’t even want to talk to Dustin. I mean, I don’t think you hate him, but he’s pretty sure that you do. He can be dramatic sometimes.”

El trembles as she slides down the wall into a crouch. “I can’t!” she tells Billy, her eyes filling with tears. “Billy, I can’t! I’ve already messed it up.”

Crouching beside her, Billy says, “Why d’you never talk to him, honey?”

She shrugs, staring at the floor as she wipes furiously at her cheeks. “I can’t-I can’t remember how to talk around him,” she says, swallowing against a fresh urge to weep. “I forget words.”

“Yeah, baby, I know. Love can make you super dumb.” Billy says sympathetically and Steve feels sucker-punched when he realizes that he is talking about the way teenage Billy felt about teenage Steve.

Turning on his heel, Steve enters back into the group of people laughing around a game of mock D&D in Max’s living room. “Hey,” he says, smiling at Dustinas he gestures wildly with a half-empty glass of Guinness. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Um, yeah.” Dust downs the rest of his glass and hands their shoddily made up script to Erica. “Have fun. Make me proud.”

“Wow, the bar has never been lower.”

“I love you too, you little shit.” Steve begins pulling him along toward the kitchen. He’s not sure he’ll ever get over Dustin growing up to be bigger and taller than him. Bemused, he asks, “Where are we going?”

“I think that it’s time for El to apologize to you,” Steve says firmly. It was the one thing he was sure of – his realization may never have arrived if Billy hadn’t been laying in the hospital bed and apologized in that dead, traumatized monotone.

Dustin begins to resist a little. “No, Steve, c’mon. The six of us don’t really have to be attached at the hip.”

“You think she hates you.”

“No, I said she didn’t like me,” Dust replies patiently as they approach the kitchen. “That’s not the same thing.”

Billy and El are where he left them, and if he didn’t believe it before, he believes it when he actually looks at her reaction to seeing Dustin.

Eleven’s back straightens up and her eyes widen, leaning away from their approach like someone is actively holding a gun to her head. If Billy’s reaction to his own love was rage, El’s reaction seems to be terror.

“Dude, what did you guys do to her?” Dustin is just as clueless as Steve was, but it doesn’t take a genius like him to notice that she’s been crying recently. “Eleven…”

Even the simple act of hearing her name makes El tremble. Dustin can barely seem to stand looking at her and it pains him. Steve says, “If you guys ever want to get past this, then she needs to apologize to you.”

“Why the hell do you think she needs to apologize to me? I’m the asshole, you dipshits! Have the two of you seriously been telling her that was her fucking fault?!” Crouching, Dustin mutters, still without looking quite at her, “C’mon, you don’t need to do this. Go to The Party, I’ll talk to the idiots.”

“Dustin, what you talking about?” Steve demands, “What’s your fault?”

Startled, the younger man looks at him, blinks, then quickly says, “Nothing, stop harassing her about this. She doesn’t need to apologize, we don’t talk to each other, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have my back, okay?”

Billy tries to say something, but Steve cuts him off. If he knows what Dustin sounds like when he’s tired, then he also knows what Dustin looks like when he’s done something he shouldn’t have. “Why do you look guilty? Dust, what did you do? Why did you call yourself an asshole?”

Awkwardly fluffing his curly hair, like an exceptionally sad-looking poodle, Dustin grimaces and tells El, still without looking her directly in the eye, “Sorry, I thought you already told him. I should have known you wouldn’t rat me out. I’m sorry they’ve been bugging you.”

She stares at him, wide-eyed, as he turns to Steve and bluntly says “Eleven doesn’t like me because two weeks after graduation, after she broke up with Mike, I basically shoved my tongue down her throat.” Everyone in the room gapes at him in shock and he sighs heavily, “We were all at a bonfire, I was drunk, she was really drunk, She didn’t want to talk to me anymore, and I totally respect that. You guys need to stop this weird crusade to force her to like me, because it’s my fault. I earned it.”

Dustin flails his arms in a ‘so, there’ kind of gesture, and adds, “El, I’m so sorry for this whole thing, I should’ve apologized immediately, but you look so freaked out anytime I go near you, and I didn’t wanna corner you like some kind of creep. You’ve always been Mike’s girl, and it was so fucking gross and sleazy for me to…”

“I’m not a possession.” Eleven interrupts, her voice hard and cold. “I don’t belong to Mike Wheeler. Michael Wheeler doesn’t own me.”

“Of course he doesn’t,” Dustin assures her. With a nervous laugh, he adds, “I don’t think anyone could if they tried.”

And El’s face fills with a helpless rage that reminds Billy painfully of himself. You idiot, he thinks, watching Dustin’s face, so full of friendly sympathy. So clueless for a kid so smart. She wants to belong to someone. She wants to belong to you.

Were his feelings that obvious?

Oh, totally, Robin’s voice answers in his head, explaining to Erica on the phone. There poor Billy-boy was, heart on his sleeve, checkin’ Steve-o out like he was on the effing menu. And Steve got so flustered every time Billy walked in, he never even noticed.  

“You kissed me,” she repeats angrily.

“I’m sorry,” Dustin repeats, miserably. “I took advantage of you, El, and it took me so fucking long to apologize, but I really am so sorry.”

“I don’t remember,” El seethes, fists clenched. “You kissed me, and I don’t remember.”

“You were really drunk,” Dustin says gently. “But I promise, I won’t ever do that again, okay?”

Oh, that is the opposite of the thing Eleven wants to hear. She’s so angry – she feels like something she so desperately wants has been taken from her, and now Dustin is telling her she doesn’t even have the chance to get it back again.

“Bastard,” she hisses, eyes beginning to shine and glitter with unshed tears. On the stove, a kettle begins to whistle sharply, even though the burner it’s sitting on isn’t even lit.

Dustin begins backing away, eyes wide, and El lunges, grabbing the front of his sweater with clawed fingers and kissing him, passionate with anger and six years of love that she’s just been choking herself on.

She pulls away just as abruptly, and Dustin’s lower lip begins to bleed sluggishly. “You bit me.”

He doesn’t sound mad, just quietly shocked.

“That’s all you can say to me?” she demands, as the tears begin to slide down her face. She has made herself into a fool, and for no good reason. She told Billy this was a mistake.

“I…yes?” He’s bewildered by the combination of passion and violence, and even more bewildered by the tear. Maybe the kiss made them even now? But then why the hell is she crying? Fuck, he’s been trying not to upset her, Dustin can’t stand it when Eleven cries, but somehow, he’s managed to do it anyway.

Swiping angrily at her eyes, El darts toward the back stairwell beside the sink. Dust, feeling like something important was slipping away from him, grabs her arm, though he knows that’s the last thing he should do with El when she’s upset. That’s how you end up suddenly knowing what the ceiling feels like on your back. “What do you want me to say?” he pleads, grabbing both of her elbows. “Just tell me what you want, and I promise I’ll do it.”

LOVE ME BACK!, she wants to scream.

“Nothing,” she says dully, limbs going slack like a puppet with its strings cut. The lie crushes her. “I don’t want anything.”

“Do you just…really not like me, then?” he asks in a small voice, and the question startles her into a half turn. “Because you didn’t remember my dumb drunk kiss, but you always act like I’m a Demogorgon that’s about to…eat…you…”

Her face is a brilliant crimson, arms crossed defensively over her chest. His lower lip still stings. “Oh.”

“Don’t look at me,” she says in a mumble, shoulders hunching. She covers her eyes, tears spilling out from beneath her fingers. Chin trembling, she repeats, half-pleading, “I don’t want anything.”

Dustin swallows hard, licks his lips. He’s been less nervous presenting his actual dissertation plan. “What if I want something? Would that be okay?” He watches her chewing on her lower lip before she nods. “Can you please look at me?”

Slowly, arm trembling, she lowers her hand and stares at him, her gaze darting at him and then away, frightened and hesitant. She’s barely able to raise her voice. “...okay.”

He never had the slightest conception of the power his touch could have over her, but when his hands cup her face, all of the cupboard doors suddenly swing themselves open. His thumbs wipe at the trails of tears on her cheeks and the dishes on the shelves tremble along with her. Dustin lets her relax enough to look him straight in the eye and says, deadly serious, “Do you have any idea how fucking difficult it is, finding a girl who can measure up to you?”

Her brows pinch together.

“Because I’ve tried,” he confesses. “For twelve years, in three different states, I’ve tried to find a woman who can compete with the first girl I ever fell in love with, and it’s asking way too much of one person.”

Eleven listens, stunned, as he continues “Because that girl is the kindest person I know, and the strongest, and the bravest. She’s clever, and funny, and beautiful, and wise. She’s stubborn as a mule and she pushes anyone who’s ever loved her to be the best version of themselves. She can flip cars without breaking a sweat, and she makes a chocolate cake so delicious that after my first bite, I cried literal tears of joy.”

She’s crying again, and the bags of flour and sugar on the counter have split their seams and begin to pour their contents all over the countertops and the floor. Like Eleven’s heart is bursting, and they burst with her in sympathy.

Pressing his forehead to hers, Dustin whispers “That’s all I want. Find me your equal. I’ve tried, but every time I come home, I see you and I know it’s no use. No matter who they are, they can’t be better than an Eleven.”

“…I can’t say anything that nice,” she admits, holding his hands to her skin. “I’m-I don’t have the words…”

Karen’s tulips, half dead in their vase, are suddenly blooming in full life on the center island. Billy and Steve grin at each other.

Very quietly, Eleven says, “You carried me.” At his confused look, she continues “In the school. When we were young. You carried me. I remembered that.”

“Yeah?” He doesn’t know why, because she seems to think this is very important.

“It was the first,” she tells him. “The first time I really knew what ‘safe’ felt like. It was you. It’s always been you, too.”

Dustin laughs. “We’re a pair of perfect fuck-ups, aren’t we?”

Seriously, she asks “Are we a pair?”

“We could be. If you want.”

She considers that for a moment. “Does it mean I can have a real kiss now?”

His eyes flicker down to her lips. After fully breaking, his voice has always had an almost musical quality, but it seems especially nice to her. “They both felt pretty fucking real to me.”

The back of her neck tingles. As stubborn as he accused, El insists “More?”

Dustin glances nervously at Steve and Billy.

Steve laughs and Billy rolls his eyes. “At least go upstairs, we don’t need to watch the two of you making out.”

Billy sighs as El drags Dustin up the stairs. He’s intensely familiar with dating someone who looks innocent but turns into a fucking maniac in the sack when they’re in the right mood.

Fuck, I hope the kid has a seatbelt and a fucking helmet.

[angelholme]

Stranger Things, Part 3 - One Day Later

So it’s a day since I finished watching the series (I can’t believe I watched it in two days. But I have no life, and it was eight episodes. I’ve done worse things. But that’s really beside the point).

So - things I liked, things I didn’t like. A list by Cameron Morgan. (Not really).

Needless to say, this list contains a fuckton of spoilers.

Things I Liked :-

Everything.

Things I didn’t like :-

Nothing.

So - that was a pretty short list. 

I was a tad pissed off that they whacked Hopper just when he and Joyce were going to get their happy ever after, but if anyone thinks that The American that the Russians are holding prisoner in the cell at the end isn’t Hopper, they are really not paying attention to how The Duffer Brothers write.

Mike & El’s relationship is pretty much how I remember relationships from when I was an adolescent boy. And - okay - my girlfriends generally couldn’t fling through inter-dimensional monsters through walls or fling cars at evil Russians (it was not something that came up much at our senior school) but the level of teen drama was most definitely that high. And the inability for me to be a grown up and to behave not like a twit was remarkably strong.

Ditto with Lucas. In fact - Dustin was the only one who came out of it with any honour at all, mostly because his girlfriend was on the other side of the country. (I wonder if there is any connection there?!)

The revelation about Robin....... I kind of saw it coming from the moment they started talking in the loos. Because it was just so obvious - they were just getting along so well that they weren’t going to start dating. They had enough perfect couples that they didn’t need another one. And the fact it took him so long to figure it out..... utterly adorable. 

But for relationships involving clueless people - Joyce and Hopper definitely take the cake. Murray’s dissection of their relationship, and his giggling like a schoolboy with Alexi, was hilarious.

Weirdly - the entire Mind Flayer plot was kind of secondary for me. It was like a McGuffin thing that just let them tell the other stories - the fun relationships, the relationship between Nancy and Johnathon and the job at the paper, the question abut Dustin and Susie and so forth.

And - of course - The Never Ending Story which was just the high point of the entire series. Whatever make them decide to throw that in it was inspired because...... genius.

All in all the only sour point of the series was Hopper getting ripped to shreds by the time-bomb. But - as I said - anyone who thinks that “The American” isn’t him is just not paying enough attention.

So really the only mystery left is around Will - because the “I’m sorry you don’t like girls” comment left me split between him being gay (and possibly in love with Mike?) or him just not liking anyone.

And introducing Robin as gay and Will as gay at the same time is quite a bold move (especially now, in America). Then again, introducing Will as ace would be quite a bold move as well. 

Can’t wait for Part 4 :)

[levcross]

Thanks for the tag @misha-misha

I always love to talk about my favs, though it was hard only choosing 10 fandoms lol... and only 1 character per fandom...

Anders - Dragon Age Rebel Mage, Possessed Boyfriend, Cat Enthusiast, Bi-Disaster, Poor Little Meow Meow, Sewer-man and (according to me) Fenris' husband/boyfriend/bitch

2. Eddie Munson - Stranger Things Pretty-boy, Dramatic-bitch, Chaotic-gay, Baby Cow-Eyes, Sunshine-Metal-Head, Must be Protected. (While I always liked Stranger Things and had a special love for Steve, Will, Robin, Dustin, Max and Erica, Eddie was the reason I actually got into the fandom.)

3. Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury - Sailor Moon Original Anime Girl Crush, Girl-Genius, Innocent-look but Dirty-mind, Adorable and Sweet, Brilliant Badass (though Sailor Saturn is a close second)

4. Morpheus/ Dream of the Endless - Sandman Sickly Victorian Dandy, Emo Sad-boy TM, Pouty Proud Asshole, Hob's Husband and Pillow Prince (once again kind of hard to choose as I also love Death, the Corinthian, Hob and Gilbert)

5. Takeshi Natsume - Natsume Yuujinchou Yokai chew-toy, Cat-Nip to male friends/rivals, Mr. Done with your shit, Annoyed but Empathetic soft-boy, Irritated Damsel in Distress, Ace-vibes but Homo-romantic

6. Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel - DC Universe Chaotic-Bi (though she should always be with Ivy!), Violent Feminist, Anti-hero, Brooklyn-Accent, Brilliant Babe, Wildcard

7. Tanjiro Kamado - Demon Slayer Literal Sunshine, Sweetest Big Brother Ever, My Son TM, Empathetic soft-boy, The Pillars' Fav (you know I'm not wrong), Melter of Hearts (thought with this one I also have much love for Shinobu because small, cute and filled with rage - she's best girl - sorry Nezuko fans)

8. Spencer Reid - Criminal Minds Why the term 'Adorkable' exists, Absolutely Brilliant and Fucking Clueless, Pipe-cleaner with eyes, Weirdo (affectionate), Soft yet Sassy, Pretty-boy McFawn-Eyes

9. Terran Emperor Phillipa Georgiou - Star Trek Discovery Universe's worst mom (affectionate), MEAN!, Evil is hot, Please beat me up, Unscrupulous (turn-on), Villain has a soft side, Redemption???

10. Sam Winchester - Supernatural Puppy-dog eyes, Troublesome-Little-Brother, Psychic Angst TM, Sweet Sincere and Awkward, Best Intentions and Dumb Decisions, Co-dependent disaster, Dork with Daddy Issues (I never did finish the series - stopped around season 10 I think? But Sam was always my boy)

No pressure tags and sorry if you've already been tagged: @screechingsweets, @hippiefricked @potatowitch, @salmon-fishuu, @your-infernal-majesti, @barbex, @retrowave-dirtgrub, @autumnisadisaster

Share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order then send this to 10 people (anon or not, your choice) 

Thanks so much for the tag @spinmewriteround!

Eddie Munson - Stranger Things

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Star Wars

Grogu - The Mandalorian

Number Five - Umbrella Academy

Zeke Landon - Manifest

Spock - Strange New Worlds

Michael - Star Trek: Discovery

Thor - MCU

G'Kar - Babylon 5

Dean Winchester - Supernatural

No pressure tags: @misha-misha @princesseddie @munsons-maiden @yeacatniphulk @anerdwrites @hellfireclubpres