#hawkins will fall

[shushmal]

Happy turkey day to those that celebrate, I’m thinking about Steve who has absent, borderline neglectful parents but THAT’S ACTUALLY OKAY it’s actually perfect on holidays because Steve’s pretty extroverted and probably has a large group of friends extending from close to “we’re on the same basketball team and Steve will high five your face if you don’t get your hand up fast enough”

so really all he’s gotta do it bat those puppy eyes at some unsuspecting mom and BAM invited to holiday dinner. He probably does rounds, and thankfully he has teenage boy metabolism because he probably manages to fit 7 different moms’ dinner in in one day

And sure, after he graduates he’s not sure if it’s good manners to show up at old teammates’ doorsteps. BUT THEN Mrs. Henderson looks at him mid-November and totally claims him for the day where she’s hosting her brother’s family too. Except Dustin brags to Lucas and Lucas gets jealous so Steve then also has to show up at the Sinclair’s in the evening. Max is already there so Steve drives her home that night with leftovers. (Mike is very secretly butthurt about all of this and is really nasty to Nancy the weeks of thanksgiving and Christmas.)

(Robin’s family doesn’t DO thanksgiving but instead goes camping for the week. Robin hates this, and they wouldn’t let Steve join them even though he had his own tent so she hates it MORE. She tries to mutiny but her mom gives her these sad teary eyes and cries about Robin growing up too fast and robin’s fate is sealed. She and Steve instead have their own tradition of movies and junk food the weekend after, so Robin gets reintroduced real food again. So while Buckley’s aren’t on the thanksgiving rotation, Robin gets special Christmas privileges and Steve stays over on Christmas Eve.)

So by the time Eddie is in the picture, Steve already has standing expectations for his presence that’s not just a drive-by plate cleaning, and he’s kinda sad, he and Wayne don’t usually do much and Wayne has to work usually. But actually how dare he be sad, because Steve’s like “🤨 you’re coming too, stupid” and he Eddie and max go to each house like trick or treaters but for turkey.

Then Steve gets close with Eddie’s friends and they have to start splitting holidays like children of divorce.

One time Steve gets it in his head to hold friends giving the week before. He never does it again.

[zzcrypticcoyotezz]

characters that transed my gender and it shows:

[trensu]

ETA: now on ao3 as Hawkins Halfway House for Homeless Horrors

ETA2: now with an additional snippet

okay, how's this for an AU

We know that Steve wants to be a dad. Like, his literal life dream is to have a minimum of six children. SIX. who wants that?? crazy people, that's who. but we forgive him his insanity because he's sweet and will actually probably be a really good dad and there's not enough of those in the world.

the downer is that it's the late 90s, he's a (still) single guy in his thirties, and every adoption agency on the planet would rather give their children to a heteronormative couple who don't even want kids than to a single dude who would dedicate his heart and soul to giving his kids a happy healthy home.

He's bemoaning his fate to Robin at a bar they recently discovered. It's a weird little joint, kinda tucked away on the outskirts where Steve could've sworn didn't exist just last week. The patrons were kinda weird too but neither he or Robin could put their finger on why or how. If Steve had been a little less miserable, and Robin a little less caught up in comforting him, they might've noticed how everyone else in the bar kept sneaking curious glances at them or how they somehow always kept most of their features hidden.

They didn't though. Even when they were interrupted by a handsome black gentleman who called himself Jeff. Jeff said that he couldn't help but overhear their dilemma and that he's actually part of an agency that is more open minded about potential foster or adoptive parents. Steve's a little deeper in his cups than he intended, and doesn't question that some random guy in a bar is offering him a chance of having children. Robin is not as far in her cups and finds it a bit suspicious.

She was going to say something about it but Jeff looked her in the eye and said, "Everything is fine. There's no reason to worry. I'm only trying to help."

"You're only trying to help," Robin murmured back blearily. "Everything is fine. Yeah. Yeah, 'm not worried."

Jeff gives Steve his card and tells him he can stop by the very next day if he'd like, since his schedule is open.

The next day, Steve is regretting having gotten so drunk. Not really because of the hangover (though holy shit, he is NOT twenty anymore he needs to stop drinking like one). No. It's because Jeff had just finished giving him a tour of the facility full of rambunctious children in need of a home.

Actually, that had been pretty okay even if the other adults in the facility startled at the sight of him and the children kept ducking into other rooms to hide from him.

No. It's because Jeff had just introduced him to a child named Dustin who sneezed unexpectedly and somehow turned into a kitten.

"Um," Steve said. Jeff sighed.

"Dustin hasn't gotten back control over his shapeshifting since his mother's passing, but I assure you he's been improving."

"...shapeshifting," Steve said, numbly.

"Yes. Dustin tends to go for cat shapes, like his mother did." Jeff bends down to pick up the loudly mewing tabby kitten. "We've managed to get him to shift mostly into a domestic shorthair, rather than a cougar cub."

"That's great," Steve squeaked as he tried to tamp down the growing hysteria in him. "Really, really great. Y'know what, Jeff, this whole thing's been great but I think I'm still kind of drunk so I'm just gonna go--"

"No, wait," Jeff says, quickly placing the Dustin kitten on his shoulder before reaching out to grab Steve by the elbow. "Please. Look, you seem like a good guy. I did a quick scan of you and everything, and I really think if you'd take a moment to sit down and--"

"JEFFORD BILLANY JONES."

Jeff's shoulders hunched, nearly dislodging Dustin from his shoulder. He sighed again and turned to face the man storming towards him and Steve.

"Eddy, you know none of that is my name."

"I'll call you whatever I want since for some unfathomable reason, you've brought a human into my sanctuary. Why is there a human in my home, Jeffamy."

"Eddy, let me explain."

"It's Eddie in front of the human," Eddie said.

Steve's brain was experiencing some sort of malfunction because Jeff had been calling this man Eddie, except if he concentrated, the way Jeff said Eddie and the way Eddie had said Eddie sounded very very different except it hadn't because they both sounded like Eddie except for how Jeff's Eddie sounded different from, the same as, different, just like--

A pair of ringed fingers snapped aggressively in front of his face, startling Steve from an impending aneurysm.

"You. Who are you, who sent you, what do you want."

Steve stuttered something incoherent. He's pretty sure he's had a mental break from reality. There was some sort of sentient black sludge creeping across the tiled floor, wrapping a tendril around Jeff's leg.

"What is that?" Steve squawked. Jeff beamed at him.

"Oh, this is El! She's a Monster Under the Bed. She hasn't decided on a form yet, but that's okay, we love her just as she is."

"Jeff," Eddie snapped. Jeff looked at Eddie stubbornly.

"You told me we needed all hands on deck."

"How dare you, I'd never stoop to using boat metaphors."

"Don't distract me with blatant lies. Eddy, you said we needed help. You said you'd take anyone at this point."

Steve has not been able to stop staring at the sludge creature (El?). He's beginning to realize that he can't quite remember what Jeff looked like, or any of the adults they had seen. He's noticing that some of the children that have been scampering about had looked off. Like the boy with the bowl-cut they had passed by earlier who had looked...frosty around the edges. Or the girl he thought had had red feathers in her hair but is now suspecting the feathers were something more than decorative.

Ringed fingers snap in front of his face again. Steve finally focused on the man named Eddie who was actually named Eddie which was different from Eddie somehow. Now that he's able to shove away the confusion that is this man's name, he's struck by the fact that Eddie was quite possibly the most gorgeous man Steve's ever seen. He had wide, dark eyes that made Steve think of seabeds in the deepest of waters. His hair was a riot of dark brown curls that for some reason brought to mind swirling schools of fish.

"Answer my questions," Eddie demanded. Steve blinked and, with some difficulty, remembered the previous interrogation.

"Uh, I'm Steve. Jeff invited me because I want to be a dad."

Eddie barked out a laugh.

"Oh, is that right? In that case, welcome to Hawkins' Halfway House for Homeless Horrors! I'm sure Jeff would love to finish introducing you to the rest of our children. Have you met Mike? He's a ghoul! Or Lucas! He's a werewolf and his dream is to become a basketball star. They both have very sharp teeth so watch out for their tantrums."

Jeff scowls at Eddie before turning back to Steve. Steve was starting to feel faint and he was no longer sure if he regretted drinking the night before or regretted not drinking more.

"Steve, it's okay. Eddy is making it sound scarier than it actually is. You said you wanted to be a dad, and we need foster parents that can help these kids learn how to blend in with humans. That's what the halfway house is for, but there's only so much they can learn while living in sanctuary. We need a way to have them experience the human world more directly while still keeping them safe, and I think you're the solution we've been looking for. What do you think?"

"I think I need to sit down," Steve said thinly. Eddie snorted derisively. Steve was slightly offended but honestly everything was a bit too much right now and he really would like to sit down for a moment just to process. Because monsters are real, apparently, and some of them need parents. Which was terrifying to think about but also not so much? Because all kids were little monsters some of the time right? If Steve could have a moment to get his bearings...

"This was a terrible idea, Jeffathan."

"I think it was a great idea, actually. I really think this could work."

"No. I forbid it. Don't do this again."

Then there was a sweet and beautiful humming. It made the edges of Steve's mind go fuzzy and soft. He blinked slowly and looked for the source of the sound. Eddie stared at him intently and when he spoke, his voice was like music.

"Steve," Eddie said. "Steve, do you want to make me happy?"

Steve nodded dumbly. He wanted that more than anything in the whole world. He wanted to make Eddie smile. He wanted Eddie to never stop singing.

"It would make me very happy if you went home and forgot everything you saw here today," Eddie continued.

Steve made a sad sound. He didn't want to forget. He didn't want to forget beautiful, gorgeous Eddie and this place that could make his dream come true.

"Please, Steve," Eddie's lyrical voice took on an aching mournful tone. "If you don't, you'll break my heart. I'll never be happy again."

The sadness in the song made Steve feel like the world was ending. Eddie couldn't be sad! Steve would rather die than make Eddie sad!

"I forget," Steve mumbled through the fog in his mind. "And you'll be happy?"

"So happy. I'd be the happiest man alive if you do that one little thing for me, my sweet Steve."

Steve nods again. "Okay."

"Good boy," Eddie croons. Steve felt like he swallowed the sun at those words. He followed Eddie as Eddie guided him through the halfway house. Eddie hummed his lovely song the entire way.

"Go home and forget," Eddie sang one last time as he helped Steve get behind the wheel of his car.

"Yeah," Steve replied dreamily and drove away.

--

The telephone rang shrilly through his apartment. Steve stumbled out of bed and picked up, only fumbling it a little bit.

"H'llo?"

"Steve, what the hell, I've been trying to get a hold of you all day! Where have you been?" Robin's voice rang out, making Steve flinch. He scrubbed his free hand over his face tiredly.

"Home? I just woke up," Steve said. It was weird that he was fully dressed, he thought dazedly, but it wouldn't be the first time he's passed out drunk in his street clothes. Was he wearing this shirt yesterday? He could've sworn he'd worn the navy one.

"What? Just now? It's like five in the evening!"

"Huh. That'd explain the weird dream," Steve mumbled.

"Was it the one where you get seduced by a giant squid? Because I don't need to know more about your weird tentacle fetish."

"I don't have a tentacle fetish! I had the dream ONE time, and I wasn't being seduced, I was getting drowned and it was terrifying!"

"To-may-to, to-mah-to."

"Whatever, this one was weirder anyway."

"I find that hard to believe but now I'm morbidly curious. Hit me with it."

"...I don't remember."

"There goes my entertainment for the evening."

"Was there a reason you called, Robin?"

"Yes! I met this girl named Chrissy and I swear Steve, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen..."

Beautiful. Steve had the faint impression of dark eyes and silver rings, but it was quickly washed away like a child's sandcastle in the tide under the onslaught of Robin's ramblings. As he listened to his best friend, he couldn't help but feel there was something he'd forgotten. There was something he'd been planning on doing today, wasn't there...?

...oh, well. If it was really important, he'd remember eventually.

[promise-you-wont-write]

just like church.

[itswhatyougive]

Steve's breathy little "Easy, easy...." said whilst Eddie is climbing up the blanket rope lives rent-free in my head

[lullqbys]

ghost face!steve harrington 🍂,, ♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ౨ৎ ‧₊ .ᐟ

[deputy-buck]

Treat him like a God and he'll blind you like religion.

[beau-gar]

ACADEMY MUSEUM GALA 2023

LA KEITH STANFIELD

JESSE WILLIAMS

COREY HAWKINS

JAY ELLIS

COLMAN DOMINGO

www.beau-gar.tumblr.com

[imsodishy]

I sincerely think Steve’s pastel polos and pressed khakis act as a kind of camouflage. I think fandom sees that and their brain goes into word association shorthand mode, like; pastel, preppy, feminine, nurturing, delicate, small, soft, weak. Which is not great for a whole variety of reasons (not least of which that it's lazy characterization).

But I do like the idea of it happening in universe. Like whenever Steve is not actively being a badass people forget that he is capable. They remember the two times he got his ass kicked and forget all the other shit, and they default to this very narrow view of him. It’s a constant cycle of 'woah where did that come from,' any time he kicks off and then forgetting all over again what he's capable of. Rinse repeat.

Moreover, I like the idea that Billy is the only one who doesn't fall for it.

[flufflecat]

listening to 96 tears from bills reddit ama and thinking about how funny it is that 10 years later this random song choice can now be recontextualized to perfectly fit his canonical messy breakup

[beetlecakes]

Things I wish were Fortnite skins

Fortnite you are fumbling rn

SANRIO (do you realize how much I would pay to play as my melody)

TREASURE PLANET (let my nb ass be Jim please please please)

NINJAGO (okay i genuinely don’t care about lego Fortnite but i need to play as Jay)

BARBIE (bitch let her have a gun)

GRAVITY FALLS (imagine Grunkle Stan and Soos getting a victory royale)

[manicpixieyandere]

A Textual Analysis of “Gothic Wh*re, or the Novel Lyric Hunt” by Chonny Jash

Hello! So we had to write a textual analysis of a song (so we did an entire album like insane people) for our English class so we figured we'd post it here because it was a lot of fun to write! Enjoy! (Also we had to censor it because Tumblr hates fun, sorry).

---

The Gothic Wh*re album by Chonny Jash plays on the idea that there are people othered by society just for being themselves. These groups mainly consist of queer and disabled people. Society others these people, treats them as monsters or madmen. This album chooses to highlight the monsters and tells its audience to embrace and celebrate those differences. Jash achieves this by using gothic horror as his inspiration and medium, mainly stories from the Victorian era. Every story chosen is one that features disabled characters and/or characters with queer coding. These songs focus on these supposed monsters.

The song titled “Intro” introduces the audience to the album. There is a mystery unnamed narrator who introduces the audience to the protagonists of the first two songs, those being Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The intro takes the audience right into “The Ballad of Dr. Jekyll”. This song explores the character of Henry Jekyll from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886). We see Jekyll’s internal moral battle about letting his alter ego Edward Hyde out. The song keeps in tact the reading of the original book that the potion Jekyll drinks is a metaphor for addiction. It also keeps that the Mr. Hyde personality isn’t so much a completely different person than Dr. Jekyll, but is the way Jekyll wishes he could be. This is referenced in the line “Is it worth the shift in countenance just to live how I’d like?” (Jash, 2023, verse 1). The song ends with Jekyll deciding to take his own life to rid the world of Hyde, this being how the original book also ends.

The next song is from Edward Hyde’s side of the story titled: “The Mr. Hyde Jive”. Hyde focuses more on desire. He initially taunts Jekyll pretending to be the scary monster Jekyll sees him as. He quickly drops that façade to more so talk about fulfilling his and Jekyll’s own desires. The song plays with the queer coding of Jekyll and Hyde. It is hinted at in the book that some of the “heinous” deeds Hyde commits is that of sleeping with men. Hyde goes on to say he is just the other side of Jekyll. Jash (2023, chorus) writes “For every Henrry in this world, there’s an Edward stuck behind”. This line refers to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde being about human duality. We all have a side of us we may not be proud of as we are ashamed for it. Hyde tells us to embrace that desire every now and again, but to not go too far.

We move onto the “Wilhelmina Waltz”. This song covers Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897). The song is from the perspective of Dracula trying to court Wilhelmina (or just Mina). The song makes many references to Mina’s current marriage to Jonothan Harker. In the book Johnothan escapes Dracula’s castle, and as punishment Dracula tries to court his wife, Mina. The “Wilhelmina Waltz” is about Dracula’s feelings for Mina as she undergoes her vampire transformation. Near the end of the song the character Renfield warns Mina to not let Dracula too close as “he’ll abuse you, he’ll misuse you, he’ll raise Hell on Earth to subdue you. Till not even death can undo you” (Jash, 2023, verse 4). The common reading of Renfield and Dracula’s relationship is that of a toxic romance. Renfield means well in his warning to Mina but dies for it.

Keeping in theme with vampires, we transition over to “A Syrian Rhapsody”. Based on the novella Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1872). The song explores how in the original novella vampirism was used as a metaphor for lesbianism between the characters Carmilla and Laura and how immoral it was. Jash (2023) states “Fables label. She the Vampyr” to explain how in his opinion Carmilla was never really a vampire, just a lesbian. She was labeled a vampire to warn others of the so called dangers and sin of homosexuality. The song ends with saying Carmilla will not wilt from the hate of others and will rise on higher.

We enter "The Monster’s Lament” based on Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelly (1818). The song starts out with simple wording that evolves over time, showcasing how the monster originally had to teach himself English throughout the story. The monster talks about his self hatred and feelings on his creator, Victor Frankenstein abandoning him for his looks. The monster expresses his plans to kill his creator and make him suffer just as he had. This shows one of the readings of the original book, that Victor was the monster’s father who abandoned and abused him. By torturing Victor, the monster continues that cycle of abuse.

Next is the mouth full title “An Elegy for One Roderick Usher, or ‘The Haunted Palace”. This song is about “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe (1839). The narrator of the album is revealed to be the protagonist of “The Fall of the House of Usher”, he remains nameless just like in the original story. The song is a mix of a retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher” but also uses “The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allen Poe (1839) directly as the verses sung by Roderick Usher. The narrator is there to comfort his friend Roderick as his sister is ill and dies. She has a condition that makes her corpse appear alive and well “Such I’ve heard is the irony of the cataleptic’s rue” (Jash, 2023, verse 8). The house reflects the mental state of Roderick Usher. A popular reading is that Roderick has schizophrenia, that is why his imagination and what happens in the house reflects his paranoia. The narrator tries to read his friend a story, but all of the sound effects from the story echo into real life. As Roderick’s sister appears alive, she comes back to life and kills her brother. Once they are both dead the narrator escapes and the house crumbles. The narrator closes out by reciting the rest of “The Haunted Palace” as Roderick is dead.

The “Interlude” states that was it for the main event, the main event being gothic horror. Instead, we now transition into books of different genres. First being a song titled: “Dead Man’s Sea Shanty” which is about Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883). The song follows young Jim Hawkins, and his recount of the events of the novel. In the story Jim Hawkins acquires a crew to hunt for treasure but Long John Silver is secretly planning a mutiny. Hawkins recounts his attempt to steal back the ship solo and how that fails. He is captured by Long John’s crew. Luckily, he met a stranded sailor, Ben Gunn who saves him and locates the treasure. Hawkins also puts his differences aside with Long John when his crew plans to mutiny him as well. On their way back to Britan they sing the song present throughout the chorus but that also originates from Treasure Island “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest…” (Stevenson, 1883, chapter 34). Jash also adds his own interpretation at the end. The outro is taken directly from the preamble of Treasure Island. It starts with Hawkins reading it who then fades out into the narrator, here to introduce our final story.

The penultimate song is “Ode of the Cog” based on 1984 by Geroge Orwell (1994). The song follows Winston Smith as he falls in love with Julia. 1984 takes place in a totalitarian society where there is such a thing as “thought crime”. You must believe what the party wants you to believe, marry who they say you marry. That is what makes Winston’s love of Julia dangerous. The party in question is Big Brother. They catch both Winston and Julia and torture them both. Their methods of that are a more intense version of the brainwashing they use on the general public, being titled “doublespeak”. Jash (2023, bridge) shows this by using samples proclaiming the following lines “War is peace. The law of gravity is nonsense. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” And most famously “Two plus two is five”. The idea of two plus two being five is the specific phrase Winston is tortured into believing. The book and song end up taking a major diversion from each other. In the book Winston is tortured into loving Big Brother. In the song Winston is shot and killed by Big Brother, but before he dies, he has his last moment of rebellion. Winston has an uplifting monologuing proclaiming humanity will eventually rise up and that history cannot be rewritten. His final sung words are “Two plus two is four” (Jash, 2023, verse 8).

A sample of Julia from the 1984 movie adaptation (Michael Radford 1984) saying “I’m corrupt to the core” seamlessly transitions into a crowd screaming “encore!”. The narrator decides to indulge the audience with an encore to wrap up the album. The song is a cover of the “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett (1962). The song features the narrator showing the audience around a gothic party with all the protagonists of the songs and their plus ones. The song features many references to the original books while also celebrating the differences of the characters that were perhaps not celebrated at the times these books were published. Frankenstein’s monster names himself Adam. Mina dances with Carmilla, alluding to both of them having close relations to another woman in their own stories (Carmilla with Laura and Mina with her friend Lucy). Hawkins allows himself to have fun with this odd group and Winston celebrates being free. The narrator raises a toast with each main character toasting to what is important to them. Jash (2023, verse 6) does a voice for each character while also playing their respective motifs. “To mighty adventure” Jim Hawkins, “To love” Dracula, “To lust” Carmilla, “To fury” Adam, “To the proles” Winston Smith, “To Vice” Edward Hyde. The narrator finishes with “Let us damn the fools that refuse to have fun! Let us sing as all, and let us dance as one!”. Jash is telling the audience here that it is ok to feel and embrace those things. He even ends with the original line from the “Monster Mash” telling the audience the mash was meant for them too.

Jash tells a compelling story while perfectly incorporating rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos, and ethos. Jash uses the othering of the monsters to invoke sympathy and feelings towards them, thus creating pathos. By using such old established literature from the Victorian era Jash uses this to his advantage to establish logos. The ethos is present in each voice Jash does. With his incredible voice work and immersive music it feels as if the characters are really talking to the audience (or rather, singing). All of this combined has the audience hooked and not only accepting of the monsters, but maybe of themselves and others as well.

[scoopstomyahoy]

thinking about a no upside down au steddie fic where steve and eddie run into each other years after moving away from hawkins, and eddie remembers steve and his fall from grace as king, and is kind of intrigued to see what kind of person he is now

and steve doesn’t remember him at all at first, because, look, eddie changed his hair again, and steve’s had a few head injuries (no upside down but i imagine he still went thru some shit with the party and with robin), and he didn’t really think about eddie in high school anyway, and he’s trying to forget about hawkins as much as possible (besides the kiddos, but they’re all moved out for college now, anyway) (obviously he lives with robin)

but steve is different now, happier, more open, flirts with guys, flirts with EDDIE, and eddie….. well, he wants to know more! and he tells steve he knows him from hawkins, and steve’s sunny little smile flickers a little, but he just apologizes for not remembering him and mentions he has some memory problems

and they get to know each other, and eventually as eddie tells him more (and maybe with the help of some yearbooks) steve remembers eddie. and. well. they like getting to know each other. and they like each other. and then they get together

eventually they’ve been together for a while, and eddie thinks he wants to maybe introduce steve to wayne, and he mentions he’s going to go back to hawkins for a long weekend (as he’s done a couple times) and this time he’d like steve to join him

and again steve’s sunny smile flickers a bit, but he says he’d love to meet eddie’s uncle, and… they go to hawkins. and it goes well— meeting wayne, at least, but steve seems a little on edge the whole time they’re there, tense when they drive in, fidgety when they go to the grocery store, et cetera. eddie thinks maybe steve is nervous about staying with the man who raised eddie, which is ridiculous, because wayne LOVES steve.

it’s not til they leave the town altogether that steve relaxes, and eddie realizes it wasn’t “meeting the parents” but rather going back to hawkins. and speaking of meeting the parents, steve didn’t ever bring his own up, even though eddie knew they still lived in hawkins. and the way steve glanced around whenever they went in public, like he was scared of getting recognized

and he asks about it, and steve doesn’t really want to talk about it, but he gives eddie snippets of it. people he wanted to leave behind in hawkins, memories that resurfaced, things he wants to forget

eddie goes back to see wayne sometimes, and the first time he doesn’t know whether to ask steve to come, so he just mentions he’s thinking about going to hawkins for some weekend and steve immediately starts making plans with him as if the invite is implicit. they go back to hawkins several more times, steve still tense and pent up the whole time they’re there

over time steve reveals more and more to eddie. everything that made hawkins hell for him, from the things he himself did in high school to the things people did to him. stuff tommy and carol and billy said to him. some of it is just typical high school bullshit (and oh, the nancy thing.) some of it is the tragedies steve went through, the horrors he had to protect his kids from. the injuries he sustained. more generally the homophobia that permeated the whole town, keeping steve from being himself. the lack of support in the indiana public school system for a high school senior who’s had two concussions and gone through incredible trauma.

his parents. the reason why steve’s mail is addressed to ‘steve buckley’ now, not ‘steve harrington’.

(that doesn’t come out until much, much later, and eddie is kicking himself for ever suggesting steve come back to hawkins.)

eddie, who hardly had an easy time of it in hawkins, is absolutely blown away by what steve had gone through in the same town, right under his nose. the entire persona that steve was trying to leave behind — the cool as a cucumber, unaffected, douchey mask he wore to hide all that he had endured. the head injuries. the emotional tragedies he had gone through. the way he had to be the rock for the kids even as he went through the same things as them.

he tries to tell steve they never have to go back to hawkins again, and steve is having none of it. he tells steve wayne can come visit them in their new city, and steve thinks that’s completely unfair to the man who had raised eddie, seriously, you’re going to make him come all the way up here?

and well i don’t know exactly what the ending is but steve is so stubborn about trying to love hawkins because it was eddie’s home and he wants to be able to go see wayne because wayne deserves to see his kid and eddie deserves to see his uncle and steve doesn’t want to be the problem :(

[chicinsilk]

US Vogue September 1, 1964

Alixandre

Model : Dolores Hawkins

vogue archive

[parkitaco]

The sun is warm on Mike's face, and Will is warm against his side.

As far as dates go, Mike has to admit he did a pretty solid job with this one, even if he can already tell that his skin is going to be sunburnt tomorrow and Will won't stop whining about the little pebbles digging into their backs, and yeah, maybe bringing a picnic blanket might have been helpful, but- whatever. He's pretty proud of himself, both for finding this abandoned field on the outskirts of Hawkins and correctly pegging it as a good evening hangout spot, and for managing to get Will out here with him in the first place - it's been a bit of a chaotic summer so far, with the Party preparing to go into their senior year and Hopper and Joyce planning their wedding and Nancy and Jonathan and all their dumb friends visiting from college.

Anyway. The point is that evenings like this are far and few between, and have been for a while, because if the summer has been chaotic, the months leading up to it were nothing short of hectic. The SATs and AP exams and final projects had been brutal, and, like, yeah, the Party is together constantly, and Mike and Will have been joined at the hip since far before they started dating, but it's- nice. That's all.

Will shifts where he's pressed against Mike's side, head tucked against his shoulder and fingers tracing a gentle pattern over his chest. "Ow," he mumbles into Mike's neck, wincing as, presumably, one of the ever offending pebbles digs into his back.

Mike smiles, wrapping a gentle arm around his boyfriend's shoulders as Will wriggles around, trying to get comfortable. "Too many rocks?"

"Yeah," Will huffs, squinting up at Mike accusingly, "Are you sure we can't sit in the car?"

"We're experiencing nature, Will," Mike says for the third time, exasperated. "Plus, I told you, my A/C is broken. We'd overheat and die."

Will rolls his eyes. "You're so dramatic," he grumbles, rolling over onto his back and gazing up at the sky. Mike smiles, letting his head fall to the side so he can watch Will's profile, lit up by the golden glow of the sunset.

He's so beautiful, looking happy and flushed despite all his griping, the sun casting dramatic shadows over his cheekbones. It's stupid, but Mike's missed him these last few weeks, where they've had less time to see each other, lost in the shuffle of visiting family members and summer jobs and everything else. He misses Will a lot, which is stupid and ridiculous, because they've been dating for a couple months now and had been dancing around it for a few months before that, but it's true. He'd missed out on time with Will, that year that he was in California and the months leading up to it, and it had been his fault and he knows it doesn't matter anymore, but it's just- it's something he thinks about, sometimes. How easy it would have been to have lost Will completely, and how lucky he is that he didn't.

Plus, Will is just- nice to have around. Objectively speaking.

Whatever.

"You're staring," Will says softly, and he doesn't look at him directly but his mouth tilts into a small, wry smile. Mike flushes, and is entirely uncompelled to look away.

"What are you gonna do about it?" he teases, nudging Will gently. He scoots closer, lifting his hand from where it rests in the grass to brush lightly through Will's hair, and Will hums appreciatively.

He reaches up and catches Mike's hand, pressing his lips to Mike's fingertips, soft and feather-light. Mike's heart flutters, and he rolls over, leaning over Will and staring him down with a goofy grin on his face.

Will meets his gaze, one eyebrow quirked. "You're pretty," he sing-songs, grinning all teeth, and Mike laughs even as he feels heat rush to his face.

"You're a dork," he returns, and dips down to press his lips to Will's before Will can argue. He can feel Will's smile against his lips, sweet and summery, and it makes something click into place in his chest. I missed this, he thinks hazily, which is still stupid and ridiculous because he sees Will every day, gets to kiss him like this basically whenever he wants, but it's true. This need inside of him runs deep and terrifyingly intense, and he'd always sort of thought it would mellow a little once he was actually dating Will, but apparently not. He just wants- needs Will here with him like this, all the time, forever.

Jesus Christ. Mike can never say any of that out loud. He'd die of mortification on the spot.

But if the way Will is kissing him back is any indication, the feeling is at least halfway reciprocated. His hands are pressed firmly into Mike's back, pressing him lower as he kisses him carefully, slowly, like he's relishing the feeling of Mike against him like this. For someone who, at least as far as he's told Mike, had had little to no experience with kissing before they got together, he's learned far, far too quickly. It's a little unfair, in all honesty, that Will can be so effortless like this, matching every ounce of Mike's crazed intensity with his own.

They even each other out. They work, like this.

After a long moment, Mike pulls back, nuzzling his nose into Will's cheek before settling back down into the grassy slope of the field. Will smiles, slinging an arm over Mike's stomach and returning to his original position - face pressed into Mike's neck, curled around him with their limbs hooked around each other.

He's so warm, rivaling the sun itself, and the air smells like freshly mowed grass and flowers and the faint traces of Will's shampoo from where his hair brushes against Mike's cheek.

And there's that other thing, the thing that occurs to Mike in moments like these, the reason for this deep-seated neediness and want in him, the thing he's known for years now, since before he could even properly put a name to it. He's been thinking about that thing a lot lately, because he's known it all this time, sure, but there's a big difference between keeping something like that tucked away in the back of his brain with the vague idea of getting around to dealing with it some day, versus knowing it with such constancy, with such regular reminders, now that he actually gets to be with Will in this way.

Will shifts against Mike again, pressing a light kiss to his collarbone, and Mike- might as well admit it, at this point.

"Hey, Will?" he asks softly, dragging his fingers through his boyfriend's hair again and turning his head, nosing against the side of his face and kissing his jawline lightly.

There must be something in his tone, something that gives him away, and he kind of figures Will knows what the- that the thing is anyway, but it still manages to settle his nerves when Will tilts his head up to look at him, smiling sweetly.

"Mike," he replies, lightly teasing and honey-sweet, "I know."

Thank God, Mike thinks, and his face splits into a smile. "Can I," he says, swallowing back the unwarranted nerves that are still humming through his veins, "Can I say it anyway?"

Will's eyes widen just slightly, and he flushes, looking embarrassed and a little shy. "Y-yeah," he says, his easily confident demeanor slipping a little, and he looks endearingly nervous, biting his lip and nodding once.

It's this, combined with the sun on their cheeks and the warmth between them, that makes the words slip out. "I love you," Mike whispers, heart beating fast in his chest and a giddy feeling overtaking him. He dips down, presses two quick kisses to Will's cheek, and a slightly hysterical giggle escapes him. "I love you so much," he whispers, face tucked in beside Will's and lips brushing his jaw.

Will's eyes flutter shut, and a smile steadily spreads across his face as Mike continues dropping little kisses to the side of his face and neck. "I love you too," he hums, as Mike ducks his head lower and kisses his neck, "I really- Mike, that tickles!"

"Don't care," Mike murmurs, kissing the junction between Will's neck and shoulder. "I love you, I love you, I love-"

"Okay," Will cuts in, laughing, "I get it, Mike."

Mike reluctantly detaches himself from Will's neck, nuzzling his face against Will's one more time before rolling over onto his back and bringing Will with him, an arm around his shoulders and pulling him closer. Will laughs again, quiet and warm, and his head settles heavily onto Mike's chest. "I love you too," he says again, and Mike's entire body floods with warmth. "I really do, Mike."

This, too, Mike had known - almost in the same way he'd been aware of his own feelings, a quiet sort of knowledge that he'd been putting off confronting. "I know," he hums, just to be annoying, and Will reaches up with a lazy hand to flick the side of his face. "I'm- stop it, I'm just saying."

He can't see Will's face, but he'd bet good money that Will is rolling his eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah," he grumbles, and then, voice softening as his fingers find their way to Mike's waist and he begins tracing gentle circles into the exposed strip of skin there, "I missed you, you know."

He missed me too, Mike thinks, wildly, and it shouldn't please him so much, the knowledge that his boyfriend is just as deranged and insane and nonsensical about this relationship as he is, but it's oddly gratifying. He hugs Will closer, enjoys the steady weight of him against him as he asks, voice warm, "When did you miss me?"

Will shrugs, the grass shifting beneath them as he scoots closer and continues tracing his fingertips into Mike's skin. "I don't know, just- recently. It's stupid, I know."

"No," Mike says quickly, pressing a kiss to the top of Will's head, "No, I know what you mean. I- I miss you too, sometimes. Whenever you're not around."

Will lifts his head, peeking up at Mike with a shy smile. "Yeah?"

Mike laughs, a little incredulous and a little giddy and a lot in love. "Will, I just told you I loved you, like, ten times-"

"Three and a half, actually," Will points out, and Mike giddily thinks he's counting, "And- I mean, that's good. Not that you miss me, or whatever, but. Just, sometimes I think I'm going crazy about this, about you, and it's just nice that you-"

"Crazy together," Mike interrupts, reaching for Will's hand where it's still pressed against his side and lacing their fingers together. "Right?"

Will laughs, settling back into him and squeezing his hand. "Yeah," he agrees softly, the sound reverberating through Mike's ribcage where Will's face is pressed into his t-shirt. "Yeah, crazy together."

Mike smiles, running his free hand over Will's back and letting his eyes fall shut contentedly. It'll be dark soon - the sky is turning a fiery red color as the sun dips lower still in the sky, and Mike had sworn up and down to Hopper that he'd have Will home by ten, which is a ridiculous curfew but tolerable for the simple fact that it's Will, and Mike will take whatever snatches of time with him that he can.

"This was nice, by the way," Will murmurs into his shirt, as Mike's hand brushes through his hair again.

"What, the date?" Mike asks, and he feels it rather than sees it when Will nods, cheek brushing against him.

"Mhm," he hums, sounding just as contented as Mike feels. "Thanks for- yeah. Thanks."

"Anytime," Mike says warmly, as Will's breathing evens out and both of their eyes flutter shut again.

The air is warm and alive with the sounds of birds and crickets chirping. Summer is just beginning, and Mike, for the first time in a while, feels like he has time - time with this beautiful boy, and his friends and everything important to him. Here, in this empty field at dusk, everything has come to a standstill, and the neediness and desperation that's constantly clawing at him has subsided, overpowered by the feeling of Will wrapped around him.

Mike breathes a soft sigh of relief, and the sunlight washes over them.

[ourfinalembrace]

looking for new blogs to follow 👀

my name is gillian, i'm 26 and i'm from england 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 i'm not new to tumblr but this is a new blog and i would love it if i could find some new blogs to follow (and maybe even follow me back 👉🏻👈🏻).

my interests are vast and i don't have any one particular aesthetic. i've tried to sum them up in the list below as best i can:

sam fender

stray kids

foo fighters

bts

the outsiders (book and film)

green day

blackpink

linkin park

bullet for my valentine

nirvana

cats

star wars

dc

marvel

big bang (ot4)

exo

ateez

and a lot of other things!

like / reblog this post if you're into any of these things and i'll give you a follow 🫶🏻