#hopper would Get it would Get

[manyprofoundbonds]

people thinking hop would hate eddie when he probably smoked the pot he confiscated from eddie the times he's caught him dealing or something

[sp0o0kylights]

Part One / Part Two (You are Here) / Part Three 

A03

Hopper had undersold Harrington's condition. 

Wayne hadn't expected anything pretty, but the face that turned to them as they walked through the door almost had him freezing in place. 

Black eye, bruised chin, split lip. 

More and more bruises, some faded and some very new, trailing down the kids neck. 

 The rest was hidden by his preppy little polo shirt, but Wayne didn't doubt that there were more.

Harrington tried to stand when they entered the room and the way he moved--entirely unbalanced, clearly in a lot of pain--made Wayne think the only thing the kid really needed was a hospital. 

Because Steve Harrington hadn't just been beaten. 

He'd been tortured--and very recently strangled. 

(Abruptly, Wayne realized that Hopper had implied the boy had been in the mall fire--just as much as he implied the mall fire was anything but. 

He also hadn't stated how Harrington had escaped the Suites trying to break into his house.) 

"Sit down." Hopper commanded, and Wayne expected Harrington to do anything but listen. 

Say something cocky, or act the part of a demanding little shit maybe, despite the condition he was in.

Instead the kid just sighed in relief and dropped like a stone, right back into the chair. 

Hopper came around his desk, talking all the while. "Steve, this is Wayne. Wayne, Steve."

"Hello Sir." Steve croaked politely. His voice was wrecked, no doubt from the necklace of finger shaped bruises around his neck.

"You're going to stay with him for a while, and you're gonna pay him for the privilege." Hopper informed him, as he began digging around his desk. "Money, chores, whatever Wayne wants." 

Wayne held his gaze as Steve turned to appraise him. 

Would Harrington pitch a fit? 

Would he look at Wayne's work clothes, streaked with dirt and sweat, with the name of the warehouse embroidered in the corner and crinkle up his nose, just like his daddy did? 

Hopper didn't lie, but a part of Wayne wanted to see just how different this Harrington was. If the respectful demeanor was an act done for Hopper. 

Or perhaps, Hopper had mentioned Steve's father for a reason, instead of his mother. Did he adopt her ice-like approach to life? 

Micro managing and long-held grudges were Stella Harrington’s game, and she excelled at it. 

Steve however, did nothing of the sort, instead settling with the situation in a way that reminded Wayne far too strongly of the men and women who'd come home from war.

"Okay." The kid said simply, after a long moment of consideration. He turned back to Hopper. "But we need to tell the rest of the Par--" 

Here he cut a look back to Wayne, correcting himself. "the kids. I don't want them showing up at my house trying to find me and freaking out." 

"They wouldn't--" Jim paused, fingers freezing from the rummaging they'd been doing. "they absolutely would, goddammit." He muttered darkly.  

"I'll tell the kids. The only thing I want you doing right now is laying low. I need to get a hold of Owens, but it's gonna take time to do that, and more time to fix this, so as of right now, Harrington? You're on vacation." He pointed sternly, as if Steve might argue.

The kid looked too tired and messed up to bother trying. 

"I mean it. You're out of the country, where is anybody's guess. No one's seen you and no one better be seeing you, got it?" His voice held firm, and Wayne had to blink because the tone here wasn't one of a police chief warning a teenager--but of a father talking to his son.

He knew, because his own voice did that now. Took on a worried tone that masqueraded as something more like annoyance and seriousness. 

"Yes, Sir." Harrington said, remaining weirdly compliant. "Consider me gone." 

A hand came up to briefly press above one eye, and Wayne wondered if the kid had been looked over, or if they had just crammed him into Hopper's office without offering so much as a tissue box. 

How many painkillers did they have back at the house? Wayne usually kept a good bottle around, but Steve was going to need more than that…

He found himself once again cataloging Steve's wounds, this time comparing them to the medicine cabinet he had at home. 

"I expect you to be a damn good house guest, you hear me?" Hopper continued, trying to cut a menacing figure. He finally found what he was looking for; pulling out a large, padded envelope. 

He handed it over to Harrington, who took it without looking, shoving it into the duffle bag he'd had sitting at his feet. 

There was a smudge of red on the handle of said bag, that matched perfectly up to a shittily done wrap on Steve's right hand. 

Wayne mentally added 'buy more bandages' to his list. 

Steve nodded at Hopper again. "Yes, Sir."

Jim’s eyes narrowed. "Quite that, you know I hate that." 

The briefest glimmer of mischief crossed Harrington's face. "Sorry, Sir. Won't happen again, Sir."

'Ahh.' Wayne thought. 'So there's a teenager in there after all.'

Jim rolled his eyes. "Get out of my office."

"Thanks Hop." Harrington said, finally dropping that odd obedience, a hint of a smile on his battered face. 

He stood, and Wayne had to stop himself from offering an arm out as Steve reached for his bag and limped towards him. 

He paused right before he left Hopper's office, hand on the doorframe.

 "You'll check up on Robin too, right?"  He asked, and for the first time his tone took on something more alive--and filled with worry. "And Dustin? Erica?" 

"Dustin and his mom are finally taking me up on my suggestion to see their family in Florida for a while, and the Sinclairs are taking a sabbatical from Hawkins. I'm working on the Buckley's." Hopper drummed his fingers on the desk. "So far, no one else besides you and El have been targeted, and we're going to keep it that way."

Steve let out a breath, and while Wayne could tell the worry hadn't left him, he could almost physically see Steve force himself to put it away.

Another act that was far beyond the kid's years. 

A different officer popped up as they walked down the hall towards the exit, waving his hand madly. "Harrington! Chief says you forgot this!" He barked.

(Or tried to anyway. Callahan wasn’t the most aggressive of officers and frankly, never would be.)

A slim sports bag was held in his hands, and Steve nearly tripped over his own feet when he tried to turn and claim it.

"I'll get it." Wayne said, knowing his tone sounded gruff.

No use for it. He could either sound gruff or sound sad, and Wayne knew better than to start off the relationship with yet another hurt young man by acting sad.

Pity wasn't gonna win him any favors here. 

He took the bag, slinging it over his shoulder, uncaring of the wince on Harrington's face until something sharp poked at his shoulder. 

Several somethings, in fact. 

"What the hell do you got in this thing?" He asked once they hit the parking lot, voice low as he escorted Steve to his truck. 

"Just a baseball bat, sir." Steve said, in the exact same tone Eddie used every time he thought he was bein’ slick. 

Considering the thing in the bag could have passed for a baseball bat if not for the sharp pokey bits, it wasn’t a bad attempt. Steve just hadn’t accounted for the fact that Wayne lived with Eddie. 

An unfair advantage, really. 

‘Least there can’t be any baby racoons in the damn bag.’ Wayne thought idly. 

Went on to gently put the bat in the backseat, watching as the kid struggled to lift himself into the truck.

"You can drop that, I take too being called Sir about as well as Hop does." He said, keeping his tone nice and calm, hoping to ease into calling Steve out on his lie. 

Fussed with a few dials on the stereo, giving Steve an excuse to take his time before starting the engine and taking the long way home.

Wayne wanted to talk a little-- without the chance of Ed’s interrupting. 

"Son,” He started off. “I was born in the morning, but not this morning. I'm hoping to make the next few weeks as easy as I can for both of us, and I can't do that if you're starting off with a lie." 

Steve blinked, turning to face him in a matter that was too fast for his injuries. He didn't bother hiding the hurt it caused him, but his voice stayed even as he spoke.

 "What do you mean Si--Wayne." 

"Nice catch.”  Wayne said. “We’ll get you there yet.” 

It was a trick he'd learned with Eddie--little tidbits of praise went a long way when it came to gaining trust.

Especially with kids who hadn't ever been given much. 

Harrington seemed smart to it, or perhaps was just hesitant to speak in general because he remained quiet, not offering up any info. No further lies, but nothing towards the truth, neither. 

Which was fine. Wayne didn’t think a little pushing would hurt.

"That bat of yours was digging into my shoulder like a bee swarm." Wayne continued, when it became clear Steve wasn't talking. "I'm more a fan of football than baseball, but last I checked they hadn't changed the design of a bat." 

"What teams?" Steve asked, perking up a touch. "Of football. Which ones are yours?"

Wayne could ignore it of course, or demand Steve give him an answer to the question he asked. 

He did neither. "I’m liking the Colts since they got moved here. You?" 

"Green Bay Packers, though I like the Colts too--that trade in 84’ was crazy." Steve said. After a second he proved that answering instead of pushing was the right move because he added; "What did Hopper tell you? About…" He trailed off, making a gesture Wayne didn't bother trying to interpret. 

"He said some things. I've guessed a few others." Wayne admitted. Cut a little look out of the corner of his eye as he came to a stop sign. "I know the feds are real interested in you after Starcourt." 

Steve took that in, hands tightening on the handle. 

"It really is a baseball bat." He said, a little fast and with the tiniest hint of that challenge Wayne had been looking for. "It just also has nails hammered into one end." 

Wayne took that in with one nice, slow blink. 

"A bat with nails in it." He said, and it made a hell of a lot of sense compared to the sensation he'd felt carrying the case. "You use it against anyone?" 

"Some of the feds." Steve admitted, and even with his eyes on the road Wayne could tell he was being stared at.

Judged.

Not in the way one expected a rich kid to judge, but in the way Eddie had, those first few months he'd lived here. The times when  he'd push, just a little, to see what Wayne's reaction would be. 

Eddie hadn't done it in a damn long time, but Wayne recognized the behavior nonetheless. 

"Anybody else?" He asked. 

"Nobody human." Steve replied. 

"Alright." Wayne said, and made a mental note to drop all questions related to that. 

He didn't need to know, definitely didn't want to know, and had a feeling if he did know he'd find himself being watched by the same spooks after Steve.

"I've got a few deck boxes that lock on my porch. Think you'd be agreeable to leaving the bat in one?" 

Steve paused, hand clenching tighter around the strap of his duffel bag. "If you gave me a key so I could get it in an emergency,  I'd be happy to." 

He tried to sound calm, even a little charming in that sort of upper-class businessman sort of way, but the fear bled through. 

The kid wasn't happy separating from the bat, and given it sounded like it might have saved his life recently, Wayne understood the hesitation. 

With an internal apology to Eddie, he promptly threw his nephew under the proverbial bus.  "I've got my nephew at home and he'd be far too interested in it, is all. Blades and weapons and such tend to attract him, and I don't need to be rushing anyone to the ER." 

All of which were very true facts (one Wayne learned the time he'd allowed Eddie to bring a sword  home, only for him to nearly cut his own nose off winging the thing around) but he figured it might make Steve more amenable to separating from it. 

Sure enough, some of the tenseness bled out of Steve's shoulders. "Yeah that's fair." 

The truck hit a few potholes as they finally turned into the trailer park, and the kid hissed, a quiet sound. 

Judging by the uncomfortable wince, and hands clenched into his jeans something painwise was giving him trouble. 

"When was the last time you took a pain pill?" Wayne asked, doing his best to weave around the other holes that dotted the gravel roads.

Steve blinked. "Uh…" 

"You take any today son?" 

Steve his head. 

"Didn't have time to grab it." He said, offering a sad look to his pack. 

Course he hadn't. 

"Let's get you inside then and get you some." Wayne said with a sigh. Thankfully Eddie's van wasn't here--Wayne was fairly certain he had band practice today but knowing him it could be a million other things.

Just meant he had to acclimate Steve as fast as he could, to try and get the poor guy settled before Ed’s came in. 

He just hoped life and lady luck would work with him, for once. 

[teambyler]

One simple trick to make it obvious that Mike and El don't have a healthy relationship:

Switch their genders. Imagine that El is a GUY with superpowers. And Mike is a GIRL who feels like a nobody next to him.

Why would this amazing guy ever like her? She doesn't deserve him. She's just some random person who happened to catch his eye.

(Pics by u/alwaysbi and from Reddit)

He heightens her feeling of inadequacy. Yet she can't imagine losing her superhero boyfriend, because her sense of self-worth depends on having this guy.

She must make sure he DOESN'T LEAVE HER. Loving him as a person is less on her mind than her fear that he will leave her. (Mike literally spends more time thinking and talking about El leaving him than about her being hunted by part of the government.)

When the time comes, it's chaotic and our superhero is in danger of dying. She genuinely doesn't want him to die. But in her love confession, she says that he is HER superhero. She still views him as better than her. She looks UP to him and admires him from below.

Their relationship has never been about them being in love with the other person, but with the IDEA of the other person, the IDEA of a conventional "happy" relationship. And in this case, one where she sees herself as the lesser half of the two.

And still, after her confession of love, he is barely talking to her! For his own reasons (in El's case, probably healthy ones), the superhero seems to have moved on. The girl's fear of losing him was actually well-grounded.

The unhealthiness of Mike and El's relationship is disguised by the fact that the show switches the usual dynamic in real-life opposite-sex couples, where often it's the girl who feels inadequate and undeserving of the guy.

We know the show DID pull back the veil at one point: Mike refers to himself as Lois Lane and El as Superman in describing how he feels:

The writers deliberately chose these words to make clearer the unhealthy unequal dynamic in the Mileven relationship. (As well as hint that Mike might like boys. =D )

Hey Mike! There IS someone who loves you exactly for being you, and unconditionally...

-teambyler

[sabbathbloodysabbeth]

Just thinking about an alternative universe where Steve went to Russia instead of Hopper.

Steve, who survived the Russians down in the bunker with Robin ends up going home alone that night. Or sometime within the next few days. Unlike Robin, those who tortured him had seen some potential in him. The girl didn’t know anything, obviously, but the guy? He had seen something before all of this. It was in the way he acted, the way he threw himself in front of Robin to save here. Young teenage boys never did that.

So it doesn’t take them long to figure out who he is. His names Steve, so they go to the phone books. Flipping through white pages and finding every Steve in the book. Having a guy scout out each Steve, and looking around town to find the one they wanted. And when they finally spot Steve, he’s going in to family video for a job interview. So they follow him home, where he is by himself. Both his parents on a work trip.

They have a guy break into the house discreetly, and are quick to fix to the lock so it doesn’t look like anyone did. They snatch Steve out of his bed and shove him on a plane.

That’s how Steve finds himself in a ring for the first time. With only a few weapons to fight the demogorgan coming out of the cage. He doesn’t know what’s happening but he has to survive. He takes down every demogorgan and is slowly beginning to learn how to speak Russian from fellow inmates. All who treat him with a lot of respect.

As time goes by, Steve gets scrawny. Not a whole lot of muscle left and his tan changes to more of a pale color. His hair was shaved because of lice and he’s slowly becoming an entirely different person.

Currently back home, Dustin, Robin and the others are desperately trying to find him. Hopper has been on the case for months and nothing has been found. Not until a mysterious package appears at Hoppers cabin with a doll hand made to look like Eleven with a tiny note in Russian hidden in the folded parts of the box telling him it was from Steve.

That’s how Hopper, Murray and Joyce all end up adventuring to Russia. Somehow getting Steve out and safe. Hopper hides him in a discreet location. He sets him up in reefer ricks house, which shouldn’t have anybody living in there because Rick was currently doing time.

No one should be going there, but Steve is skittish and ends up meeting Eddie Munson. The guy who comes up here from time to time to make sure the house is fine. And well if Eddie ends up bringing supplies for Steve as well, and sneaking him to his trailer to hang out from time to time. Hopper doesn’t need to know.

Just a fic where Eddie pretty much helps Steve regain color and weight, and being the only ounce of normalcy for him up until season 4. When they are hiding out together and Dustin comes looking for Eddie to only get a two in one package and tackled by two scared and traumatized men. (He can’t breathe properly for at least twenty four hours after and both Steve and Eddie are waiting on him hand and foot.)

[saltyyetbland]

i hope that for the eventual minigame mayhem that is going to happen on hermitcraft soon, someone decides to set up a stat poker game cause i feel like thats gonna be absolutely wild with how much has happened this season

[kankuroplease]

Multisaku Saku/OC Silliness pt 1

[cringengl]

Realistically speaking, in a Hunger Games Stranger Things au, Jonathan Byers would be Katniss Everdeen.

[fizzseed]

i don’t think i can accurately describe how much i need everybody wants to rule the world by tears for fears to be in s5 of stranger things. i will combust into flame if we get there’s a room where the light wont find you / holding hands while the walls come tumbling down / when they do i’ll be right right behind you

[missjashin]

Steve and Eddie having to drive the kids somewhere and since there’s nine of them in total, ten if Robin is tagging along, they have to take two cars so obviously the ones with actual licenses have to drive. And Eddie is immediately like “I’ll take the boys, you can take the girls” but starts to doubt his decision right away because uhm why does Steve seem so happy about that?

Eddie really thinks it would be easier this way. I mean he knows most the boys little better and. They’re all guys? Nerdy guys too. He can handle them. Steve can try to deal with the girls. Like Robin is a force to be reckoned with and he has to have Max AND Erica in the car with him as well ? With the addition of a girl with actual super powers? Yeah sure Eddie is the one who’s gonna have it easy…

Or so he thinks. He just forgot to take into account the fact that the girls? They all get along just fine. Meanwhile the boys? Sure they are best friends but they can have a debate over EVERYTHING. And they will too.

This would be most hilarious comedy scene honestly. Showing Steve and the girls in the car. The music is nice and everything is calm and they’re all smiling and having fun. Switching to Eddie and the boys and it’s all heavy metal and screaming and rage and something might be on fire too- and cut back to Steve and girls and they’re just happily singing along their pop tunes.

Eddie is gonna need a vacation after this car trip.

[catharusustulatus]

Better jobs for Steve than being a cop: teacher, counselor, bartender, florist, librarian assistant, garden section associate, dog walker (dog groomer canon?), grocery store manager, food pantry helper, seasonal worker as a Santa’s elf….

[chirpsythismorning]

The way fans on the st sub are almost all in agreement Nancy ending up with neither Jon nor Steve wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, and how they can even come up with a sleuth of reasons as to why, honestly pretty valid and fair reasons, but then are absolutely gobsmacked when fans merely speculate something along those lines for El is, quite something.

[emblazons]

"Now I remember. I remember all the time."

@stcreators event 01: favorite part ii: favorite episode | S02E05 - Dig Dug

[justablogger234]

just a not so friendly reminder.

Suddenly mike liking will and getting together with him in season 5 would seem really cheap. Like you guys want byler so bad that you want mike to leave el for will? If the duffers were to listen to the backlash and complaints and suddenly make it seem that mike is in love with will after declaring his love for El in the previous season. Like wouldn't that seem cheap and reek of fan service? Like it's pretty pathetic. You guys don't even want mike with will, you either just want will to be happy by any means necessary (even if it means the poor innocent girl who has suffered the whole season but is also ironically the main character suffers for it) or you just want el to suffer because you suck.

So which one is it? You want will to be happy or you want el to suffer, dont bother answering because both of these include hurting el and taking away her happiness. Don't tell me that you guys actually believe that mike likes will. Because there is nothing that could convince me that byler is real or that mike likes will.

[xxbottlecapx]

I like to think that the Russians did a lot more than just beat Steve up. Problem is, some of it was so horrifying that he's made sure absolutely no one knows. Robin wasn't in the room when it happened, and then they both got drugged so its not like she had solid memories of how he acted after so he just... pretends.

Hopper, who's dealt with the Russians before, figures out something is really wrong with Steve. Now they just have to figure out what it is.

I like to imagine that the party is talking about something dnd related and it somehow gets to them making fun of Steve for not being able to take a punch when the Russians tortured him. Maybe Eddie or Robin realize that something said makes Steve very uncomfortable

[drangues]

uhmmm byler au set in a distant future where mike creates the ”perfect” woman (its el) cause hes super picky with irl women, gayest thing is that will helped him create el 🙄 but surprise surprise even when creating the perfect woman it still doesnt work out

[weird-an]

Murray is getting on Jim's last nerve. He has been calling the station four times today already, yelling into Jim's ear how he should check on Billy Hargrove, because he's hiding something.

"He's a fucking teenager," Jim says, "Of course we don't get him, of course he's got secrets."

"No, Jim, he's been stealing stuff from Melvald's and has not gone home for the last two nights!" Murray rants. "There's something going on."

Hopper sighs into the phone. At this point he's getting a headache.

"Stop stalking a teenager, Murray."

"Then do your fucking job and investigate!" Murray shouts before hanging up.

Jim doesn't think about it for the rest of the day. But when he sees the Camaro parked at Melvald's parking lot in the middle of the night, after he's on his way home, he stops the car.

Maybe Murray is right, he considers, something is going on. And if it's not, he can tell the idiot at least that he's checked without lying.

He walks over to the Camaro, half way wondering if he'll cockblock a teenager on a date, but he stops dead when he looks inside the car.

Billy Hargrove is curled up on the backseat of his car, a ratty blanket wrapped around him and chewing on a sandwich. At eleven o'clock on a Thursday night. A dark bruise on his cheek.

Billy freezes when he sees him. Hopper can't blame him. He's a big guy.

Billy crawls in front of his car and opens the door. "Is there a problem, Chief?" He smiles at Jim, apparently unaware he's got blood on his teeth.

"Who did this?" Jim points at Billy's face. "And don't fucking lie to a police officer."

He swears internally when the kid flinches at that. He's not good at the whole talking thing.

"Um. I.." Billy coughs and it's obvious he tries to come up with a lie.

"Your old man?" Hopper guesses, because he knows the story. Because he's fucking lived it, too.

Billy stares at him with wide eyes. "It's...I'm...He... doesn't really.."

Jim tries to keep his anger at bay. "Whatever he is, he is wrong about it. You're coming with me."

"Am I... arrested?" Billy asks. Hopper wants to punch someone. Preferably Hargrove Senior.

"No. We're going to mine...and I'm...going to help you." Thank God he doesn't sound as unsure as he feels. He just needs to get Billy away from this man. He's got to figure out how to help this kid.

He wishes the worst thing of all of this would be telling Murray Bauman, he's right. It isn't. It's a fucker kicking out his son after beating him up.

But Billy follows him and sits down on the passenger's seat of his car, still clutching the sandwich. It's a start at least.