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mourntheantagonist · 3 years ago

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Billy Hargrove’s Exploration of Beauty

Part 7: When Blue Met Pink

chapter five: kathy

also on ao3

Otherwise known as, the woman who sent the Parisian lingerie.

There were many things about his relationship with Steve that never failed to shock him to his core. So many things that he never even dreamed he could actually have. One of those things was just simply the relationship itself.

He never once thought he’d have it all. He always shut down the movie-like dreams of the simplistic bliss of holding the hand of someone he loved or having his face cradled gently in another person’s hands as soft lips gently pecked his skin. He never let himself dream about having someone to call his own. He would say it to himself like he knew it to be fact, that all he would ever have is himself and the lonely feeling that came with it. He told himself he’d survive by riding off the high of frequent hookups with people he didn’t know the name of—people who didn’t know his name because they never bothered to ask.

It wasn’t that he thought he would never fall in love. It was that he thought he couldn’t possibly be loved by somebody else.

But then Steve came along, and he loved him. He loved the seemingly unlovable.

And every time Steve said it, with either word or action, Billy felt the shock run directly to his heart, springing back to life where dreams could be reality and movies told true stories.

Billy found someone who could love him, and the shock was intense, so imagine what he felt when he realized not only was he loved, but he was loved by someone who was perfect.

Steve was perfect in every way that mattered. It was like their palms were built for the sole purpose of holding each other’s. Steve was perfect, even with every mistake, every little fight or even the big fights that ended in blood, sweat, and tears. With every little imperfection and annoying quirk, because they all were the pieces of him that made him perfect.

Steve was perfect, and Steve loved him, and Steve perfectly loved him even when Billy felt like nothing but an error.

Billy felt another shockwave when he discovered he could have even more of the things he thought were forbidden. Billy had someone who was perfect, who loved him, who loved him perfectly, who perfectly loved him for exactly who he was. Billy found someone who would paint his nails and braid his hair and leave lace panties in a drawer designated just for him because he loved Billy, and every piece of him that made him who he was, and he did it perfectly.

And then there was the other thing. The thing that seemed like the most mundane of all that somehow surprised him the most.

Billy was taught from a very young age that a parent's love is, in fact, conditional. He’d never truly witnessed parental love. He thought that his mom had loved him, he assumed that there was a point in time when she actually did, but at the end of the day she didn’t love him enough to not abandon him with an abusive father. As for said father, he’s not even entirely sure that the man is even capable of loving another human being. Hell, even Susan had her own fucked up views of love. She couldn’t even figure out how to love her daughter as anyone else other than the version of her that she idealized in her own mind.

No matter the universe, Billy was never going to have that parental love from Neil. Him being gay was just the icing on top of the cake.

Billy went into his relationship with that knowledge, not for a second believing that a person born before the baby boom would willingly accept a queer child.

But he had yet to meet Kathleen Harrington.

Then on one spring day, he went from only knowing her as the woman who gave birth to the boy he loved, the woman whose voice he needed to watch for when he was asleep in Steve’s room in the middle of the night in case of any surprise visits, to the woman who sent a package internationally containing pink men’s lingerie that she bought for her bisexual son’s boyfriend to wear.

Steve had told him so nonchalantly. Steve feigned surprise that his mother was okay with them but he didn’t really seem all that shocked. At least not to the extent Billy had been. Not only had his hypothesis that the silent generation was made up entirely of homophobes been thrown completely out the window, but Kathleen Harrington subverted all expectations, going not just the extra mile, but goddamn marathons further than he could have possibly imagined.

And yet, even after months, no, nearly a whole year of dating, Billy still had never met the woman face to face.

And now he was living in her home, occupying that extra space in Steve’s queen sized bed, upgrading from one single drawer to half of the dresser and closet, wandering up and down empty halls while Steve was at work feeling less and less like a guest as each day passed.

It was on one of those days while Steve was running a few errands, when Billy was sitting by himself at the kitchen table hunched over a plate of scrambled eggs that he impressed himself by making, when that voice he used to finely tune his ears to hear whenever he was in Steve’s bedroom came echoing into the kitchen from the front door.

“Steve sweetie! Mom’s home!”

Billy stilled in his seat, fork in hand held frozen in the air between the plate and his mouth, which was hanging open with a jaw gone slack. He didn’t bother trying to move, as healed as he was, running for it was still far from an option. It took him nearly three minutes just to get up and down the stairs everyday because his brain and his legs didn’t always like to communicate with each other. He didn’t bother with a response either. It wasn’t like she said his name. She only called for Steve so by technicality he wasn’t ignoring her. He was just hoping she’d walk directly up the stairs and stay there long enough for Steve to come home, because this was certainly not how he was expecting to meet the woman for the first time.

But of course she didn’t do that. Of course she headed directly to the kitchen.

God, he was in pajamas. Even worse, the same pajamas he had been wearing for the past couple of days because he ran out of one of his prescriptions early and had to live out the previous three days on Tylenol alone. He hadn’t showered in days, his hair was a frizzy mess, the only thing about him that was semi put together was his freshly painted red coated finger nails that somehow still had a few chipped edges.

Which, funnily enough, was the one part about him that he bothered to hide away from sight, shoving his hands in his pockets, because no matter how hard he tried, or how hard Steve tried to ingrain it into his skull, his instinct to conceal himself and step back into the safety of his own little shell always took over.

He hadn’t even looked up at her yet. He just knew she was there by the sound of her stiletto heels clacking against the tile floor.

“Oh! Billy!” She exclaimed as if she was surprised he was in her house. Then again, he didn’t say anything when she shouted from the front door so she probably assumed she was alone. “Oh it’s so good to finally meet you!

Billy pulled his lips into a tight smile and looked up at her. “Hi Mrs. Harrington.” he said, his voice was quiet and scratchy from lack of use.

“Oh please, call me Kathy!” She took a seat across from Billy. He was struck by her appearance, even having seen her face nearly a million times in pictures hung around the house. Her hair was longer and lighter, and it made her look so much younger.

Billy didn’t know what to respond to that with, which was odd for him. Normally mothers were his best audience when it came to talking up a storm. But Mrs. Harrington—Kathy, she was different from the rest of them. She was like Joyce in a sense, because she knew. Maybe not everything, he didn’t exactly know how much detail Steve had gone into, but she knew enough and it was simple instinct to raise the drawbridge and keep her out from seeing anything deeper than the surface.

And even if none of that were true, if she had been just as oblivious as the rest of them, she was still Steve’s mother, and that had to count for something. “Steve’s not here. He should be back home in a half hour or so.” he said, half hoping that she’d take that as her queue to walk away and wait for Steve’s arrival elsewhere, preferably anywhere else than directly across from him.

“Oh there’s no rush.” She said instead, slipping off her heels under the table and stretching out her legs. “It gives me more one-on-one time with you.”

Billy knows he grew visibly more uncomfortable, but she didn’t seem to notice, or perhaps wrote it off as the basic jitters anyone would get when meeting their significant other’s parents for the first time. But it was different from that. He felt genuine illogical fear, trapped in a state of fight or flight where neither of the two were an option. He couldn’t run away, he wouldn’t tell her to fuck off, all he could do was sit there frozen in his seat and find every way possible to crawl right back inside his old cocoon.

“How have things been since you moved in?” she asked, “My boy is taking good care of you right?”

Billy couldn’t help but let a little smile peek out. “He is.” he said, thinking back to each moment, especially in those first couple of weeks when Steve would hold his hand through everything. He’d hold his hand as he slowly walked up and down the stairs, or hold his hand as he took a shower because Billy wouldn’t let him inside. Steve would just sit on the toilet seat, refusing to let go.

He wishes he could be holding his hand right now.

“That’s what I like to hear.” She said, “He was always so good at caring for other people, but he always struggled to remember to save a little of that energy for himself as well.”

She wasn’t wrong. He did. He was always so quick to be the volunteer, like his time didn’t belong to him, he always put others first and himself last. It was largely the reason Billy had been so hellbent on staying with Hopper when he first brought up the idea. He didn’t want Steve to think he was required to take care of him. He didn’t want that kind of life for him. He wanted Steve to be able to take days off, lay around the house and veg out. Most of all, Billy just didn’t want to be a burden, especially not one to Steve.

But then he just kept pushing, and pushing, and pushing, and eventually Billy pieced together that for Steve, taking care of others was how he took care of himself. He’d lived the life of lonely days in front of the TV with a bag of chips in one hand and a beer in the other and he wasn’t fond of it. Steve remembered to feed himself by feeding someone else, he remembered to do the dishes and the laundry and take out the trash when it felt like he was doing it for somebody else. He couldn’t relax if someone else wasn’t with him, and he felt most at ease when he could feel Billy’s skin on his own.

Steve actually did know how to take care of himself, and he knew that the best way for him to do that successfully was to have someone else, another reason, a purpose that made it feel all worthwhile.

He didn’t say any of that to her though. Instead, he just nodded his head in silent agreement.

Kathy didn’t seem at all bothered by the one-sidedness of their conversation, chugging along just waiting for the right choice of words to come along to crack through Billy’s tight seal. “How have you been though? You’re giving yourself the grace to let yourself heal right?”

“I’m trying to.” He said, “The pain still comes and goes, and things are more difficult than they used to be.”

“Healing is an unfortunately slow process. It’s the little things that make a huge difference,” she said, eyeing the place of scrambled eggs in front of him that he had barely even touched, “like remembering to fill our bodies with nutrients.” She pointed to the plate. “You’re not going to offend me by eating the rest of your food.”

As nice as the sentiment was, that wasn’t the reason his plate went untouched. It was due to the lack of usable hands that were instead too preoccupied gripping the insides of his pockets to bother lifting a fork up to his mouth.

“I—uh…” He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to lie and say he was full because he was the exact opposite, he was starving, and there was still steam wafting up off the eggs, there was no way he’d become full that fast.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets but only to his lap so they were still hidden below the table. He debated aggressively scratching off the polish, but he didn’t have time for that now because she was watching his every movement.

“You alright honey?”

Billy bowed his head, and she finally seemed to receive the message, seeing past her preconceived expectations and understanding his discomfort for what it was.

“You know what?” She said, picking her heels up off the floor and rising up from her seat, “I should probably go upstairs and unpack. I’ll leave you be. Enjoy the rest of your meal Billy.”

He knows he should have tried to stop her. He could hear the disappointment in her voice, assuming she took it personally. But he didn’t. Instead, he waited until she had completely left his sight and then he finally picked up his fork with his red painted fingers and ate the rest of his food, just like she asked him to do.

read the rest on ao3

#sorry I couldn’t post the whole thing here it was too long!#I am back baby #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #stranger things #mandi writes tresh #fanfic #billy hargrove’s exploration of beauty series

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cherrydreamer · 4 years ago

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Birthday Boys Chapter 2

I had a little flash of inspiration and carried on my Harringrove Birthday Drabble. It probably makes sense without reading the first part though. (First part https://cherrydreamer.tumblr.com/post/628530498682159104/inspired-by-some-chat-about-billy-and-how-hed) And I KNOW that Billy needs some birthday love, and we all want to see our boy getting spoiled and pampered and utterly smothered with love. And that is coming- I promise. But I kinda figured that Steve’s birthday would have to roll around first. So instead you can have some cutesy boys and a little Steve angst and my first ever dip into a little bit of smut (and I know it’s not great, so I’m totally up for criticism. I’ve got to practice for Cocktober!) Warnings: Implied/referenced child abuse (minimal- after effects of Neil), bit of smut, swearing. I think that’s it but lemme know if there’s anything I forgot! Edit: Now with an AO3 link (https://archiveofourown.org/works/26467567/chapters/64492786#workskin) It all changes from there, from that night.

They start skipping the parties. Jump straight into the two of them in the car. Billy driving fast into the night, following Steve’s directions to a different place each time. Always somewhere quiet, secluded, unseen. And they share beer, a few joints, swap stories about shitty childhoods and friends who aren’t really friends, about anything and everything and all the bits in between.

And they make out. A lot. Mouths crashing together and tongues exploring and fingers carding through hair. Hands cupping faces and making their way under shirts and then down over denim-covered thighs. And it’s hot. It’s heavy. It leaves them both panting and squirming in tight jeans that suddenly feel painfully restrictive. And they don’t go any further, both toeing some invisible line, both pulling away when it gets to be too much. Both somehow knowing that this is ok, but that would be too far.

And sometimes they just sit, sit and hold hands and stare out at the night, turn the radio down low and listen to the rumble of late-night DJs and Golden Oldies from the 50s, Billy curling his lip up in such a terrible Elvis impression that Steve almost busts a gut laughing. Sometimes Billy will be quiet on the drive, will be holding himself tense and away from Steve, will have bruises or blood or red eyes, and Steve will direct them somewhere with water, somewhere where they can sit overlooking a lake and Billy will start to unclench, will press himself deliberately against Steve, all down one side, and Steve will start to trace patterns on Billy’s bare arm, will tangle his fingers in the braided leather bracelet that Billy has started to wear, will knock his foot against Billy’s and hook their legs together.

And Billy keeps waiting, always on edge and ready for the other shoe to drop. For Steve to flinch when Billy reaches over and puts a hand on his cheek. For Steve to lean his body away when Billy starts to press against him. For Steve to drive them out somewhere with a view, and gently, kindly, explain that he’s done with experimenting, that he had fun and he really liked Billy but now he’s gotta fine a nice girl- gotta be with someone he can hold hands with in public and bring home to the parents and actually fall in love with. And Billy’s ready for it. Readies himself for it every time Steve’s a little quieter on their drives, every time Steve’s smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Every time he thinks Steve might just be realising all that he’s missing out on.

But it doesn’t happen. Nothing drops. Billy starts to breath. Starts to relax. Starts to hope.

A few more months pass. Steve takes Billy to the cinema. Presses their legs together as soon as they sit down. Leans himself over to share Billy’s armrest. Takes hold of his hand as soon as the lights go down.

They go to the diner in the middle of the day. Sit across from each other. Steve presses his foot against Billy’s under the table, doesn’t take it away when the waitress comes for their order. They take turns sipping from each other’s shakes. They split a dessert and Steve pays for the whole thing.

Steve invites him back to his house one evening. Cooks a dinner. Lights a couple of candles on the tables and uses some fancy china. Billy helps him wash up afterwards and they sit together on the sofa, Steve’s head resting in Billy’s lap with Billy’s fingers trailing through his hair as a movie unfolds on TV and neither of them pay much attention to it.

And then Steve’s birthday rolls round. He’s all excited. His parents are coming back and staying for the whole week. He’s practically vibrating with happiness when he first tells Billy about it, a bright smile on his face as they chat together outside the arcade, both turning up twenty minutes earlier than they told the kids. He’s still just as happy when he tells Billy about it for the fifth time, and Billy’s happy for him, he really is, but there’s an uncomfortable twist of envy in Billy’s gut, a feeling that he knows from experience will grow and mutate into something more vicious; an anger, an urge to destroy, so he tunes Steve out a little, gives himself a moment to try and temper it down.

“You like Italian, right?” Steve asks him suddenly, “I just kinda assumed everyone did. And they do the best pizza so sometimes I just have-“

“Huh?” Billy vaguely remembers Steve talking about dinner with his parents, about some restaurant they always go to for his birthday.

“The restaurant. It’s Italian.” Steve is looking at him expectantly.

“Why the fuck does it matter what I like?” Billy snaps, hating Steve at that moment. Hating him for getting a picture-perfect family celebration. Hating this little rich brat rubbing all his privilege and happiness and happy family tradition in Billy’s face.

Steve’s face falls. The excitement, the childlike giddiness disappearing in a moment.

“You don’t want to come?” his voice is quiet. Small. Empty. Entirely lacking in emotion.

Billy blinks. His hatred migrates as soon as Billy sees Steve’s eyes, sees the pain there, sees the way he’s trying so hard not to let it show. Billy hates himself for putting it there.

“I didn’t know I was invited.” Billy’s voice is just as small as Steve’s was. He’s probably not invited now. Not after this. “I literally just said...I knew you weren’t listening!” And Billy’s heard those words before, knows exactly what normally comes next, but Steve’s not upset, he’s a little exasperated but he’s smiling- all joy and sunshine again, “Yes you’re invited, idiot! I want you there.”

“And your parents?”

“Yeah, they can’t wait to meet you!”

“They know about us?”

“Well not exactly. Not everything. Not what we…are. My dad wouldn’t...no. My mom maybe? But I talk about you Bill. They know you’re my friend. They know you’re important to me.”

Something inside Billy warms at that.

And hey, even if it’s a hideous night- at least Billy’s getting some free food out of it.

“Italian’s fine, Steve.”

The meal starts out well.

It’s a nice place, quaint, rustic. Nowhere near as fancy as Billy expected. It’s still a damn sight classier than anywhere he’s ever been, but he recognises most of the dishes on the menu and there’s not a crazy amount of cutlery to contend with. The waiter knows the Harringtons well, calls Steve Stefano and asks about school.

Steve and his mom order in Italian. Billy tries. It’s stilted and awful and he points to the menu at the same time, but Mrs. Harrington gives him a glowing smile and Steve squeezes his thigh, leans over and whispers “Fuck that was hot.” Billy gets on well enough with Mr and Mrs Harrington ‘Robert and Elena, please’. He dressed in his smartest shirt and dress pants, took off most of his jewellery except for his necklace and the leather band around his wrist. He looks respectable. He knows how to make polite small talk. Steve’s dad asks Billy about school, about basketball, about his family, and then talks his ear off about the best golf courses in California. Steve’s mom is quieter, but reaches over to pat his hand and thank him for being such a good friend, for looking out for Steve.

It’s nice.

Entirely alien to Billy, but nice. He gets why Steve was looking forward to it.

They’re just finishing up dessert- a huge cake bought out by a chef who pinched Steve’s cheeks and commented on how much he’d grown- when Steve’s dad stands up. He nods his head at Steve’s mom who smiles and reaches into her handbag. Passes over a neatly wrapped black box tied with a gold ribbon, which Steve’s dad holds in front of him.

“You’re becoming a man now Stephen. And a man needs to have some authority about him if he wants to get on in this world. Your mother and I hope this will encourage you to start thinking a bit more seriously about your image, about your choices.”

He hands the present over to Steve who opens it carefully. There’s a box inside, stamped with a brand that even Billy knows is exclusive. One of those places where nothing has a price tag. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

It’s a watch. Big, imposing, designed to scream out wealth and status to everyone who sees it. It’s so utterly not Steve.

Robert is still standing, “I’m afraid we have to cut the visit a little short,” he announces, signals overly at the waiter with a click of his fingers.

“What do you mean?” Steve’s voice is small. Younger. He directs the question at his mother.

“Your father has another meeting tomorrow morning, we have to go back tonight. I’m so sorry sweetheart. We couldn’t reschedule.” Elena reaches over, gently strokes Steve’s hand.

“Do you both have to go?” It’s a whispered plea. Billy is sitting right next to Steve and he can barely hear him. He presses his knee against Steve’s as firmly as he can, the only thing he can think to do. Billy doesn’t listen to Elena’s reply. Doesn’t listen to Robert’s barked out laugh as he jokes around with the waiter. He just keeps that contact with Steve, lets him know that he’s staying put, he’s there as long as Steve will have him.

They’re on the way out of the restaurant when Billy turns to him,

“Up for a drive?” he asks. He doesn’t usually ask, usually just turns up at Steve’s and finds him ready, waiting.

But tonight is different.

Steve nods. Says his goodbyes to his parents. Kisses his mom and thanks his dad for the watch which he still hasn’t put on. Tells them he’ll get a ride home with Billy.

Billy walks him to the Camaro. Opens the passenger door for him.

They sit in silence for a few moments. Steve turning the watch box over and over in his hand. His jaw is twitching, hands trembling slightly. Billy reaches out to cover them, to still the movements. Lets the box drop onto the floor.

“I got you a present,” he says, voice a little rough, “Just gotta…” he leans past Steve, brushes his thigh as he pops open the glovebox and grabs a little newspaper wrapped box. “It’s not much, but it’s uh…just open it.”

Steve does. Finds a mixtape, ‘Harrington’s Truly Atrocious Taste’ written on the little carboard cover- the letters a bit squished and Billy’s drawn a not-entirely-flattering picture of Steve surrounded by music notes underneath them. Steve turns it over. Instead of a tracklist, Billy’s just written ‘Awful preppy bullshit’ over and over again. There’s little skull and crossbones with big hair in the corner.

Steve laughs. It’s a bit watery but it’s real and it makes Billy’s heart glow. “Thanks Bill,”

“Go on then, pop it in. But this is a one-time deal Harrington. Enjoy it while it lasts. We’re back to actual music in this carriage as soon as the clock hits twelve”

“If I’m Cinderella then does that makes you my Prince Charming?” Steve wasn’t looking at him, his fingers running over the edge of the cassette box.

“Cinderella?” Billy poked at Steve’s shoulder, “Kinda figured you were the Ugly Sister.”

“Well then you’re a pumpkin,” Steve turns to Billy, a small smile growing.

“Vicious burn there, pretty boy, I’m wounded. Truly.”

“Thought I was ugly?” Steve’s smile is reaching his eyes now.

“You want the music or not?” Billy reaches out his hand for the tape, Steve hands it over and he pushes it in. Immediately the sound of Duran Duran fills the car.

Billy winces, but his fingers still tap out the rhythm on the steering wheel.

Billy pulls over in one of their favourite spots. One where the moonlight reflects off the lake. One which isn’t surrounded by the woods. One where Billy’s spent some of his happiest nights. He turns off the engine but keeps the stereo going. Phil Collins singing about whatever the fuck Sussudio is.

He pushes the eject button.

“Hey!” Steve grumbles, slapping at Billy’s hand, “It’s not midnight yet jackass, lemme listen.”

“Trust me,” Billy flips the tape over, inserts it, winds it back to the start and presses play.

It’s Phil again. One More Night starts to fill the car. It’s softer, some real sappy prom night shit. Billy thinks about Steve in a suit. Thinks about them both swaying together under some twinkling lights. Bites down hard on his lip.

“Steve,” he starts.

Steve moves in towards him. Their lips meet. It’s soft at first, a brush of lips, Steve’s fingers gentle against Billy’s cheek, brushing his stubble. Billy moans softly with the sweetness of it- the kiss and the touches and the music playing so quietly- and then it’s like Steve can’t contain himself. He surges, his tongue pressing into Billy’s mouth. His fingers coming up to grip into Billy’s hair. Billy is pushing back just as passionately, his hands stroking under Steve’s shirt, pulling it out from where it’s tucked into his trousers. Steve sits back just for a minute, gives Billy enough room to unbutton his shirt and then Billy’s hands are roaming again, feeling the soft muscle of Steve’s stomach, the slight dip of his waist. Steve moans, an echo of Billy’s, and begins to curl his fingers around Billy’s thighs, reaching up and for his belt. He’s panting into Billy’s mouth, breath mixing.

Billy pulls back, panting just as hard, and he gently takes Steve’s hand away from his belt, interlacing their fingers. Then he lets go. Runs his hand through his hair instead and tries again. Gets his hand halfway to Steve’s and then stops. He can feel his heart in his mouth. Knows what he wants to do, what he wants to say. Knows it could ruin everything. Knows it will change everything. His guts twist with nerves.

“Billy?”

“Let’s get in the back,” Billy says it in a rush, gets it out before he can overthink it again. He opens his door before Steve has answered, moves the seat and slides into the back, arranging a couple of cushions. Then he slides back. Steps out. Steve hasn’t moved.

“Billy?” he says,

“Just. I wanna try something. If you- if it’s- I really want to try something. Please.”

And that’s all it takes. Steve scrambles over his seat, long legs catching on everything as he folds himself into the back. Billy arranges him, gets him lying down with his head resting against the cushions. Billy leans over him, there’s hardly any room, and Billy’s bending at an awkward angle, and he can feel a twinge in his hip if he moves a certain way, but then they’re lying down and kissing and the cramped space doesn’t matter because Billy can feel just how hard Steve is against him, can hear the breathy moans that Steve tries to stifle every time Billy leans down to kiss him.

Billy moves his hands to Steve’s belt. Pauses. Looks up at Steve who bites his lip and nods so energetically that Billy has to smile.

Billy wastes no more time. Unbuckles Steve’s belt and pulls down his trousers and underwear in one go. Then he stops. Steve lets out an absolutely pitiful whine,

“Shhh baby, just gotta, gotta make it good.” Billy spits into his hand, licks his palm and spits again. Then he reaches back down, closes his hand around Steve’s cock and starts to move it up and down, a slow rhythm that has Steve writhing under him, his knee rubbing up against Billy’s crotch. Billy lets out his own moan at that contact, pushes himself closer and rubs against Steve.

“Billy, baby, Billy,” Steve’s gasping, hands reaching up for any part of Billy they can find. He grabs at a shoulder, pulls Billy down even closer, presses their lips together again. Billy quickens his strokes, adds a little twist that has Steve’s eyes rolling back in his head, makes him moan out and then press his mouth against Billy’s arm to try and lessen the sound. Billy slows again, moves his hand over the tip of Steve’s dick, gently spreads his fingers through the wetness he finds there, spreading it all over as he resumes his strokes. Then he repeats it. Slowly. A teasing smile crossing his face, and Steve absolutely howls- hips bucking up and fingers grabbing at Billy again.

“Don’t stop, don’t, baby, baby, please…” he’s babbling, words becoming almost nonsensical as Billy resumes the faster strokes, keeping it simple, watching Steve’s face as he closes his eyes and lets his head drop back. It just takes a few more strokes, just Billy whispering

“That’s it sweetheart,”

and Steve’s gasping, shooting hot into Billy’s hand, spilling over his uncovered stomach. Billy leans down quickly, laps at the mess, licks his hand, and then sits up.

There’s nothing but panting for a few moments. Heavy breaths which fill the car. And then,

“Holy shit Billy,”

Steve is sitting up as much as he can manage in the cramped spaced, dazed eyes locking onto Billy’s face. And Billy is ready for it. Ready to hear that he’s crossed that line, that he went too far, turned it too real.

“That was so good,” his smile is blissful, his face lit in pleasure. He strokes a hand down Billy’s side, splays his fingers onto Billy’s thigh, “Can I?”

Billy presses his lips together, shakes his head.

“Already taken care of.”

And it was. The friction against Steve’s leg, combined with those last moans of Steve’s, had been enough. Even if he’d known that Steve would be willing, would want to do more, then he doubts he’d have had the control to hold back anyway.

Steve keeps smiling anyway, moves his hand to Billy’s arm and strokes his fingers up and down it idly, playing with the bracelet. He rubs the braided leather between his fingers, flicks his nails on the little silver bar.

“Maybe next time?” Steve flicks his tongue between his teeth, copies Billy’s signature move. It looks even hotter on him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, we could try somewhere a little less cramped,” Steve’s voice is husky, Billy wonders how many moans he’d been stifling, wonders how many more he can coax out if, when, they do this again.

“Sounds like you have a plan there sweetheart,” the name slips out from Billy’s lips, and he bites down hard, face flushing. But Steve just smiles even wider, leans up to press his lips against Billy’s once more, pulls Billy down onto him.

“I’ve got an empty house?” Steve is all charm, all bedroom eyes and low voice, but the fingers around Billy’s wrist are twitching nervously with his bracelet, and Billy can feel how fast his heart is pounding.

“Well you are the birthday boy for another half hour,” Billy grins, pressing a soft kiss to Steve’s forehead, “Wanna make a wish?”

“I wish you’d come back with me. Stay tonight.”

He can’t stay the night, they both know it. Know it’s not worth the risk. But they can have a few hours. A few hours in Steve’s bed, with no chance of being interrupted. No chance of anyone hearing. Plenty of space to move and hold and explore. Billy can do a lot with that.

And Billy can stay until Steve is asleep beside him, can hold him close and whisper sweet words into his hair and let himself have everything he wants. Imagine that they’re in their room, in their house. And he can come over early, can grab Steve and go to the diner and share milkshakes and desserts and spend the day together. Can do it again and again.

And that’s enough. More than enough for now. It’s so much more than Billy thought he would get.

So Billy cleans them both up, groans as he gets back out of the car and stretches out the crick in his neck. Slips back into the driver’s seat, with Steve back beside him. The radio is still on, If you're lost, you can look and you will find me. Billy starts the engine, turns on the lights. He doesn’t pull off straight away. Has an idea.

He turns to Steve, finds him already looking, already smiling. Billy knows his own expression is the same. He unclasps his bracelet, then reaches over to take Steve’s wrist and wraps the leather band around it. Gives it a squeeze. Laces their fingers together.

“Happy Birthday Stevie.”

#harringrove #birthday boys #fanfic #my writing #lemon #smut #tw: implied/referenced child abuse #tw: swearing #billy hargrove #steve harrington

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lesbianlovelanguage · 5 years ago

Text

Origin of Love

I heard it’s someone’s birthday, so I wrote a thing for @yikesharringrove. I remember seeing that you really liked Origin of Love from Hedwig, and considering it’s one of my favorite songs too I thought this would be a cool take. I hope you like it!!!

Read it below or on ao3 here.

*****

Steve had always been clumsy. No one could figure out why, but it was like he was missing half of his body somehow. He fumbled footballs so much they kicked him off the team and had perpetually bruised knees from falling over nothing. At first it was cute, how clumsy little Stevie was, but after the age of 9 his parents started to be concerned. They went to the doctors, but there wasn’t anything physically wrong with him, he was just clumsy. He was supposed to grow out of it.

Middle school was rough to say the least, kids calling him Spaz Steve and purposely tripping him at the worst moments. Now, not only were his knees bruised but his elbows, back, shins, and chest from falling or being bashed into lockers.

He finally got away from it freshman year of high school, when he proved to be amazing at keg stands, adopted the new title of King Steve proudly, and found he was able to focus enough to not do anything too clumsy during school hours. It did mean his grades suffered a little, but once he scored a place on the basketball team and started rising in popularity, his father forgot all about the mediocre grades. He eventually forgot about his son altogether. But who needed parents when instead he could have parties and booze and any high school chic he wanted? He was living it up as King Steve, and life was good.

And then Billy came to town.

Billy Hargrove was cocky and arrogant beyond belief, but it wasn’t his attitude that stopped Steve dead in his tracks during basketball practice two days after Billy’s arrival to Hawkins. They were playing shirts and skins, and without a care in the world, Billy ripped off his shirt. Along with revealing miles of tanned skin and firm muscles, Steve saw a faded red mark right above Billy’s navel that seemed to resemble the sun. While it wouldn’t seem unusual to anyone else, Steve couldn’t take his eyes away from the little red splotch. That is, until he heard Tommy’s hyena cackle in his ear and felt someone slam into him from behind.

He fell onto his knees, holding out his palms to stop the fall, before looking back behind him to see Tommy winking at Billy.

When the hell had they become friends?

Steve waited for Tommy to walk away and then stood up, brushed his hands off on his gym shorts, and headed to the opposite side of the gymnasium. The rest of practice passed without another incident, and Steve was able to duck into the locker room before any of the other guys in his class. He was on his way out of the shower when he caught sight of Billy’s mark again. It was just a glimpse, but it was enough for him to confirm that it looked exactly like his own mark right above his navel.

He didn’t have time, or really the brain capacity, to fully think about what their shared sun mark could mean at that moment though. He had a girlfriend to calm down after what had been a truly disastrous dinner with Barb’s parents. Steve still wasn’t really sure what had set Nancy off, but he knew she had left even more distraught about Barb’s death than she had been before visiting. She hadn’t said a word the entire ride home, hadn’t even looked at him. She was distant and cold all day, but during lunch he had gotten her to agree to a study date at the library.

It seemed to help, he got her to agree to the halloween party at least. One night of being a normal teenager.

The halloween party had been nothing less than a disaster . Not only would he never be able to unhear Nancy say he was bullshit, and that everything about them was bullshit, but he had to deal with Billy fucking Hargrove again.

He had successfully avoided thinking about their shared sun mark right up until he couldn’t possibly ignore it anymore. Until Billy Fucking Hargrove was standing above where he sat on the curb outside Tina's house, no shirt and opened jacket, absolutely reeking of cheap beer and expensive cologne.

“King Steve!” He was slurring his words, not to the point Nancy had been at but enough to let Steve know this was not sober Billy talking. “How’d you fall so far, Pretty Boy?”

“Fuck off Hargrove. I don’t need your machismo act tonight, I’ve had enough bullshit thrown my way already.” The word felt like chalk in his mouth, practically choking him as he spit it out. Billy just chuckled and plopped down next to Steve on the curb. “Don’t act like that, Stevie Baby. I’ve seen you eyeing me up, just wanted to see if you were interested in more than just undressing me with your eyes.”

“You’re delusional. I have a girlfriend.”

Billy rolled his eyes and leaned back on his palms. “Pretty sure I saw your girlfriend walking out of the party and into the car of another man. Tough break though.”

Steve saw red, stood up and glared down at the drunk blond below. “I don’t need this shit, especially from you. You look like a drowned rat, buddy.” He threw over his shoulder a quick and snarky, “Have fun with that hangover tomorrow,” and walked to his car.

Sleep was difficult that night. Not only did it take forever to actually fall asleep, but once he was unconscious he had the weirdest dreams.

What started as possibly jumps through time, all centered around the same brunette and blond who both looked startlingly familiar, ended with a truly bizarre scene.

Steve was standing in an empty rock land, mountain peaks in the distance and the sky lit aflame from the brilliant sunset. He felt oddly at peace, felt as if some empty part of him was filled finally. It wasn’t until he went to go exploring the empty world he was in that he noticed he was larger, with two more arms and legs. Again though, looking at the extra legs and arms felt natural and whole.

“Where we going, Pretty Boy?” came a voice from behind him, but it also seemed to come from within him. Without consciously deciding to speak, he responded.

“Anywhere we want Billy Babe.”

As they were roaming the land, Steve wondered at the peace he was feeling, and the beauty of the sunset above him. But just as he felt the calm settle into his bones, a great sense of panic overwhelmed him, and a giant flash of light shattered the sunset.

And then all Steve knew was agony as the lightning split him right down the middle, leaving him panting and staring down at his two hands and feet. The peace, the calm, the whole feeling he had gotten to expect had been ripped away from him, left him groaning and gripping at his stomach where the pain seemed to center. He looked down to see a sun shaped scar, pink and raised and fresh.

His head shot up and he frantically searched the area around him. There, sprawled about five feet away from him, was a prone figure staring up at the sky. Some deep part of him, right behind the new scar, reached out and out towards the figure, pulled Steve towards the man. It was his other half, the half that had been so crudely ripped from him, now separated and too distant. Once Steve arrived next to the man, he fell to his knees and began to weep. Through his tears he could only make out the curls of blond hair and bright blue eyes stare at him, hands moving closer before tugging Steve into a firm chest where he curled up and wept until his tears dried out. Once his sobs quieted down, he could hear the soft voice whispering comforting words into his hair. Steve looked up from where he had buried his face, and saw Billy look down at him with the most tragic expression clouding his face.

Just as they bent together to share a tear stained kiss, rain began to pour from the heavens and wind whipped around them. Steve was blown from Billy’s lap almost instantly, and as the rain grew thicker he couldn’t see his lover anymore, could barely see his own hand.

He lost him. His lover, his other half, his soulmate. Gone, lost to the storm.

Steve shot up in his bed, sheets pooling around his waist and skin clammy. He was panting harsh, and his hand flew up to grip at his sun mark so tight it almost hurt, just as it did when we were ripped apart.

But it was just a dream.

Right?

Steve didn’t get anymore sleep that night, plagued with a sense of restlessness and the carnal need to see Billy again. The hours between when he had jerked awake to when he would head to school seemed to pass rapidly and achingly slow. By the time his BMW pulled into the school parking lot, he was a mess fueled only by anxiety and a crushed granola bar he forced himself to eat.

But the blue Camaro was glaringly absent amongst the plain sea of beige and silver beater cars. Billy wasn’t there.

The school day passed in a blur, and practice was sure to be the same. Steve headed onto the court in a daze, head foggy until he looked up to see Billy dribbling a ball and wagging his tongue at the girls in the bleachers. It was as if the storm had passed, and that strange sense of wholeness and peace that Steve had felt in the dream washed over him again at the sight of the California Rat King.

And then he was promptly reminded of Billy’s attitude problem.

He was a monster on the court, managing to knock people over without getting fouled and snatch balls from even the best offensive players. Despite posing a threat, Steve couldn’t help but being a subtle tease. For some reason, he felt sturdy and more centered around Billy, and he used the focus he would have had to dedicate to staying balanced and applied it to some simple tricks he had seen from NBA games. He was headed straight for the basket when Billy met him straight on. Steve felt the press of a sweaty, sculpted torso press against him and hot breathe blow into his ear.

“Hey Pretty Boy. Harrington right? Used to run this school before turning bitch for an ice princess?”

Steve couldn’t believe he was getting this shit again.

“Why don’t you just shut up and play the game?” He panted. Instead of a verbal response, Billy snached the ball and drove through to score another basket for his team. He turned around to wag his tongue at Steve this time, but before they could go at it again, there came a quiet “Steve?” from the corner of the gym, and he had to go deal with the other headache in his life.

He skipped the rest of practice. After finding out Nancy remembered nothing of last night, he couldn’t stand the thought of facing Billy and his wagging tongue anymore. He needed sleep.

Apparently the coach had the same idea of ending practice early though, because halfway through his shower, the other guys on the team funneled into the locker room, with Billy leading the pack. He was standing at his locker, fiddling with the lock, when Steve walked over to get dressed.

“Awe, leaving already Pretty Boy?” He leered, eyes slowly rolling down Steve’s body, leaving a tingling hot path in their wake, all the way down to the red mark right above Steve’s navel. He could pinpoint the exact moment blue eyes met red lines by their widening size, and Billy’s jaw beginning to work overtime, like he was chewing on some leather. He clearly recognized it as an exact match to the one adorning his own body, and he knew exactly what it meant, probably knew more than Steve from the face he was making.

Steve barely opened his mouth to comment, ask a question, anything to prove it wasn’t all in his head, before Billy abruptly slammed his locker door and slung his bag over his shoulder, leaving the locker room still dressed in his workout clothes and sweat leaving his hair matted and sticking to his neck.

Steve almost fell over in his rush to get dressed and follow after Billy. He practically sprinted out to the parking lot just in time to see Billy pull open the door of his Camaro. In a last ditch effort, Steve jumped in front of the Camaro as Billy turned the key and made the engine roar.

“Out of my way Harrington,” he yelled out of the driver side window, where he had popped his head out.

Steve shook his head and shouted back, “I just want answers Billy. What is this?” He angrily raised his shirt just enough to make Billy bear witness to the mark again. Sighing, he pulled his head back inside the car and rubbed his eyebrows for a moment. Steve took the opportunity for what it was and walked around to the side of the car.

“Fine. Quarry, 6 o’clock. Don’t be late Pretty Boy,” and with that Billy pressed his foot on the gas and zoomed out of the parking lot.

Steve was going to go to the quarry, but he had to make one stop beforehand. He needed to break up with Nancy, felt the urge deep in his bones that it had been headed south for a long time and last night was just the breaking point. But stopping in front of the Wheeler’s somehow ended up with him and Dustin searching for a lizard, and then a whirlwind of Oh Shit, the Upside Down is back.

It all led to him, camped out at the Byers’ house with a pack of angry little brats trying to convince him to do some more dangerous shit, as if almost becoming alien chow at the junkyard wasn’t enough. He was going toe to toe with Nancy’s little brother when the random red head jumped away from the front window to say that her brother was headed down the driveway, and he was gonna kill them. Her claim was backed by a familiar engine revving in the driveway.

Billy Hargrove was here.

Steve calmed the brats down and then slowly walked out the front door, closing it quickly behind him.

“Am I dreaming, or is that you Harrington?”

“Yeah it's me, don’t cream your pants.” Billy huffed out a laugh and dropped his half-smoked cigarette to take off his leather jacket.

“Something doesn’t sit right Pretty Boy,” he said as he stalked across the yard towards the house, “You miss our date, my sister goes missing, and you all wind up here? Gives me the heebie jeebies man.”

“Sorry Bil, don’t know what to tell you. Shit happens.” Steve shrugged his shoulders, trying to play off how annoyed at himself he was for missing the chance to get his questions answered. Like hell he was getting answers now. Billy was right in front of him now, silver necklace glinting in the full moonlight. He swore he could even hear Billy growl before he replied.

“That’s not good enough. What’s my shitbird sister doing here with you? What’s going on Harrington, and don’t make me ask again.”

“Well, I’m babysitting the Byers kid and your sister isn’t here. Just me and a little kid, none of your concern.”

Billy pulled out his Marlboro pack and stuck one between his lips before looking up and locking eyes with Steve.

“Then who,” he said, pausing to light the cigarette, “is that.” He plucked the cigarette from his mouth and used it to gesture at the front window where a flash of red hair was disappearing behind the curtains.

Fucking hell.

Left grasping for straws, Steve wasn’t prepared for the fist that came sailing towards his face. He fell to the ground in a heap, and by the time he was able to untangle, Billy was already in the house and yelling at the kids.

Fuck their connection. No one threatened Steve’s kids.

He ran back into the house to witness Billy push Lucas up against the wall of the living room. Just before he could punch the frightened kid, Steve tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, Steve socked him in the jaw and sent him tumbling into the kitchen. He recovered quickly though, and they were quickly locked in a wrestling match that only stopped when Billy reached out for stability and flung open the fridge door.

Out tumbled a dead demi-whatever, right on top of Billy’s chest. He didn’t scream, but it was a close call. Steve rushed over and pushed the dead thing off of him. He reached out a hand to help Billy up, and once they were both upright, Billy actually did growl.

“Answers. Now.” Steve nodded along before ducking closer to Billy and whispering his response.

“Okay, sure. But first, we make a deal. I’ll tell you what’s going on here if you tell me what this,” he gestured to Billy's mark, which was on display under his opened shirt, ''means and why we both have one. Got it?”

“Fine.” Billy nodded and then moved to sit on the couch. “Explain it to me.”

After a full crash course in what was going on, including what they had all been arguing about prior to Billy’s arrival, his only response was to stand up and head toward the front door. When he got to the door though, he looked over his shoulder.

“Well, are we going or not?”

They did it. They fucking did it. The Gate was closed and the Upside Down banished for good.

The tunnels had been pure nightmare fuel, but somehow Steve knew it would have been worse if Billy hadn’t gone with. Whether it was because of their strange connection, or it was simply because he had another grown human with him, Steve was nothing short of grateful for the support.

After returning to the Byers’ house, Steve and Billy and the kids waited anxiously to hear from the others. Slowly, everyone mixed up in the Upside Down mess returned back to the Byers’ home, and once everyone was confirmed safe and the sun was beginning to rise, they dispersed. Steve dropped off Lucas and Dustin, and then went to the quarry. It felt like the better option, than going home to a cold and empty house.

He had parked the BMW and gotten out to sit on the hood of his car not very long before the rumble of another engine grew closer. A blue camaro pulled up right next to his car and parked, the absence of the engine and music that had been screaming from the windows was deafening in its silence, and Steve watched with a mix of nerves and anticipation as Billy climbed out of the driver’s seat. He walked up to the hood of the Camaro and fiddled with his lighter for a few moments.

“I think I, uh, I made you a deal Pretty Boy. Answers for answers and all that shit.” He sighed and finally lit his cigarette. Steve let him get in a puff before responding.

“Yeah, I just thought you might know more about the,” he had to cough before finishing his sentence, the awkwardness of the encounter starting to get to him, “the mark thingie,” he finished lamely.

“What do you know?”

“Not much. I guess. He started listing on his fingers, “I know that we both have identical marks in the same place somehow, I’ve had mine since birth so I figure you had yours forever too?” He waited for Billy to nod before continuing. “I also had this, um, this dream? About, uh, us?”

“Oh, yeah? Dreaming about me already, Bambi? Was it fun? What were you wearing?” Steve instantly flushed and started sputtering, trying to form a reply. Billy’s smirk grew bigger the more Steve fumbled for a response.

“Not that kind of dream Hargrove.” Steve finally answered. He paused and then added, quieter, “Not exactly I mean.”

“I’m sure it was, Pretty Boy. What was the dream about?”

“It was us, kind of? Like they looked like us, and it was like we were mashed together until we weren’t and then I lost you in a storm.” Steve was expecting teasing or maybe another punch to the face, but instead Billy let out a sharp bark of laughter before doubling over and pushing the heel of his palms into his eyes, the cherry of the cigarette shockingly close to his golden mane.

“You okay there Hargrove? You look a little…” Steve trailed off, unsure how exactly to describe Billy’s appearance.

“A little freaked? A little fucking scared? What is it Harrington? I look a little what over the fact that my fucking soulmate is a dude and my dad is the biggest fuckhead? This is fucking bullshit man.” Billy’s voice slowly rose until he was screaming the last sentence.

Where did Steve even begin processing what had just happened? It was full of landmines, from being fucking soulmates to Billy having serious daddy problems. He decided to focus on their joint issues.

“What do you mean, soulmates?” Billy’s head shot up and he pushed off the Camaro hood to come stand directly in front of where Steve was sitting crossed leg on the hood, hands on either side of his lap and face close enough for Steve to count the light freckles spattered across Billy’s nose.

“I think you know exactly what I mean Pretty Boy. Soulmates, destined to be together, forever entwined, that kind of shit.”

“And you know so much about this because…”

“It ran in my mom’s family. It's like a genetic thing or some shit. Listen, all she told me is that I would meet someone one day who had the same mark as me and would share my dreams.” Billy took an aggressive drag of the cigarette before continuing. “Take a wild guess of what I dreamed about Princess.”

“Me?” Steve squeaked out.

“Bingo amigo. Spot on.”

“So, so what? We’re soulmates or whatever. What does that mean? ” Steve pushed. Why did he feel pulled towards Billy, why did he feel so settled?

“It means jackshit, Harrington. Just forget about it okay?” Billy started to pull away, and something inside Steve flinched at the thought. Before he knew what he was doing, his hand shot out and fisted in the other boy’s shirt, yanking him back into place.

“Not a chance, Hargrove,” Steve whispered before continuing to follow his instincts. He flicked one last glance at blue eyes before focusing on plush lips and leaning in.

Their first kiss was a firestorm, filled with heat and rage and passion. Billy ran his tongue over Steve’s bottom lip and Steve tangled his hands in golden curls to hold Billy that much closer. They only broke apart because Billy tugged at Steve’s beltloops and accidentely pulled him off the fucking car.

They both landed in a heap in between the two cars, Steve on top of Billy and giggling up a storm. He was high on endorphins, and for some reason found himself working a hand down Billy’s body to find the sun mark that started this all.

As soon as his fingers grazed the edge of the sun, he felt a rush of heat and love and want shoot through him and Billy let out a broken moan. The heat was starting to overtake everything, the overwhelming need to be as close to Billy as possible, but once again Billy proved to be stronger than this soul bond thing they had. He ripped himself away from Steve, not very far but just enough for the haze of need to dissipate a little. The absence left both boys panting, breath intermingling and foreheads touching.

“Holy fuck,” was the most eloquent thing Steve could think of to surmize the feelings he had just experienced. Billy hummed in agreeance, leaning in to nip once more at Steve’s swollen lips before pulling away fully and standing up. He pulled Steve up and into his space again. They looked at each other for a minute, just taking in the moment as Billy held onto Steve’s biceps and Steve wrapped his arms around Billy’s torso.

“I am never forgetting this.” Steve whispered finally, and Billy chuckled before shaking his head.

“No, Bambi, I don’t think I will either.”

#tay writes #harringrove #harringrove soulmate au #steve harrington #billy hargrove #st2 #harringrove fic

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nblesbianbenhanscom · 4 years ago

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Harringrove *grabby hands* feed me all the headcanons

1. How do much do I ship it?: Never heard of it/ Notp / Dislike / used to ship / maybe / ship it / aww / otp / IS IT CANON YET?

honestly, no one should be surprised that i would ever give a fuck if it was canon or not. canon can’t affect how i feel.

2. What non sexual activities do they like to do together?

They like to watch too much TV, probably drink, hang out with their friends, and just cuddle. I also really like the idea of Billy reading to Steve, and them just chilling and reading for hours.

3. Who does chores around the house?

Steve. Steve would make such a good house husband. I mean, Billy does a lot too, but like I feel like Steve would do more.

4. Who’s the better cook?

Oh, Billy. Definitely Billy. Steve’s parents made sure he never had to cook either by leaving him money, or making sure a maid or someone made food for him. Billy had to learn to cook from a young age. Probably not something Neil actively encouraged, but when he was between wives, as if Neil would have ANY intention of cooking/caring for his son.

5. Who’s the funniest drunk?

Um. Yes? Both of them? Lol. I choose both. Because they get drunk together and they would be ridiculous together.

6. Do they have kids?

I think they eventually foster/adopt kids, kids who have been in and out of homes a lot. They want to help as many kids as possible because no one deserves a Neil.

7. Do they have any traditions?

They always go camping on the 4th of July. Always.

I don’t know anything else really. There’s so much bad, around some of the other holidays, but I hc Steve’s parents as being pretty shitty, so like holidays are spent alone or with the Byers or the kids or Robin (or all of the above).

8. What do they fight about?

Hmm. This is harder, cause in the beginning I think they would fight a lot, but not over anything in particular, but because they’ve got a lot of shit to work through, Billy especially with Neil. I think there would be a lot of play fighting too, fighting over nothing, bickering really, although sometimes, to people who don’t know them (and even some who do) it looks like real fighting.

9. What would they do if they found their paring tag on tumblr? (If they have one)

Omg. I. Billy would probably, for the most part get off on a lot of it. Like most of it. So much of it. And I think Steve would be a little ??? and then just fall in a hole and come out like three days later like, what the fuck just happened.

10. Who cried at the end of Marley and me?

I mean, Billy cries a lot canonically, so ofc Billy, but if you think Steve would be dry eyed, you’d be so fucking wrong.

11. Who always wins at Mario kart?

Neither of them. They always cheat. They play a few games, but it turns into rough housing which turns into 👀👀👀 And they are forced out of the room because """"nobody wants to see that""""""

12. One thing I like about this ship?

I love that in one minute I can read a fic where they are literally brawling in an alley and kiss with blood all over their mouths to so much stuff about Billy eating Steve out to like very serious Billy centric fics that explore Billy working through his shit.

13. One thing I don’t like about the ship?

I do not. Know. The things I can come up with are like understandable, or stuff that’s not my kink, but I’m very not into kink shaming, so I just do the grown up thing and keep scrolling.

14. The song I would say fits them?

Trouble- Halsey

15. Another headcanon about the paring? (Free space)

Oof. They sleep all over each other in bed. Like, they get a king size so they can spread out, but always wake up on top of each other, usually in the middle of the bed. They just can’t get enough of each other.

send me more ships if y’all want!

#dysregulardyke #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #hcs

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steveharrington · 5 years ago

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what do you think are the problems with how the kids are written in s3?

okay to preface this some of these problems arent really Problems they’re like. nitpicks. and a lot of them are just a matter of opinion based on my perception of the kids so im not trying to like trash this season skdfjsdlkfj

max: i had the most beef with max’s storyline bc i think its the most like. egregious flaw of the season. im Not talking about her being teamed up with el, i thought that was actually great and one of the best parts of the season. im talking specifically about her dynamic with billy. after watching him try to beat up lucas and then actually beat up steve only like 8 months before the season you’d think, realistically, she’d be cautious around billy. in season two she was obviously scared of him, like in the car when he grabbed her arm and she was visibly terrified, so it makes absolutely no sense that in season three she’d be willing to sneak into his room and make all these justifications as to why he’s just a normal teenage boy. ive seen people be like “she was just in denial, she didn’t think he’d really kill anyone!” and like........yeah maybe? but she did watch him almost kill steve. their relationship is just so much more casual and like....friendly? compared to season two which like severely sucks because it sorta just erases any trauma max would have relating to her brother being violent and aggressive and prone to just attacking her friends. it was all part of this weird backpedal the duffers did to convince us that billy actually isnt That Bad and therefore deserves a redemption arc. as someone who really related to max in season two because of that sibling dynamic, it sucks.

mike: i think they took the whole “mike is a brooding asshole” thing way too far this season, and they have no real justification for it. in season one, mike is a fucking sweetheart. he’s selfless to the point of literally jumping off a cliff for dustin. he has a line where he’s specifically like “you’re All my best friends and i dont prioritize any one of you over anyone else.” in season two, he’s obviously moody and irritable, but that’s because he’s Insanely Traumatized. he formed a really close bond with el and then watched her fucking disappear into who knows where, he doesn’t know if she’s alive or dead, he’s terrified for will, it makes sense in season two why he would be so perpetually angry at the world and everyone around him. in season three, though, mike is in a pretty good spot. will is fine, el is fine And he gets to see her, his literal biggest problem at the start of the season is that he’s scared of hopper and his middle school relationship is in turmoil. it makes No Sense that he’d completely brush off will and then basically be like “fuck you gayboy” when will brings this up. like since when!!! does mike have such little regard for his friends!! it serves no purpose other than drama and it destroys basically his core character trait

will: obviously he was just like completely sidelined this season. i think it’s good that he has a storyline about feeling alienated from his friends as they grow up and he tries to cling to his childhood and the things that feel normal to him. my only complaint is that they gave him like, one episode to explore that storyline. also i really don’t think will would have so much outright contempt for el. like i get what they’re going for, i get that it’s part of his conflicting feelings about his own sexuality and his dynamic with mike and stuff, but el isn’t just a random girl to will. there should have been a little more nuance there imo

el: honestly don’t have that many problems with el’s storyline this season. i Loved the idea of her exploring an identity that isn’t just what other people think of her or expect of her, loved her hanging out with max, i even liked her investigating the billy thing UNTIL they just used her as a prop to make us feel sad for billy. but overall i think she had a really good story in season 3

lucas: again. severely underutilized. lucas is kinda just becoming comic relief which really bugs me because he was amazing in season one when he actually got to have a story arch that wasn’t just like. having a crush on a girl. i do appreciate that lucas had like 50 moments of heroism. idk if that was like, an accident, because they never really explicitly discuss it, but there were multiple moments in season 3 where lucas basically saved everyone’s ass. would’ve liked to see more of him and erica because she’s, yknow, his little sister and they barely interact the whole season.

dustin: ok ok ok OK OK dustin is complicated this season because they kinda did a complete 180 with him halfway through the season. i was Really vibing with dustin for the first like, five episodes. dustin has always been written as kind of a lonely child, even within his group of friends, and so i think it’s natural that he have a season away from them. the sweetest thing about steve and dustin’s relationship is that dustin has always felt to some degree like an outsider in his own group (in season one he’s already come to terms with the fact that mike likes will and lucas more than him) and so it’s doubly sweet that he befriends this “cool” “badass” older kid who’s actually super lame and he can be lame with. and for the first half of season three, they really cashed in on that bond. dustin and steve wrote to each other while he was at camp, they have a secret handshake, he Literally says the words “you die, i die” like it’s an intense bond that’s only natural from someone like dustin who is so intensely loyal to his friends and finally has someone who he can consider to be His Own. but then the moment steve and robin get taken by the russians it’s suddenly like a switch is flipped and dustin is just. annoyed and exasperated???? he’s not really in a hurry to get help, he’s not that concerned when steve is like laying on the floor with his face absolutely smashed to hell, he’s MAD at steve when he tells him that he accidentally gave up his name UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS like it’s insane. the scoops troop storyline as a whole has this really weird, kinda disturbing, comedic tone and i think this just falls under that. they ultimately decided that dustin being an exasperated keeper of two stoned teenagers would be way funnier than dustin being genuinely concerned that his favorite person just got his shit absolutely wrecked. also, the suzy thing was weird.

#dis is so long im so sorry its just that head full #long post #anon #answered #st

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tillidontneedfantasy · 5 years ago

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‘WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?�� - Billie Eilish REVIEW: Making ‘Em Bow One By One

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

An interesting question you pose there, Billie. When I fall asleep, I usually dream about being a part of the Harry Potter universe and trying to defeat Voldemort with the golden trio. But unfortunately, I don’t go there every night. I mean, believe me, fighting off The Dark Lord can be scary sometimes. But sometimes I go to even darker places, and it always takes a few moments when waking up to believe I’m really in my bed. Much of Billie Eilish’s debut album invites you into the dark parts of her subconscious, and sometimes her extreme consciousness, to which she goes. Of course, “asleep” could also be interpreted as, well, dead. Which is a nice way to phrase it. Ideal, really. How wonderful would it be if death was just an eternal nap? No one would ever be afraid to die.

Maybe that’s what Billie believes it is, and why she seems so desperate to go there on WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (WWAFA,WDWG?) For a then-16-year-old girl, I wish she wasn’t so tired. “ilomilo,” “bury a friend” and most concerning, “listen before I go,” explore her friends who have been taken from her, and her desire to join them. I’m glad she hasn’t.

So is she. In a now traditional Vanity Fair video, Billie answers the same interview questions three years in a row, exactly a year apart. Expect The Fourth Year one October 18th, 2020. It is one of the most fascinating videos I have ever watched. Though the same at the core, there is a different version of Billie in each year. Which is to be expected, as she is a teenager in the limelight. But the video of year 2, which was around 5 months prior to WWAFA,WDWG?’s release, Billie openly admits to being in a very dark place, discussing how her friend had died. Her posture and affect are noticeably different in years 1 and 3. In the third and latest installment, Billie is an upgraded, happier and more comfortable version of the previous two. You can hear the change in her voice, see it in her face. In response to the question, “What’s most important to you right now?” her answer is, “Maintaining my happiness, which I have been experiencing for the first time in many years….I wanna stay happy. That’s a big goal for me.”

Billie Eilish is one of the biggest breakout stars of the past few years. Her following is enormous, and though fans vary in age, many of them fall in her cohort. Generation Z is special in many ways: morbidly funny, proudly outspoken, self-aware, and unafraid to be different. Billie Eilish is all of these things incarnate, the perfect spearhead for this generation and what they represent. She dresses how she wants to dress and makes the kind of music that she wants to make, refusing to follow the molded expectations of young up and coming female stars before her. In that music, she also does what very few artists, young or old, have ever done: candidly explores mental illness and suicidal ideation.

These issues have become more and more prevalent in today’s society, yet they are still extremely stigmatized. Like many teenagers, I experienced the sadness and darkness Billie is singing about. I’m almost 25 now, but I can imagine how 15-year-old Cass would feel hearing this album and seeing Billie as she is in the third year of that Vanity Fair interview. Understood. Not alone. And hopeful, hopeful that things get better. At that age you feel like everything is the end of the world, because it is developmentally and socially some of the most difficult years in the human experience. And to hear someone you look up to say, “I feel this way, too,” and then see them continue fighting, and happy that they did...that can change someone’s life.

Thankfully, Billie still injects some levity into the album. The musical hook in “bad guy” feels like a defining moment for Gen Z the way the musical hook in “Toxic” was for us Millennials. “all the good girls go to hell” unflinchingly decrees that God Is A Woman™, and “my strange addiction” has cuts from The Office, Eilish’s favorite show, interspersed throughout the song. Gen Z is taking over, and Billie’s one hell of a ringleader.

STRONGEST TRACK(S): “i love you,” “xanny”

The phrase “I love you” has never felt so intimate as it does coming from Billie’s mouth in the penultimate track on WWAFA,WDWG? Sandwiched between two tracks where all together they form a sentence (listen before I go, I love you, goodbye) "i love you" is the most mesmerizing and most vulnerable, not just of the three but of the whole album. As a listener, you are dying to know what's hidden between the lines. Why doesn't she want to love this person even though she clearly does? What did she do to make him cry? Why are you, the listener, crying right now? With the smallest breath, the quietest whisper, the emotion Eilish emits is enormous. Every once in a while you hear a song that you feel will never leave you, and “i love you” has all the makings to be everlasting.

As does the message in “xanny,” a dynamic song that mostly sounds like an old-time jazz track, although infuses a blaring noise over the chorus, as if you are standing right next to the booming stereo at the party setting in which she speaks. The layering of hums in the background and at the end of the song provides a necessary subtle softness, making it all the more beautiful. The track is a statement from Eilish that she has no interest in the lifestyle that so many kids her age- famous or not- lead, partly because she does not understand the appeal of its effects, and partly because she does not want to invest herself in someone willingly bringing harm upon themself, as she previously has. “I can’t afford to love someone who isn’t dying by mistake,” she asserts. Of course, most things in moderation are good and fine, but there is an ever-persistent pressure for young people to use substances, for easier social interactions or easier claim to desirable social status. There is a plethora of music out there promoting the party lifestyle, but very few saying, “hey, it’s okay if you’re not about this, you’re still cool,” and so a celebrity as big as Billie abstaining from it, and providing a reasonable explanation, gives a figure of understanding and solidarity to all the outliers.

WEAKEST TRACK: “8”

Not a bad song by any means, “8” is just the least memorable on an album filled with extremely intriguing and standout tracks. There is an interesting choice of vocal styles that alternate throughout, one of which it sounds as if Eilish is emulating the voice of a little girl. She is asking the subject to just give her some common courtesy and hear her out. "Who am I to be in love / when your love never is for me?" she asks, in the most compelling moment of the song. It is a difficult line to walk, knowing someone doesn't owe you anything but wanting them to anyway. Although the song is effective, its replay value doesn't quite match with the other contenders.

THE IN-BETWEENS

Although Eilish is authentic in her own right, you can see the draw of inspiration from unique artists before her. Lorde's imprint is all over "you should see me in a crown," a catchy song about ruling the world and making everyone bow down to her with the sound of a knife sharpening at the top, and “listen before i go” is reminiscent of Lana Del Rey’s morose romances. “when the party’s over,” written solely by Billie’s brother, collaborator, and best friend, Finneas O’Connell, is a beautifully quiet moment in the middle of the album, with absolutely gorgeous high notes from Billie. The song is succinct and poignant, noting the inner conflict between wanting a friend to be more than just that and yet feeling the need to keep up boundaries to protect your heart; but when has that done anyone any good?

BEST PROSPECTIVE SINGLE: “my strange addiction”

In the age of Netflix, The Office continues to grow in popularity with younger viewers who missed it on air. Who better to bolster the movement than Verified The Office super fan, Billie Eilish? In “my strange addiction,” Eilish and O’Connell draw inspiration from the classic episode, “Threat Level Midnight,” where Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) has finally finished his movie and is ready to premiere it to the office. In his movie, Scott’s character, Michael Scarn, teaches the entire bar how to do his signature dance, “The Scarn.” “No, Billie, I haven’t done that dance since my wife died!” the song begins, which is a real line from the episode. “my strange addiction” borrows from the track for “The Scarn,” which is simply genius. Everyone is doing “The Scarn,” fictional or nonfictional, even NFL player Trey Quinn, who did the famed routine for his touchdown dance. Not only will “my strange addiction” convert The Office fans to Billie Eilish fans, but just imagine the amount of TikToks there could be of people doing “The Scarn” to this song…think about the meme potential, Billie! *Ed Helms voice* There’s a whole crowd of people out there who need to learn how to do the “my strange addiction.”

*****

Billie Eilish, and her debut album, WWAFA,WDWG? is impressive in a multitude of ways: she is raw, candid, silly, wildly intelligent, and most importantly, full of a lot of love, no matter how much she claims she does not want to be. Perhaps most impressive is that the only writers and producers credited on this album are Eilish and O’Connell, ages 18 and 22, respectively, at the time of this review, yet 17 and 21 at the time of its release, which means they were 16 and 20 at the time of writing and production. For two young people to create such an impactful album on such a massive scale on their own is a rarity, and has not been seen since the beginning of Taylor Swift’s career, and look at where she is now. Billie’s music might be different, but her trajectory seems quite similar. At Billboard’s Women in Music ceremony in December of 2019, Swift was honored with Woman of the Decade while Eilish was honored with Woman of the Year. Both artists paid homage to the other in their speeches, harkening back to Swift’s 2014 Woman of the Year speech where she alludes to a future Woman of the Year recipient learning piano and singing in choir; Swift had said back then that we need to take care of her, and Eilish tearfully thanked the room for doing just that. As Swift continues to fight against the system to pave the way for female artists, the clearing is all Billie’s. If Billie continues to maintain ownership of her voice, as I’m sure she will, it looks like the woman of the next decade is a lock. The crown looks great on Billie, and I cannot wait to see where she takes us while we’re all awake. Grade: 4.5/5

DISCLAIMER – REVIEWER’S BIAS: The first time I listened to WWAFA,WDWG? the only tracks that really captured my attention were “bad guy” and “my strange addiction.” I wanted to like it so bad, but I felt like I was missing something. Maybe that’s because I listened to the album at work and did not take it in properly. But I also felt like she was whispering too much, which made it difficult for me to stay interested. So I did not revisit it. However, over this past year, despite not listening to her music, I started to form a big-sister-type love for Billie, feeling as if I must protect her at all costs (any man over the age of like, 20, reading this: stay the fuck away from her you sickos!!!). I loved how she embraced her individuality and did whatever she wanted. I watched many interviews of her on YouTube (one being the Vanity Fair one, where she talks about how the criticism that she whispers a lot is hurtful yet true- Billie, I’m sorry!!) and found her to be so intelligent. To me, her and Taylor Swift (my number one love) are two sides of the same coin, or two paths to the same destination. What I mean by that is that as a lover of music and as a girl going through a difficult time, sometimes you need positivity to counteract the negative feelings, other times you need to lean into the sadness to release it all; though they both possess a bit of both, Taylor is more of the positive route, Billie more of the sad route. The thing is, you need both options. Billie reminds me of Taylor so much; she writes all of her own music (with her brother as her only co-writer), she has blown up at such a young and vulnerable age (if WWAFA,WDWG? wins AOTY at the Grammys, Billie will be the youngest ever recipient since Taylor won for Fearless at the age of 20), and she is committed to saying and doing what she wants to do the way she wants to do it. After listening to the album a few more times leading up to the Grammys to write this review, I get it. I truly get it. I’m sorry it took so long. And although her super soft vocals are definitely effective, I still want her to project more. The girl has a gorgeous voice; she should use it! But also she doesn’t need my advice, she’s doing fine. Keep whispering, baby girl. I feel very nervous for Billie, because when a woman reaches the top this quickly, everyone gets ready to push her off just as fast, and the fall can be fatal. But I believe in her ability to stand her ground. Please protect Billie at all costs!!!!

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strangerstuffandthingsimagines · 7 years ago

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Human Touch Pt.1 (Billy Hargrove x Reader)

Part 2

Series Summary: Having lived a sheltered life hidden in the cabin secluded in the woods, the reader is only now given the opportunity to explore what if means to be a regular teenager, as, she is granted the chance to experience her senior year. Following the events of October 1985, Billy meets the adoptive daughter of Jim Hopper, the same police officer who arrested him based on what had happened between Steve and Billy. The two find themselves completely enamoured with one another, although to Hopper’s dismay. There is more to the reader than meets the eye, and after what was supposed to be a fun night of sneaking into the school pool turns sour, the reader finds out there might be more to her than Hopper has led on.

Warnings: Swearing, romantic themes (nothing smutty though, yuh girl doesn’t write smut.)

A/N: I’m pretty nervous about this! I hope you enjoy it :) I’m not sure how many parts there will be, so I guess we’ll find out.

Taglist: @madhatterweasley @characterobsessed @lilmissperfectlyimperfect

Saturday, January 4, 1986

Luminescent blue light glowed from the still water of the pool, the strong smell of chlorine nearly burning your eyes as you hesitantly stood by the pool.

“Is it cold?” You asked, now second guessing if you really wanted to go swimming in the dead of night.

“The waters fine, besides, the pools heated,” Billy explained, his strong arms treading the water as he watched you in amusement. “This was your idea, remember?”

You purse your lips at him, arms folded across your chest.

“Fine.” You announced. “But turn around, no peeking.”

Billy turned slowly as he bounced on his tiptoes, just barely touching the floor of the deep end.

You kicked off your sneakers and peeled off your socks. Quickly you unfastened the button of your jeans and wiggled them off your legs. You hesitated with your shirt, now becoming nervous about what Billy might think as this was the closest you had ever been to naked in front of him. Finally, the thought of walking around in a wet shirt wasn’t so appealing as it was below zero outside.

Your arms wrapped tightly around your chest, feeling completely naked as you stood in your undergarments. The smell of chlorine lingered in the air as you shifted the weight of your feet.

“Okay, I’m-I’m coming in.” You announced as you sheepishly dipped a toe in, sloshing the water around.

Billy now thinking you had got into the water, turned to face you.

“Wow.” He breathed, taking in your entire being.

He admired the way the light silhouetted your shape, creating a vibrant blue outline along your skin.

Your head shot up from the toe you had been swirling in the water and immediately scrambled to hide from his entranced gaze.

“What? What? Why are you looking at me like that?” You spoke a mile a minute. “I told you not to look!”

Billy made his way to the edge of the pool, not looking away from you.

“You’re beautiful.” He said, still taken by you.

Your cheeks burned at his words, now chewing on your bottom lip.

“Really?” You asked in disbelief.

“Of course, you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.” His words like silk as his hands reached up to help you, water running down his arms as it traced his veins.

Kneeling down you gripped onto his shoulders, his hands finding your waist as he pulled you into the cool water. You let out a small gasp by the temperature, which had taken you by surprise.

“Cold?” He smiled.

Your heart pounded violently in your chest, nerves now overwhelming you.

“A little.” You admitted, thankful you were now in the pool so he wouldn’t be able to feel how sweaty your palms were. Guiding you backwards, you gently bumped into the wall.

“I’m not a very strong swimmer.” You admitted, as this entire idea sprouted from the misconception that this was something normal teenagers did. “I thought this would be a good idea, now I’m starting to second guess myself.”

“Put your legs around my waist, I’ll hold you up.” He explained, his hand cupping your thigh as you followed his instructions.

“I’ve got you.” He hummed, placing a soft kiss on your bare shoulder.

As soon as his lips made contact with your skin, tingles echoed throughout your body. Your nails grazed the skin on his back, uneasy by your own unfamiliar feelings.

“Sorry.” You blurted out. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

“First time breaking the rules?” He grinned. “Don’t worry, no one’s going to catch us.”

“You’ve done this before?” You asked curiously, playing with the hair that clung to the nape of his neck.

“I use to back in California, I and a few friends would hop the fences, drink a few beers and smoke.” He reminisced. “You’d like it there. Lots of sea turtles if you know where to look.”

You smiled at the fact he remembered how much you loved turtles, cringing as well, just thinking about how that was one of the first things you decided to tell him about yourself when you first met.

“Maybe we can go sometime, me and you?” He suggested. “Get away from here. Away from this shit hole town.”

His lips parted slightly as he stared back at you waiting for an answer. All you could wonder was if he could feel the pulse of your heart as is rattled against your ribs.

He spun you around in the water, waves rippling from your slow movements. Your soft skin felt like silk under the water as his hands held onto your body.

“Billy.” You murmured as your lips pressed into his neck, his body tensing at your touch as goosebumps formed on his shoulders. “Kiss me.”

His free hand found your waist and pulled you as close as he possibly could, his chest pressed firmly against your own as he feverishly kissed your lips.

His free hand clutched the pool ledge, careful not to drift away.

His touch caused your head to go fuzzy as you were intoxicated off of him, completely drunk of the new feelings you felt, buzzing with every movement of his mouth on yours. His kiss making its way along your jaw, nuzzling into the crook of your neck.

A loud slam of the corridor door startled you, sucking in a sharp inhale as you clung to him tightly.

“Shit,” Billy muttered, looking up from behind your hair.

“It’s Saturday, why would anyone be here?” you asked as Billy hoisted you out of the water. Scooting backwards you quickly scrambled to your feet.

“We gotta get out of here.” He stated now pulling himself out of the water. You fumbled to get your clothes back on as Billy followed suit.

“Janitor must have heard us, called the cops or something.” He explained as he straightened out his coat, before taking you by your hand. “We can get out this way.”

Muffled laughter softly echoed throughout the empty pool, your shoes squeaking as they failed to grip onto the wet tile. The vibrant red “EXIT” sign pulsed in the distance, your only escape route.

Both you and Billy tensed as the cold air blew against your damp bodies as you pushed open the heavy door. Peering around the corner, your heart sank as you saw the parked cruiser blocking the exit of the parking lot.

“We’re going to have to hop the fence.” You explained, your eyes scanning the area.

“Alright, shit.” Billy shivered in the cold, his arms wrapping around your shoulders.

“On three, we sprint to the fence.” You explained as you rubbed your hands together for warmth. “One. Two-“

“Three.” Billy laughed, beating you to the punch.

“Billy!” You yelled a giggle erupted from your lungs as you chased after him. “Wait up!”

Billy already starting on the fence his fingers clinging to the holes woven by the metal bars. Making sure you were keeping up, Billy glanced down now and then, although, you were hot on his heels.

Billy hopped down once he reached the top, landing with ease.

“Too fast for you?” He taunted with a smug look on his face. Before you could respond to his cockiness, a shout from the school doors startled you, promoting you to lose balance.

Your leg caught on the barbed wire fence, having to swing your weight over to avoid the rest of you getting caught, you prayed Billy would catch you before you smacked against the cement.

Just as you hoped, Billy’s strong arms caught your fall.

“Babe, are you okay?” He asked pressing a kiss to your temple, his voice filled with concern as he studied your face for any sign of harm.

“Yeah, I cut my leg a little.” You pointed down toward your calf. “But we’ll worry about that later.”

Ditching Billy’s car, the two of you began down the back alleyways until you made it to the main streets of the town. The relief of escaping quickly dissolved as blue and red washed over your features, bathing you in its light.

“Shit.” you breathed, your hand pushing away from Billy as the silhouette of a hat emerged from the sheriffs truck.

“Y/N.” Anger dripping from your father’s voice. “Get in the truck.”

“I can ex-”

“Now!” He ordered, not allowing an explanation from you.

As the pickup truck pulled up to the shabby cottage in the middle of nowhere, your hands eagerly unbuckled yourself from your seat, the souls of your shoes skidding against the gravel as you stepped out of the still moving car.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me. We are not done with this.” Hopper growled as you darted toward the front door.

“As if you haven’t already yelled at me enough.” You snapped back, your knuckles pounding against the front door for El to let you in.

The door slowly opened, El having not moved from the couch as she watched her soap operas on tv. You slammed the door in Hopper’s face before he could make it through the threshold of the house.

The door swung open, nearly smacking into your back.

“I’ve done everything for you, and you go against my explicit orders.” He continued his rant. “I told you to stay away from him and you didn’t listen!”

“I told you, I was hanging out with some people from school and they talked me into sneaking into the pool. When we got caught we all split up, I wasn’t just with him!” You lied, doing everything in your power to keep Billy out of trouble.

“I was a teen boy once, I’m not an idiot,” Hopper stated, a hand placed on his hip. “You really expect me to believe that?”

You craned your head back in frustration, a guttural groan escaping you. El now curiously took an interest in the argument unravelling in the living area.

“You are suffocating me.” You groaned, truly playing the role of a dramatic teen.

“It’s my job,” Hopper said firmly. “To protect you from jackasses like him.”

“I’m eighteen, Dad. I can take care of myself,” you said as you reached over the couch to grab a chip from the bowl in El’s lap. “The whole point of letting me go to school this year was to allow me to experience what it’s like to be a normal teenager for once.”

“Cut the dramatics.” He snapped, angrily shrugging off his coat.

“Maybe if you didn’t cut me off from society for eighteen years I wouldn’t have to be dramatic!” You yelled with a mouth full of chips, throwing your arms up in frustration.

“There it is again, the dramatics.” he sighed as he emptied his pockets of spare change and cigarettes, glancing at you with a hard look.

“You’re the one being dramatic,” you muttered, shoving more chips into your mouth as you stormed off to your room, making a statement by slamming the door.

Steam clouded the bathroom mirror as you soaked in the hot water, sitting on the floor the tub, you allowed the water to run down your body and wash away the chlorine and frost that clung to your skin.

You watched as red seeped into the clear water, swirling down the tub drain. Raising an eyebrow you wiped your hand on your leg, scrubbing away the dried blood that had crusted over the wound.

“The fuck?” you mumbled to yourself, pulling your skin around trying to locate the cut. There was no pain anymore, only furthering your confusion, as only an hour earlier you were limping from the deep gash caused by the barbed wire.

The wound was completely gone, not a sign or mark of your misadventure from earlier. It was as if it healed…all on its own.

#billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove #billy Hargrove fan fiction #stranger things imagine #stranger things 2 imagine #stranger things #stranger things 2 #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargorve fanfic #billy hargrove oneshot #billy hargrove x hopper!reader #SSATBilly

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notaperfectprefect · 7 years ago

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Strange Encounters by Moonlight

Werewolf Billy and bottomsteve basically. For @harringroveismyguiltyship from the discord

didn’t edit this so sorry, but not really

The party plus hopper and joyce set up monthly dinners, switching off who hosts them. This time hopper and el host it. Steve has never been to the cabin. Or well he has never been invited to the cabin before. He once stumbled across it after doing one of his nightly walks that he does when he has a nightmare. So, here steve is trying to follow Hopper's directions at 8 pm on a thursday night. He's sorta lost, but hoping that he will just stumble across it like he did last time. The moon is full tonight, being Steve's only source of light as he trudges through the forest. He can see his breath because it's gotten so cold suddenly. He tries to ignore the sounds of nature because every sudden sound sparks a memory in his brain of THAT night.

He comes across a clearing in the forest and looks down at the chicken scratch Hopper gave him for directions. "Left, or...?" Suddenly, Steve hears a branch snap....then another. The snaps sounding closer and closer with each one. Then he hears it. A growl. causing the hairs on his neck to stick straight up. Of course, like the idiot he is, he calls out:

"Hello? I-is anyone there?"

Another growl greets him, but this time from directly behind him. Steve is stuck frozen in fear. He hears leaves crunch underneath the feet of whatever creature in is the clearing with him. Mustering up the courage (hoping it isn't a demo dog), he turns around slowly. His eyes find the red eyes of...BILLY HARGROVE staring at him. With fangs, and fur, and sharp ears, and is...is that a tail?

"Billy?"Billy suddenly launches himself at steve, snarling and growling. Steve falls to the ground and crawls backwards until his hand slips and he lays there, vulnerable for the predator. Werewolf Billy falls beside him and rips his shirt open, baring his fangs. Drool dripping down them. Steve closes his eyes expecting Billy to tear his throat open.Then he feels a change in the tension of the air. The tense air of dread becomes electrified and, Steve risks an eye open. He looks up at Billy, now super close to him, he can smell the cigarette smoke. He watches the pupils in Billy's eyes enlarge.

Then Billy is set in motion again. He launches himself at Steve's neck, lapping and licking at it. Biting his adams apple, causing a confused groan to leave Steve's mouth.Steve feels Billy rake his claws down Steve's pale chest, lightly and Steve hisses. His hips buck up into Billy's and Billy growls before ripping Steve's belt out of the loops. Steve starts to feel scared, watching Billy pull his jeans down, exposing his tented boxers. Steve brings a hand up to Billy's shoulder, pushing it slightly. Then Billy stops what he's doing, coming out of the trance he was in.

Billy then looks up at Steve and slowly brings his mouth closer to Steve's hard on. He watches Steve carefully as he licks, long and slow up the outline of Steve's dick in his boxers. The hand on Billy's shoulder tightens, but doesn't push away so Billy takes that as a sign to continue. He does and is awarded with a long, high pitched "fuck" from the brunette. He starts lapping more furiously at the boxer before he gets frustrated and starts ripping them straight down the middle. Steve would reprimand him but the cold air touching his exposed erection, makes him hiss. Now, Steve's jeans are no more and his boxers are ripped straight down to the middle, exposing everything to the werewolf man above him. Billy moans from deep in his chest and pushes Steve's thighs apart, licking at everything he can. His long tongue, licks up Steve's shaft and across his balls, getting closer and closer to a part of Steve's body, he had never explored.

The sounds coming from the clearing must be weird for any onlooker stumbling upon it. Wet sounds, like the sound of a dog licking up water, plus the high pitched strangled moans of a horny teenager. Steve’s head is thrown back against the dirt, no longer giving any fucks about his hair or the situation rn. Then he feels a strange sensation, after Billy hikes his legs up and apart. Steve chokes on a gasp as he feels Billy’s wide tongue at his entrance.

“Billy!” Billy just turns his red gaze up to Steve’s brown eyes, watching Billy lapping at his ass. Steve almost sees something resembling Billy’s signature smirk, but it quickly gets twisted by the fangs in Billy’s mouth. Then Billy just sticks his tongue straight into Steve. Steve clenches around the tongue, when he feels the new sensation. He groans, feeling Billy’s tongue work magic, slicking him up for whatever happens next. Steve feels precum beading up on his dick and some dripping on his pale hip bone. He starts grinding against Billy’s tongue and Billy’s hands tighten around Steve’s thighs. Then he does something strange to Steve and nuzzles his face in the curls around Steve’s dick and...purrs??? Steve’s eyebrows furrow, but before he has any chance to think deeper on this, Billy pulls his pants off(btw he has been shirtless this whole time).

He takes his cock out, showing Steve what is gonna happen next. For some reason, however, Steve doesn’t feel scared. He has never done this before, but he kinda wants it...idk he hasn’t gotten laid in awhile. Yes, that is why he is doing this. Not because he has always thought Billy was attractive and this might be one of his fantasies. Well, not the werewolf part. That...that is new.

He watches Billy slicks up his own hand and drag his hand around his cock, slicking that up as well. Then Billy’s larger frame crawls over Steve and he starts attacking his neck again, this time his nips getting rougher. Steve only whines in response. He can feel Billy’s hard cock against his thigh and he closes his eyes in anticipation. Billy pushes in slowly, earning long pained groans from Steve. Billy just sits inside Steve and licks up his chest and and nips at his collar bones. Steve tries to relax, knowing that’s what he tells girls to do when it is their first time. He breathes in and out, shakily and lets out a moan as Billy turns his attention to his nipples.

Billy starts thrusting slowly, gripping Steve’s thighs, bringing his mouth back up to Steve’s throat. Steve can hear every grunt and growl coming from Billy’s mouth. Steve lets out little whimpers at the feeling of Billy moving inside him. This is definitely a foreign feeling, but Steve likes it? Suddenly, Billy hits a spot inside him that causes Steve to arch his back and let out a scream. OH MY GOD, Steve doesn’t know what that was but he DEFINITELY likes this!!

“More!” Steve screams out and Billy growls out before snapping his hips back in deeper and faster. At this point, Steve’s head is thrown back, mouth falling open in ecstasy and Billy’s face is in the crook of Steve’s neck. Steve’s nails trail down Billy’s back as Billy starts pounding into him like an animal.

“I’m-Bil-I-” Steve tries to get out that he is close, but words escape him with every brush of Billy’s dick against his prostrate. Billy only latches his mouth onto Steve neck. Feeling Billy’s fangs penetrate his skin, brings Steve over the edge as he comes untouched onto his own stomach. Steve sees white and yells Billy’s name.

This seems to encourage Billy and he thrusts like lightning, making Steve whimper because of his oversensitivity. Finally, Steve feels the dick inside him tremble and Billy arches his back and...howls as he cums inside Steve. Billy’s thrusts stop as he cuddles into Steve and starts licking and smelling every piece of skin he can reach. Billy even takes some of his cum leaking out of Steve and rubs it into his thighs and stomach. Steve just stares in astonishment, the situation now hitting him like a brick. He doesn’t know what time it is, but he is definitely late.

A branch snap echoes out in the distance. Billy’s ears twitch at the sound. Billy stops rubbing his cum into Steve and startles, looking up at Steve. Steve watches Billy’s eyes turn into puppy dog eyes. He whimpers before running off. Steve only lays there, watching with his eyebrows furrowed at the strange behavior of the bully. Then another snap sounds out closer to the clearing. Steve gets up suddenly, wobbly too because he can't really feel his legs yet. He finds his jeans on the branch of a tree, and slips them on without boxers because those are long gone. He finds his polo with a long rip in the front. He shrugs and puts it on, looking like someone he knows.

“Kid?” Hopper walks into the clearing with a flashlight and shines it all over Steve’s body, taking in his appearance.

“H-hey, Hopper!”

“What happened?”

“I got lost,” Hopper glances down at his torn shirt.”...and fell.”

“Whatever, kid. Come on, the kids are waiting. Joyce made lasagna.”

“oh...sorry. yeah i love lasagna.” Steve clears his throat and follows after Hopper. Well, tonight was a weird encounter. But stranger things have happened. Ba dum cht(cymbal sound)

#harringrove #haha get it #stranger things have happened...yeah #sorry it was a stupid ending but whatever

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officialotakudome · 4 years ago

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New Post has been published on Otaku Dome | The Latest News In Anime, Manga, Gaming, And More

New Post has been published on https://otakudome.com/hbo-max-january-2021-slate/

HBO Max January 2021 Slate

HBO Max has announced it’s January 2021 slate:

Spread the word, Upper Eastsiders — all six seasons of “Gossip Girl” are coming to HBO Max on January 1st. The month also brings the film premiere of Locked Down starring Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, the second special episode of the Emmy®-winning drama “Euphoria,” the season four return of the beloved “Search Party,” and the two-part documentary “Tiger,” which illuminates the rise, fall and epic comeback of global golf icon Tiger Woods. Selena Gomez is back for seconds with a new season of “Selena + Chef,” and HBO Max is also serving up new episodes of “Looney Tunes Cartoons,” “Batman Beyond” and “Batman the Animated Series.”

On January 29, John Lee Hancock’s suspenseful psychological thriller “The Little Things” starring Academy Award winners Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto, premieres in theaters around the country and on HBO Max the same day. “The Little Things” will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from its theatrical release in the U.S. included at no additional cost to subscribers.

The third season of Italian crime drama “Gomorrah“ also joins the platform alongside both seasons of “Warrior” from Cinemax.

Catch up on the first season of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” when it arrives on HBO Max this month ahead of its Season 2 premiere on TNT. Or queue up a lineup of A-List movies including “The King of Staten Island,” the “Ocean’s” trilogy and “Ocean’s 8,” “The Notebook,” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Vol 1″ & 2, “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs.“

And just a reminder as we get ready to ring in the new year: New and returning subscribers can sign up for a pre-paid offer and get 6 months of HBO Max at a discounted rate of $69.99 plus applicable taxes. Find out more at HBOMax.com.

TITLES COMING TO HBO MAX IN JANUARY

Exact Dates to be Announced:

Arthur’s Law, Max Original Series Premiere

The unemployed Arthur Ahnepol (Jan Josef Liefers) ekes out a bleak existence. Drawn from the strains of his unhappy marriage and bored to death, he makes a morbid plan: he wants his obnoxious wife to die. With the money from the life insurance there’s no obstacle for a restart with his beloved mistress. But an unwritten law dominates the life of the unlucky fellow: every problem solved by Arthur has a far worse effect. And so, he sets off an avalanche of disastrous events.

The Event, Max Original Series Premiere

An unprecedented look behind the scenes of the extraordinary events created by Wolfgang Puck Catering and legendary restaurateur Wolfgang Puck. From Renegade 83, each one-hour episode will follow various members of Puck’s team as they strive to amaze clients and surpass even the highest expectations.

Locked Down, Max Original Film Premiere

Just as they decide to separate, Linda (Anne Hathaway) and Paxton (Chiwetel Ejiofor) find life has other plans when they are stuck at home in a mandatory lockdown. Co-habitation is proving to be a challenge, but fueled by poetry and copious amounts of wine, it will bring them closer together in the most surprising way.

Perfect Life (fka Vida Perfecta), Max Original Season 1 Premiere

Maria, Esther and Cristina are three women in the middle of a life crisis. They have realized that the plans they had made for themselves haven’t really gotten them the long-promised happiness they yearned for. Together, they will find alternatives and make decisions that will lead them away from what society expects from them. They will soon realize that life doesn’t necessarily have to be what they always imagined.

Possessions, HBO Max Season 1 Premiere

The series tells the story of Natalie, a young French expatriate in Israel, who is charged with the murder of her husband on their wedding night. Karim, a French diplomat in charge of helping French citizens who have to deal with the Israeli authorities, slowly falls for Natalie. He cannot figure out whether the young lady is deeply lost and vulnerable, or dangerously manipulative. Obsessed with this case, Karim dives into Natalie and her family’s mysterious past.

Selena + Chef, Max Original Season 2 Premiere

The unscripted cooking series features the multi-platinum selling recording artist, actress, producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist as she navigates unfamiliar territory: making delicious meals while stuck at home in quarantine.

January 1: 12 oz. Mouse, Seasons 1 & 2 42nd Street, 1933 All the President’s Men, 1976 Apple & Onion, Season 1B The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman, 1974 (HBO) Batman Begins, 2005 Batman Beyond Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker, 2000 Batman: Bad Blood, 2016 Batman: Death in the Family, 2020 Batman: Hush, 2019 Batman: The Animated Series Blade, 1998 A Better Life, 2011 (HBO) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005 Dog Day Afternoon, 1975 Check It Out! with Steve Brule Chinatown, 1974 Codename: Kids Next Door The Color Purple, 1985 The Conjuring, 2013 Courage the Cowardly Dog Craig of the Creek, Season 2 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, 2002 (HBO) The Dark Knight, 2008 The Dark Knight Rises, 2012 Dim Sum Funeral, 2009 (HBO) Ed, Edd n Eddy El Amor No Puede Esperar (Aka Love Can’t Wait), 2021 (HBO) Happy Feet, 2006 The Electric Horseman, 1979 (HBO) Escape from New York, 1981 The Exorcist, 1973 Flashpoint, 1984 (HBO) The General’s Daughter, 1999 (HBO) Gossip Girl Green Lantern, 2011 Green Lantern: The Animated Series Gremlins , 1984 Gremlins 2: The New Batch, 1990 The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy Happily N’Ever After, 2007 (HBO) Happily N’Ever After 2: Snow White, 2009 (HBO) Happy-Go-Lucky, 2008 (HBO) He Said She Said, 1991 (HBO) Heaven Help Us, 1985 (HBO) The Infamous Future, 2018 Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, 2001 (HBO) The Jellies Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, 2020 Kong: Skull Island, 2017 Little Con Lili, 2021 (HBO) Loiter Squad Ma, 2019 (HBO) Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, 1983 Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015 Magic Mike, 2012 Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart March of the Penguins, 2005 Margaret, 2011 (Extended Version) (HBO) Miracle On 34th Street, 1994 (HBO) Miss Firecracker, 1989 (HBO) Mulholland Dr., 2001 Mystic River, 2003 Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D, 2012 (HBO) No Country for Old Men, 2007 The Notebook, 2004 Ocean’s 8, 2018 Ocean’s Eleven , 2001 Ocean’s Thirteen, 2007 Ocean’s Twelve, 2004 Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, 1985 Piter, 2021 (HBO) The Producers, 1968 Pulp Fiction, 1994 Purple Rain, 1984 Ready Player One, 2018 Revenge Of The Nerds, 1984 (HBO) Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise, 1987 (HBO) Revenge Of The Nerds IV: Nerds In Love, 2005 (HBO) Rollerball, 2002 (HBO) Se7en, 1995 Shallow Hal, 2001 (HBO) Snowpiercer, Season 1 A Star is Born , 2018 Superman: Doomsday, 2007 Superman: Man of Tomorrow, 2020 Superman Returns, 2006 Swimfan, 2002 (HBO) This Is Spinal Tap, 1984 The Three Stooges, 2012 (HBO) TMNT, 2007 Tom Goes to the Mayor The Trouble With Spies, 1987 (HBO) Underclassman, 2005 (HBO) V for Vendetta, 2005 Van Wilder: Freshman Year (Extended Version), 2009 (HBO) Walk Of Shame, 2014 (HBO) Warrior, Seasons 1 & 2 (HBO) Willard, 1971 (HBO) Worth Winning, 1989 (HBO) You Can Count On Me, 2000 (HBO)

January 2: The High Note, 2020 (HBO)

January 4: 30 Coins, Series Premiere (HBO)

January 8: Patriot’s Day, 2016 Scream, 1996 Squish, Season 1

January 9: The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, Season 2 Ben 10, Season 4A The King Of Staten Island, 2020 (HBO)

January 10: Miracle Workers, Season 2 Tiger, Two-Part Documentary Premiere (HBO)

January 12: Against The Wild, 2014 Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti, 2016 Alpha and Omega 5: Family Vacation, 2015 Alpha and Omega 6: Dino Digs, 2016 Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World, 2015 Blue Valentine, 2010 Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, 2000 Earth Girls Are Easy, 1989 An Elephant’s Journey , 2018 The Escape Artist, 1982 Get Carter, 1971 Hecho En Mexico, 2012 Hellboy: Blood and Iron, 2007 Hellboy: Sword of Storms , 2006 Hellboy: The Dark Below, 2010 Jennifer Lopez: Dance Again, 2016 The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, 1976 The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, 2013 La Mujer de Mi Hermano , 2005 Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Amazing Word Explorers , 2015 Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Counting on Lemonade , 2014 Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: The Letter Machine Rescue Team , 2014 Leapfrog: Numberland, 2012 Lost and Delirious, 2001 Love and Sex, 2000 Lovely & Amazing , 2002 The Man Who Would Be King, 1975 Meatballs, 1979 The Men Who Stare at Goats, 2009 A Mermaid’s Tale, 2017 Mistress, 1992 Mother’s Day, 2012 Mud, 2013 Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki, 2016 Night is Short, Walk on Girl, 2017 No Eres Tu Soy Yo, 2011 Norm of the North: King Sized Adventure, 2019 Ollie & Moon, Seasons 1 & 2 Other Parents, Seasons 1 & 2 Pinocchio, 2012 Promare, 2019 Reservoir Dogs, 1992 Ride Your Wave, 2019 Righteous Kill, 2008 Sprung, 1997 The Spy Next Door, 2010 Tender Mercies, 1983 Thanks for Sharing, 2013 Turtle Tale, 2018 The Visitor, 2008 Vixen, 2015

January 14: Search Party, Max Original Season 4 Premiere

In the new season, “Dory” (Alia Shawkat) is held prisoner by her psychotic stalker “Chip” (Cole Escola), who is determined to make Dory believe that they are best friends. Meanwhile, “Portia” (Meredith Hagner) is starring in a film about the trial, although not as herself; “Elliott” (John Early) has switched party lines to become a far-right conservative talk show host; and “Drew” (John Reynolds) is trying to escape his dark past by working as a costumed cast member in a theme park.

January 15: Stephen King’s It, 1990 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975 Poltergeist, 1982 Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Director’s Cut, Season 1 dubbed (Crunchyroll Collection) Real Time With Bill Maher, Season 19 Premiere (HBO) Roots (Mini Series), 1977 Si Yo Fuera Rico (Aka If I Were Rich), 2021 (HBO) The Wayans Bros

January 16: Eve Kill Bill: Vol. 1, 2003 (HBO) Kill Bill: Vol. 2, 2004 (HBO)

January 19: Everwood

January 20: At Home with Amy Sedaris, Season 3 C.B. Strike, Season 1 (HBO) C.B. Strike: Lethal White, Limited Series Premiere (HBO)

January 21: Gomorrah, Max Original Season 3 Premiere

The iconic Italian crime series Gomorrah is based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling book that examines the account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra.

Looney Tunes Cartoons, Season 1C

In this latest batch, Taz stars in his first full-length Looney Tunes Cartoons short when he takes on Bugs Bunny in a Roman coliseum. If Bugs makes it out of the arena, there will be plenty of foes waiting to match wits with him including Elmer Fudd, a leprechaun and Cecil Turtle. Daffy and Porky continue their misadventures from skydiving to solving the mystery of Porky’s missing pants! Fan-favorites Sylvester and Tweety along with Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner also come along for the ride in these ten all-new animated episodes. It’s an all-new year with all-new Looney!

January 22: The New Adventures of Old Christine Painting With John, Series Premiere (HBO)

January 23: Don’t Let Go, 2019 (HBO) Person of Interest

January 24: Euphoria Special Episode Part 2: F*ck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob, Special Episode Premiere (HBO)

January 26: Babylon 5 Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

January 29: ¡Animo Juventud! (Aka Go Youth!), 2021 (HBO) The Little Things

Academy Award winners Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto star in John Lee Hancock’s suspenseful psychological thriller “The Little Things” about two California sheriffs and their growing obsession with a suspect while embroiled in the search for a killer targeting women.

What I Like About You

January 30: The Mummy, 1999 (HBO) The Mummy Returns, 2001 (HBO) Pushing Daisies The Scorpion King, 2002 (HBO)

January 31: Axios, Season 4 Premiere (HBO)

LAST CHANCE TO CATCH: SELECT TITLES LEAVING HBO MAX IN JANUARY

January 7: War Dogs, 2016 (HBO)

January 24: Wonder Woman 1984, 2020

January 31: Ad Astra, 2019 After Hours, 1985 (HBO) Akeelah And The Bee, 2006 (HBO) All Is Bright, 2013 America, America, 1964 Anchors Aweigh, 1945 The Arrangement, 1969 Bee Season, 2005 (HBO) Before Sunrise, 1995 (HBO) Before Sunset, 2004 (HBO) Best Laid Plans, 1999 (HBO) Bigger Than The Sky, 2005 (HBO) Blade II, 2002 Blade, 1998 Blood Simple, 1984 (HBO) Bridge To Terabithia, 2007 (HBO) Bright Lights, Big City, 1988 (HBO) The Change-Up, 2011 (HBO) The Children, 2009 A Christmas Carol, 1938 Crash, 2005 (Director’s Cut) (HBO) David Copperfield, 1935 Days After Your Departure, 2019 (HBO) Enemy Of The State, 1998 (HBO) Everybody’s All-American, 1988 (HBO) Father’s Day, 1997 (HBO) Friday Night Lights, 2004 (HBO) Get On Up, 2014 (HBO) Guys And Dolls, 1955 High Society, 1956 Jeepers Creepers 2, 2003 (HBO) Jeepers Creepers, 2001 (HBO) Leprechaun 2, 1994 (HBO) Leprechaun, 1993 (HBO) Magnolia, 1999 (HBO) The Man With The Golden Arm, 1955 Mars Attacks!, 1996 Martha Marcy May Marlene, 2011 (HBO) Martin Lawrence You So Crazy, 1994 (HBO) New Year’s Eve, 2011 (HBO) Ocean’s Eleven, 2001 Ocean’s Thirteen, 2007 Ocean’s Twelve, 2004 On The Town, 1949 The Pelican Brief, 1993 Planet Of The Apes, 2001 (HBO) Risky Business, 1983 Semi-Pro, 2008 Some Came Running, 1958 Something Borrowed, 2011 (HBO) Splendor In The Grass, 1961 Walk The Line, 2005 (Extended Version) (HBO) When Harry Met Sally, 1989

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briangroth27 · 7 years ago

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Stranger Things 2 Review

Stranger Things’ second season went up on Netflix last weekend and I loved it! Every episode felt full, many supporting characters from Season 1 got a turn in the spotlight, and the tone recaptured the first season’s perfect blend of dread and comedic moments that endeared me to the realistically-drawn characters. This was the television season I was looking forward to most this fall, and it did not disappoint!

Full Spoilers…

I really liked that Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and especially Will (Noah Schnapp) got to take center stage among the kids; it was smart to flesh out the rest of the central ensemble and it feels like we’ll be going into Season 3 with everyone on relatively equal footing development-wise. In particular, Will being absent for much of Season 1 made his time in the spotlight a crucial gamble that paid off in spades: Schnapp is just as great an actor as the rest of the show’s cast! That said, I missed Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), who all felt like they had less screentime this year than last. While the latter two weren’t doing nothing—they had a crucial subplot that felt like the natural outgrowth of how the people of Hawkins ignored Barb’s (Shannon Purser) death—it didn’t require them to do much that we needed to see onscreen, so it felt like they vanished a bit. Perhaps Wolfhard, Dyer, and Heaton had other commitments while Season 2 was in production, but if that’s the case, I wish their plots had been more economical to cover more ground in the same amount of screentime.

Season 2 definitely felt like the natural continuation of Season 1’s events; branding this as Stranger Things 2 instead of Stranger Things Season 2 gives the impression that it’s a sequel instead of the next season in a TV series, and it definitely feels like it. I’ve seen some criticisms that said the joy of discovery wasn’t present this year like last season, but I’m willing to part with it in favor of reuniting with familiar friends on a new adventure. I like sequels and I’m always game for more time with characters I like. Though the threads may not have been as balanced as they could’ve been, I liked that everyone got to go off on their own adventures before reuniting in the climax. Mixing up the character interactions and moving new people into the spotlight provided some great fresh pairings, like Lucas/Max (Sadie Sink), Dustin/Steve (Joe Keery), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown)/Hopper (David Harbour), and Will/Joyce (Winona Ryder)/Bob (Sean Astin). As nice as it was to see familiar locations like the junkyard come into play again, it’s time to flesh out more of Hawkins’ geography, as it’s starting to feel a little claustrophobic. New locations like the arcade definitely help, though. I loved that the Upside Down was creeping into Hawkins at an accelerated rate, creating some great imagery with the rotted pumpkin patches, decaying forests, and vine-covered tunnels just beneath its surface. Hawkins looks like the quintessential 1980s Hometown, USA, so corrupting it like this is great symbolism. However, I would’ve liked a greater exploration of the townspeople’s inhumanity and grime just below the veneer of wholesomeness the town projects. So much of Stranger Things is inspired by Stephen King as it is—the Duffer Brothers originally wanted to do IT, but couldn’t—so translating the brilliant parallel between societal evils and supernatural ones in IT’s Derry to Hawkins would’ve been a smart way to give the Upside Down’s corruption a little more weight by contrasting its evil with the evils of the real world. By no means does the Upside Down have to control the citizens to make them evil—that would be a copout—but seeing that some of the people are horrible in their own way would bring an added layer of dread to the town and further cut off our heroes’ sources of help. Billy (Dacre Montgomery) and his father (Will Chase) are a good start, but surely they aren’t the only bad people in town.

I loved how communicating through lights evolved into the map of tunnels beneath Hawkins and hope that distinctive Stranger Things aspect continues to develop in the years to come. Joyce seeing the Mind Flayer in a VHS tape’s distortion was very cool too. The CGI was excellent throughout the season, particularly when it came to the Demodogs. There wasn’t a moment as creepy as Hopper cutting open the Will dummy and pulling out cotton in Season 1, but then there wasn’t any moment in Season 1 that matched that high point of weirdness either. Even so, the horror aspect was great here! It felt like several supporting and even a few main characters—including Hopper and Steve—could die at several points. I wonder if the season-ending Snow Ball was supposed to represent that the heroes don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of escaping the evil pervading their town (or maybe that’s just my love of puns). I wasn’t a fan of the year-and-a-half wait for this season and don’t look forward to another long hiatus, but if Stranger Things becomes an annual Halloween tradition for the next 2-3 years, I’m definitely on board. I was impressed that the trailers didn’t show much from the latter half of the season; that was a nice surprise!

I loved all the 80s references this year, with things like the Aliens movement detector sound effect being incorporated into the score during some of Dr. Owens’ (Paul Reiser) scenes and a riff that sounded like Gremlins’ theme song while the kids were chasing Dart in the school. The kid-friendly Halloween songs they used while trick-or-treating, like “The Monster Mash,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Spooky Movies,” made me think of Halloween when I was a kid (it’s a shame they couldn’t use “Thriller” in more than one excellent trailer, though!). The Police’s “Every Step You Take” was the perfect note to end on, given the government watching everyone all season, the Mind Flayer watching the Snow Ball, and how creepy that song actually is. The show’s orchestral score once again conveyed the feeling that this was a lost miniseries from the 80s perfectly. The fashion in Eleven’s Chicago adventure made me think of the 80s X-men/New Mutants comics, which was a cool peek at 80s punk style completely removed from Hawkins’ small-town world. The kids’ homemade Ghostbusters costumes were awesome, as were Max’s Michael Myers costume and Steve & Nancy’s Tom Cruise & Rebecca De Mornay (from Risky Business) outfits. While the characters played out scenes adapted from Gremlins, ET, Stand By Me, and even Jurassic Park, it never felt like nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake or inorganic to what the show is. The Goonies reference in Bob’s guess about what Will’s map led to was fun too. As pointed out in the behind-the-scenes series Beyond Stranger Things, having the kids play Dragon’s Lair and Dig Dug were cool hints at the direction of the season, since Eleven would go up against a “fiery” monster in the gate room/its “lair” and several characters ventured into the tunnels under the town. The kids’ science class learning about Phineas Gage was also a cool way to foreshadow what happens to Will, since Gage’s personality changed after his brain-damaging accident. I’m looking forward to the Back to the Future references next season, since it’ll be 1985. With the Upside Down monsters being so plant-like, maybe we’ll get Little Shop of Horrors references in Season 4/1986?

Possibly the largest controversy of the season dealt with Eleven’s solo trip to Chicago in episode 7. I liked the episode, but it shouldn’t have aired in the middle of a cliffhanger: it disrupted the flow too much. Without Eleven in the preceding episode at all, they could’ve split “The Lost Sister” up and cut back and forth between Chicago and Hawkins in both “The Spy” and the reconfigured Episode 7, just like the earlier legs of Eleven’s journey were interspersed with the events in Hawkins. If the contrast between Chicago’s punk scene and Hawkins’ wholesome appearance were too extreme to cut back and forth, “Lost Sister” could have been placed before “The Spy.” I agree with a comment I saw on IGN’s “Lost Sister” review, which pointed out watching it first would show Mike and Hopper in danger before we knew what was happening (Mike screaming “it’s a trap” would spoil the twist, so just show him struggling with the guards and not saying that line), which would be a cool teaser. Either of those solutions would’ve been better than the jarring—but still engaging—side trip to Chicago taking up an entire episode in the middle of a Demodog swarm.

Eleven/Jane Ives Though she was sequestered from the rest of the main cast for most of the season, I liked a lot of what they did with Eleven/Jane this year. I loved the secret family she and Hopper built. Their conversation about being “halfway happy” in compromise was bittersweet and I liked seeing how they figured each other out, both in real time and in flashbacks to the start of their hidden family. Moments like their father/daughter arguments were relatable, things like Eleven wanting to go trick-or-treating as a ghost and awkwardly laughing at Hopper trying to dance were fun, and her psychic temper tantrum felt both realistic and worked as a reminder that she is definitely dangerous. Regarding those fights, it was smart to allow Hopper and Eleven to be angry with each other, but never to let them get to the point where they truly hated each other. That made them coming together again in the end believable instead of a last minute moment of civility that was supposed to make up for nine hours of hatred.

Eleven being instantly jealous about Max and Mike seemingly having fun together didn’t work as well and annoyed me a bit—especially since she knew he’d been calling her every day for nearly a year—but she’s a kid who’s been locked up and abused for a long time and you don’t have to look past her time with Hopper to see she isn’t perfect or eternally understanding, especially when it comes to seeing beyond appearances. Meeting her birth mother (Aimee Mullins) and learning as much as she could about her was emotionally satisfying and it was cool to see Terry Ives was as much a fighter in the end as her daughter. I felt Eleven’s side story in Chicago was a worthy use of her time that brought her to a place where her vengeance and feelings weren’t as important as those of people she didn’t know—she discovered empathy for strangers when she considered orphaning Ray’s (Pruitt Taylor Vince) kids—and that was a great development for her character. I just wish she hadn’t continued to shun Max once she got back to Hawkins; the two of them having a talk would’ve been better, because shutting down Max’s attempt at being friends undercuts much of the understanding she found in Chicago (not to mention at that point, she was yet another person shutting Max out, which had become repetitive). Along with bonding with Max in Season 3, I’d love to see Eleven and Will finally get to interact and become friends (and maybe even step-siblings?) when he isn’t trapped or possessed. Developing a friendship between the two would be a smart outgrowth of the many parallels between them—Eleven was even mistaken for Will at several points in Season 1—and I’m sure their connection to the Upside Down would be a powerful bonding factor. I loved that she got to shut down this year’s invasion by finally closing the gate she’d opened in the first place; the Mind Flayer will definitely remember both her and Will, so perhaps they’ll face its early attacks together.

Mike Wheeler At first it seemed like Mike wasn’t given much to do this year beyond being angry/depressed about Eleven vanishing and concerned about Will. I understand the reasoning for both—I think he actually was experiencing the “anniversary effect” of PTSD Dr. Owens thought Will was going through—but I would’ve liked to see more variety to the writing in his scenes. Then I watched Beyond Stranger Things and realized Wolfhard’s understanding of Mike this season is brilliant: he can’t impress his friends by constructing D&D maps and running campaigns since everyone’s into video games now, he can’t lead a quest to save Will (until Byers’ major episode at Halloween, though even then, Joyce leads that charge), and he can’t even find Eleven, much less help her or have her as his secret friend. I love that this builds him missing Eleven into a larger problem of him losing his place as leader of the team. Matarazzo also pointed out that while the kids struggled to find someone to talk to about what they’d been through with the threat of the government hanging over them, Mike was the sorest about being the leader who’d saved the day and couldn’t talk about it with anyone. With this in mind, the entire season focusing more on Will, Dustin, and Lucas becomes something of Mike’s view of his friends after losing his place in the group. I agree with a comment I saw elsewhere that wished Mike had gone off to find Eleven on his own, meeting up in Chicago; as impractical as that might’ve been for a kid in real life (but not in a movie), it would’ve given his feeling of being out of place a direction instead of watching as Joyce, Hopper, and Bob worked out how to help Will. That said, I absolutely loved how angry Mike got about Steve telling the kids they were on the bench during the climax, as that’s exactly what his dad (Joe Chrest) had been saying in lectures earlier in the season. That was a moment where his need to have a place and function in the group coalesced with the plot perfectly, since he (and the other kids) had literally been left out of the plan to defeat the Mind Flayer.

Still, Mike wasn’t one-note in his struggle to belong this year and Wolfhard played all the sides Mike showed very well. Mike essentially eulogizing Bob by knowing he helped found the AV Club was a glimpse at a distinct texture to a relationship we didn’t see onscreen, though I assume Mike and Bob interacted at least a little while Mike was hanging out with Will. I liked the brief scene of Mike almost having fun with Max in the gym, even if otherwise constantly shutting her out wasn’t a good look at all. He doesn’t have to be perfect, but I would’ve liked more reason to not let her in than what I took from it: a girl in the group reminded him too much of Eleven. Perhaps she represented too much change happening to the party in general: if she joined, he thought she’d be another person moving him out of relevance within the group (particularly considering how invested in her Dustin and Lucas were). I liked Mike reclaiming his position a bit with Will, comforting him after his Halloween episode and propping up his courage as their spy; those felt like great moments of their friendship we didn’t get to see much of last year since Will was missing. I’m sure they felt like old times for Mike as well: finally he got to be the old Mike, at least to an extent. Mike screaming at Hopper and even attacking him for hiding Eleven for nearly a year was another great scene. I didn’t see that reaction coming and both actors delivered powerful performances. Mike’s dedication to calling Eleven every day was touching and, as pointed out on Beyond Stranger Things, I liked that they got to be reunited in two very different contexts at both the besieged Byers house and the Snow Ball. Unlike Nancy and Jonathan, this may imply Mike and Eleven’s friendship/relationship is stronger than just being pulled together in times of tragedy and high drama (not to say a middle school dance is without drama!).

Dustin Henderson Not only did Dustin have a love triangle to contend with this year, but he also found a pet from the Upside Down and discovered an excellent, unlikely surrogate brother in Steve. It was also great to get a glimpse of his home life and I hope we see more of his relationship with his mom (Catherine Curtin) next year. I liked Dustin’s friendship with baby Demodog D’Artagnan—and that it had a payoff in the end—but he shouldn’t have lied about his cat’s death to his mom. Allowing her to go on searching for it when she clearly loved it so much was a little cruel and the exact thing Nancy and Jonathan spent the season fighting. Watering down the truth would’ve worked here; he could’ve just said a wild animal got it. Dustin comparing lying about keeping a dangerous animal to Lucas bringing Max in on the Eleven secret didn’t seem equivalent at first, but then I remembered that anyone else finding out could lead to everyone’s death by cover-up. I liked Dustin’s resigned position that he’d accept being removed from the party for his disloyalty especially after he was the one to enforce the rules of reconciliation when Mike and Lucas had their falling out in Season 1. I also appreciated him accepting Lucas and Max getting together instead of flying into a jealous rage, which wouldn’t have been in-character or fitting at all. Matarazzo’s explanation that Dustin thought discovering a new species of slimy lizard would impress Max because his mom laughs off the things that excite him—so he thinks that’s what all girls like—was a cool example of Dustin’s inability to see what’s in front of his face when he’s overcome with excitement, much like he doesn’t consider the somewhat obvious truth about Dart’s origins. That Dustin got a heroic moment at the end by standing up to Dart so the others could flee was great; that made up for the danger he put them in earlier.

I loved Dustin’s brotherly bond with Steve and this was my favorite new bit of chemistry of the season. Pairing Dustin with Steve while they were both heartbroken and on the same ends of love triangles worked well to bond them. I’m also glad the series’ format allowed for leisurely scenes like Dustin and Steve strolling down some railroad tracks discussing hair products. Character bits like that go a long way to not only endear the characters to the audience, but they also show us what they’re like in (relatively) normal circumstances. I want more of these moments for every character in the coming seasons. I liked Steve trying to give Dustin advice about girls, even if he was wrong that acting like you don’t care about women makes them like you (Nancy moving on after Jonathan didn’t make a move for a month proves this). On the other hand, he was right about reading the electricity between you and someone you like, and trying to explain that to Dustin was a funny moment. Steve driving Dustin to the Snow Ball and giving him some parting courage was a perfect culmination of their brotherly arc. I loved Dustin’s “Steve” hairdo and while his walk around the dance continually getting shot down was sad, Matarazzo acted it so well! I also love that Dustin’s reaction to being shot down wasn’t played as though Steve was wrong about being confident, but (according to Matarazzo) that he’s not Steve Harrington. That’s not only more tragic, but it perfectly references Dustin’s insecurities about not being Mike’s best friend like Will and Lucas are because he only met the guys in fourth grade. I hope Season 3 has Dustin finding the confidence to live up to his own potential, rather than just being the best person he can in relation to someone else’s standard. If he’s infected with the spores from the tunnels and they corrupt him in some fashion, that may be the perfect vehicle to force that confrontation on him.

Lucas Sinclair Like Dustin, I enjoyed getting to see Lucas’ home life a lot. Lucas’ sister Erica (Priah Ferguson) was an especially hilarious addition to the cast and her attitude played off Lucas’ perfectly; here’s hoping she returns in a major way next year! His parents’ (Karen Ceesay, Arnell Powell) advice about women was humorous as well. I thought it was funny that the most nuclear families, the Sinclairs and Wheelers, feature parents who don’t seem particularly involved in their kids’ lives at all, though I was happy to see the Sinclairs seemed much happier together than Mike and Nancy’s parents. Lucas navigating how to handle his crush on Max was a fun plot that added depth to him and their banter was a lot of fun as well. He also proved Steve’s advice wrong by giving Max what she wanted and showing her he cared about her. I liked their bonding moments, particularly on top of the bus in the junkyard. Watching Lucas practice lines in the mirror before the dance was also great! His argument with Mike about the coolness of Winston from Ghostbusters was good, and I totally missed that Winston has the “Judgment Day” speech in the film and Lucas gets to call the climax of the season Judgment Day.

I like that Lucas is constantly the most grounded and practical of the kids (like Winston is among the Ghostbusters, now that I think about it); McLaughlin even said that if Lucas had found Dart instead of Dustin, there wouldn’t have been a second episode with the lizard in it. That characteristic plays well off of what the rest of the kids bring to the group, particularly Dustin, and McLaughlin performed it excellently, never coming off as a jerk, even when he was trying to be the voice of reason. One thing I would’ve liked to see more of from Lucas, however, is a reaction to Billy’s racism. It felt like he understood why Max wouldn’t let her brother see him (even if he didn’t vocalize it) and it was terrifying when Billy attacked him in the season finale, but I wanted them to dig into it more. Watching Lucas process and deal with any of the “there’s a certain kind of people you don’t hang around” talk from Billy would’ve added a great deal to his outlook and character. The Sinclairs seem to be one of the few African-American families in town, so is this relatively normal for him, or is having it thrown in his face something new? If he and Max had a real, out-in-the-open conversation about her brother, how would that have gone? He doesn’t seem to have any misgivings about pursing an interracial relationship—he might be too young (and too wrapped up in his crush on Max) to consider the ramifications yet—but would his family? Would the rest of the town? This is an area where the Duffer Brothers could absolutely have taken a page from Stephen King and drawn real-world horrors—particularly in a small, Midwestern town—as parallels to the rot of the Upside Down. The Ghostbusters costume argument brought up the assumption that Lucas was “supposed” to be Winston (and Mike couldn’t) because he’s Black and briefly touched on the issue of race, but the kids sidestepped it for the most part. Billy’s villainy would’ve resonated more if Lucas had scenes dealing with what he represented, and even moreso if it turned out Billy hadn’t just brought racism to Hawkins, but it had always been there.

Will Byers Some reviews have said Will’s plot felt too similar to his predicament last year—communicating through lights/crayons, being captured by the monster, etc.—but I liked the variations on the theme this year. The map of corruption in the town was both a cool visual aspect and a great expression of Will’s own infection, as the Mind Flayer had also wormed its smoky tendrils into his body. I loved that his connection to the Mind Flayer was a double-edged sword that rarely actually helped the heroes, unlike his Christmas lights last year. I totally expected Will to be a conscious solider against the Upside Down this year—particularly with Eleven absent from much of the action—so twisting it to make him the spy for the monsters and leading several soldiers to their deaths was brilliant! This was an especially cool reversal of how honest we know Will to be, even to the point of telling Mike the truth about what he rolled against the Demogorgon in the first episode when he didn’t have to. Making Will the Mind Flayer’s eyes also created a cool obstacle for the heroes: they had no safe haven unless he didn’t know where he was. No conversation about Will this year would be complete without pointing out that Schnapp is a fantastic actor: he did an excellent job of playing his attempts to be a normal kid with his friends, the loneliness of his post-Upside Down captivity, the pure terror/sadness of what was happening to him, the Mind Flayer’s pawn, and even the villain. His reaction to the soldiers burning the vines in the tunnels, the interrogation scene in the shed where he’d first disappeared (nice callback!), and his exorcism scene were particular standout moments for Schnapp (and all the actors involved). Mike, Jonathan, and Joyce sharing their memories with Will to bring him back to the surface was a powerful, incredible sequence! I’m glad the Duffers didn’t go with their initial idea of making Will slip into “evil Will” flashes where the Mind Flayer took over his body—and even killed Bob!—as that would’ve taken his possession a little too far.

All that said, the girl asking Will to dance at the Snow Ball by calling him “Zombie Boy” didn’t work for me, particularly as we were told he was very sensitive about that term. It would’ve helped if they’d established that Will was interested in any of the girls before having one ask him to dance just so he could be partnered up. The first season hinted that he might be gay—Joyce evaded Hopper’s question about whether bullies’ taunts about him being homosexual had any basis in fact—and making Will deal with that bigotry next year would be another way to bring real-life horror into Hawkins, especially in the mid-80s. Will being stunned at the girl’s proposition was cute—and it was probably just a throwaway moment to get Mike alone for Eleven’s entrance—but they could’ve had Will just be content with the normalcy of a dance instead (which would’ve contrasted Dustin’s lap around the gym nicely). Who Will is in normal life when he’s not being directly tormented by demons is definitely something I hope we get next year, since we haven’t gotten to see much of him being himself. I’m also eager to see what he brings to monster-hunting without the benefit of a connection to the Upside Down. Maybe if someone else is the Upside Down’s target, Will can step up as the person with experience and guidance in surviving it. It’ll be interesting to see how Will grows after having survived such an intense connection to the Mind Flayer as well, and how that shapes his outlook on the real world. Maybe surviving that horror could actually help him cope with any anti-gay hatred he faces, if the Duffers choose to reintroduce and expand on that aspect.

Max Hargrove Max was a great addition and I hope she returns next season! Sadie Sink held her own with the rest of the cast, bringing an equally natural feel to her character and a fresh attitude to the gang. It’s good to have more women in the cast and it’s neat that she, not one of the guys, is traditionally the “coolest” of the kids. I liked the guys being bewildered at the “wonder” of a girl liking video games and skateboarding (even if they forgot Nancy was willing to dress up as an elf with them just five years earlier), but I was also glad Max never acknowledged any strangeness about her liking genre stuff: of course girls have always liked it too! Max being genre savvy was a cool way to incorporate a few criticisms about certain nostalgia aspects of the first season when Lucas told her the truth about Eleven and the Upside Down. However, I hope that’s where the meta commentary ends. A little bit goes a long way for me, so Max writing Lucas’ tale off as a derivative story worked as an in-joke while also making sense given the context of what she’d seen, but I don’t think I need any further commentary from the fans voiced on the show. Max’s arc this year mainly focused on wanting to be accepted as part of the party and it worked well without needing to make her the audience’s eyes too much: the show didn’t assume you hadn’t watched the first season (we didn’t even hear Lucas tell her the truth). At the same time, she was thankfully never presented as an annoying girl trying to worm her way into their secret club. We can all relate to feeling like we don’t belong and wanting to fit in, so it felt original that Max had to struggle even to be accepted by the “nerds” of the school. These aren’t bad kids—and of course there are extenuating circumstances with the government threat—but it was a nice change of pace from the popular kids being the ones to exclude everyone. That she’s a girl trying to hang out with a bunch of guys also felt like a timely reference to the fact that she is a girl who likes nerdy things and there’s a lot of absurd pushback (to put it lightly) facing vocal female fans nowadays. Once she was in with the party, I loved that Max was totally in; these are her friends and it was clear she’d do anything to help them.

Next year I hope Max and Eleven bond as friends. Their spat this year shouldn’t have lasted to the end of the season as it was and I hope Eleven comes around between this season and next. I also hope Max finds a family among the party, particularly as she has it much tougher than anyone else in terms of her home life; maybe coping with and surviving that abuse is something that can bond her and Jane. The clear abuse she’s suffered at Billy’s “overprotective” hands was scary and portrayed well without being too graphic. I loved that she stood up to her brother to save Steve and Lucas in the end, and that Billy’s a little afraid of her now. I’m interested to see how their relationship develops because they’re good together (though the story told on Beyond Stranger Things about the origin of their kiss—that it wasn’t in the script until Ross Duffer realized the idea of a kiss freaked Sadie Sink out and its addition led to her having even more anxiety about it (and McLaughlin felt weird about it too)—is troubling, so I hope there was more conversation about the kiss’ addition than we heard and that this is the last time something like that ever happens). If she and Lucas are still together by the time Season 3 starts—and hopefully they are; they have great chemistry—I’d like to see how she deals with a small town’s prejudices about interracial dating as well. That prejudice could also be an obstacle unique to the two of them that the Duffers could play up. Max and Erica seems like it’d be an amazing pairing as well, so hopefully we get to see them interact! We got a lot of older brother/younger brother interactions over the past two years, so getting to see Nancy taking on an older sister role with both Eleven and Max (and Erica; why not?) would be great too.

Eight/Kali Prasad Eight (Linnea Berthelsen) and her crew of misfits and castoffs (Kai Greene, James Landry Herbert, Anna Jacoby-Heron, and Gabrielle Maiden) had an 80s X-men/New Mutants vibe that I liked a lot, particularly once Eight took on the Professor X role and trained Eleven. I thought their sisterly relationship was well-written and acted, and I liked that Eight was such a contrast not only to the rest of Eleven’s found family, but to everything she knew from the lab and Hawkins. Eight’s quest to kill all the former employees of the Hawkins facility, regardless of the effects on their families, has been criticized by some as one-note, but I think it makes her a great parallel to Eleven. I loved that Kali is the person Eleven could’ve become had she not met her friends or spent so much time with Hopper. I really liked her point about allowing Eleven not to take revenge on the people who hurt her, but warning Jane never to take her choice away. I feel like that’s the nuance other reviews are asking for. Eight is driven to violence by revenge, but she does care about her crew, did care about Eleven, and respected her enough to allow her “sister” to make her own choices. It’s only when Eleven stops her from carrying out her own wishes that they have a problem from Eight’s point of view.

The degree to which Eight has been changed by meeting Eleven was left as an open-ended question in Season 2, so seeing how she reflects on Eleven choosing not to kill will be very interesting. Were her eyes opened by Jane’s empathy epiphany, or will she see Eleven as a weak victim who can’t do what’s necessary to prevent others from being hurt? There could be no redemption for the lab workers in Kali’s eyes, but I wonder if we’re being set up for a redemption arc for her. I fully expect her to track Eleven down next year, causing problems for Jane’s new lease on life in Hawkins. Just as Eleven is allowed to reenter society around Halloween 1985, Eight finally finds her and upends her peaceful life? Sounds about right. I also wonder if Kali will locate the other test subjects and continue building the X-men vibe by recruiting them to her cause. If a portion of Season 3 were Kali and her Brotherhood coming to town and the heroes there having to deal with them instead of the Upside Down, I’d be all for it. I’m glad Eight has an entirely different set of powers and I wonder what abilities the others might have (given the Stephen King inspiration, one is totally a pyrokinetic). On the other hand, as much as I’d like to meet those other kids, I feel like it would shift the show too far away from the established cast to bring on a nearly equal number of new characters…unless Netflix wants to make the seasons longer from here on out, of course. I’d have no problem with that! Perhaps a standalone miniseries about her recruiting them could work between seasons as well. Kali’s illusion-casting was cool, especially the electric butterfly and bringing Brenner (Matthew Modine) “back” to manipulate Eleven. I wonder how that could be used to illuminate the other characters’ inner thoughts and fears if it were used against them.

Steve Harrington I loved that the hints of the good guy Steve is from Season 1 were vindicated here; he was only the jock asshole on the surface/to impress his friends last year and he does have a heart…and really does love Nancy. I thought it was a nice twist that he was genuinely hurt not because she didn’t want to party and act like teenagers with him (and even that suggestion was his attempt to do whatever he could to make her feel better), but because she said their love was bullshit. I also like that despite his clear sadness, he put Nancy and her needs first by driving away from the Snow Ball at the end of the season (unless he’s just acting like he doesn’t care…I hope not, though). Nancy being supportive of Steve taking care of the kids along with his lack of drama about her and Jonathan makes me think that they can develop a friendship next season and I hope that’s the case. I definitely agree with Keery that there’s no need for a physical confrontation between Jonathan and Steve over Nancy; if anything, the three of them just need to discuss where they all are. I love that this is a second love triangle that didn’t explode into angst or fighting, but mature acceptance.

I knew Steve was a good guy despite his mistakes back in Season 1, but I had no idea he’d be such a surprisingly great scene partner for the kids, especially Dustin! Keery seemed to have a blast with the kids and played the big brother role perfectly. His and Dustin’s brotherly relationship developed excellently—even if it started because Steve just happened to show up at the Wheelers’ when Dustin was there and was totally a last resort—and I hope it continues into the coming years. Hopefully even though Dustin failed to be Steve Harrington at the dance, Steve will be there to console him and help him out in the future (even if not all his advice is spot-on). As I’ve seen elsewhere, Steve having no qualms or embarrassment about being a babysitter was cool of him and totally unexpected. There wasn’t even a second thought to him protecting the kids, like when he got Max out of the way to fend off the Demodog while they were trapped in the old bus. Waking up after being beaten by Billy and thinking Mike was Nancy was a totally surprising—and hilarious—moment. I hope there are many more humorous moments like that as we get to see him interact with the kids more. It was also neat to see Steve totally over his position as “king of the school,” much less concerned with being cool than the guy who bent to his friends’ peer pressure was. I wonder if that maturity will take him to college next season, or if he’ll hang around town. I hope it’s the former; he could always just come home from school when things start happening again. Being away and coming back home will provoke more change in him than sticking around town treading water, so I hope that’s what they do with him. It’d definitely be good to see what he wants out of life too.

Nancy Wheeler Nancy’s one of my favorite characters and while I liked her hunting human monsters this time—and outsmarting the government by intentionally getting herself and Jonathan captured so they could get a confession on tape—I wish we’d seen more of her this year. Though Nancy getting to shut down the government project for Barb was cool, I do wonder if her and Jonathan’s quest was a little undercut both by saying all the agents who were around when Barb died and Will disappeared are gone (if that’s true) and then most of the current staff getting killed by Demodogs. It’s true the government got a public black eye and the project has been permanently shut down through Nancy and Jonathan’s efforts (and Eleven shutting the gate), though. I wouldn’t mind a Season 3 that had no military component and just had those in the know in Hawkins against the Mind Flayer as it tries to return. Maybe it would’ve been better to shut down the lab at midseason to free up Nancy and Jonathan for more interaction with the growing Upside Down threat. Specifically, I wish she’d been around to help Steve and the kids hunt Demodogs; Nancy would’ve been useful in the junkyard, the tunnels, or as backup for Eleven and Hopper (though I get the narrative and emotional reasons you’d sequester those two one final time). That said, Dyer was great with what she got, be it romantic comedy with Jonathan, her turmoil over what Barb’s parents (Cynthia Barrett, Aaron Munoz) had been put through for a year, or helping to drive the infection out of Will at the end. Nancy thinking she and Steve were at fault for Barb’s death was a great, tragic bit of self-inflicted guilt, no matter how wrong she was: it was Barb choosing to wait around after Nancy told her to go home that got her killed, not Nancy and Steve sleeping together. I loved that Nancy accepted the rifle from Hopper when they were being swarmed by Demodogs, she was the one who used a hot poker on Will, and that Jonathan turned away from his hurting brother to find comfort in her arms, rather than the other way around. The show is very good about crafting strong female characters and I loved that they subverted gender norms by making Nancy and Joyce the ones willing to do whatever it took to save Will, while Jonathan couldn’t.

Dancing with Dustin and giving him a pep talk at the Snow Ball was a sweet, perfect moment. What a great nod to Dustin’s crush on her in Season 1, back when he offered her their last slice of pizza and argued that she “used to be cool” (even if his then-current assessment had been that “something was wrong” with her). I like that she also tried to get Jonathan to socialize more, snagging him an invite to the Halloween party and even suggesting he might meet someone there. I wish we’d seen more moments of friendship between the two of them to further develop their romantic bond, but the fact that they’d grown apart over the past year worked too. I’ve certainly had life get in the way of keeping in touch with friends, so that felt realistic (particularly in an era without social media). The Snow Ball left things a little unresolved as to whether Nancy and Jonathan were together-together, and I’m game whether the show wants to explore that relationship or not. Perhaps Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve need to find themselves separately a bit more before any pairing can healthily take off. I’m very interested to see where Nancy goes now that Barb has justice and she can finally move on. What are her interests and goals in life? We know she doesn’t want to repeat her mother’s decision to settle for a perfect nuclear family, so what does she want? The similarity between Murray (Brett Gelman) and Nancy—their need to “pull back curtains”—would be an interesting direction to explore in the future. I don’t want her to go full-on conspiracy theorist like he is, but perhaps she’ll become a reporter. Whatever direction she takes, I’m excited to see her journey towards becoming more self-aware continue.

Jonathan Byers It felt like Jonathan got the least to do out of anyone—his incorporation into Nancy’s quest to help Barb’s parents felt more tangential since Will did come back, for example—though I did get the impression that he’s grown a lot since Season 1. I think this year’s Jonathan is in a much better place to be in a relationship, unlike last year when ending up with Nancy would’ve felt like the clichéd loner “good guy” (with a stalker streak that was never a good look) “deserved” to get the girl at the end of the horror movie just by virtue of not being a jerk. This season, he seemed more settled in his home life and comfortable with how things had been going; Jonathan generally felt healthier this year, since he didn’t have to be the guy looking after his family to as great a degree. Heaton was good at showing us lighter shades of Jonathan like that. Jonathan and Nancy’s earlier monster hunting connection and mutual impulse to watch each other’s backs as they got justice worked to play up their connection and stir the tension between them. While I still would’ve liked more development in their romantic relationship, the moment where he and Nancy compared scars and talked about their friendship vanishing was a fun bit of reconnection. I also liked that at every turn, Jonathan was right there with Nancy insisting they weren’t together and looking for ways not to share a bed with her; it would’ve been cheaper if the hotel only had a single room available or for him not to offer to sleep on Murray’s couch. I liked the Temple of Doom homage with Nancy and Jonathan (unsuccessfully) fighting the urge to sleep together; that was fun! I’ve seen this pointed out elsewhere, but if they are together at the end of the season, then I wonder if their relationship really can survive normalcy and times when the world isn’t ending. Whether they can or not, that would be something interesting to explore.

While I liked Jonathan’s reaction to Will’s predicament once he got back into town and his attempts to help his brother were great, I would’ve liked to see him react more to not being there for Will and Joyce. That was such a drive for him in Season 1 that removing him from the equation could’ve yielded a bigger reaction once he realized what he’d been missing. That said, I wonder if the fact that everyone survived without him—and were more capable of doing what needed to be done than he was—will lead him down a path where he doesn’t feel as needed for his family’s survival anymore. We started to see this in Season 2, when he trusted Will to take care of himself while trick-or-treating and Jonathan let himself go to a party. Where will Jonathan go if he doesn’t feel like he has to be the one to care for his whole family? I don’t want him to feel guilty (and especially not emasculated) that he couldn’t face Will’s pain or turn up the heat, but I’d like to see what he wants to do with a clean slate and the ability to move forward, trusting Joyce to handle things and Will to fend for himself.

Billy Hargrove Billy was the final form of every 80s movie bully (and everything Steve seemed to be on the surface last year) and while Dacre Montgomery did a great job making him a constant predatory threat, there didn’t seem to be much complexity to him in the writing. Just like Henry Bowers in IT, Billy made for an intimidating human villain, but while one scene showing us a glimpse of the parental abuse that drove him to be so psychotic is appreciated, it’s too little too late. In a movie that’s more forgivable, but with nine hours to tell the story it doesn’t quite fly. I’m also glad the Duffers don’t think Billy’s abuse at the hands of his father excuses his actions, but only shows where he learned that hate. I liked Billy crying and then suppressing it after his dad left his room—Montgomery’s acting was very good in that scene—but none of this redeemed him for me and honestly, I don’t need to see him redeemed. I also don't think his reaction to being drugged and threatened by Max is equivalent to Jonathan knocking sense into Steve in Season 1. Steve realized what he did to Nancy was wrong and took steps to change right away. He even showed up at the Byers house at the end of the season to apologize to Jonathan, not to find Nancy to win her back. Billy’s violence-induced "respect" for Max is not at all the same thing as the violent moment that made Steve reevaluate his life.

Making Billy a racist on top of everything else would’ve worked better if they’d given Lucas a moment to reflect on why he couldn’t hang out with Max, if Max had a realization about why Billy acted the way he did, or if anyone had confronted Billy about it, forcing him to try to justify himself (not that there’s justification for that). As it was, he was terrifying both whenever he’d threaten Max and when he came after Lucas, but it seemed like there could’ve been more explored with him and the racist angle felt like just one more horrible thing about him. It’s possible Billy’s anger also comes from repressing his own homosexuality, given his reaction to what his father called him and the vibe he gave off when confronting Steve at the end of the season. If Billy is gay, then 80s-era prejudices against both he and his step-sister’s burgeoning interracial relationship could work to bring them closer together (if he can work through his anger issue and develop real respect for her; there’s no excuse for the way he acts). Dacre Montgomery doesn’t think Billy is racist or homophobic, but while he may not be playing either of those aspects and I could be misreading Billy—Montgomery definitely knows his character better than I do—the script left it too open-ended to dismiss as a possibility. I’m not sure his interpretation lines up with what we saw of him “protecting” Max either; if he were so concerned about her and who she hung out with, it wouldn’t have taken his father threatening him to get him to go hunt Max down. Whatever is driving Billy’s anger, we also should’ve seen a happy moment between Max and Billy to show us why her being a “constant” in his life was a good thing in his mind. I do agree with Montgomery that Billy’s insane amount of insecurity about being a man (and the man) is probably a large part of what’s feeding into his anger and lashing out; his early insults and attacks on Steve over no longer being the “king of the school” and getting dumped by Nancy definitely speak to that. As uncomfortable as the scene where he flirts with Mrs. Wheeler (Cara Buono) was, I liked the scene immediately after where Montgomery’s expression revealed it was all an act. That was the one bit of trope subversion his character got this year that reminded me of the undercurrents Steve got last year. Either way, I’m definitely interested to find out what “sinister” plans Montgomery and the Duffers have for Billy next year; how much worse can he get?

Barbara Holland I always thought Barb was fine; neither dull nor the perfect, slighted best friend some parts of the internet made her out to be, but analysis like this (and check out great analysis of all the characters here and here) and a rewatch of Season 1 left me seeing her as a judgey, jealous friend who couldn’t handle Nancy starting to pull away. She may have had good intentions in being protective of Nancy, but when it came time to face Nancy’s decisions, she couldn’t deal with what Lucas and Dustin overcame with Mike and Eleven (and because of her death, she never got the chance to learn from and grow out of her mistakes like everyone else did). That said, it did bother me that no one in town cared she’d gone missing except Nancy and her parents, so tying up that loose end here felt appropriate. It was sad her parents spent a year thinking she’d just run away or something, and moreso that they were spending all their money—even having to sell the house—in the search. I was satisfied with the justice Barb got here.

Joyce Byers Winona Ryder was great once again and I’m glad her efforts to save Will were listened to this year. There was a definite sense that she had more control and influence over things and, as I’ve seen pointed out elsewhere, it was great to see her take charge of getting answers about Will’s health rather than having to force Hopper to investigate or needing to justify her methods (like when she bought so many boxes of Christmas lights). Like Nancy, I’m glad Joyce was the one willing and able to do anything to save Will from the Mind Flayer’s influence, even though it hurt him. It was also cool that Ryder got to explore a healthier Joyce this year; she was understandably pushed to the limits of her sanity last year, so seeing her as a veteran of the Upside Down and its attacks on her family was a great bit of development. Moments like her concern for Will when dropping him off at the arcade felt relatable as well; even if he hadn’t been abducted by monsters from another dimension, her concern for his medical condition felt like something any mother would express (and his exasperated desire for her to see him as a capable person rather than a kid needing protection was spot-on too). The one area that felt a little lacking with Joyce’s portrayal this year was that she didn’t seem to even notice Jonathan was gone. Of course she was consumed with worry for Will, but an acknowledgment that Jonathan was missing would’ve been nice and some reaction to what he’d done with Nancy would’ve been better, since taking on the government could’ve had direct and deadly results for their whole family.

I liked her relationship with Bob; it brought out a new, almost carefree side to Joyce that we hadn’t seen in her interactions with Hopper, which are almost always fraught with tension over supernatural goings-on. At least at first, it felt like her relationship with Bob was a window into who she possibly used to be. David Harbour’s assessment that Joyce had a relationship with Bob because he seemed to be the safe, dorky father figure is probably accurate, but I would’ve liked to hear what Ryder’s thoughts on it were. The Duffers saying she would’ve left town with Bob had he lived gave his death a bigger tragedy, but I feel like she has a stronger connection to Hopper so I’m more invested in seeing where that goes. I’d also like to see Joyce interact with the other parents more; does she have friends anymore? It would help if she could talk to them about what happened, so perhaps the government facility shutting down will give her at least some ability to discuss a watered-down version of what she’s been going through. It’d also be cool to see what Joyce’s dreams are and what she hoped her life would turn out like. That could bond her with not only the younger kids in the face of so much danger, but the teens as they’re about to go off to college and forge lives for themselves. An attempt to build her life beyond her job at the store and as Will and Jonathan’s mom would also definitely be welcome.

Jim Hopper The change in Hopper from the start of Season 1 to the beginning of 2 (to say nothing of his journey through the rest of the season) was immense, going from a man barely holding it together and caught up in the memories of his dead daughter to a far healthier man building a life for his new surrogate child. Hopper and Eleven’s familial connection was an excellent aspect of Season 2 and one I never thought I’d love so much. Like Joyce being concerned about Will even during a benign trip to the arcade, Hopper and Eleven shared a lot of realistic parent/child moments that grounded the supernatural strangeness of their lives. Glimpses of their happier moments were excellent and, as Harbour pointed out on Beyond Stranger Things, very “dad” things like Hopper trying to guilt Eleven into coming out of her room to share overdue Halloween candy were played perfectly. Life lessons like the fact that even well-meaning parents can let their kids down worked very well too. Eleven’s psychic tantrum felt like a real argument between a parent and a child—even if amped up by her powers—and the push and pull between what was best for her development and what was safest for her created an excellent tension for Hopper to deal with; Harbour played it perfectly. His apology to an empty cabin was excellent and their reconciliation in the truck on the way to the facility was outstanding too. They need each other to build a new family out of their fractured lives and I can’t wait to see how that develops (particularly now that she’ll be able to leave the cabin safely within a year); I was very happy to see that she’s now legally his daughter. I absolutely loved his “You did so good, kid,” moment after she closed the gate and Hopper carrying her out of the gate room was a brilliant connection to Brenner carrying her out of the tank after her early tests with the Upside Down (that was a callback I completely missed!).

I’m glad Hopper didn’t go full-on nefarious Men in Black like the end of last season implied, instead just helping to cover up things in town without any qualms about setting the government straight the moment he realized they weren’t living up to their side of the “keep the Upside Down sealed” bargain. I like that his maybe-relationship with Joyce is seemingly back on track by the end of this year and I wonder if they’ll actually get together next season (or between seasons). If they were to get married, Eleven and Will as step-siblings would work really well given their shared traumas with the Upside Down. Hopper being absolutely done with the kids’ D&D allusions was perfect, so putting as many kids around him as possible would be hilarious! Has Joyce been taking Mike and Will up to have playdates with Eleven? Do all the kids regularly trek up to Hopper’s cabin to hang out with Eleven on weekends and play D&D? Did someone get an NES? I would love it if Hopper and Joyce actually enjoyed playing it just as much as the kids will (I remember my parents playing my Sega Genesis X-men game by themselves often, so the adults being into a video game or two isn’t outside the bounds of reality). I’d also be interested to see if sheriff is the end of Hopper’s career path or if he wants more out of his work. Could he be recruited into further government projects into the supernatural, or will he do something smaller, like running for Mayor of Hawkins? I hope the spores in the tunnels didn’t do anything to him, but I can’t see the Duffers letting that go so easily, especially since he’ll be directly in Eleven’s (and possibly Will’s) orbit. Perhaps that experience with the supernatural will be a way to bond him and Eleven even closer and give her a chance to directly rescue him.

Bob Newby His name literally being “newbie” may have been on the nose, but I liked Bob and the distinct flavor he brought to the character mix. His innocence and sense of discovery created fun clashes with the other characters’ temperaments, like when he was decoding Will’s map. He almost felt like a glimpse into what any of the kids could’ve become had they not had these run-ins with the supernatural. His tech and puzzle-solving knowledge were fresh skills some shows would’ve just randomly given to Mike or the other kids simply because they’re nerds—as if that means they know everything about all nerdy things—so I was glad the Duffers gave them to a new character. Those skills made him invaluable and allowed for a very tense escape from the government facility. I felt he truly cared about Joyce and her boys, which was refreshing to see, and he bonded well with Will. I liked the tragedy that his well-meaning advice about facing your fears was the absolute worst thing he could’ve told Will, and that Will trusted him enough to listen. Bob’s suggestion to move the family to Maine was a cool, sly Stephen King reference; they probably wouldn’t be any safer there! I was sorry he died, but I wish they hadn’t shot it with such a tell; instead of Bob and Joyce having a moment of relief that he’d escaped, having Bob continue running for his life and getting snagged by the Demodogs anyway would’ve been a bigger shock.

Allies I was shocked Dr. Owens turned out to not only not be morally gray or outright evil, but genuinely cared about Will, Eleven, and the others. That was a great change of pace from the stock government scientist and a clever subversion of Reiser’s character in Aliens. I believe he truly did believe doing whatever was necessary to stop the spread of the Upside Down was the best course of action, but once it came to harming kids, he was done. I respected that. I expected him to die, so his survival was a surprise and I hope he continues to be an ally in Season 3 and beyond. The government trying to burn away the infectious Upside Down infestation was a great way to make them problematic in that they were still running tests, while proving they weren’t completely oblivious to how dangerous it was (even if they had no idea how far it had spread). That was a cool split between their deal with Hopper and their own interests. I’d like to see what the larger government wants with the Upside Down testing, though. Are they thinking it could be used as a way to “teleport” behind enemy lines? If an army battalion (or just one operative with a nuclear weapon) entered the Upside Down in Hawkins and punched their way out in Moscow, for example, that would be a powerful military advantage that could clinch the Cold War for the US. Eleven and Eight’s powers both seem to be in the same vein as Cold War psychic experiments (and it all started as part of Project MKUltra), so elaboration on specific goals there would be cool too. Maybe some of the test subjects didn’t escape and are government-backed child soldiers now. If Jane being number eleven means she’s the latest and youngest, there’s no telling how old the earlier subjects are now.

It’s always good to see Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens), the kids’ science teacher. He didn’t have as big a role to play as the kids’ source of science this year, but all his scenes were great. I love that he’s so into science and always seizes the opportunity to pass on that love and curiosity to the kids. I’m not sure if I want him to learn about the Upside Down or not, because the kids’ flimsy excuses are entertaining. He’d have his mind blown by what they’ve seen, however, and that could be fun in and of itself. I also wonder just how much the kids are overlooking due to not having a background in science that could be useful to fighting the Upside Down. Officers Powell (Rob Morgan) and Callahan (John Reynolds) gave welcome returns as possibly the least effective cops (Callahan far moreso than Powell) on TV. I love how small-town they are in their all-too human reactions to things, even if they’re rarely helpful as law enforcement. As fun as they are, I wonder if there’s a way to preserve that quality while subverting the trope of the bumbling detectives. Ted Wheeler is still totally useless, but while I can almost see why Karen would be attracted to Billy after knowing him on his best behavior for two minutes, I wish we’d gotten more depth to her than a joke about bored housewives. Both of her children were gone from the house for days and she barely seemed to care (even if they did give flimsy sleepover excuses). I’d like to see her build a friendship with Joyce instead of continuing to just be an oblivious parent; there were hints that there was more to her in Season 1 and I hope there’s a return to that in Season 3. Digging into the Karen she wanted to be instead of the one who chose the safe life could be a revelation to Nancy—and Nancy venturing into a role in a male-dominated field like investigative reporter a boon to Karen—and I’d love to dig deeper into those dynamics.

Conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman was a nice nod to the fact that other people are taking note of the strange things going on in Hawkins. I liked his rundown of the myth Eleven accidentally created about herself and his complete misreading of Hopper’s dismissal as naiveté, not being in on the conspiracy. Other shows might have had him be so keyed into the mysteries that he’d suspect Hopper’s smokescreen right away, so his total obliviousness in that area felt fresh. His stunned reaction to what was really happening—much bigger than anything he’d imagined—was great too. His plan to water down the truth about the lab was cool as well; a clever way of holding off on letting everyone know about the Upside Down while still being rooted in human behavior. It didn’t feel like the plot was forcing them to keep their mouths shut about monsters just because doing so would change the whole show’s status quo, but like there was a real reason to. Explaining it like this was also easier to swallow than revealing the truth and then having people go back to disbelieving once the government said it was a lie, in an odd way. Even with the explanation that Murray has an obsessive need to expose secrets and illuminate the truth, his investment in the love lives of two teens he’d just met was a little unnerving. He didn’t come off as creepy, I guess, but just weird. I don’t need to see him return—with the government shutting down the facility, he’s served his purpose—but becoming something of a journalistic mentor for Nancy, if they go that route with her, could be cool.

I wasn’t too enamored with the members of Kali’s crew. They were fine foils for Eleven’s friends and definitely brought a distinct flavor to the show, but nothing Kali couldn’t bring by herself. With so little screentime to split among so many new characters, they didn’t feel as fully-formed as they could’ve been. I might’ve cut a few of them or combined their traits into fewer characters. Still, it’s good that they were so diverse; that was a realistic contrast to life in Hawkins. I definitely appreciate that there was an even gender split in the crew too. Perhaps given more time with these characters, I’d like them better.

Enemies I really, really hope Brenner isn’t still alive. He doesn’t need to be. Now that Eleven has discovered and come to terms with as much of her past as possible, bringing him back would feel like a step backwards. Through her interactions with Eight—who acted the way Brenner wanted his subjects to, even if she aimed herself at him instead of the government’s enemies—and Hopper, it feels like Jane’s already defeated the ghost of Brenner’s influence and his physical return wouldn’t be much of a fight for her soul. Now, if Eight shows up in Hawkins and uses an illusion of him to manipulate/terrorize Eleven, that could work. Then again, Millie Bobby Brown’s reading of Eleven’s relationship with her Papa as a warm one—because he was the first person to hold her and she felt there was care there, despite the abuse he inflicted on her and her mother—adds so many layers to the conflict that I hadn’t considered before. Her assertion that she wouldn’t channel her anger or fight as much without Brenner having been in her life is also a fascinating look at Eleven’s survival skills and her ability to make a positive out of the abuse she suffered. I’d like to see Eleven deal with that, but I wouldn’t want them to take her will to fight out of her hands or give him too much credit; I believe she’d be a fighter with or without Brenner in her life, since her mother certainly was in the end and would’ve taught Jane that instinct had she been there to raise her. Brown’s interpretations of their relationship almost make me hope he is alive. Almost.

The Mind Flayer was an imposing step up from the Demogorgon (just for fun, check out this incredible cosplay!) and the Demodogs were cool underlings. What’s going to happen with the Demodog Dustin and Steve put in the Byers’ fridge? It seemed dead, but they do like the cold… At any rate, I love the mythology of a being that’s so ancient even it doesn’t know where it came from, like Dustin theorizes the Mind Flayer is. The show is digging into Lovecraftian themes and I love it! Of course, if they’re going full-Lovecraft, it may also mean the Mind Flayer isn't necessarily evil, just that it’s a force of nature that wants to survive. That’s more interesting. Dustin assumes it wants to control everything because that’s what the D&D character wants, but nothing says he has to be right. Or maybe controlling everything is how it survives, so it needs to continue corrupting everything to perpetuate its existence. If all the beings it’s controlling die, how can this psychic monstrosity continue to inhabit any world?

I hope the Mind Flayer is defeated in Season 3, opening up 4 and 5 for new, even more terrifying threats. I feel like the next step beyond infiltrating the town is burrowing into the people (particularly as we know psychic interaction is possible through Eleven’s watery middle-ground void; that’s where she first met the Demogorgon), which could be cool. Though again, I don’t want the Upside Down to be the source of evil people in Hawkins. Perhaps the Mind Flayer already has a foothold here through the smoky portion of itself that was possessing Will. I wonder where it fled to… If Upside Down beings start taking over Hawkins citizens—or even just altering their perceptions to harm our heroes—that could be the perfect time to bring back the similarly-powered Eight.

Though I would’ve liked to see more from Mike, Nancy, and Jonathan this year, I thought the writers did a great job of fleshing out the rest of the cast and expanding the story from where they left it in Season 1. They didn’t lock themselves into cliffhangers or open-ended scenes in the season finale this time, so they can do pretty much anything they want. I’m definitely optimistic about where things could go in Season 3 and beyond! We need to see these characters in their status quo so we can see how it changes when the supernatural elements return, so I do hope we get a little more of their normal lives next time; maybe a more expanded season would help. What are the characters’ lives and relationships going to look like in a year? What have the Mind Flayer and the other denizens of the Upside Down been planning? It feels like the stage has been set for a huge showdown and I can’t wait!

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