#pls this was a practice that ended up as a drawing el oh el

[lovely-menza]

Art trade with @lil-hater 🖤🖤 (thank you so much for your drawing too :'')) Ig post: X

[hawkinsindiana]

like lando calrissian

ALMOST PARADISE: PART ONE - CHAPTER FIVE OF SEVEN

pairing: eventual steve harrington x henderson!reader

word count: 2.6k

a/n: next chapter’s gonna be ridiculous guys. you’re not even r e a d y so pls bear with this kinda filler piece but it needs to be there! we. stan. character. development. this is a steve fic after all (rip it will be im so sorry)

masterlist

As soon as the five of you reach the junkyard you hop off of your bikes, needing to take a moment to steady yourselves. 

“I think we’ve made it far enough,” Mike says as he starts propping his up against the bus.

“Holy shit-” Dustin gasps as he leans his hands on his knees, “Oh my God, did you guys see that? With the v-van?”

You wipe off your forehead with the back of your palm, shaking it off when it becomes slick, “No, Dustin. I missed it. Enlighten me, please.”

He simply disregards your sarcasm, his mind practically swimming with how to process everything, “Holy shit. I mean that was-”

“Awesome,” Lucas interjects, straightening himself as he turns to Eleven, “Seriously awesome.” Her face lights up a touch at Lucas’ words as he comes to terms with the fact that she saved your lives. 

“That was amazing, El,” You say, slipping your hand over her shoulders, “We wouldn’t be here without you.” Lucas extends his hand out towards her - an olive branch, “And I’m sorry. You’re not a traitor, you just wanted to protect us.”

She studies him, eyes flickering between his hand and his expression. After a few moments, she gingerly places her hand in his, and they shake on it. 

“Friends?” She asks. Lucas smiles, pulling away, “Sure, friends.” Eleven pauses before gently speaking up again, “Friends, friends don’t lie. I’m sorry too.”

“Me three,” Mike adds, approaching the three of you. He extends his hand to Lucas with seriousness lacing his tone; they end up shaking too.

Your heart warms at their interaction. It’s been incredible to watch these kids be able to learn and grow from their mistakes, regardless of what situation has gotten them to this point.

“Okay, so now what do we do?” You question as you stand and dust the dirt from your pants. 

“We break into the lab,” Lucas states as is it was obvious. You scoff at his idea, crossing your arms over your chest, “Really? And how exactly do you plan we do that, Lucas?”

“I followed the compass there and spied on the perimeter all morning,” He adds, “I bet we can find a way in.”

Mike comes into your field of view with a handful of items from the junkyard and tosses them onto the ground, “Here, map it out for us.”

The five of you kneel down and Lucas starts to put together a vague idea of the layout for you. His hands move quickly as he remembers everything as if it’s right there at the front of his mind. Once he finishes, he starts to break it down.

“Okay, so this-” He draws a line in the ground next to his diagram, “This is Randolph Road, and the fence goes all away around the sides.”

“So, it’s practically a fortress,” You conclude, sighing in disbelief. It makes complete sense that the Gate is in there, but how are you supposed to get in?

“Basically,” Lucas agrees. His comment makes your heart sink to the pit of your stomach.

“Who owns this place anyway?” Dustin asks.

“Department of Energy,” Lucas answers, only leading to more confusion from your brother, “What the hell does that mean?”

“The government, at least that’s what my dad says,” Mike says, hand gesturing in the air.

“What kind of shit do you think they do in there?” Dustin continues as he looks to you, his face scrunched as the puzzle pieces start to fall together.

You shrug as you lean against your leg, “Probably make buncha weapons and shit to fight off the Commies.” The light-bulb goes off in your head at the same time everyone else’s does - your focus is drawn to Eleven who sits patiently by your side.

“Jesus Christ,” Dustin mutters as he turns to you again, his eyes widening with fear, “This is really bad.”

A curious sound starts to echo through the air and your eyes begin to squint in concentration as you try and decipher it. Mike beats you to it, face growing scared as he looks out into the distant sky, “Hey, guys?”

The panic in his voice causes you and Dustin to turn your attention to where his gaze lingers, and you start to panic too. A single black helicopter is flying straight to your location, and you feel a rush of chills go down your spine.

“Oh no,“ You say under your breath, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“You think?” Mike shouts as everyone stands, “Quick, in the bus!”

You grab your bike and gesture for them to follow in your footsteps before you desperately start to shove underneath. Dustin’s gets stuck and you push him away, telling him to go with the others and hide. You manage to tuck it behind one of the tires and rush to hop up the stairs, almost throwing yourself into the back seat.

The humming of the chopper only gets louder and louder as it circles the area, no doubt in your mind that it’s searching for you. Your heart beats in your throat at the idea of getting caught, anxiety washing over you. 

“What are we supposed to do?” Dustin says and looks towards you, concern spread across his face. Mike and Lucas turn to you as well, and you’re suddenly filled with an overwhelming pressure to lead; to protect them. You don’t like how it feels.

“I- uh,” You stutter as the words get caught in the back of your throat and you take a deep breath to try and think more clearly, “We should stay here. We need to stay hidden.”

—

You don’t know how long it’s been since the noise stopped. It worries you that you might not have much time left before the men from Hawkins Lab find you. You’ve resorted to staying quiet in an effort to not miss a single sign of their return.

“Do you think they’ll find us?” Dustin’s the first to speak, and his gentle tone brings your gaze from the window and onto his face. The hand that rests on his shoulder grips a little tighter as you attempt to comfort him, “I don’t know, I wish I did.”

Silence falls over you again before Mike’s radio crackles to life. A female voice comes through the static and he rushes to grab it out of his bag.

“Mike? Mike, are you there?” The voice repeats itself and a puzzled glance gets shared between the group.

“Who do you think it is?” Dustin asks.

“Mike, come on! Answer me, it’s Nancy!” 

“Nancy?!” You say in disbelief. Not only do you find it hard to believe that Nancy somehow got roped into all of this, it seems very unlikely that she’d care enough about her brother to warrant going out of her way to contact him by radio.

Mike extends the antenna and goes to answer, but Lucas stops him, “What if it’s a trap?”

“A trap? What, you think they kidnapped her?” Mike argues back, raising his voice and you shush him promptly.

“Maybe!” Lucas’s hands are gesturing now, “Maybe the bad men got her. You know, made her say that in order to get to you.”

“Like Lando Calrissian,” Dustin mutters as he begins to agree with Lucas, “Mike, don’t answer!”

Another voice comes through the speaker, far more harsh and bitter than Nancy’s, “Listen up, kid. It’s the Chief.”

You exchange a look of surprise with the boys as he starts speaking again, “If you’re there, pick up. We know about the girl and we know about what happened with Will. We can protect you and your friends but we gotta know where to come get you.”

Mike’s head spins to look at you, his eyes silently asking for permission to respond. You look between him and the radio before you nod once, sending him the all clear. His fingers press down against the button, interrupting the static from the other end, “We’re here. We’re all here.”

—

Dustin’s started to pace. The sound of his footsteps echoes throughout the small space, and it’s starting to set you on edge. You don’t dare look to your watch, you don’t want to know how long the five of your have been trapped in here.

“Dustin! For the love of God, could you please try to relax?” You say after you finally crack, leaning against the window with your arms crossed over your chest.

“How are you so calm right now?” Your brother pivots and faces you, “I don’t feel good about this!”

“When have you ever felt good about anything?” Lucas asks with his voice raised. His level of frustration and annoyance is starting to rise above yours.

“I’m telling you, it’s like Lando. You know, all that shit with Cloud City? God, we’re so dead,” Dustin fires back, his foot brushing up against the pile of backpacks on the floor.

“Would you shut up about Lando?” Lucas huffs, “I mean, why would the Chief set us up?”

“Lucas is right. I can see Nancy doing it, but the Chief? It’s not likely,” You suggest, adding onto Lucas’ comment and Mike scoffs in annoyance at your dig at his sister, throwing his hands up.

Suddenly, the noise of car tires rolling over the ground catches everyone’s attention. You all rush to the front of the bus to get a view of what’s producing the sound; Dustin sits in the driver’s seat, fists clenched over the wheel. Two unfamiliar cars have started to approach the bus, and your gut tells you they’re not friendlies.

You grab Eleven and Mike and pull them back, shooing them to go and hide. Your ears pick up on a muffled conversation outside, and you also catch the cocking of a gun.

“Holy shit,” You whisper as you huddle between the kids, silently offering each other comfort; Dustin and Eleven each have a hand gripping onto your jacket. 

Your eyes peek up over the edge of the glass as you try and get a better glimpse of what’s going on out there; a man walks up to the side of the bus and points out the handlebars of a bike you hadn’t managed to hide. 

You’re certain this is it; they’re going to find you and take you away. Your brain begins to form an imaginary narrative in which you’re stolen from your life - locked away inside some government prison, maybe even executed. All you wanted was to find Will, not get caught up in this mess.

You watch the two men advance towards the entrance to the bus. Mike tenses behind you and Dustin grips your clothes a little bit tighter as the man places his foot on the step. His head barely rises above the partition before he’s yanked away, and you all jump at the action.

After what sounds to be a fight outside, you start to get up off of the floor, only to be startled again - by the Chief.

“Alright,” He huffs, adjusting his hat on his head, “Come on, let’s go.” You feel your heart rate drastically decrease at the sight of him, incredibly thankful that he was able to make it here in time to save your skins.

You begin to stand up but the four kids are still paralyzed in fear and don’t move a single muscle at his words. You gesture for them to follow your actions, turning to glance at them and put force into your voice, “Come on, let’s go!”

They scramble to follow your command, slinging backpacks over your shoulders as all get to your feet. Your nerves finally start to calm themselves with the presence of an actual adult - you’re done with calling the plays for a while.

—

Sitting in the back of the chief’s truck was not something you ever thought you would be doing. Neither was anything you’ve done all week - but you’re starting to come to terms with the fact that things are going to be different from here on out.

Hopper shuts off the engine after parking in front of the Byers’ and you hop out first before helping the kids from the backseat one by one.

Eleven sets her hands on your shoulders as you lift her onto the gravel, and the front door swings open. The thud it makes against the wall snaps your attention over, and you groan at who was the cause.

“Mike! Mike, oh my God-” Nancy shouts as she comes running out of the house and envelopes her brother in a hug. You arch a brow at her actions, wondering what it could’ve been that finally made her remember to act like a sister.

Mike stands perfectly still in her arms, just as shocked as you are, “Hi?”

She pulls away, hands still on him, “I was so worried about you! God, if you ever scare me like that again-” 

You scoff at her words, shaking your head slightly as you slam the car door. Of course, it take a grave situation to get her to care about her brother.

“Unbelievable,” You mutter to yourself.

Nancy must’ve heard what you said because she brings her focus to you but switches it to Eleven. The small girl, standing by your side, almost shrinks further under the scrutiny from Nancy, “Uh, is that my dress?”

—

“Are you ready?” You mutter to Eleven, kneeling down to be at her height. Her hand is in yours, eyes focused on the makeshift sensory deprivation tank to her left. She turns to you and nods slightly, “Yes.”

“Good girl,” Joyce says as she rubs her arm, “You know Y/N and I are going to be here the whole time, okay? So if it ever gets too scary-”

“I understand,” Eleven responds and she pulls down her socks and hands Mike his watch before taking the goggles from Joyce. She reaches out to you for help getting into the pool, and you happily oblige her, setting a hand on her back to usher her in. 

The lights flicker as Eleven floats in the salt-infused water - a sign that her plan to use a bath is working. 

“What do you see?” Joyce asks gently, being sure to not pressure her into rushing. Eleven swallows, her voice wavering, “Barbara?” 

Nancy gasps and clings to the side of the pool, leaning in a touch, “Is Barb there? Do you see her?” Eleven pauses for a moment and leaves you all in suspense before a sob wracks her throat, “Gone.” 

Your eyes dart over to notice Nancy’s reaction; tears start to collect on her lashes and her hand covers her mouth in horror.

Eleven’s crying too. You and Joyce quickly attempt to offer her comfort by holding her; the bottom half of your sleeve gets wet as you interlace your fingers together. Joyce shushes her back to a calm state, hands running over her cheeks. 

A few seconds pass after that before you feel her tense up, “Will.” Joyce sighs in relief at the mention of her son, her tone pleading and wrecked “Where is he? Where can I find him?”

“Castle-” Eleven hesitates, “Castle Byers.”

The radio on the table crackles to life at Joyce’s promise to rescue him, and a single word gets uttered, soft and quiet through the static, “Hurry.”

—

You close the door to the gym and turn to see Nancy leaning against the mascot’s mural. Your only thought is that you’re probably going to regret this, and you start your approach to her.

Her head turns to you, ponytail flipping with the motion, and the look in her eyes chips away at a piece of your heart. It reminds you of the first time you two heard her parents argue and she sobbed at the idea of them not being happy with each other.

You sit on the bench that’s beside her before she casts her eyes back forward. Your elbows press into your knees as you try and come up with something to say, some way to connect with her. Even though you didn’t like Barb and she stole Nancy from you, you can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone that way.

Just as you’re about to open your mouth, Jonathan comes back in from outside and exchanges a somber glance with the both of you. He joins Nancy on the floor, tucking his legs into his chest like her, and she speaks up, “We have to go back to the station.”

Jonathan nods, “You still want to do the plan?”

“Your mom and Hopper are just-” She pauses and a tear hits her cheek, “Walking right into a death trap. We have to kill it.”

Your forehead creases at what she’s insinuating, leaning forward on your arms, “Wait, hold on. You guys want to try and kill that thing?”

“Yeah, but all of our supplies are at the police station after I got arrested,” Jonathan says, nodding as he does so. You snort at him, “I’m sorry, Jonathan Byers did what?”

He pushes himself up from the floor before wiping his hands on his jeans. You catch sight of his bruised and battered knuckles, your features warping further with confusion.

“It’s a long story, one that’s not really important right now.” Nancy gets up with his help and pulls her hair tighter through the elastic, “Come on, let’s go.”

The two of them start to walk off but stop once they reach the door, turning back towards you after realizing you haven’t followed; you’ve been sitting there in a state of disbelief. 

“Aren’t you coming?” Nancy asks as she points to the parking lot beyond the door.

You laugh lightly and you’re completely baffled by their actions. You can’t believe that they want to go off and attempt this, “You want me to help you fight a monster? A monster that might not even exist?”

“Believe me, it’s real,” Jonathan confirms, the serious tone of his voice sends a wave of fear through you and he looks over to Nancy, “We could use your help.”

You scoff at them and their ridiculous idea, rising to your feet as you answer,  “And what, just leave the kids? You’re out of your mind.”

“That thing, whatever it is, is out for blood, Y/N. Killing it might be the only way to keep them safe,” Nancy states plainly, gesturing to the gym where the kids reside. She takes a few steps in your direction and speaks with unwavering power, “So help us keep them safe.”

Your head moves over at the sound of your brother’s voice ringing out, and you watch the four of the kids interact for a brief moment. They’ve already been through so much this week, and they’ve proven more than capable of defending themselves.

Although you hate the idea of leaving them here, you would rather do that and help Nancy and Jonathan in their quest than have the monster attack the kids. You’d never forgive yourself if you never tried to do something about it.

“Alright, fine,” You sigh as you shove your hands into your pockets and walk over to them, “Let’s kill this thing.”

—

taglist: @stevebabey @dolhargrove @hannarudick @crazycookiecrumbles @hellisateenageheather @orchideax @l0ve-0f-my-life

[veneraetemeh]

❝     my   books   look   sad   .   can   books   look   sad     ?     ❞            good   mornin’      ,      evenin’      ,      or   whatever   it   may   be   for   you      ,      folks     !      my   name’s   angel      ,      i   literally   dragged   myself   off   of   animal   crossing   :   new   horizons   to   write   this      ,      &      i   don’t   have   much   else   interesting   to   say      ,      tbh     !      i’ll   be   writing   my   two   babi   angels      ,      rory   gilmore   and   jane   hopper      /      eleven      ,      and   honestly   i   can’t   believe   i   found   this   angelic   lil   group   just   as   i   was   about   to   start   yet   another   gilmore   girls   rewatch      !      anywhom      ,      el’s   intro   will   be   up   shortly      ,      but   for   the   time   being      ---      may   i   pls   present      ,      the   illustrious   ms   .   gilmore      !

↘  tenant  file  loading  …  meet  GILMORE  ,  RORY  !  according  to  their  application  to  move  in  ,  she  resembles  natalia  dyer  closely  and  is  a  22  year  old  cis  female  who  first  rented  their  apartment  in  the  year  of  2019  .  if  what  neighbors  are  saying  is  true ,  they  appear  to  struggle  with  being  persnickety  ,  though  excel  at  being  assiduous ,  so  maybe  that’s  why  they  became  a  journalism  student  .  i  usually  see  them  around  poring  over  a  growing  stack  of  textbooks  with  a  pencil  tucked  behind  her  ear  !

lorelai  leigh  gilmore  ,  affectionaly  nicknamed  rory  at  an  extremely  young  age  ,  grows  up  in  a  world  that  almost  doesn’t  seem  real   ---   full  of  books  and  music  and  fun  and  laughter  ,  so  much  that  it  leaves  the  belly  aching  and  the  eyes  glazed  with  tears  of  sheer  mirth  !  it’s  all  spearheaded  by  a  rambunctious  ,  loving  mother  who  becomes  a  best  friend  first  and  a  mother  second  ,  indulgent  to  a  fault  ,  protective  and  wonderful  and  joyous  !  her  early  years  are  characterised  by  a  rotating  cast  of  eclectic  characters  that  dote  on  her  ,  a  found  family  of  townsfolk   ---   and  it’s  true  ,  it  does  take  a  village  to  raise  a  child  .  there  is  a  glaring  absence  in  all  of  this  ,  namely  any  familial  connections  outside  of  her  mother   ;   father  ,  christopher  ,  is  a  lackadaisal  figure  who  darts  in  and  out  at  the  blink  of  an  eye  ,  leaves  infrequent  voicemails  and  doesn’t  reply  to  letters  .  grandparents  are  visited  at  holidays  ,  and  unwillingly  at  that  .  there’s  an  undeniable  tension  ,  two  warring  sects  of  the  same  family  .

education  plays  a  major  role  in  the  unfolding  diagram  of  her  life   ---   always  the  brightest  ,  always  with  her  nose  stuck  in  a  book  ;  hands  in  homework  days  early  ,  always  answers  teacher’s  questions  .  she’s  star’s  hollow’s  brightest  pupil  ,  until  the  letter  arrives   ---   chilton  has  a  place  and  a  tartan  skirt  with  her  name  on  it  .  the  switch  is  sudden  ,  resisted  at  first  (  oh  ,  there’s  nothing  like  the  sweet  scent  of  young  love  to  throw  a  spanner  in  the  works  )  and  it  comes  at  a  cost   ---   friday  nights  are  now  to  be  spent  at  the  grandparents’  house  in  hartford  ,  a  weekly  dinner  used  as  a  bargaining  chip  .  it’s  a  small  price  to  pay  for  a  dream  school  ,  rory  thinks  .

except  that  the  dream  doesn’t  seem  quite  as  pleasant  when  the  first  week  rolls  around  and  there’s  already  targets  on  her  back  ,  nicknames  thrown  and  enemies  made  before  she  even  has  a  chance  to  open  her  mouth  .  it’s  a  harsh  adjustment  (  includes  getting  hit  by  a  deer  ,  no  less  )  and  it’s  painful  but  slowly  ,  surely  she  feels  her  way  around  .  it  might  be  at  the  rate  of  treacle  but  friendships  are  begrudgingly  developed  (  paris  geller  proves  a  challenge  but  it  all  pays  off  )  and  by  the  time  she  graduates  ,  she’s  valedictorian  .  well - respected  ,  loved  and  admired   ;   set  for  harvard  ,  despite  applications  to  other  universities   ---   it’s  harvard  all  the  way  ,  baby  .

it’s  always  been  harvard  ,  for  as  long  as  she  can  remember  .  college  merchandise  has  crowded  a  corkboard  for  years  ,  she  collects  their  pamphlets  religiously   ;   richard  isn’t  pleased  by  the  prospect  ,  pushes  her  continuously  towards  yale  ,  but  it’s  harvard  .  always  was  going  to  be  harvard  ,  until  it  isn’t  anymore  .

when  acceptance  letters  arrive  ,  there  isn’t  an  ivy  league  that  hasn’t  practically  begged  her  to  go  .  she’s  drawn  up  lists  (  pros  and  cons  for  just  about  all  of  them  )  ,  and  she’s  moments  away  from  saying  yes  before  something  ,  something  changes  her  mind   ;   at  the  eleventh  hour  ,  rory  throws  caution  to  the  wind  and  accepts  an  offer  from  columbia  .  naturally  ,  lorelai’s  gobsmacked  (  speechless  ,  for  once  in  a  garrulous  lifetime  )  but  supportive  .  a  small  car  (  a  birthday  present  from  the  grandparents  ,  insistent  that  she  have  something  nice  to  drive  )  is  slowly  filled  and  before  long  ,  she’s  trundling  her  way  towards  new  york  city  ,  towards  the  promise  of  something  new  and  glittering  and  exciting  .

she  lives  on  campus  for  a  while  ,  gets  the  university  feel   ---   ends  up  with  a  truly  questionable  selection  of  roommates  ,  travels  back  and  forth  ,  falls  in  love  with  university  and  learning  all  over  again  .  she  learns  to  be  on  her  own  ,  learns  that  she  doesn’t  mind  it  but  there’s  something  to  be  said  for  movie  nights  on  the  well - worn  gilmore  couch  ,  to  pulling  up  at  the  family  home  with  a  big  grin  and  two  cups  of  luke’s  world - famous  brew  in  hand  .

late  last  year  ,  she  decides  that  on - campus  living  has  run  its  course  ,  and  applies  for  her  own  apartment  .  the  move  is  quick  ,  and  it’s  wonderful   ---   she  slowly  fills  it  with  her  records  ,  her  neverending  collection  of  books  ,  of  the  things  she  treasures  the  most  .  she  makes  it  her  own  space  like  nothing  else  ,  and  before  long  the  whole  place  is  damn - near  crowded  with  her  collections  of  belongings  .  it  feels  warm  ,  inviting  ,  lived - in   ;   lorelai  loves  it  when  she  comes  to  visit  .  once  again  ,  she’s  learning  how  to  navigate  the  world   ---   last  year  of  university  is  drawing  to  an  inevitable  close  ,  and  the  world  is  a  reckless  place  .  

i  love  her  very  very  much  please  plot  with  me