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strangerficsxx · 1 month ago

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Prologue IV

Story:Midnight Rain WC:2.7k Jennifer is finally moved to California, and in with a random roommate, who she didn't fully trust. However, she is unaware of the great terror approaching Hawkins as she returns to the deaded town, save the world again... or so she thinks.

[a/n: all characters, plot, etc. are not mine. The only thing I own is my original character. credit to gif owner.]

{ November 4, 1984 }

Author's point of view.

With a lifeless Phoebe laying on the ground, the air was filled with silence. A stranger appears, kneeling and examines the body. Without hesitation the male check for a pulse with his two fingers resting against the skin of Phoebe's neck. Her pulse is weak as be begins performing CPR.

After a few attempts, her eyes flutter open. She begins a coughing fit, looking around panicked prior to seeing the male above her. Phoebe's chest rises and falls heavily, cursing. Pain seeped into her frail body whilst he helps her up and away towards Hawkins Memorial hospital.

The doctor's wheel her into a surgical room where she will stay for the next few hours before getting transferred to a recovery room. An unconscious phoebe's body settles in the bed beneath her. A heart monitor beats rhythmically beside her, her arms bandaged, her face bruised and scratched. Eventually, Phoebe gains consciousness as she begins panicking, unaware that she is safe and is getting the help she needs. Phoebe tries to speak, but all she can do is gurgle and whimper. She pushes the nurse's button, afraid she might die.

Soon a nurse responds, removing the tube from her mouth as she heaves. "Wh-Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital. You were attacked,"

"By what?"

"A wolf, maybe? There were unusual bites, but you're safe now. Is there anything you'd like?"

"Yeah, c-can you call The Byers residence, please?"

The nurse nods, stepping out the room as Phoebe lays her head against the pillow behind her. She had no idea that there was no one at home, but that didn't stop the joy from filling her body. The nurse returns with a sad yet soft look. "I couldn't get a hold of anyone."

Those word hurt Phoebe deep down, knowing that they were probably busy fighting those creatures that attacked her. But what if they were in trouble? So many thoughts ran through her tired mind as she eventually dozed off without realizing it.

After a week in the hospital, Phoebe was discharged, not knowing where to go. She stumbled through the town of Hawkins as people around her stared at her unpleasantly, but she continued and made it to the Henderson residence where she steps up to a bedroom window, peaking through. She watches Jennifer rummage through belongings that were shared with Phoebe as tears streaming down her best friends cheeks, knowing that her "death" hit the brunette hard. Phoebe had hot tears prick at her eyes as she continues on.

Is she gonna be okay knowing that her own best friend is heartbroken?

Phoebe holds her hand against her stomach, feeling the patch that lies against her healing wound. She needed a place to stay as she continued on, walking towards Maple Street. She sees the two story house in the distance as she continues toward the front door. Stepping on the front porch, she rings the doorbell as a brunette answers. Nancy Wheeler.

"Phoebe? I thought... I thought you died. That's what Jennifer told me at the Hawkins Laboratory."

"I did, yes, but was helped and went to the hospital for two months. I hate, uh, to ask this but do you have any extra clothing I could borrow till I have my own?"

"Yes, come on. My mom and I have a bunch of clothes in storage."

"Nancy?" Mrs. Wheeler called. "Who's at the door?"

"Oh, uh, it's just Jennifer. She came by to check up on me 'cause of what's happening on the news."

"Oh, okay."

Nancy quickly leads Phoebe up the stairs and into her bedroom. She takes off her dirty shoes, and clothing as the blonde gets handed some new clothes. She quickly throws them on before looking Nancy in the eyes.

"Don't tell Jennifer I was here, okay? I don't want her to know--"

"That you're alive?! You should tell her."

"No, no, no, I can't. Not yet...at least. Give me the next year to process my plan, OK? Please, don't say anything about me, not even where I was."

"Okay, I swear not to tell her, jeez."

Phoebe leaves quickly, swiftly stepping down the steps before leaving the Wheeler house entering the dimly lit neighborhood. She heads for her grandfather's hunting cabin, a place she hasn't been for many years as she hopes and prays someone will be there. And sure enough, her father was there stepping out of the wooden refuge, locking up.

"Dad,"

The tall male stiffened up, arms dropping to his sides before turning his head slowly. They made eye contact with each other as he hurriedly runs down the few steps and toward his daughter, scooping her in his arms. Phoebe wraps her arms around his waist, sobbing into his shirt.

"Oh, my girl, my beautiful girl."

"D-Dad, I'm here."

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Lost,"

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. You could've called me for help. The police station would've helped too."

"I-I know, Dad. I didn't want to scare anyone."

"I was scared, thinking you were dead." He sobs.

Phoebe held onto him tightly. Her face buried in his chest, weeping. They stand there for a long while before she pulls away from her father, looking him in his teary eyes. She could tell he was in pain as she was in pain too.

How does she explain that Hopper's little girl died and came back to life?

He brings her into the cabin, sitting at the small table in the kitchen. They sit opposite of each other. Phoebe clears her throat, sniffling.

"What happened?" He asks.

"Well, when I was in the junk yard with Steve Harrington and Jennifer Henderson, and the kids and I got scared, and ran away. Without thinking, I kept running unaware of the creatures -- the demodogs. And, t-they attacked me." She stops, sniffling. Her voice became shaky. "I died, technically. Somehow, someone found me. They brought me back, and took me to Hawkins Memorial. But here I am, Dad. I'm here. And I promise to be here, if you promise to be here with me."

"I promise,"

He brings his daughter into his arms after she stepped onto the wooden planks. It creaked beneath her foot. And they kept those promises until the unthinkable happened later in 1985.

{ the journal of phoebe hopper - 1985}

Phoebe sits, hunched over a table at the food court, writing in her notebook.

'Today is June 30, 1985 and here I sit in Starcourt Mall by myself drowning in the dark thoughts that cloud my mind.

Across sat various shops as one keeps me distracted: Scoops Ahoy. The place where Jennifer Henderson works at. She still doesn't know where I am or what I am doing since the last time she saw me was when I died a year ago.

My father has kept me a secret from everyone we knew. As I hope no one reveals that I had survived being attacked by monstrous creatures in the junkyard, I will keep fighting and one day I will reveal to my best friend where I was and what I did for a year.

I sit here, trying to process the right things to do or say, not wanting to be a stalker when it came to spying on my best friend. But to others it looks like it, as I try to keep low. Most people knew about my death, but many didn't know I came back from the dead and am haunting Hawkins.

To Jennifer, I hope you understand why I am doing this. This is for your own good. Its so I can process what happened, and to try and figure out how to make things right after you find me.

And someday you will just not at the moment. Jennifer Henderson, wait for me in '86. I'll make sure to explain everything.'

She closes her notebook as she rises walking away from the table, leaving the mall and never looking back. Throughout the summer of '85, she felt as if the world was about to end. Phoebe had nothing to go off of, if her friends were okay, if her dad was alright. Unfortunately, her father kept the promise all the way to July 4. The day her father perished under Starcourt Mall.

———

Days turned into weeks...

Weeks turned into months...

Months turned into a year...

The current year is 1986, and the blonde had no intention searching for her best friend, and gave up. Things to her were different, she hid from everyone still in her father's cabin in the woods, as Phoebe knew her dad was never coming back, so she is left to attend a damaged cabin herself from the events of last year. She didn't know what broke the ceiling, but thought it was a fallen tree that had been ran into and has been removed since, but she was way off.

The few things she wasn't aware of was that a creature from the another dimension is terrorizing students, a freak being blamed for the murder of a cheerleader, a girl trying to fight off the terror of a horrific event, the byers family moving to another state, her father being captured by russians, and so much more.

Today was March 20 as she read on the news paper she had came across on her trip into downtown Hawkins to retrieve more groceries. Phoebe fell into a dark state of depression, but continued as she was coming to terms with confronting Jennifer.

And that was what she planned on doing, she will do it in the next few days...

...Her story begins again.

~~~

{ January - February 1986 }

Classes were a struggle to Jennifer since she had the urge to leave for spring break since it was approaching quickly. She found the courage to buy a plane ticket since she had enough after saving up from working at nearby movie theater, where she fills buckets of popcorn and cleans up after people when the movies end. In Jennifer's life, there was no fun.

However, she found a support group that was hosting every day in the afternoons, so she decided to go.

Most of her time was either spent in the program for people who lost someone important to them, or college or work. That was her therapy. She also attended because she's been having problems drinking and smoking, afraid her friends and boyfriend may judge.

With worry, she didn't say anything and kept quiet. The only thing she told her mom was that she was working hard and saving money to return for Hawkins during spring break, and to tell people that she's okay. She wanted to explain things to Steve, but was hesitant.

{ Friday, March 20, 1986 - early Saturday, March 21, 1986 }

It's been almost two years since Phoebe passed away in 1984, and she has never been better. After seeing a shrink for the last few months (after the violence and terror at Starcourt Mall), Jennifer has been able to cope with her emotions toward the PTSD. Now happy as well, she's hoping this year -- this spring break won't bring anymore surprises from the Upside Down.

Not after the last three years; from Will going missing to battling demodogs, to a spider-like creature at The Starcourt Mall. She is able to put her stress aside.

Today, though, Jennifer returned to her previous life in Hawkins.

She entered the airport with her bags in hand as well as her plane ticket that reads departure to Hawkins, Indiana -- flight time 8:30PM. Arrival 12:30 AM. She wasn't thrilled about the times, but that was the only ticket available since all other flights were sold out.

Four hours after arriving in Hawkins, she stepped out and felt the air. It was tense to her as she looked at her watch. It read 12:47 AM, and here she is, standing in an empty car port, waiting for someone to get her. Suddenly, her mother pulls up . Jennifer tosses her baggage in the backseat as she enters the passenger seat, sliding her seatbelt on.

The following day, Jennifer was bright and early so she can make sure that she looks just right to surprise Steve. She made her way out and toward Family Video, where she stood almost hesitant. Jennifer forces her leg forward, stepping inside the video store.

At the counter, Steve and Robin are too busy to notice as she says hello to them.

"We'll be with you in just a sec," Robin says.

Jennifer steps up to the counter, waiting for someone to notice her. Steve glances at her then what he was doing before making a double take, looking toward her with excitement rise. He hops the counter swiftly, making his way toward her. They bring each other into a hug, holding one another close before pulling away and planting his lips on hers.

A few seconds later, she pulls back, hands resting on his chest as they smile at each other. He stands with his arms crossed and Robin gives the brunette a serious look. Robin notices, hugging Jennifer as well.

"For some reason, something brought me back to Hawkins, and here I am."

"You came here for your super good looking boyfriend."

"What's going on with you? How's school going? Anything new?" Robin cuts in, shifting her stance but this time her arms are folded against her chest.

"Its..." She trails off. "It's good, studied hard and managed to save up enough money to come back to Hawkins."

Jennifer gave them a wide grin.

They all stood there before approaching the counter. She swallows as the corners of her mouth mouth dips into a frown. Her eyes lower to the floor, trying to find the right words to say.

"That's good. Anything else going on?"

"I've been getting help for my problems. I fell into dark depression, and went to an emotional support group, or group therapy." Jennifer fesses up about her issues.

"What?" Robin and Steve ask in unison. Steve was mostly worried, but Robin, she wasn't sure how to respond.

"Yeah,"

"Jesus Christ, Jen. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry anyone and thought no one cared since everyone had their own problems, and I was in California."

"I think we all share each other's problems. Especially last year when we fought the spider creature at Starcourt."

"Yeah, and you and me, especially. We've been through fighting a demogorgon, demodogs, the mind flayer, and your friend dying plus the spider creature."

"Okay, well, you both can get back to work and just forget I told you guys this?"

The two nodded as Robin got to work, but Steve stood there and stared at her. "I am happy you're back, Jennifer. However, please tell me what's going on next time. No more secrets, ok?"

"Yes," She plants her lips on his, stepping back as he turns and walks away.

She stepped through the store, glancing at the various tapes on the shelves. Some of them were recently released films, however, none she was familiar with since most of the movies were new to her.

Jennifer enters the back of the store and pulls out a VHS tape that reads Nightmare on Elm Street Part II: Freddy's Revenge. She was originally supposed to go see it sometime, but never got the chance to since she was swamped with tests and working late night shifts at the movie theater. She carefully sets it back on the shelf, walking toward a nearby shelf, browsing through the tapes carefully, reading the backs of each tape.

She turns her head, glancing at Steve, who talks to a girl as he shows her various VHS tapes. Ever since she moved, things have been awkward between the two. But since she's back, things felt like she was here for the last year.

That night, things began to feel different.

It felt uneasy for Jennifer as she stepped into her house. Shutting the door behind her, the brunette makes her way towards her bedroom where she dresses from her day clothes to pajamas. Jennifer removes her makeup and unpins her hair. She quickly freshens her breath before settling into her bed.

"A new day. I hope."

Unfortunately, the next week will be anything but normal for Jennifer Henderson as something mysterious and more sinister comes back to Hawkins for another scare.

#stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things oc #jennifer henderson #stranger things original character #midnight rain #emily rudd #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington #jennifer x steve #stranger things season 4 #stranger things season four #stranger things 4 #prologue 4

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 4 months ago

Note

A fun question your opinion: In each arc, what do you think is the theme of each arc? ( It can be a motif, messages, subject)

These are a mix of jokes and serious thoughts ^^ just to avoid the post from being too heavy overall!

The Rose-Red Tyrant:

Breaking free from perpetuating a cycle of abuse

You are your own person, not a puppet controlled by your parent/guardian

At the same time, you have to take accountability for your own actions (your background can explain your poor behavior toward others but it does not excuse that behavior)

Control that is too constrictive will only push away potential connections and experiences, keeping you isolated and complacent

Anger management classes are good for you, guys

The Usurper from the Wilds:

Let’s play fairly and be good sports!

Judging people for their merits rather than by titles or birth

What makes someone worthy to lead is noble behavior and attiude

Standing up for what’s morally right, even if everyone else seems to be against you

You have value, worth, and hope in spite of what others may tell you and put you down for

It’s totally okay to get revenge on the asshole that tripped you that one time/j

It’s technically not a crime if you don’t get caught (except Leona did, in fact, get caught)

The Merchant from the Depths:

Don’t be ashamed of your past self—embrace it, accept it, and use it as a point of reference for self growth

Be the bigger person rather than becoming a bully yourself

Let your accomplishments speak for themselves

There is no “easy way out” or shortcut; be prepared to face the consequences of your actions

Not everything is as it may seem (think about the “trick” with Azul’s contracts)

… Read the terms and conditions very carefully and think things over before you sign a contract 💀

Schemer of the Scalding Sands:

Wow, this baby can fit so much generational trauma!!

Sometimes you just miss each other’s messages or greatly misinterpret the other’s intentions (Kalim giving Jamil the benefit of the doubt, Jamil obviously being the Bad Guy and everyone else has to point that out to Kalim)

There’s a very complicated relationship between those in power and those without power; this can breed hatred for those at the top

Talent and skill left unacknowledged can fester into resentment

Institutions of higher education can and will accept monetary bribes, what are you gonna do about it?

Not everyone wants to reconcile and make friends; this is okay and should be more normalized

A Beautiful Tyrant:

You can try your best and work hard, but life doesn’t owe you anything (depressing thought, but unfortunately true)

Beauty is not limited to just one’s looks; beauty can also extend to one’s character and actions

Your worth shouldn’t come from external forces; if you are satisfied with yourself, you will always be “beautiful” no matter how you look or what losses you may experience

Public opinion and the entertainment industry are brutal af

Screw gender norms 😤

The Watchman of the Underworld:

The grieving process in general

Moving on from the past instead of fixating on it and letting the past consume your present and hold you back from a future

Learning to forgive yourself

Reaching out and making new support systems/opening up to others to help you cope

Bearing the sins of your ancestors (Shroud family curse)

The Lord of Malevolence:

Change is inevitable, all good things must come to an end; we must learn to accept them and bravely move toward the future

Love endures, transcending race (Sebek), blood (Silver), and time (Lilia)

Self-sacrificial love (Maleanor for Malleus, Lilia for the other Diasomnia boys, Dawn Knight for his own family, etc.)

Is it “true” happiness if it is a fake reality, a convenient dream?

We hate and fear what we do not understand, even though we have the capacity to

You cannot live forever in a happy fantasy world where none of your loved ones/favorite characters leave you, your trauma doesn’t exist, and everything conveniently pans out how you want it to; sooner or later, you must “wake up” and face reality (this point is particularly meta; it applies both in-game and in the real world, speaking to us players and our relationship with the escapist fictional content we consume)

Prologue: Welcome to the Villains’ World and Overall Main Story:

The power of friendship :))

Revisionist history (cuz… y’know… Great Seven and all)

We’re stronger together than alone

It’s okay to rely on others

We may be very different people from very different backgrounds, but it is still possible for us to understand one another