#the other one is dustin?

[kidovna]

This?

i was actually looking for this!

except now i’m more confused because i think that’s meant to be will the wise but he was never in hellfire club lol

[sp0o0kylights]

Steve Harrington was wearing a Hellfire t-shirt.

It was far too tight on him, the name of the club stretched wide over his chest. The sleeves dug into his biceps, making them pop even more than they usually did, and that was before he crossed his arms. 

Worse?

It was short.

Which meant the damn shirt was constantly riding up to give everyone a nice show of the smattering of hair that trailed down past the band of Harrington's jeans. 

The same hair that Eddie was determinedly not looking at. 

“Henderson, a moment?” He crooked a finger, a smile on his face that was more feral than welcoming. 

Rather than cower or even acknowledge that Eddie was two seconds away from murder, Dustin just gave him a gummy grin, all too pleased with himself and his scheme. 

“Sure Eddie. Steve, don't just stand there, go help set the booth up!” Dustin gestured to Hellfire’s sad little table, crammed all the way in the back of the gym. 

Jeff and Gareth both reacted to the suggestion like a rabid squirrel had been set upon them, nervously inching towards the other side of the booth as Harrington sighed and--shockingly--did as he was told.

‘What,’ Eddie thought angrily, ‘in the everloving fuck.’

“Do you guys mind if I set this down on the table?” Eddie heard Harrington ask as he stormed away, Dustin on his heel. 

They wandered just around the corner, out of sight and hopefully, out of the fallen king’s hearing range.

Eddie wasn't sure if Harrington would try and white knight the very much deserved dressing down he was about to give. 

Didn’t want to chance it, considering the downright weird relationship he had with Hellfire's freshmen.

(While he’d heard many a tale at his table regarding King Steve since the newest recruits had joined Hellfire, most of them dissolved into arguments without ever really going anywhere.

 Best anyone could figure out was that Dustin and Lucas had a bad case of hero worship, while Mike owned a begrudging amount of respect that hailed from a series of misadventures. 

The very same misadventures that, despite all protests to the contrary, was clearly some sort of babysitting gig for Harrington.) 

Either way, plenty of the King’s court would have loved to take this opportunity to fuck with Hellfire.

Given that Henderson was absolutely too old to require a babysitter at fourteen, Eddie would bet his lunch money that was what Steve was here to do.

Something the club couldn’t afford since they were forever and always two seconds away from being stripped of club status and banned from school grounds. 

“I would love to know what went through that all A’s brain of yours when I said,” Eddie whirled on Dustin when they were firmly in the clear, voice low and furious.  “no Henderson, do not invite King Steve to help, he is an invading force and would ruin our peaceful kingdom!?”

He clasped his hands behind his back before leaning into Dustin’s face. “Because clearly whatever you heard wasn’t that.” 

To Eddie’s continued frustration and confusion, Dustin did not treat this like the threat it was. 

None of the freshmen had ever truly treated Eddie like a threat--had somehow skipped that part of the usual onboarding ritual entirely.

Eddie, town freak and drug dealer, who had cultivated his looks and craziness to such a degree that most everyone steered clear, wasn’t used to it. 

Everyone had been afraid of him at some point in this shitty school. Jeff, Gareth, hell even half the staff--and that the dorky trio of fourteen year old's clearly thought this all was play-acting made his eye twitch.

Even if it was--maybe, sometimes--welcome. 

“I know what you said, but I’m telling you I’m right.” Dustin argued immediately, and oh God, he was using that tone again. 

A hand went up into the space between them and Eddie groaned aloud, knowing what was coming.

“First,” Dustin ticked a finger up, “Hellfire really needs the money. Even thirty dollars would get us new figures, but more than that, if we don’t fundraise, we can’t go to Gen Con!” 

Dustin's eyes bored into Eddie’s, full of fire and conviction

“Yes,” Eddie said through gritted teeth, “but--”

“Second!” Dustin cut him off, and God the little shit even threw him a look while he did it, like Eddie was the one being ridiculous here!

“We had to fight just to get our table! Principal Higgins was in algebra today practically begging the mathletes to show up, but then tried to tell us we couldn't be here? That’s messed up!” 

As if denying them a spot to fundraise was the worst thing that asshole had ever done.

Eddie sighed, breath blasting out of his mouth like a dragon’s. 

“Because people think we’re freaks and satanists, Henderson. You don’t typically invite freaks and satanists to the school’s annual Holiday Bazaar. Especially not when all the local moms are paying to hawk their bullshit crafts and tupperware!” 

It was more than that of course. The Hawkins High Holiday Bazaar was a tradition spanning several years now. Starting in the gym and spilling clear into the parking lot, everyone from local artists to even some local shops came to host a small table for the day, thus growing the event from a small school fundraiser to a Hawkins' “must-do.” 

Half the fucking town was here to sell, and the other half was here to shop, which meant Principle Higgins had wanted Hellfire banned from the fucking premise. 

Eddie had been forced to pull out one of his trump cards he’d been saving--blackmail on Higgins that related to the man’s not--so--legal addiction to Percocet that he relied on Reefer Rick for. 

(And bless Rick, that hadn’t been the only tidbit he’d shared with Eddie about Higgins. That information, however, Eddie needed just so the asshat wouldn’t give him the boot from school entirely.) 

The only reason Eddie had pulled it out to secure their rightful spot, was because of Gen Con. 

It was Hellfire's White Whale, their grand adventure, and this was going to be his year to take his friends on one last epic quest to make memories of a lifetime surrounded by people who understood them.

Come hell or high water, Eddie was going to Gen Con--but being able to fundraise by selling wares and baked goods at the stupid Holiday Bazaar would go a long way to help.

Even if he had to listen to the band repeatedly play ear-bleeding renditions of Christmas songs.

“All the clubs get to have a table, and we’re a club!” Dustin continued, like it was that simple. “But you know, I get it. We look scary.” 

He gestured down to his own Hellfire shirt, before gesturing towards Eddie’s entire outfit.

Like Eddie didn't know what he looked like, let alone that he'd made this outfit specifically to scare people away from him.

(And maybe add some rockstar flair to this dinky little hick town.)

“You know who doesn’t look scary?”

Dustin held out his hands and swiveled his body like he was presenting a prize instead of gesturing in the vague direction of; 

“Steve!”

Eddie’s left eye twitched.

‘You can't kill him, you need his character for the campaign.’ He told himself firmly, even if he envisioned strangling Dustin like a chicken.

Cartoon squawking and all. 

“The King isn’t going to help us fundraise, Dustin.” Eddie said, in an effort to break down why Harrington couldn't be here. “He's just going to cause us problems that we can’t afford to have.” 

So many problems, half of which Eddie couldn't think of because if he did, he'd start spiraling.

“Really? Because as you keep saying, Steve used to be the King. People love him, Eddie! Mom’s love him.”

Eddie had pulled himself back up to his proper height a while ago, and now rocked back on his heels while he ran a hand down his face.

There was no getting through to Henderson when he was like this. 

Not unless Eddie really lost it, and it was practically club lore that he only lost it when someone missed an important game. 

One cannot keep a herd of sheep if their flock is terrified of them, after all. 

(“Perhaps you’re just a giant fucking softie.” Tiff, one of Hellfire’s graduating members, told him once. “Honestly dude, I bet you throw up stuffing.”

“Shut up Tiffany, your choker is on backwards again.” He'd spat back, completely offended and not at all trying to distract from how true that was.) 

“We can’t be satanic if Steve’s the one selling cookies!” Dustin finished doggedly. 

“We’re not even selling cookies--that’s not the point!”” Eddie shook his head, hair flying. He was not going to be sidetracked, he wasn’t!

 “Harrington is going to end up siding with all the moms about how we’re all wasting time with D&D, if he even spends the whole time at the table. Is that what you want?” 

He stuck out a ringed finger, poking at Dustin’s chest.

“Every single person who comes by our table has to be convinced D&D is a writing and math based game. Good for the mind and souls of growing, impressionable children. A game that got a bad rep because of  a few silly images.” 

A pitch he and Tiff had come up with during the third or fourth time they had to convince an adult that no, just because their shirts had a dragon on it, didn’t mean they were summoning demons in the drama room. 

“Harrington can’t do that because Harrington doesn’t even know how to play!” 

This Eddie punctuated by throwing his hands in the air. 

Given the startled look of the mother-daughter duo passing him by, clearly was louder than he’d intended--but screw it!

He was right!

Hellfire was in a precarious position to both fundraise and do a little damage control among the slightly smarter members of this shithole small town, and Harrington rolling his eyes and gossiping about how stupid it was would hinder that.

“Okay, first of all, Steve’s played D&D with me and he didn’t even kill his character.” Dustin said it like he was unveiling a smoking gun and not lying through his ass--which Eddie would absolutely be calling him on the second he was done talking. 

Because King Steve? Play D&D?

'Ha!'

“And he’s not gonna say shit because we--me, and Lucas and even Mike!--asked him to help, and he helps when its serious. I know you have some weird grudge with him, but I’m telling you Eddie he’s our golden ticket to Gen Con!” 

“You’re killing me. You are standing here, acting as a friend, when you are bringing a-- a dark force into the midst our of mission--” Eddie hissed, because he was losing the fucking fight and he knew it.

Dustin Henderson was not a man easily swayed. 

Had never been, even when the odds were stacked against him (and Grant and Gareth were howling in his ear.) 

The set of his shoulders and the glint of the little shithead’s eye meant Eddie wouldn’t be able to use him to oust Harrington--if he even could get him out without the dick causing a massive scene anyway. 

As always when outgunned, Eddie flipped to dramatics.

“Betrayed! By my own chosen heir no less!” He moaned, pressing the back of his hand over his eyes as Dustin scoffed.

"Don’t be so dramatic! Steve will help, I promise! Just don’t be a dick to him.” 

 Conversation apparently over, Dustin turned around to head back to the table

Snidely, he added over his shoulder: “Plus we’ve all caught on to the heir thing Eddie. You tell everyone that so they do what you want.” 

The dick.

“You’re too fucking smart for your own good. I’m gonna start feeding you paint chips to bring that IQ down.” Eddie muttered angrily as Dustin went back to their little table.

He gave himself a moment to get his shit together and stomp a foot like a child when Dustin was around the corner and thus couldn’t witness it, before following his wayward sheep back.

Could only pray to any deity listening that Henderson’s meddling didn’t blow up in Hellfire’s face.

[rottenaero]

Ao3

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

Part 3 of the roommate idea

Steve declines the hellfire invitation from Dustin, making up a pretend date, because otherwise he was not getting out of that one. He checked the time on the wall.

2:27

Yeah, alright.

He waited a few hours before getting ready and heading to the school.

The game starts in thirty minutes so they should be-

Steve grinned as he watched the back of Dustin move into the drama room.

Perfect.

He waited a minute, listening into their conversation before deciding that he didn't need to wait for them to stop because if they stopped that meant they were starting.

He slammed open the clubs door, making a couple people in the room jump.

“Steve! What are you doing here?" Eddie asked from his place on the throne. "DnDs over, pack up your shit.” He stated, leaving no room for argument.

Well, apparently a little room.

“What!! Why?! Last campaign of the semester, Mike leaves for Cali tomorrow!"

Steve furrowed his brows, and put his hands on his hips, Gareth, Grant, and Jeff weren't arguing, they knew he was serious, good.

“It can wait till he gets back, why would you even plan this a day before he leaves?”

“Why do we need to pack our shit?!”

Steve pinched his nose, "We're going to Luca’s basketball game.”

“What?!?”

“That traitor-"

“Stevie, darling, you can't be-”

“Why?!”

“You two know each other-”

Steve grimaced, a migraine starting at the fore-front of his mind.

“Please shut up, Christ.”

Eddie winced and immediately shushed everyone.

“We're going to this game, because even if Lucas doesn't get to play, we still gotta support him. Dustin, Mike, you guys have only gone to one of his games, his first one.”

He turned the other group, "Grant, Gareth, Jeff, fuck Eddie. None of you have gone to a game, I know it's not your usual shit but you gotta come. Hell, Erica, you're his sister, I mean, you’ve done an amazing job at showing up at the rest, so I can’t really complain about you.”

Dustin winced, “ Sorry Steve, but why does this matter so much to you? It's not the end of the world.”

Steve rubbed his arm, “ He needs someone to be there for him, even if he doesn't win. You can just do the damn campaign at Eddie's when Mike comes back.”

Mike, in question, scoffs, “And since when do you make the rules.”

Steve ignores him, reaching forward and grabbing Eddie's arm, and Erica’s shoulder. "Suit yourselves, but kinda hard to play DnD without the Dungeon Master, and Eddie and Erica don't have a choice.”

They make their way to the gym, a reluctant group of Hellfire in tow, and sit across the top of the bleachers. Steve waves at Robin from where he sits and then turns to Hellfire. “ Thank you guys for being reasonable."

Gareth scrunches his nose, “You cannot just keep stealing Eddie randomly.” Steve purses his lips, and leans into the man in question.

"Not stealing if he's okay with it, right Eds?” Eddie looked between the two, “ I'm sensing I should say yes?"

Steve grinned and patted his cheek. “Good boy."

Dustin turned to them, "Was Eddie the date you were talking about earlier? You tell seem awfully friendly."

Eddie flushed, and let's out an awkward laugh. " Steve wishes he could date me."

[himbosandhardwear]

I'm imagining some backyard summer shenanigans, where at some point Steve passes by Eddie, gives him a rather rough slap on the ass and the ol' 'good hustle, Munson.'

The good news is only one person catches Eddie turning tomato fucking red.

The bad news is it's Max and there's smoke coming off her tires with how fast she takes off to go tell someone.

[demadogs]

Nancy Wheeler: certified badass

[thegrimreepurr]

here it is this is the thing i said i was cooking up

nah jk here's the real thing [under the cut]

outlineless is fun i went a lil crazy with it but i like how it turned out :3

killer sans by rahafwabas dust/murder sans by ask-dusttale horror sans by sour apple studios

[cuepickle]

Camp Skull Rock: The Campers

Can’t stop thinking about summer camp AU

[will80sbyers]

I guess there's also a possibility they would talk about Dustin, I can't exclude that completely since we do know that someone rips his shirt at school so he is literally fighting, but idk it's a bit weird that he would talk about Dustin with her when the person that El and Mike have the most in common as in the narrative is Will and we also know that Will is getting focused on a lot for S5 so it makes a lot of sense, plus they could be showing Vecna's influence on his mood and personality by making him more outspoken/aggressive.... Idk I do think Dustin is gonna be fighting too and experiencing depression and anger for Eddie but I still find it weird that Mike and El in particular would talk about him (unless they surprise us and Henderhop happens lmfaoooo)

Idk I have to check with the timeline and see if it would make sense, if Dustin goes to the radio station in episode 1 after being beat up maybe that's why El asks about him in particular, because he shows up with the black eye after the bullies got him

Or if it's about Will maybe what happens is that Will says something to the jocks that pisses them off and then they try to beat up Will but Dustin gets in the middle of that and stops them,Mike and Lucas arrive running from outside and Dustin's shirt gets damaged... and THEN after school Dustin goes to the cemetery and the bullies want revenge for school but this time Dustin is alone so he gets beat up so then after when Dustin shows up Will starts to feel extremely guilty and maybe this guilt just builds up during the whole season, Will starts thinking he's the problem that's putting all of them in danger and then Mike's family gets attacked too and other stuff happens and the more guilt and negative feelings he feels the more he's vulnerable to Vecna's mind manipulation

[miwiromantics]

taken by Jonathan. vandalized by the rest.

[starsarehere]

so y'all think s5 will win over S4 and steal the trophy of "gayest season ever" or?

[florallylly]

completely idiotic concept but zookeepers stobin who mainly deal with the penguins but the penguins are the party who are the penguins of madagascar. does this make sense.... and yes i only mean the four boys like max and el are regular people

[kidovna]

manifested mileven at the snowball in 2016, so now I’m manifesting byler at senior prom🪻🌻

[hawkinshistoricalsociety]

today in "I've been looking at the same 25 contextless ST5 images for entirely too long now, oh god please give us a teaser before I lose full control of my life," I noticed that there is a discrepancy between Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will's "hand stack" at the picnic table as shown in the rehearsal clip in the July BTS video and the image of the actual shot on the monitor during filming that Ross shared on Instagram.

On the left, Will is the last one to put his hand in, while on the right, Dustin's hand is on top. Since the left seems to be from rehearsal/run-through (Gaten has his glasses on, no one is fully in proper costume with their in-character jackets), they may have reworked things a little bit between that point and filming.

This really could mean nothing, but I know there was some discussion that Dustin's position at the end indicated some reluctance to whatever is being proposed or affirmed here (notably initiated by Mike, hand at the bottom, who is back in full Party leader mode). Will being an option for that spot might indicate that both Will and Dustin are on the other "side" of whatever this is about, and both need to be talked into the group coming together. And it might not just be something they disagree with - maybe the two of them ARE the "problem" that's preventing the Party from being a united front at the beginning of the season.

Interestingly, this supports another piece of these random anon curiouscat leaks from the beginning of last year that there is a confrontation specifically between Dustin and Will this season.

again, who knows! but I kind of love Will and Dustin as the going through it problem children of the season...let them Order of the Phoenix era Harry Potter self isolate and self destruct in ways that cause everyone grief.....

[psychotic-nonsense]

Stranger Things x Team Fortress 2 Crossover AU

The Mercenaries

Administration

The Dark Hand Beneath

Links (to be added)

Lore Post

Mail Slot

The Devil's Reveal

--------------------

Some notes that I wanna mention:

• RED team doesn't have a Medic or Engineer. They didn't want to have Supports at all, and only do because Admin forced it. Their last Spy won them battles, and their current Spy and Sniper match their energy, so they tolerate it.

• No one truly knows who the former RED Spy was, just that he was dubbed "The Devil," and the most ruthless Spy in the nation.

• Steve doesn't wear a mask because he has nothing to hide. Tommy wears one to cover his freckles and insecurity.

• BLU - especially Nancy - did not want a Spy on their team due to the bias and trauma the former RED Spy instilled in them. It took a while for them to warm up to Steve, of which he never rushed.

• BLU is far more comfortable in their positions thanks to each other, so most of their uniforms are customized and personal, as well as referring to each other by name after hours. RED sees their place as a cruel job, so most stick to the classic uniform regulations with minimal modifications and only use class resignation for names.

• Despite using the original Medi Gun fluid invention by Dr. Ludwig in the 60s, Will has dubbed it the NAT-20 (Natural Acceleration Trigger times 20) after D&D. The solution's components are relegated to Medics only, but he's told the formula to Dustin, Mike, and Lucas, in case something happens to him.

• Steve and Nancy already knew about Tommy and Carol before they joined, and once they figured out who they were, the bitching is endless. It's the only thing they find a middle ground on.

• Dustin's "goggles" are a design on his cap, which is reinforced so he's safe. And the brace on his leg is referencing his limp at the end of ST4, currently (as of posting) no in-AU reason for it yet.

• Vecna is the equivalent to Merasmus, and he does have a tense relationship with the Soldiers, though Eddie's began in the past - what do you think that government aid was for? - and Billy's more recently. He doesn't bother with the Demomen, they're both too stubborn to fall for his tricks. And yes, he and the Byers-Hopper family still have history - again, where do you think all the government/medical history came from?

• Eddie's tattoo on his left arm says "Ut Numquam Currere," which is Latin for "To never run."

• Yes I gave Vecna his hair back, but that shit is so brittle, it usually crumples apart with any wind. If/When BLU fights him, he looks fucked up. Also, the bit of Upside Down he carries fluctuates sometimes, but he's found the vines to be most reliable.

• I made Brenner a bit nicer because I wanted the Hopper family to have a win somewhere, considering their lore in this AU is a bit... rough, to put it lightly...

• I did my best to make the loadouts make sense character- and game-wise, but there may have been some bias slipping through for BLU. Also, I did make sure to include weapons that double as cosmetics in their poses, such as with Billy and both Snipers.

• I took away Class emblems just because I don't really think it matters to them anymore? There isn't quite a reason why this company is still ongoing, so why keep up that part too? :P

• Fun fact: Dustin and Lucas used to be switched in class purely for the SpyDad & Freedom Fries family - because of course there's Steddie in this AU, do you not understand who wrote this? - possibilities. Stopped being stupid and switched them to their proper places.

• Aged everyone up a few years because despite the presence of Olivia Mann in pre-comic-7 lore, I didn't want this company to take on legit kids for the merc positions. Explanation in the lore post once I finish it.

• The scaling issues - why some of them look bigger than others - are just because I'm bad at art, there's no lore reason /lh

• I literally have no clue who Saxton, the Mann family, or TF2 Classic mercs are, or if I'm even gonna keep them in this AU! This is more of an addition AU to the TF2 universe, so whoever fits can go there, but I've got nothing rn :/ Still have the main secondary characters like Murray, Enzo, Yuri, Suzie, etc. that don't have places yet, so if anyone has anything, lemme know!! :D

[reineydraws]

i have a soft spot for fics where billy sort of ends up adopting el and will alongside max. like, these are the kids that get dibs for rides in the camaro haha.

also im unfortunately not participating bc prev commitments but #harringrove for turkey is happening right now if yall want to donate to the earthquake relief funds for turkey & syria and get some art/fic back from harringrove fans! :) check out the tag if you're interested!!

[mikesbasementbeets]

mike wheeler in stranger things 2 + girls, girls, girls