#and telling steve that they would just end up resenting one other if billy stayed

[ickypuppi3]

franz kafka // billy & steve

#+ words #billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove #do you ever think about #billy wanting to leave #planning to leave #saving up to leave #then getting with steve and #.. yeah #either staying and enduring all the shit he does anyway #staying under neil’s roof even though he now has a ‘choice’ as such #because of steve #or leaving #and telling steve that they would just end up resenting one other if billy stayed #GOD #no one talk to me i’ve made myself extremely sad about this

[asbealthgn]

in honor of new year’s, here is an excerpt from my fic near wild heaven! i still love this fic so much even though it’s kinda sad (the sequel gives it a happy ending though). cw: a little bit nsfw

New Year’s Eve, 1984

Steve hadn’t even really wanted to go to Tina’s New Years’ Eve party. He had sort of started to hate these people; kids he used to think were cool or funny that he had realized were actually just assholes. It was a bit too much like looking in a mirror.

Walking in was like walking into the lion’s den of people he would rather avoid. Tommy H., Carol, Billy, hell, even Nancy and Jonathan were there. He kept thinking he had made his peace with those two until he saw them again and all that grief and shame and resentment would bubble back up in him. Steve had loved Nancy. He wasn’t sure whether or not he still loved her. He was trying his hardest to push every part of him that still held a flame for her out of his system. He thought it could probably be going better.

So why had Steve shown up to this stupid party at all? A major reason: to not be alone. His parents had gone to New York to watch the ball drop. That meant that if he stayed home, he would just be watching the clock tick from 1984 over to 1985 from the barren privacy of his living room couch. Better to fill up the cavity in his chest with noise and the crush of bodies and faces of people he couldn’t stand but who were more welcoming than the yawning house he had left behind.

Another major reason: to get plastered.

Steve made a beeline for the punch bowl. The sooner the world got hazy around him, the better. As he leaned against the counter to grab a red Solo cup from the stack, he felt more than heard the condom he had tucked into the inside pocket of his jacket crinkle. He didn’t necessarily plan on getting laid tonight, but he was willing to leave the option open.

That had been the way of it since Nancy—leaving the option open. And options abounded. There were no shortage of girls happy to go to bed with King Steve Harrington, and more often than not, Steve let them in. He kept thinking, maybe this next one, maybe she’ll be the one. He wanted to fall in love, wanted it so badly it made his chest hurt. Yet all those one night stands later and he was still alone.

Maybe tonight will be different, he told himself. Maybe the love of your life is gonna fall into your lap.

Steve downed a whole cup of punch before refilling it and moving into the living room. He struck up a conversation with a couple of guys from the swim team, but his head wasn’t really in it. Instead, he was thinking, Why does the New Years party have to be at Tina’s? It was the same place he had gotten his heart ripped out exactly two months ago. Steve would rather this party have been held at anyone else’s house. Hell, he would have been alright if it had been thrown at Tommy’s place. But Steve would have to live with it.

While he sipped his punch and half-listened to whatever story the guy on his swim team was telling, Steve glanced around to see who else had shown up. He saw Nancy and Jonathan in a corner, having what looked like an intimate conversation. Steve quickly looked away. Tommy and Carol were in a group of a whole bunch of Steve’s former friends. A year and a half ago he would have been right there with them, laughing along to whatever bullshit Tommy was spewing.

Next, Steve saw Billy Hargrove, surrounded by all his little disciples. Billy caught Steve’s eye and gave him a death stare. The two had reached a sort of stalemate; Billy had beaten the shit out of Steve, and then he had gotten knocked out by Max. There had been no more fighting between them, just the odd glare in the hallways and running into each other a little too hard on the basketball court. Steve looked away.

Back over in the kitchen, filling up a cup of punch, was Eddie Munson. Steve was sort of surprised to see him here. Eddie was not at all a part of this crowd; not popular, not particularly well-liked. Most likely, he was here to sell. Steve wondered if Tina knew. As Steve watched, Eddie glanced up from the punch bowl and made eye contact with him, raising his cup in recognition. Steve raised his own cup back automatically, before wondering what he was doing and lowering it again. He turned back to the conversation.

“Yeah, so those are all the schools I’m waiting to hear back from,” one of the guys was saying. “What about you Steve, where’d you apply?”

Steve’s stomach dropped. He got enough of these questions from his dad at home, why the fuck did he have to be grilled about it here too?

“C’mon man, it’s a party,” Steve said, trying to stuff all the good-natured, affable, Steve Harrington levity that he didn’t feel into the words. It worked; the swim team guys chuckled and moved on. Steve let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

He needed more alcohol.

Steve crossed back into the kitchen and refilled his cup. Eddie was no longer there. Steve glanced around and saw him over by the fireplace talking to some girl Steve didn’t know. He watched the way the light caught in Eddie’s hair, which fell just past his chin. God, what was Steve doing? He tipped back his cup and drained the punch before deciding he needed something stronger.

He rummaged around in a cupboard, all sense of decorum thrown to the wind. He had been to enough parties at Tina’s house to know where her parents kept the vodka. Steve poured himself a shot and knocked it back. It burned going down, but he poured another. The world was still too in focus.

“Man, trust Harrington to find the good shit.”

Steve looked to his left and found himself staring into Eddie’s big brown eyes. Eddie raised his eyebrows and his still half-full cup of punch. Steve lifted the bottle and sloshed some vodka in.

“Much obliged,” Eddie said, raising his cup again before he turned and waded back into the crowd.

Steve was feeling it now. There was a warmth that spread out from his belly to the ends of his fingers, to the tip of his nose. The party had gotten fuzzy around the edges. Perfect. Steve ladled some more punch into his cup and thinned it with vodka before rejoining the party.

Somehow, an hour slipped away, and then another. Still plenty of time to go before midnight. The drunker he got, the less miserable Steve felt. He didn’t actually hate these people. Hell, he even liked some of them. As long as he stayed on the other side of the room from Nancy and Jonathan and kept going back to refill his cup, he could trick himself into believing he was having a good time.

In the midst of the hazy landscape, which was getting hazier with every sip Steve took, his eyes kept returning to the same clear focal point. Eddie Munson. He was just a little too inebriated to stop it from happening. He was also a little too inebriated to turn off that voice in his head that liked to say stuff like, Hey, that guy’s kinda cute, huh? and, Wonder what kissing him would be like. Normally, when he was sober, Steve could silence that voice the second it tried to whisper things like that to him. It wasn’t working quite so well tonight.

Steve didn’t know why his brain had latched onto Eddie right now. He had known the guy for years, and he had never looked at him like that before. At least, not until recently. A couple weeks ago, Steve had been aimlessly wandering around outside the school after class because he hadn’t wanted to go back home to aimlessly wander around his empty house. He had turned a corner and seen Eddie up against the brick wall with some guy, kissing him. Steve didn’t know who the other guy was, but he had recognized Eddie right away by his hair and that stupid denim vest he was always wearing. Steve had immediately turned and gone back the way he came.

The scene had evoked a lot of things in him that he hadn’t allowed himself to fully process. But somewhere swirling around in there was recognition, and attraction, and a sick sort of jealousy. Steve had slammed the lid on all of that. He had refused to revisit it until now, looking at Eddie across the throng, remembering. Eddie liked men. He was unashamed of it enough to be kissing another man in broad daylight in the relative open. Steve had no idea what that was like.

As much as his rational, sober brain tried to deny it, Steve had been coming to some conclusions about himself and his own attractions for over a year now. It had probably been there below the surface even longer, but it hadn’t really coalesced into a conscious realization until last fall when Tommy had shoved him up against a car and Steve had kind of liked it. Steve had buried that under about a dozen layers of denial and almost forgot about it until Billy fucking Hargrove rocked into town. Less than two months ago now, Billy had completely knocked him out, nearly killed him, and Steve had somehow been kind of into it. And he absolutely fucking hated the guy, but Steve still caught himself glancing over at him in the locker rooms after basketball sometimes. And then he felt like sticking his head in an oven.

Steve didn’t know what it was about him and total assholes. The fact that he was looking at Eddie now even made him wonder if the guy was actually a dick, since apparently that was Steve’s type.

You need to chill, Harrington, he told himself. He needed to sober up a little so he could stop thinking this way. Plus, he had to drive home later. So Steve switched to water and told himself that he wasn’t allowed to keep looking at Eddie Munson.

It wasn’t working.

That annoying voice in Steve’s head kept saying, But don’t his eyes look nice in this light? and, His hair looks soft. Bet it smells nice, too, and, Aren’t you curious what it would be like? That was the problem. Steve was curious. He didn’t know if kissing a boy would be like kissing a girl, and there was a part of him that he was usually better at shoving down that wanted to find out. Ever since he had seen Eddie kissing that guy, all of that curiosity had been funneled directly into a fixation with him. If Steve did want to kiss a boy, just to see what it was like, he had anecdotal evidence to suggest that Eddie might be an option.

Steve tried to ignore the impulse. He tried to tell himself not to be stupid, that he wasn’t drunk enough for this. He tried to make himself look anywhere else in the room except for at Eddie Munson’s lips. But despite his best efforts, that voice in Steve’s head kept chanting, Don’t you want to know, don’t you want to know, don’t want to know, don’t you want to—  

“Can I talk to you?”

He wasn’t quite aware of how he had gotten there, but Steve had crossed the room to Eddie, who was now blinking at him in surprise. Steve forced himself to look at Eddie’s eyes, not his lips. It was mostly working.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Eddie said, “What’s up, Harrington?”

“Not here,” Steve said. He turned and started heading for a hallway, glancing once behind him to make sure Eddie was following. Steve had spent enough time in this house to know where the secluded places were. He led Eddie to a back hallway that he knew no one would be going through. Steve leaned back against the wall and Eddie stood in front of him, looking confused.

“What is it, Harrington?” he asked.

Steve couldn’t make his tongue form words. He hadn’t planned this at all, hadn’t figured out what he was going to say. And he couldn’t stop fucking staring at Eddie’s mouth.

“Are you trying to buy weed, or?” Eddie asked.

“No,” Steve said. Unbidden, his hand lifted to Eddie’s waist, clutching the fabric of his sweater like a lifeline. Eddie glanced down at it, then back up at Steve.

“What are you doing?” Eddie sounded bewildered. Not upset. Steve couldn’t figure out how to do this. He didn’t know how to get over this hurdle. Eddie curled his fingers around Steve’s wrist that was still at his waist. “You gotta give me something to go on here, Harrington, I have no idea—”

“Can I kiss you?”

Eddie froze. “What?”

“Can I kiss you?” Steve repeated, staring into Eddie’s wide eyes, trying to convey just how badly he wanted this. Needed this.

Eddie’s face twitched slightly. “You’re serious,” he said, halfway between a statement and a question.

“Yeah,” Steve said. Eddie looked at him, tongue between his teeth as he studied Steve’s face. Steve felt like he was going to die.

“I—fuck, yeah, okay, why not?” Eddie finally said. Relief trickled from the top of Steve’s head all the way down to his toes. Eddie glanced back in the direction of the party, which was out of sight but still very much closeby. “Here?”

Steve pictured Tommy H or Carol or fucking Nancy rounding the corner and seeing him with Eddie. “Uh, no,” he said. He pushed off the wall and opened the nearest door, which he was pretty sure led to a guest bedroom. He couldn’t find the light switch but clicked a lamp on and saw that he was right. It was a bare room; a plain double bed, a bedside table, a dresser. Eddie followed him inside and Steve closed the door behind them. The doorknob had a lock so he turned it.

Steve looked at Eddie, who was watching him expectantly. Now that Steve was here, he didn’t know what to do. He was regretting his switch to water, wishing he still had the vodka, wishing he was drunker. As the pause stretched out, Eddie’s face softened.

“Hey,” he said, “Do you maybe wanna talk about it first?”

Steve took a deep breath. “Sure,” he said, “Can we sit?”

He sat on the edge of the bed, and Eddie sat next to him. It occurred to Steve that Eddie wasn’t actually wearing that stupid denim vest he was always wearing. He was in a sweater that Steve had thought was black at first, but that he now saw in the soft lamplight was actually a very dark burgundy. Steve took another breath. Why the fuck was he so nervous?

Eddie angled towards Steve. “So,” he said, “Why do you want to kiss me?”

Steve hadn’t been prepared for that question. He still hadn’t completely worked out the answer for himself. He drummed his fingers along his knee, considering.

“To see what it’s like,” he said finally.

Eddie nodded in understanding. “You want to know what kissing a guy is like.”

“I want to know what kissing you is like.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows. Shit. Steve hadn’t meant to say that. It had sort of just fallen out. And was it even true? Yeah, he realized, it was. It wasn’t just any random guy that Steve wanted to kiss; it was Eddie. Specifically.

“Me?” Eddie asked.

“I—don’t know,” Steve said. Shit shit shit. This was not going well at all.

“I, uh, okay,” Eddie said, shifting. “I’m, uh, flattered, but I—”

Steve dropped his face into his hands, groaning. “Will you just shut the fuck up, man?”

“Okay.” There was a pause. Steve felt the bed shift again and then felt a hand on his back, patting it awkwardly.

“You don’t have to do that,” Steve said into his hands. Eddie retracted his hand. Another pause.

“So, uh—” Eddie started.

“Listen,” Steve said, lifting his head to look at Eddie again. “I don’t fucking know, okay? I don’t really know what’s happening to me.”

“Okay,” Eddie said slowly. “Can I, like, help?”

“Don’t think so, man,” Steve said. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, this was a really stupid idea.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Eddie said, reaching out to put a hand lightly on Steve’s arm. “I mean, like, I’m still down. Just tell me what you want.”

“I… I want to kiss you.”

“So do it.”

Steve took a breath. He shifted closer to Eddie. He lifted a hand to Eddie’s face. He was stalling. Why the fuck was he stalling? Steve had kissed plenty of girls before without a second thought. But now that it was Eddie in front of him, he felt like he was moving through molasses.

What are you waiting for? that voice in Steve’s head asked. Then it took up its chant again: Don’t you want to know, don’t you want to know, don’t you want to know, don’t you—  

Steve leaned the rest of the way in and pressed his lips against Eddie’s. He tried to decide if it was any different than the girls he had kissed. Eddie’s mouth fell open against Steve’s, and he tasted like spiked punch. Under that was the taste of cigarettes and weed. That was definitely different than any girl Steve had kissed.

Eddie brought his hands up to Steve’s face, his fingertips brushing against Steve’s hair. Steve leaned deeper into Eddie, put his other hand on Eddie’s back to tug him closer. Eddie made a sound in the back of his throat and Steve gripped his hair. It was as soft as he had expected. Maybe softer.

Steve liked this. He really fucking liked this. Kissing Eddie somehow had him feeling the drunkest and the most clear-headed he had all night. It was kind of surreal.

Steve moved his hand down and slid it back up under Eddie’s shirt. His skin was hot as Steve traced the line of his spine. Steve let go of Eddie’s hair and put his other hand up Eddie’s shirt, dragging over his ribs.

“Steve,” Eddie murmured as Steve started kissing along his jaw and down his neck. Steve didn’t know what Eddie’s tone of voice meant. He didn’t want to decipher it, didn’t want to confront this, didn’t want to do anything other than press his lips and his teeth into Eddie’s skin.

Eddie shifted closer to Steve, tilted his head to give Steve more access to his neck. He had one hand in Steve’s hair, the fingers of his other hand digging into Steve’s shoulder. Steve brought both his hands to Eddie’s waist and re-angled them, pushing Eddie back onto the bed and moving over top of him.

“Steve,” Eddie said again.

Steve lifted his head to look at Eddie. “Is it okay that I’m doing this?” he asked, a little breathlessly.

“Yeah,” Eddie said, brushing his thumb over Steve’s cheek.  

Steve kissed him again, and God, it felt so good. Steve hadn’t enjoyed kissing anyone this much since Nancy. But as soon as he had that thought, he felt guilty and confused for thinking about Nancy. His mind shouldn’t have been on her while he had Eddie Munson under him.

Steve broke the kiss and tugged at the bottom of Eddie’s sweater, looking to Eddie for permission. Eddie nodded and lifted slightly off the mattress so Steve could pull the sweater off. Then Steve pulled off his own shirt and went back to kissing Eddie.

His skin felt like it was burning everywhere it touched Eddie’s. He ran a hand along Eddie’s side, over his chest, across his stomach. Eddie exhaled into his mouth as Steve rolled his hips down into Eddie’s. Eddie’s fingers were digging so deeply into Steve’s back that he wouldn’t be surprised if he had bruises later. But he liked the pain, liked how it connected him to Eddie.

An involuntary moan escaped Steve’s lips as Eddie raised his knee and pressed his thigh up between Steve’s legs. Steve was hard, and it was embarrassing because he couldn’t tell if Eddie was too through their jeans. He grinded his hips down again, the contact with Eddie’s leg making his head spin. Eddie made a sound deep in his throat and his own hips twitched up, which Steve took as a good sign. He reached behind him for one of Eddie’s hands and guided it back around to between his legs.

“Steve,” Eddie said, pulling his face away to look into Steve’s eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Steve said. He brought their lips together and moved his hand away as Eddie felt him through his jeans. He moaned into Eddie’s mouth as Eddie undid the button and zipper and slid his hand in, still over Steve’s underwear.

“Eddie, please,” he begged, absolutely shameless at this point.

“Impatient,” Eddie murmured.

“Fucking tease,” Steve said. Eddie laughed and then finally, finally, slid his hand under Steve’s waistband.

The cool metal of Eddie’s rings was jarring at first, then felt good. Steve’s hips rocked forward, moving of their own accord at the contact. This, Eddie touching him, was the first time in a long time that Steve felt right, felt like himself again. It was a goddamn miracle.

Before long, he could feel himself getting close. It was embarrassing, really, how quickly Eddie could get him to the brink. But he couldn’t finish yet, not before he’d even touched Eddie.

“Hold on,” Steve said, taking hold of Eddie’s wrist to still his hand. “I want to—Can I—?” Steve trailed a hand down Eddie’s abdomen, hovering over his belt buckle. Steve felt gratified now that he could see that Eddie was also hard.

Once Eddie nodded his consent, Steve undid the buckle. He pressed a kiss against Eddie’s throat, then his chest, his stomach, the patch of skin just above his jeans. Hands shaking a little, Steve undid Eddie’s pants and tugged them down.

“Fuck, Steve,” Eddie breathed as Steve pulled down his boxers. Steve had never actually done this before, not from this end, but he was pretty sure he understood the theory. And judging by the sound Eddie made when Steve put his mouth on him, he was doing it right.

It was sort of thrilling, actually, to be able to evoke those sounds out of Eddie. A string of curse words in between Steve’s name in between moans. Eddie’s hips were twitching up into Steve, and he had both his hands in Steve’s hair pulling almost hard enough to rip it out, and it all kind of hurt but it was also fucking exhilarating.

At some point, Eddie grabbed Steve and pulled him back up to his mouth. “Come with me,” he said, slipping his hand back into Steve’s boxers. Steve kissed Eddie, hard, teeth cutting into his lip. Eddie’s hips rocked up and Steve closed his hand around him.

After, Steve lifted himself off Eddie, rolling onto his back next to him. He stared at the ceiling, catching his breath. That was good, he told himself. That was really fucking good. He couldn’t figure out why he kind of felt like crying.

In his peripheral, he saw Eddie look at him. Steve looked back. “I’m gonna go wash my rings,” Eddie said.

Steve watched from his back, wordless, as Eddie stood, zipped his pants back up, redid his belt, and pulled his sweater back on. He crossed to the door and opened it a crack, glancing out. He must have determined that the coast was clear, because then he opened it all the way and stepped out. Eddie gave Steve a wave over his shoulder as he pulled the door shut behind him.

Steve put his hands over his face. What the fuck just happened? What the fuck had he done? He felt his chest get tight, felt his shoulders shake. And then he just started sobbing.

#rip all of the art i drew for this fic that got lost #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #ao3 #fic rec #copying and pasting from ao3 add random spaces between some of the words and idk how to fix it im sorry

[11byers]

Talk to us girl! What else do you have to say about El's arcs through the seasons and motherly love? I want to hear THIS content, f*ck all the ship wars!!

i’m so sorry this took actual months to reply to, i’m not gonna get into why just.... hi anon, ty for your patience 😭 tbh i'm not sure if i'm saying anything new, but this is almost 3k words long so hopefully i'm offering something

a few things to note before i delve into everything, bc this is a gendered topic:

el identifies w femininity, even after being raised in a lab w just a number as a name, essentially raised w/o any real gender constructs set in place, or at least not enough to understand gender fundamentally. but she identifies w femininity, as seen in the way she gravitates to feminine symbols in her surroundings. and it's interesting how her relationships w female characters are always given a bit of attention

the way fathers are portrayed on this show is... notable. we've got el's father figure brenner, as well as kali's relationship w brenner, steve's dad is apparently an asshole, ted is ted (not the worst but isn't much anyways), billy's dad been abusive his whole stay, lonnie is a danger to society, and hopper, although arguably redeemable and has been given more attention since he's a central character…… hasn't been the best all the way through. lucas' dad was p alright and dustin……… doesn't have one 🙃

meanwhile we got joyce who's the best parent in this entire show PERIOD absolutely beautiful amazing talented show-stopping etc etc, there's karen who almost slept w a minor but made a last minute decision not to (karen is a work in progress and i have a lot of thoughts about her i'm not gonna get into), dustin's mom is cute (a bit dopey but cute), lucas' mom is also cute, billy's mom is practically portrayed as an angel, and terry……… poor poor terry.

anyways there's a very clear difference.

st1

the topic of el and motherhood doesn’t really get tackled until st2, but i'm gonna go through this season by season. bc, spoiler alert, i'm fairly certain joyce will be el's mother/mother figure once the show's wrapped up. we can even say that's already happened after st3's ending, but ofc we're still in need of more personal relationship development.

basically, i believe el's relationship w motherhood, and her idea of mothers has a lot to do w joyce.

joyce is essentially el's "standard" (for lack of a better term) for what a mother is supposed to be.

someone might have to correct me on this, but i like to think that joyce is the first example of motherly love that el truly experiences (other than briefly seeing terry in the lab). not even when they first meet tho, but when the boys sneak el into the school and she "channels" will through the p.a. system.

when she hears joyce trying to comfort will and tell him to hide (which in itself messes me up bc depending on your take on the demogorgon, that shit is heart wrenching), i can only imagine what el might be thinking. what will has in joyce is completely different from what el has in brenner 😭

el's (as well as the show's tbh) view of fathers are very different from her view of mothers. fathers are demanding, ruthless, and cold. but she sees joyce, and she thinks mothers are passionate, caring, and protective, and all of that translates through a p.a. system when el hears joyce's desperation. i'm sure el sees a lot of herself in will - his fear and desperation, his terror of being in the upside down, describing it as cold and dark, just like the chamber brenner locks her in, or even the void, the water tank, her own room even - which only makes joyce's impression on her so much stronger.

and in ep7 'the bathtub' when el gets to have a one-on-one w joyce, there are certain points in that scene that parallel her and brenner, and i think that only hammers home el's idea of what mothers are and what they should be.

joyce promises her a presence. joyce is able to be there for her, comfort her, even when el is in a place like the void, that's just emptiness and darkness all around. she hears joyce's voice, and for once she's not alone. and it's nice to think she's w joyce and will in these moments, when she's in castle byers and she can act as a connection to will and joyce (a-and jonathan, sorry i don't really mention him throughout this piece, i didn't even expect to mention will this much, but jon's important too, we love a parental big brother).

it's shown how scared el can be moment to moment. the second will fades from her, she cries for him and curls up into a ball, and once she's out of the upside she latches onto joyce - and gosh the dependability!! joyce is there for her just like she promised.

this makes el meeting her own mother fuking heartbreaking.

st2

this idea of a mother sticks w el this whole time, and her idea of fathers doesn't get any better. i don't think el even pictures hopper as any kind of father figure, definitely not yet, but as a "friend," hence her shouting at him "friends don't lie". it's not until they're fighting and she shouts "you are like papa!" that it all comes full fuking circle!!

(it's the way hopper leaves her alone for hours, like how brenner isolates her in a dark chamber. it’s how in both instances, she’s still isolated from society. it's the way hopper sets rules for her that don’t allow to act instinctively on her own. it's him telling her "you wanna go back in the lab? i can make that happen." it's damaging shit. it's triggering.)

then el finds out that hopper lies to her again, but this time it's about her mother, which……..

that scene of her breaking down, crying for her mama, is so sad. idk what else to say, everything that happens from this point on is sad!!!!!!! 

fast forward to el reaching terry and becky's house. i can't even imagine what el feels when she meets her mom for the first time……… and terry is in the state that she's in. barely responsive.

but i can say how el's guilt is continuously brought up time and time again, bc when she sees terry's memories and sees how determined terry was to get her back, the lengths she went through - it's all just like joyce. her expectations of a mother stays intact.

only, unlike joyce and will, things don't work out in the end for el and terry. terry suffers for trying to get el back. and it wouldn’t be surprising if that fed into el’s guilt.

(also, this has bothered me ever since first watch, but terry is portrayed w a bit of hostility when el returns. when el meets her in the void, and she's says she's home, terry tells her "no" and grabs her arm, triggering terry's memories. it's lead me to ask myself if terry holds resentment for el, and for the price terry had to pay....... or maybe it was just for dramatic scary horror, i’m not entirely sure.)

there's this moment right after el comes out of the void and back into reality, and becky tries to comfort her. bc of terry's unavailability, it's a possibility that becky could've been the mother figure that el needed. but the awkwardness in this moment - in how terry tries to comfort el, but el is still visibly shook and doesn't hug back, unlike her moment w joyce in st1, when el practically clings to her - kinda foreshadows how things just aren't gonna work out so ideally.

this next bit regarding el avenging terry may or may not be a lil "out there" but i think it's interesting to think about.

el views finding kali as something terry wants her to do. and kali echoes that sentiment. kali essentially acts as this one last tether el has to terry, which may be why she thinks of kail as a sister.

i have a lot of thoughts about el's self worth, her morality, her means of protecting others no matter what she suffers. i’m not about to go on a tangent, but just to get the main idea out there: el straddles a line between viewing herself as a monster and viewing herself as a protector, and anything outside of that feels is out of her reach.

what kali gives her is a chance to sorta explore that monstrous side of herself - the side that is willing to hurt others, even when there's no one in immediate danger to protect.

but kali is her last tether to her mother. and what kali is asking her to do clashes w what she pictures a mother is meant to do. i'm not saying kali is some kind of mother figure, nor is that really the bigger picture. but finding kali is something terry "told" her to do. it all plays a part in the scene when they confront the man that followed brenner's orders, ray carrell.

would terry actually want this for el?

el sees a photo of that ray and his daughters, and reminds herself of what she wants, what she yearns for, and what she's been deprived of. the reason why she feels so much pain, and is having so much trouble healing. and she chooses to protect the children - to prioritize the children - instead of giving in to the monster inside of her planted by brenner.

kali has different values. she's chosen a different path for herself. we're never really sure what kali knows about her own past, who she's met in her life, but we do know that she's lost people, and she doesn't have much of a connection to terry despite el considering her a sister.

and that comes full circle when kali makes el see brenner.

the words brenner uses here are technically just kali's words, since she told el the same things and brenner in this scene is just an image created by kali. but that's what makes this scene so brilliant. this scene is kali talking to el, but she’s masked as brenner.

brenner tells people they're sick. kali still believes she's sick. kali hasn't healed despite claiming to - instead she's become a mirror to brenner.

this is el's view of fatherhood: demanding, ruthless, and cold. brenner hurt el, and bc of all that hardship, el is in danger of becoming a mirror to brenner. and unfortunately, this is what kali has succumbed to. kali has failed to realize the monster she's so convinced that she is, is a concept completely fabricated by brenner. 

this is what leads el back to her friends. just like how terry did everything in her power to save el and suffered devastating consequences, el returns to her friends to wholeheartedly put herself in that very position.

it's so touching to see el and joyce hug. although, joyce is still "will's mom" to el (she even refers to her as such in st3). but she still holds that connection to the byers family. el still prioritizes will's safety, just as she prioritized the kids back in chicago.

now to briefly cover what el and hopper's reconciliation means for this topic - it's a very vulnerable scene. one of the most vulnerable scenes in the entire show. el and hopper allow themselves to understand and relate to each other, through guilt and trauma and emotion, and bc of the profound impact of this conversation, hopper is…… enough. it’s still uncertain that el considers hopper as a father figure, but at this point she lost her mother, and she lost kali, and hopper lost sarah. they have each other though. and it gives both of them the chance to finally begin to heal.

el channels the anger she feels being deprived of a mother to close the gate. but the gate's essentially a scar still struggling to heal. 

st3

it may be a mystery to no one that i'm not a big fan of st3, and there's not a lot to talk about in terms of el and joyce. couple notes about them tho, before we get into the real shit that happened this season

hopper asks if joyce could talk to el and mike for him, which she turns down, so they're deliberately being kept apart by the writers (i also feel like we have v limited knowledge of what joyce thinks of el, so she might be keeping her distance for reasons i'm not really sure of yet).

it's cute to think about how hopper's letter isn't just hopper's letter, but it's joyce's letter to el as well. el just doesn't know it.

let's talk about billy's mom.

el's relationships w female characters on this show always seem to be given a lil extra layer. and el's immediate draw towards billy's mom is so charming to watch. she calls her "pretty" and feels as if she's is looking at her, all before she even finds out who the woman is.

once again, the standard for motherhood on this show is enforced by billy's mom and her literal angel-like presence. she's good to billy, she allows him the freedom of doing what he loves, but not before warning him that dad might get mad!! great!!

billy goes through very similar phases that el went through

his father is abusive, and hurts both billy and the mother

billy loses his mom

the lack of proximity to his mom eventually leads him to mirror the toxicity of his father

the moments that el seems to recognize rather quickly are when billy's dad is being abusive, billy desperately wanting his mom to come home, and billy quickly succumbing to toxicity.

we've explored this pattern in previous seasons, so it's pretty easy to piece together, even within a quick montage.

so when el has her moment w billy, reminding him of his mom, it's so incredibly powerful. when you think about how much this moment upon, after everything that happened in the previous 2 seasons, it just hits.

just as we've discussed how motherhood throughout the show has meant prioritizing the safety of the ones you care about and protecting them against all odds, billy protects el from the mind flayer to the point of self sacrifice.

(and while i may not agree that it completely works just bc of how i feel about billy as a character, it works to tie in all these themes really well. also i'm sure there's other kinds of readings you can do on this scene, i even thought about this scene completely differently a couple months back but ANYWAYS-)

honestly, the way el comforts max in this scene...... feels kinda motherly. there's definitely something to be said about how el's not always treated as just a child - despite still learning speech, she's still been forced to grow up in other aspects of herself, and she constantly puts herself in a position to protect others. but this scene w el and max is sweet, and it's nice that max has el for that moment before el eventually moves away w the byers.

and ofc, el loses hopper this season, which in her mind leaves her parentless. joyce is there regardless (tho joyce taking over for hopper and watching over el does kinda happen in a "no explanation needed" kinda way, and i'm not really sure how i feel about that).

joyce and el have still quite a ways to go before really developing the mother-daughter relationship that feels inevitable at this point. and after hopper's death, the way this season ended, and the way joyce and el interact, there's a bit of uncertainty as to how their relationship will develop. even after the 3 month jump, they come off as rather distant from each other.

nut yeah, i'm excited for st4. after engaging in all the ship wars, and having my own gripes w how the duffers write romance, i think i'm starting to fall back in love w this show. writing this has definitely made me feel happier about the show, and made me feel excited about certain aspects of the show that might've been in the back of my mind, but now it's all at the forefront.

i really do love el as a character, and joyce might be a very close second, if not at the same level as el. their stories have been leading towards each other since the beginning and i can't wait until we get the payoff.

i hope someone reads this lol. again i’m sorry this took months......... depression uh anon, i hope this is what you wanted 😂 and if anyone feels compelled to add on feel free to do so 😊………. hopefully it's positive lol

#hopefully this ends up in the tags bc wow this is long and i wanna know other peoples thoughts!! #stranger things #st meta #el hopper #joyce byers #kali #op tag #anonymous

[darylandbethfanforever9]

Devil’s Backbone

Devil’s Backbone

Chapter 7 

Story Rating: Explicit, 18+

Warnings: Smut, violence, past flashbacks of sexual assault, and descriptions of torture. Racial hate, and forced abortion. Not Tony Stark friendly.

Relationships: Bucky/OC, Steve/Natasha, Billy/Wanda/Grant, past Clint/Laura, and Sam/Sharon. Eventual Clint/Yelena, and rank/Karen.

Summary: In the aftermath of the Blip, Bucky struggled to find his place among the world and the Avengers. However, when he is sent on a mission to Madripoor to investigate a young woman, he starts to realize that maybe his past isn’t too far behind him. Co-Written with WalkingPotterGirl14.

Natasha wanted things to go back to how they were with Steve before the Accords and before her miscarriage. There was a part of her that felt like she was betraying Alexei, Melina, and Yelena by loving Steve, but the other side wanted to retire from the spy life. Wanted to retire from everything. She was tired of the jobs, of keeping secrets from the people she considered family. She didn't even hate Bucky or resent him anymore, unlike Alexei, Yelena, and Melina. She just wanted Steve and the rest of this to go away. She wanted life to feel remotely normal again. She didn't want to lie anymore to any of them. Everyone had been lied too so much. She was only added onto the drama. Natasha ran herself a bath, pouring in her jasmine scented bubble bath, mixing it with the water. She sighed tiredly, trying to settle into the water, when she felt her phone vibrate. As she looked at it, she saw it was a text message from Melina. 'I need to talk to you, Alexei and Yelena tomorrow in Zagreb, Croatia urgently. It's about her!' The text message said cryptically. Natasha felt a sense of dread wash over her at the text. 'I'll need to make an excuse to Steve, Tony, and the others first,' she texted quickly. Melina replied four minutes later. 'We are your family, Natalia, not them!' Melina had messaged back furiously. Natasha closed her in frustration, breaking down in tears at her dilemma.

"Whoever hired that team to assassinate the mystery girl really wants her dead. Tell Barnes and Carter to get a blood sample from her so we can test it for DNA. Maybe she's in the international database," Fury recommended sternly. Everyone nodded but Tony shook his head. "We need to send someone else to watch over Barnes, Fury. I personally believe that he's compromised. His judgement is skewed because he's convinced that this girl might be the dead girl from the files. Who knows what he might have done with her if she was in the Red Room," Tony insisted harshly, causing most of the people to look at him in disapproval. "We can't send Belova or Romanoff? They've been sent on a mission in Zagreb, Croatia to track down a few remaining Flag Smashers. Who else can we send?" Grant asked quietly, his face bruised from his fight with a Flag Smasher during a mission in London, Great Britain. "Send in Steve. He's become really good at working undercover and Bucky trusts him," Sam suggested diplomatically. It couldn't be him, seeing as the Smiling Tiger was in Madripoor. Ross had an expression of disdain, while Tony was cold but grudgingly agreed to the arrangement. "Try not to mess up, Capsicle," Tony said coldly, before walking out of the conference room. Steve sighs a bit before nodding. "I can do that. I'm sure Bucky hasn't gotten super far. I could help him out together."

Morgan Stark was determined to make her daddy happy. He'd been sad ever since Captain America's best friend, Bucky Barnes, had been pardoned by the government and found not guilty at his trial. Her dad had gone into a rage, shouting that Barnes was a monster and anyone on Steve's side was to blame for Thanos winning. So she was going to somehow make him smile again. She was going to build an AI, like he did. She already had a name picked out for him as well. Her dad had explained to her that he had created Ultron to protect the world. Maybe she could do that again, and somehow bring him back to make not only her daddy happy but the world happy. All she knew was that she was tired of hearing him fighting all the time with the Avengers and she wanted to somehow change that. Maybe a new Ultron could do that? She had found his memory core not that long ago. Maybe if she followed his blueprints from years ago…she could, do it? She didn't want any more arguing or yelling…all she wanted was for this to end. So that was that. She was going to do it. One way or another. Daddy had a lab always near him. It would be the perfect time to do it. Maybe they could finally figure out how to end all the fighting. Maybe she'll be the cause of it. Daddy would be happy. They would see they were wrong about him. Somehow.

When Steve had arrived in Madripoor, it looked the same as it always had from before, with bright lights and big neon signs drawing in anyone from a mile away. However, his eyes were more focused on trying to get to Bucky's place. He had talked with Sharon about where to go and she had directed him willingly, leading him towards midtown where a lot of the higher ups in the crime world lived. It was also where the mystery woman lived, apparently. Hopefully they would be able to get through to this quickly. He had knocked on the door, and for a moment there was silence. He had been expecting that, considering Bucky was most certainly not expecting anyone to come by and greet him. But he slowly opened the door, and when he saw it was Steve his eyes widened.

"Where the hell did you come from?" He asks as he lets him in, giving him an embrace. When Steve stepped back, he closes the door behind him, turning to Bucky. "Lot has happened at the base while you were gone," Steve states with a raised brow. "I'm not longer in charge of the Avengers. Ross gave it to Tony." Bucky's brow raises. "You're serious?" "He did. They were upset about our choice in operation of sending you here." Bucky lets out a long sigh, going to sit on the couch at that. "We defended you the best we could, but at the end of the day, they had the last call. Sam suggested I come over here to fill out their needs." Bucky's brow raises once more. "Which are?" "Keep an eye on you." Bucky feels himself groan before standing. "How the hell am I ever going to be an Avenger in their eyes?" He asks, his voice rising a bit in anger. "Everything I do now, even after all the amends and everything I've done, it'll never work…all I want is to prove myself. I know I'm a piece of shit but…I'm fucking trying." "I know you are, Buck," Steve says gently, letting his hands rest on the man's shoulders. "I know you are. And trust me, we all see it. There are some that are just stuck in their ways that I don't believe are going to change soon. Those are the ones that, when they do inevitably open their eyes, they'll see the most change in you." Bucky snorts a bit. "That one of your little political speeches?" he asks. "No," Steve answers, shaking his head. "Trust me, I highly doubt I'm going to be doing much more than you are here. If anything, while I know how to stay undercover, if I get recognized here, it's game over." He gestures to you. "At least with you, not a lot of people know your face. Even this girl doesn't." He glances over at Bucky's hands and notices there seemed to be dried blood on it. "Speaking of that…" Bucky glances down at his hand and feels his cheeks turn red. "It's not on me, I swear – Maria wanted to interrogate the men that came, and she ended up killing them. Turns out they were sent by a woman named Melina Vostokoff. She wants to end the woman for some reason." "Well, we knew about the attack but your…hands?" Bucky sighs a bit. "I went over to help her a couple of days ago after she was attacked. Try and get more info on her. I guess I just didn't clean off all the blood afterwards." He looks up at Steve and shakes his head. "She is a mystery woman…definitely likes to keep her identity a secret." Steve nods before going to sit down next to him. "I want to ask you a question, and just respond the best you can." Bucky nods. "Are you sure that you don't know her from back then?" Bucky sighs, swallowing a bit. "I…feel like I do." He glances back at Steve. "If you saw the way she moves, and what she had – I mean, she's like a carbon copy of Nat but she's ruthless. She even had some of the same weapons. She had to be trained in Red Room…but I can't recall her for the life of me. That's why I'm trying so hard to figure out if she's truly Ana or not. Maria seems like a reasonable name but…don't know." Steve nods quietly. "Didn't you and Nat have a thing back when you were there?" Bucky quietly nods. He didn't like to think about it often. There was so much pain involved in everything there. "Do you think you might have known this girl like that?" "I genuinely can't remember," Bucky answers honestly, glancing at him. "At this point, all I'm looking for is for some way to figure out if she's truly who she says she is. Maybe after I can search more." Steve sighs but nods. "We got a lot of work ahead of us, then."

Natasha had waited patiently, her arms crossed against her chest with Yelena. It seemed it would take hours for Melina and Alexei to arrive, but when they did, it felt like ages. "You two are worse on time than I am, and that's say something," Yelena mutters. "Quiet, you two," Melina states, looking between them. "We have a serious problem, and I believe you two know what it is."

Natasha and Yelena exchange an uneasy glance, as they look at Alexei who thankfully didn't know what was going on. If he found out Melina had been lying to him for all these years then things would get bloody. "Why did you call me here, Melina?" Alexei asked suspiciously. He hadn't aged well, and it was clearly showing. Despite having the Super-Soldier, it was a far weaker version than the one Bucky and Steve had running through their veins. The woman ignored him as she drank from her glass of red wine, her eyes cold and emotionless. Sometimes Natasha wondered if the woman did genuinely care about her and Yelena, like Alexei did, or if she was just using them. "I believe that despite our best efforts to purge the Red Room, it still exists. Over in Madripoor, a young woman killed the Power Broker, before taking over the city. She's killed several people who tried to break the new rules she implemented as some shot way of a moral code. I refused to acknowledge the bitch, and I tried to kill her…but she defeated me," she said sourly, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "What did you do, Melina?" Natasha asked warningly, praying that the woman hadn't compromised Bucky. If she had, then Steve would go ballistic and raise hell if Bucky were hurt. Not to mention the others. Her surrogate mother regarded her with a cold expression that would have terrified anyone else. But she wasn't frightened of her anymore, not after seeing what she was afraid of. "I hired a death squadron to kill the little whore. She won't survive against them," Melina said confidently, causing Natasha to stare at the woman in shock, before her gaze breaks. Fuck. She had enough and was about to leave, when Melina grabbed her right wrist in a tight grip. "Remember where your true loyalties are, Natasha. I don't want you to end up like her…who chose HIM over us," Melina said meaningfully, her grip tight. Natasha nodded coldly, ripping her arm away and started walking back to her car, refusing to be intimidated. 'What have I done, god?' She thought bitterly, climbing into her car, and turning on the heating.

Ana had cleaned up her apartment after she disposed of the bodies. She had dumped Diego's body in Low Town, knowing that someone would post it on the internet. The other three remaining bodies had been dealt with. She hated the Red Room and what they had done to her. but at the very least the teachers knew how to teach all of them in how to dispose of a corpse after killing the individual. She used a luminal torch to see if any bloodstains remained, relieved when she didn't see any. Despite being near people, she desperately wanted a few furry companions. She needed something to keep her company, other than the people she would meet. She wasn't naïve. Ana knew that they would be targets but she wouldn't let anyone hurt them. She was going to ask X-Con Security Consultants if they would be willing to install security at her house. She decided to take a shower and rest up for the night. She wasn't taking any chances now, considering that Melina had tried to kill her twice now. The older woman still thought she was the same, useless, naive, and helpless little girl all those years ago. She sighed heavily as she trudged upstairs, taking off her bloody, filthy clothes and threw them on the floor. There was no salvaging them. She'd burn the clothes tomorrow. She stepped into the en suite bathroom, turning on the hot water, as she looked at herself in the full body mirror. Scars decorated her body, mainly on her chest, her right arm and some were on her back, and left leg.

Bullet wounds, knife wounds and there was a faded scar on her stomach. She touched it hesitantly, feeling a strange sense of heartache and loss for no apparent reason.

Bucky had gone into the Brass Monkey club, taking Steve with him as they saw Sharon was there. She gestured for them to join her, as they went to a table at the back, where they wouldn't be disturbed. "So, I did some asking around and apparently the woman calling herself Maria Kapitonova is using another woman's name. This is the real Maria Kapitonova. And she's been dead for the last six years, Bucky and Steve." Sharon explained grimly, showing them a photo of a young woman with red hair, brown eyes, and a scar on her throat. Bucky had known that the woman was using a false identity, but this just proved it. Deep down, he knew that she closely resembled Anastasia. Maybe they were related? "So, she's using the identity of a dead woman whose been dead for the last six years. What else have you got, Sharon?" Steve asked intrigued. They were finally getting a fresh lead. "Yeah, I was hoping you'd ask me that question. I did some digging, and Fury emailed me these files that he and Hill found at an abandoned HYDRA base in Voronezh, Voronezh Oblast. Turns out, HYDRA and the Red Room were both working closely together on a project," she said meaningfully. "Something we should talk about elsewhere." Bucky and Steve got her point and left with her to go to her house, leaving behind the bar. Once they arrived, Sharon continued from where she left off, and handed them copies of the files, closing the door behind her. "The Red Room and HYDRA discovered that the girls at the Red Room who had the Super-Soldier serum were far more able to carry a child of the Winter Soldiers. There are lists of names who were chosen for the program. The project began in the 1990′s, and a lot of the pregnancies resulted in the women dying from complications due to the babies developing quicker than a normal baby," Sharon explained gravely as Bucky read the file. He recognized a few of the names, but felt his blood run cold when his eyes drifted to two familiar names. 'Red Guardian and Black Widow - viable pregnancy. Scans confirm that Vostokoff is carrying twin daughters. No complications detected so far into the pregnancy. Vostokoff has confirmed that she has suffered no cramping, or any sign of miscarriage.' "Holy shit, Steve. What if Alexei and Melina were the parents of Anastasia and her twin sister?" He asked quietly. Steve's expression was of grimness and concern. "That's more than likely, but Natasha never mentioned that Alexei and Melina had kids," Steve said hesitantly. Bucky knew the man didn't want to think Natasha had lied to him again. "There's more. On the second page, according to Dr Lyudmila Kudrin, only three women survived carrying the pregnancies to full term. Vostokoff ended up giving birth on June 18, 1995. It says here that she delivered two twin girls," Sharon said wearily, causing Bucky to frown. Bucky read more of the file, feeling his stomach roll in disgust, seeing that the project had been a partial success. They had put the project on hold in order to try and create more of the Super-Soldier Serum. He felt a cold sensation run down his spine, as he thought of Ana then. Maybe she was Alexei and Melina's daughter…possibly.

When the rest of the team had heard back later on what Sharon had discovered regarding the mystery woman, that had sent them on a trip to try and figure out who exactly her family was. Having Sharon reveal that there was actually a twin sister to the girl was an amazing lead. So, one of the Avengers took it into her own hands once she heard that – namely, Wanda. She knew what it was like to lose a twin, and if the young woman that they were looking after really did lose one, there was most likely a hole there that would never be filled. The least she could do is find out if they were right.

After that, they had searched all over the internet, from typical shit to the dark web, trying to see if they could find some sort of league to get them in the right direction. And soon, it wasn't long before they discovered something. The last name Liukin was associated with a Russian cemetery. Instantly, Wanda had assembled the team to fly to where it was, Fury agreeing to it nonetheless considering that it was for a mission. Thankfully the quinjet was quick enough to get them there a little faster than the normal airtime. Even so, arriving had Wanda shaking to see if this was real. They had showed up to the cemetery, stepping in and searching for her name. And it wasn't long before they did find it. Wanda had stood in front of it for a moment, feeling Clint let a hand rest against her shoulder. 'Angelina Aleksandrovna Liukin.' This was it. This was the twin. They were right. They had looked all over to see if there was even a possibility of another Liukin, but funnily, there were none under the names they were looking for. It was mainly strong Russian names that had been attached to it. "I can't believe it," she whispers, looking down at the grave, kneeling down. "There's a lot more to this woman than we realize…she was buried so deep." Clint sighs softly before nodding. "Sometimes that's the case with these things, but…this is good in a way." Wanda looks up to him. "Now that we know for sure that she exists, we have a DNA match-up. She is most likely in the International Data Base if she was dead. We were able to find her originally. If we can somehow get a blood sample from Maria, we can see if she's really Ana or not." Wanda stands, pulling her jacket around her tightly. It was still freezing cold here. "Don't you think that's a bit…sketchy? I mean both Steve and Bucky are there. I don't know how they're going to just get a blood sample off of her." "I'm sure they can figure it out," Clint assures. "We have two of the best super-soldiers in the world. They're not that dumb." "They're also not that smart," Wanda mutters. "True," Clint chuckles before helping her stand. "Come on, let's take some pictures and get this to Fury."

As had been expected, they had gotten the proof to Fury as quickly as possible of the life of Angelina. And as they had expected, Fury had requested to Bucky not that long after to somehow get a blood sample from the mystery woman. To which both Bucky and Steve had sat down for hours, trying to figure out the best way to do so. Because who can just…do that? Eventually, though, they had settled on something that might spurt up one. "How about you just take her out on a date?" Bucky's brow raises in response. "You're serious?" "Yeah, why not? I mean, there's a high probability that you'll most likely get attacked because she has so many bounty's out for her right now. It's the best option you have that's legal in our eyes." He shrugs a bit. "Or you can just attack her mysteriously." "No," Bucky instantly states. His quick response surprised Steve a bit. "I mean, I…I don't want to hurt her more than she's already been hurt. You can tell from a mile away that she has gone through some shit." "Okay…don't worry, we won't do that," Steve reassures him, rubbing his back. "But we still need to get that sample, one way or another…I believe you'll be able to do it" Bucky sighs a bit before glancing up at him. "I haven't been on a date since the 1940′s." Steve snickers. "I think you'll be fine."

After their conversation, it wasn't long before Bucky had asked Maria to come with him on a date, something he had surprisingly been quite nervous to do. Again, it had been so long since he had done something like this, but he knew that it was needed for what they were planning on doing. And she had agreed after a little bit, deciding that they would head out to a smaller restaurant in Madripoor, one that wouldn't attract so much attention. When he had come to pick her up at her apartment, he had waited downstairs for her to come. When she arrived, he felt his mouth drop slightly. You know, it was getting really damn hard to do this mission when the subject was so goddamn gorgeous.

#bucky barnes fanfiction #dark!bucky barnes x reader #dark bucky barnes/oc #dark bucky barnes #steve rogers/natasha romanoff

[mediocre--writing]

Imagine: Billy's twin sister who is the only one he doesn't act like a asshole with. Hers behavior is pretty much like her brother's one, she is bossy and often an asshole but it's a cover because she goes through the same shit of Billy

Bonus: she help Billy and Steve to become a thing, with Robin's help

Bonus 2: she fell in love with Robin

oh god thank you for bringing up billy with a bio sister. it’s one of my favorite things and i could ramble on for like years about it

anyway...

my hc is that if billy had a twin her name would be beatrice and they��d either call her bee or trix

even if she is very very similar to billy, i see her as a wall between max and billy. she understands that billy takes things to far but she also sees why he takes them as far as he does

she has an air of cool around her but she doesn’t try quite as hard as billy

she looks exactly like their mother: same curly hair that falls beautifully down her back, same glimmering blue eyes, same build and posture, same kind soul and same spitfire attitude.

bee and billy are both athletic. i see her as maybe doing track or soccer, so she as a kind of lean build but is still equally as muscular.

they both HATEEEE neil.

i see her as being a daddy’s girl when she was young. like he loved giving her cute toys and buying her sweet outfits and he’s a great dad to her.

but once they get older, bee notices that neil is so much harsher on billy and her mom so she starts rejecting his affection, which then makes him reject her.

bee adapts to a personality more like billy’s because she’s sick of neil.

the first time neil hit bee was a week after their mom left and she asked where she was.

she was no longer a daddy’s girl after that day

when they move to hawkins, bee and billy are equally pissed at max

(also i think the reason they left cali was because max saw billy with a boy and accidentally/maybe on purpose told neil about it, hence the resentment between max and billy)

but while billy was openly mean to max, bee was more subtle about it

(ex: knowing that max only drinks orange juice in the morning and taking the last of it and drinking it as she walks into the kitchen)

bee doesn’t like to drive. she has a drivers license but she just doesn’t care to drive much, so they just drive with billy.

it’s also a tactic so that billy doesn’t drive AS recklessly as usual because he wouldn’t want to crash with her in the car.

billy is the only person allowed to call her trix. her mom used to call her that and she can’t handle anyone else but billy doing it.

max doesn’t like either twin, but she prefers bee over billy.

bee is also one of the only people who isn’t scared of billy, even on his worst days, because she gets it.

she’s gotten into a multitude of fights and arguments before and can hold her own but she understands billy’s actions

both of them cannot stand when people are behind them. they always sit in the back of the classroom and have their backs to the wall so there’s no surprises. the only time they relax that rule is at parties, and even then, they’re still cautious

they always look out for each other in an aggressive way.

(ex: billy saying “wow you look sad and desperate” before cuddling next to her on the couch when nobody’s around)

after the halloween situation, with billy teasing steve, bee makes sure to tease him about his very not-subtle crush on the brunette

and on the day that max disappears and billy has to go look for her, bee hears his body hit the wall before he leaves, since their walls meet each other.

when billy comes back, without max, sluggish and bruised, neil lays into him for about half an hour before there’s a knock at the door.

bees been hiding in her room, peaking out every once and a while. (her and billy have made the agreement that if one of them is in trouble, the other should stay out of it, because they’ve learned from experience that if one of them jumps in to help the other, it only gets worse)

but max is at the door with the police chief, for some reason.

the chief explains that his daughter and max had been hanging out together and lost track of time.

neil smiled nicely and let max in before shutting the door on the chief.

but hopper saw the teenager slumped against the wall, much bloodier than the kids had said he was after the fight was steve, and the teenage girl sheepishly peaking through her door.

billy and bee argue after she finds out what happened. even if he was mad, he shouldn’t have attacked a middle schooler. that was just fucked up.

they got over it quick because billy apologized to steve and lucas, neither really accepted the apology but it was there.

over the rest of the year, billy and steve grow into friends (ish) and bee makes the girls varsity soccer team and makes some of the best friends she’s had in a while.

including one of her favorite teammates, robin buckley

bee and robin start secretly dating after a night of smoking weed at robins house. (her dad is super chill and pretended that it was nothing out of the ordinary. or maybe robin did this pretty often)

but they’re happy and the only person who knows is billy. robin was reluctant to let him know, but they gave a secret for a secret and they were just a little group ‘o gays.

robin ended up really liking billy after a day spent getting to know each other at a diner.

as robin sat across from the twins, she learned that they were basically the same person and were both excruciatingly annoying. but they were fun

when the twins got jobs at the pool and robin started working with steve at scoops ahoy, there was a lot of trading and flirting.

a free day at the pool in exchange for free ice cream (and an excuse for either twin to make eyes at either sailor)

after the starcourt thing, bee takes it really hard when she thinks billy’s dead, but he’s alive (because i said so) and her and max (and sometimes robin and steve) spend a whole lot of time in the hospital with him.

he gets discharged after like two or three months and his body is stable enough to walk on his own.

bee and billy, now 18 as of july 25, have moved out of the hargrove/mayfield house and are staying in steve’s too big house that his parents visit less and less each year.

robin is the person to give steve a push into admitting he’s bisexual and has feelings for billy hargrove

robin tells him about her and bee.

(steve makes a stupid joke about birds and bees which makes robin hit him)

but steve makes a move on billy one day when steve’s driving him home from physical therapy and they stopped for lunch (because billy lost a ton of weight from months in the hospital and his appetite is larger than before)

but they share a milkshake in a corner booth and are all blushing and sweet smiles and once they tell the girls, robin starts grumbling and hands a haughty looking bee $20.

-

i could write more so if you want it just ask, i have so many more ideas for this

#stranger things #billy hargrove #harringrove #steve harrington #robin buckley #robin buckley x of #pre relationship harringrove #steve x billy #billy x steve #mediocre—writing #mw harringrove #billy and bee

[shleepys]

AYYYY I hope you all were safe over the holidays and continue to stay safe over these next few months! Right now my state is dealing with record high covid numbers and a bunch of snow, might be different for you guys but hey, even though we're kicking off the start of a new year we still have to be aware of what's been going on and continue to push through it. But yeah!

We can finally reveal for the @harringroveholidayexchange, so I hope you enjoy what I made for the amazing @catharrington! I don't know how everyone else is formatting theirs if they did fic and art but I'm going to put both here! 💕

- - - - -

Overlooked

prompt! - I’ve always loved the differences in the two boys while growing up, I imagine Steve having huge Christmas parties with champagne flutes and the works and Billy being invited and happy to spend time with Steve, he really is!, it’s just a lot he isn’t used to. All up to author interpretations: make as fluffy or angsty as you want ;)

summary! - Steve forgets they were supposed to hang out elsewhere while his parents threw their annual Christmas party and agrees to stay.

Luckily, Billy doesn’t mind!

The only problem is, they don’t get to hang out... and Billy starts to feel overlooked.

- - - - -

Billy couldn’t be more out of place.

Parties were his thing, don’t get that wrong. He could get drunk, smoke, fuck, do whatever and if Steve was with him, only then it was infinitely better. 

But this wasn’t a party. Not the party he knew. It felt more like a corporate gathering or a birthday for someone he didn’t know and he only ended up on the list because his boyfriend’s involved. Which wouldn’t be a problem if everyone around him wasn’t two to three times his age and he actually got to hang out with said boyfriend. 

But it’s fine. It’s been fine so far.

Crystal champagne flutes and ugly holiday sweaters just aren’t necessarily Billy’s forte. He can’t fathom how much Steve’s parents spent on this party alone and can only bet that it cost more than the monthly payment for the house on Cherry Road. Not that he has much resentment towards what Steve’s parents do with their money but it just seems… unnecessary. 

He takes a sip from his flute, rustling the jacket resting on his lap before leaning further into the sofa to try and wait this out despite already being here for what seems like hours. Billy gradually looks up again and stares into the other room where he can see Steve and his parents.

He can’t see their faces, but he can see Steve’s. Their backs are turned to him - Steve’s off to the side - they’re merely silhouettes so he can’t tell if his parents are just being gregarious or snobby. Then again, neither of them really talk about their parents so Billy has no clue.

Billy watches as a couple leaves, the discomfort continues to overrule Steve’s face as suddenly another appears and the cycle starts over again for what seems about the hundredth time. He huffs, kicking the shagged carpet beneath him before lowly cursing himself out. Should he have reminded him what they were going to do tonight? Or would Steve have rather stayed here? 

He can’t tell whether or not Steve’s just over some of the pretentious attitudes and comments he’s overheard in the past hour or that he’s trying to break the chain and get over to him so they can do something together. He could always get drunk and wait for Steve to get done, he knows where the brunette keeps a bottle of scotch that he stole from his dad’s liquor cabinet in the office. 

He blinks, lips sucked in to form a seal as he thinks. “Should I go home?” Billy whispers, soft and hurt. There’s not really a point in staying and maybe he can see if Jonathan has anything new to smoke. Deep, contemplative breath.

Billy stands up and discards his glass on the side table next to him before throwing on his coat and grabbing his scarf. Everything from then to going outside flashed by like a blur, nothing of importance really stricken in his mind other than colored sweaters and the sheen of champagne glasses hitting his eye. His breath is almost heavy as he opens the door and a wave of ice rushes over him. It bites at his nose, almost makes him want to itch it but he ventures out regardless. Billy slowly closes it behind him.

Billy sighed softly, eyes falling to the ground. It’s been snowing all day. Coming and going with the wind and dusting every road, house, and tree with freckles of white. Granted, everything was coated before it got too dark and hopefully, the roads weren’t iced over for any of the poor drunks inside. Steam rolled from his mouth as he exhaled before taking a deep breath. Billy threw the end of his scarf over his shoulder and looked out where his car should be, a somber smile passing his lips but twisting into a frown. Steve told him he could park where his family parks.

His feet felt like they were superglued to the deck, that, or like boulders had been tied to the ends of them. Billy bit his bottom lip and fidgeted with his coat pockets, sort of kicked the snow from under him.

He swallowed hastily, a lump bouncing in his throat as he looked out again. Couldn’t pinpoint the emotion to anything else but a pang of burning guilt. Maybe he should have just gone up to him, shouldn’t have made a big deal out of feeling left out, taken him away from his parents so they could go upstairs or leave.

Someone jerked open the sliding doors. Light poured from the inside, Billy twisted around to identify the backlit figure expecting a drunk only to find a breathless, seemingly worried Steve. Billy wanted to furrow his brows and walk off into the snow where he knew damn well Steve wouldn’t go into with house shoes on, but for some reason, he stayed put. Watches as Steve shuts the door behind him and rubs at his arm.

“What are you doing out here?”

Billy doesn’t respond.

Steve seems to catch on, and their eyes lock. 

There have been times when Billy goes outside during a party to catch his breath, maybe sneak around back to talk to Steve about one thing or another, maybe drunkenly make out and hope no one was watching or Tommy had their back. But they hadn’t been to a party for a long while, not since September. And, Billy doesn’t just bring his car keys with him to ‘catch his breath’.

Billy broke contact with a sharp ‘huh’. “Did you forget about me?"

“What? No! Why would you think that?” Steve shuddered, pulling his hands into his sleeves.

Billy looked back up with dagger-like eyes, “Because it seems an awfully lot like you did.”

“Well, I didn’t.”

He could bite back, the very opportunity hanging in front of his nose. But he didn’t. Instead, a familiar quiver caught his lip. Lingering feelings creeping up and forcing his hand to itch at his pocket. Billy shook his head, eyes falling to the ground. 

Steve frowned, aware of the events to follow. He’s known the other long enough to recognize the outline of Marlboros in any pocket. Deep down wishes there was some other habit Billy bid in, but that’s a matter of discussion that needs to be saved for later.

Eventually, the pack came out. Steve chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched Billy, his lighter flaring until the end emitted a pale red before shakily tucking it away. He shook his head again slow and somber like. 

“I’m sorry.” Billy started, hands moving along with his words. “And it’s not that I don’t want to be here. You’re just,” he sighed, “busy.”

Steve’s lips sealed tightly at the comment. He saw the discomfort present in the other’s sentences, could feel guilt churn in the pit of his stomach. Thing is Steve wasn’t the slightest bit spiteful, he was pissed at himself for not taking action to check up on the other. Not considering bringing another friend with them in case something like this happened. He’s upset because they were supposed to do something together tonight besides this but he forgot and agreed to be here. Steve watched him take a drag, self-spite running through his veins. 

The corners of Steve’s eyes pinched, his throat tightening as he spoke, “No, I’m sorry! This sucks, this whole thing has sucked. I stressed myself out over decorating for the party and was so excited to hang out! I didn’t mean to agree but I forgot! And mom and dad keep introducing me to people. I- I wanted to spend time with you! I didn’t want to be here!” Steve took a step forward before shaky inhale. “This is my fault, this shouldn’t have happened.”

The next few seconds were the two boys staring at one another, each waiting on the other to say something. Billy was at a loss. Steve had a million thoughts streaming through his mind, hoping that the blonde wouldn’t just turn away and leave. 

Eventually, Billy glanced at the door, peering through to check if the blinds were shut as a faint smile appeared. Billy’s lips pressed against Steve’s before he could protest, his hand meeting to cup the brunette’s jaw and brush over the apple of his cheek with his calloused thumb and cigarette in the other. Steve’s tears wetted his cheeks, he didn’t mind it all that much. The shock melted into comfort as Steve cherished the kiss, pouted when Billy slowly pulled away from him. The slight tinge of champagne lingering on the other’s lips, the heat of their bodies giving them a little warmth.

Billy craned his head - albeit Steve was taller - until their foreheads met. 

“Don’t apologize. I get it.” Billy whispered. Steve gave a small, dismissive ‘huff’.

“My boyfriend should come before a stupid party. I should have told them otherwise.” 

Billy shook his head. “The party’s nice. You beat yourself up too much over this kind of stuff, I forget things too. Remember the creek?” 

Steve giggled, lips twisting into a smile. “In July when you were supposed to meet me there and didn’t show up? And I stayed there all night?”

Billy frowned as he thought into it, the bitter call at one in the morning that turned into a week of not talking to one another. It ended nicely though - if ‘nice’ was drunk car sex in the middle of the woods. There wasn’t much of an apology there but hey, they’re still trying to work on things and figure out how exactly relationships work because they aren’t exactly a sixty-year-old couple with forty years of experience behind the boy’s backs.

“I still owe you for that. Sorry.” His eyes fell to the deck as he pulled his head away, bumping his cigarette against his finger and watching the ash fall.

After Steve noticed the shift he got quiet, frowned, and eyes followed Billy’s to the wooden boards below. “Don’t apologize,” Steve echoed with a light smile. Gently Steve grabbed Billy’s scarf and drew him in for a slower, deeper kiss. 

People forget things, that’s human nature. And sometimes they can be a bit dumb about it too. But this was going to be the boy’s first Christmas, granted it wasn’t exactly Christmas yet, but it was important to them both. Spending time with a significant other on a holiday was amazing even if they can’t shout it out to everyone they know. 

These moments always have a sort of energy to them. When the boys share a wordless amalgamation of self-deprecating thoughts after ‘messing something up’ and those little habits come out to bite to express those thoughts oh so clearly.  It’s a ball of weird energy that shines in self-hate that the two have been working to eliminate and hey, they’ve gotten pretty far! But, it’s still there. Smiling in the corner of the boy’s minds. Ready to strike at any moment. It’s just a lot smaller now. 

Because again, don’t have the forty years and that’s perfectly valid even if the two don’t seem to realize it.

Billy leaned into the sweet kiss before Steve drew back. Billy chuckled and wrapped his arms around the other as he tucked his face into Steve’s neck. Steve shook again, this time cuddling up to the other and ravishing in the heat and short breaths coming out of them both.

“I wanna go inside,” Steve mumbled, rubbing at the other’s back.

Billy laughed and slowly pulled away to look at Steve. “Too cold?” 

“I’m in a sweater and sweatpants,” Steve pulled on his scarf again and toyed with the frayed ends. The grin Billy responded with brimmed with bliss, his hand roaming up and held the other’s with a firm hold,

“I’ll meet you inside.”

Steve had ventured back into the party while Billy snuffed his cigarette into the deck, eventually, the two found one another next to the food Steve’s parents had catered instead of cooking this year. Only thing that wasn’t in foil baking trays was the Christmas cookies that Billy had been dying to try ever since Steve brought them up at the beginning of December. Drinks clattered in group cheers from the surrounding areas, the smooth music now bearable. He never expected that a party this foreign to him would turn out for the better. Never thought he would feel… like a part of it? The crystal flutes, richies, and overall appeal still don’t rock with him, but with Steve, he has someone there for him. And that’s all Billy could ever ask for.

Thankfully, he didn’t feel like he was going to projectile vomit champagne anymore… the nausea sort of faded after Steve kissed him outside. Billy turned to Steve, noting the rosy shade still dancing on the apples of his cheeks from outside.

“Your sweater isn’t that ugly,” Billy emphasized, chewing on an ornament-shaped cookie.

Steve shook his head with an amused sigh, sweeping the crumbs from his shirt. “This isn’t that kind of party, if it was I would’ve had you help me make one.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t think Karen from Fiance got the memo.” Billy pointed into the crowd at the woman in question. Her sweater took the cake for one of the ugliest, tensile hangs from her torso, lights strung all over, buttons on the brink of falling off. “You think she beats her kids over the head with a bible?” Steve rolled his eyes. Billy smirked at the little glare he’d received. “You should have pulled out your grandmother’s cat vests.” 

Steve gagged, eyes wide and ridden with disgust. “Keep talking and you’re going to make me throw up. I never want to see those again.” Billy snorts and Steve shoves him with a laugh, “It’s not funny!”

“But you’re laughing!” Billy remarks and lightly bumps him back returning the bubbling laughter.

A woman seems to overhear their laughs and spins around with the biggest and brightest grin Billy’s ever seen. It kind of startled him. Doesn’t know who she is, doesn’t care to know until he recognizes the cat vest and how familiar those brown, round doe eyes are. She runs up to them, curls bouncing on her shoulders as she approaches with a drink in hand. Mrs. Harrington gasped, grabbing onto Steve’s sweater with eyes darting between both boys, “Is this Billy?”

Steve smirks and rolls his eyes again. “Hi, Mom. I’m back Mom.” She lightly wacks him in the arm. “Yes! This is Billy.”

Her eyes lit up, dazzled with happiness as she stuck her attention on the blonde as he snuck another cookie in his mouth. “Steve talks about you all the time!”

“What? No, I don’t!” Steve’s eyebrows knit together as he tried to defend himself but deep down knew there was no hope, especially after Billy gave him that smug but appreciative little look as his mom went on her story-telling rampage. 

Billy laughs, almost in disbelief, “Really?”

“He talks about all of his friends, really. But, oh! When it comes to you he goes on and on and on, he really thinks you’re something.” Billy watched as the tips of Steve’s ears tinted themselves red and smirked. An interesting conversation for later. “I’m so upset that I haven’t been able to meet you until now! You two are always out or asleep by the time I get home.”

Billy’s brows quirked in an expression of sarcasm. “Well, thank you for not waking me up at two in the morning to introduce yourself.”

Mrs. Harrington chuckled, shaking her head before putting her hand on Steve’s shoulder. “I’m going to go get another drink. Oh, and Billy!” She paused and made eye contact, “If you want to come over for Christmas, you’re more than welcome too! Just tell Steve so I know.”

Billy’s brows flew upwards, blush rising and Steve picking it up instantly. She waved goodbye before walking around them and going off on her journey into another room. The boys stared again, each waiting on the other to say something until the brunette spoke up.

"She likes you," Steve muttered, ears still red as ever.

"You talk about me to her? I think that's cute."

He huffed. Had to stop himself from leaning against the other to hide his face. "Mom likes knowing what friends are up to."

Billy loosely smiled, slowly bumping into Steve with his hip before getting a light bump back. “You look a lot like her.” Steve shook his head.

“Not as much as my dad,” Steve turned to see if he was there and frowned when he didn’t see the other but slowly faded into a smile. “I don’t know where he is, he would have loved to meet you.”

The boys got quiet again.

Billy cleared his throat, his head tilted down as if to duck away to hide his blush and the movement didn’t go unnoticed by Steve. “About coming over for Christmas-” 

“I want you to.” He softly tugged on his jacket to get his attention. Eventually, Billy made eye contact, grinned with a chuckle following behind. Christmas with Steve? His caring boyfriend, twenty million cookies, a few possible presents, and… some loving parents? 

Billy couldn’t be happier.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove #steve harrington x billy hargrove #st #strangerthings #harringroveart #fic #art #harringroveholidayexchange #happy holidays #happy new year!

[thenightling]

My scatter-brained review of Wonder Woman 1984 (written partly while watching and then revised afterward)

I finally got curious enough to watch Wonder Woman 1984.  

Warning: There ARE spoilers here! 

I was reluctant to watch it because I knew the plot would deal with wishes coming true “But at a price” and Wonder Woman’s love coming back as a result of this plot Magoffin. This is something I have seen many times before.   And frankly I was bored with it years ago. 

 The predictable plot beats being a “Be careful what you wish for” theme.  The Monkey’s Paw (and all adaptations of the story) and variations like The Twisted Claw in “Are you Afraid of the Dark?” It was obvious to me that such a wish would bring Steve back and he would eventually “have to “ return to being dead. Frankly, I’m tired of that.  I think a great twist would be if the person didn’t have to return to being dead for once.  I’ve seen this plot done too often in comics, TV, and film.

Now for the good.  I LOVE the early 80s aesthetic.  I even got a bit of Legend of Billie Jean vibes.  It’s very accurate to the look and feel of a 1980s film.  It felt authentic, not just “Hey, remember this!”    

Nineteen minutes in and I saw the ham-handed tell-tale signs that Diana would have to learn to love again, to trust and open her heart, and to invite others in again.  And to heal she would have to “learn to let go” of Steve.  But as I said, I’m tired of these grief messages. Especially now, especially in 2020.  I want a new twist . I want the lost loved one to come back, I want the happily ever after with the formerly dead loved one.  I’m tired of this trope.

They even out-right compare it to “The Monkey’s Paw” story in the film.  Acknowledging that something is a cliché doesn’t make it any less of a cliché. You’re just trying to lampshade it by pointing it out in story and it just didn’t really work for me.

The “Dreamstone” in this does not look like Morpheus’ ruby amulet but instead it resembles the “ruby” (this one is a citrine) from Justice League Dark (the animated movie).  And no, the God mentioned is NOT Morpheus.  The God in question is a “trickster and a liar.”  Gee, I wonder who that could be?   I suspect the “true name” wasn’t given because they were afraid of confusion with Marvel’s depiction of the same character.  A lot of people don’t realize Loki is in the public domain.  Even Joanne Harris (author of Gospel of Loki) thinks her book can’t be adapted into film because Marvel / Disney owns Loki but that’s not true.  The character is as public as Snow White or Robin Hood.  Anyone can use him. 

There’s some subtle hints of Diana’s bisexuality.   I’m glad for this, I still come across fans who refuse to accept she’s bi and insist word of author (Gail Simone) don’t count because she didn’t “create” Wonder Woman.  The same people should REALLY look up the behind the scenes life of the man who did.  Anyway, I almost thought Diana lean in and kiss Barbara after the rescue in the park but she didn’t.

Maxwell Lord offers Diana a nineteen inch TV.  Note to kids: that is NOT big even by 80s standards.  We did have large screen TVs back then. My grandfather had a very big one back in the 80s.

I also really like the soundtrack.   

When the camera spun around Diana and Steve’s reunion it made me dizzy.   I don’t like that effect.   It’s so common with romantic scenes but I found it dizzying.  Flashbacks of the film Legend of Hercules from 2014... 

The dreamstone in this appears to have been made of sand all along so maybe it is one of Dream of The Endless’ dreamstones after all.  But that’s the only hint to even suggest this.

When Steve shows up, it’s like the writers forgot modern history.  He shouldn’t be THAT impressed with an escalator or a a subway.  Subways were already in existence when he died! The New York City subway, for example, opened in 1904.  And he knows what trash cans are!  I know that was meant to be funny but that’s stupid.  He’s from the early twentieth century, not five-hundred-years-ago.

How did Maxwell Lord know Steve Trevor was inhabiting someone else’s body but didn’t know for certain Barbara had made a wish?  Does he just know everything the stone touched or does he sense the desires of others?  How did he know to suggest “Don’t you want to be a real boy?” with Steve?

Steve’s fate was painfully predictable, so much so that I felt nothing when she had to let him go.   See, these “realistic” / “have to stay” dead plots they’re shoe-horning into comic stories are now done so often that they are trite.  You know what’s coming.  You know what they want you to feel and you (or I, at least) went numb instead.  I think I would have felt more if she somehow got to keep him . But the fact that he wasn’t even in his own body was the first clue that my prediction was right.

Finally, I actually really like how they resolved the Maxwell Lord (Trump-esque) plot and his character arc.   It was very late in the story that they decided to show a sympathetic side to him, and flashbacks of his upbringing and I feel it should have been done earlier in the film but it still worked.  I like that love for his son is what saved everyone.  I am a sucker for a redemption story.  

  I like the themes of love and hope even though I still resent the predictability of what happened with Steve Trevor and the hamhanded “She needed to learn to move on” part.

The Steve plot was the weakest part of the story, in my opinion.   But as far as superhero movies go this was decent . It wasn’t boring and the morals weren’t too preachy.  Sure, it had some corny and predicable moments (Not just with Steve Trevor) but in general it was enjoyable to watch.   

I don’t think it was as good as the first Wonder Woman movie but I do like it more than most of the Marvel sequels so that says something.   I’d like it a lot more if the Steve Trevor plot wasn’t even in there or had a new and interesting twist rather than the “You have to learn to let me go.”  As I said, I’m tired of death.  I’m tired of grief plots.  And I’m tired of how predictable this new obsession with perma-deaths in comic book-inspired stories has become.  

I’d say the film is a seventy nine out of a hundred for me, maybe three and a half out of five stars.  Not the best superhero film and definitely not as good as the first Wonder Woman movie but still better than many other superhero movie sequels.   

Also a certain outfit was added to the movie shamelessly to sell a new action figure.  Even kids know the trick.  A superhero movie gets a sequel, that means the hero has to get some new costume, or their look has to change in some way, just to sell a new action figure distinctly from this movie and not the first.  Marvel did this all the time. Loki went through three distinct outfits for three films.  

I loved Lynda Carter’s cameo in the end credits bonus scene for her.  That was the perfect role to her and very respectful to her legacy as having been the 1970s Wonder Woman.   That was one of the nicest and most respectful “original actor” cameos I had ever seen. 

Something else, I kind of wish the films would reveal the Greek Gods aren’t dead.  It really bugs me that they have implied since the first Wonder Woman movie that all the Greek Gods are dead / gone.   Then why do things imbued with their power still work?   I wish Hollywood would be more respectful to the old lore and polytheistic beliefs that many people (such as Neo pagans) still have.

Anyway, good.  Not great.   But still god and better than a lot of other superhero sequels and still better than more than half of DC’s other films of the last ten years.    

#Wonder Woman 1984 #DC Comics #Wonder Woman #Spoilers

[hotforharrington]

Goody Two Shoes (Pt.6/6)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader

Warnings: mentions of sex, swearing

Notes: This is it! The end of the series that brought me back to writing! Thank you all for the support of this series! I hope you all enjoy the ending :)

—

As you stood there you felt as though you were in a horrible nightmare. Between your best friend just going on that rant, Billy standing on your front porch in his normal attire, and your mother being present for all of it, everything felt as though it was falling apart. And you thought you’d just break into a million pieces and collapse with it.

You turned to look at your mother and said, “Please just give me a minute, Mom.”

“Fine.”

You could tell your mother was unhappy with this whole situation, and therefore you were surprised she allowed you to have this.

You grabbed Steve by the arm, pulled him out to the front porch, and closed the front door behind you all.

“Hey gorgeous.” Billy said with his eyes glued to you.

“Don’t get me started, Billy. What the hell do you think you’re doing here like this?”

“I just wanted to see you, princess.”

“Don’t act all innocent. I’m not stupid. I know you were jealous because Steve was spending time with me today and so you decided to cause a scene.”

Steve laughed and you turned to glare at him. “Shut up, Steve. You didn’t exactly make things better, spilling the beans about how Billy ‘fakes it’ for me and shit.”

The comedy of the situation faded away from him.

You continued, “Both of you are coming in here like tornados and stirring up so much trouble for me!”

“Well maybe it’s about time you got what was coming to you.” Steve said softly.

“Excuse me?” You responded.

“I mean I don’t know how Hargrove feels about it but it’s your last year of high school, so I think it’s about time you tell your parents what you want and stop taking their shit. And more importantly stop letting them treat the people you care about like shit just because they think you’re a princess that can’t be associated with anything other than the most perfect and pure royalty in the world.”

You looked from Steve to Billy.

Billy’s expression didn’t give any clues to what he was thinking before he spoke up, “As much as I hate to agree with Harrington, I think he’s got a point. I mean, you are my perfect princess so I can understand that you’re parents would want you to be treated like royalty, but what they need to see is that just because we aren’t perfect and don’t have straight A’s, doesn’t mean we’re incapable of being good to you. And they need to let you make your own decisions for your own happiness.”

Everything built up within you all at once. Tears were welling up in your eyes because you knew the two boys were right. And they were setting aside their differences to help you improve your situation and reinforce your happiness.

“You guys are right. Thank you.”

You looped your arms around Steve’s torso for a quick hug before letting go and turning towards Billy. You lifted your hands to drape them around his neck and he rested his hands at your waist. You leaned in and brushed your lips against his, causing your lips to spread into a smile.

“Ugh, all right, I don’t wanna see all that.” Steve said, disgusted.

You and Billy laughed, still interlocked in one another’s embrace. He leaned back in for another kiss and you met him halfway to connect your lips together.

Abruptly, the door flung open, and your mother stood their with a big frown across her face.

You were still tangled up in Billy, when she erupted from the household.

You, Billy, and Steve jumped at her presence. Your mom’s eyes were wide, her face red with anger. You mustered up all your courage, took a deep breath in, and said, “Mom. There are some things we need to talk about.”

“You’re right about that, young lady. Get in here. You two impertinent boys are corrupting my daughter and you both better be out of my sight within the next few minutes or I’m going to call the police for trespassing!” Your mother yelped.

“No, mom. I won’t let you treat them like that. They’re staying.”

“Excuse me?” She replied.

“I said they’re staying. These boys are the two most important people in the world to me. They both care about me beyond measure. And when I say they care about me, I mean they care about me! Not my grades, not the college I go to. They care about who I am as a person and what is going to make me happy. Mom, when was the last time you asked me about what I wanted out of my life? Do you even know anything about me?”

Your mother stood there with guilt spread all over her presence. She looked at the ground, ashamed.

“Do you even know what my favorite color is? My favorite book? My favorite band? My favorite food?” You continued.

Your mother had nothing to say.

After a moment of silence, you looked toward Steve. Instinctively, he spat out all the answers, “Yellow. To Kill a Mockingbird. Fleetwood Mac. French fries.”

“Mom, I love you. But you and dad both have to realize that there’s more to my life than my grades and Harvard. These guys know that because they took the time to get to know what was underneath all of that. I’ve slowly come to realize that these two know me better than my own parents. Just because they don’t dress to impress you all the time and you don’t think their manners are perfect, doesn’t say anything about the true content of their character. A few moments ago, you basically said Steve was a bad influence when in reality, a lot of the time Steve is the one that keeps me out of trouble! I’m so tired of trying so hard to be perfect to you and dad. I’m done with it. This is my last year of high school and after that I can do whatever I want with my life. Do you really want the last few months of me living under your roof to be filled with arguments and resentment?”

Your mother shook her head in embarrassment, squeaked out an “I’m sorry. To all of you.” And walked back inside the house.

You felt the tension release from your body and you let out a sigh of relief before turning around to face the boys.

First, Steve smiled at you and engulfed you in a giant hug, lifting you up goofily. He placed your feet back on the ground and squeezed you tighter. “I’m so proud of you, kid.” He whispered to you.

“Thanks... And I’m not a kid!” You laughed at him, pushing him away playfully.

Billy stood there awkwardly, and Steve said goodbye to you before leaving the porch and heading home.

You approached Billy with a look of adoration across your face. As soon as you were within reach, he pulled you into him.

“That was badass, princess.” He said to you.

You laughed and shook your head in response. You gave Billy a quick peck before saying, “I know you think you do, but you have nothing to worry about with Steve. We’re just friends. I’m really into you, B.”

“I really like you too, (Y/N).” He said with a sexy smile.

You arched up one eyebrow before saying suggestively, “You just like me?”

“Well...I mean... I guess...” Billy stumbled through his words.

You inched your face close to his, to where your lips were less than half an inch away from his, and whispered, “Je t’aime de tout mon coeur.”

“Well that was sexy,” Billy said before expressing his confusion, “What does it mean?” He said as you turned around.

You kissed up from his collarbone to his neck before reaching his ear and saying, “I love you with all my heart.”

Billy was flabbergasted and red in the face. He recollected himself before saying, “I... I love you too, princess.”

He crashed his lips onto yours, creating a passionate, hungry kiss.

You pulled away from him and softly said, “Sneak into my room at midnight, and we can see where another kiss like that could lead us.” You said with a wink before heading inside.

Let’s just say, that night you and Billy consummated your relationship with the most amazing, passionate, and unbelievable sex either of you had ever had. ;)

—

Epilogue // •a few months later•

After getting your parents on the same page as you, you felt for the first time you were able to think freely.

You were finally able to realize what you were passionate about and what would make you happiest. With this newfound freedom of thought, you discovered a love for fashion and designing.

It was a reality check for your parents for sure, as they decided before you were even out the womb that you’d go to Harvard and that you’d grow up to be a doctor or lawyer.

When you opened up your letter of acceptance to an internship for a fashion company in Paris, you were over the moon. Then you realized you’d have to leave all of your friends and family.

You told Steve first, and although he knew he’d miss you, he was more proud of you than anything. “If this is what’s going to make you happy, then I’m ecstatic for you!” He said.

But telling Steve wasn’t the hard part, it was telling Billy that you dreaded. You and Billy were more in love than ever, making it harder to tell him. You procrastinated and procrastinated until you couldn’t put it off anymore.

Billy snuck into your window like he did just about every night.

“Hey, princess.” He said when he laid eyes on you.

“Hey, B.” You said, holding the letter in your hands.

“Whatcha got there?” He asked, “A love letter for me?”

“Not exactly... Billy, there’s something I need to tell you...”

Billy sensed your uneasiness and said, “Woah, what’s going on baby girl?”

“It’s my acceptance letter.” You said vaguely.

“Acceptance letter? For Harvard? Don’t tell me you’re going to Harvard after everything...”

“No, no, it’s not for Harvard. Remember when I told you I applied for a fashion internship?”

“Yeah?”

“Well I got it.”

“You got in?! Princess, I am so proud of you! That’s amazing!” Billy was so happy for you. He came to pull you into his embrace, but stopped when he realized how cold you were being. “What’s wrong?”

You turned to lock eyes with him, your vision becoming blurry as tears began to form. Your voice cracked as you said, “It’s... it’s in Paris.”

“Like in Europe?” Billy asked.

You nodded your head meekly.

“Oh...” Billy’s heart began to shatter at the thought of not seeing you everyday. Hell, you may never see each other again.

Tears streamed down your face as you could see Billy’s demeanor change from his normal self, to the hurt one that stood before you now.

You were speechless. Even if you wanted to say words, you couldn’t squeak them out no matter how hard you tried.

As if you could read each other’s minds, you both lunged toward one another and fell into each other’s grasp. You squeezed onto him as if your life depended on it. He held you tighter as if it would make time stop and keep you there with him forever.

The tears continued to flow knowing that this good thing would be coming to an end.

“I’m not going to ask you to wait for me, Billy. But I will come back one day. I don’t want to leave you... but this is a huge opportunity...”

“I know, princess. I am so so proud of you. But I can’t deny that this hurts like hell.”

“Should I just stay?” You asked him.

“What? No. Why would you stay?”

You reached for his rough hands and held them in your dainty ones, caressing his palms with your fingers. Your voice was now in a whisper. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“That’s not a good enough reason. I’ll be okay, princess. You can’t pass up this opportunity just because of me. I won’t let you.”

Tears continued rolling down your face. He lifted a hand to caress your cheek and whispered, “Hey, shh, (Y/N), listen to me, princess... You’re gonna go and make a name for yourself and become some big fashion executive. Show your parents, show me, show Harrington, show the world what you’re made of. And then you can come back to me. Okay? Everything’s gonna be just fine. It’s gonna be more than fine, it’s gonna be amazing.”

You didn’t know if the words he said were to assure you, or to assure him, but it what probably both.

You pressed your lips against his. Your mouths slowly and passionately danced together.

—

The day you left came around all too fast.

Your heart was heavy. Your mind was racing.

Saying goodbye to Steve and your parents was rough.

You and Billy decided not to have a big dramatic goodbye. You both thought that would only make things worse. Instead, for your farewells, you each wrote the other a letter. You met up the evening before to have one last night together. Before he snuck out your window one last time, you both exchanged letters and that was it.

You sat at the airport, waiting to board your plane, when you decided to open up your letter from Billy.

Princess,

Saying goodbye was something I’d never thought we’d have to do... but here it goes...

I will always remember the first time I saw you in the school hallway, the very first time we kissed on the steps of that house party, the time we shared a cigarette outside the school gym. I’ll never forget telling Harrington after basketball that you were special and you weren’t going to be like the other girls. And, damn, was that the truest thing I’ve ever said. There are so many lovely memories in our short time together but the fact remains the memories are not enough to bind us for rest of our lives. I still have some hope deep in my heart that someday the love we’ve built will bring you back in my arms. Though I know things may never be the same but ... I will always love you... I’ll love you with my whole heart till the day I die. Forever and always, you’ll be my princess.

-B

—

Taglist: @the-marvelatic @p3nny4urth0ught5 @kellysimagines @countryday @kayln97 @gothackedalready @kayleighscreams @personal-antichrist @lemursfemur @emmalbg @fanngirl19

#billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove imagines #billy hargrove stranger things #billy hargrove fanfic #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy stranger things #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things imagines #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things preferences #steve stranger things

[malecftw]

Hiking’s fun and all that - Brother Billy x reader x boyfriend Steve

A/N: That gif melted my heart fr even tho Joe looks like a creep lmfaooo I miss being able to talk to him someone ship him over to me tyvm. Hope you like it!

Word count: 2700

Warnings: angst, cursing, reader x injury, cliffhanger

Masterlist.

Requests open!

The sun was tanning your skin and the dust was flying around as you walked down from the mountain you’d just hiked. Your boyfriend Steve was a couple feet in front of you. His shorts clinging to his muscular legs as his hair bounced up and down, feet planting themselves heavily caused by the steepness of the walk down. Although you loved any and every contact with him, today was just too hot to be all over each other in the middle of nowhere. It was more likely that you’d suffer from heat stroke than that you’d get to enjoy his presence that little bit more.

Hawkins has always had nice summers, but this one really hit it out of the park. A constant layer of sweat coating your skin, no matter how many times you’d shower. The only comfort was that there was no exception. Everyone was aching for the weather to cool down. A couple of days ago you’d gotten the notice to start being cautious with drinking water as the forecast didn’t predict any improvement any time soon.

This heat also gave you the perfect excuse to keep your boyfriend and brother from attacking one another every time they saw each other. It just was too hot to invest any energy in anything other than trying to cool down and after a couple of months of dating Steve, they were starting to become more tolerant towards each other.

Billy didn’t like Steve, Steve didn’t like Billy. You had no intentions to be the main figure that’d change that but... Shit happens? The only reason they didn’t tear each others heads off, was you. Both loving you more than their wish to hurt the other.

The sun was slowly starting to set, which gave you an impeccable view of the small town you’d started calling home. You basked in the feeling of a slight gust of wind passing by, anything and everything that was the tiniest bit cooler than your skin brought you relief.

You’d gotten to the part of the trail that was surrounded by high bushes that came up to around your knees, all on the brink of catching fire you felt like. Steve stopped in his tracks and looked back at you. ‘You wanna walk in front of me or would you rather stay behind me?’ He asked, knowing you weren’t a fan of not being able to see the ground you’d plant your feet on. ‘Can I just walk closely in front of you?’ He nodded and waited for you to catch up, not being able to resist touching your waist as you passed him.

He always found little ways to touch you or show you his affection. Right now it was carefully guiding you down this damn hill you’d grown to resent in the last couple of hours. He took his hand in yours so you were assured he’d catch you if you fell. Your balance was probably one of the strangest things about you. It’d fluctuate so much. One moment you’d be perfectly fine and the next you’d be sat on your ass on the ground cause it decided to be like: ‘Naaaa not today.’

Your body was turned slightly as you started walking again. Instead of walking straight, you’d walk sideways causing more friction between your feet and the ground causing you to be more steady. Something you’d learned a long time ago when your family went hiking in the mountains when you were young. A time that you’d consider the best time of your life many years later. Back then, everything was simple. You had a loving mother, a loving father, and a loving brother. After the divorce, everything changed. Billy had started growing cold towards his father, feeling betrayed for giving up on his mother. The only thing that didn’t change was his love for you.

Out of the blue, a sharp stinging pain made it’s way up your leg starting at your ankle. You winced and stopped walking, slightly bending down in pain. ‘What’s wrong y/n?’ Steve asked worriedly, one hand on your back comfortingly as he held your hand tightly. ‘I don’t know. I think something bit me. It really burns.’ You groaned as you tried to stand up straight again. All of a sudden a wave of dizziness came over you and if it wasn’t for Steve’s arm around you, you definitely would not still be standing. ‘Woah easy, can you walk?’ You nodded grimacing, trying to focus on keeping the tears that were threatening to roll down your cheeks at bay. ‘Okay hold on to me, we’re not too far from the end of the trail.’

After about 5 minutes of hiking you halted Steve, really not being able to walk any further. The heat, dizziness and now nausea was starting to get too much. ‘Steve I literally can’t walk anymore. I’m so tired and I feel sick.’ Your weak voice said, struggling to reach the needed volume for Steve to hear you clearly. Thankfully he did cause he was stood so close to you.

He didn’t say anything but he bent down slightly, guiding your arms towards his neck and grabbing your thighs. You got what he was trying to do and in any other situation, you would heavily deny the gesture. However, right now you were genuinely feeling unwell so you obliged.

He quickly made his way down to the parking lot of the trail where his car stood parked in the shade of some trees. He carefully placed you into the passenger seat and turned on the car, allowing you to listen to some music as he observed your ankle. Two small, identical punctures were visible, small droplets of blood coating your ankle in a line down the rest of your ankle and foot.

‘Y/n?’ He asked when he didn’t get a response to him slightly palpating the hurt area. You vaguely responded to your name and groaned out some incoherent words. That’s when he knew this wasn’t just a normal bite. 

He kissed your forehead softly, muttering he’d be back soon and stalked over quickly to the phone booth a couple feet away. He silently thanked you for forcing him to learn his number in case anything was ever wrong. 

Anxiously tapping the device as it rang he cursed him for not picking up faster, he let out a sigh as he heard him pick up. ‘Billy, it’s Steve. You need to get to the hospital. It’s y/n.’ The other end of the line was quiet for all of 5 seconds before a worried, already on edge Billy spoke. ‘What? What the hell happened Harrington.’ 

‘We were hiking and she got bit by something. I’m sure it’s not a big deal but I’d just rather be safe.’ He lied through his teeth. Billy didn’t need to know how much Steve was freaking out. Especially with Billy’s reckless way of driving, Steve needed him to get to the hospital in one piece to be there for you. Plus, he figured maybe Billy would react better if he thought Steve didn’t know the severity of the situation and he let the doctors explain. After all, it’s not like he could’ve done something. Right?

Billy sighed and Steve heard him grab his keys. ‘Alright, I’m on my way. Take care of my sister Harrington.’ Billy said, being forced to put his trust in him. ‘Always Billy.’ Steve said reassuringly before hanging up and running towards his car. Your face was covered in sweat, a pained grimace on your face the entire ride to the hospital. Steve assumed Billy would get there first, considering the hiking trail was a little bit out of town.

Steve’s screeching tires came to a halt right in front of the door of the emergency room and he noticed Billy immediately coming over from his spot next to the door, awaiting his arrival. He never even looked at Steve, straight up going for the passenger door, eyeing his sister worriedly. He crouched down enough to be able to look at you directly. ‘Hey, y/n. It’s Billy, don’t worry okay I’m here.’ You groaned in response, squeezing your eyes as you tried your hardest to open them. You managed to look at him through hooded eyes and you started to cry a little. ‘It hurts so bad. I can’t breathe.’ You whispered with great effort. Billy swallowed, trying to stabilize his voice before speaking. ‘It’s okay baby, we’re going to make it all better.’ 

He kissed your forehead as he picked you up, carefully minding your head as he took you out of Steve’s car. With Steve hot on his heels, he ran into the hospital where a bed was already waiting for you, thanks to Billy telling them Steve was coming with you. As doctors began to run all kinds of tests, Billy and Steve were forced to wait outside of your room. Steve was sat down on one of the plastic chairs that were placed against the wall, fatigue coming over him as his adrenaline levels evened out, Billy was pacing around. Too nervous and worried to be still.

‘I’m sure she’s going to be okay Billy.’ Steve said, fiddling with a bottle of water as he took in Billy’s complexion. ‘You don’t know that.’ Billy said harshly. He still didn’t like Steve and sure as hell wasn’t going to pretend that he did right now. Steve looked down in acceptance of Billy’s answer. A tremendous amount of guilt washed over him as he started talking. ‘I’m sorry.’ Billy looked at him, eyes rolling and arrogance evident on his face yet he didn’t say anything and motioned for Steve to continue. ‘It’s my fault. I suggested we go hiking today. I asked her if she wanted to walk in front of me. If I hadn’t, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.’ Steve’s voice cracked and he rubbed at his irritated eyes, looking down again like a beaten dog.

Billy looked up at the hospital ceiling, not sure what to do with this apology. He knew what you’d want him to do with it though so he decided the answer that was the most abnormal for him. ‘It’s not your fault Harrington. I know she’d been bugging you for weeks to go hiking. It could’ve been anyone.’

Steve looked up in surprise but kept quiet, not wanting to push his luck. Even more to his surprise, Billy walked over to him and sat down. ‘I may not like you Harrington, but my sister loves you enough for the both of us, and that’s something I can respect. I’m not gonna make her hate me cause I can’t accept you. Hell, if you are good to her I might even consider not kicking your ass at basketball next time.’ Billy smiled. This was odd, something he could’ve never predicted, but it felt good. Knowing his sister would be proud of him. All he ever wanted was for you to be proud of him. Proud to be his sister.

The door creaked open, a significant noise but not loud enough to wake you. Your breathing was still heavy, your expression still looked pained but less so than before. Both boys quietly made it into your room, taking a seat on each side of you. Steve carefully rubbed circles on your hand, trying to comfort you in your medicinal haze. Billy, on the other hand, didn’t touch you. You seemed so fragile. Like you could break at any given moment. The two boys straightened their back as the doctor came in, speaking in a mellow voice. ‘So I have been informed that you are miss Hargrove’s brother? Are you comfortable having this man in the same room when I inform you about her condition? Billy looked at Steve quickly before nodding yes to the doctor.

The doctor took a seat at the edge of your bed and started talking once again. ‘So after a couple of blood tests, we can confirm the bite was that of a snake, more specifically a timber rattlesnake. Now, the venom is lethal but considering we were able to treat her moderately fast it’s very likely that she will recover with no lasting side effects. However, we do need to keep a close eye on the coagulation of her blood (blood clotting). She’s scheduled to have another dose of the antivenom and we have hope that she will respond well to that.’

Both Steve and Billy let out a breath they didn’t realize they were holding. ‘Do you know when she could be discharged?’ Steve asked, knowing how much you hate hospitals. The doctor shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not. We’ll have to see how she reacts to the second dose first but right now there are no talks about being discharged. She’s young and strong but her body still took quite the hit. The next 24 hours will determine the process of her recovery.

After answering a couple more questions, the doctor left the room, leaving Steve and Billy alone with you. Your mouth was covered by an oxygen mask and your arms were littered with bruises, nurses having to try numerous amounts of times to find a decent vein to give you an IV. All they could do now was wait.

White. White with black spots. White turning into a light brown. A light brown with a strong light in the middle of it. You squeezed your eyes, pain searing through your body as if you’d just run a marathon without breathing. You felt tired, deprived of oxygen. As fast you’d come to your senses, as fast would you be able to fall asleep again you felt like. But you fought. You wanted to ask what had happened. How long were you out for.

You winced and slowly opened your eyes, seeing both your brother and boyfriend on each side of you. And you were thankful to have them, considering your parents had left on vacation with Max a couple of days prior to this. ‘Steve?’ You croaked out and he looked up from playing with your fingers. ‘Hey stranger.’ He said, eyes red and filling up with tears a little bit. ‘I love you.’ You said immediately, not knowing what came over you to say that in front of your brother but you didn’t care. He kissed the back of your hand, squeezing it lightly as he mouthed ‘I love you too.’ Probably not wanting Billy to beat his ass. Billy, however, saw the exchange between you two and couldn’t help but smile. You really had Harrington wrapped all around your little finger.

‘You both make me feel sick.’ Billy exclaimed, not being able to wipe the grin off of his face. You jokingly glared at him but the nurse walking into your room stopped you from making a snarky remark. ‘How are you feeling sweetie?’ ‘I’m okay thank you. Still a bit tired but I’ve been worse. The boys and the nurse all smiled at your response, you’d just been bitten by a poisonous snake yet here you were taking it like a champ. ‘So this is the second dosage of the antivenom.’ She said as she started injecting the medication into your IV line. 

As the nurse was taking your vitals you started getting an itch in the back of your throat. Steve started pouring some water for you but the nurse stopped him, keeping a close eye on your behavior as the coughing got worse and worse.

You felt like your lungs were on fire and all the oxygen available was being used to fuel the flames. You zoned out, not really sure what was happening other than the horrifying feeling of the life slipping out of you. The boys were ushered out of the room as the nurse called out into the hallway: ‘CODE BLUE.’ 

Immediately all available nurses stormed into your room, leaving the two boys out in the hallway traumatized and terrified. 

Panic and terror visible on their faces as they witnessed another nurse push in a crash cart.

But the doctor said you were going to be fine?

Taglist: @constellationsolo @synonymforlame

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove imagine #stranger things imagine #stranger things angst #stranger things #steve harrington #billy hargrove

[thatonecurlygirl]

Can I request something where the reader is like 11 and she comes to town to find 11 and ends up staying with hopper and Steve treats her like a sister but billy is head over heals in love with her. Plleeeaaassseee

Runaway

A/N: Actually thinking about possibly turning this into a series. Loved the request! Thanks, anon❤️.

You broke through the edge of the woods, coming to an empty road. You stand there for a moment trying to decide whether to venture left or right, trying to get to your destination without getting caught or traveling too close to certain places proved a little difficult and you were somewhat lost. Stepping onto the pavement, you turn and walk left down the road. It’s a while – around fifteen minutes– before you find your way to the big building that reads ‘Hawkins High School’. Scanning the parking lot, your eyes find the vehicle you’ve seen only a few times prior to today. You quickly make your way to the vehicle and slip into the backseat.

When the bell rings to dismiss everyone from their classes and make their way home you slump down in the back so so no one sees you. You are out on a mission and made it back to the place you promised yourself you would never return to, you’ve come too far to get caught now. You lie back there for a while and you don’t sit up until you hear the door open and close and the engine roar to life.

“Steve? Steve Harrington?” You ask as you sit up in the backseat, nearly giving him a heart attack.

“Who are you and how do you know my name?” Steve asks the stranger, obviously freaked out as he turns to get a good look at you.

“You know Jane and I need you to take me to her.” You say, ignoring his question.

“Again… Who are you? How do you know my name?” He annunciates every word as he watches your face contort in annoyance.

“I’m number 004 but I prefer (y/n). I can feel the past and see the future and frankly the latter is about to get pretty scary.” You explain, rolling up your sleeve to show the numbers tattoos on your arm.

“So you are like a psychic and you can see the past too?” Dustin asks.

“I prefer the term seer (pronounced see-er) or visionary and not so much see the past but feel. I can feel your most prominent emotions and the auras of … places.” You explain. “Can I?” You ask, reaching your hand out only inches from his.

“Yeah!”

You place your hand in his and close your eyes. An overwhelmingly giddy feeling washes over you and you open your eyes with a wide smile on your face. You squeeze his hand before letting go, the feeling settling.

“You’re pretty excited aren’t you?” You giggle.

“So now that everyone is here, tell us why you came here,” Hopper says as he leans against the counter in the cabin everyone is gathered in.

“So Kali and Jane weren’t the only ones to escape. They weren’t so good with security when it came to… special children. A handful of had escaped, some of us didn’t make it very long though. I have managed to keep a low profile by bouncing from place to place and staying far from here but I had a vision… they’re coming.” You look at Jane who sits there with a scared and equally confused look on her face.

“Who? Who is coming and how do we know we can trust you?” Nancy asks from the corner, standing beside Jonathan.

“Well… Nancy, I have absolutely nothing but danger to gain by showing up here. Take me for my word or not they are coming and you all need to prepare because they will stop at nothing to erase any evidence of us.” You warn.

“Who the hell are they?” Max asks throwing her hands in the air.

“Papa…” Jane whispers and you turn to her with a nod.

“No, he’s dead. He died.” Mike shakes his head, eyebrows furrowed as he looks between you and Jane.

“Apparently he didn’t and he has our brother, 000 the first of us to be experimented on. He’s dangerous, he’s the one who tore the interdimensional rift between here and the other place.” You explain. “If they find us, they will try all they can to kill us and they are coming for Jane. She can’t do it on her own, I’ve seen her try and it ends badly. I don’t know what I could possibly do to help but I’m here.”

“So when is all of this supposed to happen?” Joyce asks, squeezing Will’s shoulders gently.

“Soon?” You shrug. “I’m not completely sure. I just know there will be a storm the day before it happens. The sky will get really dark and there will be crazy amounts of lightning with almost a hellish-red tint. We’ll know when it happens because that’s 000.”

“Great, this is perfect. I thought all this was over with when she closed the gate.” Steve groans.

“Not yet.” You sigh.

“So now that you’re here and helping, that changes your vision, right?” Mike asks, wide-eyed and concerned.

“I hope so.”

“I don’t understand why you are brought me here.” You say, mindlessly running your fingers around the shelves of food as you walk down the aisle.

“I promised Hopper I would bring you to find some food you like and pick Jane up some more eggos. So grab whatever looks good.” Steve says as he reaches into the freezer and grabs four boxes of eggos.

You travel up and down the aisles searching for food, not too expensive but something you’d like. You grab a box of Strawberry Poptarts, a can of Pringles, Pizza Rolls and a few other things, including a handful of candy. Making your way back to Steve and the cart, you dump your finding in and look at him with a nod.

Steve pays for the groceries with the money Hopper gave him and you head outside, the air-conditioned grocery store making your skin cold. You step into the warm, late Spring air and sigh at the feeling of the barely-there humidity on your skin just as someone brushes by you. A skin-to-skin touch for barely a microsecond sends a jolt of resentment bouncing from them to the pit of your stomach. You look up to see them turned around looking dead at you. You stare into the eyes of a beautiful guy about the same age as you.

“My God, who are you?” He asks with a wide smile and eyes to match.

“I’m (y/n).” You smile back.

“You new here?” He asks as he takes a step closer to you, leaning against the brick wall.

“No, just visiting some family and friends.” You fidget with your fingers as you look around seeing Steve open up the door with grocery bags on his arms.

“Oh so is Harrington your boyfriend or something?” The guy asks and you shake your head.

“Billy, what are you doing?” Steve asks, putting the groceries in the backseat and turning to look at him.

“Talking to my new, gorgeous friend here.” He winks causing a deep blush to rise to your cheeks.

He smiles at the way the pink tint rises up your neck and to your face. He found it pretty adorable, especially on you. He isn’t really sure what it is but there is something about you that just caught his attention and your smile just brought him in. You are so beautiful it could be a crime and boy was he a willing to be your Clyde in a partnership gone awry in all the right – or fun– ways. He is so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice your temporary spacing off.

“See you later?” He suggests with a smug smirk.

“Absolutely.” You say with a smile, slipping into the passenger seat of Steve’s car.

“Absolutely,” he mocks you as he gets in, shutting the door behind himself. “What the hell is that about? You have to stay away from him (y/n), he’s bad news.” Steve starts up the car.

“No can do, we need him. He’s going to be an essential part in helping us.” You smile, buckling up and waving at Billy as you pass him.

“Shit.” Steve grumbles.

#steve harrington #billy hargrove #billy x reader #stranger things #stranger things fandom #stranger things x reader #steve harrington x reader #billy hargrove x reader #011 #004 #hopper #joyce byers #nancy wheeler #dustin henderson #max mayfield #mike wheeler #lucas sinclair #will byers #jonathan byers #eleven

[shleepys]

Summer Tones

This story can be found on my Archive of Our Own! I recommend going there and reading the notes I’ve left. Any feedback (constructive criticism or support) on either platform is highly appreciated. :)

Chapter Five

Ch.1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 6

- - - - - -

June 4th, 1985

Indigo

Five Days Later

BANG BANG BANG

Steve jerked up from the bed with eyes wide as they shot to his bedroom window. Billy leaned against the window with cupped hands to peer inside, a grin snaking its way onto his lips when he spotted the other and waved. He quickly rolled his eyes before rushing to the window to unhook the latch and slide it open.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Steve hissed.

Billy lowly chuckled, tongue dragging over his teeth. "You told me if I ever needed a place to stay that I could come over, so here I am."

Steve blinked, Billy would've had to scale up the side of the house and it's not like there's a ladder up to his window. He had no clue as to how Billy got up here let alone where he would've climbed to get there in the first place. He shook his head, "Why didn't you just ring the doorbell?”

"I didn't want to wake up your parents-"

"They're not here."

Billy threw his legs over the edge of the window sill and slid inside. "You never told me they weren't." Steve just stood there and glared at him. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, but- I-" He sighed, allowing his fingers to rub at his eyes in an active attempt to try and cover their bleariness. "I'm tired." Steve shifted away from him, moving to the free carpet next to his bed and sitting down with a plop. Billy followed. Steve continued to touch his eyes, catching glimpses of a backlit Billy through obscured vision and a flustered mind. "What do you want to talk about?"

"What do I want to talk about? You're not going to say hi first, pretty boy?" Billy asked in a low, teasing voice.

Steve knitted his brows and grumbled. "Hi." Billy lightly chuckled, Steve could hear the tongue trapped in between the others teeth. Another eye roll.

Billy slid off his leather jacket and chucked it across the room. The other didn't bother to look to where it may have miraculously landed, all of his attention remained on Billy. Billy as his smug little smile slid right off his face. Billy as he caught Steve staring at him but didn't bother to tell him to stop despite knowing that silence was perched on the window sill, he just stared back. They both stared.

An ocean of darkness colored the walls indigo while the moonlight painted them a tinge of grey, their faces changing in tone as the shadows of tree branches and clouds decorated them with navy and prussian.

Billy faintly smiled, unexpecting of the venom soon to come. "Where are y'parents at?"

Steve continued to glare at him, hurt toying with his voice. "Somewhere for work. They didn't tell me where, just left the house without saying goodbye, but were thoughtful enough to leave a note on the counter." He shifted his position to where he laid on his back, staring up at the eggshell white ceiling and watching as his mind created creatures out of the patterns carved into it. The blue ambiance changed their shapes as shadows from outside twisted the patterns until all Steve could see was downturned smiles on distorted faces. His expression soon followed as it slightly relaxed and that familiar lost feeling from earlier began to seethe and prick the corners of his eyes.

Billy bit his lip, guilt bubbling in his chest and regret fiddling with his question. He moved from his spot by the window and laid on the floor with Steve.

He didn't come over to pour his heart out to Steve about his problems, he wanted to talk to his friend, make sure everything was running smoothly, find out if he needed to knock someone's lights out for him, but that was only after hanging out with Tommy Hagan twenty minutes earlier. Originally, they had both planned to hotbox his basement and laugh the night away while talking about god knows what until the other brought Steve up - and once they started talking about him, they couldn’t stop. Billy had a thousand questions regarding him, and Tommy had a thousand long answers to those questions. Hours had flown by and Billy didn’t take a hit, he couldn’t. His stomach got tied in knots and his heart made him queasy talking about Steve like he was fretful about something.

But there wasn’t a reason to be fretful. It was just Steve.

Tommy had gone on about how they had met, their adventures through school, how Steve usually came over for dinner, little things that he remembered, and then ended with how they both fell out of touch. He talked about the fight with Jonathan, how soft that Steve had gotten, and how he wasn’t surprised how him and Nancy broke up. Billy knew Tommy was trying to play it cool and act like he didn’t care that they were friends anymore, but he could tell that he was hurt about it. Tommy brought up a few negative things about the other every once in a while, however, all of them were left off on a solemn note rather than a sour one. They obviously weren’t enemies. They were friends that lost their spark and don’t know how to reignite it.

Tommy had alluded to Steve having a broken household when he brought up how he would typically come home with him and eat dinner with his family, which happened to be just his mom but even that helped Steve cope with the situation.

Billy didn’t know that Steve had issues, or at least he liked to think he didn’t when he obviously did. Envy got in the way of him considering that Steve faced anything remotely damaging, especially when they still had knives to each other’s throats. It was better to not think, to switch off and go into auto-pilot when tormenting others, to not consider that they could very well be dealing with the same exact trauma that he did at home, to listen to the rumors that went around and think that a rich boy living in a remote town in Indiana had nothing to worry about when mommy and daddy could pave his success with a little bit of encouragement from a stack of hundreds. It was easy to conform and bully, but it wasn’t to break the chain and show empathy. Fear played a key role in governing his actions, an inner fear that told him to hold up giant barriers and keep everyone out. If he kept everyone out then no one could hurt him, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting his heart torn to shreds.

His finger began to trace shapes into the carpet, switching every so often between watching his movements and how Steve fought in a staring contest with the ceiling. His eyes flicked to Steve’s hands. They were tense, clawing at his arms and leaving little pink trails behind them. He went back to Steve's face, noting how his brows were tainted with pain and lip quivered as they laid there in silence. How Steve’s frown began to toy with Billy’s heartstrings in a way they hadn’t before. How Steve’s eyes began to glisten in the pale moonlight as it seeped in through the windows and exposed his tears to the other.

Billy sat up, getting real close to the other before hovering about a foot over his face to distract Steve. In no way is Billy an orator when it came to these kinds of situations, he doesn’t even remember if he’s ever comforted someone while they were upset like this. When Billy broke down during the party, so did a carefully constructed wall relying on suppressing emotions to stand tall. When he broke down in front of Steve, he didn’t mean to. It wasn’t his intention to burst out into tears. And he didn’t expect Steve to stop him when he tried to storm off, to grab on to his jacket and put him in his place, to tell him he understood. To be honest, all of it shocked him, and sure if Steve once held the title of ‘King’ and Billy ‘stole’ it from him then yeah he should’ve concluded that Steve bullied people the same way he did at one point. Sure, Steve had gotten ‘soft’, Tommy wouldn’t shut the fuck up about that, but this ‘soft’, being soft didn’t mean anything terrible. Being soft meant being compassionate, caring for others, showing some form of empathy instead of being an inconsiderable fuckhole. Billy liked soft, despite not being the kind of person that dared to show any form of softness. But for Steve? Maybe he could show his softness.

He just doesn’t know what to say to Steve, he’s afraid he’ll slip up and send him spiraling. But, he can act, he knows how to do that.

Steve stared up at him, glossy eyes wide and lips parted in confusion. Billy’s pendant swung close to his face, his curly hair falling past his shoulders to add to the rapid palpitations of Steve’s heart as he laid frozen there. A blush sprouted in his cheeks, faint and settle in color until it spread to the rest of his face.

And before he knew it, Billy shifted and picked him up. Steve let out a surprised yelp, his hands reaching up to grab onto Billy’s shoulders but put down before he could act. His royal blue comforter enveloped his body as it tried to calm him, but he didn’t want to be calmed, he didn’t want it to wipe away his tears this time. Steve jerked up from the comforter, eyebrows knitted and nose crinkled in a flustered rage. His mouth opened to say something spiteful, something full of resentment, but the other shut it for him.

“Talk,” Billy demanded. His weight formed a divot in the bed as he sat down in front of Steve, mirroring the same aggravated expression. Steve stayed quiet despite Billy’s wishes, but after a while, he crumbled and fell apart. His eyebrows lost all their fury, lips parting again but only to let out a shaky breath, eyes beading with tears, hands covering his face and cursing into his palms as if he were telling them little secrets. A choked sob broke from behind his hands, one that drove a harpoon right through Hargrove’s heart.

Steve shuddered, mumbling something incoherent under his cries.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!” Steve wept.

“You’re not doing anything wrong, Steve.”

“But they’re never here!” Steve’s voice crumbled underneath him as he tore his hands from his face revealing the water-bound eyes and flushed cheeks hidden behind them. “They’re never here- I don’t know why!” His throat tightened as he tried to hold back another broken sob that managed to wiggle its way out. He shuddered again, trying to hide his face from the other.

“Them being here isn’t in your control.” Billy cooed. His heart pounded in his chest and his mind raced, thousands of thoughts pouring over the flood gates as he tried to use the right words to construct the right sentences. “Hell, there’s a lot of things that aren’t in our control Steve, but how they show their appreciation is fully up to them. Of which they don’t care to show you enough of.”

Billy continued to watch, his lip slightly trembling. He doesn’t know if it helps the other to hear something so blunt especially in such a fragile state of mind. The fear piled up again, he doesn’t know how to act now. He doesn’t know if he can say anything to help Steve cope. He could’ve just said the worst possible thing in a situation like this, but he doesn’t know. “I don’t know if you want me to stay, I think I should go. If Neil-” Steve latched onto Billy’s wrist, holding it tightly with panic shaking his body to send Billy’s head spinning around to face the other in confusion.

“Please don’t leave!” Steve cried. They froze in place, both sets of eyes wide in shock as silence overcame them and tears rolled off of Steve’s rubescent cheeks. Billy’s arm felt like it had been set on fire and had gradually spread through the rest of his body in waves, a blush attacking his face as he stared at the other. Steve had pulled his hand away out of speechless dismay. He shuddered again, pricks of pain shooting through the corners of his eyes as he prepared to be yelled at like his parents would. To be screamed at and then left alone without any remorse.

Billy cleared his throat and rubbed at his wrist where Steve had grabbed on. Slowly, he took his attention away from it and sat next to the other on the bed. He faintly smiled despite fear wreaking havoc on his ribcage, he needed Steve to know that he’s going to be okay. That he’s here for him, that he can help him. “I’ll stay right here, but I’ll have to leave in the morning, okay?”

The shaking began to settle after listening to Billy, a frantic look of dubiety sweeping his expression after he turned to him and took a long sniff in an attempt to take control of himself. Steve used his arm to wipe away some tears before mumbling in response. “Okay.” He reflected the small smile, but there was still something sizzling inside. Maybe it was the onslaught of happiness and safety he had been engulfed in by the others words, or maybe it was the dread tearing through him that he had acted so ‘inappropriately’ towards his friend.

He sniffed again, conscious, rational thought being taken away by his emotions until his body reached its breaking point. Steve lunged towards Billy with arms spread and held on. He hugged the other as a choked cry ripped through his throat and tears began to put wet patches on Billy’s white button-up.

Billy went rigid, his blush deepening in color and electricity flashing through his heart. His breathing became heavy and distorted as he began to take in what just happened. That was the last thing he had expected out of Steve. All the panic that was burning in his chest was suddenly replaced with a warm fuzzy feeling, all at once. A foreboding feeling spread through his body as he began to remember a time where he felt that. He knew what that sensation was, he knew very well what it was. His chest pounded as he tried to regain composure and push away his thoughts as they swarmed in to scream at him. He wrapped his arms around Steve and let him cry. He held him close and listened to the gasps and sniffs as they came out of him in sudden bursts.

Billy could now remember when he had comforted someone, and it was his mom. He couldn’t remember the context of how it happened - most likely an abusive outburst from Niel - but he remembered that moment. How beautiful she was as tears trickled from her soft eyes, her fair hair tucked behind her ears and cheeks enflamed from weeping, and despite all of that there was a smile on her face. A broken laugh sounding out through a shattered woman as she assured her son that she was fine and embraced him with everlasting love.

He tightened the hug, eyes glossy and shining in the light peaking through the window.

They both felt inadequate in their own ways, whether that be through their parents, relationships, or through the general judgment from society, they just felt indifferent. Like even if they tried to make it up to that they couldn’t because the latter half wouldn’t accept it or would rather use and abuse than look past it all. There was the question of what they would do if they were to go out on the town and someone were to spot them doing whatever and spread rumors.  Would they act like enemies, or would they tell the truth?

Neither of them want to fight. They’re friends, they know that. But should they really play it up?

They’re ‘friends’ now. But will they open up to be more?

#crying #angst #fluff #steve harrington #steve harrington x billy hargrove #billy hargrove #stranger things #harringrove #enemies to friends to lovers #slowburn