#if i can write beforehand cool; but i won't force it ^^

[violetsareblue-selfships]

good morning!!! <333

[skyfallslayer]

Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter 9

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🎲Season 2 Summary: One Year after the strange disappearance of Will & Stephanie, all their hard work to contain their sanity starts to unravel when something from the Upside Down comes looking for them. Not sure what to do, they turn to their loved ones, hoping that they can put a stop to the evil that's spreading and destroying their town once again. Because in the Fall of 1984... everything changes once again.

🎲Chapter Summary: As the town preps for Halloween, a high-scoring rival shakes things up in the arcade. Meanwhile, Will starts seeing things that aren’t there, Steph starts going downhill when she finally starts to feel better, and a skeptical Hopper inspects a field of rotting pumpkins.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Word Count: 10,074

🎲Date: 6/5/25

🎲Warnings: Angst; Heavy Language & Dialogue; Implied Bullying; Heavy Guilt; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Implied Mental Health Issues; Mentioning of Dying/Being Killed; Smoking; Mention of Life Threatening Injuries; Scars; Blood; Nightmares; Implied Child Abuse; Slight Stalking. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

(And let me know if I missed anything)

🎲A/N: Hello, everyone! Welcome to Season 2! I'm so excited to be back and ready to give you guys more. This chapter, I'll admit, is a little all over the place since it's introducing a lot of storylines right off the bat. But I promise you that the next chapter won't be as messy. There's also a few things I'm going to point out for S2.

1) Dr. Owens isn't showing up just yet. Because Will & Steph were taken to a regular hospital last chapter rather than the Lab's one, he won't be in this for a while.

2) The "Lost Sister" episode is going to be MIA. Since that's an El-Centric episode, it won't matter to this plot. Instead, and with good news, that episode will reveal Steve & Steph's pasts (Yay!). I'm super excited to write that one.

And finally, 3) This whole season will be dealing with some heavy topics with certain characters. Obviously I'll warn you beforehand, but just be prepared when reading forward. Alrighty! Enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter!

On a cool Autumn night, Dustin Henderson nearly collided with his older sister in the hallway. The youngster hit the brakes, mere inches away from slamming into her shoulder as she rushed out her bedroom with a hand over her mouth. 

“‘Scuse me–” She mutters, as she slips past him for another room.

“Sorry!” He replies, heading into the living room and overturning every couch cushion for some quarters. “Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!” He takes the coin into his hands and throws it harshly. “Another stupid penny!”

His mother flinches as the coin nearly hits her and her companion. “Dusty, watch it! You almost hit Mews.”

Dustin sighs, before bringing out the pleading eyes. “Can I please check under your cushions?” He asks, which sounded like a whine.

“Dusty…”

“Mom, please? It’s an emergency!” And who couldn’t say no to that face? He wastes no time to flip over the cushions, soon finding a few quarters that put a smile on his face. “Love you, Mom.” He says, and rushes towards the bathroom. “Phanie! You ready?” His face falls slightly as he sees his sister sitting on the floor near the toilet. “Whoa, you okay?”

Steph nods her head. “Y-Yeah… yeah. I’m fine.” She says, forcing herself to look hopeful. “I think dinner didn’t sit well with me.”

“You okay to drive still?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine. Go call your friends to see if they’re ready.”

“Okay.” He says, and starts to leave, but notices something.

She sends him a look. “What?”

“You’re still wearing that t-shirt?” Dustin asks, slight annoyance, as he points to the article of clothing. Ever since she made a friend at the beginning of the year, she’s been constantly wearing his custom made shirt for their club. He’s starting to wonder if she’s prioritizing that over her band tees (And those were the pride and joy of her existence).

“Yeah.” She sits up straighter with a smirk. “I am.” 

“For someone who wasn’t that into D&D, you sure love wearing that.”

Steph scoffs playfully. “You’re just jealous because my high school has a D&D club… and you’re not invited.” Her and Dustin stick their tongues out at each other, before he departs. “If you’re nice to me, I’ll give you some of my quarters!”

“I’ll be nice!” He shouts back, and runs into his room, hands already reaching for his walkie. “Lucas, you copy? I’ve got four quarters. What’s your haul?”

[ ‘Take your puny haul and multiply it by five.’ ]

Dustin’s eyes widened in shock. “How?”

[ ‘While you were scrounging around like a homeless bum, I mowed Old Man Humphrey’s lawn.’ ]

“Old Man Humphrey’s got that kinda cash?” Shit, maybe he needs to start mowing people’s lawns. “Just call Mike already.”

[ ‘You call Mike. I have to go take a shower from doing real work, like a man. Over and out.’ ]

He groans as their connection disconnects. Why do I always have to do all the work?

He changes the station a few times until he gets a signal. “Mike, do you copy? ---- Mike, do you copy?”

[ ‘Yeah– Yeah, I copy.’ ]

“What are you doing on this channel?” Dustin asks, curiously. 

[ ‘N-Nothing.’ ]

Nothing, he says? He wants to pry, but they have bigger things to worry about right now. “Lucas and I have six bucks total. What’s your haul?”

There was a long pause, until…

[ ‘Shit!!! I don’t know yet.’ ]

“What do you mean you don’t know yet?”

[ ‘Hold on. Call Will.’ ]

Now, I gotta call Will now, too? Come on, guys! He inhales in frustration, changing the channel again just as his sister comes into his room.

“Did you call them?” She asks, sitting on his bed beside him.

“I got one more call.” He tells her, turning the dial until it chirps. “Got it. Will, do you copy? ---- Will–”

[ ‘I’m here! I copy.’ ]

“Mike’s still counting his cash, but between me and Lucas, we have six bucks.”

[ ‘Six?! How?’ ]

“Lucas has apparently been mowing Old Man Humphrey’s lawns.”

[ ‘That’s awesome.’ ]

“Yeah. It is.” He smiles. “So, like I said, we got six.”

“Eleven.” Steph butts in, getting another look.

“What?”

“I got five bucks. So you have eleven dollars in total.”

His expression grows as he replies to his friend with, “Phanie said she has five, so we have eleven dollars total now.” 

[ ‘Well, I got about three dollars. So that’s… fourteen now.’ ]

“That’s perfect!” Dustin pumps his fist. “Tonight's going to be sick.”

Stephanie taps his shoulder. “Hey, ask him if he needs a ride.”

“Oh, yeah. Hey, Phanie’s asking if you need a ride?”

[ ‘Oh, I’m good. My mom’s taking me already.’ ]

“Okay. See you soon. Over and out.” 

“So?”

“He says he’s good. His mom’s taking him.” 

“Alrighty, then.” Steph says, sliding off the bed. “Let’s get going.” She follows her boisterous brother practically skip the whole way to the front door with his haul, and hers, inside a little baggie. 

“Bye, Mom!” Dustin yells, as he slips on his coat while he is already one step out the door.

“Dusty, slow down.” She warns, grabbing her purse -- but her action must have been too slow because her little brother grabbed a hold of her arm and tugs her down the path. “Hey!”

“Oh, you kids be careful, okay? Call me if something happens.” Claudia urges from the doorway. 

“We will.” 

“So what are you going to do while we’re there?” Dustin asks, as he slips inside her car.

“Hmm, I might play some games myself. I want to see if anyone’s beaten my Centipede record yet.” She replies, looking over her shoulder as she slowly backs out. “Or, I might try to read the last few chapters of the Hobbit. I haven’t decided yet.”

“I can’t believe all it took was your friend Eddie to convince you to start reading that. I’ve been trying to get you to read that for years.”

“People change, you know?”

“That’s bullshit.” He says, shifting in his seat to look at her better. “Are you sure he’s not trying to get into your pants?”

“Ew. No.” Steph says, nose scrunching up in disgust. “He doesn’t see me that way, and I don’t see him that way. We both established that early on.”

“What about the others?” He asks, his tone fully dousing in overprotectiveness. 

“Two of them have girlfriends. Or at least Gareth claims he has a girlfriend. None of us have actually seen her…” She whispers that last part like it was a joke he was supposed to understand, but it went way over her brother’s head (For obvious reasons of course).

“And the other one?”

“Grant doesn’t lean that way.”

He blinks. “What does that mean?”

“It’s…” She shakes her head, deciding against it. “Never mind. You’ll understand eventually.”

He let his confused gaze linger on her for a hot moment to see if she’ll slip up about what that meant, but he was met with her long, hardcore silence. He soon shrugs, and decides to move the conversation forward. “But what about the one that gave you that hunting knife? Jeff?”

“Jeff’s father owns the general store in town, and gets free shit all the time. He gave it to me out of the goodness of his heart, and a reassurance that his female friend is protected.” Steph explains with a smile on her face, as she pulls the car in front of Lucas’ house. 

“That’s too much information.”

“Well, you ask too many questions, Dusty. Besides…” She pauses briefly to honk the horn a few times, before smirking at her brother. “You have to admit, it’s a pretty badass knife.”

Dustin chuckles. “It is.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Joyce pulled the car right at the front of the entrance, her son was anxiously waiting to get out. “Okay, so, I’ll pick you up in two hours. That’s nine o’clock on the dot, okay?”

“Okay.” Will replies, nodding along and opening the door.

“If anything happens, if you need to come home, just ask them to use their phone and call home. Okay? Don’t... Don’t walk home.”

“I know.” 

“Okay. But, sweetie–”

“Mom, I have to go.” He whines, and twitches in the seat like it’s made of lava. 

“Okay, okay.” She waves for him to go. “Have fun.”

“Thanks.” He says, getting out. His happiness spikes up when he’s met with his group of friends. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey, Will.” Steph says, ruffling his hair as she passes him for his car door. She peeks inside. “Hi, Ms. Byers. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

“Thank you.” Joyce says, respectfully. “Take care.”

“You, too.” She closes the car door, ushering the group of boys inside. “So, Byers, what are you playing first?”

“Hmm… I think…” He grins. “I think I’ll try to beat your Centipede record.”

She gasps. “Oh, no you’re not! The student will not become the master in this situation!”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“No. No. No! No! No! No!” Dustin smacks the side of the machine as the game flashes that he failed the quest. “I hate this overpriced bullshit!” He groans. “Son of a bitch! Piece of shit!”

Lucas touches his shoulder, and smirks. “You’re not nimble enough. But you’ll get there one day. But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine.”

Dustin rolls his eyes. “Whatever. I’m still top place on Dig Dug.”

“You sure about that?” One of the coworkers, named Keith, says as he comes to stand next them. He watches the kids become confused while he gnaws on some Cheetos. 

“Sure about what?” It wasn’t a second later until he realized what he was implying. “You’re kidding me.” His face drops as he takes off for the Dig Dug machine. “No, no, no. Move! Move! No, no, no, no, no.” He pushes past the last kid, hands tapping the button to bring up the high score that no longer was his. “No! NO!!!”

“751,300 points!” Will said, in shock. 

Mike shakes his head in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”

“Who is ‘Mad Max’?” Dustin asks, in a demanding tone.

Keith snickers as he shoves more cheese puffs into his mouth. “Better than you.” He bites back, earning the middle finger.

“Is it you?” Will asks, as the older teenager shakes his head.

“You know I despise Dig Dug.”

“Then who is it?” Lucas asks, also demanding.

“Yeah, spill it, Keith.” Dustin pushes, as a mischievous grin blossoms on Keith’s face.

“You want information, then I need something in return.” His reply made everyone’s attention turn towards Mike who immediately picks up what’s happening.

“No, no, no.” Mike said, waving them off. “No way. You’re not getting a date with her.”

“Mike, come on. Just get him the date.” Lucas pleads, with the other party members agreeing.

“I’m not prostituting my sister!”

“But it’s for a good cause.”

“No way!”

“Fine!” Lucas dramatically says, and shifts his attention to someone else. “What about Dustin’s sister?”

Dustin’s eyes widened. “Hey!”

“Hmm, I don’t know.” Keith says, making a face. “She looked pretty sick when I saw her come in.”

The Henderson gasps, and gets defensive. “Hey, just because my sister’s sick doesn’t mean she’s not pretty, Dickhead!”

“Hey–”

“And, no, you don’t get the date with Nancy. Know why? ‘Cause he’s gonna spread his nasty-ass rash to your whole family.”

Keith’s jaw tightens. “Acne isn’t a rash and it isn’t contagious, you prepubescent wastoid.”

“Oh, I’m a wastoid? She wouldn’t go on a date with you. You make, like, what? Two-fifty an hour?”

“Nice perm.”

“Oh, now you’re gonna make fun of my hair?”

“You insult me, I’ll insult you.”

“Keith, I swear, I’m gonna–”

.

Then the lights went out.

Will suddenly looks around in uncertainty, just as everything slowly powers back on… in a completely different way.

Will soon found himself some place he didn’t want to be back, a place where all his friends were gone, and everything looked horrifying….

He found himself back in the Upside Down.

.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Steph comes out of the bathroom stall, reliving what just happened back at home.

I am never eating Enzo’s again. She tells herself as uses the open sink to wash her hands. But it’s strange though, I don’t feel bad.

So what could her problem be?

She cups her hands under the water, bringing it to her lips to swirl around to get the bad taste out. She nearly choked on the liquid when someone spoke to her unexpectedly.

.

// FIND HIM //

.

She jerks her head next to her, noticing that the other occupant inside the bathroom had already left. She spits the water out, looking around fully. “Hello? … Anyone?”

Who the heck is talking to–

.

// FIND HIM //

.

She whips around again. “Find who? Who is this?”

And that’s when the lights went out, and she found herself alone in the other world.

Her blue eyes widened with fear. “Will…”

She takes off in a sprint, the video game machines flickered on and off as she rushes by, thunder roaring around the building, as a strong gust of wind hits her in the face. She calls out his name as she fights against the wind to get outside, shutter in the freezing temperatures as she makes her way to the park lot. She quickly finds Will staring off at something in the distance, a dark cloud that flashed colors of fire, with something ominous swirling inside.

It sends chills down her spine, and memories of last year hitting her like a truck. But there was no point in freezing up when they’re in this together.

“Will!” She shouts, running over and engulfing him in an embrace. She feels him shake in her hold as she closes her eyes. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t look. It’s not real. We’re not there anymore. We’re okay. We’re okay. Shhhh…”

The thunder roared again, the storm coming closer and closer, aching to take a hold of them and…

.

.

.

“Will! Steph!”

The two of them jolted, eyes snapping open to find everything had returned normal and Mike coming over to check on them.

 “Are you guys okay?” He asks, worriedly. 

“Um…” Steph looks at Will who came to the same conclusion. “Y-yeah. We’re okay.”

“We just... needed some air.” Will adds, and she nods.

“Right.”

“Well, okay, then.” Mike waves them inside. “Come back in. You’re up on Dig Dug, Will. Let’s take that top score back.”

Will looks at her one last time as she gestures for him to go before her. He does, and she hopes that this was the only ‘episode’ they have tonight.

Weird. I wonder what triggered this. She thought, just as her nose began to bleed. She wipes it quickly with her hand, looking at the ooze before staring at where the storm cloud was. She frowns. Oh, not this again.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

On the morning of October 30th, Chief Jim Hopper was met with an unpleasant surprise. He wasn’t even out of his police truck yet when someone came rushing towards him. He pretends to not even notice as he tries to get inside, but the very persistent Private Investigator Murray Bauman stays right on his tail.

“Good morning, Jim.” He attempts once he manages to get neck and neck with him; But the police chief was quicker. “Jim. Hold on a second. We need to talk.”

“Get away from me.” Hopper says, with just the right amount of bite as they enter the station.

“Okay, no... I think you really wanna hear this.”

“Get away from me.”

“Trust me. I only want five minutes!”

“Yeah, I want a date with Bo Derek.” Hopper says, smirking as Flo comes over and takes the cigarette out of his mouth. “We all want things.”

Murray frowns. “This isn’t a laughing matter, Jim. This is serious, okay? I really got something here. I’m telling you!”

Hopper hides his eye roll as he shifts around him for the coffee station. “Hey, everyone.”

“Mornin’, Chief. Mornin’, Murray.” Powell said, from his spot at his desk.

“Got any proof on your butt-probin’ aliens yet, Murray?” Callahan teases, making his partner laugh. Hopper laughs too while grabbing a donut that was quickly taken away by Flo again and replaced with a granny smith apple (He sends her a small look of betrayal).

“I believe there was, and may still be, a Russian spy presence in Hawkins.” Murray fights back, earning another laugh.

“Russian spies!” Hopper chuckles.

“Are the spies in cahoots with the aliens? Or how do they fit in here? I’m confused.” Callahan asks, getting a glare from the PI.

“I’m talking multiple reports now. Multiple reports, okay? Of a Russian child in Hawkins.” Murray stated.

“A child?” Hopper’s heart sank for a sec, and tries to hide his worries. “What are you talking about?”

“A girl who may have psionic abilities.”

“‘Psionic’?”

“Psychic.”

“What about that girl that made that kid pee himself last year?” Powell points out. 

“A prank.” Hopper clarifies forcibly, but Murray was already latching onto this tiny piece of info.

“What girl?” He asks, as the other officers start to tell the story but their boss cuts in before they unravel everything he’s tried to keep buried.

“Nah, nah, nah.” Hopper guides Murray to his office. “You got five minutes. Not a second more.”

Once they both sat down, Murray started his claim. “I talked to a Big Buy ex-employee who said some little girl shattered the door with her mind.”

“I heard that story.” Hopper replies, taking a bite of the apple, which he soon tossed away because of the bitterness. “Did you hear the one about the fat man with the beard who climbs down chimneys?”

Murray ignores him, and continues, “Then last month, a co-worker of Ted Wheeler’s claims some Russian girl with a shaved head was hiding in his basement. Ted now denies this.”

“Oh, wow. That’s a surprise.” 

“But it connects.”

“Enlighten me.”

“This girl, she’s some kind of a Russian weapon, right? Barbara sees this girl, tries to help her, perhaps. But before she can, the Russians find them, take them–”

“Wait.” Hopper sits up straighter to light another cigarette. “You’re telling me Barbara Holland was kidnapped by Russian spies?”

Murray shrugs. “Kidnapped. Killed.”

“Killed?” Hopper says, blowing smoke and then proceeds to drum his fingers on his desk -- the more he can annoy this guy, the better. 

“Don’t you get it, Jim?” Murray snaps, his tone becoming frustrating (His plan was working).

“No.”

“This has potentially international implications. I’m talking a full-on Russian invasion right here in Hawkins.”

Hopper drums his fingers louder. “Do you have any proof of this girl? I mean, has anybody seen her recently?”

“No! Because these are separate–” He was cut off by the phone ringing, a wave of relief crashed over Hopper (Thank god for Flo helping him out!)

“Excuse me. Sorry.” He takes the phone off the receiver before Murray could protest before Murray could protest. “Hello?”

[ ‘Merrill called, wants you to check out his pumpkins. Says they’ve been contaminated by his vengeful neighbor, Eugene. You’re welcome.’ ]

He hangs up the phone, and puts on his most apologetic looking face he could muster. “I’m really sorry. I really hate to do this, but I gotta run. It’s an emergency.”

“You gave me five minutes.” Murray replies, irritated. 

“Yeah, listen, you know what? I liked your alien theory a lot better.” Hopper says, sliding his coat and hat back on. “And you want my advice? Why don’t you stop bleeding those people dry and go home? Alright?”

“I am not bleeding anyone…” His face falls. “Dry.”

Well that’s bullshit. Hopper shakes his head. “Listen to me. Go home, and stop pestering me.” And he takes his leave.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“It’s crap, I know.” Steve says to his girlfriend, whom both are sitting in his car in the school’s parking lot. They both had some time to kill before class began, and Steve desperately needed some help with his homework.

Nancy shakes her head, as she carefully reads it over. “No, it’s not crap.” She reassures him, but he wasn’t buying it.

“It’s not good.”

“It’s going to be. Just... It needs some reorganizing. Can I mark on it?”

He nods. “Yeah, I guess.”

“So, in the first paragraph, you used the basketball game versus Northern as a metaphor for your life, which is great. But then, around here–” She circles a part on his paper. “You start talking about your Granddad’s experiences in the war. And I... I don’t see how they’re connected.”

“It connects because... because, you know, we both won.” He replies, and her face once again tells him everything. “Do you think I should start from scratch?”

“No. I mean... When’s the deadline?”

“It’s tomorrow for early application.” Steve sighs, and rubs his eyes. “I know it doesn’t look good. I’ve just been so tired lately–”

“You’ve been tired a lot lately. I’d say off and on these last few months.” Nancy points out, concern flooding in. “What’s going on?”

The subtle shift in his emotion didn’t go unnoticed as he says, “It’s… nothing.”

“You keep saying that, Steve.”

“I know, I know, I just…” He waves his hand like he’s sending that part of the conversation away, and steers it back to, “Can we meet up so you can help me tonight?”

“We have our dinner tonight, remember?”

“Oh, shit!”

“We already canceled last week.” She says, frowning. “You don’t have to go. Just work on this. 

“No, no, no. What’s the point?” He says, taking his papers back and tossing it behind him in frustration. 

“Hey–” She touches his shoulder. “Calm down.”

“I’m calm. I am calm. I’m just being honest.” He replies, running a hand through his hair like a nervous tick. “You know, I mean... I don’t know what I’m going to do after I graduate. I literally have no freaking goals when it comes to the job field.”

“You haven’t been thinking about it lately?”

“Nah. Not really my priority nowadays.”

She bites her lip a thought, and starts shredding the metaphorical waters carefully. “Is it… is it your parents? Are they putting pressure on you for something?”

“No, it’s just I–” He holds his tongue as soon as something almost slips out, and quickly diverts the conversation once again. “Maybe I can just get an internship somewhere in town. You know, so I could be around for your senior year. Maybe we can think of something together.”

“Steve…” 

“Just to look after you a little bit. Make sure you don’t forget about this pretty face.” He says, making her laugh. “Nance, I’m serious.” And he leans in for a quick kiss, and words that didn’t feel completely whole just yet. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She says, without missing a beat. And speaking of not missing, no one on campus was safe from the sound of a Camaro’s revving engine that shook the whole place. “What the heck was that?!”

.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, not too far away, Stephanie had slipped out of Eddie’s van and joined him on the sidewalk, as she tried not to laugh at how depressed he was looking. -- Of course it was just him being overly dramatic. She’s not that much of a monster.

“Quit your whining. You’ll be fine.” She says, trying to get his hopes up that had been quickly shot this morning. “This is your chance to graduate with this extra credit. ‘84, baby. You got this.”

He groans, trying to keep his head up in a metaphorical sense and a literal sense. “I’m glad you can stay so positive.”

She chuckles. “Someone has to.”

“Yeah.” Eddie mumbles, flashing a smile that quickly fades. “Hang on.”

“What?” She said, as he pulled her to a stop. 

“You’re bleeding again.” He replies, as starts digging around his pockets.

“Am I?”

“Yeah. Hang on.” He eventually hangs her a clean cloth, and thanks him. He waits a couple seconds to ask, “Are you sure you’re not anemic?”

She shakes her head. “The doctor already checked me for that, and I was in the clear.”

“Any other reason why?”

“Not sure.” Steph says, half-truthfully. After last night it seems her episodes might be connected to her nose bleeds. Or it could just be a coincidence. She’s not a hundred percent sure yet. “You don’t have to keep looking at me like that, Eddie. I’m fine.”

Eddie adverts his distressful eyes. “You say that, and I believe you, but… you know, my mom said that a lot, and she, uh… yeah.” He says, kicking a small rock away. “So, I’m sorry for worrying. You know?”

“Eddie.” She begins, softly. “Thanks for worrying, but I’m fine. Really. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I promise. Besides–” She smiles and nudges him. “My gut’s telling me this is going to be over soon.”

“If you say so. ‘Cause if not…” He shows off his signature goofy grin. “I’m going to kick your ass.”

“I’m sure you will, Eds– AH!!”

The two of them nearly jumped out of their shoes when a muffler backfires, followed by a loud engine purring as it bolts into the school’s parking lot. The duo watches as a ‘79 deep blue Camaro whips around and into a parking space. A little red headed girl gets out with her skateboard, wasting no time to use it to get to her middle school on the other side of the lot. Soon afterwards a tall, Caucasian, blond and blue eyed teenager gets out, sliding off his shades with a cigarette between his teeth. He surveyed the area for a few minutes, before heading down the pathway for the high school.

“Who’s the bad boy?” Eddie says, breaking the ice first.

“I don’t know. But he’s kind of cute.” Steph replies, getting a look. “Oh, come on. I can say that. Besides, I saw you checking out one of the cheerleader’s asses yesterday.”

He gasps dramatically. “That’s not true.”

“Maybe buy the girl dinner first, Munson.” Steph says, as she starts walking away.

Eddie shakes his head with a scoff. “I could say the same thing about you to Mr. Mullet over there.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Will was not having a good start to school today. He could hardly listen to Mr. Clarke speaking about all the wonders of the human brain without thinking about what happened earlier (And Mr. Clarke’s classes were his favorite!). As soon as he opened his locker this morning he found yet another article of him with his eyes scratched and words painted on to spell out ‘Zombie Boy’. He’s lost count how many newspaper clippings he’s thrown away this school semester alone that repeated those two-words. And each time they cut a little bit deeper into his skin. 

When will this ever stop? He wonders, almost completely zoning out if it wasn’t for the door opening aggressively. 

Mr. Clarke’s face lights up. “Ah, this must be our new student.”

“Indeed.” The principal says, with a smile. “All yours.”

“Alright.” Mr. Clarke stops the student from slipping by. “Hold up. You don’t get away that easy. Come on up. Don’t be shy. Dustin, drum roll.” His student complies, and he begins, “Class, please welcome, all the way from sunny California, the latest passenger to join us on our curiosity voyage, Maxine.”

“It’s Max.” The girl clarifies immediately. 

He blinks. “Sorry?”

“Nobody calls me Maxine.” She says, honestly. “It’s Max.”

The boys’ eyes widened in shock, as Lucas whispered, “Mad Max.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Hopper finds himself standing in a field filled with rotten pumpkins that stretched over miles long. He’s happy for once in his life that it isn’t Summertime. He can only imagine how bad the smell truly is if it was hotter. “You’re saying this was fine yesterday?”

Farmer Merrill scoffs. “Fine? These were prize winners, Chief. You should’ve seen ‘em. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what happened. And then I remembered... Eugene.”

“What about him?”

“He’s been complaining about me to just about anyone who’ll listen.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, he started this ‘Pick Your Pumpkin’ thing. Acted like it was trademarked. I said, ‘Hire yourself a damn lawyer. See how far that gets you’.”

Hopper raises an eyebrow over his shades. “You’re telling me that nice old Eugene came out here after dark and doused your field with poison?”

Merrill shakes his head. “Not Eugene himself. I’m thinkin’ one of his field hands.”

“Uh-huh.” Hopper crouches down and pokes the fly infested pumpkin with his pencil. 

“Listen, Chief, I don’t go throwing around accusations lightly. You know me. But this happening the day before Halloween, when sales are peaking? That’s a hell of a coincidence. Hell of a coincidence!”

He’s not wrong about that. However, even if it was true, he couldn’t imagine a sweet elderly neighbour like Eugene actually doing this. But if it wasn’t him…

.

.

.

Then who or what was causing all this?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“You’re coming to this.” Nancy says, once her and Jonathan got out of their classroom.

The oldest Byers grabs the orange flier, reading it over and laughing. “‘Come and get sheet faced’. No, I’m not.” He replies, trying to hand it back to her but she refuses to take it.

“I can’t let you sit all alone on Halloween. That’s just not acceptable.”

“Well, you can relax. I’m not gonna be alone. I’m going trick-or-treating with Will and his friends.” 

“All night?” She asks, skeptically. 

“Yeah.” He says, but he knows by now that Nancy can read him like a book.

“No, no way.” She waves him off. “You’re gonna be home by 8:00, listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something.”

He ponders on that for a moment before nodding. “Sounds like a nice night.” 

“Jonathan, just come. I mean, who knows, you might even, like, meet someone–” Her words were cut off when Steve came up from behind and picked her up, causing her to shriek. “Oh, my God!”

“Sorry, Nance.” Steve laughs, and sets her down. 

“Take those stupid things off.” She says, pulling off his sunglasses.

“Okay, okay.” He happily smiles. “I missed you.”

“It’s been like an hour.”

“Tell me about it.” His gaze shifts to the other party member. “Hey, Jonathan. You going to come to Tina’s party?”

“I’m actually trying to convince him right now.” Nancy says, shifting around to face him.

But Jonathan’s expressions were becoming unreadable as he bows his head, and says, “I’ll think about it.”, then disappears down the hallway.

“What’s his deal?” Steve asks, as his girl watches him worriedly.

“I…” What was that reaction just now? “I’m not really sure.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“There’s no way that’s Mad Max.” Mike says, as he and his friends stare at the girl riding around on the playground with her skateboard, occasionally doing a few neat tricks she’s fully mastered. “And even if she is, you can’t get 750,000 points on Dig Dug. It’s impossible.”

“She had to find some kind of cheat code, right?” Will suggests. In his eyes, that could be the only way. Right?

“Totally.”

“But her name is Max.” Lucas points out.

“So what?” Mike asks, as Lucas looks at him like he’s crazy.

“So, how many Maxes do you know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Zero. That’s how many.”

“She shows up at school the day after someone with her same name breaks our top score. I mean, you kidding me?” Dustin says, stating the obvious as well.

“Exactly!” Lucas says, ecstatically. “So she’s gotta be Mad Max. She’s gotta be.”

“And plus she skateboards, so she’s pretty awesome.”

“Awesome?” Mike says, in disbelief. “You haven’t even spoken a word to her.”

Dustin shrugs. “I don’t have to. I mean, look at her–” His face falls when he notices she’s gone. “Shit. I’ve lost the target.”

“No, no, no! Look!” Will shouts and points to Max throwing something in a trash bin before heading inside. The boys of course wasted no time rushing over and retrieving what she tossed, in hopes that it’ll give them some other clue.

Dustin unfolds the crumpled piece of paper, showing it off as they all read a loud: “‘Stop spying on me, creeps’.”

The Henderson exhales in defeat. “Well, shit.”

“We’re officially the worst spies ever.” Lucas says, grabbing the paper and tossing it away.

“Agreed. So, what’s next?”

“Well, we could try–”

“Hey.” Will butts in, his attention elsewhere. “You guys keep talking. I gotta do something real quick.” And he leaves before anyone could question or object.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“What’s his name again?” Gareth asks, as he and the others sit around the picnic table. It was recess (or PE in their case) for them as well, and they spent it by going for a nice “jog”. But since the coaches were hardly ever outside, it was easy for students to just hang out in the grass and gossip. 

And that’s exactly what they were doing. 

“William Hargrove. He goes by Billy, though.” Jeff says, as everyone takes this information in.

“What’s he like?” Grant asks, which was the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“He’s from Cali and had just moved here. He’s really charming with the ladies, but the other hand, with the guys, he’s a little… testy.”

“Testy, huh?”

“Awe, don’t tell Stephanie that now.” Eddie teases, and nudges her.

“Hey, I said he was ‘cute’, doesn’t mean I was going to date him.” Steph defends, with her hands up. “And Jeff, how long did you talk to this guy?”

“None. I’ve just observed.” He replies.

“Well, maybe don’t judge a book by its cover. We can’t just assume.” 

“True.”

“But–” She emphasizes hard. “If he is a douche, we just stay away from him with a ten-foot pole. Capish?”

They all nodded in agreement, Grant even chuckling and saying, “I’m starting to think she’s a better leader than you, Eddie.”

Eddie immediately clenches his chest with his hand, his body slacking his seat like he’s been struck. “Grant, the light of my life, you wound me.”

Stephanie snorts, rolling her eyes. “Oh, stop with the theatrics. Nobody can ever replace Munson, or he might die of heartbreak before he’s twenty.” That earns a few more laughs, Eddie even pinching her side that makes her squeal.

“I swear, you’re just as bad as them, Henderson.”

“Shut up, Eds.” She laughs, eye soon catching familiar movement in the distance. “Uh, I’ll be right back, boys.” She excuses herself before beelining towards the chain link fence that divides the two schools. She watches the boy with worry as he starts climbing over. “Please, be careful.”

“You know I’ve been through worse.” Will states, all tongue-and-cheek.

“That is true. But still. I can worry.”

“I know you will. Wait…” He pauses at the top of the fence. “You’re free to talk, right?”

She smiles. “For you, any time.” He returns the expression and hops to the ground to begin their walk together. “How you feeling?”

“Alright.” He sighs. “Kids are mean.”

Her eyes flashed with anger for a split second, but it was not towards him. “Another note?”

“Yeah.”

“I got one of those last week. Stuck it right on my windshield.”

“Assholes…”

She snickers at his language (He’s the one that rarely cusses in the group). “Careful with that word, Byers, or you’re going to turn into your friends. Or worst… you’re going to be Dustin 2.0.”

That got him to go back to smiling. “Yeah. I probably will. Have you written anything else down in your journal lately?”

“Eh, there’s really nothing for me to write. My mind’s been pretty quiet for the last few months now.”

“Except yesterday?”

“Yeah.” She nods. “I had one the other day, but it barely lasted a minute.”

He tilts his head curiously at her, as they start slowly down. “When was that?”

“Hmm… I think it was Wednesday.”

“That’s when I had mine.”

“Interesting.” She scratches her head at that statement. “I’ve been having nose bleeds off and on all week. I can’t figure out if it’s connected to my episodes, or if it’s something else. Have you had any?”

Will shakes his head. “No. I’ve just been extra tired lately.”

“Have you heard any voices?”

“Hmm, not really. I’ve just been getting these… feelings, I guess you would call it? But I can’t really figure out what it’s telling me. It’s… annoying me.”

“That’s strange. And new.” She shifts her weight around as they come to a stop. “I thought I heard a voice yesterday before the Upside Down appeared, but I couldn’t pinpoint if it was something my conscience was making up, or I was remembering something.”

He looks at her worriedly. “Do you think you’re remembering something from after you died?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know.” And she really wishes she had more of an answer. It’s been almost a full year now since the incident and she still hasn’t put the whole puzzle pieces together. It’s been very frustrating. “Well, besides all that, I did read this thing called: ‘The Anniversary Effect’. It’s basically the anniversary of a tragic event that brings back traumatic memories. Sort of opens up the neurological floodgates, so to speak. I know soldiers tend to have this.”

“Well that would make sense. I mean, November 6th is right around the corner.”

“Yeah.” It was just a few days away and it was already making them both feel uncomfortable. “Have you mentioned your episodes to anyone?”

“Um, I kind of told my mom. But nothing in detail. I’ll have to mention that ‘Anniversary Effect’ to her. Give her some peace of mind.” Will answers truthfully. “You?”

“Same. My mom suspected I wasn’t sleeping again, so I told her about what I found. Not a lot of details just because she doesn’t know the whole truth. And I’m also sure that Dustin is catching on, too. I know he’s going to hound me for answers when it’s just the two of us.”

“So, what do we do? Ride it out?”

“I… guess so.” Steph frowns. “To be honest, I don’t really know. I mean, we can come clean and talk about it with everybody, but I doubt it’s going to stop what’s going on with us. I think we just need to remind everyone to be patient until the 6th passes. Then, I think we’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.” He says, hugging himself. “I hate feeling like this.”

“Me too, kid.” She says, ruffling his hair. “But you gotta understand, we went through a lot a shit in seven days.” 

“Yeah…” He looks at his feet with glassy eyes. “But you had it worse.”

His little voice tugged on her heart strings as she got down on his level. “Yeah, but you saw all those things happen to me. No kid your age should have seen those things. Do you understand?” 

He nods slowly, and whispers, “...Yeah.”

“Okay. Look at me.” She takes his face into her hands. “If you ever want to talk to me, just pick up the phone and I’ll be right over, or you can come over to my place. And if you don’t want to talk to me, then talk to your mom. Your mom will understand. Okay?” He nods again. “Okay. Do not let your bottle of emotions explode. Take that from someone who has experience. Got it?”

“Will…” He sniffles. “Will s-she… understand?”

Her face softens. “Of course she will. She’s your mom. And may I remind you that your mom was one of the people that got us out of that place. I guarantee she’ll understand. Talk to me, or talk to her. Alright?”

“Alright. But who are you going to talk to? I know you’re not going to talk to Dustin.”

“I don’t know yet, buddy. But don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She replies, and he throws his arms around her for a hug. “We’re going to get through this. I promise.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Hours later after school, Lucas and Dustin were standing in the parking lot where the Arcade was, snooping around to see if Mad Max would make their appearance (And they hoped Mad Max was indeed the person they think they are). -- Mike went home a while ago claiming there was “No point in waiting this long”, which sucks for him though. In Dustin and Lucas’ minds, with Mike out of their way they have a better shot at making their move on her.

“Still no sign?” Dustin asked after a while.

“Jack shit.” Lucas replies, still holding onto the binoculars.

Dustin sighs and checks his watch for the millionth time in the last hour. “Damn it. My mom’s gonna murder me if I don’t leave soon.”

“So go home.” Lucas says, trying to be all slick. “I’ll radio if she comes.”

“Oh, yeah, nice try. You just want me out of here so you can make your move.”

“Oh, ‘cause you’re such a threat.”

“That’s right. She will not be able to resist these pearls.” Dustin says, and purrs, making his friend roll his eyes. And Dustin was about to take offense to that when he spotted the pot of gold. “Ten o’clock. Ten o’clock!”

The two of them watch as a car comes speeding into the parking lot, abruptly stopping as Max gets out in a huff. She and the person driving started exchanging some heated words that they couldn’t quite hear.

“Whoa! They’re arguing. They’re arguing!” Lucas says, pointing out the obvious.

Dustin groans. “Oh, my God. I see that. I don’t even know why you need those. God, you’re so stupid.”

Eventually, the car speeds off with the door still half open, and Max flips it off immediately. So that’s when the duo took it as a sign and decided to move in. They don’t know how long they were watching her play Dig Dug, but it was enough for them to be completely smitten by her. They both slid to the floor against the wall, giant grins on their faces that’ll never come off. 

“She’s incredible.” Lucas says, bubbly. 

“She’s…” Dustin begins, locking eyes with him.

“Mad Max.” They said, happily.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Nancy and Steve arrive at the Holland’s residence late at night, all nicely dressed and plastered with fake smiles. For the sake of Barbara’s parents, they must keep up the act. I mean, who’s going to believe that an interdimensional creature kidnapped and killed their daughter over a year ago?

“I’m so sorry I didn’t get to cook.” Marsha said, as she placed the silverware and plates down. “I was gonna make that baked ziti you guys like so much, but I just forgot about the time, and before you know it, ‘Oh, my God, it’s five o’clock’.” 

“It’s fine. It’s great.” Nancy says, (overly) boisterously. 

“Yeah. I love KFC.” Steve replies, as they start helping themselves. They let the silence fill the air for a few minutes, before asking, “So, I noticed a ‘For Sale’ sign out in your yard. Is that the neighbors’, or…”

“You wanna tell them, George?” Marsha asks her husband.

“Go ahead.”

“We hired a man named Murray Bauman. Have either of you heard of him?”

“No.” Nancy says, looking at her boyfriend who shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“He was an investigative journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times.”

“He’s pretty well known.” George states, as his wife agrees. 

“Anyway, he’s freelance now, and he agreed to take the case.” Marsha adds, making the teenagers’ stomachs turn horribly. 

“That’s... That’s great.” Steve forces out, trying to hide the guilt on his face. He can still see his classmate’s decomposing body sometimes in his nightmares dreams. “That’s really... great. Right, Nancy?”

“Uh, y-yeah. It is. Um, what exactly does that mean?” Nancy asks, worriedly. 

George grips his silverware tighter, his face full of bitterness as he spats, “Means he’s gonna do what that lazy son of a bitch Jim Hopper–” His wife touches his arm, cooling him off immediately. “Sorry.” He sighs. “What the Hawkins police haven’t been capable of doing.” His words made the teenagers look at their plates, slowly starting to lose their appetites. “Means we have a real detective on the case.”

“It means…” Marsha begins, getting choked up. “We’re going to find our Barb.”

“If anyone can find her, it’s this man. He already has leads. By God, he’s worth every last penny.”

“I-Is that why you’re selling the house?” Nancy asks, her trembling hands falling in her lap and out of eyesight.

“Don’t worry about us, sweetie.” The woman reassures. “We’re fine. More than fine. For the first time in a long time, we’re hopeful.”

And that was the last straw for Nancy. “Excuse me.” She chokes out, and gets up from her chair. “I’ll be right back.”

Martha watches her disappear for the bathroom, both her and her husband oblivious about what their words were doing to the teenagers. Her gentle face falls slightly though as she notices Steve had stopped eating. “Are you okay, honey? Is it not good?”

Steve nearly flinches when he realizes he slipped up. He quickly forces another smile, and replies, “No, no, it’s great. I just, uh… I have a lot on my mind today. Sorry.” 

“Oh, it’s okay. I get it.” Her happy expression comes back at full speed. “When Barb returns, we have to all celebrate together. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Yeah. It will be.” His chest tightens at the lie. He has to be the strong one here. It’ll be too suspicious if he decides to step out of the room to take a breather like his girlfriend. He picks up his fork again and forces himself to eat. “I can’t wait for you guys to find her.”

He was left to keep the hopeful conversation up while Nancy stayed in the bathroom for a while to silently cry.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, in another neighbourhood, just like Clockwork, Mike Wheeler sat under the makeshift fort he put up last year, changing to a certain station on his walkie to begin his conversation for this night.

“El, are you there? El?” He called out, but as usual he was greeted by static. “It’s me. It’s Mike. It’s day 352, 7:40 p.m. I’m still here. If you’re out there, say something. Or give me a sign. I won’t even say anything to anyone if you’re worried about that. Just…” He pauses as he starts to get teary eyed. “I wanna know if you’re okay.”

He hated how broken up he sounded, and he wonders what the others would think if they would see him like this?

He waited a full minute before tossing the walkie to the side. 

“I’m so stupid.”

I mean all he’s doing is giving himself this false hope. He knows that there’s a very high probability that she is really gone after all. I mean, he and all his friends, his sister and Jonathan included, saw her turn to ash along with that miniature Demogorgon and that deranged doctor. She may be a psychic, but there’s no way she’s immortal or has a crazy healing factor like an X-Men.

His hands grip his pant legs, trying not to cry for real. “...I am really stupid.”

He was about to call it quits for tonight when a signal started to come in. 

[ ‘Mike? ---- Mike? ]

Mike snags it back up as fast as he could. “Hello, is that you?” He asks, a hundred percent expecting Eleven, and total not expecting–

[ ‘Yeah, it’s me, Dustin. What’re you doing on this channel again? I’ve been trying to reach you all day. We were right. Max is Mad Max.’ ]

Mike scoffs in annoyance. “Yeah, I’m busy.”

[ ‘But–’ ] 

He pushes the antenna down, ultimately cutting himself off from his friends. He throws it off to the side again, a little harsher this time as he starts stomping up the stairs. “This is all so fucking stupid.”

.

.

.

Lucas looks over at his friend as they continue to ride their bikes back to their place. They were actually not completely surprised by their friend’s snappy attitude (He’s been like this since school ended). “What do we do now?”

“We stick to the plan.” Dustin says, getting a wary look.

“Mike’s not gonna like it.”

“Last time I checked, our party is not a dictatorship. It’s a democracy.”

“What if Max says no?”

“How can Max say no to these?” He purrs again which causes Lucas to cringe.

“I told you to stop that.” Lucas says, just before he pulls into his driveway. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Later.” 

They were going to get Max into their group whether Mike likes it or not! The only thing that was going to be tricky for them was convincing the girl to give them the time of day. 

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

And down the street from the two of them, right off the road of Mirkwood, a family was prepping for movie night. Joyce was in the kitchen making stovetop popcorn when she had to do a double take. But she couldn’t help but smile at her Boyfriend’s shenanigans. 

“Stop.” She says, playfully as he circles around her with his camera. “Stop!”

“What?” Bob said, teasing back. “Come on, you gotta get used to it. This is the future.”

“Well, put the future down and get me a clean bowl. And, Jonathan?” She calls out to her eldest in the living room. “Can you go get your brother?”

“Okay.” Jonathan heads for his brother’s room with a stack full of VHS tapes, knocking a few times before entering. “Hey, bud. I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got a variety. Take your pick.”

“Whatever you want.” Will replies, harshly (Which actually stuns Jonathan for a few seconds).

“Alright…” Jonathan takes a seat at the end of the bed. He then decides to be nosy and look at what Will was drawing. “What are you working on? Zombie Boy? Who’s Zombie Boy?”

Will looks at him for a second before quietly muttering, “Me.”

“Did someone call you that?” Jonathan asks, going in defensive mode. But his brother said nothing in return, so he softened his approach. “Hey. You can talk to me. You know that, right? Whatever happened.” He touches his arm. “Will, come on, talk to me.”

He jerks his hand away. “Stop treating me like that.”

“What? Like what?”

“Like everyone else does. Like there’s something wrong with me.”

“What are you talking about?” Jonathan pushes.

Will uses his fingers to count. “Mom, Dustin, Lucas– Everyone! They all treat me like I’m gonna break. Like I’m a baby. Like I can’t handle things on my own. It doesn’t help.” His voice starts to tremble, which punches Jonathan in the gut as he helplessly listens to every word. “It just makes me feel like more of a freak. The only person who isn’t treating me like that is Stephanie, and it’s probably because she’s going through what I’m going through.”

Jonathan’s heart breaks a little bit more. “Will–”

“And she’s…” Will starts to teary eyed. “She’s so strong. At least she tries to be for me. And it… it sucks because she’s always there for me, and I-I don’t know how to be there for her.” He sniffles. “Her friends tell her that… that ‘Freaks stick together’, but it doesn’t help when we’re constantly being reminded of it everyday for something that we didn’t have control over.”

He breaks eye contact again, and continues to draw, hoping his brother would just go away and leave him be. But Jonathan wasn’t. He wasn’t going to let his baby brother wallow over something like this when he’s clearly calling out for help.

“You know what?” Jonathan begins, moving to sit crisscrossed and give his full attention. “You’re right. You are a freak.”

Will snaps his gaze back at him, both confused and angry. “What?”

“No, I’m serious. You’re a freak. But what?” Jonathan shrugs. “Do you wanna be normal? Do you wanna be just like everyone else? Being a freak is the best. I’m a freak. You’re a freak. Stephanie’s a freak. And guess what? She’s right. We freaks have to stick together.”

“Is that why you’re always hanging out with me?” Will asks, still staring with a puzzled look.

Jonathan chuckles. “Yeah, of course, bud. You’re my best friend, alright? And I would rather be best friends with Zombie Boy than with a boring nobody. You know what I mean?” But his brother still didn’t seem to grasp what he was saying yet. So Jonathan tries something else. “Okay, look... Who would you rather be friends with? Bowie or Kenny Rogers?”

Will scrunches up his nose. “Ugh.”

“Exactly. It’s no contest. The thing is, nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. You got it?”

“Well... some people like Kenny Rogers.”

“Kenny Rogers.” Bob says while popping through the doorway. “I love Kenny Rogers.” And his response got the two brothers to laugh, which stirred confusion. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” Will replies, grinning.

Bob was about to comment until he saw the stack of VHS tapes. “Oooh, ‘Mr. Mom’.” He grins like a kid in a candy store. “Perfect!”

And he grabs them and leaves the room, humming something that makes them belly laugh again. It was a much needed belly laugh for the both of them.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Stephanie stepped out of the steaming shower, quickly grabbing her towel to fight off the cool air. She dries her body off first before working on her dark locks; They had grown quite a bit this year, and she wonders if being friends with the ‘Hellfire Club’ has something to do with it. Everyone, except for Jeff, had their hair long in some kind of way. Between Grant’s mullet, Gareth’s baby version of that, and Eddie’s copying Van Halen, she’s somewhere in that mix. 

I’m starting to think our goal is to braid each other’s hair. She chuckles, staring at herself in the mirror as the steam starts to disappear. Even in her house’s crappy lighting, even after all the special cream and a whole year passing, all her scars were still so noticeable.

Her expression fades into pain as she brushes the delicate skin on her neck. Sometimes she could still feel that bats teeth sinking in… and that wasn’t the only spot. They had gotten her pretty good everywhere. There were a few spots on her thighs and calves, a few on her stomach, and arms. But those didn’t bother her as much as the one on her neck.

Luckily for her she’s always been big on wearing baggy clothes, but this time her ensemble included more turtlenecks and scarves off all sorts. Both her mother and brother stopped asking her about them after three months, and Eddie and the other haven’t even got the chance to see any of them, and she liked to keep it that way (Unless they were the tiny marks on her hands, but those were barely there anymore).

She inhales sharply, trying to guide herself away from all the negatives and get dressed. But her attempts weren’t that great because she didn’t notice the lights dimming and the room growing colder and darker. It wasn’t until her chest felt tight and a shiver ran down her spine she finally took note.

She felt a presence behind her, one that she couldn’t dare make herself look at, as she remained frozen to the tiled floor. She felt a pressure in her head, and something slithering around her wrists.

She forces herself to look down, a weird set of red strings twisting around her wrists and hands like we were some sort of puppet. Scaredly she whispers, “What the…?” as someone whispers back,

.

// FIND HIM //

.

She flinches and screams. Her eyes shooting wide open to find herself back in the shower with the hot water still pooling off her body. She gasps like she’s out of breath, frantically looking around that made her come to the conclusion that she never actually got out in the first place.

“W-What the fuck…” She mutters, heart racing in her ears. It then sky rocketed again when someone came pounding on the door. 

“Hey, Phanie, you done yet?” Dustin’s voice called out. And in a strange way it grounded her back to reality more.

“Y-Yeah.” She calls out, loudly. “I’m almost done. Give me five minutes.”

“Okay. Just don’t waste all the hot water, please.”

“I won’t…” She listens to him disappear back down the hallway, almost wishing he’d stayed there until she was done. Her baby brother she’ll admit was everything to her, and as much as it’s easy to talk to him about anything, as much as she wants to talk about what happened in the Upside Down with him, she doesn’t want him to be plagued with this nightmare she’s living every day.

Stephanie sobbed quietly, leaning her head against the wall, and used the last five minutes she had to cry a rainfall.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

After a long, long day of work, Hopper had finally arrived at his hiding spot in the woods just as someone else pulled up beside him. He gets out with his big flashlight, not turning it on just yet since he already knows who it is.

“How was work?” Steve asks, getting out himself with something in his arms. 

“Oh, you know. Same shit, different day.” Hopper replies, annoyance in his words. “How about you? How was the dinner?”

“It was… interesting. I’ll have to fill you in.” Steve frowns. “Mr. Holland called you a SOB a lot tonight.”

“Oh, I can imagine.” And he probably deserves it since he’s “blowing off” the case in the Hollands’ eyes (But Hopper stopped feeling guilty a while ago since he has bigger things to take care of). He was about to start walking when he finally noticed what the teenager was carrying. “Did you bring KFC home?”

“What? I didn’t really eat much to begin with. And besides, she hasn’t tried it yet. Who doesn’t like fried chicken?”

Hopper says nothing else, used to the teen’s roguishness, and begins his trek further into the woods with Steve in tow. They stayed silent the whole way, being mindful of the traps they laid around the place, including a tripwire they both inspected and carefully walked over. Hopper then knocks the secret code, the door soon opening and letting them inside the poorly lit cabin.

“Hey, kiddo, I got us dinner.” Steve announces, placing it on the table.

Hopper sets his hat and coat aside, along with his belt as he notices something on the kitchen counter: A plate full of Eggos and a mound full of syrup. “Hey, what’d we talk about?” He semi-scolds, as a voice comes from one of the back rooms.

“No signal.”

“What?”

“No signal. It’s 8-1-5. You’re late.”

Hopper frowns apologetically. “Yeah, I lost track of time.”

“We both did. Sorry.” Steve says, just as she entered the room. Her curly hair had grown in a pixie, and she was dressed in clothes he had found in a thrift store (She may have had a tiny growth spurt between New Years and this Halloween).

“I’ll signal next time, alright?” Hopper says, as they all sit down at the table. “Uh, and it’s 8:15. It’s not 8-1-5. Eight-fifteen.”

“Eight-fifteen.” El repeats.

“Good.” He says, proudly before pointing to the waffles on the counter. “Now, what did we talk about?”

“Dinner first, then dessert.”

“Always. That’s a rule. Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Dig in.”

“What is this?”

“It’s fried chicken. Then this is mashed potatoes with gravy, and these are biscuits.” Steve explains, with a smile. “The biscuits are the best part.”

“I think I’d have to agree on that.” Hopper replies.

“But the chicken here has bones, so all you have to do is bite into the meat, and pull it off. Try it.” Steve watches her pick up the drumstick and follow his instructions. Her face lights up after a couple of bites. “Good?”

She nods eagerly. “Really good.”

“Good. Glad to hear. Did you study today?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you study today?”

So she tells him and Hopper everything she has done since this morning, not sparing any details, or questions she may have, as they happily listened to every word.

Oh, and you’re probably wondering… ‘What an interesting group of people’, or, ‘How’d they all end up together?’. And I’ll tell you why…

Although, that’s a story for next time.

(TBC)

-Taglist is Open-

@ladygrey03 @poppet05 @tooearlyforthis @lovesfics @lordzzz

@mirkwoodshewolf @sadbitchfangirl @olivewisp

@emsownuniverse @unspecifiedvisitor @smaryamsstuff @kitty49646 @jinxeee @bookkeeperlove @prozacgooble @goth-baby98 @aainr @luca-random-stuff @catradorapotter @bailees-post @dearabby1990 @savage-aespa @aainr @madaboutjoe

[hellonearthtoday]

Made up version of Curly Shepard I've created in my head

(its just a bunch of headcanons)

- He has traces of New York in his accent. I can NOT explain and I won't because I don't know man, they're from New York to me and idk why they came to mf Oklahoma but they did

- Curly isn't very brave. Most of the things he does that come off as "brave" are just acts of stupidity that he plays off as him being really brave and cool (He didn't think about the consequences of his actions beforehand and now he's malding about them)

- Wouldn't recognize his own emotions if he was forced to write a 10 page paper on them and also because he'd bribe Ponyboy to write the essay for him. And then he'd skim the essay and go "this is wrong 🤨"

- Growing undiagnosed BPD just trust me bro and maybbeee autism too

- Worst case of resting bitch face in the entire world. While Ponyboy just kinda looks 😐 all the time, Curly just has this untreatable tension line in his eyebrows and he looks angry all the time. But his eyes are 90% always wide open he just cannooot fix his damn eyebrows. It plagues him in his sleep too and he has to manually relax his face and he's always like Damn almost forgot 😌

- He really loves the feeling of getting money. He loves money so much. Someone tell this guy what a job is

- He's not really too interested in learning, or at least he THINKS he's not, but that's because nothing they ever teach at school is interesting to him so he's come to the conclusion that learning is stupid and he'll stick to doing sick wheelies in his car

- On this note. If Curly was introduced to forensic science he would absolutely eat that shit up. He would love everything to do with more morbid topics, because it's just intrinsically not boring. Like stages of decomposition? Fire. he has dreams of stumbling across a dead body and being able to identify the stage of decomposition it's in.

- He would definitely like the grosser side of forensic science, like the biological aspects. Morbid teenage boy with hidden potential locked away because they don't typically teach forensic science in the basic curriculim 😓

- His voice is pretty smooth but to counteract it he talks really harshly, and also just isn't a wordsmith. He's really straightforward and he's not really good at clever jokes or teasing and he kind of talks like he's a background villain grunt in a pokemon game

[laura1633]

hiiiii! do you think you could write a prompt where max gets forced into a heat by a fan? I love the whole idea that the grid is in love with him so when they find out that max got injectd (idk you could pick how he gets forced into heat) by a drug they freak.

i love how in your recent fic max is completly out of it because of his heat, so i think it would be interesting to see how as the drug works through his body, he slowly stops saying the other driveres names and starts calling them just "Alpha". And then when they ask him how he's doing instead of responding he starts to whine, slowly losing himself too his heat.

Eventually he hits rock bottom and is trying to scratch his clothes off because he feels to warm, his pressing his face against the ground because he wants something cool against him.

But the drivers won't fuck him because this is a forced heat, max never agreeded to anyone touching him beforehand, so they have to watch him beg and cry for someone to fuck him, their heartsbreaking as they keep their distance so his scent doesn't mess with their minds

Hi anon, thank you so much for the prompt. I have written something along these lines, its not like for like but hopefully I have captured some of the essence of it.

Nowhere to hide (5768 words) by LaurawritingF1

For all the lovely people who have sent me prompts, I do have them all but there are a lot so I am just working through them as best I can and when inspiration strikes. You are all so wonderfully creative :)

[bonesandthebees]

I already said that every chapter has a line that does not leave my mind. For chapter 3 it’s : [“He’s been under quite a bit of stress the past few days.”]. Because I’d argue he’s always under stress, but right now it’s really extra stress and Niki knows him well enough to tell.

What gets me the most is that everyone just seems to move right past it. They barely acknowledge it, but I feel like it’s one of those “Tomys will remember that” moments. Like later on he’ll understand that why Wilbur is like that and then he’ll get that line.

Then there’s Wilbur trying to mend what he already messed up. I feel like he didn’t need to apologise. I don’t know if it had any effect at all because o don’t think Tommy minded (since he seems to find Wilbur being stuck up funny). (Never,ind he literally says so 5 lines later.)

Wilbur is actually in Tomys’ good books because he’ll never really scold him or tell him off (in the way his parents probably have) because he’s trying to gain something, so he has to hold back. I do love their banter.

Lastly there’s Q and Wilbur getting blinded again, this is the second time he has been blinded by something and then got surprised by Q. I wonder if he has been watching Wilbur and Niki talk (and then them talk to Tomys) from a distance (either outright spying or waiting to get Wilbur alone).

[With Quackity yanking him down by his shirt, Wilbur was forced to hunch over, stiffening when he realized just how close their faces were.

(In the back of his mind, he swore he could almost hear the sound of water lapping against the walls of the canals, and cool bricks pressed against his back.]

I am LOOKING. I had to check the damn tags. Something has happened here and I’m sure I’ll find out , but the Tntduo is tntduoing and they haven’t even had any wine.

[“Because if you wanted to get me into a dark corner alone, there are easier ways of-“/“Not this time,” Quackity cut him off,]

I AM LOOKING.

And now I am going to read this secretive conversation. (Also, I feel like not telling Phil beforehand will be a bad idea).

(4/4)

-🎄

niki can tell that wilbur is struggling with a lot already. and yeah, maybe tommy will remember it later or maybe he won't. we'll have to wait and see

oh yeah wilbur didn't need to apologize at all lol he just wasn't sure how to get back in tommy's good graces after that because he's still figuring out how tommy works. meanwhile, he's not even aware that he's actually still in tommy's good graces. that's how little he understands the kid.

...you know spruce this is making me realize I might actually need to update the tags to this fic for, uh, reasons. I guess I've kind of committed already. maybe I'll update the tags when I post the next chapter (which I only just started writing today and only got a few hundred words into oops)

(I'm sure you can guess what tag I might need to add after that bit) (I'm kind of hopping between a 'fuck it we ball' attitude towards this stuff and a 'oh god do I really wanna do that-' kind of fear)

[animeyanderelover]

L,misa,and light with a adhd s/o?

could you maybe add ryuk too but make him platonic?

If your okay with more characters then can you add annie(aot),jean(aot),hange(aot),yachi(haikyuu), and kiyoko(also haikyuu)

I never expected this to become such a beloved topic, but I’ll gladly write it since such small things can help other people extremely. Btw, I already wrote about Hange/Hanji with an ADHD s/o.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessiveness, obsessiveness, delusions, paranoia, overprotectiveness, stalking, controlling behavior, harsh behavior, manipulation, gaslighting, kidnapping, ADHD

s/o has ADHD

Light Yagami

✍️Light heard from ADHD quite a lot before, having used the term in school in certain subjects and being very well informed about what it means. So he possesses already a rather huge knowledge about it beforehand, though he might have never met someone before who has ADHD. And whilst his initial reaction to you might have been a rather annoyed and more disrespecting one due to your behavior, it cooled down the moment he found out that you were suffering under this disorder, quickly taking notice that you coudn't really do much against the way you were. He wouldn't form an obsession with you because he doesn't really show interest in you unless he meets you more often. But the moment he does spend more time with you and gets to know you better, he slowly finds himself becoming somewhat drawn to you.

✍️Light ends up pressuring his darling to move in with him, developing over time a certain amount of overprotectiveness followed by his mania to be the one in control which seems to fit very well with his s/o having ADHD. But despite the possibility of him turning into a terrible person, it doesn't have to be this way and in that scenario he appears to be a very structured and organized person, everything you aren't. He keeps in a constant contact with your doctors and ends up more or less structuring your whole day since you keep forgetting things, get distracted too easily, lose focus as well as motivation. It of course pisses him off a lot in the beginning, but Light finds himself forced to expand his string of patience a lot since he knows that he can't really alter your personality. Instead he finds himself becoming the caretaker of his darling, though he also learns to enjoy the huge amount of dependence and control it brings him. But it also makes him more paranoid to let you go out because his view on this world isn't the best and he does not think that you would be able to defend yourself. He views you as somewhat helpless as well as incredibly naive.

✍️If his darling should have the type 2 ADHD, the Hyperactivity without Inattention, Light has a bit of a harder time since your energetic and hyped behavior gets on his nerves a lot. He really reminds himself that you can't really change this behavior of yours and that you must know that the best as well, but he has his moments where he snaps and shortly has to leave before he verbally lashes out on you which he surprisingly tries to avoid. But he can't leave you for too long alone either since you tend to do things which are more dangerous, climbing up cupboards or jumping on the stairs which might end in you getting hurt which he doesn't want either. That said, Light has his work to do as well and can't be always there and whilst Ryuk is always an option, he doesn't really trust that shinegami to know how to take proper care and against his own will to keep you for himself he finds himself asking your family to look a bit after you if he has to go for a bit longer.

✍️Light becomes overprotective most likely because he knows that people can say mean things about your disorder and that you can get affected from this as well. In normal scenarios Light might even be degrading himself, but he won't stand others doing the same thing to you. The aspect of ADHD changes his view quite a lot and whenever he hears someone recommending negatively about you, he starts feeling mad, though keeping his cool and demanding an apology. He feels like you are terribly wrong judged, another thing he wants to change in his new world. Prejudice like this has to stop because those people have no idea from what you're even suffering. Light ends up killing people rather because they poke fun at you without knowing anything than instead because of jealousy. He still uses the chance to manipulate you into thinking that the world is a dangerous place to be in because such rude people are out there and that staying with him would be the safest option.

✍️He starts developing a nasty paranoia due to you having ADHD and it increases his controlling and manipulative behavior by a long shot because he sees it as the only way to make sure that you don't neglect your own health or end up hurting yourself. He still finds it hard to be with you since you don't pay attention to him as much as he would like and, if the hyperactive type, often interrupt him which makes him feel a bit irritated with you from time to time. He's also kind of worried that you won't be able to shut your mouth if you find out he is Kira, though he feels more at ease knowing that you don't focus long on such things. On the othr hand he can freely control your life without you or your parents suspecting too much since you yourself know that you wouldn't be able to do anything without someone doing it for you. The dpendence satisfies Light just a lot and next to that he ends up gaslighting you to stay away from others since they wouldn't like you. Light just views his darling as a victim of a prejudicing sociaty who doesn't bring up enough awareness and understanding. You're innocent and certainly do not deserve all the hatred you get.

L Lawliet

🍰He surely came across the word as well once or twice and has a solid basic knowledge about what ADHD is, but he wouldn't look deeper into it unless it is important for one of his cases. Or if it happens to involve the person who he is obsessed with which turns out to be you. Different from Light, he finds himself getting slightly interested in you when finding out that you have ADHD, your behavior telling him quickly that there was more behind it. It's pure curiosity since L might have never met such a person like you before, he doesn't interact much with people and lets Watari handle it most of the time. But the moment he finds himself obsessing, he goes out to meet his darling more often as well as looking deeper into the topic ADHD. It makes him even more obsessed due to the complexity of it, but it also makes him somewhat scared because whilst he endangers you already with being close to you, your disability to focus for too long or space out can make you even more of an easy target.

🍰L doesn't take a lot of care of himself so he is actually in no position to tell you to watch out after you, but he still does. Due to him being somewhat messy himself, he shows more lenience than Light does, but he still finds himself kidnapping his darling due to getting too worried when watching them just not being able to gather the motivation to do some house cores or even bathe, much less cook. Sure, he isn’t the greatest regarding such things either, but at the very least he has Watari looking a bit out for him whilst you probably don’t, though friends and your family occasionally come over to look after you. But otherwise you’re on your own and L just thinks that you can’t take care of your own so he resolves the problem with abducting you. At the very least know Watari can make sure that you’re being taken care off whilst L finds himself being fascinated by your way of acting and observes you a lot. He lets Watari do for the most part the cleaning and reminding you where you might have put things which you lost. L on the other hand tries to read you and your behavior since he is utterly fascinated with the topic ADHD all of a sudden.

🍰L doesn’t really get annoyed easily as long as his darling doesn’t act up against him or tries to escape and manages to do so. Otherwise he stays calm and for that wouldn’t mind too much if his darling happens to be the extremely hyper type who is driven by some sort of inner motor. He can and will endure your excited ramblings or that you always interrupt him when he talks for too long because you can’t wait for your turn and instead of being annoyed, he’s more interested and watches you just being you. That said, he also will prevent you from destroying things or wanting to try something out that might hurt you and orders Watari to watch out for you as well so you don’t end up breaking your bones whilst trying to climb up the top of a regal. If he has work to do and needs his calm, he lets Watari watch over you for the time being.

🍰Given the fact that he kidnapped his darling, there aren’t many people who could insult you in the first place, L finds it more fascinating than annoying and Watari respects that you’re different from others and tears you accordingly. But there are moments where you’re let out to take a fresh walk, though L and/or Watari will always accompany you so you don’t accidentally spill out with whom you are or hurt yourself. That’s how people might end up making fun of you, only to end with L giving them a weird and creepy look and Watari advising to apologize to you. And if they don’t L might decide to dig out some secrets and create some rumors to cause someone a bit of troubles. L himself never says much against it unless you were about to get into danger and do something which would end up hurting you.

🍰He comes to find his joy in that behavior of yours, it somewhat adds color to his usually grey and somewhat quiet world. He finds it more positive than negative and he knows that he can't really force you to change and he doesn't plan on it either. Instead he thinks of you as highly interesting and likes observing your habits and all the littly things you do. He is a bit better than Light is because he doesn't manipulate you to the extent like Light, he doesn't talk down to his darling only to make them crawl back to him in the belief that he's the only one who truly cherishes them. But he isn't above scolding his darling either if he thinks that they did something of stupid and in that regard he is a bit more annoying. He believes he knows what's best for his darling which can become a bit exhausting from time to time. Because once L has thoroughly informed himself about everything regarding ADHD, it can not be denied that he knows what he does and Watari wil be perfectly structured for it as well.

Misa Amane

💄Misa believes in love at first sight so she will most likely end up falling for her darling before she even knows that they have this disorder. She might have heard from ADHD somewhere before, but different from Light and L she is more clueless about this, not knowing what this is. But it's her darling who makes her interest in it increase highly and suddenly she asks her manager to get informations about it as well as searching in the internet for all kind of websides that explain the topic ADHD and how to treat someone who has it. And Misa's love certainly won't get affected by all of this, she still loves you as strong as ever. She kind of fears that you might be insecure about all of this since she is a famous model, pretty, nice whilst you are not. It's something Misa won't tolerate in the least bit and to prove it, she becomes extremely smothering and just showers you in kisses and love.

💄She can tolerate everything as long as it doesn't involve her darling spending time with someone else or being affectionate with somone else besides her. And due to her extreme obsession and influence she will have in little to no time found it an impressive amount of informations about ADHD, definitely visiting the doctor and wanting him to tell her how to treat you. She's your girlfriend after all and for that feels like she deserves to know what the doctor told your parents because she'll be the one who will move in with you and take care of you. And she most likely pressures the doc if he doesn't want to tell her yet. And Misa quickly finds her love in taking care of her darling and giving them everything they might need without having to try to motivate themselves to doing anything. She makes sure that she'll hire a team of people who do the whole cleaning whilst she ends up cooking and scheduling things for her darling, helping to find things they might have lost or simply buying new ones. She has some money after all. She might feel sometimes a bit sad that you always space out when she is talking to you, but she literally could never hate her darling for it. She finds it even a bit adorable.

💄If you are a more hyped person who can't sit still for too long or communicate rather loudly with people, Misa becomes a bit more hyper herself to match her energy with her darling's. She rarely gets mad at this behavior of yours, actually not at all. She doesn't really want to restrict her daling, fearing that it might end up huerting them and make them feel insecure about themselves which she doesn't want to happen. Misa loves you just as you are and for that would never be harsh or strict with you. That is unless you end up hurting yourself or your hyperactivity leads you to wanting to do something stupid. In that case she will put a stop to things, even if it should upset you a bit. As much as she puts your happiness in the first place, if it ends with you hurting yourself, she'll push it temporarily in the second place. She feels terrible afterwards, especially if you really seem to be sad which leads to her being moe affectionate and doing many other things in hopes to make you happy again.

💄Misa despises it when she hears people making bad comments about you or tormenting you because you can't stay focused or start being annoyed with your energy and the fact that you constantly interupt people since you can't wait. The girl is aware that you heard this most likely already more than you can count on both hands and getting used to something like this will be really hard and for some people nearly impossible. You can't do anything about this, it's not your fault and in her eyes you deservve only the world and not this kind of treatment. It makes her see red, especially if she notices how you seem to shrink together, wanting to disappear. It leads to her throwing a tantrum then and there before grabbing her darling and instantly going back home where she clarifies more than just once that you don't have to listen to such people and that in her eyes you're perfect. Similar to Light she kills more people due to them having been rude to you than having felt jealous. But they deserve it nevertheless.

💄Misa starts being more warily about taking you outside under too many people, fearing that someone will end up insulting you once again. She truly loves showing you off and letting other people see how happy her and her darling are, but she won't risk it if it means that it'll end with you starting to feel insecure and terrible because you have been born the way you are once again. She just can't bear to watch it and feels highly disappointed if some of her fans think the same way, that she deserves something better because she expects at the very least from her fans support. It makes her a bit paranoid because she loves her darling with all their flaws and whenever she feels like that you start overthinking again because of your ADHD, she grows even more clingy, acting all excited and wanting to do something with you to take your mind off things for a while.

Platonic!Ryuk

🍎Ryuk came to the human world for one and one reason only. To finally see something exciting because different from most Shinigami, he wasn't planning on just passing time in his dismal world which is why he decided to drop his Death Note in the human world in the first place, leading to Light finding it and spending the following years with him before he died. And him meeting you might be a very similar story, meaning that he might have dropped his Death Note again just so you picked it up, marking you as the next owner of the Death Note and Ryuk following you to watch over you. He never heard of the word ADHD before. how could he when spending the biggest part of his life in the Shinegami world so you will end up having to explain it to him which seems to fit in perfectly with his interest, knowing that you're different from other humans.

🍎Ryuk becomes obsessive over you very quickly, your behavior differing extremely from the way Light used to act, but it fascinates him much more. Here it has to be said that at the beginning, Ryuk didn't really care that much about you, though you interested him more than Light did, even though you might not even use the Death Note as much as he did. But once he finds himself growing fond of you, which will take him a while to realize until he finally realizes that he genuinely for you, he starts getting quite worried. He suddenly wants you to live and doesn't want you to die, leading him to start actively assisting you instead of just sitting by and not keeping secrets from the Death Note from you. He starts actively giving you advices and hints about where to hide the Death Note and what would be the best choice to make in certain situations since you lose focus quickly. Won't comment about you neglecting to clean your house unless even he thinks that you can't live properly in this place.

🍎The problem of you slipping up is even higher if you should be extremely pumped up all the time. Because then you tend to rumble excitedly about things and might forget for a short moment that you're supposed to keep the Death Note a secret which is why Ryuk accompanies you wherever he go and it might have happened more than just one time that he had to clasps his hands over your mouth when realizing that you were heading with your words in the wrong direction. It might come over strange for people when you suddenly stop talking, but for you it's a reminder that you have to be careful or else you'll get in troubles. In general your bubbly and lively personality fascinates him a lot and he can't seem to leave you for too long, not only because he loves watching you, but also because he somewhat starts at one point to feel like he has to look out for you so you don't tell anyone or hurt yourself.

🍎At the very beginning he might have felt more indifferent about people being mean to you, simply because you were back then just another human who had happened to pick his Death Note up and who was more interesting to observe due to their more manifold personality, though he was still listening when you wanted to talk about it. But once he finally comes to the terms that he actually cares for a human, he feels for the very first time in his life something that humans would most likely describe as malevolence, he doesn't like such persons whilst usually being indifferent to everyone except when they amuse him. Of course he can't kill someone who isn't supposed to die yet or else he would risk himself getting killed too, but Ryuk is venomous and whilst he won't kill them, he isn't above messing with their mind afterwards a bit since everyone who didn't touch the Death Note, can't see him. He uses that to his advantage.

🍎Ryuk most likely didn't expect himself to get stuck in such a situation, developing such an intense interest in a human and caring that deeply for them. He can't help, but start questioning himself if that is how Rem felt about Misa because up until this day he could never fully understand why Rem decided to die for Misa by writing the name of someone who wasn't supposed to die yet down in the Death Note and dying in the process. Suddenly he does understand, realizing he would do the same if it means saving your life. It might exhaust him sometimes a bit since he really has to watch over you, but ultimately he wouldn't have it any other way. He still demands in return for always looking out for you like this to have a lot of apples. Different from Light, Ryuk also provides you with lots of informations and advices, intelligence he didn't use whilst being with Light because about him he didn't really care. About you he does.

Jean Kirschstein

🐴Jean still thinks of his darling as the best thing that has happened to him and he won’t get shaken up by this at all, similar to Misa he still loves his darling very much, though he gets more overprotective when finding out about it. He actually never heard of it before so when he hears the word “ADHD” for the first time, he gets flustered and embarrassed because he doesn’t know what it means and he feels like he should know since it involves his darling and us for that important. It affects your life and your behavior after all and soon he finds himself hidden in some library and reading whatever books he can find about it as well as asking Hange about it since they seem like the person who would know the most about it. But still doesn’t seem to be enough for him since he feels like he still doesn’t know enough about how to treat you good enough which makes him stalk around for a bit until his friends push him to finally talk to you or at the very least to your parents so he can finally ask someone who has experience with ADHD, experience with the person he happens to obsess over.

🐴Jean still needs a lot of guidance, but with a bit help he learns at one point how to deal with you just right so you don’t have to worry about anything and it makes him proud when your parents, friends or even yourself tell him that, your comment about that you feel comfortable around him mattering the most and giving him a confidence boost he needed, though he is still a bit cautious, most likely because he’s scared that he might accidentally do or say something which will end up hurting you. He doesn’t want to control his darling too much, though he finds himself getting a bit more controlling which worries him, but your parents and you tell him that this is normal and that without a bit structure and someone watching, you might just neglect taking care of your house and yourself. It puts him a bit more at ease, though he still tries to not interfere too much. But he definitely comes over more often and has this one day every week where he ends up cleaning your house, having experience from his time with Levi. Would be happy if you assist a bit, but is also not someone to blame you if you don’t.

🐴You’re definitely not the same kind of energetic as a certain boy he knows (or used to know if we’re talking about Season 4) since you aren’t stupid because you want to be. You were just born this way and Jean finds himself still adoring you. You just seem to be a bit more carefree which is so refreshing given everything that happened to the people in the walls and Jean wants to protect this bubbly and hyperactive character of yours. He luckily doesn’t feel offended whenever you interrupt him or can’t manage to sit still for too long, tapping with your feet and bouncing up and down the chair. He learns to have patience for you which he can’t bring up to have for another person. He lets you for the most part be the way you are, but he also has to prevent you from doing something which might end up hurting you. Jean also can’t say really say no to his darling so if they ask him if he can just have some fun with them and do something with them, probably also because his s/o notices that he is a bit stiff or when he had a particularly bad day, he ends up clowing around together with them, but it helps him.

🐴He gets so incredibly and quickly defensive of his s/o whenever he hears as much as someone whispering something behind your back and it can escalate very fast into him starting to shout at someone since he is a hothead and if you get offended, he feels offended as well. Jean is too aware that you suffering from this disorder can lead people to judging you wrongly and simply not thinking too high of you, labeling you as annoying and tiring and whatever other things. But it makes him mad because he hates seeing his darling sad and he might have heard from your parents, friends or even yourself how you are bring sometimes tested from others which makes him somewhat more prone, especially if you are currently with him and people echt to hurt you by saying such things. In that case he is especially easy to set off and it can lead to him throwing actual hands before he quickly leads his darling away and focuses on comforting them. But he holds grudges and will remember that face.

🐴At the very least please understand that neither him nor your parents would ever want you to put your life directly on the line by joining the scouts and either risk getting eaten by a Titan or, if we’re talking about Season 4, get involved in fights with the people from Marley and her shot because especially after Sasha died during the mission to rescue Eren, Jean became a bit more paranoid and whilst he didn’t show it too much whilst doing his job, he definitely had afterwards a small meltdown with you which led him to growing more overprotective over you. Sasha was most likely one of the persons he trusted the most with you and felt like he could leave you in their hands, the other person being Connie so you might mourn together with him over the death of her. And Jean never really liked you near Eren in the first place, but after Sasha’s death he became temporarily extremely distrusting of him and his intentions, making him want you to stay away from everything that was currently starting to get out of hands.

Annie Leonhardt

💗Annie might have been initially more cold as well as a bit mean to you when meeting you for the first time, not because she didn’t like you, but because she was in an unfamiliar place and had to survive in there for god knows how long. So she didn’t know about what you had at first and she doesn’t seem too interested in getting too close to other people either, even not interacting much with Reiner and Bertholdt. She still might overhear someone saying that you have ADHD, but she doesn’t care until she is somewhat forced to get closer to you or you end up being the one constantly approaching her. And Annie just tries to distance herself from you the moment she notices that she fell in love, for your and her sake and it might have ended with her saying the one or another jean thing about you, though she would be more careful since knowing that you most likely are vulnerable regarding this. But once she embraces her feeling properly, she apologizes and promises to be from now on more careful.

💗She doesn’t ask people, she can’t bring herself to be that open with others so the most of her knowledge comes from easing some books about it since she won’t even really ask you about this until she warmed a bit more up to you. In either case, Annie quickly learns that she should be careful with her more harsh language since you can’t really control what you do and she instantly just knows that whatever she might say to you, you heard it probably already somewhere else which makes her regret whatever she might have already spit at you even more and she ends up silently apologizing by doing something for you. Annie sees the need to learn to be less strict and more open with you and she starts doing things for her darling they aren’t able to do, cleaning and organizing stuff for example and she won’t be mad or scold you for it either, at one point she starts to fully accept it. Later on, after she’s been freed from the crystal, she most likely wants you two to move in together, particularly so she can watch better over you. She also learns to live with the fact that you often space out, but she actually likes moments where both of you just sit there in silence.

💗Her darling seems to be somewhat I faced by whatever is going on if we’re taking about the timeline during Season 1 which amazes Annie a bit because it isn’t easy to seem that pumped despite everything that happened. But she knows that this is just how you are and that you have troubles being differently. With such a darling, Annie finds herself getting easier flustered since she is not like them, being more quiet and introverted so she tends to be surprised or a bit startled if you suddenly yell at her or do something in public which might embarrass you, but you can’t control it. Nevertheless, in here she sees the need to become more stern with you from time to time, specifically in such moments where you let your energy get the better of you and are about to try to climb up the walls or might try something else which will result in you hurting yourself. These are moments where you’ll get scolded at.

💗She can be harsh too, she admits it. But she learns to not point anything unnecessary out which you aren’t already aware of and next to that most of the time she ends up lecturing you because she was worried or you’re being overly dramatic with something or did something that was stupid and even you had to know off. But Annie always makes up for it in her own ways. Being downright disrespectful is something entirely else and Annie certainly will not tolerate it. She won’t start shouting like Jean does, her face stays for the most part stoic. But it’s the slight twitch of her eyebrow, the slight frown on her face that tell someone that she loses patience and once she truly is passed, she looks for such a small girl pretty scary and whoever did say something ends up like Eren whilst she used to train with him in the camp with her telling the person to apologize.

💗After she crystallized herself, her last thought was that she hoped that someone would take care of you because she couldn’t anymore and whilst being stuck in the crystal, Armin might have ended up telling her the one or another thing about you since he knows that she cared about you and you might have ended up asking where she was. Annie is terrified that you won’t like her anymore after finding out what she is and what she has done, but as soon as the crystal finally broke apart, the first thing she wanted to see was you and how you were doing. Annie was somewhat ashamed of herself when facing you again because she felt extremely bad for not having told you and regretting in general all she had been forced to do. So it would be such a shock for her to find out that you accept her and still love her, though it also makes her emotional and in return she swears that she’ll protect you and make sure that you’ll live a normal life.

Kiyoko Shimizu

🖤Kiyoko will care and love her darling either way, no matter who they might be and what they might suffer from. She most likely starts as a friend anyways since she isn’t the type to fall quickly in love and needs to share a bond with someone before she can fall for them. And whilst she might have stumbled over the word ADHD a few times in her life and knows roughly what it is, she never took a deeper look which will change the moment she discovers that you have and with the knowledge she has already at that time, she knows that it is some sort of disorder which is advices to have special treatment for. During the first time she ends up reading a lot in books and internet about it before going out and asking you about it if she feels you two are close enough for you to talk with her about it because she would unstable if you don’t want to talk about this with just anyone. The boys from the team, especially the third and second years might start helping her as well with gathering informations once they find out about you and definitely support her.

🖤Kiyoko is structured, she has her experience with the team and for that knows very well how to make a thoroughly planned schedule so you won’t forget doing important things and she most likely designs a plan for every day of the week to be a help for you. Of course she won’t control you because of this, she just wants to be a help for you which is appreciated by you and your parents. She also has at one point a talk with your doctor who has been helping your parents and you for years since she wants professional advice as well, noting everything down and reading through the advices of the doctor, remembering it and using it the next time. Kiyoko still comes more often over to visit you and look how you are and she has most likely one or two days planned in her and your schedule where she helps you tidying up your place a bit so you can live comfortably in it. She stays calm, even if you end up losing your things and she searches often together with you for such things. She also doesn’t mind if you space out, she isn’t the type to hold too long speeches anyways and can summon things for you quickly up some you won’t have to focus for too long.

🖤And she can just manage to stay as calm and collected if you are a total energy bomb because she has a few of those in her team as well, giving her the learned patience with these kind of people. However, similar to Annie, she can get a bit surprised and startled from time to time when you suddenly yell or drag her somewhere because you want to do something with her. Some people might think that given her quiet character she wouldn’t have an easy time enduring someone like you which isn’t true. She finds herself quickly opening up to you and your bombastic personality and for the most part just lets you be the way you are, though getting more defensive when in public because other people might get annoyed by you and your extreme impatience. But just like everyone, she as well will hold you back, explaining to you why you shouldn’t do what you were about to do since it might hurt you seriously. Instead she searches for activities where you can wear yourself a bit out without the danger of you hurting yourself.

🖤Kiyoko is protective over her darling because she knows that there will always be people who simply won’t understand and are just fixed on being mean. She is somewhat more defensive in public since her darling catches the eyes of others, especially when they’re the type to yell or be very active. It’s not seen positive in everyone’s eyes and even if someone knows that you have ADHD, they might still be insensitive enough to say something to you which will tuck on the wrong heartstrings of you and it won’t please Kiyoko in the last bit. She wishes for her darling to be treated respectfully and like a part of the community since they might feel more like an outcast since they were always told they were special. Kiyoko will still be quite respectful when pointing this out to someone and asking them to apologize to you. The volleyball team gets at one point very protective over you as well since you’re Kiyoko’s darling and because they see you as a friend and will end up defending you as well when hearing someone talking rudely about you.

🖤She trusts her teammates a lot with you and most likely wants you to have some more friends who you can count on which is why she introduces you to them at one point, also because everyone has been asking her when she would finally bring you over. Kiyoko also keeps in contact with your therapist and doctor because whilst she is at this point well educated with the topic ADHD, she also will always ask for the advice of a professional if she thinks she needs it. But people trust her with you, especially your family since she’s proven herself countless times before by always defending you when someone insulted you or when you felt yourself down because of the way you were. No one is perfect, but everyone can try to be as good as they can. And Kiyoko loves her darling just for who they are. You actually help her opening up more, especially if you are the hyperactive type because Kiyoko will learn to express her emotions a lot more better thanks to you.

Hitoka Yachi

🍬Yachi can get intimidated by others extremely easy which might have led her to judging her darling wrong at first as well, judging based on appearance. But she felt extremely terrible when finding out what you had, apologizing rapidly for her mistake. She needs a bit to fall for her darling, though it happens quicker than with Kiyoko. ADHD is not an unfamiliar word for her, she read about it before, but similar to many others she knows only a bit about it which is why she nearly drowns herself into books and the internet whilst searching for whatever she might find out. Yachi underestimates herself a lot and feels like if she wants to be a friend, much more being her darling’s girlfriend, she should know perfectly what she is dealing with and you can bet she’s noting everything Rudy and detailed down for her to remember, she always carries a notebook around so she can have a short peak every now and then. She is still extremely paranoid and has a wild imagination and she just imagines that you might be more sensitive about your ADHD which makes her almost walk on egg shells and as soon as she thinks that she has said or done something which might have insulted you, she’s already apologizing to you.

🍬But Yachi tries her absolute best to give you the right treatment and once she actually is close enough to you and your parents, preferably even already your girlfriend and also having contact with the doctor, she asks all of you a lot of questions, being curious, as well whilst writing eagerly everything down for her to remember. She can still misread situations easy and is most scared that she’ll mess up something which has her worrying a lot. But in general Yachi appears to be a very tidy and clean character, probably due to her mother being a graphic designer so she might just organize your stuff at first more out of habit before realizing what she did and apologizing quickly with you dismissing it and telling her if she wouldn’t have done it, you would have never done it as well since you lack motivation. It makes her want to move in with her darling even more because she starts worrying that one day something terrible might happen due to your unmotivated behavior as well as not being focused and she would blame herself if this would really happen. She makes a lot of notes and tapes them in a lot of places where her darling can see them and be reminded that they have to do something today.

🍬She is more scared and easily startled with a darling who is in some regards similar to Hinata, Noya and Tanaka. Yachi is a person who gets easily embarrassed and scared so she often jumps back when you suddenly start shouting at her, being just too excited. She always has a small heart attack when you do it, but she knows that you can’t really control it which is why she won’t judge you. Not anymore. She still feels guilty for judging you the first time without knowing anything about you and she doesn’t want any it to happen again. Over time at the very least Yachi adjusts to the situation and becomes less scared, though you still catch her off guard sometimes. But she finds herself overcoming her nervousness a bit the more time passes by because her darling sometimes pushes her with their extreme activity into scenarios where she has no other choice, but speak up. But she also has her joy with this since you make her more outgoing and whilst she will always be a bit paranoid, she learns to be a bit more courageous and try things she never did before.

🍬Defending you is always a way for her where she has to hop over her shadow, but in that case she finds out they she doesn’t even care if someone twice as tall is standing in front of her, she won’t have someone being mean to you because of your disorder. She is terribly shaky and her imagination makes her quite literally believe that the person might end up killing you, but she proves that she has guts by still defending you and saying to the person that they should apologize which is a huge sign of affection from her side for you and even if she feels afterwards like she just lost ten years of her lifetime, she also feels proud whenever you thank her or your parents say that she was just now really amazing. She still can’t deal with all people, some not being shaken off that easily in which case she asks for help in the volleyball club and they’re ready to help her when someone is just being a bully to you and she tries afterwards always get best to cheer you up.

🍬Yachi ends up gaining a lot more confidence and more trust in her own abilities over time, having to deal with a lot of things, including defending you against those who choose to be rude and perhaps also your excited personality. But she gladly does all of it if it makes you happy and if she treats you right, though she still clings on her darling every now and then. She never stops keeping contact with your parents and your doctor because deep down she still feels like she doesn’t have enough knowledge yet which isn’t true in the last bit, but these are just her old self-doubts talking out of her. Similar to Kiyoko, she also trusts the members of the volleyball club with you, though she’s terrified what will happen if you meet the energetic guys on her team, specifically if you are one as well because it would make a quite troublesome mix up. But she has enough faith to know that they wouldn’t judge you and watch out for you.

[blogenana]

Doctor Who - Earthshock Live Review

So I have my crisps and lemonade and im ready to continue my journey through classic who - idk why I just started live blogging it...

• People are climbing

• So they've found something- an alien I'm assuming- why do humans always tamper with things we shouldn't

• Oh they haven't found something theyre looking for people

• I hate how classic who drags on so slowly

• Sinister music

• 'probably nothing" foreshadowing...

• Okay get to the killing already

• YES FINALLY HELLO DOCTOR

• Wow I forget they must have their own rooms in the Tardis

• Lots of books in Adrics room

• "why should that interest me" ooh okay Adric getting a bit sassy

• Why's he fed up

• looool "I'm tired of being considered a joke" "why am I being constantly teased" maybe because you're annoying and you make sexist remarks?

• oh chill

• The doctor don't have time to deal with this

• aww okay Adric being jealous that Nyssa and Tegan get more attention from the doctor than him is kinda cute

• 'I give you my word' 'just as you gave your word to Tegan" okaaaaay go off (spoiler alert) ik Adric dies in this because I saw a spoiler so this is very sad foreshadowing that the doctor will break his word to Adric about making time for him- kinda sad

• I hate the celery stick

• okay Adric kick off

• Doctor can't take criticism which is interesting because the last time he was probably ever blamed for something was One with Barbara and Ian. I don't remember any companion ever criticizing him like this before

• 'Well it can wait' you'll regret that

• "I'm tired of being an outsider" this would make sense if we had seen him being an outsider before - in my opinion Tegan is the outsider as she's new and not as mathematically advanced as the others. also I would say that Adric is the closest to the doctor out of all 3 so his point isn't really valid

• I guess this is the writers way of making adrics death more tragic

• ooh Adrics theme

• I swear he was an outsider amongst his own people too

• 'the tools would go missing" why do these people never take the hint

• forgot Adric was from e space- tbh what was the doctors plan when he did demand to go home eventually- did he wanna travel with him till he died?

• "e space is another universe, there isn't a taxi service that goes back and forth"

• Romana mention!

• "im not waiting around while you plot the course to your own destruction" the doctor has never experienced a companion death before - also foreshadowing

• "you know I think since his regeneration he's become decidedly immature" this is funny also like 4 was soooo mature

• I like Adric and Five's relationship

• the actor who plays Adric has gone better

• Nyssa is the most mature out of this entire group

• "breathe deeply and relax" why is Tegan a meditation instructer out of nowhere

• the doctor didn't take much convincing

• lol the doctor bopping Tegans nose was cute

• Ooh Dinosaur bones

• let me guess - the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was an alien spaceship or aliens killed them

• Someone screamed

• Ooh yeah she be dead

• Okay the villains look like they're wearing gimp costumes

• Reminds me of American Horror Story Murder House & the leather monster

• Aah doctor who giving a lesson on how the dinosaurs were killed. We love a show that educates

• Did I mention how much I hate the celery stick because I hate it honestly whose idea was it

• Bro chill why is this man grabbing the doctor like that what he do

• Calm the fuck down mate

• Gimp people be shooting

• Okay they may be androids but they'll always be gimp people to me

• Android vision

• CYBERMEN!!!! DAMN

• Why they gotta hit us with the plot twist like that i wasn't ready

• The Cybermen looks sad

• Hehehe the face is funny

• Gimps be strong

• Why do the Cybermen sound muffled

• I find it more creepy when they have human voices than Robots because it makes It more real that these machines have humans in them

• hHaven't seen them in some time

• I love Tegans sarcasm

• I'm cracking up at the Cybermen voice

• 1 gimp down 1 to go

• tThe gimps be dead

• 'prepare to activate the devise" dun dun DUN

• Damn the Cybermen be skinny

• I'm bored i want doctor/cybeman action

• Okay it's getting intense

• Cybermen be SHOOK

• "cyber technology is too advanced for earthlings" figure it out then mate

• He's recognised the Tardis

• THE BEST DIALOGUE "TIME LORDS, BUT THEYRE FORBIDDEN TO INTERFERE"

• THIS ONE CALLS HIMSELF THE DOCTOR, AND DOES NOTHING BUT INTERFERE

• YESS PREVIOUS DOCTORS VS CYBERMEN

• I'm geeking out

• Imma watch this bit a few times hang on

• Aah I loved that it was so cool bloody hell I'm a nerd

• The 2nd Cybermen looked shocked while he was watching

• "have you no emotions sir" classic

• "Adric do you have a moment" "I'm hungry" Okay I like him in this one he's a mood. Why is he suddenly likeable the ep he dies

• "all part of the daily routine" see what I mean

• Well your daily routine Is gonna end soon

• He doesn't wanna go home!!

• Doctor is relieved it's cute

• Ah this is sad

• It would be easier if i didn't know he was gonna die

• Cos I do like their relationship

• Okay we're being introduced to new people

• "you're beginning to bore me" the writers knew

• I'm trying really hard to concentrate I've zoned out

• Ah the doctor has got my attention "I want to announce my presence, see what the reaction is" course

• aaaand the doctor is caught and he's being accused for murder again

• Don't they have cctv just check it

• "apprehended why can't he just say caught" me in English classes

• 'even under the threat of death he has the arrogance of a time lord"

• I thought Cybermen had no emotions but this Cybermen just said he wants the doctor to suffer for their past defeats - revenge is an emotion which is v ironic

• Hh SHIT the Cybermen are walking

• lol tegan " im just a mouth and legs" she's such a mood

• The Cybermen music is cool

• The doctors face when he sees them

• Aah the soldier has betrayed them

• Why is it that whenever there's a women in charge the men who is second can't handle it and goes rogue

• iIt's such a typical trope

• The dialogue for the doctor is great

• "you know them"

• "oh yes, we go back a long way"

• Haha "I'm surprised they didn't mention me" 'well perhaps you overestimate your importance" "oh I doubt it" doctor is and will always be that bitch

• The doctor is doing doctory things

• "that's very clever" "oh it is" the doctor bragging about how clever he is starts here

• Damn tegan she just shot a Cyberman

• Flashback to "the doctor makes people into weapons"

• Finally the doctor vs Cybermen showdown

• Lol I knew they would kill the betrayer

• "our records indicate that you have a fondness for earth" (especially earth girls)

• "this time we shall succeed in destroying the earth" no you won't mate

• Ah the Cybermen coming out of plastic Wrap is a throwback to the 2nd Doctor Cybermen story

• Tegan looks like a badass with the gun

• So they're destroying the leaders of various planets before they destroy the Cybermen

• Tegan has no idea what she's doing

• I love how Five says the most savage lines with the most polite tone

• He could tear you down and look like he's complimenting you

• Tegan has been caught

• Cyberman in the Tardis is weird

• 'who is this woman' - 'no-one of consequence' - 'thanks a lot - gotta love Tegan

• Okay wow that scene between the doctor and the Cyberman about emotions gave me goose bumps what a thrilling scene

• The Cybermen has a point- he can control the doctor because he has emotions

• I'll never get tired of the debate about emotions between them because it genuinely feels like the Cyberman defend the concept of having no emotions to defend their existence

• Five looks hot when he's defending emotions

• Fuck they need to leave Adric behind

• Shit I'm getting nervous

• His theme is playing!

• The Doctor looks conflicted

• Adric leaving his hand out after the doctor let go...

• "I'll see you soon" this is the actors best performance because you can see in his eyes he knows he won't

• The Doctor has never had a companion die before so he walks away without looking back

• "it will once you start getting rusty" Tegan is funny

• Adric is plotting

• The Cybermen say they have no emotions but forcing Tegan watch her own planet getting destroyed is extremely sadistic

• Clever Adric

• The Earth looks different

• Okay so Adric's cleverness is what gets him killed because he knows he can crack the code

• The Dinosaurs! I knew it!

• Oh crap Earth is safe but Adric doesn't know that

• I think this comes down to Adric wanting the doctors attention and wanting to be the best to have his attention

• The Doctor has his pin!

• Five suffocating and shooting a Cyberman is shocking to see

• Adric whyyyyyy

• This Cyberman walking towards him is bloody persistent

• "Now I'll never know if i was right" such Adric last words

• Id like to believe he was

• Damn.

• The Doctors face. The fact that it could have been avoided if he just left the ship

• Adric is the first companion that died on the Doctor's watch

• Adric died thinking the Earth was going to be destroyed and he could have stopped it

• The credits!! his gold star! the silence! this must have been a shock to the viewers. If i didn't know beforehand through spoilers I would be going crazy

• Earthshock had it's ups and downs, the downs in regards to the pace of the plot however the story was good and the Cybermen were fantastic especially their interactions against the doctor. Tegan and Adric were great. Nyssa didn't really have much to do. Davison was amazing. I liked the writing.

• Also I liked the structural shift of the story to the cave androids to the bomb to the spaceship to dealing with The Cybermen to saving Earth and then to Adrics death

[cyberstabbing]

Non AUs/Somewhat Canon

Unequivocal - This is how it would have happened. 38k

Hear Me Out - It’s not so much the turning into a girl that’s a problem; that’s happened before. It’s the fact that Frank doesn’t turn back. 23k

Okay but this …  was so much more than I could have hoped for. Definitely raised the bar for everything else.

Ice Cubes And Rubber Bands - “It’s hot.“

”Shut up.“

”It’s so fucking hot and I’m melting.“

“You’ve said that like fifty fucking times in a row now shut the fuck up and stop whining!” Frank grits through his teeth, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“It’s not my fault that we are stranded here in the middle of fucking nowhere, Frank”, Gerard says, a bitchy undertone in his voice. It almost sounds like he’s trying to pick a fight. Frank takes a deep breath and closes his eyes; it’s too fucking hot to deal with Gerard’s allures right now. 7k (if you include part two)

Breakdown on the L.I.E. - Frank jerked awake when his dream was interrupted by a squealing banshee, which turned out to be the van grinding and squealing to a halt. 6k

every man - “I won't—we’re a band, Marc,” Gee says, “I’m not—shit. I’m not the girl who stays home.” 1k

with the lights on - Frank is weirdly chivalrous in some ways. He always opens doors for her, he lights her cigarettes like he’s in a forties movie or something, and he always offers her the last seat, even if it means that he has to sit on the floor. 10k

Sparkle Motion - For the next week, Gerard woke up every morning to a new list of Words that Describe how Gerard is In Bed pinned on the fridge. It disappeared after one of them wrote, ‘Sparkle Motion’ because, Bob explained to Gerard, they felt they’d nailed Gerard’s essence with that one. 6k

A Natural Reaction to Rough-housing - He made it to the bathroom and stood there leaning heavily on the sink, staring at himself in the mirror. He didn’t look like a creepy sadist. But neither did Christian Bale, and that hadn’t ended well for anybody. 27k

Sweet Caffeine (and Love of Liberace) - In which Brian tasered them into it, Gerard read too many comic books as a kid, Jamia isn’t worried about anything, and Bob doesn’t wear a codpiece. 4k

Now Honey, Don’t You Cry - Frank has always had an irrational fear of thunder, but when it causes a breakdown beyond that of ‘irrational,’ Gerard vows to find the truth. 6k

Pavlov’s Dog - It’s during one of their coveted hotel nights that Frank finally has enough. 1k

Reaching Through The Mirror - The one where Party Poison and Basement!Gerard have sex. 5k

(part one of Time Travel ‘verse)

James Cameron Got It Wrong - In which 2005!Frank and Fun Ghoul get it on. Then Frank accidentally winds up in 2019. 56k

(part two of Time Travel ‘verse)

Whatever I Want (Whatever That Is) - The first time Frank walked in on Gerard going down a girl in the dressing room, he was pissed. 9k

Distance in the Afterlife - Gerard comes out. 15k

The One Where Ray Can Hear Sex Dreams - I’m really sorry, Mr. Toro. But I didn’t make you have sex with anyone, as per your request. 2k

Heart On - From early days touring in vans to Projekt Revolution, the tour crew swears that they’re not homophobic, they just don’t want to see that shit. Frank takes it as a personal challenge. 13k

I died laughing like 17 times.

Just A Spoonful - It’s actually something of a relief when Frank walks onto the bus to find Gerard learning how to sabotage a car. It’s better than the last time, anyway, when he was trying to snort coke through a rolled-up condom wrapper. Or the time before, when he was passed out in a pile of glass shards. All things considered, wrecking random cars would be a step up for him. 1k

When I Think About You (I Touch Myself) - Van!era bodyswap. Gerard is a narcissist. 2k

You’re so cute when you’re slurring your speech - If this is what Frank wants, then fuck it. Just fucking fuck it. Frank can have it.(Or, Frank wants to bone Gerard. So he does. A lot.) 8k

Ride - This is the coolest place the band has ever stayed at. 15k

jerseymisery wrote this description: ​okay this is an ULTRA FAVE!! the whole fic has such a dreamlike sort of quality to it? it gives me such great vibes of like summer and transience and SHIT LIKE THAT.. it’s set during bullets i’m pretty sure which is. COOL. it just feels like a snapshot, a moment in time.. i really like it. go read it! it’s frank x gerard and mikey x an oc. 

ierohero's write-up: https://ierohero.tumblr.com/post/188897569757/im-reading-ride-again-theres-literally-no

Link to author (they also wrote some fics below)

Sick - It was sort of sick, since Frank was, like, younger than his little brother, but Gerard had wanted to kiss him from the very first second he saw him standing up on stage and smirking into the microphone.

“Who’s that?” he asked Mikey.“That’s Frank,” Mikey whispered back, like it was some big secret or something, hissing the words into Gerard’s ear. “That’s the guy I want you to meet.”

“Figures,” Gerard muttered. It just fuckin’ figured that the first guy he’d wanted to fuck in, like, a semester would be the one Mikey wanted for the band. 5k

Broke - Frank is sick. A companion piece to Sick. 5k

Fucked Up - It’s hard to describe the multitude of ways in which Frankie is fucked up, although Gerard keeps trying. He lies in his bunk at night listening to the other members of the band breathing, soft radiator hisses, the occasional snore, and tries to enumerate to himself what’s wrong with Frankie. He thinks that maybe if he can figure out what the problem is, he can fix it. He’s always been sort of an optimist. 1k

Reasons We Don’t - “Why don’t we fuck?” Frank asks, tipping his head back to blow smoke at the sky. 7k

subterfuge of tiny proportions - It usually takes Gerard hours to wind down from a show. He has this crazy wired look in his eyes when they come offstage, all sweaty and flushed and jittery. He touches people more, talks a little louder, a little faster. Even now, even after all this time, it still gets to him. The nervous energy, the screams of the crowd, the music. Frank watches him every night, because when he is like that, he’s beautiful. And because when the stage buzz wears off, he crashes, hard and fast. 1k

He Told Me I Could Never Go Back - Everything was fine until Frank disappeared. 2k

this broke my heart.

Up Against Your Will (HERE is the chapter index) - Stepping into a world so different from their own, Frank and Gerard struggle to survive. 18 chapters

this was amazing, but also hard to read in some parts, bc of the non con and gore :/ not my cup of tea, but I did love the word building and the fic overall.

When I Was a Little Girl - Frank is a dyke. Period. She doesn't like boys. At all. But if you squint (or you're drunk enough) sometimes Gerard totally looks like a girl. 26k

Silken - Gerard can't help but notice the way Frank bites his lip and shifts in his seat when an interviewer brings up his day in drag. Frank's almost normal when he nudges Gerard with his shoulder, raising his hands in the air and laughing, "Oh, yeah. Man, you should have seen him - like Christina Ricci, you know?" but Gerard can still see the imprint of his teeth on his lower lip and files that away while he relates the story about how the conductor was really nice to him and how he'd managed figure out how to sit without crushing anything vital by the end of the day. <1k

Pushy Little Fuck - "Anyone ever tell you, Iero, that you're a pushy little fuck?" Gerard says, rearranging Frank against his side. 

Frank just grins at him and says, "S'my middle name." Frank Pushy Little Fuck Iero. There's a song in there somewhere. 1k

The Kind They'd Like to Flaunt - When Frank first meets Gee, officially, it's because Ray saw Frank from across the room and put him into a headlock to get him over to his booth. 1k

How Dirty Boys Get Clean - Gerard stinks. Frank convinces him that bath time can be such fun. 1k i think?? maybe 2k

Under My Skin - "Maybe," Gerard had said one night, scratching idly at Frank's scalp, "it was something you ate?" "Maybe," Ray said, "it was some kind of sex pollen." Frank growled and said, "maybe if you don't shut up right now I'm going to kick your ass." 1k

Body of a Venus (lord, imagine my surprise) - Gerard is dressed like a girl and decides to pay Frank a visit. 1k

​Never Looked Better And You Can’t Stand It - For once, Frank is the self-conscious one. 1k

In the Dark - The problem wasn’t that Gerard was stupid; the problem was that he wasn’t always the most observant guy around. Sometimes he just misses things that maybe he should have noticed. He hadn’t thought anything of it the first time Frank had pushed his hands out from under his shirt and said, “I’d rather touch you.”

(Or the one where chubby!Frank is really self-conscious and avoids having sex with Gerard with the lights on.) 2k

Jane Doe - Frank meets a mystery girl at a party. When she turns out to be not such a mystery (and not such a girl), he’s forced to make some hard choices. Set in fall 2000. This isn’t an AU, but some details have been changed. 9 chapters

This fic, man… this fic… An amazing read (though unfinished). Really shows how unbalanced affection and care can be, and leaves you uncertain yet hopeful for their relationship. Here’s an excerpt:

”The heat’s on as high as it goes,“ Gerard said, glancing over with concern. Frank wondered if Gerard would have noticed his trembling if they hadn’t been making out feverishly just a few hours beforehand.

Edit 22/10/2019: I just found out there was a ninth chapter?? Holy shit okay lets go.

Moonlight Model - Frank's a photographer. Gerard's a model. Only not really. 1k

Pack - Frank's a very playful werewolf. 1k

I Wish I Were A Ghost - Halloween is Frank Iero's birthday. It's also the day when the veil between the world of the living and the dead is at it's thinnest.

A ghost-story. Short and sweet. 1k

Immutable - Frank and Gerard are sitting in bed, talking about frank's tattoos, and it's beautiful. 1k​

Curl - Gerard finds Frank tied to the seatbelt in the back of their tour van. Sexytimes ensue. 2k

no sleep - Gerard looked terrible, hollow-eyed and sweaty, and it was still only just after midnight. <1k

the second time the band saves gerard's life - ​soberty fic. 1k

Half the Battle - People tend to assume Gerard is an alpha. Frank knows better. 1k

Afresh - As much as Frank tells him there's never been a time he didn't love Gerard, Gerard knows Frank definitely doesn't miss the days when he could sometimes smell him from the other room. 1k

Just Because - By the time Gerard asked Frank to join the band, the only answer Frank had left for him was yes. 4k

Holding Out For An Iero - When Frank gets his chestpiece, he doesn't have sex for a week. 5k

An Inexplicable Occurrence of Angels - 35k

This was on my Fics-I-Can’t-Find-list, and since this one doesn’t have a description, I’ll just paste in what I could remember from reading it last year: ​

My Chem (minus Frank) broke up after Revenge. One day Frank kinda shows up (can't remember how). Frank's an angel with big wings and is hopelessly clueless about the world, so the rest or My Chem have to help him. They take him on walks and it looks like he has a hunchback bc of his wings. I think Frank doesn't even know any words in the beginning, but he learns english quickly. Loves watching movies. Everyone in My Chem basically crash at ray's place bc of Frank. And they're all Hey... maybe we should pick up the band again...? 

UPDATE: okay i just reread it and it’s sooooo good holy shit. especially the last chapter. there was a comment on AO3 about how they would come back and reread the last chapter over and over again because it made them so happy. that’s probably what i’m gonna do from now on.

A Necessary Requirement - description by jerseymisery ... i think: ​it’s like a warped tour fic i believe, god it’s so fucking funny, the dialogue is gr8.. basically the whole fic is frank wanting to know what gerard’s dick looks like okay dhgvjsdghg. 3k

Twenty Percent Down - We're rock stars," Frank says firmly. "We're not moving back to live in our parents' basements." 7k

House hunting!

"What's your credit rating like?" he pants out. "I - what?" Gerard stops mouthing Frank's skin and lifts his head up. ^ Never fails to crack me up.

One Hundred Percent - (Almost. Maybe.) - Frank sighed. "I'm playing tonight," he said, firmly. "It is a fucking sore throat. Luckily, I am not the lead singer. I can play my fucking guitar with a sore throat. I can play it with my eyes closed. I am fine." (11,400 words of, you know, Frank being sick. A LOT.) 11k

Raspberry Swirl - The time that the whole band woke up as girls was maybe the weirdest. 16k

Away With The Boys In The Band - Behind the Music: My Chemical Romance, in the world where Mikey has always been a girl. 69k

Ship(s): Mikey Way/Otter, Mikey Way/Gabe Saporta, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, Mikey Way/Alicia Simmons

^ I could not put this down. The writing is so so so spectacular, and the dialog is both interesting and realistic. A lot of angst, but still hilarious at parts. Please read.

Update because I need to add some things: Listen! Words can not express how obsessed with this fic I am. I made a mixtape for it. Fanart. Currently working on a ebook version of it so I can print it out. Guys. You do not understand how fucking fantastic this fic is. Don’t scroll away from me, I’m serious! Fucking click the link dammit. Click it. C’mon. I’m waiting–click iiiiit. You back yet? Yeah? What did I tell you! I know, it is amazing! You okay? Got tissues? Good. Okay now go wash your face and eat a snack. No, no, no need to thank me, the pleasure was all mine.

Any Way You Want - ​Gee Way is fronting early MCR when Frank spots them in a shitty bar and immediately finds himself immersed in the energy of the music; not to mention the addictive personality of the lead singer. 18k

​Sucker Bet - Since Frank's currently got a sloppy handful of Gerard's hard-and-getting-harder cock, oops kinda seems like an understatement. But Frank's a practical kinda guy. 2k

A Helping Hand - Frank just wants to be able to jerk off. He doesn't think that's too much to ask. 6k

Frank the Failiest Vampire - Frank's a vampire, and he's finally ready to let the world know. 0.9

a not!fic

Three Sharp Bites - When Frank had imagined the joy of finally finding a helpless thrall who would tilt back his neck for him, displaying the jugular with a undertone of love and utter submission, he didn't really expect it to include the joy of being bent almost in two while his mate fucked the living shit out of him. 0.7k

part two of Frank the Failiest Vampire. This isn’t a not!fic though.

Fantasy Book - This was really, really not normal behavior for Gerard - not for real, normal Gerard, and it was even a little abrupt for the imaginary Gerard who lived in Frank's head and came out during his Special Alone Times with his dick. 16k

The Year of Living Safely - Post-sobriety MCR. This is as much about me and my own brother as it is about the Way boys, and Christ was it hard to write; it brought a lot of painful things to the surface. 12k

Incredibly painful but worth a read. Or ten. One-sided Frank/Gerard.

second word, one syllable - Prompt #60. Frank loses his voice and has to use notes, texts, charades, etc. to communicate. 4k

More Than He Can Say - Frank doesn't know what it is about tonight. 2k

I've Got Friends in Closed Spaces - Written for the no_tags challenge for the prompt of 'accidental frottage.' Set in the middle of a tour, vaguely 2004. 4k

it’s the hide-and-seek fic! i’ve been looking for this for an eternity.

​First Class - Gerard is totally disturbed, because he's sort of obsessed with making Frank drool. 1.6k

Party Games (Eureka!) - Gerard has awesome ideas. 2k

MCR: untitled no.1 - Gerard plays piano in the loosest sense of the word - plays, with fingers stuttering a little in the air above the white keys and even more over the black ones; body hunched over and shoulders tucked in as soft lines form between his eyebrows. Zero-point-something k. 

and here’s another piano drabble by the same author!

just like it was - Basically, I had this really urgent desire to write about Gerard's high school reunion. <1k

love on the webways - As a writer, Grant supposes he could have considerably worse habits than trolling his own message boards.

A totally ridiculous AU vaguely inspired by You've Got Mail. 32k Grant/Gerard

This was so fun to read! It’s a what-if-they-broke-up-after-tbp fic btw.

you weaseled your way into my heart (and ferreted out my feelings) - You gotta watch out for those bands with umlauts. 5k

Reverberation - Frank feels like he just fell off the stage, staggered directly from the lights and out into the long hallway backstage, tipping over into the momentary quiet. 1.5k

Not a Pretty Girl - 28k

Gen. Always-been-a-girl fic featuring kick ass female drummer, Bob Bryar. The story is a series of shorter fics all about her life before MCR, growing up as a woman in the Chicago scene, touring with The Used, joining MCR and everything that comes with that. It's awesome. + art!

I Am a Patient Boy - So this is an AU about Gerard being a girl named Helen (after her...grandmother?) and Frank being sort of, head over heels. 5k

“He goes to the next show alone. It’s in this basement club, red-lit and smoky. Frank stands on a chair at the back of the room. Over everyone’s head so he can get a good look.”

This fic follows Frank as he leaves Pencey Prep and joins My Chem in 2001. The author changed a lot of details though, so I recommend thinking of it as an AU in how the band formed. Unless you want to yell at your screen at 1am for it getting the timeline wrong (like I did).

Not Smashing Windows - In the beginning, they were the scene. An origin story. 32k

From Gabe’s POV, and it’s done flawlessly. It somehow emulates the same feeling one gets from stumbling across an overlooked short film at three a.m. on youtube. The one you can’t help but wonder about, how it is that you’ve never heard about it before. Like it is in its own bubble of existence. Feeling afraid to even breathe or look away, afraid that it’ll disappear at any time, that it was too good to be true. Something you shouldn’t be able to hold in your hands. This fic feels incredibly personal to read. Gabe’s longings of intimacy, the hopelessness at parts. I could feel my fondness for the characters grow enormously in this fic. The wording and conversations and scenes paint a brilliant picture that will stay with you for a long time. I know it will for me at least. Ship: Gabe Saporta/Mikey Way

For a Different View - AU. Ray Toro is a girl, Rae, but MCR is still just MCR. 49k

The first time they went over to Mikey's house, Mikey tossed her a beer and said, "My brother might come up. Maybe not, though. He gets weird in the middle of projects." She found out what he meant halfway through Dawn of the Dead, when a bundle of black fabric barreled from the basement door to the refrigerator and back down to the basement without saying a word to either of them.

I need to finish this!!! But –gah. Such awesome awesomeness. Ship: Ray/Mikey

Double Exposure - “The worst part was the confession. Well, the explanation sucked too.” Written for prompt 38. Frank/Mikey - Frank and Mikey bodyswap during tour and have to play shows as each other. 2.5k

Frank isn’t part italian in this fic. He’s part alien! :D Ship: Frank/Mikey

Anti-Sex (It Comes Around remix) - The first time Frank ever really talked to Mikey's brother it was at a house party somewhere in the shitty part of the Oranges. Before that, Gerard was just Mikey's weird older brother. In Frank's mind, their interactions were always relative to Mikey, spinning out from him, Mikey first, Gerard a trailing but connected afterthought. At that party, though, Mikey's brother was a little buzzed and cheerful with it, talking with a charisma and charm Frank hadn't seen before. 

Here’s a v 2018 relevant part: “Hey, you bring me my voter's registration, I swear I'll turn it in." "You're not even registered to vote?" Gerard said, and brought a hand up to run his pinky across his eyebrow like it was all just too much, and Frank laughed. 

Crooked Crown - There's always a voice in the back of Frank's head, tiny and barely registering after years of shrugging it off, but still present nonetheless. It says things like, this is a bad idea, and it's satisfying now, but there'll be consequences later. Or, this is the line and you're about to cross it. Someone had once said that Frank had no conscience, which wasn't true because hi, voice in his head. He totally did have a conscience - it was just that he wasn't much of a slave to it.

In any case, the voice dampens out even quicker than usual this time and he's then free to scribble 'BALLS' in Sharpie over each page of Gerard's brand new issue of Hellboy before stuffing it back underneath the seat to be discovered later on. 4k

“The next day they're in Austin, and it feels like an armpit. Mikey walks around with his fingers splayed out, trying to prevent any part of his body from touching another”

^ Ah Mikey, never stop being so relatable. Anyway, this was hilarious. I love how petty both of them were. Poor Ray with his head in his hands!

Rappelling Down Mount Vesuvius - 1k | Gen

I love reading little snippets of their lives like this. Just the right amount of fluff and backstory for something bittersweet and hopeful.

down to the water - Things were better than they were a month ago, hell, a week ago, but that wasn't saying much. A week ago, Gee was stumbling drunk on a stage in Japan and puking so much Frank had honestly been afraid she was going to die. So, while her over-caffeinated, white-faced sobriety of today was a welcome change, Frank still felt like they were all on the edge of disaster, that everything they'd worked so hard for could still collapse around them. 10k

New Rule - Pitch-black basement sex. 2k

Frank is jammed in between Gerard and the wall. He made Gerard check the entire basement for spiders before they turned off the crazy-bright fluorescent strip light, but he’s still wrapped himself up in the blankets like a burrito, jamming the edges under his body until he’s fucking airtight. “If you stretch you’ll pull the blankets out,” he says, muffled because his face is pressed under Gerard’s chin. “And then the spiders will get in, and then I’ll have to kill you.”

Oooh nooo, they have to share the bed. [cackles loudly]

Kiss The Bottle - A drunk wizard slips Frank a love potion while the band is in between tour dates. Chaos and mischief ensues. 35k

An impeccable casting of the wizard, I must say. lol

Don't Fear the Reaper - Gerard's not the greatest with faces but there's one that keeps crossing his path that he can't ignore. 4k

THE SCENE IS DEAD - 20k

Can’t remember who wrote this description (it’s on my to-do list) (was it disenchanted?) but THEY PUT IT INTO WORDS: “I don't know how to begin to describe this one... It's written in an unusual format - ie. a lot of it is told through newspaper articles and webpages but it's one of those super haunting fics that stays with you for days. I don't think there are any triggers listed so be warned there are character deaths and supernatural stuff.”

And I really don’t have more to add. I don’t even want to say anything more because honestly for this fic, the less you know the better. For me the experience of reading it was made a hundred times better just by the emotional rollercoasters I was put through. Lol. Trying to figure out what was going on/going to happen next was really fun.

Candy Cane Vodka - "Yeah, Mikey, you accidentally made fucking peppermint Everclear. Congratulations and all, but Jesus Christ."

Mikey gets an idea on the road after finding a bargain bin book on homemade infusions. Experimentation follows, and Yuletide chaos ensues.

ngl... i’m tempted to make that vodka mixture

Ships: Mikey/Ray, Frank/Gerard