#robin is such a bully to steve

[morganbritton132]

AU where Hopper adopted Steve as a child but no one knows about it because Steve and Hopper are both chronic under-sharers and no one asked specifically about it.

It’s not that Robin would care, right? She wouldn’t. It’s just that she would’ve liked to know so she didn’t spent their first month at Scoops Ahoy getting psych damage every time Steve used ‘Dad’ and ‘Hop’ interchangeably.

She mentions it to Dustin when they were stuck in the elevator together and Dustin shrugged like, “Yeah, he does that. Nancy said he did that before he even knew Hopper.”

“That’s…weird?”

“Yeah,” Dustin shrugs again. “Lucas thinks he does it as a joke even though it’s not funny. That would make sense since Steve’s not funny.”

Steve calling from atop the elevator, “I’m not what?”

“You’re not funny!”

“Dude, what are you talking about? I’m hilarious.”

The conversation slips away from there and Robin won’t actually learn why Steve calls Hopper dad for another three months. She can’t even be mad about it because, “Your dad died and you didn’t tell anybody?”

[bigheadbrooke-9]

STRANGER THINGS LINKS

Twitter links

Eddie munson ✮⋆˙

𓍯𓂃

Doggy style

Sideways ( BLACK QUEEN )

Thigh riding

Overstimulation

Dry humping

Teasing

𓍯𓂃

Gareth Emerson ✮⋆˙

𓍯𓂃

Camboy!Gareth teasing

Handjob

Secret camera

Overstimulated

Mama’s boy

Dry humping

Good boy

Face riding

𓍯𓂃

Steve Harrington ✮⋆˙

𓍯𓂃

Rubbing

Masturbating

Back shots

Fingering

Head

Dominant

Come inside

𓍯𓂃

Robin Buckley ✮⋆˙

𓍯𓂃

Fingering

Amazing head

Making out

Strap

Teasing

Tits

Riding

I KNOW IVE BEEN GOING MIA BUT I PROMISE IM THINKING OF IDEAS

I don’t like writing smut it’s so cringe for me to do so this is what I made for yall but this smut that coming up hopefully yall will like it.

<3 And so anyone who requested something I am working on it right now, so don’t worry at all.

[soursquare68]

I'm writing a new fic for Stranger Things (Byler + The Fruity Four), and it lead me to thinking about the dynamics between all of those characters... so I made a chart... Here it is! (these are all based on my specific fic, so they may not be how you think of the characters! Please take it with a grain of salt!) (I've also written it in a way where I'm not repeating relationship dynamics. Ex. I have Will and Mike under Will's relationships but not under Mike's, so that's why the lists get shorter!)

Self-Conceptions:

Will himself: He’s started seeing himself as a burden to the party because he’s been at the center of all the Upside Down shit since it began. He also is so self-conscious of his feelings for Mike and thinks they’ll never be realized

Mike himself: Mike wants so badly to be the leader of their party, a person for people to look up to, but he thinks that he’s actually quite useless to everyone else. This is why he plays a paladin so that he can feel like he’s got some sort of use as a leader. He’s partially unaware of his feelings for Will, but once he realized he likes guys, it’s over for this bitch.

Robin herself: Robin sees herself as somewhat of an anxious wreck, she’s a little self-deprecating sometimes, especially when it comes to her love life, but she definitely tries to laugh herself off most of the time. Nancy will end up having a problem with this.

Steve himself: Steve doesn’t particularly think highly of himself; he’s got mommy and daddy issues, and he thinks himself only good as a meat shield pretty much (great paladin moment). He starts seeing himself in Mike which makes him understand himself better when he looks at Mike’s behaviors. His friends are there to help him back up when he’s pushing himself down.

Eddie himself: Eddie has a decent self-concept, he has a lot of confidence but he still wants validation from others even though he pretends he doesn’t. He likes being acknowledged for his hard work, and sometimes what people say about him does get to him, but he doesn’t show it; he knows he’s weird and he’s totally fine with it, but he also knows that means he’s gonna get less credit where it’s due. He’s also nosy as fuck.

Nancy herself: Nancy is incredibly confident in herself in most areas except for socially. She’s headstrong and incredibly independent but that leads her to biting off more than she can chew, and she has a hard time asking for help. She’s quite uptight but learns to relax a little, especially with the help of Eddie and Robin. She likes being looked up to by the younger kids.

Will's Relationships:

Will and Mike: Romantic as fuck, best friends, went through a rough patch but they’re working it out. There’s still some tension left over from Mike joining another party and playing DND without Will, so that’s why Mike’s trying to make it up to him here.

Will and Robin: Bond over their queerness with each other but subtly in the group. Robin kinda becomes a mentor for Will.

Will and Steve: Will respects Steve, but is very closed off with him. Throughout the campaign Will shows off his personality and Steve and him become acquaintances through it.

Will and Eddie: Kinda rough start because of Mike joining Hellfire, but Eddie really wants Will to like him and for his DMing to be really good for Will. They start to bond over the campaign, and that’s how they become friends.

Will and Nancy: Best relationship Will has with any of the older kids, (decides Jonathan). He’s known her for years, she’s Mike’s sister, and she used to date Jonathan. She’s the person Will would go to if he needed help with homework

Mike's Relationships:

Mike and Robin: They start the ‘we bully Steve’ club. Their snarky personalities might at first get crossed with each other, but eventually they realize they see eye to eye on a lot of things.

Mike and Steve: Mike can’t fucking stand Steve for no reason, he still views Steve as a little bit of a douche. Steve just wants Mike to respect him a little bit, they learn they’re not so different as they’re both leaders of their respective parties and would put their lives on the line for the people they love and care about.

Mike and Eddie: Mike’s gay awakening kind of (Will’s a little jealous). They have a very mentor and mentee relationship, hence Mike’s wardrobe in season 4. Mike looks up to Eddie a lot and has been having mixed feelings lately with Will being wary of him.

Mike and Nancy: They’re siblings, but Nancy feels like she really hasn’t been much of a big sister to Mike lately. They have some really sweet bonding moments because of the campaign and they end up closer than ever.

Robin's Relationships:

Robin and Steve: They are just fully best friends. They make fun of each other, but are also constantly there for each other no matter what. They are basically the poster child of best friends.

Robin and Eddie: Chaos is the only word to describe them when they’re together. Although, Eddie is the ‘straight man’ of this duo and Robins chaotic nature here is her true personality

Robin and Nancy: They kind of get on each other's nerves with how different they are at first, mostly Nancy is annoyed with Robin. Robin is chaotic with Nancy as well, but rather than being chaotic because she's comfortable, she’s chaotic because of her anxious nerves.

Steve's Relationships:

Steve and Eddie: They are a married couple. They are the designated parents of the kids (Steve the motherly figure, Eddie the fatherly figure). They love each other and support each other but they also are at each other’s throats all the fucking time. They are extremely flirty as well.

Steve and Nancy: They learn to become very good friends and to be there for each other without awkward romantic tension!! They end up being one of each other's biggest supporters and their friendship is close to being on the level of Robin and Steve.

Eddie's Relationships:

Eddie and Nancy: Surprisingly good friends, Eddie lets Nancy relax a little whereas Nancy stops Eddie from doing dumb shit all the time. They’re there for each other and while Eddie is similar to Robin, the reason why they work out at the beginning better is because Eddie knows when to tone himself down and he’s not a nervous wreck around Nancy.

[chaosgremlinmunson]

STWG 11-13-2023

Prompt: Paladin

Steve sat in the corner of the room waiting on the kids to (please) finally finish the stupid nerd game they were playing, he was looking intently at a notebook in his lap as he doodled, a knight-like figure coming together in a cutesy cartoon figure. He heard his name and glanced up seeing Dustin leaning over the table eyebrows furrowed at Mike.

“What do you mean he'd be a barbarian, clearly he'd be a paladin or a knight?! C'mon man, seriously your issues with Steve are getting ridiculous!” Dustin was shouting at Mike, his fingers pointing in his face while both of them steadily were turning redder and redder.

“Dude, no, seriously he's so dumb he'd be a barbarian, or maybe a tank. He knows how to hit, not how to strategize! Clearly he wouldn't be able to be someone in a military tank or who followed a religion. I'm surprised he knows how to tie his shoes.” Make snarked back smacking Dustin's hand out of the way.

Eddie was watching the interaction, his brows furrowed and looked over to Steve who was slowly slouching down in his seat, his eyes downcast. He promptly clapped his hands to get their attention.

“Mini Wheeler, your thief Fenizio is in the dark alley near the guards, you are trying to steal the goblet of Ariella, it's enchanted to heal anyone who drinks from it and you know it's being taken to the palace for King Lionos. Roll for stealth.” Eddie has a wicked gleam in his eyes and Mike looks slightly startled. Still, he picks up the die and rolls grimacing as it lands on a four, “and that's a miss!” Eddie crows, “the guard turns just as you reach into the pouch at his side, he grips your arm and throws you to the ground, his foot stepping onto your chest pinning you in place.”

“Shit.” Mike hisses, “I want to pull my dagger and slice into his ankle.”

“Roll initiative.”

Mike rolls the die again and it lands on a 6.

“Another miss. The guard leans down further placing you in shackles and raises you to your feet marching you straight to the palace and into the dungeon. The adventurers you're with are fading slowly from the poisons and now you've been captured. In the time it takes for you to escape the next day you come to find the entire party dead, you yourself walking into a trap. The adventure ends, and so does the journey for justice.” Eddie says leaning back on his throne.

“What the fuck Eddie?!” Mike yells, “why did you kill all of us, that's bullshit!”

Eddie rolls his head to look over at Mike with a pitying smile on his face, “Let this be a lesson, that man” he points in Steve's direction who's looking at the table shocked, “is a goddamn hero. You forget I was there when he did for you all?! You forget what he's done for everyone here?! He's a good man, and a damn good friend to all of you. Stop treating him like dirt, and until he tells me each and every one of you has apologized for treating him as abysmally as I've witnessed today, all of our sessions are over. I'll take the time to come up with new campaigns, but I won't play with any of you until this is fixed, and no, Steve will not be taking any of you anywhere. Birdie and I are gonna have a talk, and we'll both make sure we keep him occupied, constantly. Now shoo, and take the time to think about what you all did. Oh, and before I forget, Steve isn't taking any of you home today either, get in the van.” He turns his attention to Steve then, “Stevie, I need you to drive home for me, birdie and I will be there shortly. These kids are going home and the three of us are going to hang out, talk and have fun. Can you do that for me?”

Steve nods numbly, and stands leaving the room before any of the kids can say anything, he gets to his car and drives home. At least he knows someone cares for him, he'd never seen Eddie as angry as he just was.

[fizzigigsimmer]

Teacher!Steve in his first university position, purposefully choosing an out of the way bar to pick up a one night stand so that he doesn't run into any students. Picking up Billy, a fraternity pledge who has to convince a stranger that he's a rent boy and take a picture in their bathroom.

[envyenvys]

My strongest evidence for Steve still living at home is that if he got an apartment sometime in the last two seasons god himself could not stop those kids from turning his place into their new hangout

[schrijverr]

I Found Myself a Cheerleader 1

Chapter 1 out of 28

Bumped to the lowest step on the social ladder after his fight with Billy, Steve gets roped in with the cheer team. What starts as a favor to help them out when one member breaks her leg in turn for protection from the brunt of the bullying, sets the universe on a different path.

He befriends Chrissy and grows as thick as thieves with her. Over the summer he adds Robin to his friends as well. Meanwhile Eddie seems to have taken an interest in the fallen king, but Steve can’t figure out quite yet why Eddie is talking with him. Flirting with him?

On AO3.

Ships: eventual steddie & buckingham

Warnings: period typical sexism, period typical homophobia, internalized homophobia, child neglect mention, bullying, f-slur

~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1: The Deal

Steve has quit the basketball team after winter break. Before winter break he was technically still on the team, but not allowed to play due to his concussion. Now he is healed enough to get back on the court, but Billy has turned most of the team against him, which makes playing impossible. Hence the quitting.

However, now he has a slot he needs to fill if he wants to make it into college. He can’t join some braniac team, he’s barely scraping by. Going back to swimming also isn’t an option, since the swim team is practically the same as the basketball team and he doesn’t fancy drowning.

He wishes he could just continue playing basketball. That it wasn’t that bad. That he could man up and make it through. But he can’t, he really can’t. He likes his bones in one piece and the doctor said another concussion might be the end of what his brain can take.

So, he sits longingly alongside the court and watches the team train, aching to just have an activity he is good at again. To not feel like such a failure.

A loud and frustrated sigh pulls him from his thoughts and his eyes are pulled to the cheerleaders that are also practicing in the gym. The captain of the cheer team, Molly, throws up her hands and says: “It isn’t gonna work like this.”

“No need to snap,” Heather, one of the other girls, scowls. “Mary can’t help that she’s sick. She’ll be back after the weekend and then we’ll train the whole thing properly.”

“I know that,” Molly snaps. “But it’s throwing everything off and we need to get this routine straight. We can’t afford to have anyone missing.”

“We know,” Heather rolls her eyes, still posed to fight.

Molly sighs and says: “I just need this competition to go well.”

Heather softens at that and places a hand on Molly’s shoulder and smiles: “We’re gonna kill it. Don’t worry too much, Molls. Lets just run it again, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Molly smiles, before loudly clapping her hands and getting everyone back into position to go from the top.

Without realizing Steve has ambled closer to the cheerleaders. He startles a little at the loud clap, before watching at the routine starts up again. He has often watched the cheerleaders, they’re at the sides of big games and the team always stared together.

However, he has never really paid any attention to their training. Right now, though, he watches in awe as they toss each other in the air and keep smiling as they tumble about.

Since he is aware of it, he can clearly see where one of the girls is missing. When some of the girls are lifted some shapes are uneven and a few stay on the ground with an annoyed look. Certain formations are also incomplete. At one point one of the girls nearly falls, because someone who is supposed to be there isn’t.

The routine comes to an end and Steve can clearly see Molly, who is on the cusp of breaking down again. In Steve’s opinion it doesn’t look that difficult, well, what seems to be missing that is. It’s just holding someone up. Not like he has to do a back flip.

He hasn’t consciously realized what he’s doing until he’s tapping Molly on the shoulder. She startles and turns, before getting big eyes and smiling softly as she greets: “Hi, Steve.”

While Steve’s popularity has gone down considerably since Billy showed up, he is still well liked under the female student body. He smiles back at her and says: “Hi, Molly. Uhm- This is really stupid.” He rubs the back of his head, suddenly aware of how much he is not allowed to do what he is about to do. “I-” he lets out a breath and decides to go for it. “I heard you talking earlier, about missing someone. Can I help?”

It’s quiet and Steve immediately regrets even looking in their direction.

A boy doesn’t do cheerleading, it’s a girls sport. Barely even a sport. Just a thing they do to look pretty. He has no business being close to it beyond asking a cheerleader out. He has already plummeted vastly in popularity, the last thing he needs is gay rumors floating around. No matter how true they’d be.

He just wants to be helpful, do something he might be able to for a change. But he didn’t think it through and now he’s done something stupid. Like he always does.

Steve is about to take it back, play it off as a joke or just walk away if nothing comes to mind in the next second, when Molly lights up. “That’s perfect!” she grins. “Mary is a base position, which should be easy to teach. Thank you so much.”

Some of the other girls send him some weird looks, but after Molly’s relieved thanks, he doesn’t have the heart to turn away. So, he awkwardly shrugs: “It’s no problem, not like I have anything better to do.”

He is ignored by Molly, who turns around and addresses the others: “Go over parts you’re struggling with for a little. Lisa, Karen, Susan, come here!”

Three girls come their way as the others devolve into doing their own thing. Molly asks him: “Are you warmed up?”

Steve doesn’t think this will be that much effort, so he nods. It’s honestly his mistake, along with staying in his jeans and shirt.

He is shown the proper way to hold up a flyer. He hadn’t even realized before now that there were multiple positions in cheerleading. However, here he is. He is filling in for a base, so he’s holding Karen, the flyer, along with Lisa, the other base. Meanwhile Susan is the back spotter, she is the first to catch Karen should it go wrong. It’s important to catch the flyer properly or one can risk hurting the flyer quite badly.

Within a few minutes Steve gains so much respect for cheerleading, something he and the other guys have always put aside as some easy girly thing.

As he lifts Karen, he can feel her muscles under his hands as she has to keep everything tense as to not loose her balance on just their hands. Lisa is also a lot stronger than she looks, holding half of Karen’s weight along with Steve. He is already sweating through his polo and he definitely can’t keep smiling as he does this.

After a while he is able to get it. Molly is satisfied with his progress and deems it enough to call everyone together again. She says: “Okay, we can’t go through the routine, because Steve doesn’t know it and he isn’t going to learn this quick. So, we’re just going through the pyramids slowly, alright?”

She gets cheers back and instructs Lisa to make sure Steve knows what to do as everyone moves back to position.

Lisa is his saving grace, because Steve can’t keep up with how easily they all shift between position, creating structures out of just their bodies, before flipping down, tumbling around and doing it again.

He hadn’t realized how much mental space it takes to keep track of everyone’s position. He is very impressed with all the cheerleaders and he is genuinely having fun.

Cheerleading is a physical activity that he’s actually quite good at, throwing Karen around with ease and watching her fly. And for once he isn’t being pushed around.

A part of him knows that he shouldn’t be having fun, that he should have never even offered to do it and play it off as trying to get a date if someone asked. But it’s hard to keep the happiness away or not reply to the high five Lisa offers when they pull off a tricky stunt.

So, it’s not until the basketball team takes a break and he is spotted that the pit in his stomach, that he felt when he first offered, returns. He’s holding one of Karen’s legs when he hears Billy sneer: “Look at that, Harrington’s turned from a king into a princess.”

He can’t risk hurting Karen, so he grits his teeth as he hears the rest of his former team snicker. The stunt still needs to be completed, so Steve tries to tune them out as they bounce so Karen gets the height she needs for a flip.

Once she is safely on the ground, Steve looks at his old teammates, who have all collected to laugh at him. His cheeks burn with shame and he looks to the ground. He just wanted to help, do something nice for a change.

A hand on his arm, makes him look up. Lisa is looking at him with a kind and concerned look. She quietly says: “You don’t have to stick around. We get it. Mary will get better and we’ll pick up training Monday again.”

Steve is quite tempted to take her offer. To just run and be a coward, because a coward is better than being tossed for the tigers. Being a coward is better than being a queer.

However, before he can, Molly is speaking up. She overheard what Lisa said and doesn’t want to stop training. She needs Steve there. She crosses her arms and says: “All of you stop laughing right now, or you’re not getting a date from a cheerleader for the rest of the year. Steve was gentleman enough to offer help when we needed it. Maybe take an example.”

That shuts the boys right up. Steve knows what they talk about in the locker room, almost all the boys there want a date with a cheerleader. A bit of fun at Steve’s expense isn’t worth blowing that chance over.

Billy’s face goes through an amusing journey of emotions. In the end he scoffs and turns away with a: “Let the ballerinas do their thing.”

Molly’s face contorts in a hateful look, before she takes a deep breath and lets it go. Steve honestly admires her ability to do so.

She turns back to Steve and puts on big eyes as she clasps her hands together and says: “Please, Steve, stay for a little. We really appreciate your help. You’re such a gentleman, I mean that, you know. A knight in shining armor. Please, stay a little more, we’d all owe you.”

If he hadn’t grown up around his mother and seen how Molly plastered on the dainty, pleading eyes, he wouldn’t have realized this was a manipulation. She is playing into his masculinity and implying he could score a date if he stays.

Luckily for Molly, Steve is having too much fun to turn down a reason to continue, so he pretends to fall for it. He puts on his best smirk and replies: “I mean, how could I refuse a lady in need of help.”

She brightens up, this time the smile is genuine and Steve feels even better about his decision to fuck what anyone thinks. He has already been kicked to the bottom of the ladder. If he has to be here, he might as well do something fun.

He discovers that cheerleaders train almost more rigorously as the basketball team. He is there for another hour, running through the drills again and again. By the time they go home, he at least knows where to stand to not be in the way, though the arm movements escape him.

As he leaves, Lisa gives him a soft smile. She isn’t the loudest, but Steve quite likes her calm and steady presence. Throwing Karen around together has created a bit of a bond. So, he smiles back and says: “Bye, Lisa.”

“Bye, Steve,” she says. “Thank you for staying. Molly has been really stressed about practice lately.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” he tells her, looking around for a second, before he admits: “It was quite fun actually. You girls are crazy strong. I never realized.”

That makes Lisa let out a laugh and she grins: “We’re full of surprises,” before they truly say goodbye and go their separate ways.

Steve has been avoiding showering at school with the basketball team out to get him, so he gets into his car in sweaty clothes. Today he’s relieved his parents are never home. Explaining why he’s sweaty in his day clothes to his father would likely be the last thing he did.

Another thing he is relieved about, is that it is weekend. He hopes that it either doesn’t go the rounds that badly with no one stuck in one building and that by the time Monday rolls around the excitement will have died down.

He gets radioed by Dustin, asking him to drive him and the rest of the nerd squad to the arcade. He agrees easily, needing the distraction.

Because what Steve hadn’t counted on, is how the cheerleading would get stuck in his head. He had expected it to be a one time thing, something nice that would keep his mind of basketball for a bit, but instead he can’t help but think back on how much fun he’d had.

Cheerleaders have a very different team dynamic from basketball. There is more yelling of good jobs and needing to work together, instead of people trying to steal the spotlight and pushing each other around. It was quite nice.

Plus, it felt great to exercise again. And it felt much more like a team sport with Karen needing to trust him and Lisa to keep her upright and to count on Lisa to do her part, while Steve did his. He can’t deny that a part of him wants to do it again.

So, he drives up to Dustin’s house, then the others and listens to them gush about the campaign Will is running, making the shy boy blush. Then they move on how Max still has the high score, but she’s gonna meet them there and Dustin will observe her strategy, then beat her.

Steve doubts that, Max is a beast in the arcade. However, he lets Dustin live in his world as he watches them go nuts, lending the group quarters when they start to come up short.

He muses that these kids have a hobby they like. He used to have that, but basketball is kind of off limits right now. Even playing just for fun is ruined, since those games are mostly the basketball team or people who are friends with the basketball team. All of whom now hate Steve.

He still shoots some hoops alone in his backyard and swims laps in the pool (albeit with less ease after Barb), but he wants to do something with other people again.

Once more his mind drifts to cheerleading, but he quickly pushes that thought away. Cheerleading is for girls, he already got enough shit as is, he doesn’t need more. Besides, Mary will return and they won’t even need an extra person.

It’s not going to happen, so he should let it go and find something new.

“For the last time, zoomer isn’t a thing,” Mike complains loudly. Lucas jumps to Max’s defense at that, something that isn’t appreciated and the group devolves into squabbling over DnD categories again.

Steve wonders if he should pick up DnD. Dustin has explained it to him a few times, but it sounded hard and the thought of having to face Eddie Munson and his crew made Steve’s stomach churn.

He knows it’s his own fault that such a group will probably not welcome him with open arms, but it still isn’t a great feeling. Now that he is paying attention to others than the basketball team more, he can’t deny that the Hellfire club seems to like each other a lot more. Something that Steve will never get to experience, because he burned those bridges before they could even form.

Maybe he could join band. His parents forced him to learn piano when he was younger, though he doubts piano is part of band. Besides, he has seen the people at the band table. He likely won’t be welcome there either.

Honestly, at this point the only place he might not get shunned is the Hawkins High school newspaper, but that will be because of Nancy and Jonathan, which will only make it all the more mortifying. No thanks.

Contemplating his position, he lets out a deep sigh. Then yelps when a voice next to him suddenly asks: “Are you okay, Steve?”

He looks down to see Will looking up at him with concerned eyes. Steve forces a smile onto his face and assures the kid: “Yeah, baby Byers, I’m okay. You doing good? Need a quarter?”

“No, it’s fine,” Will tells him. “I was just asking, because you look sad. Mom told me to keep an eye on you. She wants to make sure you know you can talk to her about what all happened. You sure nothing’s bothering you?”

Will says it with the ease of a kid, who isn’t fully aware of when they are sharing too much, but the words hit Steve right in the chest.

After the Upside Down bullshit, he hasn’t been sleeping as well and there is no one really to lean on. He is distracting himself with school and driving the kids around. His parents aren’t home to notice anything, yet here Joyce is, showing more care than any adult ever has for Steve.

He has to swallow as to not break down and ruffles Will’s hair as he clears his throat. “That’s sweet, kid, but I’m good. I promise. Just thinking about school.”

At that Will nods with understanding and it hurts that this little kid knows more about what Steve is going through at his age. No one should have to struggle with kids being mean, but Will especially doesn’t deserve it with all he has been through.

To distract from the moment, he holds up a quarter and says: “Wanna bet I can beat Dustin’s Pac-Man high score?”

Will giggles: “He’ll be so mad if you do. It’s his only pride after Max took over everywhere.”

“Lets go boil his blood,” Steve tells Will, even though he isn’t even good at Pac-Man. However, it will make Will laugh and then he can make the kid try, paying for it, because he saw how Will ran out of coins a bit ago.

The weekend passes further until it is Monday and he is parking at the school. He isn’t looking forward to walking in there, not able to predict what he’ll find. He doesn’t like being unprepared in social situations.

As he walks down the hall, he gets a few weird looks, but no one says anything about it. Maybe Molly’s threat about the dates worked and no one is daring. Steve hopes so.

His luck doesn’t hold up, sadly. During first period a note is handed to him with a crude drawing of him in a cheering costume, the word princess written above it. The door to a classroom is opened for him with the comment: “Ladies first.”

Steve honestly finds it more childish and annoying than hurtful, except that it keeps hitting home what he already knew. That he wasn’t supposed to do that and there is something wrong with him, because he actually enjoyed himself, because he even thought of doing it.

Because cheerleading is for girls. It’s not for boys and the fact that Steve did it and enjoyed it means that somewhere in his brain there is something wrong with him. He already knows that there is something wrong with him, but having it spelled out for him?

It’s soul crushing.

By the time lunch period rolls around, he already knows that he doesn’t want to be in the cafeteria right now. It’s still too cold for anyone to sit outside, besides stepping out for a smoke. So, he sets up camp on a wall outside and eats his lunch. Rather cold than a target.

About halfway through lunch, he hears someone approaching. He steels himself for whatever is coming his way. He turns around, surprised to see it’s Molly and Heather, Lisa running after them as if she is trying to stop them.

She doesn’t make it in time, because Molly is already there. She is staring him down and Steve wonders what she has heard to make her look like that. Uncertain, he asks: “Can I help you with something?”

“Emma broke her leg,” Molly says in lieu of an answer.

“Okay?” Steve replies.

“We need someone to take her place in the competition two weeks from now,” Molly explains further and it starts to click what she is asking.

“No,” Steve denies immediately. He wants to say yes, he would love to do more if he were to listen to the little voice in his head, but he can’t. He has already seen what just one time helping out did to the tatters of his reputation, he can’t imagine what everyone will think or say if he took part in a competition.

Frustration creeps into Molly’s face and she protests: “But Lisa said you told her you had fun. You were good at it. Why not?”

“Molly, no.” Lisa is finally there. She looks apologetically at Steve and says: “I didn’t know she would do this when I mentioned it. I’m sorry, Steve.”

She looks genuinely distraught and Steve instantly feels bad for her. They had built up the most camaraderie together. She obviously felt the same and despite the fact that they needed someone, there was already enough solidarity between them after one practice that she would stick up for him against the cheer captain. That never happens in basketball.

“Let her try,” Heather cuts in, backing up the cheer captain. From what Steve had seen, Heather isn’t afraid to stop Molly if she thinks the other goes too far. Right now she apparently agrees with her friend, though.

Lisa sends him another apologetic look that he answers with a reassuring smile.

Molly gets the attention back on herself and says: “Look, I know why you’re saying no. Trust me, I get it. But this competition is the biggest of the season. It’s statewide and there will be college scouts there. You don’t understand, I need this competition to go well.”

She looks at him with intense eyes and Steve knows this so well. Right now she isn’t trying to manipulate him, she is talking to him as a fellow athlete, whose only chance to get into college is a sports scholarship.

And a part of Steve wants to think fuck it and say yes. He is already hanging on the bottom, might as well do whatever he wants. But he can’t be like the party, like those kids who don’t care and just have fun. He can’t be anything but a Harrington.

“It’s just two weeks,” Heather pleads. “The competition is in two weeks. We’ll train every day so you get it down, you do it once and then you can walk away. We won’t ask more than that.”

“I can’t,” Steve says, sounding apologetic. “You know, I can’t. I should have never offered to help Friday. I don’t even know why you would want to associate with me. You’d be better off trying to convince one of your own friends.”

Molly huffs: “All of our friends are already on the cheer squad.”

“And most girls aren’t able to get strong enough to do the lifts in two weeks,” Lisa adds quietly, joining her friends. She obviously also wants him to say yes, even if she feels bad for how his words were being used against him.

Heather agrees too: “And we can’t teach them how to stunt or catch either in that time. We already know you can fill in as a base. Emma is a base too.”

The more they beg, the harder it is for Steve to say no. He doesn’t want to say no, they all know it, but he has to. He will only be here for half a year more, then he’ll be off to college. He’d like to say in one piece until then and this will be counterproductive.

“Think of it as a deal,” Molly tells him.

“A deal?” he repeats.

“Yeah, the cheer squad is big,” Molly explains. “At least one of us is in all of your classes. We can offer you protection, a social barrier and you can pay us back by doing the competition.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” Steve scoffs, though it is quite obvious to everyone in Hawkins High that Steve is a prime target without backup. Now that he stopped performing King Steve, it’s like everyone can see all that is wrong with him.

Clearly Molly thinks the same, because she raises her brow at him. She says: “I’m serious, Steve. I know it’s nonsense, but we’re the girls the guys want to get with and the other girls want to be. And cheer squad sticks together. When Tommy harassed Karen at a party, we all agreed he wouldn't get a date. And look at him. He’s with Carol now.”

Steve remembers the cheer squad turning against Tommy, neither of them had ever figured out why until now. Carol has always considered herself too cool for the cheer squad and Steve wonders if her dating Tommy is a rebellion against them.

“If you say yes, Billy won’t have another date with a cheerleader ever. You’ll sit at the cheer table surrounded by girls. If one of the basketball boys wants a date, they have to be nice to you,” Molly lays it out again. “Just think about it for a second.”

Molly is terrifying, Steve decides. If she ever decides to go into business, she’ll be unstoppable. It’s hard to find reasons to say no. He likes it and his father isn’t even home to be mad about it. His parents will be back next month, by that time everyone will have forgotten about this. They’ll never even have to know.

“Does the deal still stand after the competition?” Steve asks. He is also the son of a business man, he might not like it, but he knows the trade well.

“It sticks till the end of the year and if I make it into college and you have to repeat a year, it extends to next year too,” Molly promises. “Lisa will ensure it.”

“I don’t think that will happen,” Steve protests, but he feels quite relieved. He holds out his hand and smiles: “You got yourself a deal.”

“Yes,” she cheers, shaking his hand, before using the movement to pull him from the wall. “Come on,” she tells him. “No more moping outside. It’s way too cold.”

The four of them make their way inside. Steve is a big believer in seeing is believing, so he still braces himself when they enter the cafeteria. However, no one is willing to risk a cheerleader getting caught in the cross fire.

He gets many glares, but he has long since learned to keep his head up and ignore it as he follows the girls to their table. When he gets there, multiple faces erupt in smiles and Karen excitedly asks: “Did you agree?”

Steve is taken aback by how happy they all are with the news. All of them practically cheer when he nods and they pull him in their midst as they start explaining the competition to him. It’s overwhelming in a good way. Their excitement is infectious and it’s the best lunch period he’s had since before Halloween.

When lunch period is over, Heather hooks her arm around his and smiles: “We have History right now, right?”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, a bit stunned how seriously she takes it without making a big deal out it. He should probably be embarrassed that he is being protected by a group of girls, but he can’t bring himself to care much when Heather rips up the note before it reaches him and he isn’t tripped up again in the hallways.

He has an escort for the entire day and after the last bell has rung, Susan walks with him to cheerleading practicing, because that is what he has agreed to.

This time, he knows better than to try and do this in his normal clothes, so he changes in a toilet stall, feeling a sense of solidarity with all the less sporty kids he’s seen doing that throughout the years.

They start with a warm up, which Steve takes very seriously after how sore he’d been all weekend, as he ignores the looks of the basketball team when they see him stretching with the cheerleaders in his gym clothes.

Those fucker probably thought he would be running far away from them and not dare to do anything they would dislike ever again. Steve feels a smug sense of defiance as he moves to touch his toes.

The others easily slide into splits and Steve honestly has no clue how they do it. Lisa makes eye contact with him from where she is relaxing in a split and quirks a brow at his confused expression, like she can’t understand what is weird about the situation.

“How do you do that?” Steve asks as an explanation. “How are your legs not killing you right now? That’s so fucking impressive.”

Understanding dawns on her face and she softly laughs: “Practice and patience. I’ve been doing cheer since middle school.”

“Wish I could do that,” Steve comments.

“Don’t let coach hear that or she’ll make it her mission to get you there and let me tell you, she is a hardass,” Lisa informs him.

Steve honestly hadn’t considered the fact that the cheer team would also have a coach and anxiety creeps up at the idea of having to face her. Before he can bolt, they’re interrupted by Ms. Miller, who teaches geography. “Everyone gather around,” she calls.

Reluctantly Steve follows after the girls, trying to stay out of sight of Ms. Miller. However, it’s for naught, because Ms. Miller asks: “Molly, have you found someone to replace Emma?”

“Yes, coach,” Molly says. “Steve is helping out.”

Ms. Miller frowns and Steve feels the heat gathering in his cheeks as everyone parts so she can see Steve. Awkwardly he smiles at her and waves. “Uhm, hi, Ms. Miller.”

“It’s coach Miller here,” she tells him. “I expect you to take this seriously. Are you able to do that, Steve?”

“Yes, coach,” the answer comes naturally.

Coach Miller smiles: “Good to hear. Do you have any clue what we’re doing?”

“Uhm, I subbed for Mary Friday, but other than that, no clue,” Steve answers honestly. “Except that it’s for a competition.”

Surprise flashes over coach Miller’s face at the confession, but it is quickly replaced by glee. She claps her hands together and blows her whistle: “Alright everyone, we’re going through the whole thing from the top. Slowly. Make sure Steve knows what’s happening next.”

Everyone immediately starts moving. For a second Steve stands there unsure of what to do, then Heather comes up to him and smiles: “You’re in my group. Come on.”

He easily follows her as she walks towards two other girls. She introduces them both. First she points to a Latina girl with a high ponytail. “This is Sofia, she’s the other base. Look to her for clues.”

Steve nods and shakes Sofia’s hand. He doesn’t have any classes with her, because he thinks she’s a junior. But he has seen her around in Nancy’s AP Honor courses when they were still dating.

“And this is Chrissy, our flyer,” Heather introduces a red hair shy looking girl.

“Hi,” she greets.

“Hello,” Steve replies with a smile he hopes is reassuring. He’s pretty sure the girl is a sophomore, who knows him only by reputation. He doesn’t want to scare her.

After the introductions, Steve is positioned into the starting position. They go through the entire routine at a snail’s pace to ensure Steve can follow along. Today they’re just focusing on being at the right place, tomorrow they’re primarily running through stunts and he’s told that the arm movements will come later.

Like Friday, Steve is having a blast. Sofia is super smart and hilarious. She makes all sorts of jokes under her breath that have all of them struggling not to crack up under the harsh gaze of coach Miller.

Chrissy is also nice and very caring and enthusiastic when she gets out of her shell a little. The only thing is how tiny she is. Steve feels like he’ll break her ankle if he holds her too tightly.

The atmosphere is also so much more fun. Coach Miller is strict much like the basketball coach is, but she still yells out encouragements too. And between the cheerleaders themselves, they’re constantly calling out: “Well done!” or “Oh my god, that was so good!”

If anyone in the basketball team were to do that, they would’ve gotten weird looks and called a fag or something. Steve doesn’t miss it, but he’s sad that all of them are told not to even encourage each other. The most they are allowed is a slap on the back. It doesn’t seem fair.

But he alone can’t change anything about that, so he finds himself in the limbo of smiling when he gets a compliment, but being too awkward to say anything himself as practice goes on.

At they end they all do their cooling down together. Molly takes a place close to Steve and grills him the entire time about how confident he is he can get it before the competition. Steve assures her that he will, though he adds that he doesn’t know if he can keep smiling. “I don’t even know how you all do that,” he tells her.

Molly laughs at that and answers: “Oh, Steve, you are such a guy, you know.”

“What?” he asks, a bit confused and unsure what could have gotten that response.

“Come back to me when you walked a day in heels,” she says instead of answering. “We’re used to smiling through the pain.”

Steve privately thinks that doesn’t sound very healthy, but he keeps his mouth shut, unsure he wants to have this discussion.

They disperse to the changing rooms. Steve contemplates going home sweaty again, but he’s in just his shorts now and it’s still way too cold outside for that. Plus, the basketball team is still going, so he hurries through his shower, hoping he’ll be done, before they get there.

However, they’re done quicker with their punishment laps than Steve expected. So, he’s in the middle of pulling his shirt on when they flood into the changing room.

For a second both Steve and the team freeze, staring at each other in some sort of stand off. Then play is pressed again and Steve is suddenly face to face with Billy, who spits: “What, hanging out with the freaks and little girls wasn’t enough for you, Harrington?”

Steve takes a deep breath, trying not to let it get to him. He replies: “I’m just helping out, Hargrove, you know, doing something nice? Ever heard of the word nice? Or did you skip that lesson in kindergarten?”

Billy bristles and steps forwards, pushing Steve back onto the bench. He gets right up into Steve’s face, who is hit in the face with the stench of teenage boy sweat. He wrinkles his nose, which is the wrong thing to do, because he is grabbed by the front of his shirt and Billy spits: “Those girls can’t help you here. I’m not done with you.”

“Well, I am done with you,” Steve answers coolly, reaching for his bag. He has tried fighting Billy before, that didn’t work out. Now he just hopes he can flee. Let him be a coward, it’s not like anyone here still respects him.

Anger flares up in Billy’s face again and he reels back, probably to hit Steve. However, he is still holding Steve’s shirt, but Steve never managed to put it on properly. So, before the hit lands, he slithers out of it and onto the floor, rolling away and snatching bag as he shoulders his way through the rest of the team, who are luckily too stunned to stop him as he breaks free.

In the hallway, he runs into Lisa, who looks at him in surprise. He looks downs, realizing he’s shirtless and gives her an awkward smile. “Uh, this is intentional?” he says.

“Harrington!” they hear Billy bellow from the changing room and Steve starts power walking away from the changing room, pulling Lisa with him and putting his sweaty shirt on again.

“Are you okay?” Lisa asks with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Steve smiles at her. “Just going to change at home next time.”

“For what it’s worth, I think it really sucks that they’re treating you like that over this,” Lisa tells him genuinely.

“I get it,” Steve shrugs. “I mean, it’s not exactly conventional, you know. Everyone probably thinks it’s a little weird. Hell, I don’t even know why I offered Friday.”

“Still, you’re just doing something nice,” Lisa argues, a small frown on her forehead. She isn’t the fighting type, but she does get frustrated.

“Don’t think they care,” Steve laughs. “They already didn’t like me before this either. They just have something else to hold against me now.”

Lisa’s frown deepens, but she doesn’t say anything.

Steve honestly doesn’t feel like talking about it, so he changes the subject by asking: “You have a car, or want a ride home?”

“I mean, if you’re sure,” Lisa says.

“Of course,” Steve says. “It’s no trouble. And you can tell me more about the terms on the way. I have no clue what coach Miller is telling us 90% of the time.”

That makes Lisa laugh and they set off towards the parking lot together. Luckily, Billy doesn’t try anything with Lisa nearby. Steve tries not to question it too much. He’s tired of trying to figure out what Billy is thinking.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Rebel Robin (Book and Podcast) Review (Part 2 of 2)

WARNING: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS from the book and podcast!

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews. Like, Reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are regarding the show or the upcoming season! :)

Stranger Things Comics/Graphic Novels:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Stranger Things Tie-In Books:

Stranger Things Suspicious Minds

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 3 of 3)

NOTE: If you would like to listen to "Surviving Hawkins," the companion podcast to Rebel Robin, you can find all 6 episodes here.

Part 3: Dash Montague (and people like him)

I wanted to do a separate post talking specifically about Dash's character. It's not just about how Dash relates to Robin's story, but how he's representative of certain types of people I've seen for a while now: Those who claim to fight against social injustices and for people who face discrimination, only for these so-called advocates to reveal themselves to be just as hateful, cruel, condescending, self-serving, contemptuous, and hypocritical as those they criticize. It's a trend that's been around for a while, but started spiking again in recent months due to a number of different factors and world events, and it's caused me (and other mutuals I know) to become deeply distrustful of others currently.

As I noted earlier, Dash is the kind of person who frames himself as a geek/nerd who's unfairly an outcast and deserves better because of how "intelligent" he is. In reality, he is a small-minded prick, and a contender alongside Billy and Angela for one of the most unpleasant and loathsome characters in the series. On the surface, Dash presents himself as a friend to Robin and other members of the Odd Squad (the nickname for Robin's friends). He eventually shows his true colors when cheats on Kate (his girlfriend at the time) and tries to force a kiss on Robin without her consent. When Robin expresses her disgust, this is how Dash responds:

And we later find out that this wasn't a one time thing or a lapse of judgment on his part: He is a serial cheater who had multiple flings with other girls when he was supposed to be dating Kate.

Now, sleazy womanizing creeps are nothing new. Nor is the concept of entitled "Nice Guys" who pretend to be decent people on the surface before showing a nastier side to themselves when they don't get what they want. Dash isn't unique in those departments, and most of us probably know at least one person out there who behaves like this. It's gross, but that isn't what got under my skin.

What made Dash truly revolting to me, aside from how callously he throws away friendships like used condoms, are these observations Robin makes about Dash after he reveals himself to be a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing:

People minimizing evil in their own minds.

Inverting the Social Pyramid.

Pretending to want to change things when it's really about coming out on top and looking like the underdog while doing it.

Using intelligence as a means to justify putting others down.

Becoming obsessed with fighting monsters without realizing (or caring) that you've also become one.

Like I said, I have constantly seen these aspects from people who champion themselves on social media as an ally to the oppressed, who love to virtue-signal for everyone to see as if to say "Look at what a great person I am!", who claim to be against cruelty and unfairness, who position themselves as being empathetic and understanding.........and yet constantly reveal their hypocrisy and demonstrate they are the kind of people I want nothing to do with.

I am no stranger to being on the receiving end of belittlement and condescension from these kinds of people. Last year, I had an extremely unpleasant encounter with a Hughie Campbell Stan from The Boys fandom because I said something about the character they didn't like, and they got condescending about it. I proceeded to block them, only for them to use another account to send me a nasty reply accusing me of being "triggered" along with a snide suggestion to leave social media. All of this was followed by a separate post from them where they tried to make it sound like I was unreasonable for blocking them for their behavior and called me "weak." In other words, someone didn't like what I had to say, belittled me about it, got mad when I blocked them over their attitude, used another account to continue harassing me, and then called me weak for not putting up with their bullying. This was over a fictional character from a TV show no less. 🙄 And it was also from a user who not only claims to be against people who use that kind of Trump-like language (i.e. calling people "triggered" and "weak"), but also posts disingenuous messages about caring for other people's self-esteem. She sure as hell didn't care about being unkind to me as long as she could get away with it.

Sadly, she isn't the only person on the Left who acts like this.

There is this idea from people that if you have certain attributes, like serving in the military, or being a part of the Democratic party, or supporting left leaning causes, or NOT voting for people like Trump, or even if you are a part of a minority that faces discrimination for who you are (i.e. being a POC, or LGBT+, or a woman, or a nerd, or whatever is supposed to make you an "outcast" by today's standards), it somehow means you're automatically a good person and your actions are above criticism. I've seen this mentality REPEATEDLY used by people like this to justify being cruel and unkind to others, or saying the type of heinous rhetoric I expect from the Alt-Right as opposed to someone who claims to denounce that kind of behavior (like the Hughie Campbell stan who called me triggered and weak because I wouldn't put up with her patronizing behavior).

At the beginning of this year, there was a Tumblr post that came out which got a lot of traction and controversy.

Now for me, this post was a pretty straight-foward message from the OP about not treating 12 year old boys like they're inherently monstrous before they've actually done anything, and then later acting surprised when people from the Alt-Right swoop in and begin to groom them with their hateful ideologies because the Left demonized them first. Unfortunately, while some people took that message to heart, others..........did not. A post that could be summed up as "Be kind and empathetic" got twisted by other users with their own personal agendas into "YOU'RE PROMOTING MISOGYNY, RACISM, FACISM........" These people not only became the very strawmen the OP was calling out, but also validated the OP's point about the Left's obsession with identity politics, being intelligent over being kind, and demonizing boys:

I find the last two comments ironic considering this is the EXACT mentality Dash has in Rebel Robin: He believes he's smarter than "the popular kids," and uses intelligence (and his insistence that he's an underdog in the social pyramid) to justify his nasty, contemptuous behavior, and then pass it off as him being "morally correct."

Also, speaking as a gay man and someone who's been on the receiving end of bullying and abuse, I'm not impressed with the attempts by these people to justify their thinly-veiled hatred, most of which can be summed up as "I was abused, so it's okay for me to be abusive to others." Disgusted isn't even a good word to express my feelings about this. I don't give a damn who you are, what experiences you've had, what your political affiliations are, or what minority you belong to: If you're going out of your way to be vicious to others and then try to justify it like it's okay, you're a terrible person, and no amount of "intelligence" on your part changes that.

I knew someone like this named Daze_Confuse, a Redditor who was on the site for 10 years before his account got permanently suspended this year. He is someone who identified himself as gay (like me), was against Donald Trump and the Republicans, claimed to speak on behalf of the LGBT+ community and other minorities, and served in a branch of the military.

He is also one of the most vile people I had the unfortunate displeasure of encountering.

This is the kind of person who put other people down out of a sense of moral superiority. This is a person who was repeatedly condescending, contemptuous of people he disagreed with, smug, coasting on self-righteousness, petty, deeply insecure, and cruel to others when he could get away with it. This is the kind of person who made comments designed to shrink others, and then would later try to pass off his comments as "jokes" when he was called out on them by the moderators (which happened frequently). This is the kind of person who, in order to "win" an argument, would go through a person's entire Reddit history and cherry-pick certain comments or posts and take them out-of-context so he could metaphorically beat them into the ground and feel justified in doing so.

This is the kind of person who railed against "toxic masculinity," but never once looked at his own behavior even though it had elements of that.

This is the kind of person who pretended to be against "Nice Guyism" and yet defended people who behaved like that (both fictional characters and real people).

This is the kind of person who acted like he was against bullying (similar to the homophobic troll I dealt with years ago) and yet was one of the most vicious bullies you could run across.

This is the type of person who intentionally went out of his way to provoke fights with people and make others feel bad for having opinions he didn't like or agree with. He did this over fictional characters and TV shows, and he did this with his real life political and social opinions.

I remember coming across him. I wish I hadn't. He made things personal with me in a way I will never forget, or forgive.

He is the embodiment of Dash from the books (with a little bit of Billy Hargrove and Angela sprinkled in there). He was the kind of person who would use intelligence to justify his awful behavior because he constantly believed he was in the right. He is the kind of person who positioned himself as an underdog in society (much like Dash), but was more interested in "inverting the social pyramid" (as Robin would put it). If you saw how many times this guy projected his issues onto others, or went out of his way to paint himself as the smartest person on the site, or expressed jealousy at men who (as he put it) "got pussy" or were conventionally attractive, you'd be able to peg pretty quickly that, for all of his posturing and virtue-signaling and claims about how he was against injustices, he was a worm who only cared about social issues when it was convenient for him.

I won't claim to know the circumstances behind what happened to him, but given that Reddit is a site where incels like this still have their accounts up despite the bile they spew, whatever u/Daze_Confuse did to get permanently suspended must have been egregious enough that the Sitewide Administration wasn't willing to ignore it. Considering how he acted, I'm not surprised. It's gotta sting to lose access to 10 years of posts and comments though.

And if it sounds like I'm being judgmental of him, just know he behaved much worse with multiple people besides me. You reap what you sow: He chose to be a smug asshole, and paid the price for it. The world is better off without him.

My overall point is I'm tired of these types of people. I'm tired of people like Dash who frame themselves as outcasts who are better than the popular crowd, and then reveal themselves to be just as heinous as the people they criticize. I'm tired of seeing people on the Left, who claim to be against injustices and bigotry, engage in the same level of hatred they condemn the Alt-Right for. I'm tired of people who claim to fight for my rights, but would gleefully turn on me in a heartbeat and throw me to the wolves the moment I said or did something that constituted "stepping out of line" in their eyes. I'm tired of people who talk a big game about caring for other people's self-esteem, but will bully others when it's convenient for them (looking at the Hughie Campbell Stan who is still active on this hellsite). I'm tired of seeing people who put on a big show of advocating for social causes, and then use their political ideologies and philosophies to justify being cruel and contemptuous to others. I'm tired of seeing people act like bigots and then trying to pretend they aren't doing that.

I'm not going to claim I'm a paragon of virtue when it comes to doing things right. I've had my moments of being unkind. I've said things before that I look back on with regret and wish I hadn't said. I've acted in ways I'm not proud of. I am not even going to say I'm the most intelligent person on this site. For all of my flaws though, I am consciously making an effort to be better than I was before.

The roughest thing I've seen so far as I've gotten older, aside from people looking for any excuse to be nasty to others because reasons, is how we as a culture have started defining others in extremes, or love digging up other people's history and then flinging it at them as if to say "This is who you are," like there's no way to change it and you will forever be defined by it.

This post put it best: We are so obsessed these days with "gold-star activism" and "purity culture" and looking like the smartest person in the room that a lot of us have abandoned empathy and compassion and refuse to acknowledge when other people grow and attempt to become a better person. There's a difference between someone who continues to behave badly (which is why I am calling out people like u/Daze_Confuse, the Hughie Campbell stan, the homophobic Reddit troll who is unfortunately still active and engaging in the same behavior from years ago, and the users who responded to the post I linked to earlier who justify being vicious to 12 year old boys) vs someone who recognizes that their behavior was bad and makes an effort to grow from it.

In one of the many conversations I've had with my friend @stillhidden, she told me something I haven't ever forgotten: Truly stupid people are the ones who think they're right about everything. They are people who are so calcified in their beliefs that they refuse to change them or consider the idea that they could be in the wrong, even if there's overwhelming evidence to show their thinking is flawed. They lack the self-awareness to realize how awful their behavior is, which leads them to falling down the pipeline of smug superiority, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy.

I see this as the biggest difference between Dash Montague and Steve Harrington: For all of his flaws, or even how he started out at the beginning of the show, Steve isn't stupid like he gets treated by some fans. He's someone who's willing to grow, own up to his actions, and learn from his mistakes. He's someone who's willing to change his thinking and perspective on things, and be the kind of ally and friend that other characters need. It's why I find it annoying whenever Steve-Antis come out of their caves to continue bringing up the same tiresome arguments about Steve's behavior in season 1 to say "THIS IS WHO HE REALLY IS" while ignoring any character development he had later on.

Dash, for all of his talk about being intelligent, is one of the dumbest characters in the series. It takes a special kind of stupidity to throw a friendship with one person (Robin) and a relationship with your girlfriend (Kate) into the trash because you think you know better, and act like your so-called intelligence gives you carte blanche to act however you want to.

If Dash continues behaving like this into adulthood, it's gonna be a rough ride for him, and there's a very real chance he will end up friendless, alone, and bitter. I know plenty of people out there on social media (Reddit, Twitter/X, Tumblr, TikTok, etc) who are still trudging through life with Dash's self-serving mentality, and I can 100% say from what I've seen that it's going poorly for them. They brought it on themselves.

[sabbathbloodysabbeth]

Steve being a mean girl

A snippet of what I'm working on for my next coming part of 'Bark At the Moon' though if you don't want to read it that's fine you can read this scene all by itself :) It isn't in the fic yet but will be when I'm done writing

Link to Bark At The Moon

TW; The word queer is being used in a derogatory way and is only used once and is in the first paragraph under the keep reading line.

Tonight was like any other night. Steve sitting up on the front counter, feet up reading something while he waited for his shift to be over. Robin had finished stock hours ago and was sitting far as possible from Steve. But still near him. She was doing some crossword puzzle, her hair freshly cut into a bob as they both stay in silence. Neither of them hops up when they hear the familiar bell ring. 

Steve simply glances up over what he was reading. Seeing that it was some group of bitchy girls. All of them were younger than him and he can't help but roll his eyes at the way they were acting. Silently reminding himself that they were in fact still children. Looking down at his paper he doesn't pay any more attention to them until he hears them mumbling things. His senses were heightened and he could hear everything they were saying.

"Can't believe they let freaks work here." One of them whispers to another. Steve assumes they were talking about him, he's heard far worst and didn't really care. The girls were trying to keep their words silent and hushed except for one. There was always one.

"Poor guy has to sit next to a queer all night. Honestly, they should pay him more for compensation." The girl's voice is obnoxious and Steve can hear Robin's fidgeting become far worst. Her face is red and Steve was getting pissed. His wolf was fully prepared to literally eat the brunette with horrible eyeshadow on. He could also feel the anxiety raising from Robin whose hands were starting to shake around the crossword she was working on. Not really looking down at it anymore, her eyes may be but her mind wasn't.

Steve moves sitting up as he acts casual. Humming as he acts like he didn't hear the girls. Moving and scouting them for a second, eyes flickering back to Robin who was trying to sneakily look up from where she sat to see what he was doing. Her eyes were watery and that was all he needed to commit to what he was doing. 

He watches the girls go to a blind spot, an area that the managers have been trying to get a camera on for a while. But no one was trying to steal stuffed animals. As it was far too easy to get caught. Steve gasps loudly, causing all of the girls to turn around to look at him with confusion. He knocks all of the teddy bears down on the ground on purpose. Watching them all jump back. 

"Oh my god, I can't believe you girls were trying to steal." He gasps. "And all for a teddy bear? God, I'm going to have to call the cops. Hey Robin, how fast do you think the cops can get here for shoplifting!" Steve yells loudly. Staring at all of the girls that have gone a bit pale. The one that had decided to open her mouth earlier was moving to open it again. But before she can he's gasping as he picks up one of the makeup pallets that was set on the shelf next to the teddy bear. All were outdated and from February, but the store was still determined to sell them. 

"Oh honey, no wonder you're trying to steal this terrible makeup pallet as well. It's okay, not all of us have good taste when it comes to doing makeup. I have a friend, her name is Carol. I can give you her number if you want to learn how to mask being a bigoted piece of shit better." He says with a pout of his lip. "Or did I just use a big word for you babe?" He's being dramatic in the way he talks. Cocking his hip out with purpose as a grin works its way to his face. 

Most of the girls were starting to cry, and the ring leader's face was red from what was most likely embarrassment. It's been a while since he's had to be a mean girl but damn did it feel good. He was doing it partially for himself, but mostly for Robin who didn't deserve the shit they were trying to give her. He knew that she might not like what he was doing, but he knew if he didn't do something then the silence of saying nothing was going to do more harm than embarrassing her. He runs a hand through his hair as he sets the makeup back down on the shelf as he hums. 

"So, this is how it's going to go. Either you A, cooperate and give me the stolen merchandise and give me and Buckley your names and ID's so you can be permanently banned from the store, or B, you don't cooperate and we call the cops. And trust me, I don't think Chief Hopper will be too pleased waking up just to deal with your sorry asses. If you guys haven't heard, I kind of went missing and now I have the chief's personal phone number on speed dial." he says with a cocky grin. 

Sure, he was lying. He didn't have Hopper's personal phone number but it was so worth lying over if it meant scaring the shit out of these girls. All of them look at each other before looking defeated and following Steve up to the front. Who makes sure to move and lock the front doors so they didn't try to book it. He moves pulling out his phone as he sees that Robin was no longer sitting at the front counter. Which was understandable as he begins to ruin these girls' nights just like they had his coworkers. 

[morganbritton132]

Steve notices that Robin is being kinda short and standoffish with Eddie and asks her about it. She says that Eddie Munson is a dick and should learn to be nicer to people.

Which, not cool.

Steve didn’t know that Eddie was being mean to Robin and now he’s pissed about it. No one gets to he mean to his platonic soulmate, right?

So, he calls Eddie out on it and Eddie is like ??? And Robin is also like ??? because, “What are you talking about? He’s not being mean to me.”

“Yeah,” Eddie adds. “I’m not being mean to her. Why would I be mean to Robin? I barely talk to her.”

“…then why’d you say he was being mean to you?” Steve asks Robin genuinely confused. “You said he was a dick and treated you badly.”

“I wasn’t talking about me!”

“Well…good?”

“I was talking about you!”

“What?” Steve says at the same time Eddie says, “What?”

“He’s a dick to you,” Robin points out. “He’s dismissive and rude to you. He calls you names all the time.”

“Oh…” Steve says and then turns to Eddie like, “Why are you being mean to me?”

First and foremost, there’s a lot to be said about Steve not realizing someone was being mean to him. Eddie could talk about that but instead, he says, “I wasn’t being mean.”

He was flirting.

[stregoniconiconii]

some people will be wrong about robin and then in the reblog be wrong about Steve . and then act like they made a point

[barnesbvcky]

don't come at me but i discovered that if i stay away from nancy and co, there are kind and fun people to spend time with on this site 😆

[bpillustrated]

wip

Robin and Eddie accidentally show up wearing matching flannel shirts and curly high-bun hairdos and Steve pulls them both into a Steve sandwich group hug like

Steve: Awww, my favorite lesbians are matching

Eddie: Excuse you! How come I have to be a lesbian, huh? Why can’t Robin be one of your boyfriends?

Steve: Do you wanna be my boyfriend, Robbie?

Robin: No, I do not.

Steve: She doesn’t want to be my boyfriend, Eds.

Eddie: Well I don’t want to be your lesbian!

Steve: Wooooooow.

Robin: Didn’t know you were dating a homophobe.

Steve: Me neither. 😔

Eddie: (indignant bird noises)

[crowley-n-his-bentley]

Do y’all think Steve listens to Olivia Newton-John

[gr33nish]

i love fics where they interact, where they are a found family, where others are like why the fuck are these people talking to each other, i love fics that add things that make the world they're set in seem a little more real, i love "useless" details and anecdotes of things that happened but we don't see in the fic itself uuuugggh so godd

[whathehonestfuk]

Steve absolutely refusing to wear his hearing aids, even Robin and Dustin have not managed to bully/guilt him into it so Eddie decides to try his hand

He demands in his dm voice for Steve to sit down, it should be loud enough and clear enough for Steve to hear but he pairs it with a asl down, Steve does listen but argues he's not a fucking dog up until Eddie straddles his lap and leans in getting super close to his ear brushing his hair out of the way before placing his hearing aid

Whether it's just the one or he repeats the process on the other side doesn't matter Eddie just pops out of his lap and taps his head with a simple good boy