#and my obsession with will byers is at an all time high currently

[i-like-gay-books]

something so will byers core about merlin in the dorocha episode

[me-4eva]

Harringrove Feedback Fest

This list is by no means exhaustive but OH MY GOD THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD FICS IN THIS FANDOM!! Anyone who knows my taste should know these are heavy on the angst by and large but there are also some sweet ones in there! (Also huge thank you to @gothyringwald for starting this!) It is currently very late so I will go through tomorrow and add some more details about each one but these are fics that live rent-free in my head... also I’ve tried to tag the authors as best I can

In no particular order:

What you had and what you lost by @its-tortle

Donna Richardson, formerly Hargrove, née Marcs, has not seen her son in nearly a decade. She had run from her husband in a panic with no time to turn back for Billy, and by the time she searched for him, he was gone without a trace.

It was her greatest regret.

OR

The one in which Billy's mom comes to look for him, just as he's begun to heal.

My broken house behind me (and all good things ahead) by @ageolwian

He relives in vivid, distorted detail that time he got into it with Jonathan behind The Hawk; and when he got beaten into oblivion at the Byers’ old house; and that interrogation under duress beneath Starcourt Mall; all of them blurring together into one violent mess inside his head. Carol Vaughn holds him off the floor by his throat in Joyce Byers’ kitchen, while her boyfriend yells at her from the sidelines that he’s had enough, Carol, that he can’t breathe; the lights around them flash neon pink and blue by turns, and at some point a gang of Russians drive a Cadillac convertible through the living room wall.

Carol says, ‘hey there little Stevie,’ and kisses him on the cheek.

Or: Mr Hargrove’s supposed to be in Chicago all weekend.

We will be citizens by sarapod (four_right_chords) (couldn’t find a tumblr so linked their AO3 account!)

"This disease will be the end of many of us, but not nearly all, and the dead will be commemorated and will struggle on with the living, and we are not going away. We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come."

The Party lives through the plague.

Fuck my heart, hope to die by Yassoda

When Steve notices Billy missing school, he tries to think nothing of it.

He fails.

He ends up sticking his nose in something unexpected, somewhat sad, somewhat dangerous, but ultimately good.

Like Steve needs more danger in his life.

---

A lot of Billy's life being shitty, and Steve's life being shitty, and them dealing with that however they can.

Lego Therapy by @cherrydreamer

Billy struggles with his recovery after the Mindflayer.

Steve helps.

With some Lego.

Bruises on both my knees (for you) by @bentnotbroken1fanfiction

Billy hasn't been able to satisfy the itch beneath his skin since leaving California. Unfortunately, he doesn't think he has a chance in hell to find what he needs in small town USA.

But that all changes when he sees the fire in Steve Harrington's eyes the night they fight. He sees something in them that he sometimes sees in himself when he looks in the mirror.

Harrington has demons. Just like Billy

Billy Hargrove Hates Nancy Wheeler by deadwife

Billy Hargrove Hates Nancy Wheeler.

Or

Steve gets in a car accident, and nobody understands why Billy Hargrove is in the waiting room with them.

you're cold (and i burn) by @holdenduckfield

Move on. Let it heal.

Maybe that’s why Steve said yes when Max asked him to help move boxes out of Billy’s room after the dust settled. He could hear her voice. Too many. Too heavy.

Just like his wounds. His grief. Too many. Too heavy.

(Or, Steve steals the glass ashtray from Billy's bedside table and things start to go bump in the night.)

put your lights on by @desk-of-nekostar

better leave your lights on, 'cause there's a monster livin' under my bed, whisperin' in my ear

Tommy Hagan doesn't deserve Steve Harrington, but Billy Hargrove sure as fuck doesn't deserve him either.

Vaya Con Dios by GayerThings

Neil said Hawkins was a 'fresh start', away from the sins and vices of San Francisco. A good, proper place for the family. It's everything Billy loathes. But it's somewhere quiet, a shit-hole Billy can lay low in until he makes a break for it and escapes this nightmare. He has a plan. Finish high school, save up some money, and run. No friends, no secrets spilled, no caring about anyone or anything.

But everything changes after his fight with Steve at the Byers' house when he's brought home the next morning in a cop car. It's just like old times. Something goes wrong, and he pays the goddamn price for it. Sometimes it's just for existing. Sometimes he thinks his dad dragged them out here with the hope that Billy will mess up and someone else will do his dad's dirty work for him. So he tries to hide it. All of it. Climbs to the top of the popularity ladder with his fists and his charm. Finds the easy girls. But even then he still can't stop what his dad's been trying to beat out of him for as long as he can remember.

Not with King Steve in the picture. Not when the goddamn bastard keeps messing up his plan.

Second Thoughts by @callieb

That night, 1984

Steve sits at the kitchen table, a pack of frozen carrots wrapped in a tea towel against his swollen purple face. "I'm fine," he says. It’s over. They fought the monsters, and they won. Now he can rest.

Except in real life, the credits don't roll, and they don't get to skip ahead to Christmas.

Of Cats and Men by Thei

Billy hits a cat with his car, and finds himself responsible for three little kittens.

Fortunate Son by Ludovico_is_my_homeboy

Experiment Seven escapes the Lab.

Driven on by Brenner, an inter-dimensional gateway, and his own obsessive love, Experiment Six follows him.

getting better by banksoflochlomond

"Dude," Dustin says, "You can't just Schrodinger's Cat your way out of trauma."

[assortedfruitsnacks212]

Sick with COVID and trying to find ways to amuse myself 😔 So I found this old post from years ago and decided to redo it!

Fanfiction Questions

Fandom Questions

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Lord of the Rings in middle/high school! I was obsessed with it, and it was the first time I had reliable enough internet access to get involved in forums 🥰

2. What is your latest fandom?

Stranger Things!

3. What is the best fandom you've ever been involved in?

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. I contributed work of my own for the first time and got a GREAT response. And that was before antis made fandom a warzone 🙄 so I wrote whatever I wanted and never got hate for it.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

😬 I'm not gonna say I regret getting involved in Stranger Things fandom. But it's definitely the most annoying one I've ever been a part of. You can't turn around without bumping into an anti or some kid screaming about p*dophilia. It's so fkn cringe lol

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

Donkey Kong, Super Mario, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, Gladiator, X-Files, the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Stranger Things

6. List your OTP from each fandom you've been involved in.

Atton/Exile (SW:KOTOR2), Mulder/Scully (X-Files), Reylo, Bileven

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you've been in.

Kylux, Finnr3y, Harringr0ve, M1leven (I see a pattern here lol)

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

Billy Hargrove brain rot, July 2019

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

The source material can be really fun 💕 I also met a couple of my bffs because of it.

10. Is there a fandom you read fic from but don't write in?

Not currently, but in the past I've read fic for the original Star Wars trilogy, Star Trek, Phantom of the Opera, The Office, Labyrinth, and probably more I've forgotten.

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

Bileven baby 💖💕

12. Who is your current OT3?

I don't have any, though I could see myself getting interested in Bileven + Eddie at some point.

13. Any NoTPs?

See answer to #7

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Too many 😆 I love the entire Hopper-Byers family dynamic, so that's several broTPs right there. Also El and Max.

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

Bileven is pretty damn obscure, so 😆💀

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

See answer to #7

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Bileven is my only otp for the fandom. Still going strong after nearly three years 😌

18. What ship have you written the most about?

Bileven for sure. I think I've written over 200-300k about them so far.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don't feel them?

I kinda wish I was more into J0pper? I mean, I do like them, but not enough to really feature them in my fic. It would add a lovely dimension to my giant AU though.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Not really? My tastes are very well established by this point 😂

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

A long, rambling fic for Donkey Kong at like, age 9-10

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Nope! It was all necessary to my artistic development ☺️

23. Name a fic you've written that you're especially fond of & explain why you like it.

My current Billy Lives AU! It's the first fic that feels truly raw and heartfelt, like it springs straight from the essence of who I am. Working on it has also taught me a lot about the writing process, honed my writing voice, and helped me unlearn limiting beliefs.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

My Billy Lives AU. I've written a lot of material that I haven't even published yet. I'm rewriting/editing it as we speak 😆

25. What's your most popular fanfic?

A short A/B/O fic I wrote for Reylo. Over 10k hits, good god. That fandom was so horny lmao

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

Song titles and lyrics, phrases from the text that have thematic significance.

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Writing summaries 😖 I've gotten better at it, but it's still annoying trying to condense a big ol' story into a paragraph lol

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

I would like it to be from my Billy Lives AU, which I think has lots of illustration-worthy moments. Hell, I've got a list of illustrations I'd make myself, if I could just recover from my art burnout...

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Not really. If I genuinely need help with something, I have a couple friends I can ask, but usually I just wing it on my own. I'm too impatient to wait on someone 😂

30. What inspires you to write?

Powerful emotions, resonant themes and symbols, yin/yang and Hades/Persephone pairings, sad grumpy men who are practically begging for redemption arcs, music

31. What's the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

I've gotten several lovely comments that I hoard like a mound of crack. My favorite ones lately say things like "your writing is poetry," "it's so visceral," "cuts you right to the bone." But my top favorite has to be this one:

"I love how you write Billy, because it's so LEGIT. Everything you have him do or say just feels so accurate and true to his character. Like, I can imagine it all happening and playing out in front of me."

I work hard on his characterization, so hearing that had me buzzingggg!

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Oh hell yeah. I draw from a variety of genres depending on the scene I'm writing. For my Billy Lives AU, I've used ambient, heavy metal, all flavors of rock, TV/movie soundtracks, '80s pop, and more.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

All three! I've written a lot of oneshots lately to explore ideas outside of my giant AU, which def counts as a huge epic (rip me 💀). I also have a multi-chap in progress.

34. What's the word count on your longest fic?

Over 100k. Only half of it is published right now.

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I used to, but I don't anymore.

36. What's your favourite genre to write?

Sci-fi horror, romance, drama

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Both depending on my mood. My default is third person, but sometimes I switch to first to shake things up and/or internalize the characters' voices.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

I usually go for canon characters, but when I sense a gap in the story I'm not above creating an OC to fill it. I'm never gonna stop bragging about how one of my OCs seemed to anticipate Eddie Munson 😆 (mostly in style and backstory, less in personality).

39. What is your greatest strength as a writer?

I make my readers feel a lot of things. Also I've been told multiple times, "I can see it happening so clearly! 😭" So... good descriptions??

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Perseverance. I tend to come up with complicated epics that would take years to write. To this day, I've yet to finish a single one. Goddammit though, I'm gonna do it someday 😠

Fanfiction Questions

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

None. The fanfics I want to read right now are so incredibly specific I doubt I could find them anywhere 🥲 so I'm just writing them myself.

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

I'm too lazy to link anyone 😅

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Everyone who's left a kind comment on my work, and fellow Billy fans who can tolerate differences in opinion (a VERY small number 🥲).

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

Bileven for sure

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

To this day I still remember some creepy Phantom of the Opera fic I read years ago...

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

Worship The Flame, which has the most material to read (50k published so far) and really demonstrates my skills imo.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

AO3 by far. It's clean and organized, I get more interaction there, and hate comments have been easy to deal with. Ff.net is just useless now. Tumblr is okay, but it's extremely hard to get views, and hate comments are more common.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Sometimes! Depends on how strong my reaction was to the work and how much energy I have that day. I haven't read any fic lately though.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

Oh, yeah. I care a lot. A single good comment can lift me out of a writing funk and give me the motivation to keep going. It literally just happened last week 💕 (Thank you kind commenter 💕💕)

Also, reblogs are the only way to get views here. The fics I'm most passionate about tend not to get reblogged (1. they involve a rarepair, so they're niche to begin with; 2. people are too scared to reblog Bileven content). So I cherish every one I get.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

Idk, I just fell into it in elementary school. It felt natural. Still does!

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Gush: I love the incredible creativity of fandom! Also, I LIVE for taking back stories from white male creators who have no idea what they're doing. And from corporations who shoot for the lowest common denominator. (Capitalism kills art, tell your friends)

Rant: STOP HARASSING FAN CREATORS FOR MAKING STUFF YOU DON'T LIKE. Oh and let's NOT do the whole censorship thing. We tried it and it was awful. Thank you.

[bulletballet-arch]

REALLY LONG  CHARACTER  SURVEY. RULES. repost ,   don’t  reblog !    tag 10 ! good  luck ! TAGGED. I took this from Minnie’s archived Bioshock blog. I’ve been looking for this meme all this month. TAGGING. @hammurabicomplex. @bluuxriising. @ Me - for Sal on @bulletsoverbensonhurst​. @immaterialed (charlie) @soypeor (bella) @svmmercmance​. @mrflayed. and you!

BASICS. FULL  NAME :  Eve Delores Littlejohn NICKNAME : Evie, Little Evie (by her maternal side of the family), Delores, Didi NAME  MEANING / S  Eve is from the ancient Hebrew name  חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (chawah) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (chayah) meaning "to live". Delores is a variant of Dolores, meaning "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary María de los Dolores, meaning "Mary of Sorrows." Littlejohn is a surname that has historically been found in England and Scotland. With potential origins being either ‘to distinguish a beloved child that was not the eldest.’ Or, ‘a contradictory nickname for a large man.’ HISTORICAL  CONNECTION? : She’s named after her grandmother, Evelyn Hollins.

AGE : 42 BIRTHDAY :  June 2 ETHNIC  GROUP : Black-American. Meaning she’s mixed with a lot (Some of her relatives are respectively Creole and Italian) but uses Black as a catch-all term. NATIONALITY :  American LANGUAGE / S : English, Italian, Spanish, Latin, some French SEXUAL  ORIENTATION :   Bisexual ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION :  Biromantic RELATIONSHIP  STATUS : Verse dependent, usually married -or connected- to Salvatore Scozzari in some way. CLASS : Upper-Class HOME  TOWN / AREA :   Brooklyn. Spent time between Bedford-Stuyvesant - with her paternal grandfather and Park Slope - with her maternal grandparents.  CURRENT  HOME : In her childhood home in Bedford-Stuyvesant. PROFESSION : Ballet Instructor. Former Professional Ballerina. ( Other verses see her as a professional thief. )

PHYSICAL. HAIR : Black. In terms of her natural hair, Eve has springy, 3C hair she seldom shows off because she was raised in a family where straightened hair was deemed presentable and professional.  EYES : Thin almond eyes. Dark brown. NOSE : Straight and small. FACE :  She has a prominent, high forehead, that’s accented with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. LIPS :  Full. COMPLEXION : She has a light brown (tawny) complexion.  SCARS : None major. TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : 5′4″ BUILD : Eve has a slender build. One of those people who have been small and petite since childhood. Despite this, she also stays skinny because she is obsessively conscious of the food she consumes. The older she gets the more she weighs, however. USUAL HAIR STYLE :  Her hair is cut short. Reaching her shoulders in a neat, even bob. She either curls it in a retro fashion or curls the tips. For work she wears it in a traditional, pinned bun. USUAL FACE LOOK : In public, she appears stoic for the most part. Any emotion shown (such as the length of a smile) is carefully calculated. She has to seem perfect.  USUAL  CLOTHING : Form fitting dresses. Incredibly chic and fashionable for the time. Shoes include heels - never open-toed, unless she has on stockings. Extravagant earrings. Jewelry that can include either necklaces, crosses, pearls, or dainty rings. Prone to wearing black sunglasses in public.

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : Thunderstorms, airplanes, creatures like weasels, snakes and ferrets, break-ins, men she doesn’t know, harm coming to her children ASPIRATION / S :  Formerly wanted to become a major [black] ballerina in the elite world of ballet, now she just wants to expose more [inner city children] to dance through her job. Personally, she wants her children to change the world in some form or fashion, too. Eve also has good ideas on improving the community, but at the moment has no idea how to go about these ideas. POSITIVE  TRAITS :  Generous, compassionate, patient, protective NEGATIVE  TRAITS : Strict, sullen, hard to read, represses her emotions, secretive MBTI :  Advocate - INFJ-T ZODIAC :  Cancer TEMPERAMENT :  Melancholic ANIMALS :  Lioness VICE / S :  Pride & Lust FAITH : Christian. Grew up Baptist, but Catholic influences have been around her since childhood. Attended a Catholic High School in Park Slope, her grandmother Evelyn was also a practicing Catholic.  GHOSTS ? : Yes and no. She feels that objects formerly owned by the deceased posses the essence of their previous owners and that they essentially live on through these pieces of property. AFTERLIFE ? : Yes. REINCARNATION ? :  No, but it’s a romantic concept. ALIENS ? : No. POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT :  Democratic ECONOMIC  PREFERENCE :  She likes being where she’s at now. But honestly, being upper class is all she’s ever known. SOCIOPOLITICAL  POSITION : Bourgeoisie, basically. The Littlejohn’s represent The Historical Black Elite.  EDUCATION  LEVEL : College level. FAMILY.

FATHER :  William ‘Bill’ Littlejohn MOTHER : Linda Littlejohn ( nee Hollins ) SIBLINGS : None EXTENDED  FAMILY : Amos Littlejohn (paternal grandfather) Liza Littlejohn (paternal grandmother) Evelyn Hollins (maternal grandmother) Giuseppe D’Aietti (maternal grandfather) and a wide host of cousins, aunts and uncles.

FAVOURITES. BOOK :  Night Song by Beverly Jenkins. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Some sort of old, French erotic novel that was published before she was born. MOVIE : Eve watches films along the lines of...Waiting to Exhale, Beaches, The First Wives Club and Fatal Attraction. She loves Made-For-TV movies from the time period. In regards to plays, her favorite one is Sunday In The Park With George. 5  SONGS :  Meet Me On The Moon / Essence of Sapphire / No One In The World / People / The First Time I Saw Your Face  DEITY :  Persephone  HOLIDAY : New Years Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving. Major holidays during the colder season. MONTH :  October SEASON :  Autumn PLACE :  The dance studio she works at. WEATHER : Sunny, but cool. SOUND : The voices of Anita Baker and Sarah Vaughn. A skilled hand running over piano keys. Soft trumpets. Running water. Cats making chipper little meows. SCENT / S :  Perfume, floral scented lotions, her partner’s cologne TASTE / S :  Caramel, the tang of dark chocolate, strawberries coated with either chocolate, or sprinkles of white sugar. Light Vinegar.  FEEL / S : Performing in front of an audience. Hot water engulfing your skin after a long day. Satin - whether it be the fabric of her clothes or sheets, your fingers tightly intertwined with another’s, feeling your significant other’s chest raise and lower against your skin with each breath they take. ANIMAL / S : Cocker Spaniels, Afghan Hounds, Cats, Birds - she loves all ( well, a majority ) of animals. NUMBER :  Doesn’t have one. COLOR :  White, Pink, Gold.

EXTRA. TALENTS :  Dance, Eve is trained in ballet when it comes to her main verse. She has attended ballet classes since the age of eight and ever since then she placed all of her focus into it. Similarly, Eve has always had the makings of a good artist - as a child she enjoyed drawing and had informal art lessons with a man who lived in the basement of her grandfather’s brownstone, but she never invested into that half of her. BAD AT : Singing, Being interviewed, Public Speaking (as in Speech Giving), Decision Making TURN  ONS :  Charisma, Leadership Skills, Temperature Play, Phone Sex, Heavy Kissing, Light Roleplay TURN  OFFS :  Public Sex, Tearing [ Her ] Clothes, Threesomes, Cruelty, Senseless Violence HOBBIES :  viewing plays & some musicals, reading romance novels, shopping, working out (she was into the whole celebrity VHS tape exercise trend), playing tennis, decorating AESTHETIC :  Vintage Black Glamour, Black Ballerinas, Champagne and Wine Glasses, Paintings by Melinda Byers and Edward 'Clay' Wright QUOTES :  "I'm bad with words, I hope you're good in reading eyes." / "There are truths I haven't even told God. And not even myself. I am a secret under the lock of seven keys."

FC INFO. MAIN  FC / S : Lynn Whitfield ( A Thin Line Between Love & Hate ) ALT  FC / S : Kylie Bunbury ( Twisted ) OLDER  FC / S :  Lynn Whitfield ( Greenleaf ) YOUNGER  FC / S : N/A VOICE  CLAIM / S : Lynn Whitfield

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 :   if  you  could  write  your  character  your  way  in  their  own  movie ,   what  would  it  be  called ,  what  style  would  it  be  filmed  in ,  and  what  would  it  be  about ?       A1 : Recently I decided that if/when I try to write anything serious about Eve again, it’ll center on her being a jewel thief because it presents me more fun, and emotionally diverse, opportunities. That and I have a very specific cover image in my mind. Ideally, her adventures would be a series of books. I have no title in mind, no idea about how ‘it would be filmed’ ( although a style replicating 90s films would be excellent, film grain and all. ) but, I do have a bunch of plots in mind that I really don’t feel like typing out here.  

Q2 :   what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like ?         A2 :  Her score would have a vintage sound (or a jazzy Spike Lee sound, if you will) with instrumentals by Dorothy Ashby (a Jazz Harpist) the Ahmad Jamal Trio, Pharaoh Sanders, Yusef Lateef and Tarika Blue. For music with lyrics, the soundtrack would include the likes of Julie London, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dionne Warwick.

Q3 :   why  did  you  start  writing  this  character ?   + Q4 :   what  first  attracted  you  to  this  character ? A3 :  Whenever I make NPCs for my character’s lives I actually can’t just let them just be NPCs. I start thinking about them too much. Developing them too much. And then I’m like, ‘wow! I really like this character!’ Eve was a different character when I began writing her, and likely wouldn’t be considered the same character as she was previously, if I told someone in real life who knows about my writing (like my grandma) about all the changes she has undergone. Originally Delores was a university professor, because I thought it could lead to interesting interactions with college-age muses. And her previous history with the mafia was also something interesting to tap in. But then I started thinking about what was realistic, what wasn’t realistic, what did I feel comfortable/interested writing? What didn’t I feel comfortable/interested in writing?  So as time went on, things would alter about this character. And the new things I came up with attracted me more. 

Q5 :   describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse.         A5 :  I have a love/hate relationship with Eve’s quiet demeanor. On one hand, I think quieter characters need love and the ability to be fully dimensional but on the other hand, writing louder characters has always been more fun for me. But really, Eve’s guarded behavior makes writing her stressful in some cases with others because sometimes...if I’m going to be honest...people don’t know how to carry a thread and interact with someone of her demeanor effectively. 

Q6 :   what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse ?       A6 : We’re both black, we’re both into art (although our exact interests and aesthetics with art differ)

Q7 :   how  does  your  muse  feel  about  you ?         A7 : Realistically she would think I need to take better care of myself.

Q8 :   what  characters  does  your  muse  have  interesting  interactions with ?   A8 :  We skippin’ this question.

Q9 :   what  gives  you  inspiration  to  write  your  muse ?       A9 : Films such as, “Waiting to Exhale,” “The Kitchen” and “Widows.” Books by Alice Walker, like “The Third Life of Grange Copeland” as well as her short story, “Roselily.” The historical mob figure Stephanie St. Clair.

Q10 :   how  long  did  this  take  you  to  complete ?       A10 : A few hours.

[mrs-evadne-cake]

Hey!! I love your fic. I was just wondering - and yes, i know it's unrealistic - if in an ideal, paradise world Stranger Things decided to go the stoncy route, how would you want them do do it? If you were in the writers' room how would you develop it in a convincing way that fits with the rest of the show? (I'm genuinely curious since you wrote them so well in IASL)

First, thank you so much! 

I mean, first and foremost I always want it to be a little bit of a mess since we’re dealing with a time and place where the word "polyamory" was not in circulation and there was no real poly community or overall awareness of polyamory as a way to be. They might be aware of free love in the ‘60s and the concept of swingers but mostly as far as they’re concerned they’re out here in ‘86 Indiana inventing the concept of a triad and it’s hard enough learning normal relationship skills as a teenager without adding unlearning socialized ideas about exclusivity and jealousy on top of that.

So let these idiots fuck it up a bunch, is what I’m saying. Bring on the return of Nancy ‘Say the Meanest Possible Thing to My Boyfriend(s)’ Wheeler.

How would I make it fit the show...man this would be easier if these three had shared a scene together for more than two minutes since S1. This is probably going to get long so more after the cut!

The show loves to trot out ‘shared trauma’ so in this perfect world they actually remember that it applies to Steve, too. So he’s dating around town but it’s not working out with anyone since it gets really, really awkward trying to explain to the girls he sleeps with why he shouts the name of an ice-cream shop during his nightmares without mentioning Russian spies ‘cause yeah, retail is hell but it’s a little excessive.

With Jonathan gone Nancy starts hanging around with Steve more often because she too remembers that he exists and went through all the same shit with them and that he ramming-speeded a Cadillac Eldorado into Billy Hargrove’s face to save her life, and her entire over-14 support system is gone. Steve thinks its a little unfair (and Robin thinks its a lot unfair) but he still cares about her so he goes along with it and Nancy is sort of surprised by how different he is from S1/Early S2 Steve.

Robin is like ‘Oh so you can lie on truth serum ‘cause you’re definitely still in love with her.’ which Steve vehemently denies. He’s just a good friend, buddy, pal. No romantic feelings at all.  

Jonathan is in Arizona or Illinois or friggin’ Derry, Maine knowing Joyce’s luck obviously very much missing Nancy. They talk on the phone and Nancy mentions that she’s been hanging out with Steve- now this could go either way the ‘Jonathan Byers is An Angel’ route where he’s okay with it right off the bat or the ‘Jonathan Byers remembers how he and Nancy got together the first time and tries to be okay with it because he is above petty normal people things like still being jealous of the ex-high school jock but can’t let it go and the two of them get into a fight. (where Nancy probably says the meanest possible thing to her boyfriend’ route. Obviously I choose the second one.

We get a scene of Jonathan getting worked up talking about it to Will who is like :/ bro, you are mentioning Steve A LOT in this conversation, aren’t you pissed at Nancy?  And Jonathan is taken aback because yeah, he is sort of obsessing about Steve.

Nancy also mentions the fight to Steve because Nancy is bad at this whole ‘don’t put your ex in awkward situations regarding your current relationship’ thing. Steve feels bad.

But before it gets resolved plot stuff kicks off and Joyce and Murray are off to ...sigh...fight evil Russians and free Hopper from a Soviet gulag. Jonathan and Will and El end up back in town however they do and we all wonder why they moved in the first place.

Jonathan, Nancy and Steve end up teamed up FINALLY (In this world Robin ends up on Team El, Max, and Kali because fuck everyone who hates her, Kali is here too and Max deserves her best friend, a big sister, and a tiny super-powered vigilante punk-rock aunt after what they did to her last season. They all kick Brenner’s ass like the last scene in Death Proof, the end) And at some point the boys end up separated from Nancy and try to make awkward conversation and Steve tries to assure him that he’s sorry and he would never get between him and Nancy and once he gets started apologizing he just sort of keeps going-  for all of High school, and if he ever ate his bagels in a really weird way, and for the fight and blaming him and Joyce for Will and calling him queer and the two have a real adult conversation where they bury the hatchet and move past high school.

And because I love the fanfic classics, that’s when a monster tries to eat them and Nancy saves them (bonus points if she uses the bat) and afterward they’re just like, ‘Fuck this town, why do we do this EVERY YEAR’  “I MOVED.’but they obviously realize that they make a really good team and actually enjoy each other’s company. The rest of their plot line has them growing increasingly comfortable with each other as they investigate whatever Nancy has dragged them along to investigate. Jonathan says he was wrong to be jealous and Nancy says of course he was because she’s always right because this is still Nancy motherfucking Wheeler and she will never not be that bitch. 

Monster stuff. The teams all come together. Hopper is back and the evil Russians defeated, yay. Robin is glad Steve is not dead and vice versa and Steve is like where did you pick up the hot punk-rock chick and did you get her number? And Robin is like long story and yes, why is Jonathan Byers looking at you with heart eyes? Which is information that overloads Steve’s brain and he’s almost glad when the series climax where they all fight a giant monster or a hole in the universe happens right then. 

No one dies, or fake dies, or maybe dies or maybe ends up in a Soviet gulag again.

Post- Climax wrap up where we actually see what everyone is doing that night directly after saving the world instead of flashing forward to months later and missing loads and loads of important character moments. After we’ go through everyone else Your Love By The Outfield starts playing because it’s 1986 now and I can FINALLY use it since it was released in ‘85. Steve goes home to (everyone say it with me) an empty house and he seems to debate with himself a little before calling Robin with a question. Nancy and Jonathan are together wherever the Byers’ and Hop are staying when the doorbell rings and it’s Steve who obviously immediately regrets this decision the minute they answer but they bring him inside and the music becomes diegetic as Jonathan puts on the record and closes the bedroom door behind them.

So apparently even in my perfect world where I’m in charge it sort of ends up mostly ramping up to stoncy than pure stoncy over one season. I’m pretty firmly of the opinion that the three of them just messing around in increasingly inclusive ways comes way before any actual poly negotiation or reflection or discussion on their respective sexuality and you can’t show that on PG-13 Netflix so we’re just crashing to black and credits.

 Thanks for the ask anon- sorry to make you wait, I knew this was going to be a monster of a post. And the fact that I just spent like, a hour and a half writing this has made me realize I might be in the mood to *actually* write again, so thanks! 

[vloggerparker]

i love you, steve harrington || s.h

↬ pairing(s): Steve Harrington x Henderson!reader

↬ genre/warnings: fluff, best friends to lovers!au, mentions of blood & injury

↬ word count: 2.1k

↬ synopsis: after the battle of Starcourt, best friend’s Steve and (y/n) share their intimate feelings with one another

↬ a/n: this is based off the request the lovely @annabeth-parker got and I wrote to it too because I thought it was so cute!! their ask box is opened to ships and requests currently btw! and yes, I couldn’t decide which gif to use out of the two. no, I am not ashamed.

“Dustin!” your shouts are weighed with relief as you saw his head of curls through the crowd. He spun around, eyes searching the sea of people before meeting yours, and you hop out of the back of the ambulance with a limp in your step as you sprint towards him. Your body ached in pain but it immediately subsided as you held your younger brother in your arms, his whole body shaking with sobs as he squeezed you harder than he ever had before.

Your eyes fluttered open one at a time, glimmering with watery tears as you see your best friend, Steve, staring back at you. He looks worse for wear, but the smile he sends you nearly stops your heart, and despite his beaten face, he still looks beautiful. You swipe your tears away as Dustin finally pulls away from you, but the urge to cry is still there as you make way towards Steve while your brother reunited with his friends.

There are no words, and as soon as you’re close enough, Steve is embracing you with such a force it was like he was trying to break you, and you were letting him with the certainty that he would put you back together. His shoulders are shuttering as if he were crying, and you gasp and pull back to see his face, but rather than tears he has a large, toothy grin on his face.

You quirk an eyebrow up at him, questioning his sudden laughter. His eyes travel the length of your body, and through a laugh he said, “girl, you look like shit. Not like, the shit, but like shitty. Like dog shit.”

“Thanks, Harrington.” you roll your eyes with pursed lips. The mood is still lighthearted, though, because Steve knows that just behind those pursed lips was a smile waiting to be tempted out. “We almost die and that is the first thing you say to me? And it’s not like half your face isn’t swelled up like a balloon, so I don’t want to hear it.”

He snickered and said, “let’s sit you down.” he hooked an arm around your waist, pulling your body flush against his as he guided you to a nearby ambulance.

You both plopped down into the back of one of the many red vans with heavy sighs. You had already received medical attention to at least the fracture in your leg, but going off Steve’s blood stained face, he hadn’t had any. You pulled the first-aid kit off the wall of the ambulance and began rummaging through it before Steve joked, “are you licensed for this?”

“Maybe,” you paused for a moment, “well, no, but I do the same thing for animals. How different could it be?”

“Very?” Steve said, laughter falling into sync with his words. “(Y/n), you’re a veterinary intern; you patch up animals, and the last I checked I wasn’t a dog.”

You rolled your eyes, looking at him expectantly. His eyes bounced from yours to the bottle of alcohol and gauze in your hands before breathing out a sigh of defeat. There was no use for him to try railing against you, because no matter how hard he did, you were too stubborn anyway. He slid closer to you where his bare thigh was pressed against yours, but you ignored the skin contact and focused on not spilling alcohol everywhere.

“Thank you,” you drawled out your vowels, bringing the alcohol-soaked gauze to his chin, hovering over the cut. “This is going to sting like a bitch, Harrington. Just know it’s okay to scream.”

Steve scoffed. “As if I would- God dammit, (Y/n)!” he exclaimed, lurching away from you.

“I told you.”

After disinfecting the first cut, Steve was resolutely unreactive for the remainder of the time spent at his aid. You had finished when you began repacking the first-aid kit, but was stopped when Steve caught your wrist in his hand. Your eyes asking a handful of questions dashed towards his allowing your eyes to make blissful contact. You thought on how despite how annoying Steve was, how he complained or at best always looked bored, his moronic obsession with his hair, that you were madly, hilariously in love with him. And he’s just staring back at you, lips parted just enough to entice you.

The atmosphere is palpable and your ears buzz, and suddenly it only feels like it’s you and Steve in the parking lot. His eyes are warm and inviting, baiting you, and it’s like a hook around your neck reeling you in before logic asserts dominance over your mind once again. Steve was your best friend, just your best friend, and you were painfully aware of that.

You could see his lips moving as he said something, but it didn’t quite register in your brain until he broke eye contact and released your wrist, grabbing the gauze pads back from where you put them away and held them out in front of you. You shook your head as to clear it like an etch-a-sketch. “It’s my turn to play doctor,” he said, his words uncertain from the blank staring he got the first time he said it, “you know, clean up your face.”

Heat spread from your chest to the tips of your ears as you nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

As he applied the alcohol wipe to a cut above your eyebrow, you squeezed your eyes shut, bottom lip pulled between your teeth to stifle any yelps of pain. Steve chuckled to himself as he pulled the gauze away and blew cool air to the cut. After he was sure it didn’t sting for you anymore, he stopped and said, “I’m so lucky to have you, (Y/n). I’m so glad you’re alive and safe.”

His admission caught you mildly off guard, but you kept the surprise to yourself as to not scare him away. It wasn’t often that you and Steve had intimate conversations about your relationship, or that Steve opened up his feelings to you at all, so when he did you treated the situation delicately.

“I honest to God don’t know what I would do without you.” he stopped as his hands fell to rest in his lap. You opened your eyes to see his head hanging as he fiddled with the gauze in his hand. You made to reply when he took a deep breath and continued, “I care about you so much, (Y/n), so much that I don’t even know what to do with myself. You drive me insane. If I’d lost you tonight, (Y/n).. if I’d lost you tonight, I-I-”

His voice began to shake, and you reached out to cup his large hands. “Steve…” you started slowly. His gaze flickered up to meet your eyes, and he swore he saw his entire world staring back at him. “Are you trying to tell me you’re in love with me? Me?”

“I… I think so.” a pause, then he declared with more confidence, “I think I am. I’m in love with you, (Y/n).”

You stare unblinkingly back at Steve, mouth slightly agape. It’s surreal hearing those words fall from Steve lips, and it’s all too good to be true that for a fraction of a second you think if this is all a dream. You almost pinch yourself, but you don’t, because if this is a dream you’d rather not wake up at the best part. You can physically see how anxious Steve had become with the silence following his confession, and though your heart is crying a word vomit of cheesy responses, it’s like you’ve been left breathless with the inability to exhale, inhale or do anything.

“Say something, please, so I know I’m not making a fool of myself.”

“Kiss me.”

“Kiss you?” he parroted, shock striking his features in accordance to your straightforward response.

You hesitated for a brief moment. This moment was going to be the turning point of your relationship, and some of your surrounding relationships. Nancy was a good friend to you, and also Steve’s ex-girlfriend. Jonathan had been a dear friend of yours since you could remember, and Steve was his bully in high school. The only reason you weren’t guilty to be Steve’s friend was because you promised yourself a friend was all that would come out of him. Dustin. Your own brother looked up to Steve as his role model and his best friend. What would he think of this?

But then looking at Steve’s slightly pouty lips, it seems idiotic to deprive yourself of him. All logic flew out the window and you’re driven solely on emotion and instinct, and before you know what you’re doing all you can feel is his lips against yours, swollen yet soft, and your body melting into his. His hand cupped the back of your neck and his thumb brushed the exposed sliver of skin at your hip where your shirt had ridden up. His mouth moves meticulously, warm and steady against yours, a dizzy breath fleeing your lips from his intoxicating touch.

He pulled away, the both of you breathless, shyly staring into each other’s eyes while soft pants filled the silence. A smile upturned his lips, more to the right than left, and you know with that smirk he’s fit to make a brainless remark. “That’s what I was missing out on?! How the hell did you get to be such a good kisser? You’ve only had like one boyfriend!”

You burst into a fit of giggles with a shrug. “I guess Jonathan taught me well.”

“Byers?” he gasped incredulously. You nodded, holding back a second round of laughter. “You dated Byers?”

“No,” you corrected, “him and I used to goof around in middle school; use each other as practice for when we got into real relationships.” you shrugged again, reliving the silly memories of unsure lips and bruised noses from accidents. “I guess it all paid off for both of us.”

Steve followed your gaze to see Nancy and Jonathan under a shared blanket in the back of another ambulance, lips locked. His eyes flickered back to yours, and a beautiful grin overtook his face. “C’mere.” he beckoned you to him, eyes fluttering shut as you both leaned in to close the distance.

“Harrington, what the hell!”

You sprung away from Steve like he was diseased, eyes blown wide and staring ahead of you at your younger brother with his friends gathered in a line behind him. He was absolutely smoldering, eyes narrowed and beaming angrily at your boyfriend. You almost smiled. Boyfriend. Steve Harrington was your boyfriend.

“And you!” Dustin shouted, and you visibly flinched at the loudness of his voice. “What’re you doing with him?!”

You crossed your arms over your chest and gave your brother an eye roll. “Quit being so dramatic.” you told him with a sigh, only to backtrack when you saw the look of complete outrage on his face. “Or don’t…”

He redirected his anger back to your boyfriend. “Harrington, what’re you doing sucking faces with my sister?”

“Dude, calm down.” Steve said, hopping onto ground level in front of Dustin. “I don’t know what’s going through your head right now, but I need you to understand that your sister is everything to me. I would never hurt her and I’d do anything to protect her.” by the end of Steve’s admission, Dustin’s expression had notably relaxed. Though Steve didn’t stop there. “And just because I’m dating your sister, our dynamic isn’t going to change. This,” he gestured between them, “won’t change.”

You could see the smile Dustin was stowing away behind his tightly pressed lips. Steve reassured him of everything he wanted to hear, and after that initial shock and rage, you knew Dustin would be happy for your relationship. He played it off cooly, waving his hand around as he told Steve, “don’t make me regret this.” and stalked away with his friends, muttering something about being ready to go home.

As the crew wondered further off, Steve rejoined you at your side, hand reaching around your shoulders to pull you into him. You rested your head on his shoulder, heartbeat slowing as his breathing carried you towards comfort. “You know,” he voiced suddenly, “I told you that I loved you, and you never said it back.”

You both laughed quietly at his joke, and you snuggled further into his chest and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head as you whispered, “I love you,” testing the words on your lips and nodding to yourself. He hummed quizzically, and you found yourself getting more and more drowsy as the day finally caught up with you. You said softly, “I love you. I said that I love you, Steve Harrington.”

↬ a/n: if you liked this, you should check out my other Steve fics on my masterlist!

[hello-justawriterofthings]

Secret Love Song - Steve Harrington

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So this is my first Steve / Stranger Things story,  it may not be the last because I'm currently obsessed with this Show! Let's say that this story is set in season 1, a little before actually. But, it is different from the show. So king Steve when he was a jerk, a bit before dating Nancy. Also kind of based off of the Little mix song, I hope you'll enjoy and understand what I was going for <3 ( Y/N = Your name, Y/L/N = Your last name ) 

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Pulling up into the parking lot of Hawkins High school was always interesting, being the only girl who didn't own a car ( Or secretly borrowed their parents and then claimed  it as theirs ) but instead, I rode around on a motorbike. Most of my class mates categorized it as weird, I'm not exactly sure why,  but I always heard whispers of speculation. I parked my bike in the same boring place, before pulling off my helmet and climbing off of ' Roberta ' ( Yes I named my bike, move on ).  My hair fell flat against my shoulders as I glanced around, Monday mornings  were great.  " Hey Y/N! " I heard from behind me,  I glanced over my shoulder to see Nancy and Barb approaching.  I quickly grabbed my bag and turned around, " Hey ladies, how was your weekend? " I asked with a smile. " Boring! " Nancy groaned as we walked towards the school, " Yeah, we studied for the History test all night. Remember, we were all supposed to study until you bailed on us " Barb stated with an eyebrow raised. " What were you doing this weekend? " Nancy then questioned, " Just a few boring family dinner things, grandparents came in Saturday, left Sunday. So nothing exciting " I sighed. I could tell Barb was going to say something else, but didn't get the chance. Loud commotion came from the cars next to us, which made everyone look that way. Kind Steve, rough housing with his jokers,  he glanced our way, which only made me roll my eyes and continue walking. " Steve's pretty cute " Nancy muttered, which made Barb roll her eyes " Yeah right,  like he'd go for any of us. Too Focused on his reputation " I sighed to myself as I thought back  to my weekend.

Friday night is when the weekend started for me,  I was in my room reading a book, one of my favorite hobbies. " Y/N, Phone call! " my older brother shouted from the living room, " Who is it? " I yelled back. " I don't know, answer the damn phone! ' he yelled back, i groaned as I rolled over and grabbed my phone off my nightstand. " Okay I got it! " I yelled to Nick, " Hello? " I then asked. " You really share a phone line with the rest of your family? " Steve asked, I rolled my eyes " Did you call to annoy me or did you need something? ". He chuckled " Sneak out tonight ", " No! " I exclaimed. " Come on, we had a blast on Wednesday remember ", he stated seriously, " And I got in trouble when my parents found out " I explained. " Y/N, take a chance. Aren't your parents out of town? " he sighed trying his hardest to convince me, " And how would you know? " I questioned. " I heard you telling Barb at lunch " he sighed, " Oh, listening in on my conversations are we Mr. Harrington? " I smirked. He chuckled again " Hey, you're parents aren't home, come out with me ", again trying to talk me into it. You should've flat out denied him, but like all the times before, you couldn't. There was just something about Steve, he had a way about him. "Fine, but if my allowance get's taken away again, I'll never speak to you again " I stated seriously, " Stop worrying, I'll be there in 20 " he stated. " Whatever " I muttered before hanging up the phone, I sighed deeply before jumping up and walking to my closet. " Where are you going? " Nick asked as he stood in the doorway, " Out " I stated while looking through my clothes. " With that Harrington kid again, Why do you keep sneaking out for him "  he asked, I shrugged " I like him, hes nice... And technically I'm not sneaking out this time, you know where I'm going ". " He's only nice because he wants something, come on Y/N, you're smarter than this " he explained, " I know Nick, but I like him a lot and maybe he's not using me " I sighed not even believing my own words. " Just be careful, If you're not back by midnight, I will tell mom and dad why you've been sneaking out " he stated seriously, I gave him a small smile "Thanks, I promise I'll be back by then ". He nodded while walking back towards the living room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. 

15 minutes later, I was dressed and waiting on the front porch. The light was off so I wouldn't draw to much attention to myself, I still felt like an idiot standing there though.  A few minutes later, his car pulled up, but not outside my house. He'd never park right outside, he always had to be two houses away from mine. Just in case one of his friends or one of the many high schooler’s drove past. he never would want to be questioned for being in this area, especially if it had to do with me.  He'd deny it, he'd deny everything. I quickly darted over to his car and climbed in the passenger seat, then gave him an enthused look.  He chuckled while putting the car into drive, " So, where are we going? " I asked. " My house, my folks are gone too " he smirked, which only made me roll my eyes. The drive to his house was quiet, I just couldn't stop thinking  about what Nick said. Finally, we arrived and the awkward air was just making me regret even coming. " Want something to drink? "  he asked, not receiving an answer. " Okay Y/N, What's up?  " he asked annoyed, " Nothing... I'm fine "  I sighed.  " No, you were fine on Wednesday night. Now, you're being weird " he stated sternly, " I've just got something on my mind. Did you want me to come over to talk or to get down to business " I questioned. " Get down to business?... What No, Y/N I invited you over to hangout. We can watch some movies, order pizza. You know, hang, get to know each other more " he stated, I looked at him confused " We've never done that before,  usually you invite me over to , you know, hookup ". He smiled " There's a first time for everything, now What do you want to drink? ", I continued to look at him confused, even after he had left the room. About an hour into our hangout, the doorbell rang and something just didn't feel right. " Were you expecting company? " I asked, only to have him shake his head no. " Would you mind waiting in the laundry room while I get rid of whoever's at the door? " Steve asked quickly while pulling me up off the couch and pushing me towards a door, " What? " I questioned. " If it's Tommy, he's going to barge his way in. I'll make something up to get rid of him I swear, Just don't move okay " he stated in a panicked tone as he shut the door, not giving me anytime to respond.  I sighed deeply while throwing my hands up before glancing around, Friday night and I'm sitting in the Harrington's laundry room, Great. I could hear both Tommy and Carol's voice as I sat in the small room. Music started to play loudly, joined by other voices. ' Great ' I thought to myself. I glanced at me watch, 10:50 pm. I'd give Steve 10 minutes , when 11 o'clock comes around, I'm climbing my ass out of one of these windows and trekking through the woods. 11:20 pm came rolling around and whatever party that was going on, clearly wasn't going to be over anytime soon. So, I squeezed through the window and started on my long walk home.  11:40 pm, still I was walking. I was still a while from my place, but at the moment, I was too pissed to care. " Y/N? " I heard a voice question, snapping me out of my blind rage. " Huh? " I mumbled looking to the car next to me. " Huh? " I mumbled looking at the car next to me, " Oh hey Jonathan ". " Do you need a ride? " he asked with a smile, I sighed deeply and nodded. I climbed into his car with a smile, " How many times are we going to meet like this? " I asked. Earning a laugh from him " What do you mean? ", " I mean, you saving me from a lonely, cold walk home " I smirked. He laughed once more " It's really no problem Y/N, I've known you for a long time, I'd never let you walk home in the dark ", I nodded while sighing again. It was true, Jonathan and I's parents used to be very close friends. They'd have dinner parties, holiday parties. Jonathan and I practically spent everyday together, until his dad left them. Jonathan stopped coming around, everyone just stopped speaking to each other. " Hey, you okay? " he asked quietly, breaking me from my thought process. " I'm okay, Are you okay?... How have you three been holding up? " I asked as I looked over at him, he smiled " We're fine Y/N, it's you I'm worried about ". I furrowed my brow " Jonathan, I'm fine. Just got some crazy things going on in my life right now ", he nodded but didn't say anything else, he was too respectful to pry into my business. Soon we pulled up in front of my house, " Thanks for Everything Jonathan, tell your mom and Will I said Hi " I smiled warmly. He smiled back while nodding, I quickly got out of his car and dashed to my door. I made my way into the house, only to be greeted by Nick. " I know I know, i'm late. You were right about everything okay. I'm just a stupid idiot that believed a pretty face, I'm done with it! " I exclaimed as I kicked my shoes off and walked to my room, " What did he do? " Nick questioned. " I don't know, pushed me into his damn laundry room , told me to wait, then threw a party. I had to climb through the window and walk through the woods. Jonathan saw me walking, gave me a ride home "  I stated, " Jonathan Byers? " Nick sighed. I nodded while grabbing pajama's and walked to the bathroom, I was not only done with the conversation, but with Steve in general. 

Between Lunch and history, I walked the halls. No appetite, plus tired of the the questions from Nancy and Barb. I was randomly pulled into the janitors closet suddenly, taking me off guard and letting out a small scream.  " Shh " Steve  groaned, " What the hell are you doing! That's how you give someone a heart attack " I whispered while smacking him. " How else was I supposed to get you to talk to me, you've been dodging my calls " he sighed, " Well that must mean, I don't want to talk to you Steve. Take a hint " I argued. " Hey! I'm not the one who disappeared Friday night " he spat, I scoffed while shaking my head " Really? You're the one who pushed me into your laundry room, saying that you were going to get rid of your  jerk off friends and instead you went on with the party. I stayed in that room for 40 minutes, I gave you a chance and you blew it ". " come on Y/N, you know how it is... " he sighed, " Yeah, all you give a shit about is your damn reputation " I stated crossing my arms.  " That's not true, I care about you " he explained, " Yeah okay, you  ' Care  ' about me. But never speak to me unless we're hidden away from the world, you don't hide someone you care about Steve! " I spat. " I'm not hiding you, I'm just waiting for the right time too... " he started, " Bullshit " I interrupted him.  " There'll never be a right time, at least not while we're still in High school " I sighed, "Y/N... " he started , but once again gt cut off by me. " We've been sneaking around for almost a year Steve, enough is enough, I'm tired of lying to everyone. I have to move on because it's clear to me that I don't mean shit to you " I spat. before pushing the door open and making my way towards my locker.  Of course though, Steve didn't have the guts to chase after me. This was it. 

A few days past, then a week, then two weeks and before I knew it, I couldn't remember the last time I spoke to Steve. Sure, he was annoying with phone calls the first week, but then realized I wasn't going to talk to him, so he stopped. I won't lie though, I missed him, sure things were complicated and probably ruined now, but it's hard to just get over him. Another Friday had come, Sunday was my birthday, but to me, it was just another day. Parents had to work, i only had three friends, four if you include Nick. So, it's not like I could throw a raging bash.  Not much would be happening.  I drove my bike out to the Byers house, at Jonathan;s request.  When I approached the front door, I could hear whispers and shushes. I smiled a bit, but knocked on the door anyways. When the door swung open, Joyce and Will both pulled me into tight hugs. " Happy Birthday Sweetheart! " she smiled, "Come in, I've made dinner ". " And Cake! " Will smiled brightly, which only caused me to smile as well. I followed them into the house, where Jonathan was located. I gave him a tight hug, then gave him a look. He chuckled as the four of us walked into the kitchen, a cake decorated nicely, even had birthday candles on it. My own parents hadn't made me a cake in years, so this I appreciated greatly. " Thank you guys so much, everything looks delicious " I stated as we all sat down at the table, " You guys didn't have to do this though ". " Of course we did, you only turn 17 once and it's been a while since we've seen you, we wanted to catch up " Joyce smiled, which I returned. As we ate, we talked and laughed. Everything felt normal again, like nothing ever changed. Glancing over at Jonathan, I wondered if things would've been different, if our friendship hadn't strayed. Would I have fallen in love with him instead of Steve? LOVE?!?! Hell no, I did Not love Steve.  At least I didn't think so. After dinner and cake, Jonathan and I took a small walk, just to talk. " Can I ask you something? " he asked, I nodded with a small smile. " What's going on between you and Steve? " he asked quietly, my eyes almost bugged when he asked that " Nothing... Why would you think that anything's going on between us? ". He chuckled quietly " I’ve seen you guys together, the other night when you were walking home, you were probably coming from Steve's house,  his friends are just idiots not to realize ", I sighed deeply " You're too smart for you're own good Jonathan ". He smiled once more, " Whatever Steve and I had, it's finished. I'm tired of hiding " I sighed. He nodded, but stayed quiet. " Do you think I was an idiot? " I then asked him, " No, I think you cared for him and when you care for someone, you tend to put in 110% Even if you don't get it in return " h stated just as we reached my bike. " Try not to worry yourself to much Y/N " Jonathan stated as we pulled me into another hug, I chuckled quietly " Just don't tell anyone, don't wanna ruin Steve's reputation ". He scoffed " Who am I supposed to tell? ", I smirked " Will ". He broke out into a loud laugh, the loudest I'd ever heard come from this boy. Once he recovered from my not so funny joke, he sighed " Get home safe okay ". I nodded,wearing a small smile. " Also, happy birthday " he smiled handing me a small wrapped gift. " Jonathan " I groaned, " Shush, just open it " he smiled. I did as he said, unwrapping the small box. It was a necklace that had a little motorbike charm, it was simple but amazing. " You didn't have to " I sighed, he smiled once more " I did, the three of us pitched in. Since we know how much you love Roberta ". I chuckled while nodding " You were the one who came up with that name " , " Never thought you would keep it " he smirked. I smiled " Thanks again for tonight, I appreciate it so much. Tell your mom and Will Thanks too ", he nodded while giving me one last hug.  I climbed onto my bike, after placing the gift in my bag. " be careful on that thing " he shouted as I stated it up, I put my helmet on, nodding to him again. And then with one last wave, I was off. 

Saturday night came, which meant it was sleepover central in the Y/L/N's household. Every year Nancy, Barb and I always had sleepovers for our birthday's. Even though we were all far too old to do so. With our pajama's on, pizza ordered and my parents gone, it was party time. " So, what movie's are we watching tonight? " Nancy questioned curiously, I shrugged " Let's watch something scary? How about Texas chainsaw massacre ". " Why would you want to watch that, people killing people " Barb stated seriously, " Fine, What about about Alien?... It's an alien killing people " I smirked causing Barb to roll her eyes. " We're alone, Why would we watch something scary? " Nancy asked, " Because it's my birthday and I need a distraction " I explained. " Why? " they both questioned at the same time, which made me panic slightly " No reason ". We started with Alien, as we pigged out on pizza. Halfway through the movie, there was a loud knock on the door. Nancy and Barb  both looked at me with wide eyes, " Were you expecting someone? " Barb asked. I shook my head no, of course this would happen to us though, when we alone and in the dark. Another loud knock, causing them to jump slightly. " Go answer it! " Barb whisper shouted, " No, that's a stupid move. What if it's an Alien! " Nancy exclaimed quietly, causing me to roll my eyes. I jumped up off the couch and walked towards the front door, looking through the peephole, I saw a face I was not expecting to see. I ripped the door open and stared at Steve, " What the hell are you doing here? " I asked. He chuckled while looking at my pajama's " Well tomorrow is your birthday. I wanted to bring you something... Nice pajama's by the way ", I rolled my eyes while crossing my arms over my chest. " You didn't have to do that,  we're not exactly on speaking terms. I'm surprised you even came over ". He sighed deeply " Hey, I'm going to try... I want to try and make this work " , I nodded " I get that Steve, but it's not enough. It's the middle of the night, everyone's asleep, so no one's going to actually witness you being here. I'm sorry for being so mean about this, I just don't want to continue to lie about whatever it is between us ". He nodded " I understand, I just wanted to drop this off. Happy Birthday, see you in school... On Monday! ", he was definitely nervous for some reason. I took the small gift and flowers from him, sending him a smile " Thank you, see you on Monday ". He nodded once more before walking back to his car, I sent him a quick wave before walking into the house. " What was Steve Harrington doing here? " Nancy shouted, " And how do you know him? " Barb questioned. I shrugged placing the flowers on the kitchen table " He was just dropping off a birthday gift ", " But, how do you know him?! " Nancy questioned. " We were partners in Biology, I was upset that my parents weren't going to be around for my birthday or really anything. I'm just as confused as you are, I never thought he'd show up. Hell, I didn't even think he knew where I lived " I sighed while looking down at the little gift, " Well...  Aren't you going to ope it? " Barb asked with a smile. I sighed again while opening the box, inside was a key chain, clearly for my bike keys. Two charms were on the end, a book and a little dog.  I almost started crying right then and there, earlier we lost our family dog and I remember Steve comforting me, it was one of the hardest moments in my life was the day my good ol' boy passed. " Wow, he must know you very well, you love to read and your dog was the most important  to you " Barb smiled, I shrugged slightly " We just talked a lot in class ". Both Nancy and Barb nodded before walking backing into the living room, I pulled my keys out of my bag and hooked the key chain to it ( I'd call Steve in the morning and thank him once more ). The next morning, after the three of us made a mess of my kitchen, attempting to make pancakes. Barb and Nancy left, wishing me a happy birthday once more. When Nick returned home, he told me that mom and dad had finally gotten me my own phone line, which I had been wanting for the past few years. Once everything was hooked up, I dialed Steve's number. " Hello? " he asked, " Hey Steve, it's Y/N... " I sighed. " Oh hey, what's up? " he asked, " I just wanted to thank you for the key chain. I absolutely love it " I stated. " Well, I'm happy you like it " he chuckled, " I do it's perfect " I sighed, this was the most awkward conversation he and I had ever had. " That's  great, he Y/N. I gotta go, Can I call you later? " he asked, " Um sure, that's fine " I muttered loud enough for him to hear.  " Okay, talk to you later " he stated before hanging up, not even waiting for a reply. I guess maybe I was to hard on him, to much of a bitch. Trying to force him to be seen with me in public,  maybe eventually he would've dumped his stupid friends. I may have ruined my chance.  

Now weeks later and that phone call from Steve never came, none at all actually. He pays no mind to me in school and I believe that it was probably all my fault, at least that's what I thought for the last few weeks. That is, until rumors started swirling around school of Steve and Nancy being a thing now. I witnessed it for myself a few times and even though it made me sad, there was nothing I could do about it.  Things were over and now it was time to move on with my life,  it still hurt seeing them walk  down the hallway, hand in hand. It makes me wonder, what if... But anyway, that's in the past now . Time to move onto the future...

Why Can't we be like that? Wish we could be like that. ---------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys, I know it's been a long time, but I'm back and going to start writing again, or  attempting to. I've just been constantly tired and sometimes it's hard for me to just want to get up and write. But, I hope you like this and thank you all for hanging around. You're all so amazing, I can't even. I really hope you enjoyed this, Thank You  so much for Reading <3<3

[found915]

It’s Sad, But It’s True (Pt. 2)

Pairings: Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Words: 1413

Summary: There’s more to Billy Hargrove than meets the eye, but you’re not sure if it’s going to be enough this time.

Part: 2 of ? (I still don’t know how long this is going to be. When I know, you’ll know. Until then, it’s all guesswork.)

Warnings: Angst, references to abuse, cursing (okay, honestly if I write it, odds are there are going to be a few “colorful embellishments”), Billy Hargrove being confusing af

A/N: Hey, guys! Here’s part 2 of ISBIT!!! I can’t believe I got this completed already, but the love I got for part 1 was astounding and I was so inspired, so thank you!!! I honestly couldn’t believe the amount of notes the first part got and I’m still a little in shock and I’m a lot honored. Thank you for going on this ride with me! I hope you enjoy and feel all the things!

(Also, please don’t think I believe it necessary to be asked for help before you give it. What I write is purely based on how I think certain characters would act and what they would do/need and I don’t think Billy Hargrove would appreciate someone trying to help him when he doesn’t think he needs it. This is in no ways a reflection on my personal opinions/beliefs. This is ultimately a story of healing and that will be understood by the end of this series, I hope. Thank you.)

Part 1

Billy ignored you for a straight week after that night, not even bothering to spare you a glance in the school hallways when you had to pass him to get to your next class. So, essentially, nothing had changed. It’s not like you were really expecting it to, but you were curious as to if you would ever catch another glimpse of the Billy Hargrove who had stood in your yard that night, looking up at the stars. Another glimpse of that scared boy who was desperate for help, but didn’t believe anyone was willing to give it. It didn’t seem too likely. That whole night was probably a fluke, anyway.

You were also really curious as to what he had told people had happened to his face. You couldn’t help, but obsess over it. The bruise was still very much there, even if it had turned to a more sallow yellow already. There were varying stories circling the rumor mill, but none of them came close to what you imagined was the truth. You guessed you’d never know. You just genuinely hoped it got better for him and you wished you knew how to help. Even if he was a dick more than half of the time. You didn’t really think that wishing on stars was enough. It’d have to be a start, though, which is why you made sure to do it every night.

After the week of absolute disregard had passed, something strange happened. You were walking home from school when the familiar roar of an engine sounded behind you, closing the distance swiftly until it began to slow down, crawling at a turtle’s pace beside you matching your stride. Not even bothering to look because you knew who it was, you just hugged your books closer to your chest and continued your trek, head held high and your eyes looking straight ahead. The signature blue Camaro continued to match your pace for a bit longer before speeding up a little and suddenly pulling up to the curb and parking. The passenger door was swung open as if waiting for you to get in. Quirking a brow and placing a lock of hair behind your ear, you simply chose to keep walking, still not bothering to look at the interior. There was no telling what the mullet wearing teen was thinking, but you weren’t entirely fond of games and this seemed like one in which he expected you to be a willing participant. You’d stick to your wishing on stars, thank you very much.

You hadn’t gotten much past the car before you heard another car door open. Rolling your eyes, you stopped, but still didn’t turn to face the boy.

“You’re pretty goddamn stubborn, aren’t you, (Y/L/N)?” Billy huffed, leaning against the hood of his car and pulling out a cigarette before lighting up. Looking over your shoulder at him, you took in his expression which insisted he wasn’t nearly as annoyed as he pretended to be. You gave a small shrug.

“I don’t remember being asked a question, so I don’t see how I’m being stubborn.”

Billy raised that famous eyebrow of his, simply looking you over for a minute. Annoyed by his silent scrutiny, you sighed and rolled your eyes before turning back around and beginning to walk away once more. There was the asshole you had become accustomed to and expected, even if it was from a distance that you were exposed to it. Okay, so maybe you had thought things were going to be different after your talk of hope. Sue you. Everyone was allowed to make mistakes. This guy got his jollies off by messing with people’s heads. You saw how he liked to screw with your friend, Steve Harrington, and the other girls at school. There was no way you were going to fall prey to his bullshit.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Okay, you weren’t expecting that. Facing him again, you noticed the only movement he had made was to cross his arms. Protecting himself. From you. That… that was unexpected. This guy sure knew how to throw you for a damn loop.

“Uh, what?” your confusion was evident on your face, you were sure of it.

“At school. Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Billy’s gaze had narrowed slightly, certain you were going to tell him that you had told someone and he just hadn’t been exposed to the consequences of your running your mouth yet. His eyes seemed to be trying to penetrate your soul in that moment, to find all the answers that he needed. It was all you could do to look away.

“Oh, um, because I didn’t think you’d want me to?” It was more of a question than an answer. You tried again. “If I thought it would make things better for you, as opposed to worse, I might have. But I knew you weren’t ready for my help, so, I, uh, kept it to myself…” you mumbled that last part, biting your lip to stop your rambling.

“You didn’t tell any of your little friends?” he asked, still dubious. He had seen you with Harrington, Wheeler, and Byers. If you had chosen to tell anyone, it would be them. Pushing away from the Camaro, Billy stamped out his cigarette before stepping onto the sidewalk and moving closer to you. Eyes following his movement, you still couldn’t quite bring yourself to look at his face. You shook your head.

“No. I’m not really one to gossip and, again, that seems more hurtful than helpful.”

“I don’t need any help, (Y/L/N).” Billy stopped a respectful distance away from you, but you still felt he was too close. The air surrounding you seemed too charged with… something. Something you couldn’t describe. Tilting your eyes from their current neutral position, you found his face once more. Billy Hargrove had another unreadable expression on his features, blue eyes charged with this foreign thing as they locked onto yours. Breathing seemed a little more difficult than it should have been in that moment.

“Right. Of course not. Sorry,” you answered with sincerity. You weren’t so used to being out of your element and this whole situation was making you feel like you were currently living underwater. Breathing was difficult, you were surrounded by silence, there was a roaring in your ears, Billy’s eyes were reminiscent of waves… Luckily for you, a gust of cold wind broke you out of your hypnosis. Unluckily for you, you hadn’t worn a jacket, just a thin, long sleeve shirt and your hair was now personally assaulting your face. Your heaping amounts of hairspray did not stand a chance against the Indiana fall winds.

Billy chuckled quietly, his smirk taking over residence on his face. When the air stilled once more, his hand came up to move a wayward lock behind your ear. Eyes widening, you tensed slightly, but he noticed causing him to drop the strand of hair. Immediately breaking eye contact and shoving his hands in his pockets, the boy stepped away from you. Opening his mouth to say something, he stopped when he noticed your shiver, changing his mind. Instead he said, “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home.”

“I’m fine. It’s not that far,” you began to insist. Billy is already opening the driver’s side door, stopping only long enough to roll his eyes at you.

“You’re freezing. Just get in the damn car, (Y/N). It’s not like it’s out of the way.” Sighing, you acquiesce and walk toward the still open passenger door. After getting in and resting your books in your lap, you finish what Billy had started, and began fixing your windblown hair. Noting that you still haven’t moved, you turn to see Billy looking at you once again. Watching your movements.

“What?” you question, cursing the obvious nervousness in your voice.

“Nothing. I just can’t seem to figure you out, (Y/L/N).”

Lurching away from the curb suddenly, you decide to buckle up as Billy Hargrove speeds down the deserted street. You hear his snicker at your movements, which earned him a glare. Choosing to look out the window as the houses whizzed by, you muttered under your breath, “That makes two of us, then.”

You don’t know if he heard you or not, but he made sure to blast the radio for the rest of the short journey to your house.

Tags: @xanaphorax @hairringtonsteve @stevesdacre @itsjustcatrin @ashrod98 @lady-thor-foster

(If you want to be tagged in this series, let me know!)

[uncle-ak]

AN INTERVIEW WITH LEXUS NICOLE BYERS THE FOUNDER OF FINANCIAL LITERACY ADVOCATE

For the many readers out there, who is Lexus? I am a God-fearing woman who loves helping others! I whole heartedly believe my purpose on this earth involves helping millennials learn about finance basics and motivating them to not become a statistic. I also enjoy spending time with my family and friends! Some of my favorite things to do in my spare time involves writing poetry, going to the movies, or trying different restaurants to eat at. I am obsessed with food! I recently completed my MBA at UMGC, and I plan to utilize this degree in the financial world by giving back to my community through financial literacy.

Speak a little bit about your life from birth to now? I am from Winston-Salem, NC. I was born and raised in NC. I have two brothers and two sisters; I fall right in the middle. I completed my undergraduate degree at UNCG and obtained my bachelor’s in finance and Information Systems. I moved to MD towards the end of 2016, to start a new chapter. I couldn't be more grateful for the decision I made to go outside of my comfort zone and move somewhere that has opened so many doors for me. I have worked within the banking industry for the past 7 years. My senior year in high school I did a tax intern for a credit union and that was my introduction into banking. I love the teaching aspect of banking and being able to help people with their finances.

You are the founder of Financial Literacy Advocate. what is it about and how did you come about it? How did you determine the need for this venture? I am the founder of Elle Bee, Literacy. I created this blog to help millennials learn about the importance of finances. Specifically, the importance of credit, saving, and budgeting. While working within the financial institution for the past few years I've seen a trend of millennials not being as financial savvy as we should; myself included. When I graduated with a degree in Finance, I still had no idea how to have excellent credit or how to even create a budget. I was not taught in school or within my household. So many people I would encounter had this same story! This did not sit well with me, so I begin to do my own research. I would read up on financial gurus such as Dave Ramsey and practice what I read. It worked. Instead of keeping all of this information to myself, I created a blog where I could freely share this information with my friends, family, and peers. I do no one a favor by keeping this information to myself. My goal is breaking the generational curse of being financially illiterate.

do you have a 9-5 and how does that tie in with this venture? Yes, I have a 9-5, and I also have a part-time job as well. My 9-5 ties in with this venture because I work at a financial institution. The tips I post and blogs I create generally comes from what I see or have observed within my professional career.

I have a bachelor’s degree in finance and Information Systems. I also have a Master's in Business Administration. My personal background includes seven of experience within Banking.

I have a bachelor’s degree in finance and Information Systems. I also have a Master's in Business Administration. My personal background includes seven of experience within Banking.

Your slogan is “Let’s Get F.R.E.E.!” what does it mean to be free? what is that path like? "F.R.E.E." stands for Financially Ready to Exceed Expectations. This means taking the initiative to begin your journey of taking finances seriously. It also means no longer being confined or under control of what others may think you should be doing with your money. Being financially FREE allows you to live the way God destined for your life without being in bondage to debt or outstanding bills for the rest of your life.

Are there any services you provide with this venture? No.

could you share with us a success story? A few months ago, I assisted one of my best friends on creating a budget. She is an actress on Broadway and unfortunately, they will be discontinuing her tour within the next year. I sat with her on the phone for a few hours where we first had a conversation about her financial goals and what she would ultimately like to do. Once we came up with a number, she would like to save in the next few months we began planning. We took a look at her entire financial picture (debt, credit card, bills, saving) and came up with the best budget plan for her situation. We decided the envelope method would be best. From there we broke up what her budget would be each week and how much would be going towards her emergency savings. A few hours later we completed her plan and she is currently on track. When she leaves the tour, she will have surpassed her ideal goal and have quite a bit stashed away! She was very happy and told me she feels like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders!

what is your approach to financial planning? My approach to financial planning involves sitting down with individuals and creating a way to help them reduce debt, learn about credit, and maintain an adequate budget plan.

I just need to get started investing for my financial goals what advice do you have for me? The first thing would be to have an idea of what you would like to accomplish. From there you should assess your current debt and your income. Everyone's financial picture is different, and each person may have different goals. The very first thing would to get a holistic view of your full financial picture.

what are your views on paying for financial advice? I don't see anything wrong with paying for financial advice. There are people who go to school to become Certified Financial Planners, or Investment Bankers who should be compensated for their services.

What is it about budgeting, savings, credit, and preparing for the future do you want people to be most aware of? I want people to be aware that they do not have to be in debt for the rest of their lives. So many millennials try to keep up with the "Kardashians" and end up in mountains of debt. There IS a way to obtain the finer things of life and still be saving, maintaining credit, and entering financial freedom. I also want people to take their finances seriously and stop putting it off. The time is NOW.

what is one thing people do not know about you that you would love for them to know? I would love for people to know that with everything I do, I make sure I am benefiting others. Whether it’s through my website, my IG page, I want to make sure that I am helping someone. I never want to do anything that solely benefits myself and myself only.

what advice do you have for those struggling with their finances, credit, etc? For those who are struggling with your finances, you are not alone! It is a continuous learning experience and trial and error. The hardest part is just starting! Once you begin you learn what’s best for you and what works for you. Some people may follow Dave Ramsey and some people may think his practices are too complicated. It all comes down on what works for you and how successful you are.

when you not talk finances or about your 9-5 what do you do? If I am not working or blogging I usually either go to the movies, go to brunch, or take a trip to NC to see my family. I also write poetry in my spare time.

How can people connect with you? All of my handles on IG, Twitter, and Facebook is @ELLEBEELITERACY. I also have a website that is ellebeeliteracy.com where people can reach out to me anytime! Email: Ellebeeliteracy@gmail.com

Thank you, Lexus, keeps up with your advices they are much need. Thank you!