#will is so gay it hurts

[bugnirvana]

🌑☁️”Watch the stars with me?”☁️🌑[Will Byers x Reader]

Warnings: none other than some wack characterization on my end, reader is lowkey autism coded but whatever it’s up to interpretation!, swearing?, mild mention of drug usage, sadness n rejection n being ignored, out of character shit and stuff that didn’t happen canonically (obv)

terms used: he/him, boyfriend, masculine labels (:

what’s up I’m back. Took me less than a week to need a break 💀 anyway, here’s the coveted Will Byers fic! Initially I was going to make this an autistic and ftm reader but I just decided to go w a masc reader in the end. I also thought this was going to be fluffy and shit. Haha. Wrong. Angstiest shit I’ve ever written. Enjoy! Longest thing I’ve written and released at this point. Also don’t @ me in any grammar or plot errors, I haven’t proofread this yet.

It was another day at school for you. You sat at the back of your classes, simply observing.

Nobody really bothered you. It wasn’t that you were well liked by everyone, nor were you hated. Nobody really paid any attention to you, so you thought, and maybe this was a good thing, but it meant you didn’t have any friends. It kind of sucked though because you had a crush on this boy named Will Byers.

At the beginning of the school year, Will moved to Lenora Hills with his mother, brother, and sister. His sister, along with him, were in a majority of your classes.

Will’s sister, Jane, got bullied and teased quite a bit. She seemed very socially awkward, but it wasn’t her fault. In fact, you could relate at least a little.

Despite this, you were sure you were sure of yourself that you were going to ask Will on a date—to hang out at least, mainly because you didn’t know if he was gay or not, but he was doing a report on Alan Turing, a widely admired mathematician, who also happened to be a homosexual.

You were going to approach him after class that day, if all went right.

It was nearing the end of class, the class had been instructed to do a project on important people in U.S. history. You ended up choosing Walt Whitman, however you hadn’t presented yet.

Angela had just finished her presentation on Hellen Keller, which was ironic because of her bullying those who were different, and Jane was called up to give her presentation next. She had made a diorama that you found very cute, it was of her late father’s cabin. As she was explaining, Angela decided to interrupt and bully her. This got her very upset, she went to her seat crying. It truly hurt to see what happened, since you could relate, but you couldn’t do anything but attempt to give her a sympathetic look, but her eyes were directed at her feet as she made her way back to her desk and laid her head down.

Will was obviously concerned for her, as a good brother should be, so after class he raced after her and tried talking to her. That was the last you had seen of either of them aside from a crowd surrounding Jane and Angela, ending with Angela getting dragged away by a teacher.

it was early in the morning. You, however, were going to the Byers household to go and ask Will if he could hang out with you. The both of you lived in similar areas of the Lenora Hills suburb, so it would only take you a few minutes to get there. You looked down at the box in your hands and then shoved your Walkman in your pocket as Flashdance What A Feeling by Irene Cara came on, you softly hummed the music.

When you reached the Byers household, you knocked on the door. Will’s older brother, Jonathan, came to the door.

“Oh…hey?” he said.

“Hi. Is uh.. is Will home?” you asked.

There was commotion from behind the dude standing in front of you as he yelled for Will, but just as he had come to the door, a large van had pulled up at the house. Will came to the door but looked straight through you to the van with a panicked gaze, multiple strings of curses left his mouth as he rushed to his room. Jonathan turned back to you.

“We’re going to the airport, picking up an old friend from where we lived before,” he said, smiling at you. “You can join us if you’d like, you may want to make the decision quick, though.” You nodded, making your way to the van and hopping in.

“What’s up brochacho? Why are you here? You a friend of Byers’ siblings?” the strange man driving asked. You couldn’t find a way to make words leave your mouth as you admired his hair, it was really really long, you thought.

The seat beside the strange man opened, and Jonathan hopped in. Following suit was Jane and Will. Will held what looked to be a rolled up painting. Jane and Will just looked at you, mostly confused gazes.

“What are you doing here?” Jane questioned in a confused tone. Your face flushed as you stumbled words out.

“Oh uh…I came to—I came to talk to Will, but uh..you guys had to leave so I Jonathan invited me t-“

You were cut off by Will, telling the strange man whose name you found to be Argyle to just hurry and drive. It hurt you quite a bit, but maybe he was seeing an old close friend?

But another thought plagued your mind. Maybe a long distance girlfriend? You didn’t know. He never mentioned any girls from your observations, not even any old ones that he was interested in. Maybe he just didn’t have any luck in the dating world? Again, you did not know. The rest of the ride was mostly spent in silence. You felt incredibly out of place, so many thoughts raced through your head it was difficult to comprehend them, an—

—d before you knew it. You were at the airport.

“Is it okay if I come inside with the rest of you?” You asked Jonathan. He gave a simple nod of approval, so you followed the Byers looking down at your shoes.

You sat next to Jane in the uncomfortable airport seats, the opposing side of her being Will. She was obviously very excited, and so was Will. His smile in turn, made you happy also. You knew it wasn’t directed at you, but you smiled at the sight nonetheless.

Suddenly, spooking you out of your daydream, Jane and Will shoot up out of their seats and ran to a lanky boy around your age with curly black hair wearing a visor, sunglasses, and typical California tourist attire. Jane went up to him first and received a kiss from the boy, which put one of your thoughts to rest.

Will quickly rushed after and stood awkwardly next to Jane. To you, it was obvious that he wanted to show the boy the art he had created, however, he ended up backing out shyly.

“Who’s that?” The boy asked, in reference to me. Before I could respond, Jane responded for me.

“Just a friend from school, c’mon. I have a big day planned for us.” She said, the boy throwing his arm around her. Will looked pained from these interactions, which in turn also pained you.

After the introductions with Argyle and the warm welcomes from everyone else, everyone got back in the van, got breakfast, and began on their way to Rink-O-Mania.

You once again looked down at the box you had carefully crafted for the boy that you thought was perfect for you, thinking about how you could give it to your crush, but decided that now wasn’t the time, and with fleeting hopes, you simply kept staring at the box. Before you knew it, the van had gotten to the aforementioned roller rink. Jane rushed out of the van with the boy. Will lingered for a moment, it seemed he was zoned out.

“Uh— c’mon let’s..go.” he said, looking at you and leading you out of the van. You decided to leave the box in the van and follow Will. Before entering the rink, Jonathan called out to him.

“Hey, Will. We’ll be back at six. Have fun, okay? Uh.. you too, Will’s friend.” It had just occurred to you. Basically nobody knew your name aside from Jane and Will, hell, nobody had even let you complete a sentence aside from two miniature ones to Jonathan. Did it make you upset? Yes, but you decided to shrug it off.

You followed Will inside the rink. He was obviously not focused on you, moreso on the mysterious boy that had just arrived. You didn’t blame him, though, you were just some weird kid that showed up to his door earlier this morning because you wanted to wish him a happy birthday and maybe get him to hang out, and assuming he’s an old friend, you’d probably want to hang out with an old friend instead of the kid that sat in the back of the class, too.

You followed the group to the skate rental counter and rented your size of skate with money you were going to use hanging out with Will that day, but you supposed that you technically were hanging out with Will, so you allowed the thought to slip past you.

The three of them, Jane, Will, and the strange boy, all sat down to put their skates on. None payed attention while you stood there.

“Oh, Mike, you forgot socks.” Jane said. What an anticlimactic name you thought.

“Oh..dang—“ Mike said.

“They sell them at the counter.” Will said, pointing over to the same counter where we got our skates. Mike nodded and got up, giving you a nod of acknowledgment as he passed by.

You found another place to sit and took your shoes off. Soon, Mike came back with some gross yellowy-green colored socks.

“I asked for vomit green, and they gave me vomit green.” He said, eliciting a small laugh from Jane and Will. “Shouldn’t we let him sit with us?” He asked, motioning to me.

“Oh—nah… I almost have my skates on, no need to move.” You assured. Mike, once he got his skates on, he stomped his way over to you.

“Yeah, never got your name by the way,” he said. “The name’s Mike, and you are..?” He held his hand out in an attempt to get a handshake.

“Oh, yeah my name’s [Y/N]. Pleased to meet one of Will’s friends from where he lived before here.” You shook the boy’s hand. You then continued lacing up your skates.

The rest of them end up leaving to go onto the rink. You finished tying the laces and followed suit, a little far behind Will. You attempted to skate up to him, finally getting close enough to tap him on the shoulder, but he ended up skating quicker. You knew he didn’t mean to ignore or brush you off, but his friend from wherever he used to live had spoken to you more than he even had. And that shit stung bad, however, you persisted.

You continued attempting to follow the Byers boy, but you ended up getting lost in the crowd of other skaters in the rink. You looked around from your current spot attempting to find them. To no avail, you decided to leave the rink.

Finally getting out of the rink, you took the skates off and put your shoes back on, deciding to go to the arcade and maybe win a prize for the boy of your dreams.

It was around half an hour later, you had successfully gone broke at the arcade, but it was worth it. You had won a penguin stuffed animal in a claw machine! Will loved penguins, you knew that from the few times you were partnered for projects in class. You couldn’t wait to show him.

Speaking of, where was he? You glanced at the rink and couldn’t see them. The three of them were all giggling and had various snacks from the rink concession stand. They didn’t even bother looking for me?, you thought, ignoring Will scanning the entire building.

To you, it seemed that nobody wanted you here. You had invited yourself, after all. Nobody invited you. You had barely even spoken. You weren’t valued in the current event, but you couldn’t leave since Argyle was the one who drove you here.

It all came crashing down on you all at once, and the words leave kept being repeated in your mind. You needed to seek refuge, and you were lucky enough to find a place to.

You snuck into a room that said ‘employees only’ that appeared to be vacant and sat down. You didn’t really have much else to do, so why not just chill out by yourself?

By chill out, of course, you meant cry.

Sobs escaped from your body, the quiet sounds echoing from the walls of the room.

You found an old pinball machine to sit up against. You were tired, so you decided to go to sleep, ending up laying on the ground and holding the penguin close to you.

Will’s POV

“Dude, c’mon! You’ve been a total sap all day.” He said to me.

“I mean, yeah. I have. I’ve been a total third wheel.” I replied.

“A third wheel? You think that’s the worst thing in the world??” He asked. “You’ve been a complete dick to El all day. Not only that, but completely disregarding the ‘forth wheel’ you brought with you.”

“What?”

“You know? [Y/N]?? You know, the one that’s wanted to talk to you the entire day but you were too focused on me and El all day to even talk to?” He said. “Hell dude, I’m pretty sure I’ve spoken to him and acknowledged him more than you have today, and he isn’t even one of my friends.”

Oh shit.

“Really, dude. All he wanted to do was catch up to you and talk to you. Maybe tell you something, I dunno, but it’s obvious he wanted to talk to you for some reason. We didn’t even get snacks with him. We lost him when we first got on the rink!” He exclaimed. “Dude. I’m pretty sure I saw him holding a penguin plushie when we went and got snacks. Also pretty sure he went broke trying to get it for you in the arcade.”

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” I exclaimed. “Fuck!”

“Yeah. You may want to right your wrongs soon and find him. He didn’t look to happy when we got snacks.” Mike said to me.

“Where was the last place you saw him?” I asked.

“I don’t know. You’ll have to look.” He said, walking away from me. I started panicking. Where the hell was I going to find him? I began frantically scanning the entire rink looking for them. El was with Mike, and [Y/N] was nowhere to be seen anywhere else. I checked the boys bathroom and the entire arcade. No [Y/N]. Finally, I ended up to an employees only closet, and all I could do was hope he was in there.

I opened the door and looked for a moment. I couldn’t find him at first glance, but then I found him.

Your P.O.V.

I was disturbed from my slumber by having to my name being called repeatedly.

“N-no…”

“[Y/N]? [Y/N], please.”

“Will?” I say, opening my eyes and seeing the boy I am so head over heels for right next to me.

“Shit—I’m sorry.” He said.

“Fo-For what?” I asked. “I—I invited myself.. I should be the-the one saying sorry.” And there went the tears.

We spent a good thirty or so minutes crying and talking. Making sure the both of us were okay. This ended in us

“Hey Will..?” I called out.

“Mm?” he replied.

“Would you…um..would you want to—after this—go and watch the stars with me? The um.. the forecast is clear tonight and I know a good spot.”

“That sounds good, actually.. I’ll have to ask my mom though— I’m sure she’ll be okay with it.”

Sorry if the ending was too cliché at all—I didn’t really know where else to take this story. I’m rewatching the goldfinch again and I cannot get enough of boris tbh. finn wolfhard more like find wolfhard LMFAOOOOO okay will byers is the colors yellow and orange and these golden sunsets n shit are just 🤌 Will Byers fr. Okay enjoy um. Sorry if it’s shit

[sentient-forest]

#cecilsweep and Welcome to Night Vale trending #1 in 2023

[ex0toxin]

happy pride from everyones favorite boy besties!! 🏳️‍🌈💜

[felsicveins]

Burnt bridges

[mayasaura]

I think the only thing that could have made Falin's resurrection scene sexier is if it had required more than blood and the dragon as a sacrifice. Flesh or bone. Let Marcille go the rest of the series missing a finger or toe bc she and Falin are now in some small way one flesh. Hell, Laios, too. Let him sacrifice an extremity for his own flesh and blood

[time-woods]

This small interaction in episode 2 will not leave my brain I need to dissect it and ramble or else I’ll pop

Frame of reference: this is where Aziraphale tells Crowley what drink he wants,

so he gets his attention while trying to spot somewhere to sit obviously not thinking to much of it (he also only turns twice in this moment to look at Crowley, having his main focus being on the seating- thats just Aziraphale for you though) but the way that Crowley looks back at him just makes him seem taken aback by the small gesture of physical touch. Not in a negative way, he doesn’t say anything and kinda just lingers for a moment looking and Aziraphale before getting their drinks. I don’t know how to explain it but this small moment along with details in body language from the whole series just makes these characters so fun to watch, even in the small things they can be so devastatingly human despite their denial,

[wyrmswears]

shoutout to this loser. whats up with him

[meatexe]

itty bitty purse dog vibes 🎀

[skipblebee]

Svsss is so cool I wish novels were real

[dreamofbecoming]

more stobin nonsense from your resident trash goblin. feat. shitty harrington parents, lavender marriage, full party found family shenanigans, steddie flirting, steve&will bonding, and a severe lack of dialogue tags

rating: t wc: 5k ao3

“I knew it!”

Steve sighs. Listen, he knew the minute he opened his mouth that this was coming. There was always a zero percent chance Dustin was ever gonna let him get out the whole thing before bursting in with this exact interruption, but that doesn’t make it less annoying. If the little shithead would just let him finish--

"I knew you were perfect together, I can't believe you didn't tell us you were dating! How long have you been a thing? I have money to collect! Can I be your best man? Never mind, obviously I'm gonna be your best man. You so owe me for not telling me sooner! I cannot believe-"

"Henderson!"

"What?"

"We're not together like that."

In fairness, Dustin is not the only one to give them an incredulous look for that one.

"Steve. You literally just announced you and Robin are getting married. What is even the point of pretending you're not in love anymore? What are you still trying to prove? Just admit I was right the whole time!"

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose and forces himself to take a deep breath, instead of wringing Dustin's weird little boneless neck. It's not his fault, he reminds himself. They haven't gotten to the second part of the announcement, so his assumptions are natural.

Now, it is Henderson's fault that they haven't managed to say the rest of what they came here to say, so maybe he can keep blaming him after all.

"Do you remember when we sat down and we asked you guys to let us say everything we were gonna say without interrupting?"

"Uh, yeah dude, it was like ten minutes ago. We're not stupid."

"Has it occurred to you that maybe we weren't done saying everything we were gonna say, considering I was halfway through a sentence when you jumped in?"

"I mean, I guess, but like, it's pretty obvious where you're going with this, Steve. You're not a complicated guy, no offense. Now, where did we land on the best man issue?"

Nancy must see the offense very much taken on his face, because before he can open his mouth and say something probably horrifically rude that would feel amazing in the moment and which he would immediately regret, she jumps to his rescue.

"Dustin, you're being very rude. Steve and Robin came here to talk to us, and we promised to listen. Let them finish."

It's nice of her to back Steve up, considering how weird this conversation must be for her. Hopefully it gets less awkward soon.

Henderson grumbles mutinously, but years of dealing with first Mike and then the rest of the little dickheads have left Nancy's control ironclad, and he waves sarcastically for Steve to continue.

This kid is spending too much time with Eddie, the attitude is getting out of hand.

"Right. Thanks, Nance. As I was saying, Robin and I are getting married, yes. But not because we're in love. I mean, I love her, obviously, but as a friend. Only a friend. Or, well, I guess a friend and soon a...friend...wife? Frife? Wend? You guys get it."

"We very much don't." Alright, well, fine, add Max to the shitlist.

He looks over at Robin, hoping for help, but she's stiff as a board and trembling all over.

He doesn't want to be the one to say the words for her. They agreed together to tell everyone the truth, it was her idea even, but the last thing he wants to do is steal that moment from her.

Maybe he can just…talk around it, until she feels up to it. And if not, he’ll just tell them his part of it and call it good.

“We’re getting lavender married.”

Okay, so that’s probably not like. A normal way to say that or whatever. Robin just used that term like fifty times last night, alright? She was really excited about the article she just read about it, something about how it was a thing in, like, olden times or whatever, and now it’s coming back because Reagan is a fucking tool, Steve’s not sure, he was only kind of listening. Regardless, now it’s stuck in his head. Sue him or whatever, geez.

Anyway, he isn’t sure how many people in this room will actually understand what that means, but Nancy’s mouth drops open in a perfect little O the way it only does when she’s genuinely surprised by something, and there’s a tiny gasp from over by the table that he thinks might have come from Will, and Max mutters to herself “Oh shit, that explains so much,” so it’s not none of them, which helps. No pitchforks yet, at least.

Jonathan is eyeing him speculatively, and Argyle is offering him an enthusiastic thumbs up, which is nice.

Unfortunately, the other boys and El are giving him blank, expectant stares, and Erica is eyeing him with both confusion and annoyance, so it looks like he still has some explaining to do.

“What the hell does your color scheme have to do with this? I’m not helping plan the wedding, dude, I don’t care that much.”

Steve mumbles a “Language,” on reflex, but his heart isn’t in it. This is somehow more nerve-wracking than evil Russians.

“Mike, that’s not what it means. Now shut up and listen, or I’ll tell Mom how that red sock ended up in her load of white delicates.”

“Oh come on, she’ll kill me!” When all he gets in return is a single raised eyebrow, he groans and slumps further into his seat, glaring at Steve.

“Right. Okay. So basically, last night, my parents--”

“I’m a lesbian!”

There’s a beat of dead silence, which in this group is more unsettling than just about anything else.

Steve keeps his eyes on Robin, who looks just about as shocked at her own outburst as everyone else in the room. He takes her hand, squeezing gently until she unfreezes a little and looks back over at him. She looks terrified, and it breaks his heart a little.

“You okay, babe?” He keeps his voice low, murmuring just loud enough for her to hear. He knows this moment is the opposite of private, but she needs him to pretend for a second, so that’s what he’s gonna do.

She nods, a little jerkily, but she grips his hand back and intentionally evens out her breathing. She’s so fucking brave. He would burn the world down for Robin Buckley, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

He can’t believe she’s willing to do this for him, but he’s so grateful he feels like he’s choking on it.

“Henderdork will literally never shut up and let you live it down if we do this and he doesn’t know the truth. Not even for a single second for the rest of forever, and I, for one, am not putting up with that shit until death or legal marriage reforms do us part, Dingus.”

It was a solid point last night when they came up with the plan, curled on her bed while she stroked his hair and generously pretended he hadn’t soaked the shoulder of her shirt with his sobs, all his worldly possessions packed into a duffel on her bedroom floor, but he knows her insistence was more about knowing how much he hates lying to the kids than it was about protecting herself from irritating teenagers.

He doesn’t think there’s enough room on the whole planet to hold all the love he feels for her, even if you count the Upside Down and any other weirdo dimensions floating around out there waiting to ruin his day.

“I’m okay, bubba. Don’t let go?” Her hand is shaking in his, but he just squeezes harder.

“Never.” He turns back to the room, eyes hard as he scans the faces of their family for any hostility. He wouldn’t have agreed to this part of the plan if he thought any of them would be a problem, but he’s not taking anything for granted with Robbie’s safety. Not now, not ever. "Everyone's gonna be cool about that, right?"

"Of course we are, right, guys?" From the pained grunt that follows her words, Steve assumes Max has dug her elbow into Mike's ribs.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"I suppose this makes you slightly less lame, Buckley. It's definitely better than when I thought you liked this loser." Wow, okay, thank you Erica.

"Yeah totally! Thanks for trusting us, Robin." Lucas is a sweetheart, he really is. He's also glancing surreptitiously at Will while he nods enthusiastically, who is still staring open-mouthed at Robin with wide, shiny eyes.

"Yes, thank you for trusting us, Robin." Nancy is smiling kindly, but she's got that glint in her eye that Steve knows means she just came up with more questions and is waiting for the right moment to strike. Fair enough, at least she's letting Robs have her moment first.

He finally drags his eyes back to Dustin, who he doesn't really want to admit, even to himself, he's a little worried about. Not that he'll be shitty about it, necessarily, but there's nothing that brings out Henderson's bitchy side like being wrong, and he's been so fucking wrong this entire time. It's bound to upset him.

And maybe Steve will never say this out loud where the other kids might hear, but the truth is that Dustin's opinion matters to him more than just about everyone else's. Dustin was the first person in the whole world who saw Steve, the real Steve, and decided he was worth keeping around. If Henderson can't accept this part of Robin, it means he can't accept this part of Steve, and if that happens...if that happens Steve isn't sure he'll be able to come back from it.

So he's...not worried, okay? Worried is not the right word. Anxious, maybe. Concerned.

Okay fine fuck off he's worried.

Dustin...looks like he's about to cry. Shit.

"Did you think you couldn't trust me?" His voice is so small. Steve doesn't think he's ever heard it so small. It feels wrong. Henderson's voice should fill every room he's in, always. "You didn't have to lie. You could have told me the truth."

Aw, fuck.

"Buddy,--"

"It's not that simple, little man."

Steve whips back around to look at Robin. Are you sure you’re up for this? She purses her lips and narrows her eyes. Yeah, Dingus, this is my mess. Let me clean it up. Put the lance down, White Knight. Well, alright then. He waves for her to continue, ignoring the looks the others always shoot them when they do their silent conversation thing. Not his fault they can’t read each other as well, it’s not like it’s hard.

"Before today, Steve was the only person in the world who knew about me. And honestly, I don't know if I would have told him if we weren't both coming off torture and truth serum. I've worked hard to hide it my whole life, baby Dingus, that's not an easy thing to stop doing. It's scary."

"But we're your friends. We're your family! We saved the world together! You should trust your family, right?"

Aw, jeez. Steve forgets, sometimes, how young they are. They've been through horrific supernatural trauma, but they're still the kind of kids who think life is a story with a happy ending, like their little dragon game.

"Yeah, bud, you should, but it's not always that easy. There can be really serious consequences for telling the wrong person. Like, last night my parents found out I'm bisexual by accident and now I...well. Now I don't have parents anymore." Oof, okay, little blunter than he meant to be, but Robbie's getting anxious again so he has to take the focus back.

There's an eruption of sound, as every voice in the Party starts shouting all at once, turning the Wheeler's basement into Steve's own personal migraine generator.

"Did they kick you out?"

"You're bisexual?!"

"What's bisexual?"

"They can't just do that!"

"Does this mean we have to find somewhere else for Hellfire nights?"

That last one earns Erica several Looks, but she doesn't flinch. "What? I'm just being practical."

He wishes Eddie was here. The gremlins actually listen to him, unlike Steve, on account of as their Hellfire DM, he has leverage they care about to threaten them with. Well, most of them, but it's definitely a help when he's around.

Sadly he and Wayne are at some kind of Munson family reunion down in West Virginia this week, so Steve is gonna have to do this whole spiel over again when he gets back. He and Robin thought about waiting until he got back and the whole Party could be together, but the kids would definitely notice him not living in Loch Nora anymore pretty much immediately. And Steve hates the idea of telling him over the phone, so double coming out/engagement announcement it is.

"Alright, Jesus Christ, enough! One at a goddamn time, you animals."

He looks back at Dustin, who's definitely crying now. "Yeah, buddy, they kicked me out, but I'm okay. I'm staying with the Buckleys for now, and Rob and I have been saving up to move in together soon anyway, so all this did is move up our timeline. I'm safe and I'm fine, okay? I promise."

Dustin plasters himself to Steve's front, squeezing like he's worried Steve is going to shatter into pieces and he can hold him together by sheer force of will. It's very sweet, even if it's crushing his lungs a little.

"I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me." The words are muffled in Steve's chest, he's not sure anyone else heard him.

"Aw, kid, it's okay. I trust you, alright? Always. You die, I die, remember? I was just...figuring my shit out, that's all."

"Your parents are mouthbreathers." Steve chuckles a little at the mutinous glare on El's face, not pausing his hand where he's stroking Dustin's hair.

"You're not wrong, Supergirl. But it's fine, honestly. They've always been dicks, I've been planning to move out for a long time. They just...gave me the final push, is all." He's definitely leaving out the part where he broke down sobbing in Robbie's bed last night, asking her over and over why he was so broken that his own parents couldn't love him, but the kids don't need to hear that part of the story.

"Does this have something to do with your whirlwind engagement?" There she is, ace reporter Nancy Wheeler. Observant as always.

"Yeah, pretty much. They disinherited me, but they're still legally my next of kin."

"And Dingus has had far too much head trauma for me to trust he's not gonna end up back in the hospital for something at some point, and the last thing we need is Mr. and Mrs. von Child Neglect getting that call. And I was just reading about gay men and women who are marrying each other so they can have someone allowed in to see in them in the hospital, because of the virus, you know? And I thought, hey that's not a half bad idea! We're gonna be living together anyway, and it's not like I'm marrying anyone else, and it'll be good for both of us to have someone who knows about, y'know, monsters and all that jazz, to do our power of attorney stuff, so, voila! Mr. and Mrs. Bucklington!"

"We are not changing our name to Bucklington."

"Well Harringley is worse, so suck it up, buttercup."

"I'm not interested in keeping the Harrington name, Bobs, I'd rather just be a Buckley."

"Aw, bubba, you're gonna make me cry!"

"You should both become Hendersons! Then we'd really be brothers!"

Steve erupts into laughter, the tension effectively broken by Dustin's wide, toothy grin. "What d'ya say, Bobbie? Steve and Robin Henderson?"

"Would we get access to Claudia's lasagna recipe? Because if so, I'm behind this plan one hundred percent.”

"By 'we' you do mean me, right? Because I love you more than life, Bobs, but I'm not letting you anywhere near a casserole dish. I've learned that lesson."

"It was one time!"

"It took me three days to get all the cheese off the ceiling! There's still a stain!"

"Well good! Ceiling grease stains can be the Harrington's problem now, anyway. They deserve it!"

Argyle is nodding sagely from on top of the incredibly deflated bean bag he's sharing with Jonathan. "I do like Bucklington, it makes you sound like a fancy butler. But family is important, brochachos, and so is lasagna. I vote Henderson."

This spurs impassioned arguments from all corners, which Steve is more than happy to relax into the couch cushions and let wash over him.

There's a light, bubbly feeling in his chest. For the first time since his dad walked in unannounced yesterday, interrupting his phone call with Robin at the worst possible moment, the knot of fear and grief in his stomach starts to loosen.

Robin smiles at him, and he grins helplessly back. Who needs parents when he's got a soulmate? They're together, they're safe, they're surrounded by their family. Steve holds Dustin tighter to his side and lets himself feel loved.

He takes advantage of a lull in the Last Name Wars to get out the last of the speech he'd planned. "Anyway, we decided to tell all of you the truth when we came up with this plan last night, because we do trust you and we didn't want to lie to you, and also because we knew you shitheads would never shut up about us being in love if we didn't and that sounded awful."

He laughs delightedly at the chorus of indignant outbursts this gets him before continuing.

"It's really important that you don't tell anyone outside the Party the truth, alright? We're gonna tell Eddie when he gets back, and we might tell Joyce and Hop eventually, but that needs to be our choice to do. You can't do it for us, and you absolutely can't tell anyone else. The whole point of this is to keep us safe by keeping people from finding out the truth, okay?"

El looks vaguely uncomfortable, but not upset. "Will you tell my Dad soon?"

Steve glances at Robbie, who's looking anxious again, and then over at Will. His shoulders are tense, hunched up around his ears, and he's staring intently at the table in front of him.

Steve isn't sure if anyone else knows what he thinks he knows about Will, but he's pretty sure he recognizes the specific flavor of isolation he can see Will struggling with sometimes, and he's definitely sure he recognizes the looks Will shoots at Mike whenever Wheeler isn't looking. Tommy used to look at him like that.

Either way, he knows the kind of fear the kid must be suffering, just like he knows how terrifying today was for Robin. For Steve, the worst case scenario has already happened, so he has a lot less left to lose. He can afford to smooth the way a little, to test the waters and make sure they're safe for everyone else.

It's not that different from his normal role in this group anyway, just a different kind of monster. He's always been good at taking hits so the others don't have to-- this is just another threat to step in front of.

"Tell you what, Ellie, I'll talk to Hop and Joyce this weekend, that way you won't have to keep secrets from him for too long. I'll just tell him about me, though, at first, okay? That way we'll know if it's safe for Robbie." Or anyone else, he doesn't say.

Jonathan hears it, at the very least, and shoots him a look that's equal parts surprised and grateful. Maybe Will has someone else in his corner after all, then.

El nods happily, satisfied with that.

Before anyone else can jump in, there's a clattering on the basement stairs. None of them have time to tense up too badly before the door bursts open and Eddie comes tumbling through it in a flurry of dark curls and frayed denim.

"Fear not, my wayward wastrels, for I have returned from far off lands, bearing tidings and the promise of libations!"

Steve only recognizes, like, four of those words, but seeing Eddie gives him the same happy, fizzy feeling in his gut that it always does these days, so he grins.

"You're back early, Eds, everything ok?"

Eddie blinks at him, then around the room, looking surprised to see it so packed.

"Yeah, my cousin Clarence accidentally broke my MeeMaw's pasture fencing and set all the goats loose in the hills, and if we stuck around we were gonna have to help round them back up, so Wayne and I snuck out early. I was coming to invite the gremlins out for pizza to tell you all about it, but this is more people than I was expecting. Y'all having a family meeting? Without little old moi?"

Steve valiantly suppresses the shiver that the twang in Eddie's voice triggers. Steve's not sure if Eddie notices the way his accent gets stronger when he's been talking to family, but he's had to work very hard to make sure he doesn't notice the way it affects Steve.

Steve has barely tested the flirting waters with Eddie since admitting his crush to Robin, he's definitely not jumping right in with 'It makes me tingly all over when you start talking with a drawl, wanna call me darlin' and see what happens?'

Luckily Bobbie notices his inner struggle and comes to his rescue.

"It was kind of a time sensitive issue- not a life or death one! Or like. Not a monster one, anyway. But shit went down last night and we needed to brief everyone before the geek squad figured out something was funky and came beating down the door. Steve wanted to tell you in person so we were gonna wait til you got back, but here you are!"

Eddie's looking at Robin with an amused smile on his face, one eyebrow raised and his lips quirked in a lopsided grin that is, frankly, unreasonably attractive. "Here I am indeed, my fair Lady of Feathers. So what's the scoop?"

He plops down next to Jonathan and Argyle on the beanbags, nearly sending them all toppling before Argyle hooks both of them around the waists and drags them practically into his lap.

Steve is not seething with jealousy. He's not.

A half a dozen voices chime out all at once.

"Robin's gay!"

"Steve's homeless."

"Robin and Steve are getting married!"

“Purple married.”

“It’s lavender, dummy.”

“Lavender’s a kind of purple!”

"They're gonna be Hendersons!"

"No they aren't, weirdo, they're gonna be Buckleys."

"Bucklington is clearly the superior choice, even if Argyle was right about the butler thing."

“Bucklington my ass, y’all dumb as hell if you think Mom and Dad aren’t gonna try and make him a Sinclair after this.”

"Mama and Papa Harrington didn't like that Stevie boy has double the love to give. Totally bogus. Bi bros for life, man."

"I still call Steve's best man!"

Eddie blinks a little when everyone quiets down, looking vaguely shellshocked. "That was. A lot of information to get in thirty seconds."

And, listen, Steve is like, 97% sure Eddie's cool. More than cool, even. He moves that bandana to the same pocket every time he changes his jeans, no matter what outfit he's wearing. There's no way that's an accident. But if Steve is being totally honest, which he's trying to do more these days, at least inside his own brain, this is maybe not the way he'd have chosen to come out to his crush. It's somehow way more nerve-wracking when he didn't even get to say it himself.

Oh well, it's out there now. It's fine, probably.

Still, there’s a definite feeling of relief when Eddie turns that megawatt grin on him again.

"Man, I wish I'd known there were other queers in Hawkins, I might have listened sooner when Henderson told me how cool you guys were!"

Steve laughs, only a little hysterically. "Dude, if you thought you were the only one, what the hell have you been wearing that hanky for? Who are you hoping will see it?"

It's a little gratifying to see Eddie go flaming tomato red in seconds. "I am not talking about that in mixed company, Steven. There are children here!"

"Ugh, we're literally teenagers."

"Tiny baby infants! If you're so curious, you can ask me again later."

"Promise?" Steve can't stop himself from grinning wolfishly.

Eddie tugs his hair in front of his face to hide, and the frantic little giggle and the quiet "Oh my god," he lets out both sound more than a little strangled. Steve's having the time of his life right now.

"Gross." Ugh, rude. He glares at Robin for ruining his fun. She sticks her tongue out at him.

Before they can devolve into the inevitable slapfight, Nancy cuts in again.

"Alright, unless anyone else has anything to share in private, I think we should take Eddie's suggestion and get something to eat." Good thinking, Nance. "To celebrate the happy couple, of course," she adds with a smirk. Yeah, that makes more sense.

"Onward then, my noble companions, to pizza and to paradise!" Eddie vaults off the beanbag, sending Jonathan and Argyle tumbling. Argyle laughs and accepts Eddie's hand up, while Jonathan just rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

Eddie slings an arm around Robin's shoulders as they head for the basement door. "So, Birdie, what's this I hear about a wedding? I need context."

As the kids go thundering up the stairs, arguing about who gets to drive in which car, Steve lingers. He noticed Will hanging back from the others, and now they're the last ones left, Will still slowly packing up the pens and notebooks he seems to carry around with him everywhere. Jonathan is hovering anxiously in the doorway, so Steve sends him a nod and waves him off. He's got this.

"You ready to go, kid?"

Will fidgets with the zipper on his bag for another few seconds before looking up at Steve through his, frankly tragic, fringe. "I'm sorry your parents suck."

"Yeah, man, me too." Steve shoots him a wry little smile. "It's alright though, sometimes we're better off without them. I've got plenty of family here that love me, I'll survive without Richard and Diane."

Will studies him for a minute. Steve's not sure what he's looking for, but he hopes he finds it.

"That's what Jonathan says about Lonnie." Steve nods, trying not to wince at the memory of the things he spat at Jonathan that day in '83 when everything changed. "I used to think it was my fault he left, but Jonathan says he was just a bastard, and it's better he's gone anyway."

"I didn't know Lonnie," he's careful not to say your dad, "but from what I've heard, Jonathan's probably right. And he's definitely right that it's not your fault."

"Like it's not your fault your parents kicked you out?"

"Yeah, exactly like that. If it was my fault, that would mean I did something wrong. The only thing I did was exist, and be different than they thought I would be. If they can't love the kid they had, then they shouldn't have had a kid at all. That's their problem, not mine. There's nothing wrong with me."

It doesn't matter if he heard all of these things from Robin first, if he's still trying to learn to believe them. Will needs to hear them like they're true, the same way Steve does.

"Are you sure?" Will's voice is trembling now. He's looking at the floor, but Steve can tell there are tears coming. "How can you be sure this is how you're supposed to be? Wouldn't you rather be normal?"

Oh, kid. "I mean, yeah, maybe it would be easier if I only liked girls, but I don't. I tried for a long time to pretend that I did, but it didn't make it true. And yeah, part of me wants to hate myself, because that's what they taught me to think, and I still kinda wish doing that would make them love me, but it won't. But honestly, you wanna know the biggest thing?" Will nods.

"I can't hate that part of myself without hating Robin, and there's no universe where I could hate Robin. Robin's perfect. She's the best person in the world, and she's gay, so being gay can't be bad. It's impossible. So whenever that voice in my head starts saying shitty things to me, I just think about how much I love Robin and tell it to shut up."

There's a beat where Will seems to be absorbing this.

"How did you know it would be safe? To tell us the truth?"

"I didn't."

Will stares at him in shock.

"Not a hundred percent, anyway. I was pretty sure, but it's never a guarantee with stuff like this, you know? But the other option was never telling anyone, and that...it gets tiring, you know? Always having to hide. Always having to check yourself. Lying when people ask the wrong questions. It wears you down. And I've fought monsters with you guys. I've been tortured by spies with you guys. If I can't trust this group to have my back, I can't trust anyone, can I? And I didn't want to live a life of not trusting anyone. I didn't want Bobbie to live a life like that. So, we took a chance. And it paid off, because all of you are the people we thought you were, and we were right to trust you. But it was a leap of faith, dude. It always is."

"What if I'm not ready?" Fucking shit, this kid. He's been through more than any of them, except maybe El, and he's still so goddamn brave. Steve would have crumpled like a tin can in his place.

"Then you're not ready. It's not a test, Will. There's no right or wrong answers. But I will say that every single person out there loves you, and they'll keep loving you no matter what you do. They're not like my parents, or Lonnie. Our friends aren't broken inside the way they are. Their love isn't conditional. You won't chase them away. You couldn't if you tried."

Will lets out a shaky breath, clearly fighting back tears. Steve leans against the table and keeps his head down, offering the kid the illusion of privacy while he pulls himself together. After a few minutes he speaks up again.

"You ready to go, you think?"

Will nods. He goes to walk past Steve to the stairs before hesitating and, to Steve's surprise, wrapping his gangly arms around him in an awkward hug.

"Thanks, Steve," he mumbles into Steve's shoulder.

Steve runs a hand down his back uncertainly. "Anytime, kid."

He keeps his arm around Will's shoulders tentative, but when the kid doesn't shrug him off or move away, he lets it settle more firmly, tugging him closer.

“Come on Baby Byers, let's go get some pizza. You think I can milk the disownment thing to get Eddie to pay for extra toppings?"

Will snorts. "I think Eddie would pay for as many toppings as you want as long as you do that little eyelash thing at him again."

Steve throws his head back and laughs, long and loud from his belly. Yeah, it's gonna be a good night.

my head hurts too much to keep writing this but please know that the pizza parlor engagement party involves plenty of arguing about roles in the wedding party, resulting in MOH erica/best man dustin (scoops troop babeyy), flower girl team lumax (max demanded the role bc her wheelchair means she can carry extra baskets of petals, and lucas will be pushing the chair so her hands are free. he's just excited to be there.) nancy/el bridesmaids and byler groomsmen (mike grumbles and groans but he's secretly thrilled). jonathan does the pictures and it turns out argyle got ordained back in cali as a joke so he officiates. eddie plays crimson and clover for robin’s wedding march. there’s a bit of a kerfuffle when claudia and the sinclairs both try to claim steve as their son, but after someone makes the argument that charles and sue have two kids to carry their name while claudia only has one, they end up hyphenating and becoming the buckley-hendersons. yes, claudia cries. yes, they get the lasagna recipe.

(at the pizza place, eddie asks what his role will be and steve says he doesn't know yet, but he'll save him a dance regardless. eddie has to hide in the bathroom to stop blushing.)

[mewtwo24]

I finally finished reading the fourth volume of svsss in full, and thing is--the first time through I only read the bingqiu content because I was ravenous for more of their happy ending.

Turns out that was a perilous mistake.

Because I started reading the airplane extras. And I swear to god. MXTX is trying to kill me

What do you MEAN demon lord Binghe was sitting on his big fucking throne. All stoic and forbidding. Surrounded by his demon generals who don't know shit about human courtship. Asking them what he should do, fully demoralized by constant rejections from sqq, only to have airplane tell him to act more pathetic and needy. Which is already hysterically funny and insane, UNTIL LBH'S RESPONSE IS THIS, KILLING ME INSTANTLY:

LUO BINGHE. WHY DOES HE SAY IT LIKE: "I already tried that, didn't work--nothing works :/ not mean, not maidenly, not housewife, not spicy, not capable disciple. Is doubling down on clingy really all it will take? What's a born hater with only one love in his life to do????"

The dichotomy of him sitting there like 'how can I reach the unfathomable depths of shizun's heart?' A HEART HE'S ALREADY WON OVER, MIND and then in the Holy Mausoleum solving the puzzle without blinking and being like 'oh yeah you just have to hit the acupoints, no sweat.' Literally the comedy writes itself I'm so--

How am I supposed to be normal about this. MXTX understands the juicy quintessential queer joy of a person with the world's power at their fingertips wishing only for love. Willing to do anything to earn that love, when unbeknownst to them it's already been freely given. Totally not screaming and yelling and clawing at the walls

And that's not even touching airplane's uproarious account of events. The way he's like 'lol what's next, lbh and sqq are best friends now? smfh' only to see lbh TACKLE SQQ LOVINGLY. FOR SQQ TO BE BASHFUL ABOUT IT BUT SO SO FOND OF THE LITTLE SCAMP. This when we've been experiencing sqq's constant inner monologue of 'I'm so cool and so dignified about my role, truly the epitome of propriety and poser-level fortitude.' Meanwhile, in their universe:

Airplane constantly flaming???? Sqq and lbh in his observations????? His absolute bewilderment and confusion????? Legendary. No notes every single second of this shit was hilarious.

Airplane's comment that sqq + older adolescent lbh traveling together was just watching a couple in their honeymoon phase. OR the fact that lbh is exceedingly petty and refuses to share their food in the wake of airplane's interruption of their time together, until sqq relents sheepishly and insists airplane eat what's left (ONLY AFTER PLACATING LBH WITH MORE FOOD FROM HIS PLATE, SOBBING)

Watching airplane salivate over Mobei-Jun and acting like that's totally normal behavior. Finding out mbj and airplane got together first. Finding out sqq encouraged airplane. LIKE THIS. WHILE HE IS STILL IN DENIAL ABOUT HIS OWN FEELINGS:

Mobei-jun clearly thinking their arrangement is a forever thing, heartbroken his human abandoned him with all the hapless fury of a scorned wife swept away by false promises of fidelity. Airplane writing demons to be the type to beat up their crush lovingly and still unable to connect the dots about mbj's feelings. Mbj letting him go and respecting his wishes, only relenting when there's indication airplane was poorly processing his own feelings and didn't actually want to leave. Mbj caring for him and listening to him as soon as airplane voices what he needs directly and with clarity. None of these gays are functional and it's everything to me

Unrelated, but I physically can't hold this information in anymore:

I'm still reeling from younger lbh having his sexual awakening from the image of sqq wrapped in the immortal binding cables. Condemn me as you like he was so, so real for that.

And no I will not be taking any comments about how luo bingge couldn't bear to see luo binghe cherished in ways he never got to have and all the haunting implications of that. I will also not be taking any comments about luo binghe's instinct to look for sqq in that alternate universe, only to be shaken to the very core to be unable to find his shizun anywhere. The unspeakable and latent horror of his relentless mind likely piecing together what happened, but unable to say it; to suspect what is true, and live with the harrowing confusion of his double's actions. To blame himself, to assume that he had let his anger get the better of him in that world and result in unspeakable folly...

I also refuse to talk about how heartrending it is to hear Tianlang-jun weakly say "In the end, I really can't bring myself to hate humans." The implication that the foolishness of that hope and bright-eyed fondness--the very thing that put him through such unspeakable agony--couldn't be beaten out of him entirely. To discover that his faith in Su Xiyan hadn't been misplaced, to the contrary: his beloved hadn't scorned him at all, but rather fought to the miserable end to protect the fruition of their genuine feelings of love when she couldn't protect tlj or herself.

How MXTX has sqq deliberately draw parallels between their situation and that of ygy+sj and tlj+sx; desperately wishing it might not be too late for them. The concept of breaking cycles of abuse and harm pervasive throughout the newly devised story, how it evolves for the better only when love takes the place of power, pride, and domination. How the moment sqq chooses vulnerability instead of saving face, the genre shifts to the so-called "cringe" girly genre where most if not every character is more fulfilled, more true to themselves. How the "male-oriented" former genre was aimlessly sensationalized and sexualized, how it was a sustained performance of aspirational toxic masculinity. How men objectify other men without end. All of the unspoken gendered implications that come with that.

Anyways. Going to go put my head in a sandbox and try to process everything I just witnessed because even a second reading is not enough to find a modicum of closure.

[beanghostprincess]

I love how normal and average and sane Sanji acts when Usopp is in danger or upset

[qpjianghu]

Li Lianhua + saying "I love you" without saying "I love you" (3/?)

Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023)

[a-hobit]

It's horrible to be utterly convinced that Katsuki is in love with Izuku without really being able to say definitively that Izuku is in love with Katsuki...aghh there's so much to say about certain hints and very overt things for Mr. "Kacchan Bakugou" but I feel like I haven't seen...or more accurately heard how Izuku feels. I know he loves him but Is he in love with him? Can I say that without thinking I could be wrong? No I don't think I can...but damnit! The parallels to other straight and gay couples in media is so interesting like the Berserk ref in cover 37...or the pretty constant references to taro cards...Izuku the devil in between togachako's lovers ((WHAT DOES THAT MEAN SERIOUSLY)), the three of swords in the blackwhip explosion...the "WAH--CCHAN!!" ref to a romance trope as well as to Blue Flag...the "share a crepe with" line also potentially Blue Flag..."TROY" and the battle being referenced OUT THE WAZOO with Achilles and Patroclus playing out almost exactly as the Illid described ((Literally THE most famous couple of gaybos in all historical literature--they are well known for being speculative lovers! It's mentioned in English classes when you read it))...Katsuki's parents...Katsuki's parents...the way other manga like "name I can't remember..." where they would reference MHA outright with the girl falling down and then refusing to take the male lead's hand to get up. It feels like so much but also nothing at all because all of it (( no matter how overt)) is STILL being read into from subtext. idk I think I just needed to vent.

[writer-room]

Hey. The Finders have no idea that Bonzle was captured. Fritz and Spitz are still waiting, playing video games in the Monastery, for Cole to bring their sister out of hiding now that the blood moon is over. Geo is still sitting by the window, watching and waiting for a dragon on the horizon to return his kid safe and sound. Cole took a very unsure Bonzle, assured them all everything would be okay, and they'd be back soon. He promised he'd find a way to protect her.

Don't think about how they'll smile when Cole finally trudges back, happy to know he's okay. Especially don't think about the Finders stopping, looking out over the group, and how Cole can't look them in the eyes when they turn to him and ask; where's Bonzle?

[opal-apples]

now I'm thinking again how the post-burial mounds reunion was the first time they'd seen each other!!! since the cave!! since Lan Wangji sang the boy he liked so much the song he wrote for them!! He didn't know if they were gonna make it!! He had been so vulnerable!! and then they were separated!! and THEN the boy disappeared!! and now he's back and something is Very Wrong but he won't talk to him anymore, he used to talk so much. Wei Ying :(