carolina-pines​:

OPEN STARTER who: evan & anyone !where: outside hawkins police station

Evan felt the familiar weight of defeat on his shoulders, something he was no stranger to. Sometimes leads went no where, sometimes information stayed under lock-and-key, and other times his charm didn’t work on receptionists.

He’d been on a hunt for information about rabid bats in the time following his encounter with them at the high school. Never had he experienced something so violent, well, from animals at least, nor had he been so caught off guard. At least in his investigative career he knew to brace himself for hidden risks, so he’d be on the look out ahead of time, always prepared for something to go awry. His second stint in Hawkins, however, was completely alien to him. This town had so many secret and he was determined to figure it all out.

The man let out a heaving sigh and looked up at the sky, hands in his pockets, thinking about the multitude of ways he could get around his issue. He’d been told by the receptionist inside that his request could not be granted due to his ’ status ’ as a ’ civilian ’ and he translated that to ’ get lost, kid ’.

He was pretty damn good at disappearing and finding other ways in.

.

coincidentally, suzie was planning on stopping at hawkins p.d as well. not because of the bats, but because she wanted to see if she could get more information on the newly missing hawkins residents. things with dustin were-- more complicated than ever. truly, she’d only remained at his house for an extra rest, but he didn’t seem to understand that. she’d also met katherine, which was odd. suzie didn’t like how all of this childish drama was taking center stage when she had a mission to accomplish. so she’d been ignoring dustin and immersing herself in her investigations when she stumbled upon evan beckett dejectedly leaving the police department. “evan!” she called out to him, waving her now scabbed up arms. “how are you?!” she asked eagerly, breathless, then adding, “i’m assuming your rabies test came back clear. considering you would not be standing here otherwise.” 

the pleasantries were short, as they often were with suzie when she looked at the building to their right, “are you coming or going?” she asked him. and more importantly, she wanted to know, “and what are you looking for? i tried to find record of that lab you were talking about, but i couldn’t find anything relevant!” none of the data was adding up for suzie and dustin had pretty staunchly refused to divulge her so needless to say, she was heavy handed with her amount of questions. “wait!” she stopped him, then dug a notepad and a pen from her purse. she uncapped it and pressed it to the paper before signaling, “go ahead.” 

OPEN STARTER who: evan & anyone !where: outside hawkins police station

Evan felt the familiar weight of defeat on his shoulders, something he was no stranger to. Sometimes leads went no where, sometimes information stayed under lock-and-key, and other times his charm didn't work on receptionists.

He'd been on a hunt for information about rabid bats in the time following his encounter with them at the high school. Never had he experienced something so violent, well, from animals at least, nor had he been so caught off guard. At least in his investigative career he knew to brace himself for hidden risks, so he'd be on the look out ahead of time, always prepared for something to go awry. His second stint in Hawkins, however, was completely alien to him. This town had so many secret and he was determined to figure it all out.

The man let out a heaving sigh and looked up at the sky, hands in his pockets, thinking about the multitude of ways he could get around his issue. He'd been told by the receptionist inside that his request could not be granted due to his ' status ' as a ' civilian ' and he translated that to ' get lost, kid '.

He was pretty damn good at disappearing and finding other ways in.

generallymelvald​:

He was about to answer when she already remembered and he gave her a confirming nod. Suzie was her name, right? Suzie. He had to remember that. Suzie.

The only reason Melvald’s still existed was probably because of how small Hawkins was and the fact that it had been around for as long as it had. Were anyone thinking of starting a general store in these modern times, it probably wouldn’t work. Supermarkets and stuff.. His dad almost went bankrupt when Starcourt got popular. For them it was quite lucky they burned down and people started to find renewed appreciation for good, old, reliable Melvald’s.

“Actually yes. I have three sisters. Perhaps that’s why — they didn’t have to share their clothes or toys with me.” Another joke, a weak chuckle rolling of his tongue as he scratched the back of his head. Suddenly he became very conscious of his stupid jokes, where he usually didn’t care much. Probably because she was so nice. And pretty.

“What about you? Are you the eldest, then?”

.

suzie wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but unless they were talking tech science, she usually didn’t. so she went with the flow and nodded back at the man. though it wasn’t very convincing as the suspicion in her eyes shone through: why are we nodding? 

their nodding tapered off and suzie became more attentive as he talked about his upbringing and family. when he laughed, suzie copied him and laughed back, though she wasn’t sure what had been funny anyway. instead, she informed him “it’s probably good you grew up with sisters. statistically speaking, you probably respect women more. you’re nicer to them. more sensitive. all really great qualities to have!” her face fell as she awkwardly added, “assuming you have them, the qualities, i mean.”

the next question conjured a soft sigh from suzie. it wasn’t that she didn’t care for her family, but it made her sad to think of them. since her excommunication, she had only spoken with eden, who also left the church, but the others weren’t exactly easy to keep tabs on. even when it came to eden, eden was either too busy being a busker or a poet or a playwright to pick up the phone sometimes, and suzie, well, if their call wasn’t scheduled...? good luck getting ahold of her. suzie licked her lips before she spoke, then explained, “second oldest, but i suppose i’m more like the youngest now that i only talk to my sister.” 

artificerdusty​:

Dustin couldn’t help but flinch at Suzie’s unreadable expression… Maybe it was wishful thinking, but was she… relieved to see him? It was the food, just the food, he chastised the childish part of him that still wanted to know if the pretty girl liked him. They had bigger problems now, way bigger.

As Willa climbed off the bed and turned to the kitchen, Dustin placed a hand on her head and kissed her hair, hesitating for a minute with his eyes shut. God, Luke being gone made him sick. “Wills, no playing outside today,” he said, the unusually stern look in his eye for once earning Willa’s compliance.

He turned to Suzie with a guilty smile, wringing his hands in his lap and debating whether or not to take a seat on the edge of the bed– if that was too close after the fight they’d gotten into the outside of the funeral, or if the bats and Luke had overshadowed all of that. “Yes I did,” he answered quickly, Dustin’s words characteristically tumbling over themselves off his tongue. “I did. Have to. And I-I wanted to.”

The tips of his ears were warm, despite everything, and Dustin shifted again, shoving his hand down the front pocket of his jeans. “I almost forgot.” He presented a napkin with three pills crumpled inside it. “For– your head. You can have Advil in six hours if you need it, and I can… I’ll keep track of it,” he offered, hoping his message was clear. Please stay.

Darkness passed over his face at her question, and Dustin glanced at the floor, gaze fixed on his socks. “Not yet, they will– just-,” he let himself plop onto the bed, head in his hands. If he wasn’t so worried, he’d be embarrassed by the childlike tremble of his hands. Still, he can’t shake the feeling that this was all so… Well, he’d stopped beliving in coincidences when he was thirteen.

“Please,” he managed, tearing his eyes up, “I just need to know you’re okay.” Don’t leave, please, don’t leave me.

.

first suzie felt a lot of pain from her head, face, and hands, but then she felt awkward. out of place. dustin was one of the few people that made her feel less...different, but since everything about katherine had been revealed, that had faded. she was torn between sleeping some more and getting some answers, but given how their conversation went at the overpass went, the sleeping part didn’t seem like a good idea. suzie, personally, didn’t want to keep reopening those wounds and sewing them shut over and over again. “i’m not really hungry.” she admitted, setting the food on the nightstand, then looking back to dustin. 

she watched him curiously as he procured the medicine. suzie didn’t mean to laugh at how it was presented to her, but immediately she asked, “why not bring it in the bottle?” it didn’t make sense to her, but maybe it did to dustin. she took it gratefully, washing it down with the juice dustin had brought with her food. her lips pursed at the offer as gently as she could, she told dustin, “well, i could also keep track of it myself.” suzie shifted, sitting up a touch more. “i was mostly wondering too about...everything? first the powerlines, then i get mauled at the school. i’m trying to figure it out but there’s no common denominator.” she frowned, staring at her feet like she was doing her mental calculations. eventually she looked back up to dustin and asked, “maybe you could help me? or just give me some information at least...in a colleague type of...manner?” 

the truth was, suzie was not at all in any shape to go back out on the prowl. in fact, when dustin minorly brokedown about luke, she felt bad for even prodding for details. “oh dusty...” she threw the blankets off with a wince so she could crawl closer to him at the end of the bed. suzie didn’t forgive him in any capacity, but if there was any hope of them being friends...or colleagues...she couldn’t not do her best to make him comfortable. she leaned her head solemnly on dustin’s shoulder and took his arm, “it’s scary.” suzie validated his belief, “they’ll find him.” and if they didn’t, suzie would do it herself. regardless of the dustin of it all, no child deserved what luke was going through. 

dustin’s next words caused her to sit up (albeit, she strained a little again. thanks, bats!) “of course i’m okay.” suzie said genuinely, soft as she brought a hand up to his face to tuck some hair behind his ear. don’t cry. “i will be, honestly.” her words were laced with undeniable confusion, unsure why he was so upset in the first place. so with a hand on his cheek still, she bluntly asked, “why are you crying?” there was a lot to cry about sure, but what was making dustin tick? and more importantly how was she going to get dustin okay enough so she could leave?  

@ssuzieo suzie didn’t know what was worse-- the bat attack, or waking up in dustin’s bed? she understood he was worried and trying to be nice, but suzie didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. in fact, she still wanted nothing to do with him, unless he was ready to cough up some answers. she appreciated his willingness to sleep downstairs at least, but when morning came, everything, especially her body, stung the same. she groaned a couple of times, tossing and turning as she slowly came to. when suzie felt another mass beside her, she groaned and began to lecture, “dustin--” suzie scolded, “what did i tell you--”  “oh...hello...” suzie let out a breath, blinking down at one of the famed, deliberately hidden children. she felt uncomfortable, not sure how to make this situation comfortable for a kid, so she just kept blinking. willa, suzie figured, took it upon herself and started with a you’re not katherine. suzie actually laughed, and although willa was being serious, she sympathized with the kid, “you’re telling me.” she sighed, but dustin’s daughter seemed to have more questions: so what are you doing here then? how do you know my dad? can you split custody three ways? suzie did her best to answer, but was relieved when dustin scurried into the room.  “no, no, she’s fine.” suzie shook her head, not trying to get a kid in trouble. instead, she was more intrigued by the plate in dustin’s hands, “you didn’t have to.” she told him, but took it gratefully anyway. the screeching chorus from the bat attack bounced from the back of suzie’s skull to the front, leaving her without much an appetite. she didn’t want to be rude though, so she winced when she grabbed the plate and left it sitting in her lap. “i...” she didn’t even know where to begin with dustin. suzie clasped her right hand around her left wrist and idly began to twist as she thought. “i’ll probably be going here soon.” -- to a hospital, probably. no times for baths and breakfast and playing house with dustin. suzie figured maybe they could have in another life where he didn’t-- there was one matter that held the most precedence above all of her other questions, “did they find luke yet?” 

Dustin couldn't help but flinch at Suzie's unreadable expression... Maybe it was wishful thinking, but was she... relieved to see him? It was the food, just the food, he chastised the childish part of him that still wanted to know if the pretty girl liked him. They had bigger problems now, way bigger.

As Willa climbed off the bed and turned to the kitchen, Dustin placed a hand on her head and kissed her hair, hesitating for a minute with his eyes shut. God, Luke being gone made him sick. "Wills, no playing outside today," he said, the unusually stern look in his eye for once earning Willa's compliance.

He turned to Suzie with a guilty smile, wringing his hands in his lap and debating whether or not to take a seat on the edge of the bed-- if that was too close after the fight they'd gotten into the outside of the funeral, or if the bats and Luke had overshadowed all of that. "Yes I did," he answered quickly, Dustin's words characteristically tumbling over themselves off his tongue. "I did. Have to. And I-I wanted to."

The tips of his ears were warm, despite everything, and Dustin shifted again, shoving his hand down the front pocket of his jeans. "I almost forgot." He presented a napkin with three pills crumpled inside it. "For-- your head. You can have Advil in six hours if you need it, and I can... I'll keep track of it," he offered, hoping his message was clear. Please stay.

Darkness passed over his face at her question, and Dustin glanced at the floor, gaze fixed on his socks. "Not yet, they will-- just-," he let himself plop onto the bed, head in his hands. If he wasn't so worried, he'd be embarrassed by the childlike tremble of his hands. Still, he can't shake the feeling that this was all so... Well, he'd stopped beliving in coincidences when he was thirteen.

"Please," he managed, tearing his eyes up, "I just need to know you're okay." Don't leave, please, don't leave me.

kathcrinefms​:

. 

katherine watched in amazement at the woman tinker away at the machine. it was interesting to her. she was never a mechanic type. her brain was far more useful when it came to words and creating stories. she couldn’t tell you how to take something apart and put it back together again. but, she loved to watch. sometimes after the kids would go to sleep she would go sit in the shed with dustin and read a book while he worked away.. but that was in the beginning of their marriage before she just let him stay in there while she waited in the house. after a while she felt more like a bother than just someone sitting in comfortable silence. but, it was different this time. watching the woman work. it was kind of nice in a way. 

“awesome!” katherine said, watching the machine. “oh– that’s super nice of you.” katherine said as she went to shake her hand then the woman said her name. 

suzie. 

katherine shook her hand politely while looking at her for just a moment before pulling her hand back to her side. it felt like there was an infinite amount of thoughts flowing through her mind by the second. she couldn’t really process why suzie had come to hawkins? to see dustin, maybe? did this woman even know who she was? was she hanging around their kids? katherine didn’t know what to do at the moment. 

it was such a coinsidence that she didn’t even know what to do. katherine had thought about it over and over again. she had told herself she wasn’t mad at suzie… right? how could she have known?

“i’m katherine.” she said softly, her voice almost cracking. “you’re not– uhm, suzie bingham are you?”

.

“it was fun for me too, don’t mention it.” suzie assured the other once she wrapped up her handiwork. and she wouldn’t mind any future impositions, they would of course have to come after whatever lead she was following in this curious case of hawkins. but something shifted in the stranger and suzie’s eyes immediately darted across her expression, trying to figure out where this change had come from. generally speaking she wasn’t great at picking up on social cues, but she could sense there was something different about the women. as usual though, suzie wasn’t able to figure out what she had done to warrant that. maybe she...hadn’t wanted her to fix the washer for her, then she said it. 

“oh! katherine! hello!” suzie abandoned her paranoia in katherine’s hesitation and threw her arms around the other woman like they were best friends. suzie, obviously, had never met or spoken to katherine prior to now. however, if anyone was going to understand how painful it could be to love dustin henderson, it would be her. she lingered with her arms around katherine for an uncomfortable amount of time before pulling herself off of the other woman and explaining, “sorry. i’m not usually a hugger, sometimes i just get so excited!” suzie laughed it off like silly me before matter-of-factly answering, “i am she.”  with no regard for how uncomfortable katherine might be, she barreled through what she had to say next, “you know, i was hoping i would meet you while i was here. i’m so terribly sorry about...what happened.” suzie was sure it was as sore for katherine as it was for her, maybe more. unsure what more she could say, she carried on, “but my offer still stands, if you need anything. especially you.”  

Grey’s Anatomy | 8 x 19 “Support System”

suzie felt bad. a bit neglectful abandoning the power lines, really, but other factors had flown into play just as quickly as those frantic bats at the high school. her cuts were starting to heal and she wasn’t experiencing as much soreness anymore, but she wasn’t doing much to rest either. even when she was in her hotel room, she was leafing through files or trying to conduct searches from her portable computer. it rotated between whatever her brain was buzzing about. sometimes it was filing through crime reports in other cities, seeing if anything matched luke’s description. other times, like today, it was trying to unearth the mystery of whatever lab evan had told her about. 

in her time in hawkins, she’d done a fairly good job avoiding the library and by extension, dustin, but it was time for her to flip through the archives and see what information she would be able to find. so suzie came up with a solution as old as time- sunglasses and a hoodie. even while flipping through newspapers from the sixties, she kept the disguise on while she read each and every word, absorbed all of the pictures, looking for something that stuck out to her. suzie had never known a task that was so thrilling and mindnumbing as research. 

she was engrossed in an article about a missing persons case from the 1920s, trying to follow that story to a conclusion when the man approached her. suzie vaguely remembered him from the high school, but never had caught his name. “oh! hi!” she greeted him, feeling a little weird about her disguise now. she perched her sunglasses atop her head and pulled off her hood, “i’m not really from here, but i can certainly help you look!” suzie abandoned her own research temporarily and led him over to the files, “let’s see...” she hummed to herself, “the civil rights act was passed in july of ‘64 so it should be....aha!” suzie produced the file, wiggling it around before rushing it back to the machine. 

once it was primed for akeem, she explained, “so now just read it and see if you can find any opinion pieces about the legislation. you might find other stuff that makes you curious though! i love primary sources.” suzie leaned against the machine, “you can ask me for whatever help you need, but i am curious why you’re researching this stuff.” and “oh! and your name! i didn’t catch it the other night.” like always, she stuck out her hand, “i’m suzie.” 

who: Akeem Bell & @ssuzieo where: Hawkins Library

Akeem was, to put it mildly, a man on a mission. He'd never been very motivated-- not in school or in any "real" job he'd ever had-- but convincing Max to leave Hawkins felt like life or death. And... maybe it kind of was, considering last time he was locked up he'd played the field too liberally, you know? Guy's gotta eat! But, to prove his dedication to the cause, Akeem found himself pulling up at the Hawkins Library, parking in a spot clearly marked 'reserved', and rolling inside with confusion written on his face.

He'd never been in a library before, much to his not-dad's chagrin. He'd definitely been in the parking lot of a library-- great place to unload baggies on Fridays when the high schoolers were milling home for the weekend. But like, inside? To like, look at the books and shit? It had never caught his interest before. Akeem figured anything he needed to know, he'd learn in the greatest classroom of all: the streets.

Akeem weaved his way through a few aisles, stopping briefly in the sports section when he spotted a magazine about Larry Bird, the fucking white hack, but then he refocused. Rolled his shoulders. Spotted somebody who looked like they knew what they were doing. He ignored every detail about her that indicated she wanted to be left alone and approached with a wave.

"Hey, uh, 'scuse me? Miss?" he waved again, in her face. "You look like you could help a brother out-- I'm looking for, like, history and shit. Of the local variety, you know?" He leaned in, peering at her face. She didn't look white. "You know when they integrated and shit? Or about any, like, local hate crimes? I'm researchin' something."

kathcrinefms​:

katherine didn’t know anything of suzie except she didn’t want to know anything about suzie. not that suzie purposely hurt her but the action had been done and there was a lot of pain there to go through… and at the moment not enough therapy in the world would be able to dig through the feelings katherine had with the whole situation. she wasn’t mad at suzie.. she was just confused at how she should feel towards her. 

“oh, that would be so nice.” katherine said thankful for the offer, “but only if you want to.” she reassured. “uh, yeah i hate these things. mine is on the fritz or i wouldn’t be here.” she explained with a soft smile.

.

suzie didn’t need the stranger to say anything else before she got to work tinkering away at the machine and in a swift, but silent, five minutes, the thing was running the way it was supposed to. and suzie was beaming. she never failed to impress herself. and she especially liked challenges like washing machines out in the wild, that weren’t based in code or computers. it was the truest test of her abilities. wiping her hands off on another, then planting them on her hips, she looked at the other, “there you go!”  she refused eyecontact in exchange for watching the machine to make sure that it was still chugging along the way it was supposed to be, “you know, if you need help with yours, i’m happy to help. free of charge. some mechanics charge so much money and are so mean to women.” she said with a nod, then extended her hand for an oddly formal shake, “my name’s suzie. i’m staying just up at the holiday inn if you need anything.” 

generallymelvald​:

He was there for Steve Carrell. Bruce Almighty, Anchorman — both hilarious. John was imagining this would be good. And honestly, he could use a laugh. Things have been way too serious lately.

Lips were pressed together in though as he scanned the snacks. Decision making wasn’t his strong suit, but he already had managed to go for a Pepsi — a decision he already regretted but it is what it is. Next up were snacks. Blues caught the pops and he felt like he hadn’t seen those forever. He reached out for them with a sideways smile, wondering if he should go and order a bunch for the store.

John immediately forgot about that, though, when his hand brushed against a smaller one. He retreated, and offered the other an apologetic expression; he really wasn’t paying attention. “Sorry.” he managed, stepping back a bit to give the female her space. John wasn’t sure he wanted them but took the box regardless, somehow thinking it was rude to decline. He automatically shook her hand, offering a kind smile. “Johnny. From Melvald’s.” He didn’t recognize her, so wondered if she would even be aware with the family’s store. He nodded towards the box and added a “Thanks”.

“I also got a few siblings, but I am afraid it had the opposite effect on me.” —the sharing part, he meant. Which was partly a joke.

.

“what’s melvald’s?” suzie asked him, confused but genuinely curious. was it a start up she hadn’t heard of yet? or a company? but then she remembered where she was and zoned out as the conversation as she thought, “oh! the general store! yes, i’ve heard of it.” suzie said with a more confident nod. she was still learning her way around town, but she’d looked at enough maps to recognize the name once she thought of it. and while she was sure it was a swell establishment, there was no reason for her to swing by. not when she was chasing powerlines and phnatom laboratories. 

suzie wasn’t able to tell that johnny’s joke was indeed a joke, so she blinked at him. in an uncomfortable beat, she reached over to grab another box of candy which she immediately began to tap against her hand, “so you must be the youngest?” she guessed, then asked, “how many siblings did you have?” 

𝐖𝐇𝐎: suzie bingham & @generallymelvald​ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓: two awkward bitches what will they do 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: the hawk

suzie was beat up and bruised and feeling frustrated with her lack of headway in the case of powerlines and luke wheeler, so, she did what she always did when she got too deep into her projects and forced herself to take a break. that came in the form of one ticket to little miss sunshine at the hawk, and she was going all out. she’d gotten her popcorn and her rootbeer and was reaching for a package of dots at the same time as someone else. 

pulling her hand away quickly, she stared at the other who’d reached for it and blinked at him, waiting for him to speak up. when he didn’t, she frowned and picked the candy up off the rack, extending it to him, “did you want these?” suzie watched him closely, then stuck her hand out, “”i’m suzie...bingham.” she waited a moment, then added, “there’s plenty more candy on the shelf.” suzie shook the box, “take them. i grew up with lots of siblings, i’m excellent at sharing.” 

suzie hadn’t ever actually seen a picture of katherine, she still wasn’t even sure of who she was other than a woman she’d hurt terribly. and honestly, suzie didn’t really want to deep dive into katherine, who she was as a person. at the end of the day suzie’s guilt would still be guilt, and her hurt would still be hurt, and she preferred to feel her feelings as they came rather than obsessing over them. she had more important things to obsess over, like dustin’s refusal to tell her anything useful, evan’s mention of a lab, and the map that had started out a small project lining out all of the powerlines in town (which now included missing persons! fun!) so needless to say, suzie didn’t clock the stranger at the laundromat as anything but that. a stranger.

laughing brightly, suzie continued to fold her close as she glanced over at katherine, “i think that’s the point. so you don’t forget.” she told the other, being literal. she finished folding her sweater and set it down. suzie walked over to the other and pointed at the large load in the machine, “do you need some help?” she asked earnestly, flexing her hands casually as she waited for an answer. suzie ducked down to glance in the machine, “these things are really kind of crummy you know, i’d bet it ate at least three different socks.” she stood back up and at the very least offered, “let me know if anything ends up missing, i know a good trick for retrieval.” and by trick, suzie meant she knew how to disassemble the inner drum. 

starter for: katherine and anyone!  location: spincity laundromat

things hadn’t been going her way for a while now. but, katherine couldn’t complain considering her children were safe and sound. she just wished the washing machine hadn’t gone out… and the last person she wanted to ask to fix might be one of the only people she knew who could. gathering a load of the children’s clothes from the dryer she began to fold them and put them in her basket. there was a flicker of white paper blowing from where it was pinned to the bulletin board. the oscillating fan blowing the corner of the paper and the bolded font caught her eye. missing child.  katherine felt her breath hitch as she froze, looking at the picture of luke wheeler front and center. god, her heart ached for mike. she couldn’t imagine that pain, the fear of the unknown. she couldn’t imagine it. she didn’t want to. willa and ward were her world. she loved them so much and to have either of them taken away from her or go missing with no explanation. she couldn’t even stand the thought. the sound of the washing machine timer buzzing jumped her out of her thoughts and she dropped ward’s shirt from her hand. “shit!” she cursed under her breath as she grabbed it from the floor. she looked around and spotted someone, “they really couldn’t make those things any louder.” she said trying to recover from the slight sting of embarrassment she felt as her cheeks flushed red. 

artificerdusty​:

Between Suzie being attacked by bats and Luke going missing, Dustin had about a million reasons to be anxious. He hadn’t slept more than forty minutes all night– not because the couch was uncomfortable, and not because he wasn’t bone-tired, but because he was afraid that every creak and gust of wind was it. Whatever had taken Luke, whatever it had sent them to the time capsule.

When Ward padded into the living room just after seven, Dustin accepted that he wouldn’t be getting any more sleep. His anxious energy would be better served making breakfast for the house, anyway. In a frenzy, he whipped up scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast– which he then turned into French toast at Ward’s request.

“Willa! Breakfast!” he called over his shoulder as he made a plate to take to Suzie. He looked to Ward, who just shrugged, and took the plate and a glass of orange juice back to his bedroom, where he’d insisted Suzie spend the night– at least until morning, just to make sure she was okay. Dustin knocked on the door, even though it was already cracked open, and pushed inside to see his daughter sitting on the foot of Suzie’s bed.

“Willa, breakfast in the kitchen,” he said, shooting a confused look between the two of them. As she skipped out, Dustin set the plate on the bedside table, wringing his hands and standing awkwardly to the side of the bed. “Did she bother you? I’m sorry–” he started, then stopped himself. “I’m– how are you feeling? Did you sleep okay? I have Epsom salt if you want to take a bath– it’s good for soreness, you know.” He took a deep breath, finally saying what he was really thinking: “I was so worried.”

.

suzie didn’t know what was worse-- the bat attack, or waking up in dustin’s bed? she understood he was worried and trying to be nice, but suzie didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. in fact, she still wanted nothing to do with him, unless he was ready to cough up some answers. she appreciated his willingness to sleep downstairs at least, but when morning came, everything, especially her body, stung the same. she groaned a couple of times, tossing and turning as she slowly came to. when suzie felt another mass beside her, she groaned and began to lecture, “dustin--” suzie scolded, “what did i tell you--”  “oh...hello...” suzie let out a breath, blinking down at one of the famed, deliberately hidden children. she felt uncomfortable, not sure how to make this situation comfortable for a kid, so she just kept blinking. willa, suzie figured, took it upon herself and started with a you’re not katherine. suzie actually laughed, and although willa was being serious, she sympathized with the kid, “you’re telling me.” she sighed, but dustin’s daughter seemed to have more questions: so what are you doing here then? how do you know my dad? can you split custody three ways? suzie did her best to answer, but was relieved when dustin scurried into the room. 

“no, no, she’s fine.” suzie shook her head, not trying to get a kid in trouble. instead, she was more intrigued by the plate in dustin’s hands, “you didn’t have to.” she told him, but took it gratefully anyway. the screeching chorus from the bat attack bounced from the back of suzie’s skull to the front, leaving her without much an appetite. she didn’t want to be rude though, so she winced when she grabbed the plate and left it sitting in her lap. “i...” she didn’t even know where to begin with dustin. suzie clasped her right hand around her left wrist and idly began to twist as she thought. “i’ll probably be going here soon.” -- to a hospital, probably. no times for baths and breakfast and playing house with dustin. suzie figured maybe they could have in another life where he didn’t-- there was one matter that held the most precedence above all of her other questions, “did they find luke yet?” 

WHO: Dustin and @ssuzieo

WHERE: Henderson house hostage situation!

Between Suzie being attacked by bats and Luke going missing, Dustin had about a million reasons to be anxious. He hadn't slept more than forty minutes all night-- not because the couch was uncomfortable, and not because he wasn't bone-tired, but because he was afraid that every creak and gust of wind was it. Whatever had taken Luke, whatever it had sent them to the time capsule.

When Ward padded into the living room just after seven, Dustin accepted that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep. His anxious energy would be better served making breakfast for the house, anyway. In a frenzy, he whipped up scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast-- which he then turned into French toast at Ward's request.

"Willa! Breakfast!" he called over his shoulder as he made a plate to take to Suzie. He looked to Ward, who just shrugged, and took the plate and a glass of orange juice back to his bedroom, where he'd insisted Suzie spend the night-- at least until morning, just to make sure she was okay. Dustin knocked on the door, even though it was already cracked open, and pushed inside to see his daughter sitting on the foot of Suzie's bed.

"Willa, breakfast in the kitchen," he said, shooting a confused look between the two of them. As she skipped out, Dustin set the plate on the bedside table, wringing his hands and standing awkwardly to the side of the bed. "Did she bother you? I'm sorry--" he started, then stopped himself. "I'm-- how are you feeling? Did you sleep okay? I have Epsom salt if you want to take a bath-- it's good for soreness, you know." He took a deep breath, finally saying what he was really thinking: "I was so worried."

Aubrey Plaza as Sarah

OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE (2023)

Mary Poppins Returns (2018) dir. Rob Marshall

arrgylc​:

who: argyle + @ssuzieo​

where: the laundromat

what: hey, long time no see!

it’s not that argyle necessarily needed to go to work to, like, fund his life and everything, it’s that he needed to for his own sanity. what was he going to do all day at home, besides get high and watch reruns of the cheech and chong movies? he could smoke up at work, too - thanks to the little speakeasy under the laundromat - and there were always customers he could chat with, regulars he wanted to catch up with. how was mrs. foreman’s son doing with that phd of his? when was henry melvald’s granddaughter coming to visit him again? and how was dolores’s cat or husband holding up (at this point it was way too late to ask, so he’d have to rely on clues to piece together the story…)? 

not to mention the nauseating guilt that would weigh him down like an anchor everytime he did decide to stay home. did he even deserve all that wealth, if he - as he felt -  hadn’t even truly worked for it? it’s nonsense, it’s the forme poor kid imposter syndrome, even his therapist had told him so. still, argyle simply prefers to keep busy, whether that meant checking out an absurd amount of parenting books from the library or sitting behind his little cashier ‘front desk’ at the laundromat.

today, he’d chosen the latter, flipping through the latest cosmpolitan - they’d lured him with one of those quizzes about whether or not you were a summer or winter type - when the little bell jingled, prompting him to look up. it took a second, or two ( not that argyle’s brain worked particularly fast, either ) but when he did recognize the woman that had walked in, a beaming grint took up his face and he quickly discarded the magazine, getting up to greet her.

“hey, man! you’re - we know each other. i was at your house once.” still grinning, he went to shake her hand very enthusiastically. “you’re the, uh, the genius, right? like you had this crazy family and, oh, man, do you remember those big ass 80′s computers? yeah, you had one of those! those were wild…” drifting off, argyle continued to shake her hand, a little less enthusiastically now. a shake of his head, he snapped out of it and - finally - let go. “so, you’re here to do laundry or what! first load’s on me, man. as, like, thanks. for the whole nina thing.” a moment passed, his grin faltered every so slightly. could he …. could he ask? was he overstepping? ah, fuck it. “so, like, how’s - uh- how’s your, your sister, man? still, uh, still …. like, kicking it?”

.

suzie had never stayed at a hotel that didn’t have a laundry room before, but she supposed she would cut the small town holiday inn some slack. besides, while she washed her clothes at the laundromat, she could continue working on tracing all of the power lines in hawkins on the map that the one and only murray bauman had given her. she clumsily staggered in, bag of clothes tucked under one arm while she held the entire spread out map in front of her and a red sharpie between her teeth. she didn’t even look up from the map as she began loading up her laundry. she dragged out a line the stretched from the top of the map to the bottom, furrowing her brows and tilting her head as she looked at it. most power lines were approximately 31 miles long, but the longest one in hawkins was only five. why were they all so short? 

deep in thought, she hadn’t expected a voice to come up behind her shoulder. when it did, she dropped both the sharpie and the map and yelped, “fuck!” clutching her chest., when she turned, suzie saw a familiar face, but she wasn’t sure how he was familiar. she blinked at him, trying to decipher it, i was at your house once. suzie then immediately exclaimed, “argyle! oh my god! how good to see you!” without asking for permission she reached over and wrapped her arms around him for a hug. “yes! that’s me! i’m the genius! how are you?” she assumed probably not fantastic given the recent funeral. however, she laughed anyhow as he described her family. crazy was an understatement. still though, she wondered what became of her siblings. 

remembering nina, suzie laughed and admitted, “you know, dustin never told me if he liked that console.” then she frowned, “in fact, i never heard about it’s public release.” she shrugged it off, “must not have been a very good product then, but nintendo has clearly stood the test of time. you know, they have this new console coming out in november called the wii. it’s awesome, they sent me one early and i love it! they’re about to make their mark on the 21st century.” when her rant was finished, she let argyle get a question in, “oh eden? she’s great! we both got excommunicated, so we’ve been close since then!” suzie remembered how scandalized she’d been when she caught her sister with argyle, but she wasn’t that girl anymore, instead she asked, “what have you been up to? i hope you’re not too busy for me to buy you lunch after this since you’re paying for my laundry!” 

savethevirginia​:

Virginia wasn’t a California girl, but she had lived there long enough to pick up her very own Paris Hilton-esque accent, a velour tracksuit, and catch on to the health and wellness craze. Her face and body was quite literally her career and she’d be damned if she let it all fade away because she decided to make a pop up stop in Hawkins freaking Indiana. She was staying at the local Holiday Inn, which was a sight for sore eyes, but it didn’t stop her from attempting to make a green juice in the morning and looking for the first yoga or pilates class she could find. When it seemed like the only thing offered was a half assed yoga class was at the Y, she snickered at the sign in sheet and took it as an opportunity to just have a fun time. 

Tucking her yoga mat underneath her armpit, she darted towards the door, reveling in the sheer fact that she looked ten times better than half the stay at home moms she went to high school with. Sucks to suck. When she was cornered by the girl she was next to, Virginia looked at her - Suzie - like she had three heads. It was only when Suzie introduced herself that she lowered her guard. An out of towner. At least, they never went to high school together. Therefore, she didn’t consider Suzie a direct threat. “Virginia,” because Virginia was so much sexier and cooler than Ginny. “If you wanted to take me out on a date, you could have just said so, Sooz,” she teased, turning on her heel as she exited the building. 

While on the way to Jitters, the pair made small talk. Ginny learned that Suzie was also from California, albeit for a less vain reason than why Ginny was still occupied there. “So, California… and you’re like, a total tech goddess and you’re here right now? Please tell me your life isn’t that sad.”

.

suzie’s arms swung when she walked, she even kept forgetting to look forward because she was trying to seem so normal in her presence. suzie was a completely different person in high school, but there were some people, like virginia who presumably never grew out of their completely gorgeous and hilarious mean girl persona. oddly enough though, she felt chosen in a way by ginny. flattered she even took enough interest in her to go to lunch. that was a score! now she just had to...not completely geek out? because of that though, suzie didn’t feel like disclosing the tragedy of her and dustin to a new friend. it felt like she was beginning to be known for it around town and if she was going to be here cracking the case of the electrical lines, suzie wanted a different reputation to precede her. 

“i’m looking into a few things, powerlines, energy bursts, a bit of a passion study. you can do things like that when you’re a ceo.” she grinned, feeling like she had found her rhythm for the first time in a long time, but hey, maybe that’s what a good friend could do. “what about you? i have a hard time believing you’re from here.” suzie admitted, “could have fooled me.” 

the pair turned the corner and entered jitters, slipping into a nice booth by the window. she found herself rambling observantly, “i feel like we don’t have any cute places like this in the city! it’s so much more difficult to obtain a true feeling of community though. especially in tech! sometimes i think men don’t have feelings!” she shook her head and glanced at the menu before adding, “i wish they had a wider juice selection here.” brain food for suzie-- apple juice, cranberry juice, celery juice, anything! suzie looked up from her menu, “what are you going to get?” 

Daphne & Velma

Scooby- Doo 2002

bubblegumpcp​:

Sarah nodded in agreement. If others had the idea they could walk all over them, they would see how wrong they were; both Suzie and Sarah had show that much. Go them. Things were difficult enough as they were and they didn’t need stupid people making it more complicated.

“Oh, Evan? Yes.” she nodded, already feeling the heat creep up in her neck. Why did she suddenly feel embarrassed. Or even caught. “I’m afraid I have made quite the fool out of myself.” Sarah admitted, brows raising slightly to emphasize her point. She was expressive like that. “Of course he would never say that. He is too kind and I overstepped. Perhaps misread him even, which was.. odd.” A sigh and a shake of her head followed. Trying to lighten the conversation, she rolled her eyes dramatically and stretched a smile upon her features. “But gosh, he does always look good in his suits. Lets put the blame there.” Sarah chuckled.

.

suzie wasn’t one to shy away from her feelings. in fact, she maybe felt them a little too much. too deeply. everything with dustin was...raw to say the least and while she was glad to find a friend in sarah to vent to amidst her passion project investigation, she was relieved to move past the topic of him. she’d feel terrible if she got teary the first time hanging out with a new friend. so, she invested herself in evan! 

“i wasn’t eavesdropping.” suzie said quickly, feeling the need to clarify but added, “but it sounded like you handled yourself well! i didn’t notice anything embarrassing, i swear.” but then again, suzie struggled with reading people sometimes. she sipped on her drink a couple of more times, then with no hesitation sincerely asked, “so what happened between the two of you? it all sounds so...labyrinthine.” she exclaimed, then had to admit, “yes he’s quite handsome, you’re lucky!” but then again, suzie thought sarah seemed like quite the catch too. 

bubblegumpcp​:

Of course Sarah knew he was married. In a town like Hawkins everyone seemed to know everything about everyone. But her jaw still dropped and she gasped a ’no!’. Mostly because she hadn’t been sure about the timeline of when this all had occurred. And also because she felt terribly sorry for Suzie. No one deserved that..

“That’s…” —something she hadn’t expected from Dustin. He had always seemed kind and considerate. Sometimes a bit.. too kind.. but that was a whole different story. Brows dropped in sympathy. “Aw, Suzie, I’m so sorry that happened..” Sarah huffed and raised her drink to her lips, taking a sip as she thought. “I hate when this happens. You give yourself, you’re vulnerable and then they just.. crush your heart! It’s the rudest thing anyone can do, I know that much.”

Sarah had not really experienced something like that. But after seeing Evan again, she could imagine feeling that way if something similar happened between the both of them. “It must’ve been hard to see him again!”

.

suzie sighed and offered a small smile. she didn’t feel like sarah was pitying her or anything, in fact, someone from hawkins who knew dustin first agreeing with her made her feel exponentially better. but her smile grew as sarah continued to sympathize. she got it. “i think you’re like me.” she told sarah. sensitive, she meant. underestimated, too. she saw the strength behind that slap that rang across the backyard.

she nodded, “yeah, it was, but i set him straight i think.” or at least suzie wanted to think she did. it was easier to go on believing that while she dug her nose into a mystery. one problem to resolve at a time, right? she took a sip of her drink and stared at sarah expectantly. when she didn’t share more information suzie threw her free hand up, “what about you! was that guy you talked to your ex husband like i guessed?!”