#ask bandit

[bbanditt]

hi haley, just wondering if you heard about the new lockwood and co series on netflix??

YES!!!! omg I watched it all immediately. I actually really enjoyed it! As someone who's read that entire series 8+ times, I was shocked at how much I liked it lol. Obviously they had to skip/adjust some stuff but I think they stayed true to the vibe and heart of the series. And the main trio are wonderful. <3

anybody else like it??

[scratchbandicoot]

(You said your inbox is empty so I'm dumping this au on you) Okay so my bud n I were talking about a news anchor au?? This is so niche but like imagine Billy and Steve being local news anchors and on live tv they'll be bickering and nearly swearing at each other between segments and all the locals think they hate eachother.. But they've actually been together for years and when they get married everyone finds out because of the last name change and all the local's minds are blown

(YOURE MY FIRST ASK PRETTY MUCH IM PREENING THANK Y O U)

Dude what the fuck though i was LITERALLY thinking about steve being a weatherman this morning. Were linked in the big brain energy. Like i love this idea youve got no clue, it is so cute. Could be them being coanchors or even steve being a weatherman and billy being a field anchor/studio anchor and i just- my heart blooms. I love both, i adore your idea. I wanna spiel about weatherman steve but ill tag you in a seperate post for that idea! Because i wanna focus on yours.

billy and steve, prettiest fucking news anchors ever, makes all the locals watch the news and even some non locals tune in JUST to see them. Like they could give a shit less about the news, they wanna see two pretty guys. Their fights though. Jesus. (It also rakes in viewers because they love the bickering.) They never full on argue on the air to save face, but there are always little jabs and remarks. And unfortunately theyve been caught in the heat of an argument when they went live by accident a few times.

Joyce and murray own the news station and theyre about to blow a gasket from the fights and the sexual tension you could cut with a knife (that only murray notices) but they have the highest broadcast views for at least 5 towns out and they just knuckle down and deal with it.

Billy and steve fighting about whats a bigger issue in the town right now, if the weather is nice, they even fight about if the fucking specials for starbucks is good or not that day. And of course they fight about whos the better newscaster. Steve is always late to work, clocking in five minutes before the have to go live everyday. Billy always tries to unbutton his shirts and defy uniform by not bringing in his ties to which steve dutifully keeps a damn spare in his office. Some of the irritation from their particular issues will leak into the newscast that day.

They just cant quit. the audience thinks its a feud, and they eat it up.

But sometimes its soft. Billy sending a jab threaded in fondness and affection steves way and steve responding in kind, and they look like theyre glowing. Playfully teasing. Billy grips steves thigh under the desk hidden away from the camera. Steve flusters. It goes on for awhile, the flirting between the fighting and one day the news starts up-

“Hello and welcome to Channel 5 news. I am Steve Hargrove-“ and billy is beaming at him and steve is all smiles and everyone is like *surprised pikachu face*

Billy likes to touch the new name tag on steves desk as he waits for him in the morning with two bagels and a kiss just for his pretty new husband.

[scratchbandicoot]

Billy survives Starcourt and immedatly gtfos Hawkins, hitches back to Cali and sets up a bedazzling business for the rest of the 80s, which is just run out of the back of a van he also lives in. Just boxes of thrift store jackets and tiny diamonds. It's not much but the monsters can't get him all the way out here and teenage girls love sparkly jackets. Becomes the fashion Lisa Frank 💎

😭 thats cute af

It starts with the car. Billy doesnt own a camarro even though he wants one so bad. All he has is the car his mom left behind- a 1970 Ford Econoline. Billy would lock himself in the back of the van after his mom left- hiding under the blankets on the bed. Sometime when hes being nosy, he finds his moms old bedazzler. Remembers how she would wear jean jackets with bedazzled flowers on the sleeves. He keeps it. Gets really mad when he sees max using it once, feels like a dick, then apologizes and they do little bedazzle crafts together when neil isnt around. When Neil finds the box of Billy’s bedazzled things- max quickly makes it a point that they were gifts from her- she keeps the bedazzler in her room so neil wont throw a fit.

Fast foward, After billys van almost gets destroyed- he fixes her up and customizes it to look metal as fuck. He bedazzles the steering wheel cover. He actually gets a few compliments. On his 18th- he takes the van, the bedazzler, a few belongings and the box of various bedazzled things; books it back to the place he calls home. Kind of remembers how expensive cali is and doesnt know where to start looking for a job. Decides, what the hell, and makes a bedazzler business mostly for the teens and tweens on the boardwalk.

Heres where i see steve coming in. Perhaps he wasnt involved in hawkins or perhaps he was- that can be up to interpretation. They could be reuniting or just meeting, either way its good.

Steves babysitting some girls and the girls mention wanting to stop by “billy’s bedazzler boutique”. Steve has no clue what the hell that even means, but the girls take him down to the beach where a semi scary looking van sits parked outside the really good taco place. The girls knock on the back of the van, and the man with the most dazzling smile and rocking bod answering is probably the last thing steve expected. Billys smile quickly turns to a frown though, when he sees steve. The van is littered with bedazzled jean jackets, jeans, slides- pretty much looks like if a claires puked inside a Hot Topic van. Billy thinks hes gonna get made fun of by steve, but steve is all smiles and interest in the things he has made. Even tells the girls which jacket he thinks looks better for them. From then on, steve brings as many kids as he babysits by the van so he can talk to Billy.

One day- after awhile of steve bringing in more little customers, billy hands steve this polo- (“A gift-for all the support.” ) But its not just any polo- the collar is bedazzled. Steve immediately decides its his new favorite shirt and wears it on their first date. (Which takes way too long for billy to ask for.)

After a minute of being together, steve gets a bedazzler of his own, and they write their initials on each of their respective bedazzlers. Cue sweet little montage of them bedazzling things together- (as well as steve trying to bedazzle billys face and getting smothered by billy with kisses for it)

[scratchbandicoot]

I've got an AU I'd like to share!! I've started writing this on a sideblog, it's this idea for an AU where the Upside Down was once the home dimension of witches and magic, but a feud between two families brought destruction to the dimension and the witches had to flee to this dimension, and generations later Steve, El, and Billy find out that they're the descendants of those two families and it's up to the three of them to end the curse for good, with the help of the rest of Hawkins' witches!

Omg wtf i love that. Maybe billy has a high intuition and like, knows hes something special but doesnt quite know what exactly until hes told and then its like a puzzle completing and it all makes sense. El probably would already know and be the one to tell them, but steve has no fuckin idea. Poor guy probably doesnt even realize hes a witch.

Have you thought about any specific powers for them? Ones theyre better at more so than others? Please slide into my dms id love to hear more. I can totally see like, billy being some sort of witch good with water, or nature.

Id also like to imagine when steves told hes a witch (if this is modern) billy would like let the news drop with el and as it slowly sinks in with steve billy is like “youre a wizard, harry.”

Billy making consistent magic jokes just bc he can and likes fucking with steve

And also billy convinces everyone to wear all black when they go to break the curse because why wouldnt he

[bbanditt]

hey ive been following you for years and i wanted to tell you that your art is beautiful and you don't get enough appreciation for it but I love it and I'm proud of you and how much you've improved over the years!

ohhh my gosh this is the sweetest note. 😭 it always blows me away when people say they’ve stuck around for years like... that’s nuts haha.

thank you so much for making my day and supporting me and my work for so long, means the absolute world to me. c: makes me so happy you love my work and can see improvement!! <33

[bbanditt]

Hi! Do you think you'd be able to add "Trail" to your society6 as a print? I see it on redbubble but the smallest size is still too big for where I wanna put it :(

Sure thing!! I just uploaded it to my Society6 >> here.<<  :)

[bbanditt]

How amazing was Iceland!? It's one of my favourite places on the planet. Do you have any awesome pictures? Or a link to your insta?

it was unbelievable!!!! I went pretty much around the entire island and EVERYWHERE was magnificent.

and yeah I took heaps of photos!!! I posted a fair amount on my insta <<

(posted in case other people were looking for my account c: )

[bbanditt]

I have been following you for YEARS, and I am now just blown away by how much your talent has grown. You are such a brilliant artist and I love seeing your work!

oh man I don’t even have the proper words to say how hearing that makes me feel....I tried to find a cute gif but they made it seem insincere

I’ll never get over hearing people have followed me for years and when you guys can see so much progress like....man that just means the world to me. thank you so so much for sticking around so long, for your kind words, and for taking the time to tell me them. c:

have a wonderful day! <3