#sorcery asks

[thissortofsorcery]

Thinking about how insufferably smug billy would be once he realised he was Steve’s bi-awakening 😌

Oh he WOULD be. He's so obsessed with Steve - crush at first sight - that when he hears the Steve never really thought about guys before Billy started grinding up on him during basketball practice...

Imagine it like this: after they get together, Billy kind of assumes that Steve must have at least fumbled around with a guy before - but that's mostly due to Tommy's obvious jealousy rather than anything Steve does. Though the lack of a freakout (because monsters) is a little sus too.

And then, one day Steve is like in a reflective mood. They're cuddling on the living room couch, Billy's back to Steve's chest, snug in between Steve's long legs. Steve's stroking a hand over Billy's naked torso, feeling him up a little because obviously, and Billy hums, stretches his back and looks back at Steve, says:

"You really like my chest, huh."

Steve's hand pauses over Billy's left right pec, thumb brushing over a nipple, making Billy twitch. There's a pause before he answers, and his voice is soft and mellow.

"Yeah," Steve says. "I mean, it's a really nice chest."

Billy laughs. "I know." He licks his lips. "What do you like about it?" He asks, and he tells himself it's because he wants to hear Steve say how hot he is, and not due to any lingering insecurities about being the first guy Steve's dated.

Steve breathes deep, and Billy's body moves with it, like they're one.

"I like that it's firm," Steve says, running his fingers lightly over Billy's sternum. "I like how wide it is. I like your nipples. Round and brown." Steve's pinky brushes over Billy's nipple, light as a feather, and Billy shivers. "I like how hard you work on it."

Billy turns his head to stare resolutely ahead, willing his face to cool because he's sure he's bright red. Steve's hand is distracting, and his words wash over Billy like cool ocean water, lighting him up from the inside and settling something warm deep in his chest.

"Careful, Harrington," Billy goads. "Or I might think you like me, or something."

Steve's breath is a huff against Billy's ear.

"I mean, I do. Thought it was obvious," Steve says. "You know I'd never thought about a guy like this before I met you."

Steve says it off-handedly, like it's common knowledge, but Billy can't hold in a surprised gasp, breath hitching at the very idea.

"I thought-"

"Thought what?" Steve asks, nose brushing over the shell of Billy's ear like he has no idea what it's doing to Billy's dick.

"You and Tommy never...?"

And Steve laughs, the fucker. "Tommy? No, man." His voice goes a little quiet. "You're the first guy I ever saw and thought like... 'Wow. He's gorgeous. I wonder what his lips taste like.' You know?"

"Yeah," Billy says, hand squeezing around Steve's knee. He knows the feeling a little too well, though Steve was far from the first guy he looked at with interest. But he is the prettiest, and he's by far the nicest guy he's been with, hands down, enough that sometimes Billy wonders what he did to deserve a guy like Steve. To deserve the kind of relationship they have.

It can only be described as wonder, the feeling that spreads through his chest, warm and fluttery. It's Billy who turned Steve's head, who pulled his pigtails until Steve paid attention, who plagued Steve's thoughts. Billy's the guy for whom Steve decided to get on his knees for the first time, who gets dicked down regularly and cuddled with in equal measure. Billy put in the work to get his attention and it paid off.

Suck it, Tommy.

"You couldn't resist me, huh?" Billy says, kind of joking and kind of not. "Couldn't wait to get a piece of me."

Steve huffs a laugh against Billy's ear again. "Nope."

"I mean, I am the best ass in Hawkins," Billy goes on. "We've established that."

"Sure have."

"When did you realize you wanted me?" Billy asks, all smug. "Was it during basketball? Shirt off, all sweaty all over your back?"

"You smiled at me," Steve says, and Billy feels like he's been hit over the head. "I mean, the real one. With the dimples. After we won that last game in December. You smiled at me, and I really wanted to kiss you."

"Oh," Billy says. "All I had to do was smile at you?" He feels a little big indignant, but he'll take it.

"Yeah," Steve says. "I mean, I was looking during basketball practice. It was a little rough trying to play with a half-chub all the time."

"How do you think I felt?" Billy grumbles. "With those tiny shorts of yours?"

"You like my shorts."

"Yeah, I like the shorts, that's beside the point." Billy wriggles around until he's laying on his stomach, chest to chest with Steve. "You wanted me," he says, lips stretched in a smile so wide it shows all his teeth.

"Yeah," Steve says. "I did."

Steve brushes away a curl from Billy's face, finger poking at the dimple on his cheek. Billy has no choice but to kiss him.

---

Not sure this was what you had in mind but I had to do it!

[grayladyofthewell]

Hi hi! Ask game: 🧹 What does the word "witch" mean to you?

🏔️ Have you ever made a pilgrimage of any kind? What was that like?

Oh hello again!! It’s been a while~

🧹 What does the word "witch" mean to you?

To me being a witch feels like a way to reclaim my own sovereignty, a sense of belonging to the world, a connection to the physical and the Other, as well as a connection to the depths of my own true self. It is a word that references my journey, all the beautiful taboos and stories with it. I’m very comfortable being a witch and being called a witch. Usually when someone asks me that I offer a large smile and a giggle due to the social discomfort and fear that often brings with it; particularly for them, as opposed to me.

🏔️ Have you ever made a pilgrimage of any kind? What was that like?

Yes! I have done it a total of three times and I suspect I will have more in the future. Mine are not the traditional Irish backpacking pilgrimage that one thinks of, but more a personal journey to a place that would or could unlock parts of myself. The first one was a family vacation to the UK, particularly Glastonbury Tor. I associated it with my past lives at that point. I was charged with returning there again before 2012 for a separate one. I just came back from another one in September to Shanghai to witness the growth of the people and to sooth my soul in a different way that is hard to describe here. If you know me, you know why.

Approaching the cite of the goal on a pilgrimage feels like accomplishment, but with the reward for your actions being spiritual growth and development. I always carry a light in my sternum when I reach one of these places, and I must take time to integrate those energies, thoughts, and feelings into my being before bed at night otherwise, it is hard to process such profound sensations.

Thank you for the asks~!

[thissortofsorcery]

What are your favourite Steve, billy & harringrove headcanons?

You sent this ask so long ago and I'm only getting to it now because I had to take some time to think about it.

Steve:

BAMF Steve Harrington is one of my favorite headcanons for him. I hate the trope that he's dumb so much, and I hate it especially when it's reflected on fanfic and he's just... incompetent. Some people have a competence kink but I have an incompetence squick. So I always gravitate toward the idea that Steve has something he's good at, it's just not very visible.

Steve Harrington's parents are nice. Sure, we need the house empty so Steve can bring Billy around a lot, but they can be traveling like temporarily! I want as many adults as possible in Billy's corner anyways, and I love fics where Steve's Dad goes up against Neil.

Billy:

I LOVE the english nerd Billy headcanon. He reads all the books. Knows all the poems. Understands all the things. Wows all the Steves. It's also so much fun to see what literature the writers like that they use in their fics.

Virgin Billy. Listen. I have no excuses. But a Billy that puts up a front and has never actually had sex is so?????? Layers. So many layers.

That Billy is alive in the Upside Down. Tbh I avoid anything post-s3, but if I HAVE to read something, the boy's gotta be alive down there. The reunion????? Hello??????

That Billy has always known he's gay.

Harringrove:

Balls to the wall obsessed with each other. From day 1.

Billy thinking he's screwed up everything every time he gets angry and Steve being patient with him always.

Going to Steve's house after a run-in with Neil is a very basic hc but good lord it hits right

BILLY IS A GRADE BEHIND STEVE FTW (i don't know why i like this one so much. i just do. i doesn't have to make sense)

After Billy starts hanging around Steve he starts to feels more settled (as much as that's possible). Drinks less. Smokes less. Is less reckless. Walking around Steve's house in a bathrobe with a cup of coffee.

When Steve uses his name to threaten Neil hmmmmmmm. We hate the rich but this time it's ok.

Tell me your headcanons babe, what do you like to think about them????

[thissortofsorcery]

30. “this is my husband/boyfriend”

SURPRISE!!!!!! Damn, you all sent me these prompts over a year ago, and I really dropped the ball. I finally got around to writing now that I'm trying to get back into writing slowly after taking a long break. Writing about the boys made me so so happy, I missed them so much. I hope you enjoy this, even a year later!

----

Soft prompt number 30: This is my boyfriend

Billy flicks the turn signal to park the Camaro on the curb, trying to ignore the anxious clench of his stomach. 

He hears the crunch of the leaves under the tires; the sidewalk is littered with them, yellow and orange and brown, picked from the branches of the trees by the wind. Fall is in full swing in early November, and Billy shivers at the cold air coming through the open window. He’s less annoyed with the cold than he used to be back when he first moved to Hawkins, but it’s still terrible. He’s bundled up in enough layers under his leather jacket as it is; Joyce wouldn’t let him leave the house without putting a sweater on, rambling about the weather in Indianapolis. 

Billy double-checks the address Steve sent him on the GPS needlessly — the university library stands tall and imposing to his left, the red bricks of the building looking faded in the watery light coming through the heavy clouds. It’s a two-story building that stretches wide across the lawn, with large windows and glass doors on the entrance. 

Steve is waiting for him on the steps.

He looks up toward Billy’s direction as soon as he steps out of the Camaro, familiar with the squeaky noise the door makes when it’s opened. There’s a grin stretching his lips wide, white teeth showing and eyes crinkling, and Steve climbs down the library steps two at a time. His gaze only leaves Billy to glance down at his own feet, trying not to trip on the steps.

Their bodies meet with a thud in the middle of the lawn, Steve’s arms coming down around his back tightly, and Billy sighs as he sinks his face into Steve’s neck and breathes him in. He smells just as Billy remembers.

The cold wind doesn’t break through the warmth of Steve’s arms, and Billy’s body relaxes, leaning his weight on Steve almost completely. Steve only hugs him tighter, holding him up easily — like he’s always done.

The tight fist in Billy’s chest lets go, maybe for the first time since Steve left Hawkins to go to college in September.

Rationally, Billy knew Steve wasn’t far, with Indianapolis being only a couple hours away from Hawkins, but not seeing Steve every day at school was more jarring than Billy had anticipated when Steve graduated in May. 

Billy knows from personal experience how insular Hawkins is. If moving from San Diego to a small town had been a shock, he can only imagine that moving from Hawkins to Indianapolis must feel the same, only in reverse.

Steve’s world expanded far beyond the comfortable bubble they lived in during the summer, and he met a host of interesting people he told Billy about during their calls, making friends quickly. Billy was happy for him; Steve still had some insecurities from the year he spent friendless aside from Nancy Wheeler, and Billy was glad he had people who saw Steve the way he did.

But there was still a niggling voice on the back of Billy’s mind, insisting Steve would get sick of him eventually. It fades down to silence now, blown out like a candle by Steve’s presence and his warmth, by the way he smiles at Billy like there’s no one else he’d rather put his eyes on.

“I missed you,” Steve says, and then he presses a kiss to Billy’s lips — with all the sweetness and hunger that Billy’s always felt from Steve, the feeling that Billy clings to when Steve’s not there, like an old sweatshirt that still holds his scent. Billy doesn’t wait a second before licking at Steve’s lips, turning the kiss dirtier than it should be in a public space, but Billy doesn’t care. Steve’s hands come to cradle Billy’s face, but not to push him away (they never do). Steve’s fingertips catch on Billy’s jaw, dig into his hair, until he can’t stop a shudder from going down his spine. Only then does Steve pull away, a smug smirk clinging to his spit-slick lips.

“Dickhead,” Billy grumbles, knees still weak, and Steve huffs a quiet laugh. Billy raises his eyes to meet Steve’s, eyelashes fluttering, and it’s like a punch to the gut and the first gulp of air after coming up from underwater. 

“I’m glad you could make it,” Steve says, but he doesn’t move an inch away from where his nose is grazing Billy’s, so the words are spoken onto Billy’s lips. “Let me show you—” 

A wolf whistle interrupts Steve’s words, and Billy sees Steve’s cheeks turn crimson before he pulls away to look back towards the library. He can’t help but scowl at having his moment disrupted — he wasn’t done with Steve.

“Hey, Harrington!” An unfamiliar voice calls, three college kids standing by the library steps, grinning with mirth. Billy identifies the one in the middle as the one who spoke, the only guy in the group, with a douchey beanie and vintage glasses, the embodiment of the college students Billy imagined luring Steve’s attention away from him. Billy notes the breadth of his shoulders and his square jaw, and his stomach turns sour. “Who’s your friend?” 

This is what Billy’s been afraid of. The demotion from boyfriend to situationship, the “I want to see other people” said into a phone late at night. Being brushed off in front of Steve’s new, interesting friends. 

Billy stands up straight and squares his shoulders, tilts his chin up so he can look at the group down his nose; the same stance he takes when he’s facing down something he wants to bowl over. Something he’s scared of.

But Steve turns back to look at Billy, and the warmth in his eyes hasn’t diminished at all. His thumb strokes Billy’s cheek before he slides his hands down Billy’s arms, lacing their fingers together and squeezing. When Steve answers, he’s grinning, wide and happy, teeth showing — the same smile Billy saw all summer.

“This is Billy,” Steve says. “He’s my boyfriend.” 

And Billy breathes out, the weight of his doubts falling from his shoulders and being brushed away in the autumn wind.

Steve squeezes his hand, and Billy squeezes back.

[thissortofsorcery]

Can I ask you 7 and 23?

I've been thinking about this for weeks

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

I have some real cool shit that I made up for the witch!Steve AU that I've been playing with, but it's not done because I feel like it's going too far from canon. My favorite Canon Divergent/AU fics is when you can still see canon from where you're standing.

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

I have two: Time Travel AU and Accidental Warlord (from the witcher fandom)

The time travel fix-it would be for harringrove, where Steve or Billy would get sent back to 1983 and have to redo the whole thing again. It's my favorite trope hands down and I've always wanted to play with it.

Now the Accidental Warlord AU is from the Geraskier side of the Witcher fandom, where Geralt kills a king and kind of takes over some territory with the Witchers. It's really fun and it's expanded from inexplicitfics' initial fic. Now THIS I'd use for The Walking Dead (rickyl) where Rick becomes a warlord accidentally after taking over the prison and killing the Governor. I have nothing written down for this and it's only in my head for now. If I could think of a way to make it Harringrove I'd probably do it, but it would have to be like in a post-apocalyptic situation I guess.

Thanks for sending me these questions, I had a lot of fun thiking about this. This is the post where they're from.

Love ya!

[thissortofsorcery]

would you mind if I were to write a stranger things fic and using the map that you've made for the barbarian youth fic? it's cool if you say no too tho

I absolutely do NOT mind!!!!!!!! Go ahead and use it for anything you want!! It would be a dream to contribute to the Harringrove fandom this way

[thissortofsorcery]

“they still clash so hard that Billy's like "it's not that he doesn't like guys, he just doesn't like ME” : you were so RiGHT for including this because yes, that’s just some juicy juicy angst right there. In this scenario though, why do they clash in your modern harringrove headcanon?

Ooh you are feeding me today!!!!! Ok listen to this-

Billy gets into town with his big personality and abrasive attitude, so different than what Hawkins is used to. Catches sight of bambi-eyed Steve. Falls immediately.

But Billy’s style of flirting is pulling pigtails, and he’s an intense person all around, so Steve - confused oblivious Steve - does NOT catch on because???? It doesn’t even occur to him. At all. Like, what is this guy’s deal???

So Steve doesn’t react and Billy pushes harder, because he’s too stubborn to see that that’s not how you catch a Steve, and Steve develops like. This deep dislike that is also fueled by attraction. He wants to punch Billy, or something, only he does not realize what the “something” is.

And Billy is like “goddamnit he’s not flirting back?????? He hates me now???????? What do I do????” like the dumbass he is. Then it’s a RIVALRY that ends with them fucking in a closet somewhere and immediately becoming an old married couple.

Thanks for sending me this ask, I had fun thinking about this scenario!!!!

[thissortofsorcery]

i also thought about the billy outfit. one brain cell 😔

You saw the vision!!!!! If this guy used to do Billy cosplay I wouldn't be surprised