Bethkrichards​:

chancecunningham​:

WHO: @goldenboyrichards​ & chance cunningham WHERE: the hospital, specifically outside cole’s room WHEN: a day or two after the carnival tragedy

making the decision to come to the hospital after everything that went down at the carnival wasn’t easy. the last thing chance wanted to do was be faced with more trauma that he didn’t know how to process…but what choice did he have? he’d heard that steve was in intensive care because of the injuries he’d sustained, so obviously chance had to go see his friend…plus a few others. 

the first person chance visited was cole. it was no secret that the two boys had never gotten along much. but still. cole had offered chance his flask on the tunnel of love like an olive branch, so when chance found that same flask abandoned in the middle of the carnival after the explosives went off, something possessed him to grab it and return it to its rightful owner. 

chance’s meeting with cole had left him with a lot on his mind. were the two friends? far from it, but maybe they were on their way to something less tense. especially because they had a shared connection with— “adam,” chance said as he exited cole’s room and spotted his friend in a chair right outside the door, “he’s asleep.” chance shut the door gently and let out an exhausted sigh before he plopped down in a seat next to his best friend. 

where did he even begin? “what the fuck were you thinking back at the carnival, man?” he whispered, effectively forgetting half of what he’d just talked about with cole, “are you brainwashed?” chance had never been tactful when his emotions were heightened like this, “or…i mean…yeah, i don’t know, just…what the fuck?” it was high time chance and adam had a talk, and since he wasn’t sure when he’d have him alone again (save for a few nurses walking by), he seized the opportunity.

With how stressed out Adam had been about Cole and about what he’d done at the carnival, he had barely even thought about his other friends. The ones who’d been hurt the worst were in here anyway, and he could check on them and apologize for his fucked up part in everything. But people like Chance, Jack, and Chrissy had slipped his mind a bit. That made him feel like a sort of shitty friend, but he also had some pretty massive concerns here. Like...what if he blacked out again? What could he do to stop it?

After getting back from the cafeteria, he’d taken a break from Cole’s room for a bit, sitting out in the hallway while Cole had a visitor. He didn’t want to bother them. But when Chance exited the room, Adam perked up a bit. It was really nice of Chance to visit his friend while he was in here, in his opinion. “Chance,” Adam greeted back, nodding at the news that Cole had fallen asleep. Good, he needed the extra rest. After being so injured, it would be nice for him to be able to recover a bit while he slept.

Chance’s questions were valid, but Adam didn’t have any idea on how to answer them. What the fuck had he been thinking at the carnival? The truth was nothing. He couldn’t control himself at all. “I don’t know,” Adam admitted quietly, staring at the floor. “It wasn’t...I blacked out, Chance,” He told his best friend, worried he wouldn’t believe him. “I don’t know how, but I swear to God, I wasn’t in control back there.” Maybe he was brainwashed - how else could he explain the blackouts? Adam didn’t know. “I just remember getting off the Tunnel of Love and then waking up to Cole being put in the ambulance. Were you hurt at all?” Adam really hoped not.

mmuscles​:

WHO: thad bradshaw & @goldenboyrichards​

WHAT: gay hostility

WHERE: blue quarry mall

thad didn’t know much about this adam guy, but it seemed at every turn, he was there. with cole, near the keg, and sometimes he remembered jack would talk about him. lots of things bothered him about hawkins, but the latest grating factor was that he couldn’t figure out the appeal to this adam kid. he came off so…ugh? even after their run in at the grocery, before he had known that was adam, he felt sickened by the guy’s natural sweetness. thad wasn’t even sure why he was thinking about adam ( and by extent cole ) when he had a perfectly shitty mall in front of him to make fun of. he hadn’t come to buy anything, of course, he’d never stoop that low. but belittling things always seemed to make him feel better, so with nothing but time he’d come to the mall, only to find himself lost in a rare thought. 

as if he’d willed adam in front of him, thad immediately clocked the other as soon as he came out of a storefront, and before he could think about what he was doing, his feet were carrying him to adam. “hey man!” he called, trying to insure the other heard him. as he barreled his way over to the other, he hadn’t thought a lick about what he was going to say, and wound up standing there stupidly with his hands on his hips, “so…” he started pointedly, keeping the same force as he asked his question, “where’d you get that crewneck?”

Adam had never been the jealous type - at the risk of sounding conceded, he’d never really had any reason to be. Growing up, he had always been one of the best players on the field. Once he realized he was gay, he’d only ever been with Cole, who he knew was just as head-over-heels for him as Adam was for Cole. No, he’d never been jealous, even now. Adam wasn’t jealous of Thad. He just hated his attitude, hated the way he thought about Hawkins and about it’s people. He hated that he’d cheated on Nancy Wheeler with Cole. Adam wasn’t sure he was capable of hating a person, but if he could, then Thad would be second only to Tommy H.

Running into him at the mall was probably the last thing Adam wanted to do. If only he’d been able to tell Cindy no when she’d asked him to drive her here, to wait for her while she and her friend picked out things for some 4th of July party they were going to. But instead, he’d come inside and had even decided to go into a few stores himself, looking to update his wardrobe from three years ago a little bit. As much as Adam wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen Thad, he couldn’t ignore his loud greeting. “Oh, hey, dude,” He replied tightly, trying to still sound happy and carefree. Adam could totally be carefree. Cares? Please. He was free of them! “My...crewneck?” Adam asked, looking down at his shirt and studying it for a moment. If he was being honest, he hadn’t thought at all about his shirt before putting it on. Was something wrong with it? “The Gap, I guess?” Adam looked back up at Thad in confusion. “Why, were you looking to get one too?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

jofcreman​:

what happened? the way he opened the door, so non-chalantly, the way his brows drew together in worry, surely feigned concern for her brother, made jo’s blood boil. she flexed her hands, stopping herself short of letting her palm meet his cheek. no, the neighbourhood thought she was insane enough as is. truly, it was only her position at the post that spared her from their neighbour’s open ridicule. because a girl scoring a job like that, she had to have at least an ounce of sanity in her, right? even if she dressed like that and talked like that and behaved like that.  but god, adam richards’ face did look extremely punchable right about then.

her judgement was clouded heavily by red hot rage, jo exhaled deeply through her mouth a couple of times to ground herself. countine one, two, three in her head. as much as she wanted to end him right then and there, she needed to get to the bottom of this. if not for her sake then for jack’s. “jack’s okay. considering.” brows still drawn together, jo scrunched up her nose in disgust. considering she was standing in front of his best friend and presumed murderer. considering he had died at the hands of who he’d trusted most. this wasn’t right. “we need to talk, richards. alone.” and, with her voice lowered and leaning in, she added:  “about the summer of ‘85. remember? when you killed my brother?”

Jo seemed.... angry. With him. And Adam wasn’t sure why. What had he done to Jack? The last time they’d talked had been at the carnival, when Adam had beaten him at Down a Clown, but this was definitely unrelated to that. Before that, it had been when Adam had come out to Jack and told him about dating Cole - but Jack had seemed fine with it! So Adam couldn’t understand what he had done to piss Jo off in the last few days. 

“Considering?” Adam repeated, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Consider the carnival? He hadn’t thought Jack got hurt - he hadn’t seen him in the hospital. But maybe he had been? Maybe Jack and Jo were made that Adam hadn’t come to see him? “Did he get hurt or something?” He asked. And then he got his answer on why Jo was upset with him. 

“I...killed Jack?” Adam repeated, freezing where he stood on the front porch. “No, I didn’t. No,” He shook his head, taking a step back and running into the door. “No, because I wouldn’t...” No, Adam wouldn’t do that. He would never, ever lay a finger on his best friend. But Adam wasn’t Adam when he blacked out, was he? And there was a whole week of his life in 1985 that Adam had no memory of, except for the time he’d nearly strangled Cole. If he had almost done that to the love of his life, what was he capable of doing to his best friend? “Oh my god...” Adam slumped backwards into the house, leaving the door open for Jo to follow. Without being able to stop himself, Adam doubled over the trashcan, throwing up the contents of his stomach at the thought of killing his best friend. His teammate. The guy he’d spent countless nights hanging out with in high school, the boy who’d come over and watch movies with him or join him at parties. The man he trusted more than almost anyone else, and who should have been able to trust Adam too. 

“I don’t remember doing that,” Adam sunk to the floor in his kitchen, tone almost a whisper despite them being alone now. Head in his hands, Adam pulled at his own hair. “I love Jack. He’s my best friend. How could I... how could I do that?” He asked, knowing Jo wouldn’t have an answer. 

kvrenwheeler​:

recently karen had been feeling like she had more mouths to feed right now than she did when all of her children were living at home permanently. with nancy having a friend over for the summer, and that boyfriend of hers in tow as well. then there was michael and his friends who often stayed for dinner too, and obviously ted and holly as well. it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but overwhelming since the majority she had to do herself. 

so the grocery shop was currently a lot more draining than usual, given the sheer amount of groceries was almost twice as much as usual. but it did give her time to herself, however short. 

abandoning the cart on the other side of the aisle, she moved over to grab a specific box of cereal at mike’s request of course. it was only when a loud crashing sound came from behind her, that the box fell from her hand and clattered to the ground as well. 

turning on her heel to locate the noise, she was met with a young man who had pushed his cart into hers. ah, that must have been it. “it’s no problem.” karen couldn’t help but notice that he seemed a little on edge. then came the brief recognition, which caused her to frown. “are you a friend of my son’s?” technically speaking he could also be a friend of nancy’s, she just couldn’t put her finger on it. 

Adam was thankful that he’d only crashed into the woman’s cart, at least. If he’d actually hurt her or knocked over a display or something, that would have been so embarrassing. He moved quickly around their carts to help grab the item she’d dropped, handing it back to her before returning. “Sorry, I need to pay more attention,” He apologized again, offering her a small, sheepish smile. 

At her question about her son, Adam frowned, trying to figure out who she was talking about. After a second, he realized she was Mrs. Wheeler, so she must have been talking about the nerdy kid who had a little friend group that he spent so much time with. Adam didn’t really know them, but he’d seen them a few times at the pool, he thought. “Oh, no,” He shook his head, smiling slightly. Adam did know that kid’s older sister, though. She’d been a year or two behind him in school, but she’d saved his science grade when he retook the class. “But Nancy used to be my lab partner! I think I came over once to study.” It wasn’t like they had been close or anything, and honestly ‘studying’ had been him staring at his textbook in confusion for two hours while Nancy made flash cards. Still, he remembered Mrs. Wheeler being nice when he’d come over, and he sort of remembered her coming to the pool a lot back when he’d been a lifeguard with Billy and Heather. “I’m Adam Richards, ma’am.” He told her with a small smile, holding a hand out for her to shake. 

colemontgomeryx​:

Cole’s arms went slack and the VHS tape clattered to the ground. His jaw dropped and he was sure he looked like a cheesy cartoon character. He couldn’t believe he was having another vision, like what happened at the graveyard last week. Only, this time, he knew he had come to the Richards’ house. If nothing else, the VHS was evidence of that. And, besides, if this was a vision– why would Adam be apologizing for leaving him? As if he had a choice?

If this was a vision, Cole knew it would quickly turn dark– he’d watch Adam die, again– so he should just turn around and leave. But Cole couldn’t resist just a few more moments together, one last kiss, even if it was fake. So he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Adam’s torso. Burying his face in Adam’s chest, Cole’s tears pooling against the other’s t-shirt. He squeezed his teary eyes shut and waited for the dark eyes, the “I’m sorry,” the body bursting into flames…

Only, it didn’t. Cole’s death grip around Adam loosened and he peered up at the familiar face. Everything was the same: same lips, same nose, same eyes– though they looked sadder. What if this was real? He searched his lover’s eyes, looking for answers. If this was real, what did he mean he left? Cole had seen his body, had gone to the funeral, had grieved the death of the only person he could ever love for three years. What kind of sick joke could this be? Cole untangled his hand to swipe at his face and finally choked out: “Are you really real?” 

Adam braced himself, fully prepared for Cole to yell at him. He deserved it. Ever since they got serious, once Adam knew that Cole was it for him, they had planned on running away together. Hawkins was too small to contain a relationship like theirs - they deserved to go somewhere where no one knew them, where no one could judge them for being together. And Adam just left him. Regardless of how Adam came to be in that commune, whether it was his intention or not, he still left Cole behind. 

But the yelling never came. Instead, Cole threw himself into Adam’s arms and it felt like maybe some of those jagged pieces inside him fit again. For the first time since he’d left the woods with Jack, Adam felt like something in his life made sense. 

Adam clung to Cole, burying his own face in his curls. He’d changed shampoos at some point, but it didn’t matter. Underneath it, he still smelled like Cole. Tears were freely falling down his face now, but Adam couldn’t be bothered to wipe them away. He had no intention of letting go of Cole any time soon; not until Cole wanted him to. 

“Yeah, last time I checked,” Adam laughed wetly, crying still. “I’m so sorry.” He apologized again, holding Cole close to him. “I don’t... I don’t know what happened. They said I’ve been in some sort of commune or something?” Adam explained, shaking his head at the words. He didn’t really remember that - but what other explanation was there? “I didn’t mean to go, I don’t know why I did. None of it makes any sense. I promise I didn’t mean to leave you! I’m sorry.” 

new kind of guy who just really likes the first 30 minutes to an hour of horror movies thats just people doing regular things and turns it off as soon as the horror part starts to kick in

honestly? Im sincere and so full of love and no one can ever take that away from me

CHRISTOPHER BRINEY, CIS MALE, HE/HIM | who’s that? oh it’s ADAM RICHARDS. i hear they’re 22 and are known as THE GOLDEN BOY around THE FOOTBALL FIELD. they’re known to be COMPASSIONATE AND SELFLESS and CLOSED OFF AND GULLIBLE. some people say they remind them of THE SMELL OF FRESHLY CUT GRASS MIXED WITH DRYING PAINT, THE ROAR OF A CROWD AT THE FINAL WHISTLE, SNEAKING KISSES AT A RED LIGHT AT THREE IN THE MORNING, A SHEEP IN WOLF’S CLOTHING, EVERYONE IN TOWN KNOWING YOUR NAME. they DO NOT believe they died.

THE BASICS

FULL NAME: adam jacob richards

NICKNAME(S): richards, quarterback

AGE: twenty-two

DATE OF BIRTH: october 3rd

HOMETOWN: hawkins, indiana

CURRENT LOCATION: tree commune hawkins, indiana

GENDER: cis male

PRONOUNS: he / him

ORIENTATION: homosexual ( only known by cole and maybe a small amount of other people he trusted ? )

OCCUPATION: former lifeguard at the hawkins pool

THE FACTS

Adam has the most apple pie backstory you can imagine. The eldest of three, he’s always been the dependable golden child. His father is a dentist, a steady job that keeps them on the well-off side of town. His mother was originally his receptionist, but gave that up when she had Adam. For as long as Adam can remember, his mom had been around to take care of him and his little sisters. She was always there to pick him up when he fell, or hold him after a nightmare. He was closer to her than his father, although they had a fine relationship too. His memories of home are happy, filled with family dinners around the kitchen table, singing along to the radio as they drove to church on Sundays, and his family cheering him on every Friday night. Adam loved his family so much.

There’s only one thing that could make him want to leave them behind, and that’s the knowledge that he could never fully be himself in Hawkins. Adam didn’t realize that he was gay until he was in high school - he just thought that maybe the attraction guys described feeling for girls was overexaggerated. Once he met Cole Montgomery, though, everything changed. He pestered Cole to help him with English, relishing their weekly study sessions until things shifted and they began seeing one another romantically. Being with Cole made Adam feel more like himself than anything else in the world did. And while Adam adored his family, he needed to get out of Hawkins in order to be truly happy.

Cole wasn’t the only thing that made Adam want to leave, though. Hawkins itself came with a sort of pressure. Here, he was the Boy Next Door. The Hometown Hero. Every Friday night, Adam was expected to put on his jersey and play his part as the star quarterback, beloved by all who attended their games. And at times, Adam felt suffocated by that. There were so many rules and expectations he had to follow in order to just exist in Hawkins. In order to play sports and be accepted - which Adam wanted - he had to behave and act a certain way. Which is why Adam knew that once Cole graduated, he had to leave with him and go somewhere where no one expected anything from him.

And that was the plan, until the summer of 1985. Things were good, stable, until suddenly Adam was being controlled by the Mind Flayer and was killed at the Starcourt Mall. Adam doesn’t really remember this time; he doesn’t know that he died. It’s all really hazy, honestly. But now that he’s back and people are claiming that he joined a commune in the woods for three years…well, Adam doesn’t know what to think.

THE HEADCANONS

Adam’s always fully embraced his role as a big brother to his younger sisters. He loves them both dearly. While he’s closer to the middle sister just due to their ages (she’s around 18-20), he also loves Cindy, who’s 16 now. He feels bad that he missed out on their lives for the last three years for sure. 

He loves football and sports in general. The comradery of a team, the thrill of people depending on you - that’s so special to Adam. The only part of it he hated was the pressure and expectation to be someone that he wasn’t. He hated the toxicity that could exist in that world, especially the casual misogyny and homophobia. That’s why he always tried to rise above it while still working the system? Like, he couldn’t step too far out of line or call too many things out, but he always tried to stand up against bullying in his own way. 

Adam is just... a very genuine person. He’s absolutely a himbo who takes a lot at face value. He’s never understood why people can’t just mean what they say, or have good intentions. Like this man is a Lawful Good through and through. 

School wasn’t easy for this man. He did okay in some classes, but really struggled in others. In order to keep him on the football team, though, I imagine he had tutors in several of his classes. 

Literally he did not know he was gay until he was like 15-16 years old, he just thought that his friends were exaggerating when they talked about girls. Like, he was like “They’re nice. Fine, even. Pretty, I guess.” and then he met Cole and was like “Ohhhh I get it now.” 

He had a girlfriend when he met Cole, and once he realized he liked Cole and wanted to date him, he felt intense guilt at the thoughts of cheating on her. So, either 1) he broke up with her or 2) he kept dating her but told her everything, and she was willing to be his beard. If someone wants that connection, PLEASE lmk because I would love to see either option. 

Truly he always tries to see the best in people. Even those who don’t deserve it. 

He fully had plans with Cole to run away after Cole graduated and Adam 100% was going to follow through. He didn’t love the idea of leaving his family behind, but he needed to be himself and not the town’s Golden Boy. Unfortunately, Adam got flayed by Billy, who he used to work with.

He wasn’t himself the few days before he died. He was a lot meaner and angrier than anyone had seen him before, so that might have raised some red flags for people. Adam was eventually killed at the mall.

While Adam doesn’t think that he died, he does find the commune idea suspicious. After all, he did want to run away, but with Cole. He’s so confused by the idea that he would have left him behind, so part of him is worried that maybe he was brainwashed or kidnapped? He has no clue what to believe when it comes to that, honestly. 

colemontgomeryx​:

Cole’s heart leapt into his throat at Adam’s pleading tone. He wished he hadn’t said anything, and just let Adam go on believing that he’d gone away to a commune. But Cole had never been able to lie to Adam, nor did he ever want to. He knew that, although it was entirely too much to understand, Adam would want to know. Maybe he even needed to know, so he could stop punishing himself for ‘leaving Cole.’ But only when he was ready, only on his own terms– Cole felt a pit in his stomach as he remembered Max’s description of the Mindflayer and how it possessed its victims. Something akin to rage flared up in Cole’s body thinking about it hurting Adam, but he buried the feeling for now. That was something to ask Max about later.

Meeting Adam’s eyes, Cole shook his head. “Please stop apologizing,” he said, brushing a stray tear off of Adam’s cheek. It made his chest physically ache to hear the pain in his voice.  “I don’t blame you. I know it wasn’t your fault.” Cole’s eyes welled up again as he offered Adam a smile. “I’m just so glad you’re here, that you’re okay. I love you. I always will.”

Cole paused again, barely resisting the urge to kiss away his questions. “I might have some answers… about what happened. We can talk about it, whenever you’re ready,” he promised, taking Adam’s hands and squeezing them for comfort. Distantly aware that they were still on the Richards’ front porch, but unwilling to leave Adam, Cole tugged on his hand. “Want to come over to my place?” he asked, knowing that his house afforded them more privacy, as it was only him and his mom. 

Adam wasn’t ready to process something like that. How could anyone ever be? Being faced with your own mortality - knowing that you’d died - it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t possible. Adam couldn’t believe it because it just couldn’t be real. Dying and coming back three years later wasn’t something that could just happen. 

He knew it had been summer, the last time he really remembered anything. Adam had been working at the pool with Billy Hargrove and Heather Holloway. He remembered talking to Billy after work one night, something he wouldn’t usually do, and then... then mostly nothing, until he woke up in the woods a few days ago. A brief flash of a fight with someone, maybe. Adam didn’t remember. 

It was the not remembering that scared him the most, besides the thought that he could have died. How did someone forget three years of their life? 

Before he could spiral too far, Cole was grounding him back to reality. Whatever had happened had happened years ago. Right now, in this moment, he was safe because he was here with Cole. And Cole wanted him to stop apologizing for leaving him. Adam leaned into his touch, choking back a sob when Cole forgave him. I know it wasn’t your fault. It didn’t fully relieve Adam of all of his guilt, but it did make him feel a bit better. “I wouldn’t have left you.” He agreed, slumping against Cole. “I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t mean for it to.” Adam pulled him close again, needing to know that this was real just as much as Cole. “I love you too. I always have.” 

They could talk about it when Adam was ready. But... what if he was never ready? He hoped to be at some point, but right now, he just wasn’t. He had never been the sharpest knife in the drawer - his teachers had never accused him of being smart. But this just wasn’t something Adam could rationalize. He couldn’t understand it. Maybe Cole knew people who could, and maybe they should talk to them. Just... maybe later. Adam squeezed Cole’s hand, nodding his head. “Let me tell Mom,” He replied, pulling Cole with him to the front door. 

“I’m heading over to Cole’s. I’ll be back,” Adam promised as he ducked his head back inside the house, ignoring the panicked look on his mother’s face at the mention of him going anywhere. She was so scared he’d run away to the woods again, Adam knew. He hated that he’d ever made her worry that much.