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roanofarcc · 1 month ago

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PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER SIXTY NINE → LIKE LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER

summary: steve harrington x oc - read on Ao3

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 8.8k || masterlist

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

a/n: this chapter is a long one with a LOT going down. hope y'all enjoy this angst bc there is more coming...

previous chapter ← → next chapter

tag list: @leptitlu, @sattlersquarry, @adaydreamaway30, @somethingnonenatural

Sunshine was awoken by Karen Wheeler with a soft smile and an apology.

The Wheeler’s basement had steadily lulled into nothing but light snores and the hum of Kate Bush that bled through Max’s headphones. She was sandwiched between Lucas and Dustin, the two having refused to leave her side, and Max didn’t protest, not for that night.

Sunshine had fallen asleep shortly after her shift of ‘Max watch,’ with her cheek pressed against Steve’s shoulder, half on top of him, with her legs dangling off the side of a chair not meant for two people. He kept one arm looped around her waist, and his head rested against the crown of hers.

Somehow, she managed not to topple off of him when startled awake, crashing onto the floor where Nancy and Kali had unknowingly started sharing a blanket in the middle of the night. She did, however, wake Steve up, which earned him a sweet ‘hello’ from Karen.

“Your mother’s on the line,” Karen whispered to Sunshine. “She’s asking for you.”

Sunshine awkwardly tiptoed around the sleeping bodies spread out around the basement and picked up the downstairs line as Karen left. She groggily greeted her mom between yawns.

“Danielle!” Her mom’s voice came out sharper than Sunshine expected, “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Did you know there’s a supposed serial killer loose in Hawkins?”

It took her a moment to grasp her bearings, remembering that everyone aside from them in town believed the deaths of Chrissy and Fred were the work of a murderer, perhaps a serial killer, not a monster from a different dimension.

“Oh,” Sunshine said, clearing her throat and earning a huff from her mom. “We’re all at Nancy’s. We’ve been here all night. I told you I was staying here last night, remember?” She had made sure to call her mom the afternoon before to remind her she wouldn’t be home last night. “The kids, you know, they’re all a little spooked, so we thought it’d help if we had a sleepover.”

She hated how easy and second nature lying to her parents had become, and how easily they believed her. It always caused her gut to churn, only slightly soothed by a voice in the back of her mind that reminded her she was only lying to protect them from a truth that would, no doubt, hurt them or put them in danger.

“I know you were spending the night, but not that you knew someone was going around town murdering kids your age!” her mom said, voice caught between worry and frustration. “Your dad nearly passed out when he heard that poor Cunningham girl was killed just across the lot from the Mayfield’s. Where you often visit!”

Sunshine closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall, taking a breath as guilt made her nauseous. “I’m sorry,” she said, sincerely. “I didn’t mean to scare you guys. Max, she was just shaken up, and her mom works a lot.” And drinks a lot, but Sunshine forwent saying that. “We didn’t want her staying by herself across from the crime scene. And Nancy, she was friends with Fred. I just wanted to be there for them.”

That bit wasn’t a total lie. She did want to be there for her friends and prevent anyone else in Hawkins from meeting the same fate at the hands of Vecna.

Her mother sighed, seemingly calming down a bit before she replied, “I get it, honey. I do. Can you just stop by the house so your dad can see you in one piece with his own eyes. It would make both of us feel better, okay?”

A part of Sunshine wanted to protest; the idea of being away from Max, unable to be right there in case Vecna struck again, was terrifying to her. But, at the same time, if Sunshine was threatened with the same fate, she needed the only way they knew how to break free from Vecna’s hold: a Walkman. That, and with the new mark of possible death, Sunshine wanted to see her parents. She wanted to remain optimistic, as Max had made an escape, but there was still a chance their solution wasn't permanent. What that meant, she couldn’t think about, not then. Instead, she promised her mom she’d stop by that morning.

One hour was what she had told the others; she just needed one hour to smooth over her parents’ worries, then they’d talk strategy and figure out their next steps with the newfound knowledge Nancy, Robin, and Tamera possessed from their trip to Pennhurst.

No one complained or protested her leaving, not when Karen made pancakes and they were still all groggy from a fitful night of sleep, mostly spent worrying about Max.

Steve went with her, and Sunshine spent the entire short car ride contemplating how to tell him she had hallucinations likely put in her brain by a bone-broking and mind-snooping monster. That wasn’t exactly an easy conversation to broach with anyone, especially one’s boyfriend. But she knew she couldn’t reason the visions away, blame them on a lack of sleep or something else. It was never going to be that easy for Sunshine; she had accepted that a while ago.

It still made her feel bad. Steve was visibly bubbling over with worry over Max, someone he had grown to see as a little sister over the past two years. He tried not to show it, but Sunshine knew him too well for that. She would only add to his worry, stress him out even more.

On the other hand, Sunshine imagined her in Steve’s shoes, and he was the one marked as Vecna’s next victim. She’d be furious if he tried to hide it from her. They didn’t lie to each other, nor did they keep secrets, not ones of that caliber.

She had to tell him; she just decided to wait until after they saw her parents.

When they entered the Torres’ home, they were greeted with the smell of stressed-baked chocolate chip cookies and the news playing on the television.

“It just doesn’t make any damn sense,” her dad muttered from his rocking chair. “People are still recovering from Starcourt, and now this.”

At the mention of Starcourt, Steve flinched, unnoticed by Sunshine’s dad but not the girl herself. She slipped his hand into his and led him to the couch. He and Robin didn’t talk much about what had happened down in the Russian bunker while she was held in a different room. But she had been woken up by Steve thrashing and mumbling from enough nightmares to know it had been something to cling to them, haunt them when they closed their eyes. The mere mention of it always caused him to flinch, like he was being hit with the memories all over again. And she always held his hand when it happened, reminding him of where he was.

“A potential serial killer in Hawkins…” her mom said, trailing off as she entered the living room with a plate of cookies. Sunshine and Steve each took one with a quiet ‘thanks’ before she continued. “My friend, Cindy, heard it may be a high school student responsible. A name hasn’t been released yet, but they better before people take matters into their own hands and start tossing out accusations.”

Sunshine feared that was already happening, as Lucas’s basketball buddies knew about Eddie and Chrissy’s late-night meet-up after the big game.

“I don’t know if anyone at school is capable of this,” Sunshine said, twisting her unheld hand around in her lap.

Her dad shrugged, running a hand over the stubble on his chin. “You never really know what any person is capable of, honey,” he said with a sigh, making her stomach churn and face hot. They had no idea what she was capable of. They lived in the idea that Sunshine was just their daughter, returned to a normal and boring but safe life.

After a brief lull, filled by the news recounting the little information they knew of the two recent deaths in Hawkins, Sunshine’s mom asked, “How’re Max and Nancy doing?”

“Okay. We promised we’d be back at the Wheeler’s soon.”

“For a movie day,” added Steve, lying with an easy smile. He had told her once, back when they had first re-met, that he had a knack of lying to parents in particular- his mostly.

Sunshine’s dad pulled his eyes away from the TV and looked between the two of them. “You two are staying at Wheeler’s, right? Not going out?”

Sunshine nodded. She bit into the freshly baked cookie so she wouldn’t have to speak, in case her voice betrayed her.

“I suppose that’s alright,” her mom said, tossing a dishrag over her shoulder and wiping flour from her hands. “As long as you’re all staying in one place, together.”

It was Steve’s turn to nod. “Trust me, the only trouble we’ll be getting into is fighting with the kids over what movies we’ll be watching.”

Her dad chuckled, light and easy. “With that bunch, if I had to guess, it’ll be Star Wars.” Steve chuckled too. If they were normal kids having a normal movie night, Sunshine was almost certain Dustin would make them watch Star Wars again.

From Sunshine’s bag resting at her feet, her radio crackled, causing alarm to flicker on both her and Steve’s faces. They shared a quick look before standing up. “That’s the kids,” Sunshine said, faking composure. “They’re probably gonna tell us to hurry up. I just need to grab some movies from my room.”

She didn’t wait for her parents to reply before she and Steve disappeared down the hall into her bedroom. Sunshine pulled the radio from her bag and tossed it to Steve, who caught it with ease.

“We copy,” he said. “Is Max okay?”

While Steve was focused on the walkie-talkie, Sunshine hurried to her dresser and shoved her Walkman into her bag along with her favorite tape.

“We have a lead, a big one! We need you guys here, stat!” said Dustin.

Steve told him they were on their way just as Sunshine zipped up her bag and slung it back over her shoulder. They started out of the room and back to where her parents continued to watch the news. She bid them goodbye but lingered at the front door for a moment.

Maybe it was the drone of voices on the news repeating the tragedy of Chrissy and Fred. Maybe it was the image of Max with her eyes rolled back in her head and feet not touching the ground. Maybe it was the smell of chocolate chip cookies and the vision of a little girl in the cemetery. Or maybe it was all of those things that made Sunshine turn around and beeline for her mom. She wrapped her arms tightly around the woman, hugging her

Surprise was quick to fade in her mom, replaced by a small smile and a tightly returned hug. When Sunshine pulled away, her mom asked, “What was that for?”

“I love you,” she replied, ignoring a pain shooting through her chest. Her mom said it back like she had a million times before. Sunshine repeated the same with her dad before finally stepping out of her home.

The second the door closed behind her, Sunshine's face crumbled. Beside her, as they started toward Steve’s car, he bumped her shoulder with his. “Hey, it’s going to be alright,” he said. “We’ll figure out what’s going on and kick some monster ass, okay?”

Sunshine paused, looking at him. A light breeze tousled his hair, still mused from sleeping, and the sunlight made his brown eyes shine an even prettier shade. “I need to…” she started, about to break the news of her possible impending door, but the slamming of a car door caused her to trail off and pulled both of their attention off one another.

An officially dressed woman and two men looked to be walking toward them from across the street. “Uh, did you get some new neighbors?” Sunshine shook her head just as the three strangers stopped in front of them.

“Danielle Torres?” the woman said, voice stern and sharp.

Steve stepped just slightly in front Sunshine, arms crossed over his chest. “Who’s asking?”

The woman ignored him, not taking her eyes off Sunshine, who was certain she’d never seen that woman before. It had become second nature to be wary of strangers, especially people who didn’t exactly look like they belonged in Hawkins. It was a small town with familiar faces, making unfamiliar ones stick out like red warning signs.

“Can I help you?” asked Sunshine, standing up a little straighter.

The woman’s nimble fingers smoothed out her suit jacket before she pulled out a very official-looking badge, flashing her credentials before she replied, “We’ve been called in to investigate the recent deaths that have occurred here, and we’d like to ask you a couple of questions.”

Sunshine tried not to let her surprise show too much on her face, but the woman’s words caught her off guard. “They called in the government?”

“I’m afraid Hawkins P.D. isn’t equipped to handle such an unprecedented matter, as made clear in the past,” the woman said coolly. “We’re offering our assistance where we can.”

The two held eye contact, heavy and holding something beyond the simple words exchanged. There was a silent understanding that both parties knew more than they were willing to admit. If the government had been called in, instead of just for clean-up and cover-up, then they knew whatever had killed Chrissy and Fred was connected to something much larger. Yet, Sunshine had a feeling their group was many steps ahead of what the government knew.

Steve cleared his throat, shaking away the tense silence. “I don’t think we can help you much,” he said. “Serial killers aren’t really a usual thing around here.”

The woman hummed, eyes narrowing slightly. “Well, Mr. Harrington, I suppose it’s a good thing we both know that’s not quite what is happening here, then.”

“We don’t know what’s happening here,” Sunshine said. “Not this time.”

The woman didn’t seem to believe them, not fully. “There are a lot of eyes on you at the moment, Ms. Torres. Eyes of people in my line of work who don’t necessarily believe you should be able to have the kind of freedom you do.” Sunshine involuntarily shrank back at her words, a lump forming in her throat. “I would just be careful of how you proceed during this investigation.”

With that, the woman and men turned on their heels and headed back to their car, leaving the two teens confused as they watched them drive away. Once they were gone, a breath of relief fell from both of their lips.

“What the hell?” Steve muttered. He glanced at Sunshine, expression softening at her pinched one. “Hey, none of them are gonna come after you, alright? Not with me here; I can promise you that.”

She felt boxed in, threatened both in real life and inside her mind. But Steve’s words soothed her slightly. She grasped his hand, giving it a light squeeze.

“Let’s go see what the kids found, yeah?”

When Vecna caught Max, she had stumbled upon somewhere she didn’t believe he expected her to venture. That morning at the Wheeler’s she had drawn what she’d seen, thanks to Holly’s supply of crayons. The pictures were of a blood-red landscape, fit with vines that resembled those from the Upside Down and floating objects in odd places.

It wasn’t a place from Max’s nightmares or her mind. She said the place held a hollow feeling, one she could only describe as strange and unsettling. Dustin theorized that Max may have run right into Vecna’s mind, unlocking some sort of ‘back door entrance.’ It wasn’t a surefire theory, but no one had a better one. And, in a way, it did make some sense, as much sense as any of it could make.

Upon seeing the drawings Max had made, Nancy recognized on page a door that had a stained-glass window clearly drawn. How she kept that image in her memory from seeing it in one news report, none of them were sure, but they knew better than to question Nancy Wheeler.

After some folding, reorganizing, and outlining, Nancy realized that what Max had seen was a disassembled Creel House, a house that just so happened to still be standing on the outskirts of town.

No one had touched the home since the deaths had occurred; they just boarded up the windows and left it to be overtaken by nature.

A haunted house was the best way to describe it, the kind you’d see in movies that were likely full of ghosts waiting for someone dumb enough to step inside. Tall and foreboding, screaming ‘do not enter,’ and yet, that was exactly what they were going to do.

“What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?” asked Steve as he and Nancy pulled nails from the boards over the front door.

“We’re not sure,” Nancy said with a shrug. “We just know this house is important to Vecna.”

Dustin suggested, “Maybe it holds a clue as to where Vecna is, why he’s back, why he killed the Creels, and how to stop him before he comes back for Max.”

Sunshine clutched the bag on her shoulder a little tighter as she glanced at Max. She wore her Walkman on her hip and headphones around the base of her neck as Kate Bush played on a loop. She had been quiet, still, guarded, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Sunshine that she lingered closer to Lucas than she had the day before.

“We don’t think he’s in there, do we?” Lucas asked, eyeing the house uneasily.

Max replied, “I guess we’ll find out.”

After the nails were removed, Steve and Nancy let the board drop to the ground, kicking up old leaves and dust as it crashed against the porch. Behind it was a door with a stained-glass window of a rose, the same one Max had drawn.

Steve tried the handle, but it was locked. “Should I knock, see if anyone’s home?” he asked, voice laced with sarcasm.

“No need,” Robin said, a grin resting on her lips as he held up a brick she had pulled loose from somewhere. “I found a key.”

Beside her, Tamera beamed as she cheered, “Oh, hell yeah!”

Despite her self-proclaimed lack of coordination, Robin threw the brick clean through the stained-glass, shattering the rose. The brick landed somewhere inside with a thud. Steve reached carefully through the hole and twisted the doorknob, opening the door.

Inside matched the outside, resembling a haunted house down the long shadows that stretched across the dirty floor. Spiderwebs and dust decorated the decor, and the smell of something decaying lingered in the air.

Lucas had tried a couple of the lamps, but the power had likely been cut off a long time ago. The only source of light came from the sunlight pouring from the hole in the front door and the group members’ flashlights they had all packed. Well, almost all of them had packed.

“Hey, wait,” Steve said, looking at everyone. “Where did everyone get those?”

Dustin sighed, shining his light in the older boy’s face. “Do you need to be told everything?”

He scoffed and was about to snap back, but Sunshine placed a flashlight in his hand before he could. Steve hesitated to take it. “What about you?” She smiled and illuminated her hand, wiggling her fingers to answer his question. “Oh, right,” he chuckled lightly, accepting the flashlight.

They ventured deeper inside the Creel House. Everything looked frozen in time, left untouched like everything had been expected to be returned to. Chairs were still pushed out as if someone had just stood up from the dining room table, and children’s toys were still scattered on the ground as if just played with. Their lives were suspended inside the house, stuck on the night they had met Vecna forever.

“Uh, guys?” Max called out, summoning the group in front of a grandfather clock. “You all see that too, right?”

They all responded that they did, causing Max to relax slightly. The clock looked even older than the other object inside the house, probably passed down through families, if Sunshine had to guess. It was grimy from years left uncleaned.

“Is this what you saw at the school in your vision?” asked Nancy, recalling when Max had fallen under Venca’s trance, seeing a grandfather clock in the hall.

Max nodded.

Robin stepped up to the clock, brows furrowed. “I mean, it’s just a clock, right?” She used her jacket sleeve to wipe away the dust from the glass, better revealing the numbers. Nothing was out of the ordinary about the clock, which only added to the confusion over the reason it was a pivotal part in Vecna’s trap.

“Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?” wondered Steve aloud.

Beside Sunshine, Kali tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at the clock like she was studying it. “I think he’s just obsessed with playing games.”

Kali’s words hung in the air as she met Sunshine’s eyes, a knowing look on her face. The thing was, Sunshine had yet to see the clock. If they were following Vecna’s pattern, that meant she had more time. And if Nancy was correct and the answers they were looking for were located somewhere inside that house, then maybe they’d solve their Vecna problem before she even needed to confess that she was next on Vecna’s list.

Everyone buddied up. Nancy grabbed Robin, who then grabbed Tamera, before the three headed upstairs. Max nodded her head to Lucas, who certainly was not going to argue, and they parted into the living room. Kali grabbed Sunshine's forearm and followed the other girls upstairs. That left Dustin with Steve, causing the latter to sigh, which then led to them bickering as they went to help Max and Lucas search the rest of the downstairs.

The stairs creaked with each step but were otherwise sturdy. If it was even possible, the upstairs was even more haunted-house-like, with a long hall that was drenched in more darkness, lined with closed doors.

Sunshine stepped into one of the rooms, which seemed to have belonged to a little girl. The walls were faded but dusty pink, and there was a dollhouse that stood grandly in the corner. In front of the house were dolls, untouched since they were dropped, who waited for someone to return to play with them. The bed was made, but a book rested in the middle of it, closed and covered in a thick layer of dust.

After clearing some of the dust away, the title was revealed: Alice in Wonderland.

Back when storybooks were allowed in the Rainbow Room, Ivy had read that tale to Sunshine, about a young girl who had fallen into a magical and mysterious world.

“It’s certainly a choice.” Kali’s voice broke through Sunshine’s thoughts. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Kali leaning against the doorframe, dragging her flashlight gifted from Dustin around the room. “To make your ‘lair’ the home of the first family you murdered.”

Sunshine stepped back from the bed and wiped the dust from her hands onto her pant leg. “It’s a screwed-up choice,” she muttered.

“Speaking of that,” Kali said, moving to stand in front of Sunshine with a narrowed gaze. “You haven’t told your friends yet.”

Sunshine sighed, hanging her head. “I tried to tell Steve, but we were interrupted.”

“By who?”

“Someone called in the government to ‘help’ the police solve Chrissy and Fred’s deaths. I think they’re just here for damage control and to make sure no one suspects something else is happening or has been happening here. I’m not sure what they know, but they know it wasn’t some Hawkins resident murdering teens in such awful ways.”

Kali pursed her lips, seemingly in thought. “Who do they think did it? Are they well-versed in Demogorgons and Mind Flayers?”

With a shake of her head, Sunshine replied, “I don’t think they call them that. I don’t even think they really understand what we’ve been up against. They usually only come in for the clean-up. But the woman wanted to ask me about it. I thought maybe it was just because I’ve been around since this started, but…” she trailed off, a frown settling on her lips. “But they're suspicious of something, and I’m not exactly a poster child for normal teens in Hawkins. They know that much.”

Something between a scoff and a laugh sounded from Kali. “They think you did it? Weren't their bones broken and eyes gouged out or something? I didn’t think that was in your skillset, Sunshine.” It almost sounded like Kali was making a joke, which Sunshine didn’t think was something the girl did.

“It’s not,” she assured her. “But they see me, El, and the twins as some dangerous runaways who they can’t take in without raising more questions to the public that I know they don’t want to answer. I’m assuming that's why she let Steve and me go.”

Kali hummed in response just as Max shouted from downstairs for everyone to hurry.

They clambered down the stairs to meet a glowing chandelier over the dining room table.

“I thought the power was out?” asked Tamera.

“It is,” Lucas replied.

For a moment, they all just stared at the blinking light. It was the only light that was on, which meant the power hadn’t just jumped back on. No, it was something else.

Then, it came to Nancy. “It’s like the Christmas light,” she whispered, wide-eyed, staring at the chandelier. “When Will was in the Upside Down, the lights came to life wherever he was or if he touched them. That was how he communicated with Joyce while there.”

Lucas sucked in a sharp breath. “Vecna’s here,” he whispered, uncomfortably looking around. “In this house, just on the other side.”

Sunshine’s heart sped up as her hands grew clammy.

The chandelier flickered and then went out, casting them in darkness once more.

“I think he just left the room,” said Robin.

Max looked between the group, her hands ghosting over her headphones resting at the base of her neck. “Did he hear us?”

“Can he see us?” asked Steve.

While it was doubtful that Vecna would hear and/or see them and not act, it wasn’t impossible. They told Max to turn her music on, and they all turned their flashlights on. Nancy had an idea that maybe with Vecna walking around on the other side, they could pick him up with their flashlight and follow him.

As quietly as they could, they all dispersed and crept through the house. Sunshine hung at Kali’s side since she had given up her light to Steve. For a brief moment, Robin caught Vecna in her light, before it disappeared then jumped to Steve’s.

Following the glow, Steve started to move with it. Venca’s form in the Upside Down moved to the staircase, and they all followed it up. The light didn’t give up until halfway down the upstairs hall, only for a lamp inside the bedroom Robin had looked through minutes ago.

Inside was a little boy’s room with a glowing lamp at the bedside. Stuffed animals were piled on a chair in the corner of the room, and an abandoned game of chess sat on a tabletop near the window.

They fanned out inside the room, Dustin and Nancy throwing theories around while everyone tried to catch Vecna once more in their flashlights. Sunshine, on the other hand, made her way over to the chessboard. The pieces were dusty, as was everything in the house, but she picked up one of them anyway. As she twisted the piece around in her hand, something red coated the skin wherever the piece touched.

It took Sunshine a moment to realize what it was: blood. Sticky, red liquid not just smeared her skin, but started dripping down it, like she had dipped her fingers in a can of paint. Startled, she dropped the piece and stumbled back, not understanding where the blood came from. It wasn’t her own, and she hadn’t noticed anything on the piece when she first picked it up.

“Guys-” Sunshine called out to her friends before spinning around to find herself in an empty room. “Guys?” How had she missed the leaving? She didn’t hear them mention anything about catching Vecna again in their lights or even the sound of their footsteps on the creaky floorboards. There was nothing but silence, the kind that made the air grow colder the longer it lingered.

“Steve?” Sunshine’s voice rose in a slight panic as she started toward the bedroom door that she didn’t remember anyone shutting. She listened for a moment for their voices outside it, but still nothing. “Nancy! Robin!” She grasped the door handle and tugged on it a few times before realizing it was locked, but there was no lock on the inside handle.

Curling his hands into fists, Sunshine started hitting the door, repeating her friends’ names in a desperate attempt to be heard. They didn’t call back, reassure her they were there. She was all alone.

Tears gathered in her eyes, but she took a step back from the door, looking down at the blood on her fingers.

It wasn’t real. There was no blood or locked door. She was inside her head, yelling even though there was no one to hear her. Over and over again, she told herself that. She was just in a nightmare, caught by Vecna. Max had found a way out; she could too.

Sucking in a deep breath, Sunshine rolled her shoulders back and readied herself. Her heart beat erratically in her chest, but she thought of her friends; they hadn’t left her. They were all still in the room with her, just outside her mind.

Then, she braced and charged at the door, throwing her shoulder against it with all of her strength.

It gave way, sending Sunshine out of the room and crashing against the floor. More specifically, she collided with cold tile. Instantly, her nose was assaulted with the stench of blood. With a groan, she picked herself off the ground and reached for her chin, expecting to feel blood from a cut from how hard she had hit, but when she pulled her hand back, there was nothing there. Her hands were clean too, free of blood. Yet, the smell was almost overwhelming.

Slowly, she took in her surroundings, and it hit her like a boulder being dropped on her aching shoulder. Under the sudden crushing weight, Sunshine stood to her feet, under the glow of overhead fluorescent lights that pulsed. Instead of the dark wood and moldy carpet of the upstairs hall in the Creel House, she was in a white and sterile hall.

Nausea twisted in her stomach when she saw it, a bloodied handprint drug across the wall. With wobbly legs, she followed it. Down the hall, smeared with a heavy hand until it reached the corner, rounding it. The smell grew worse, something between blood and rot that made her gag as she stepped around the corner.

Death, that was what she smelled.

Sunshine’s legs nearly gave out at the sight of the bodies, but she propped herself up against the wall. Men in uniforms were sprawled out on the ground, blood pooled around their heads, and their limbs twisted in all of the wrong ways. Most of them were face down, but the ones that weren’t were a sight even worse. Blood was streaked down their faces like tears, and jaws unhinged, opened in horror of their final moments.

She had to close her eyes and turn away, heaving out a heavy sob.

Of all of the horrors she’d seen, there was something so deeply wrong about the dead soldiers.

A low, distant groan echoed down one hall over, followed by long, dragging footsteps. Sunshine peeled her eyes back open with a start and kept her gaze high so as not to look at the dead bodies as she took off down the hall. Blood made the floor slippery, but she didn’t fall, even if her legs wanted so desperately to give out.

The lights continued to flicker in a familiar, erratic beat, and the groaning few louder. Sunshine could feel a presence behind her, looming, but she didn’t dare to turn around. She just kept running until the hall gave way to a double door at the end. There were no more turns or another escape route. It was only forwards and backwards; she kept going forward.

Holding her breath, Sunshine ran right into the doors, and they swung open with ease, letting her inside the Rainbow Room.

An involuntary scream disturbed the cold silence. Sunshine hadn’t even realized it was she who was screaming until her throat started to burn.

More bodies. There were more bodies everywhere. The soldiers’ bodies were horrific, but the scene in the Rainbow Room was something even more disturbing.

The bodies of children, the remaining numbers, were scattered around the room. Their bodies were slumped over chairs, and their twisted limbs. Blood stained building blocks and chessboards. The painted rainbow in the center of the floor lost its colorful comfort as splatters of red covered it.

It all brought Sunshine to her knees, and her vision blurred with an outcry of tears that cascaded down her face. Her head hurt like an impossible pressure was pushing down on her skull. She pressed her palms against the floor, but nothing could be solid enough to steady her. Every urge to run and fight left her in that moment, leaving her hollow. All she wanted to do was cry and close her eyes until it stopped, however it needed to stop to make the image go away.

“Seven,” a deep, rumbling voice spread through the air like smoke. She bit back another sob before slowly looking over her shoulder just as Vecna stepped inside the room.

Max hadn’t described him much, not before getting choked up. But it was worse than Sunshine imagined. The monster was tall, and his body constructed of something sort of like vines, but if vines were a deep, fleshy red color and in constant motion. It reminded her of a diagram in her health textbook, where the skin was stripped back from the human body, revealing what sat just underneath, only more disturbing.

Yet, he looked more human than any of the other creatures they’d encountered. Standing upright, the Demogorgon was human-ish, but their flower petal heads and rows of sharp teeth ruined that image. But Vecna, there was something human to him that made Sunshine’s skin crawl.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Seven,” Vecna said.

Sunshine couldn’t stand; her legs were numb, and everywhere she looked was the broken body of a child. “W-What is this?” she asked, voice trembling.

Vecna tilted his head as he said, “You don’t remember.” It wasn’t a question; he didn’t need to ask because he knew. “This is something I have wanted to show you. This is the truth.”

“The truth? What truth is…” She trailed off, her eyes flickering around to the dead kids who never made it out of the Lab; those were forgotten by everyone, even her, to an extent. She never knew their real names, only the tattooed numbers on their snapped wrists. She should have remembered, or done a better job trying to. They were all somebody's babies, someone who never knew where they’d gone or where they were buried.

It made Sunshine cry so hard she could hardly see Vecna.

“This is what you’ve been searching for,” Vecna’s voice droned. “The missing piece in your memories that your mind tried to hide. A necessary beginning to the end.”

That night in which was only fragments of the infirmary, groggy stumbling, the smell of blood, and heartache.

A bout of adrenaline spiked throughout Sunshine. Despite her body’s protest, she scrambled to her feet. “That night,” she whispered, not trusting her voice at full volume. The memories of grief, of hands dragging her off a body. “Ivy.”

She moved before her mind could catch up, hauling her forward and right past Vecna, who made no attempt to stop her. She ran so fast, feet slamming against the ground with purpose. But she didn’t run for an exit; she ran until a girl came into view, standing in the middle of the hall. She faced down someone else; somebody who had their back to Sunshine and figure in a haze as all of Sunshine's focus was on Ivy.

Black hair buzzed down to the scalp and a hospital gown draped over her figure, Ivy looked so much younger than Sunshine remembered. She had grown older than Ivy by that point. Yet, Ivy stood with an air of determination surrounding her, despite the stench of blood that overwhelmed the halls. Ivy had always carried herself that way, almost never allowing weakness to break through.

“Ivy.” Sunshine’s voice cracked as she said the girl’s name, but she couldn’t hear her.

“So this was your grand plan all along?” Ivy said to the figure in front of her. “To erase those who weren’t just like you?”

“I didn’t want it to come to his,” the man said, his voice a little distorted, like he was speaking underwater. “But weakness had to be weeded.”

Rage flared in Ivy’s dark eyes, hot and bright. “They were children!” she yelled, fists shaking at her sides.

The man only signed. “I don’t expect you to understand, yet. But if you join me, you will. Together we will-”

Ivy cut him off. “I will never join you! Neither will Sunshine nor Eleven, for that matter. They…We are not yours to use in whatever fucked up plan you’ve dreamt up.”

“Aren’t you tired?” the man asked. “Tired of being a pawn? Tired of never being allowed to show what you are truly capable of?”

Ivy didn’t answer, she just stood her ground, a teenager broken a hundred times over, yet still holding herself together. She raised her hand, ready to use her abilities against the unknown man, but she never got the chance. Something stopped her, forcing her actions to freeze and lips to part in a gasp for breath. Her hands flew to her neck, clawing at something that wasn’t there.

Then, her feet started to lift from the floor, legs kicking in protest.

Sunshine rushed forward but was pulled back by an invisible force. She landed on her back against the floor, arms still outstretched for her sister, who was too far out of reach, beginning to suffer a fate Sunshine had only witnessed the aftermath of. And just like that night, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Ivy, who had protected her a hundred times over, and the one time she was the one in need of protection, there was no one to do it.

The man remained standing there, like he was frozen. The voice speaking turned into Vecna’s, echoing through the haunted halls of Hawkins National Laboratory. “We could have built something beautiful together,” the monster said coldly. “But you and your pathetic heart, so desperate to shield your little Sunshine from everything, are the reason why you’ll end up like the rest of them. It’s such a shame, too. You and I,” Vecna sighed, dragging out each word agonizingly slow. “We were so alike once upon a time, weren’t we?”

“Y-You won’t…take that f-from her,” Ivy struggled to say between gasping breaths. “I am nothing…nothing like y-you. That's why you killed t-them…isn’t it? None of us…we’re n-not like you.”

Vecna’s disembodied voice was quiet for a moment, allowing Sunshine’s quiet cries to fill the gap as she tried to crawl toward her, but couldn’t.

Then, the noise. An ear-splitting crack amplified by the echoey halls. It wasn’t a gunshot or the millions of other things Sunshine had tried to guess in order to make more sense of that night in which everything had felt so horribly wrong, but she hadn’t known even half of it.

The sound had been bones breaking. The noise she had heard, as she stumbled down the halls with medication to fight off her effects of the tests ran on her, was bones snapping, Ivy’s bones.

Sunshine screamed so fiercely that it almost caved her chest in. Whatever force had held her back disappeared, allowing her to crawl forward to Ivy just as her eyes started to cry tears of blood. Sunshine pulled and screamed and tried to get the floating girl down, but it was useless.

And when it was done, when her bones were broken and eyes gone from their sockets, Ivy’s body fell.

That time, Sunshine caught her before she hit the floor, cradling her limp body. Ivy had once held her like that, all of those years ago, when the nightmares overwhelmed Sunshine or when the pain of tests and trail runs lingered. But that time, it was Sunshine to brushed her fingers gently across Ivy’s cheek with tenderness and an aching heart.

“I’m sorry,” Sunshine hiccupped out, hugging Ivy so tightly as if it could mend broken bones.

“Seven,” Vecna’s voice returned, as did his figure, replacing where the unknown had stood.

“Y-You…” she gasped through tears. “I-It was you.”

Vecna sighed. “Two had such potential.” He spoke as if simply disappointed, as if her defiance was a mere inconvenience. “But instead of perfecting it, she wasted her time filling your head with stories of home and that there was more to us than the power we possess.” He took long strides until he was looming over Sunshine and Ivy. “Why are you so scared of what you are?”

Sunshine’s throat burned like she had swallowed gasoline and a match. The world was spinning around her, spinning in a dance with her violently beating heart.

Her lack of response caused Vecna to continue. “You are infected with the same weakness as Two. A weakness that led to this…” he gestured with his claw-like hand to Ivy’s broken form. “Instead of something with meaning. But it is not too late for you, not yet.”

That ache in her heart to protect her friends and her family, he saw as weakness. But, despite the moments of coldness and calculating, Ivy had that softness, too. She cared. She loved.

And then, Sunshine heard it. A faint melody floated down the hall like an outstretched hand.

Carefully, Sunshine lowered Ivy’s body to the ground, pressing a kiss to her forehead as the girl had once done to her before bedtime. Then, she rose to her feet.

“No,” Sunshine said, voice drenched with so much emotion. She looked over her shoulder at what had just been a maze of endless halls, that had been replaced by a wooden door, waiting.

Listen to the wind blow

Down comes the light

Fleetwood Mac flooded her mind just enough to shake Sunshine from her overwhelming flush of emotions. They still clung to her, like hands desperate to hold her back, but the music grew louder.

Vecna’s voice didn’t call to her; there was no fight put up as Sunshine started to run for the door, following the music that started to drown out everything else. A simple escape, as if he had just let her go.

→←

“Damn it,” Nancy hissed as her flashlight light went out, losing Vecna again; he seemed to have disappeared out of the kid’s room, as none of their lights flickered again.

The room was somehow creepier than the others in the house, but Steve couldn’t put his finger on it exactly. It left him with a chill down his spine.

“Well, what now?” asked Lucas, looking to Nancy, but her full attention had fallen from her flashlight and onto Sunshine. She had their back to them, focused on an old game of chess left abandoned. He hated the game. His dad tried to teach him once, but neither one of them had the patience for each other, and it ended in yelling, as many things did with Steve’s dad.

“Sunshine?” Nancy called out. “Did you find something?” Her question was met with silence. Sunshine didn’t even turn around, which was weird and prompted Steve to repeat her name, thinking maybe she just didn’t hear Nancy. Still, there was no reply.

Suddenly, Kali surged forward through the group and stepped around to the front of Sunshine. “Danielle,” she said with a sharp tone before she grabbed hold of Sunshine’s shoulders. For a second, Kali glanced at the group who watched, confused. The normal pinched scowl that seemed to be Kali’s resting face shifted into something of panic.

Steve’s feet moved before his brain realized what he was doing. The second his eyes fell onto Sunshine’s face, her golden eyes rolled into the back of her head, and unresponsive, he froze. His whole body grew incredibly still as dread collapsed over top of him like a bucket of ice water.

“Sunshine?” he breathed out, hands unthawing enough to start shaking at his sides.

Max moved to Steve’s side, eyes trained on Sunshine as well as she whispered, “Vecna.” She shook her head, brows furrowed. “But she didn’t hear the clock. She didn’t…” Max choked on her words as panic started to set in, clear on her pale features.

The bag on Sunshine’s arm was yanked off by Kali, and its contents spilled out on the floor. She rummaged through the series of supplies Sunshine had packed and plucked out her Walkman.

“Yesterday, at the cemetery, she thought she had heard and seen something,” she started to say, quickly loading the tape. Sunshine didn’t normally carry her Walkman with her, unless she was going to school, to the library to study, or to her mom’s work to help out. And Steve had gone into her bag the night the prior to grab a candy bar she had stashed in there before Dustin claimed it; he knew it hadn’t been in there then, which meant she had grabbed it when they went to her house that morning.

Kali continued despite Steve’s rushing thoughts. “We followed it, but nothing was there. She said there was a little girl, and she was laughing, but I was right beside her and we were alone.” She set the headphones over Sunshine’s ears as Steve blinked, a confusing kind of sickness spreading through his body.

“She knew,” he said, voice small and unbelieving. That couldn’t be right. She wouldn’t hide something like that from him. Right?

“No,” Kali said, her expression softening in the dim glow of shaky flashlight beams. “I mean, technically, yes. But she wanted to focus on Max; she thought she had more time until Vecna caught up to her. And then when you two left this morning, she told me she planned to tell you, but then you guys were interrupted and she didn’t get the chance between…this.” She gestured around vaguely, referring to the Creel House.

Dustin and Lucas shouldered their way in front of Sunshine, an air of worry growing steady as the music played through her Walkman.

Steve tried to swallow Kali’s words as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. He felt like he could throw up. It felt like Starcourt all over again, crashing over him in a nauseating wave as the possibility of losing Sunshine once again stood face to face with him, with all of them.

“I-If she thought she had more time, then she didn’t hear the clock yet, right?” Dustin said, the words spilling out of his mouth quickly, frantically. “And we have music! We have music, and she grabbed her favorite tape so…so she’ll be fine. She’ll snap out of it just like Max did, and then we’ll figure out how to kill him, and everyone will be fine. Right?” Everyone was quiet, waiting, watching. “Right?!”

They just had to wait it out and hope that Dustin was right. With everything they knew up to that point, he made sense. But Steve had never been good at waiting. His body and mind screamed at him in double time to just ‘do something!’ But what could he do? Vecna wasn’t a Demogorgon he could hit with a baseball bat or a Mind Flayer he could throw fireworks at; Vecna was inside Sunshine's mind while he stood useless in front of her.

Since Starcourt, his fear of losing not just Sunshine, but anyone in their little group, plagued him. Death had been all around them from the start with Barb, but it wasn’t until the death of Jim Hopper did it really hit Steve just how easy it was to die. They all had faced down things that probably should have killed them but somehow didn’t. Yet, it felt like just a matter of time before it came for the rest of them, twisted in vines and drenched in the darkness of the Upside Down and shady labs.

Life was so fragile, so delicate, but the possibility of death had struck them all with such violence that they somehow kept defying. If Sunshine or any one of them died, Steve didn’t think he could bear it.

“I could hear you guys,” Max said, her light blue eyes lined with unshed tears. “When you played the music, it broke through Vecna’s game or whatever, and I could hear it and you guys calling out to me.” She reached forward and grasped Sunshine’s hand, squeezing it until her knuckles turned white as she said, “Sunshine, we’re here! We’re right here!”

They all followed suit, voices all overlapping in a cacophony of pleas and promises that she wasn’t alone, that she needed to come back to them and fight through whatever nightmare Vecna was feeding her.

No monster or end-of-the-world threat would pull Steve away from Sunshine; nothing would cause him to forfeit his promise to her, that she’d always have him. However she wanted him, Steve was there. He had joked once that she was stuck with him, but he did mean it, until his heart stopped.

Time moved like molasses; it was agonizingly slow. Each second in which she didn’t open her eyes, Steve felt a hot stab of pain sink deeper and deeper into his flesh. But they never stopped talking to her; there wasn’t a person in that room who would give up on Sunshine. Not because she had saved them once or a dozen times over. Not because she had superpowers or was some living marvel. They wouldn’t and couldn’t give up on her because she was just Sunshine.

Sunshine who held their hands when they were sad or scared or stressed. Sunshine who told stories to her glow-in-the-dark stars on her bedroom ceiling, and loved so deeply with everything she had. It didn’t matter what she could or couldn’t do; she was simply a part of them all, all in different but important ways.

It was because of that, when a strangled gasp finally fell from her parted lips and eyes blinked, the air in the room shifted dramatically. Her legs gave out underneath her, but a series of arms caught her before she hit the ground.

“Holy shit!” Tamera gasped just as her flashlight illuminated. “I got him!”

Then, Lucas’s flashlight lit up, followed by Dustin’s, then Kali’s.

“He’s on the move,” Robin croaked out, face still flushed with fear over what had just happened.

“Follow it!” demanded Nancy, voice sharp, but Steve heard the shaken worry behind it, along with the tears in her eyes, too. “Go! We’ve got her; you get him!”

The group hesitated for just a moment before they scrambled out of the room, following a trail of flickering lights.

Sunshine struggled to catch her breath, tears streaming down her face as she both thrashed around and reached for both him and Nancy.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Steve said softly, brushing back sweaty strands of hair that clung to her forehead. She was burning up, like she had caught a fever. Her eyes were unfocused, and her chest heaving as she both tried to breathe and sob. “You’re okay. You’re back with us.”

Nancy grasped Sunshine’s hand in an attempt to soothe her with something familiar, something she often did to calm herself or any of them down. “We’ve got you,” Nancy said.

It helped, just slightly. Sunshine squeezed Nancy’s hand and somewhat relaxed in Steve’s arms, but her body was still shaking, and she didn’t stop crying. It wasn’t just out of fear. Steve had seen Sunshine scared before; there was something else to the glassy look and awful sobs.

Through her hiccups, she tried to speak, squeezing her eyes shut tight. “H-He did it,” she cried. “He killed them. He killed them all!”

#stranger things #steve harrington #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington x original character #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fic #stranger things fic #stranger things season 4 #nancy wheeler #lucas sinclair #robin buckley #max mayfield #dustin henderson #kali prasad #hawkins lab #project sunshine

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lurkingshan · 7 months ago

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Shan's Favorite Dramas of 2024

The year is wrapping up and I have forced myself to narrow down to a list of 15 (I tried 10 but the choices were too hard!) of my favorite 2024 dramas across genres and countries of origin. This is not every drama I liked this year (that list would be incredibly long), but these are the ones that inspired the most brain rot and really stuck with me.

At 25:00 in Akasaka (Japan, Gaga)

The mood and tone of this drama was just perfect, and I loved the way it explored the blurred lines and confusion that can result when the real and fake aspects of a professional relationship get all mixed up. Hayama was a great character and I loved his arc, in particular.

Cherry Magic (Thailand, Viu)

I still can't believe how much I loved this adaptation. A fantastic example of taking a work from another culture and translating it to a new context while not only retaining the core narrative, but even enhancing it. This show gave us what the Japanese version didn't--the resolution to the physical intimacy arc at the core of the premise--and retained all the charm of the original while adding new humor. And delivered one of the best romances of the year while it was at it!

Don't Care for an Old Man's Underwear (Japan, fansub)

Oppan, my beloved. Easily the best family drama of the year, loaded with excellent messages while (mostly) avoiding feeling like an after-school special. Makoto's journey to update his thinking with Daichi's help, and the mutual friendship that developed between them, is one of my favorite relationships of the year. I loved every character's story; there is something for everyone to connect with in this show.

Fangs of Fortune (China, iQIYI)

This drama was just so much FUN. A gorgeous feast for the eyes, a wealth of fascinating characters and relationship dynamics, and a fast-moving plot that you don't need to try too hard to understand. It was a great binge and Li Lun was easily my favorite villain of the year.

Gyeongseong Creature (South Korea, Netflix)

A gorgeous period piece set during one of the darkest chapters of Korean history, this one took me by surprise (I am usually not a horror girlie). The writing for this show had surprising depth and I loved its themes around family and loyalty and survival under fascism.

Knock Knock Boys (Thailand, Gaga)

My boys! I loved this show about a group of four queer men living together in a shared house, getting into mischief and supporting each other through school and work and relationship struggles. The show is funny and breezy but also manages to tackle some serious issues with grace while delivering two strong romances and my favorite coming out narrative of the year.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (South Korea, iQIYI)

Winner for best QL of the year, and a romance that will be sticking with me for a long time. Dohoe is one of the most honest and unflinching depictions of a an adult psyche shaped by childhood abuse that I have ever seen on my screen. It was healing to see him treated with such compassion and to see him and Juyoung find their way to a happy life together. An absolute must watch for all you angst with a happy ending fans.

Love for Love’s Sake (South Korea, iQIYI)

It's so hard to get a high concept premise like this right, but this drama did an amazing job with it. It's one of those shows where you can go back over everything that happened in retrospect and it all adds up, and I loved that the ending lent itself to so many different interpretations. One of the best watch experiences of the year.

Love in the Big City (South Korea, Viki)

Go Young, my beloved. This drama adaptation of the internationally successful novel exceeded my wildest expectations, and I am still a little stunned that we got the privilege of seeing it. It is, bar none, the most authentically queer show on this list, and a beautiful depiction of all the significant relationships in one young man's life. I will be rewatching it many times and keeping it close to my heart.

Love is Like a Poison (Japan, fansub)

A masterful blend of comedy, action, and romance, this drama about a lawyer with delusions of grandeur and the scam artist who decides to become his partner was a constant delight and gave us my favorite battle couple of the year.

Marahuyo Project (Philippines, YouTube)

I can't tell you the joy and relief I felt to get another high quality queer drama from the Philippines this year. And this one had such a great cast of characters, anchored by one of my favorite protagonists of the year in King. It's funny, it's romantic, it's touching, and as always for a JP Haboc production, it has an amazing soundtrack.

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat (Japan, fansub)

My girls! I'm still amazed by how much this drama gave us in its second season by expanding the world of the show beyond our two main characters to include so many other women whose stories were just as fascinating. This is the season where Nomoto and Kasuga really came into themselves and started building the life they want to have together, and it was a real joy to watch.

Tender Light (China, YouKu)

The way this show had me in a chokehold while it was airing! Visually stunning, incredibly well-constructed, and featuring one of the best performances of the year from Zhang Xin Cheng, it's an exhilarating mystery and a very touching story of the unusual bond between a student and the older woman who fascinates and terrifies him.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (South Korea, Viki)

You know a drama is good when it has you deeply invested in a random topic you never thought you were interested in. In this case, that's the intense debate on pedagogical methods between the public schools and hagwons in Korea. Alongside delivering a great romance, this drama was passionate about teaching and it sucked me right in to the Korean literature lessons at the heart of the story.

Unknown (Taiwan)

No other drama inspired more brain rot in me this year than this story of a family rocked by changing feelings as the chosen siblings grow up. The loyalty and love and complex desire between Wei Qian and Wei Yuan is the heart of this story, and the drama did an incredible job of taking us along for the journey as things shifted and changed between them. I still think about them all the time.

Bonus: Favorite Classic Dramas Watched for the First Time in 2024

I am always catching up on an endless backlog of dramas alongside my live watches. Here are the best gems I finally watched this year.

Lost (South Korea, Viki)

I loved this deeply melancholy drama about two lost souls who connect unexpectedly. I finally pulled it up from my to be watched list because it shares director Hur Jin Ho with Love in the Big City (he did part 2 with Go Young's mom) and it sure feels like it! The characters are deep and complicated, the relationships are complex and carefully built, and it is hands down the best encapsulation of a failed marriage between two good people who truly loved each other that I have ever seen. It's heavy and not for everyone--mining the depths of human despair is kind of its thing--but if you like this sort of story it's world class.

Mouse (South Korea, Viki)

I was recently in the market for a good mystery thriller, so I finally watched this apparently very divisive 2021 drama--and if there's a divide I am firmly on the HELL YEAH side of the line. This drama had an interesting concept (that I will not describe bc holy shit spoilers, you should go in knowing nothing) that it unwound with remarkable patience and precision over 20 episodes. Its themes were strong and consistent, the lead characters were super compelling, the plotting and pacing and editing were unbelievably tight, the performances were incredible, and it made a lot of provocative points and ended well, feeling coherent and complete. It sustained my full interest and attention without any stumbles for ~25 incredible hours.

Mr. Sunshine (South Korea, Netflix)

Another one that's been on my watch list forever and finally got its moment when I was in the mood for a historical where ladies got to wield weapons alongside the men. And unsurprisingly, I loved it. Writer Kim Eun Sook is known for her big, glossy, epic dramas, and her style made a good pairing with a story about a rebel faction during the Japanese occupation of Korea. I really loved all the main characters in this show, and was moved by the complicated exploration of their loyalty (or lack thereof) to their homeland. This drama also has a very strong class analysis baked into its themes, which I very much appreciated. It was a traumatic watch, but in a way that felt right given the setting and the choices characters made.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear (Thailand, YouTube)

I watched this one on a mission and it was worth every moment. Nut is one of my favorite protagonists in any queer drama, and I thought the show made great use of its fantasy concept to explore some very real human experiences with depth and compassion. This show feels like an especially important counterpoint to the Thal BL bubble, and I recommend it highly for anyone who enjoys those dramas.

When I Fly Towards You (China, Netflix)

And we end on a light and sweet note, with my favorite coming of age romance that I watched all year. This drama was just lovely, and it will be a go-to rewatch for me for years to come. There’s something so comforting about a story where you start with the happy ending before jumping to the beginning, and just get to sit back and see how they get there. I loved all the characters in this and marveled at how it was never boring despite being decidedly low angst.

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