#flayed hopper

[greenfiend]

For those still in doubt that Will flayed/influenced Hopper in ST3…

So when someone flays another basically what happens is, as Mike states they “[take] over their mind” and “basically become him”.

Now, it’s very interesting how in ST3 we see Hopper act childish- but exclusively in ST3. The very same season Will desperately holds onto his childhood.

It’s suspiciously very meta for him to say lines like this. It’s intentional. The writers didn’t just forget how to write Hopper. We are supposed to notice this abrupt shift in his persona and overall demeanour.

As Will says, he likes to hide. Interestingly enough Will and him share that in common. Note the “only used me when he needed me”. Same is true for Will using Hopper. Hopper still has moments where he is his “normal” self.

Whenever Hopper is “serious”, it’s really him. Whenever he’s emotional and kid-like, he’s under Will’s influence.

The Clues

So, let’s start by going over some of the major clues, shall we?

Him saying this to a Byers of course. Interesting writing choice.

The original script tells us that Will wears colourful clothes. That’s his style and he stands out because of it. Now it seems to be Hopper’s style all of a sudden too. It’s even noted by officer Powell here that it’s surprising to see Hopper dress this way.

Play these transition scenes. The first one has Lucas asking Will for permission to take a shower, then we are shown Hopper showering. I suppose Will granted Hopper said permission. Then of course we have El asking “how can you tell when someone’s a host?” afterwards the first person we see is Hopper himself. A perfect example of a host. They answered her question!

We are often shown Hopper acting childish. Look at how he’s holding his pillow! We never saw him doing this in seasons prior. Then we have Murray outright calling him a “manbaby” and “children”.

When “Hopper” orders an alcoholic beverage he struggles with the pronunciation. Reminiscent of a young person attempting (but failing) to appear older and more mature.

We even are shown him being fed lines that came from a Byers.

Now for the major clue. Why oh why did they show Will while Mike explained that Hopper threatened him? Not just Will, but Will moving pieces on a board. He’s essentially controlling things! Bending to his will, if you will. I mean it makes sense. We know Will was very jealous of Mike and El and complained about them! Just like Hopper, he wants them to break up. Perhaps even more than Hopper actually does.

Then we have Mike referring to him as crazy! That’s their special word, so naturally “Hopper”/Will does not take this well. Look at his face! He looks betrayed.

The References

It’s extremely subtle, but we have another Byler/Jopper parallel here. Earlier in 3x01, we see Joyce holding Hopper’s left hand, very reminiscent of Mike holding Will’s right hand last season. Then we have Hopper communicating in Morse Code as he and Mike fight to lock/unlock the car door several times. Notice how we have a shot of his left hand doing the locking of the door? Same one Joyce held. I’ve tried to work out what he’s communicating but I’m falling short. If anyone wants to take a stab at it please let me know your findings!

Then we have the Back to the Future references. Again very subtle, but there nonetheless. As we know, Will is compared to Marty Mcfly a fair bit, ever since his very first appearance!

Do you recall the plot of Back to the Future? Marty travels to the past, accidentally changes some things, then has to bring his parents back together! Will does the same thing… through Hopper!

And just like Marty… things get a tad bit awkward…

Now keep in mind… these scenes all occur within the same episode. While trying to set up his mother and Hopper together through “flaying” Hopper, Will accidentally gets his mom interested in him (as Hopper). That is why he refers to Murray as “Freud” aka the Psychologist who created the theory of “the Oedipus Complex”. This is also why Robin drops that line about of the movie.

So… How?

If you recall back in ST2, Hopper is spat on by something and was trapped in the UD. Will is able to sense him and thus is connected to him. Hopper is a part of Will’s hive mind. I also believe they may be biologically father and son… but that’s for another post.

The Implications of All of This…

So what does this mean? I’m not fully sure, but it seems like Will has some abilities here. I have no idea if it’s future Will manipulating things, or present Will and I’m not so sure how aware he is of all of this.

But in regards to Mike… here are some funny implications…

ST3 shows us a Mike with a peculiar fascination with bears. Bears seem to be associated with Will and “bear” has a specific other definition…

Now the icing on the cake with this is the fact that Mike has made comments regarding Hopper’s weight multiple times! So, he’s well aware of Hopper’s “bear” status. Mike shows interest in bears because he’s interested in Will. Will essentially is a “bear” while he is puppeteering Hopper.

It’s also nice to know that Will actually did get that hug he yearned for from Mike. We just didn’t realize it. Mike and “Hopper” hugged a tad longer than normal too while Will was facing them of course.

To conclude, I know this theory sounds so silly and I sound insane, but I swear to you… this is real. I may be wrong about some aspects of this but I know Will influenced Hopper in some way. Remember though, it’s not a constant thing. Will only “used him when he needed to”. Will experienced being flayed in ST2, then he became the “flayer” in ST3.

If you have any questions or comments about this theory feel free to send me an ask! These things are fun to think and talk about.

[greenfiend]

And Joyce was “trying to bang” Hopper the “manbaby” aka Will.

What is going on 😨

Last Troll of the Day

In an alternate reality, years ago, or years past, in a world once turned upside down, then right side up, Nancy is Jonathan's mother. #ick :-/

2925 103125

[morganbritton132]

Eddie follows up his Tiktok of an old home video of him sick with a current video of him sick. He’s congested as hell and his voice is practically gone when he croaks out, “Don’t marry teachers. They carry the plague.”

“It’s allergies. You have allergies.”

Eddie coughs pathetically and then pans the camera over to the other side of the bed. Steve, who will get a fever if you look at him too hard, has his back to Eddie.

Eddie is not reaching for him but Steve says anyways, “Don’t touch me or I will melt like a spider made of people.”

“…What does that even mean?!!!”

[shinpikurage]

You know, the ending of season 3 is so telling to me

We have Mike smiling because he and Will are talking again, and being happy that Will won't replace him in California (Like he replaced Will with El)

And the next moment, Mike denying that he loves El, telling her it was nothing, and the *kiss*, open eyes, no reciprocation. After, Mike doesn't look surprised or flustered in a good way, he looks confused, scared

For me, it feels like he had a realization, that he might not love El like he previously thought he did, he doesn't love him the way he should, the way she wants him too

And then Hoppers letter? Yeah he's talking about how much he misses his daughter, but it also feels like Wills feelings about Mike

Playing board games until it's late, Will and Mike haven't done that in months because he's busy with El

Eating junk food, typical friend stuff that Will doesn't get to do anymore

And that Hopper understands, because El is growing, maturing, but he misses her. Also goes back to how Will feels, he feels like everyone is maturing and he's being left behind because they are busy with their girlfriends, something he will never go through (plus him wanting to be a kid because that was taken away from him from his father, the UD and the Mind Flayer)

For me, this Hopper-Will/Eleven-Mike parallel is even more cool if we believe in the "Will is controlling Hopper" theory

Anyways, Season 3 was the season Will realized he would be left behind because of his trauma and Queerness, and the one Mike realized he might not love his girlfriend after all

[0aurelion-sol0]

(So before we start with this theory & new post of mine for a long time since my semi-hiatus, I want to repeat that I do not want any new informations about season 5 or anything related to it whether true or not, same for any leaks, set photos whether true not. I ESPECIALLY DO NOT WANT THOSE!!!!! or interviews that are the slightest bit too revealing UNLESS I haven't looked at it myself and even then, easy on any of these. I know something minor about this season & have seen two things about it but that's it, nothing more.

These theories & analyses might be proven wrong or false already or in the future but I don't care, I do this for fun & as a way to explore different possibilities about the story that can be interesting or could have been at least. I hope everyone understands this & will not be a party pooper towards me just to have a "GOTCHA!!!" moment... With that said, let's get into it, shall we ?)

_________________________________________

The Thessalhydra:

Back To The Future &... The Beginning.

_________________________________________

For this first post, I wanted to go back to season 1 as I found it was fitting to explore one of the earliest major fandom theories of Stranger Things since it's final season is on it's way.

"The Thessalhydra as the final threat from the Upside Down."

And while at first everyone at the end of Season 1 thought, obviously, that this creature would be the next threat in it's second season, the Mind Flayer poked it's head and said "not yet!", "I need to experiment with my minions first!" with a Vecna also slowly planning his own armageddon as well. And as much as I don't like him (& his season... 😒), he's here and he proves to be useful from time to time when it comes to theories or analyses because he still part of the show & can help up in terms of parallels, themes & plot.

But now, let's remember the last episode of season 1! The boys playing their new campaign about the Thessalhydra taking a similar turn to the one they did at the beginning of the first season (*wink wink*) & this time Will does a 14 (*wink wink*) & kills the Thessalhydra with a fireball. (*wink wink*)

Now if this wasn't a tv show with multiple seasons, I would tell you that the boys obviously staged the whole thing for Will to win so that he can be happy and because they're all very nice friends & also not repeat the same game at risk of making him vanish again especially if the monster this time is the size of the Empire State Building, (sorry with the luck these characters have, I simply can't believe they can have a happy ending such as this one. WILL HAD UD SLUGS INSIDE HIS BODY, WTF GUYS???!!!) but this is a tv show with multiple seasons. And now, it has definitely become foreshadowing for what's to come.

Especially since in it's fourth season now, we basically have Nancy having an apocalyptic vision of Hawkins with a large creature which is describe by having a "gaping mouth".

And if you look at her face here, she definitely did not find that thing beautiful in the slightest, though she is probably more terrified about the fact that she saw most of her family dead. 🤭

But would you look at that ?! What creature in ST fits that description ? Quite a lot actually but obviously you know which one I'm talking about, yes The Thessalhydra! And oh my god, look at what I've found on the Forgotten Realms Wiki:

"Thessalhydras were hideous and terrifying creatures. They had a large, reptilian body with a long tail, 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length, which ended in a pair of large, sharp pincers. It had no head, instead eight hydra-like heads, each about 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length, surrounded a gaping mouth filled with teeth and acidic saliva."

Well well, after that, it's difficult to argue what else could that large creature be!

End of theory! Bye guys! Thank you for reading!

...

Except I also can do that... 😅 Because I have reason to believe that this future Thessalhydra is a creature we have seen before. One whose campaign mirrors another campaign from the same season.

Yes. I have reasons to believe that the Thessalhydra and The Demogorgon from Season 1 are one and the same.

Do you remember this ?

Of you course you remember this, what a stupid question. It's part of a series of trauma that affected us deeply as a fandom, for different reasons (at least for me) but it proves to be an even more important parallel than we originally thought.

I don't need to tell you about the thematic importance of the parallel or what it means for the characters, we've all already gone through that already, I am more interested in it's significance for the plot.

So El kills The Demogorgon & Henry the same way. By disintegrating them. But that action doesn't seem to end the same way for the both of them & El herself.

What is interesting is that the three of them dissapear in some form, Henry into an Upside Down gate but ends up falling forever through the Hellscape (a different dimension than Dimension X/The Upside Down though likely connected, the same way that Dimension X & The Upside Down probably are the same thing but it's not fully confirmed yet.) before ending into Dimension X/The Upside Down in some way. And we all know what happens from here on out, at least what we know of it since Season 4.

I have a theory for why he ended up there, what is the nature of that place and did not simply disintegrate like The Demogorgon who I also do not think simply disintegrated but we will not go fully through that in this post.

El though ends up in the Upside Down after being taken by the disintegrated part of the Demogorgon or by disintetrating herself (though it didn't really seem that way to me) which I think is probably because the Demogorgon used it's powers on her since he could open gates or send anyone to the UD in season 1. (We will also get into that but not in this post, same for why he was so different in Season 1, both physically and in the way he behaved.)

But the Demogorgon, from what we saw simply disintegrated and we never heard or saw any significant clue of it's existence again. Which again leads me to believe, if we follow the logic of what happened to Henry & to El in some way, it is still alive, somewhere.

And I believe personally that it is in the Hellscape right now, and in the same way that Henry got electrocuted while free falling in that place which marked the start of it's transformation as Vecna, I think the same is happening to The Demogorgon and is slowly being transformed into the Thessalhydra.

I think that El when she disintegrate something, she sends them into the Hellscape which is connected to Dimension X/The Upside Down as some sort of passage for someone who didn't enter via a gate the "original" or "right" way per say. Because being launched into Dimension X/The Upside Down in a state or in a way such as this one could be fatal so it's some sort of transition in a way.

And while Henry technically went through a gate, he was disintegrated before it's opening & that gate couldn't last more than a few seconds which I think is a result of the barrier between the worlds not being thin enough. Plus I think El gave way more strength into Henry than she did the Demogorgon with her powers which in turn also opened a gate behind him.

So as a result, he went into the Hellscape as some sort of "safer" transition between the two dimensions since as we know, and I hope, no gate before that has been opened in Hawkins before.

And as for the Demogorgon, again I think it's a point of it fighting back against El & using it's own powers against her plus again El didn't seem to launch the same type of strength of her power as she did onto Henry since she was standing much closer to the Demogorgon than she did Henry while also using an important memory of hers to defeat him.

Now as to why we haven't seen that Demogorgon or Thessalhydra in ST again, I think it's because the Hellscape was connected to the original version of The Upside Down, Dimension X in a way that it's not anymore with The Upside Down because what happened November 6th, 1983 changed more than just the environment but also the workings of those dimensions since the barriers between the dimensions are now thinner.

So I see 3 possibilities for the Demogorgon, to me it is still free falling through the Hellscape being slowly turned into the Thessalhydra or somehow ended up in Dimension X instead which is still connected to The Upside Down but is seperate it's own plane in some way since The Mind Flayer still come from there or is in a version of The Upside Down that is still Dimension X outside of UD Hawkins.

But still, some things are still up for speculation for how exactly it all works out in the end.

As I said at the beginning of the post, you take Nancy's description and apply to other creatures in ST like the Meat Flayer/Spider Monster (whatever you wanna call it) of Season 3, a gaping mouth with multiple hydra-like heads who in a way also gets defeated by fireballs via Lucas and it's fireworks which we see Will throw with him but the Demogorgon also fits that description with it's own gaping mouth blooming like a flower whose petals could look like different mouths coming from it.

And in a way, it would be ironic for The Demorgorn from season 1 to be The Thessalhydra because if we follow the boys' campaign, the very thing that took Will back then, that he couldn't defeat would also be the same thing he will defeat in it's final season as some sort of karmic consequence for The Demogorgon & The UD as a whole but also as a way to tie it's final season with it's first season in a more concrete way.

It started with Will and it will end with Will.

[cypherheartnokey]

@greenfiend this reminded of your flayed Hopper theory!

What if Will “changed something” here? We’ve talked about how it’s possible that Will or someone manipulated Mike into saying “I love her” about El.

It may also refer to other changes in the timeline that might be occurring simultaneously

LMAO CAUGHT RED HANDED

THEY PUT THE SAME REACTION CLIP IN TWICE IN THE "I LOVE HER" SCENE

[brionysea]

I don't like it!!!!

[jumpedthenfell-13]

In case anyone is interested in how Robin’s doing by chapter 4 of this fic

But Nancy isn’t here now, and Nancy can’t save her.

Robin curls up, letting the pain wash over her even as El shouts her name repeatedly. A choked gasp comes out as a sob, a quiet cry coming as a scream.

There are going to be 15 chapters of this. It’s so over for her

[stevie-petey]

NOW YOU’RE A STRANGER (AND I’M STILL JULY)

season three of "come home"

a lot can change in a year, and when summer comes to hawkins, you think you're finally okay with this idea. you've settled things with jonathan, nancy is now your friend, and steve harrington calls you angel. then dustin intercepts a secret russian code and your grand plans of you and robin teasing steve all summer, and maybe even falling in love, all come crashing down. (meanwhile all steve wants to do is ask you out). (but the russians complicate things). (as usual).

episode one: suzie, do you copy?

you help nancy sneak through jonathans window, the party uses you for your "in" with steve, and you sorta become the reason dustin almost blinds lucas. meanwhile, steve tries, and fails, to make you his girlfriend (this will happen all summer), but have no fear ! dustin intercepts a russian code and makes everything even harder for everyone. what a sweet brother <3

episode two: the mall rats

dreams are weird, billy is a hitchhiker, and hopper flirts with joyce in front of you (youre not sure which is scarier), somehow robin knows russian and has genius ears, you get caught in an awkward breakup showdown, and you shamefully are shocked when you discover that hawkins is anything but normal. you would think youd be a pro at this already, but at least steve is hot and really good at sneaking through windows.

episode three: the case of the missing lifeguard

dustin blackmails you for $5 and then dubs steve as boyfriend material for you, robin cracks yet another russian code, you all almost waterboard yourselves after sneaking onto the mall's roof, you have a sexy nervous breakdown, and jonathan takes you for a drive in his sick car.

episode four: the sauna test

dustin has some brotherly concern for you (dont tell anyone though), steve is offended you dont think he can fight, nancy gets upset during therapy hour, robin encourages child endangerment, erica becomes your hero, and you lose your lunch on hawkins makeshift tower of terror (aka sketchy russian elevators).

episode five: the flayed

you have the worst birthday of your life, you almost strangle steve with your bare hands and then later get snot all over him, erica is your savior, dustin is doing his best, robin starts to suspect things, and the russians have opened a gate to the upside down. its all pretty miserable tbh. but hey ! at least steve won a fight !

episode six: e pluribus unum

things get hot and heavy in the face of death, mean russians kidnap your hot almost-boyfriend, you have a philosophical discussion about nerdiness with the kids, acid becomes your new favorite weapon, and steve and robin try drugs together. yippee !

episode seven: the bite

steve and robin are your nightmare blunt rotation, you manage to escape a russian lair: mario cart style, you learn that therapy sessions are fun in public bathrooms, steve places your brother on the russian fbi most wanted list, el probably just killed a bunch of people (deserved), and reunions with jonathan are always special when one of you is gravely injured.

episode eight: the battle of starcourt

jonathan becomes a certified surgeon, hopper returns and is oddly sentimental (wonder what that could mean !), you and dustin show off your musical theater talents, the mind flayer becomes a track star, fireworks become weapons, and really a lot just happens so suddenly it gives you whiplash. dont worry though, the rest of your summer involves painful goodbyes and the scary realization that youre growing up. absolutely disgusting. but at least steve gets to kiss you whenever now, so hooray for that ! side note: you keep making promises to people, surely there wont be narrative foreshadowing as a result !

SET BETWEEN SEASONS 3 AND 4

episode nine: the good

the party battles the horrors of high school and leave you stranded, tw: applying for college is harder than fighting literal demons (you would know, youve done it), jonathan joins your nightmare blunt rotation, max worries you, and steve solidifies his position of Best Boyfriend in the World as you slowly fall apart (though is anyone really surprised ??).

STATUS: complete

season three title based on this song x

blurbs set within the "come home" universe can be found here x

“COME HOME” SERIES MASTERLIST

this is a part of my stranger things rewrite, “come home”, and other seasons can be found linked above :)

[dayasfilms]

Chapter Seven - Collapse

Summary: You meet up with the other half of the group, wondering what the hell they went through.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of Y/N, questions of self worth, a little bit of angst, mentions of love and heartbreak, mentions of death, weapons, blood, and violence

Word Count: 3.5k

Note: One more chapter to go for this season! I sprinkled in some reader and Steve for you as an apology for the lack of Steve these past couple of chapters.

Series Masterlist

ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡ ㅤ♡

“He said he was building something,” Eleven told you all. “That it was all for me.”

After she came out of her trance, El explained what she saw. She described Billy, how he was in the cabin, but then all of you suddenly disappeared.

“Building something…” you said, trying to piece it together. “Does he mean the Flayed?”

“He must,” Nancy replied.

“So, he’s building an army, just like we thought,” Lucas said.

“Yeah, but he’s not building this army to spread,” Mike added.

“He’s building it to stop Eleven,” Will finished.

“Last year, El closed the Gate on him,” Mike reminded everyone. “I have a feeling that really pissed him off.”

“Like, royally,” Lucas added.

“And now the Mind Flayer knows she’s the only one who can stop him,” Mike said. “But if she’s out of the way–”

“Game over,” Lucas finished grimly.

“He also said…” Eleven looked around at all of you, her voice trembling slightly. “He was going to kill all of you.”

Silence settled over the room. You felt your stomach twist.

“Yeah, well…that’s nice,” Max muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, a faint noise caught your attention. You stepped closer to the windows. “Do you guys hear that?”

“It’s just the fireworks,” Jonathan said, glancing out too.

You turned to Eleven. “Billy, when he said all of this…it was here? In this room?”

She nodded.

Your eyes met Nancy’s and then Jonathan’s. You all felt it. Something was wrong.

Your chest tightened. “We need to leave,” you said firmly.

Will froze, his hand rising to the back of his neck. “He knows we’re here.”

You didn’t wait. You rushed toward the front door, the others close behind. But as you stepped outside, the trees began to rustle and shake. A low, inhuman growl echoed through the air. A massive shadow moved between the trees, crawling straight toward you.

“Back in the house! Now!” You yelled, shoving everyone back inside.

You grabbed a rifle from Hopper’s cabin, spotting another and tossing it to Nancy. She caught it with ease and gave you a nod.

As the others barricaded the doors and windows, you moved through the house, scanning every corner.

“Hey, away from the windows!” You shouted at the kids, memories of last year flashing back.

You all formed a circle, backs to each other, weapons ready. The silence was deafening, waiting for any movement. Your heartbeat pounded against your chest, loud enough you were sure someone could hear it.

The lights flickered. Objects around the house began to tremble, shifting inch by inch. Stomps echoed from outside. Everyone held their breath, bracing for impact.

“He’s close…” Will whispered.

Trees rustled. Plates clattered in the kitchen, making you flinch.

Then everything went quiet.

“Where’d it go?” Max asked nervously.

CRASH.

The Mind Flayer’s arm smashed through the window, spraying glass across the room. Everyone screamed as you all scrambled back. Jonathan swung his axe, slamming it into the monster’s limb, but it barely flinched.

The creature threw him against the wall.

You and Nancy fired. Her gun jammed first, and she scrambled to fix it. You kept shooting until the last bullet shot through the monster.

You backed up against the wall, heart racing, helpless. The creature moved in, its limb inches from your face.

You prepared for impact until it stopped.

Eleven held her hand out, face strained with focus, stopping the Mind Flayer mid-strike. You opened your eyes in time to see her eyes blazing. With a cry, she severed its limb, sending the rest of it recoiling out the window.

It was silent for a few seconds again until the beast crashed down hard through the roof, two thick tentacles whipping into the room. Eleven gasped, trying to hold both back, but they were too strong. Still, she managed to snap the ends off again, panting from the effort.

Then, one tentacle snatched her leg and yanked her across the floor. She shrieked, clawing at the ground.

Mike dove forward, grabbing her arms. “El!” He yelled, holding on tight.

The tentacle pulled harder. The rest of the group rushed in, forming a human chain to keep her grounded. You and Nancy finally fixed your rifles and raised them, aiming for the monster’s shrieking mouth.

Jonathan screamed. “NANCY! Y/N! SHOOT IT!”

You both fired.

The Mind Flayer shrieked in pain. But it still had Eleven, crushing her leg in its grip.

Lucas grabbed the axe and stood on a box. He slammed it down on the tentacle. Once, twice, again and again. You and Nancy kept shooting. Lucas slammed the axe once more before the tentacle finally gave way, tearing from the monster’s body.

Mike saw a leftover chunk still clinging to Eleven’s leg. He tore it off, and she screamed in pain. The piece skittered away, escaping out one of the cracked holes in the wall, crawling back toward the main body.

The Mind Flayer roared through the gaping hole in the ceiling, thrashing, hungry for more.

Eleven stood, limping. Blood ran down her leg. But she lifted her arm, eyes burning, and with a final scream, she ripped the monster in half.

She collapsed into Mike’s arms, trembling.

“Go, go, go!” You, Nancy, and Jonathan shouted, grabbing the kids and rushing outside.

You piled into the car. The creature, half-destroyed and screeching, still clung to the roof behind you, slowly slithering down.

Nancy hit the gas.

You didn’t look back.

She drove everyone to a closed grocery store. Lucas spotted a brick nearby and used it to smash the glass door. Mike and Max supported Eleven as they helped her inside.

You helped her sit on the floor while Nancy pulled up her pant leg, revealing the spot where the Mind Flayer had bitten her. Everyone winced at the sight, blood was oozing steadily from the torn skin.

Eleven groaned in pain. Nancy quickly tore open a gauze packet she’d grabbed from the shelf, along with a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

You furrowed your brows and grabbed her arm before she could start. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Nancy looked at you, confused. “Cleaning the wound.”

You shook your head. “No, no. We need to stop the bleeding first. Then clean it, disinfect it, and bandage it last.”

Everyone stared at you, eyebrows raised. You avoided their gazes, looking down. “My mom’s an FBI agent. She’s dealt with this stuff all the time. Trust me.”

You took the gauze from Nancy’s hand and pressed it firmly onto Eleven’s wound.

“Mike, hold this,” you said, guiding his hand over the gauze.

Eleven winced, leaning her head back against the shelf.

“Keep pressure on it. Nice and firm, okay?” You turned to Nancy and Jonathan. “We’re gonna need water and soap.”

They nodded and took off down the aisle.

A crash behind you made you turn. Lucas had dumped out everything in his bag, glancing at you expectantly.

“Does any of this help?” He asked.

You opened your mouth, but Max cut in with a scoff. “No,” she said. “Go get a washcloth and a bowl.”

“A bowl?” Lucas repeated.

“Lucas,” Max said, more firmly now. “Go.”

“Okay!” He replied, walking away with Will close behind.

You looked at Max, impressed. “You seem like you know how to clean a wound.”

Max smirked. “Yeah, well…I skateboard.” Her eyes met yours. “Trust me.”

You nodded with a small smile. The two of you waited for the boys, but eventually stood to check on them after they didn’t return.

You found them near a stand of fireworks. You rolled your eyes.

“That doesn’t look like a bowl,” Max said flatly.

The boys turned around. “Nope, way better,” Lucas said, picking up a box. “This label says ‘eighteen and older’ for a reason. It’s got a hundred and fifty grains of black powder. That’s basically gunpowder.”

You tilted your head, intrigued. This could actually be useful.

Lucas tossed a box to Max. “Strap two of these together and it’s bigger than an M-Eighty. Five? That’s practically a stick of dynamite.”

“You wanna kill that thing with fireworks?” Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Got a better idea?” Lucas shot back.

“Uh, yeah. Eleven,” Max said, tossing the box back at him.

“Against that thing?” Lucas said. “She’s gonna need some backup.”

Max rolled her eyes and walked away. You stayed behind, a smile forming.

“You know…it’s actually not a bad idea,” you said.

Lucas brightened. “Really? You think so?”

You nodded. “Yeah. It could definitely come in handy. Let’s take them, just in case.”

Lucas nodded enthusiastically and began grabbing boxes, handing them off to Will, who went to find a cart. You helped gather the rest.

“It’s crazy,” Lucas said as he gathered the boxes, glancing at you. “In a few weeks, you’ll be in California while we’re still stuck here. Honestly, I think it’d be nice to get away from Hawkins.”

Your smile faltered as you focused on the boxes. “Yeah…after everything that’s happened.” You let out a shaky breath, masking it with a cough. “I’m actually gonna miss you losers.”

Lucas smiled. “We’re all gonna miss you.”

Will returned with the cart, and the three of you loaded it with fireworks until the stand was completely empty.

Mike called everyone over, making you all rush towards him. Dustin had finally contacted him via walkie-talkie, but the signal kept cutting out. The only word Mike caught clearly was ‘gate.’ Now, Eleven was using her powers to locate him.

You all stood in a loose circle while Eleven sat on the floor, blindfolded and focused. Lucas popped open a Coke can, drawing an annoyed glare from Max.

“Dude,” Mike said. “How do you even drink that?”

Lucas shrugged. “Because it’s delicious.”

Their bickering grew louder until Eleven ripped off her blindfold and glared. “Hey.”

“Sorry.”

“Did you find him?” Mike asked quickly.

Eleven nodded. “He’s at the movies.”

Max frowned. “Why would he be calling us about a gate if he’s just watching a movie?”

Everyone exchanged glances. There was only one way to know for sure. You gathered your supplies, Lucas pushing the cart, and headed out.

“The movies?” Lucas repeated. “Dustin’s freaking out about a gate, so he decides to go watch a movie? Yeah, that makes total sense.”

“You’re sure he said ‘gate’ and not ‘great’?” Max asked Mike.

“Like, ‘This movie I’m watching is great,’” Will added.

“It sounded like ‘gate,’” Eleven said.

“Which would explain how the Mind Flayer’s still alive,” Mike replied.

“We just have to shut it again,” you said.

“Then the monster dies,” Nancy added.

“But if not, we’ve got Lucas’ fireworks,” Max muttered.

“Keep mocking my plan, Max,” Lucas said. “Just keep mocking it. I wanna hear you say it again, because you keep doubting me!”

You left the store, loaded the supplies on top of the car, and took off, headed straight for Starcourt Mall.

Steve could feel the pounding in his head dull slightly, though the headache didn’t go away completely. He emptied his stomach into the toilet, feeling gross all over, but after everything he’d been through these past few days, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Every time the Russian guard threw a punch, he was sure it would be his last moment. Each blow made him think he was about to take his final breath. But even through the pain, all he could think about was you.

He hated how things ended, the way he stormed out of your house, the cruel words he’d thrown like daggers. He wished he could take it all back. Every single word. He never meant any of it, which was ironic, considering he’d promised never to say anything to you he didn’t mean. The truth was, he wasn’t angry at you. He was angry at himself. At how lost he felt. At how he had no direction. When you brought up breaking up again, he thought…maybe you were right. Maybe letting go was the best thing for you. Because you deserved better than him. After all, you were moving away for good.

“You think we puked it all up?” Steve asked his coworker, Robin, leaning against the wall.

“Maybe,” Robin said. “Ask me something. Interrogate me,” she spoke in a fake Russian accent.

“Okay. Interrogate you. Sure.” Steve paused to think. “Um…when was the last time you, uh, peed your pants?”

“Today,” Robin admitted.

“What?” Steve asked, shocked.

“When the Russian doctor pulled out the bone saw,” she said, giggling. “It was just a little bit, though.”

Steve let out a surprised laugh. “Yeah, it’s definitely still in her system.”

“All right, my turn,” Robin said.

“Okay. Hit me.”

Robin thought for a moment. “Have you…ever been in love?”

Steve’s heart skipped a beat. Of course he had. He still was. He didn’t think he’d ever stop loving you. You were etched into his brain, haunting him every time he looked at someone else. No one could compare to you.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Y/N Kaul. First semester, sophomore year.”

“Huh. Not bad,” she hummed. “Are you still in love with Y/N?”

“Oh, yeah,” he admitted, a sad smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving her. It’s crazy.” He sighed, thinking back to what Dustin had told him. “Ever since Dustin got home, he’s been saying, ‘You gotta find your Suzie. Don’t let Y/N go.’”

“Wait, who’s Suzie?” Robin asked.

“Some girl from camp. Supposedly his girlfriend,” Steve said. “To be honest, I’m not even sure she’s real. But that’s not really the point. The point is…Y/N and I…”

He trailed off, then took a breath.

“I didn’t want to hold her back from her dreams. So I let her go. She deserves better. I mean, look at me.” He motioned to himself, disheveled and bruised, even though she couldn’t see him. “I wasted so much time chasing the wrong things. Popularity. Being cool. I thought if Tommy H. made fun of me, or if I wasn’t prom king, it’d be the end of the world.”

He laughed, though his eyes were damp with unshed tears.

“It’s so stupid. Dustin’s right, it’s all a bunch of bullshit anyway. I should’ve been on my knees for her the entire time.” He looked down. “She means everything to me, and I don’t think she even realizes it. Sometimes I think…maybe we could’ve made it work, if we hadn’t overthought everything. Maybe right now, she’d be in my arms.”

He went quiet, waiting for Robin to say something.

“Robin? Robin, did you just OD in there?”

“No,” she whispered. “I…am still alive.”

Steve slid under the stall, sitting next to her now.

“The floor’s disgusting,” Robin muttered.

“Yeah, well, I already got a bunch of puke and blood on my shirt, so…” he shrugged, then looked at her. “What do you think?”

“About?”

“Y/N.”

Robin nodded slowly. “She sounds…amazing.”

Steve sighed, thinking about what the girl said back at the Russian base. “I know what you said earlier, and I just wanted to say…I’m sorry.”

Robin frowned, confused.

“You know, Mrs. Click’s class?”

Her lips made an ‘oh’ shape as she nodded.

“I’m sorry I never noticed you,” Steve continued. “My heart’s always going to belong to Y/N, but I don’t want that to get in the way of our friendship–”

Robin burst out laughing, shaking her head. “Wait–you thought I had a crush on you?”

Steve blinked. “Uh…didn’t you?”

“Do you remember what I said? About being jealous and obsessed?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not because I liked you,” Robin said, her voice softer now. “It’s because…she wouldn’t stop staring at you.”

“Mrs. Click?” Steve asked, still confused.

“Y/N Kaul,” Robin clarified, her voice trembling. “I wanted her to look at me. But she couldn’t stop looking at you and your stupid hair. And I didn’t get it, because you dropped bagel crumbs everywhere, and asked the dumbest questions, and you were a douchebag.”

Steve stared at her, trying to process what she was saying.

“And…you guys weren’t even together anymore,” Robin continued. “And I would go home and just…scream into my pillow.”

“But Y/N’s a girl,” Steve said, slowly.

Robin’s brows pinched together. “Steve.”

“Yeah?”

Her eyes met his, and suddenly, he understood. Everything clicked.

“Oh.”

“Oh,” she repeated, looking away.

“Holy shit,” Steve whispered, leaning back against the stall.

“Yeah. Holy shit,” Robin echoed.

There was a pause.

“Steve…did you just OD over there?”

“No, I was just, uh…thinking,” he said, before smiling faintly. “Well…we’ve got really great taste in girls.”

Robin chuckled. “Yeah.” She glanced at him. “I also had this huge crush on Tammy Thompson.”

“No way,” Steve laughed.

You all made it to the mall, stepping inside, only to see crowds of people evacuating in a panic. Confused, none of you could figure out what was happening. That is, until you spotted the men in black uniforms ordering everyone to leave. Without hesitation, you and the group hid on the second floor, waiting for the place to clear out so you could see what they were up to.

Your eyes tracked the men as they moved toward one of the food stands, guns drawn. Then your stomach dropped. They were aiming at someone behind the counter.

Something in you just knew that Dustin was involved.

As the men closed in, the group instinctively moved behind Eleven. Without a word, she raised her hand, her expression hardening. A car alarm inside the mall suddenly began blaring, echoing through the space and drawing the men’s attention. They turned, stunned, as they saw Eleven with her arm outstretched, with all of you standing behind her.

Then, with a force of her hand, Eleven threw the car toward them. It slammed into the group of men, knocking them across the room and killing them instantly.

From behind the counter, a few heads slowly peeked out, their expressions filled with shock. You recognized them immediately. Dustin, Steve, his coworker Robin, and Erica, Lucas’s younger sister. You couldn’t understand why they were being targeted by the men.

You all rushed downstairs, relief washing over you as you reunited. You ran straight toward Steve, your heart still racing despite everything that had happened between you both a few days ago. You stopped in front of him, eyes softening at the sight of his bruised face.

Gently, you cupped his cheek, careful not to hurt him.

“What happened to your face?” You asked softly.

Steve leaned into your touch like he’d been craving it.

“It’s a long story,” he replied, and your worry deepened.

From the corner of your eye, you noticed Robin step up beside him. She glanced between the two of you, and you looked back, confused as to how she ended up in all this.

Realizing how close you were to Steve, you stepped back, letting your hand fall from his face. Steve looked like he wanted to pull you close again, but he held back as you moved to stand beside Jonathan and Nancy.

The kids were already hugging Dustin, overjoyed to see him after days of radio silence. You all formed a circle, trying to make sense of what just happened.

“Lucas?” Erica asked, wide-eyed.

“What are you doing here?” Lucas shouted, throwing his arms up in disbelief.

“Ask them,” Erica said, pointing at Steve, Dustin, and Robin. “It’s their fault.”

“True, yeah. Totally true. It’s absolutely our fault,” Steve admitted, earning a raised eyebrow from you.

“I still don’t understand what happened with that car,” Robin muttered.

“El has superpowers,” Dustin said, gesturing toward Eleven.

“I’m sorry, what?” Robin blinked.

“Superpowers. She threw it with her mind,” Steve explained, waving his hand around. “C’mon, catch up.”

“That’s El?” Erica pointed.

“Who’s El?” Robin asked, thoroughly overwhelmed.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Nancy asked, her brow furrowed.

“I’m Robin,” she said quickly. “I work with Steve.”

You couldn’t help the small spark of jealousy that flared in your chest. You knew it wasn’t fair, but the feeling was there anyway.

“She cracked the top-secret code,” Dustin said proudly.

“Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians,” Steve added.

Your breath hitched. “Did you just say Russians?” You asked, alarmed.

“Wait, what Russians?” Jonathan asked.

“The Russians!” Steve said, frustrated that no one seemed to be following.

“Those were Russians?” Max asked.

“Some of them,” Erica answered casually.

“What are you talking about?” Lucas demanded.

“Didn’t you hear our Code Red?” Dustin asked.

“Yeah,” Mike said. “And I couldn’t understand half of what you were saying.”

“Goddamn low battery,” Dustin muttered.

Steve slapped his hands together in frustration. “How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery!”

“Well, everything worked out, didn’t it, Steve?” Dustin said with a shrug.

“Worked out?” Erica exclaimed. “We almost died!”

But you were barely listening anymore. Your eyes followed Eleven, who had quietly separated herself from the group. Her hands were over her ears, and she looked unsteady. A surge of concern rushed through you.

You broke away from the conversation and rushed toward her, just in time to catch her as she collapsed.

Everyone turned at the sound, eyes widening when they saw Eleven in your arms. You gently lowered her to the ground, panic rising in your chest.

“El? El, what’s wrong?!” You cried.

“My leg,” she whimpered. “It’s my leg.”

You quickly unwrapped the bandage around her wound. Everyone recoiled in disgust.

Then, to your horror, something beneath her skin moved.

Eleven screamed in agony, and you realized that the piece of the Mind Flayer was still inside her.

[greenfiend]

I don’t think that scene with Hopper and Mike will be what any of us expect tbh. I think we need to think more outside of the box- think big twists ahead. It’s not going to be as simple as “bad guy defeated… some characters died… everyone heals etc etc”.

Sure character deaths may happen, but a lot of them have somehow returned. How? Why? Are any “deaths” truly permanent within this show? Why does Vecna say they live on? How? Something is going on there…

Just have to add… why does Hopper look like ST3 Hopper? The one that clearly was somehow influenced by Will… the immature macho man. The one that “died” but then somehow returned. (We know he looks like ST3 Hopper because of the facial hair).

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

How do you feel about the El dying theories coming out, especially because of the Mike and Hopper scene leaks we’ve been seeing? I’m trying to stay optimistic but it’s really not looking good for her :/

I think it'd be incredibly bleak. She's gone through it her entire life, and she deserves some happiness. I know life doesn't always go that way, but this isn't real life. It's a story.

Besides, I feel like if El died then Hopper would look just as upset as Mike, if not more so. The guy lost one daughter already. Losing another one would be devastating to him.

I think the only thing going for this theory is the fact that the Duffers claimed they originally wrote El dying at the end of season 1 (before they expanded it into a multi-season series). I think they moved past that being a satisfying ending though by faking her death back then. It'd be like killing Hopper off. They already did it only to reveal he wasn't dead.

The characters I think are at real risk of dying are:

Henry (naturally) Dr. Owens (if he's even in this season) Murray Every member of the Wheeler family besides Mike (especially if that fan theory of them being related to the Creels ends up true)

I think the vast majority of people on that memorial will be everyone who died to the supernatural elements of the story, now that the town will likely find out what happened. People like Barb, Bob, Henry's season 4 targets, and all the flayed in season 3 will finally have their stories known.

I think it's likely that Mike has this scene with Hopper because he's getting ready to leave Hawkins and is having trouble letting go of what happened. So he goes to visit the memorial to think, and then Hopper sees him there and tries to help. My big question is where is the Party as he's dealing with this? Where is his best friend (and maybe more), Will?

I think there's a lot more to this than people are thinking. It's just one little piece of a larger epilogue. For all we know, this is a quick bit of a larger montage, much like the end of season 3. We're just obsessing over it because it's the biggest piece of the ending we have.

[miyahhhhhhhhh]

i find it really interesting that mike and el have never actually worked together to defeat anything throughout the entire series. even in season 3, when mike and el were grouped, el primarily (not the entire time, but most of the time) fought independently while the rest devised plans. the show consistently emphasizes how el can fight firmly on her own. she does not need mike, nor has she relied solely on mike. even her and max have figured things out together.

and as max says it in s3:

lucas: we kick their flayed butts

max: you mean el will kick their butts?

of course, this is not to say that el should not be surrounded by the people she loves; this is from an objective standpoint based on how they fight together.

the only time we remotely see this is in season 1. the main objective is to find will; it was never really about mike and el working together.

yet, it’s clear that every other couple in the canon seems to shine when they’re together. look at joyce and hopper, jonathan and nancy, and even lucas and max—they’ve all faced challenges side by side, battling monsters. i mean, as murray wisely points out, shared trauma is the real shit.

you know what ship is actually paired together? the ones who've been shown to go through shit together? the ones who bounce ideas off one another based on their shared experiences? the ones who can finish each other's sentences? MIKE AND WILL.

and we're only gonna see more of it in season 5.

[beavininabean]

WILL’S “RUN” THEORY - BYLER

I literally came up with this on the bus this morning 😀👍

Mike & The Upside Down

Mike is the only person in the entire main party that hasn’t been to the Upside Down yet. The only times he really experienced things from the Upside Down were in ST1 when he (briefly) encounters the demogorgon, ST2 when Will was possessed (I will come back to this) and when Bob was attacked, the mind flayer & flayed in ST3 (he was hiding from it a majority of the time — not including Billy), and the very end of ST4 when the particles start appearing (which Mike doesn’t know about). So he is COMPLETELY CLUELESS when it comes to actually being in UD.

Side Note: This also shows just how brave he had to be to protect the younger kids (Holly’s friends?) in the teaser when he has zero idea how to handle the UD, and I think that could be suggesting possible character development for Mike in ST5.

Will & The Upside Down

Will was trapped in the Upside Down in ST1, but never goes back to the UD at all after that, only experiencing the same monsters Mike did. After the mind flayer was released from Will, he still has that “neck tingle” whenever anything from the UD came near him, which has a similar feeling to what Will felt when he was possessed, saying that the sense makes him feel like he’s unable to move. This feeling gets triggered by the smallest things, like flayed rats being within a 20-foot radius of him. In the end of ST4, Will gets that same tingle from the open gate, which was very far from when he was (I think Hopper’s house?). We have no clue how Will’s senses would react when being SURROUNDED by UD matter, but we can assume it would be extreme, and if this sense feels like possession, that could mean that it is the sprouts of possession. Amping this “sprouting possession” up by basically being in the UD could be the cause of Will becoming possessed, hence his blood-curdling scream in the ST5 teaser.

Side Note: In ST2, this sense also happened to Will when he was possessed, like when he tried getting in a warm bath. In this scene, he reaches to his neck (the sense), before telling Joyce in a strangely demanding way that “he likes it cold.” This demonstrates that the sense isn’t just a warning that the UD is back, but a signification of Vecna’s control over Will, and an activation of the “fight, flight, or freeze” instinct.

What is known by Mike & Will about the possession

Will knows almost everything about it, since he experienced it before, including the fact that when someone’s fully possessed, they will end up attacking the person closest to them (like Will and Billy), no matter who they are. He has experienced it all, meaning he also knows what it feels like when he’s becoming fully possessed.

Meanwhile, Mike only knows what he’s seen. Being in the hospital with Will in ST2 showed him that when the host is being controlled, they’ll act very hostile and aggressive, and they lie to others to keep Vecna’s secrets secured.

Will’s Scream

I’ve seen many theories about it, but there are two that I’m using to support me in this theory. 1) When Will yells “RUN,” that’s actually him and not his possessor. It’s shown in ST2 that Will can communicate and process when he is possessed unless he’s being fully controlled, like when he uses Morse code to send a message to the party, and how his expression would momentarily soften when the party was talking about memories with him. So in Will’s teaser scene, he’s actually telling them to run, the “angry” look on his face caused by how hard it is for him to do when Vecna is taking control of him. And 2) Will is specifically speaking to Mike, which was apparently found from leaked information of ST5. I don’t have much information on this second mini-theory to prove that it’s actually true, but just bear with me here, I’m trusting the Tumblr byler community.

The Actual Theory (Finally)

With all the previous information in mind, this is how I think the actual scenario will go. When UD’s demons are released into Hawkins, Will ends up getting possessed due to his connection with Vecna. Mike wants to stay by Will’s side, just like he did in ST2, since him and Will need to “work together” as best friends, no matter what happens next (ST4 bedroom scene), but Will, knowing that he will end up attacking anyone near him, gathers his courage and yells for Mike to run, no matter how hard it is to do for him under Vecna’s control. Mike recognizes this as the mind flayer lying for its own benefit, which helps him decide that he’s not running.

Depending on how the situation goes, Will could end up unintentionally hurting Mike — which is what I think might happen — or something completely different, I’m not sure. I also had an idea that Mike ends up confessing to Will about his feelings, which breaks Will out of his possession, but I really don’t have any proof towards it — I literally came up with it on a whim thinking it would be cool.

I hope you guys liked that, and sorry for all the reading — it literally took me an hour and a half to write this whole thing. If you guys have any thoughts on this, please tell me! Have a great day ❤️

TL;DR : BYLERRRRR- 🎀✨🦅

[dungeon-master-mike]

(this was initially written for another post but oh well)

mike and the void, mike being the key, mike being the heart — these are all interesting things. but have you noticed the hidden pattern in all of them?

there's a distinct a pattern of something being said/done w mike that you easily dismiss or don't understand at the beginning of a season (or somewhere) until later in the same season it gets recontextualized with someone/thing else to distract you, while still simultaneously speaking in code

mike sees el in s2 -> we wouldn't have yet known the pattern of only people connected supernaturally/in the UD seeing el at the time this happened. s3 they remind the audience mike did in fact sense el when talking about a flayed!billy, just in case you forgot. but don't worry about it. not relevant at all.

el reaches to touch mike's face in the void in s2 -> we don't know she accesses memories through touch until it happens with terry later in the same season. mike was inches away from being the first person we saw the memories of but the writers didn't want that. not yet.

getting to mike is "The Key" is said in s3 while hopper is sat next to a bunch of keys -> something someone else calls "The Key" is opening doors to another dimension is then later mentioned in the same season.

"we have to drive a stake through's vecna's heart" "if he has a heart" -> mike's identified as the heart -> "don't stop, you're the heart." -> "her heart stopped" all in s4

something in s5 is gonna recontextualize mike's entire character

[queenie-ofthe-void]

The Babysitter Chronicles - Byers

Steve POV 5+1 (immediately follows s2) || wc: 3.9k || cws: check tags || full fic ao3

Henderson || Mayfield pt 1 / Mayfield pt 2 || Sinclair || Wheeler || Byers || +1 Hopper

Can be read as a standalone

~~~

Steve’s filled with dread, standing in front of the Byers’ front door at 6:30am on a Saturday morning. Out of all the kids’ parents, he’s pushed Joyce off as long as he could manage. But he’d promised Mike he’d try, and according to Jonathan, this is the best time to catch her.

That doesn’t change the fact it’s not even light out, and a boy she probably hates is about to knock on her door. Hell of a way to start the day.

He knocks anyway.

Joyce opens the door in a soft grey t-shirt and baggy black sweats. Her hair is brushed through, mascara coats her long lashes, and the smell of fresh coffee wafts through the open door. At least he can find small consolation in the fact she’s been up for a while.

“Hi Joyce, I mean Ms. Byers,” he stumbles, off to a great start. “Sorry to catch you so early but–” 

“No,” Joyce interrupts, voice firm. 

Steve stands there, mouth hanging open around an unfinished sentence. He watches as her eyes harden. She squares her shoulders and stands straight-backed and tall, only reaching about Steve’s shoulder. Joyce Byers in all her fury still makes him feel small, like maybe this was a bad idea.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Joyce says. “But I know why you’re here. And the answer is no.”

“Oh,” he responds lamely, deflating even further. 

Her voice is soft, but she’s unyielding. “The kids like you, and I know their parents are ok with you watching them. Which is fine, for their kids.”

She pauses, and Steve knows what’s coming. Mentally prepared himself for the worst-case scenario. All of Dustin’s logical arguments and Lucas’ hype talks couldn’t prepare him for how thoroughly Joyce flays him open.

“But, Steve, I would never trust you with my kids.”

Even though he's desperate to run, he plants himself like a tree on her front stoop. He's trying not to be that guy. The kids deserve the best version of him, and on some level, he knows cutting out the bad parts of himself includes letting Joyce Byers drag him through the mud.

He tries to hold her gaze, really he does. Her dark eyes are filled with conviction, but he can see the gentleness to them as well. Almost sad, like he’s making her do this to him. 

Joyce grips the door, knuckles white with tension. She takes a step out onto the front stoop, forcing Steve to take a measured step back. The door stays cracked and the smell of burning toast reaches his nose. Nausea rises in his throat.

“They shouldn’t have even been in those tunnels in the first place,” she says, voice growing louder as she gains momentum. “We asked you to watch them, we trusted you with them, and they still almost got killed! And I know, I know, you helped Jonathan and Nancy last year– saved them from that, that thing crawling out of our walls.”

Her eyes flicker over her shoulder, like the demogorgon’s still haunting her house. He follows her gaze, like Billy could still be standing in her living room with a blood-stained, toothy smile.

She sighs, exasperated. At her wits end for being pushed into a conversation she’s probably been dreading for weeks, since it seems she knew what he wanted. “But you’d be with my baby, my Will, everyday. He’s had bullies since kindergarten, and it’s only gotten worse since everything.

“He doesn’t deserve more bullies. And from what I’ve heard, you’re no different. Just like your father.”

Steve flinches– can’t help himself– the sentence ringing through his head.

Just like your father.

“No, no I’m not, I swear,” he chokes on the words as she steam rolls his pathetic lamentations.

“You’ve pushed my boys– and kids just like them– around your whole life, making them feel small for having less money, less friends, less stuff. Every time Jonathan came home with a new bruise or bloodied knees, how do I know that wasn’t you?”

Steve’s watering eyes are fixated on the small, furious woman before him, flushed with a rage familiar to any decent mother protecting her kids. He’s trying so hard to hear her, but his head is filled with static and his mouth feels stuffed with cotton. Steve wipes his hands down the front of his pants, then shoves them in his pockets.

“You called my boy queer! Something I’m sure you heard from your father. I saved for months to get him that camera for his birthday and you just smashed it, like it was nothing. Like we’re nothing.”

Neither of them notice the pair of shadows moving beyond the door frame in the living room. 

“I cannot allow someone like you around my boys,” she hammers home. This is what Nance meant by a thesis statement he thinks deliriously. “Sue and Karen might be alright with it, but my answer is no.”

Steve sniffles and nods stiffly as turns to leave, hoping to at least make it to his car before the tears start. He knows he deserves what she’s said, knows the truth of it in his gut, but he’s stood here long enough. Now it’s time to run and hide, like his mind’s been screaming to since she set her sights on him.

“Mom,” Jonathan says, out of breath like he ran here from his bedroom. He’s appeared over Ms. Byers’ shoulder like a ghost, or a ninja– silent and on the attack. “What’s going on?”

He’s a sleep-rumpled version of his mom, wearing a plain, soft t-shirt, and grey sweatpants scattered with light bleach stains. Steve notices he still has pillow creases on his left cheek. His gaze follows the red indent down to Jonathan’s jawline where a small, purpling bruise is haloed by faded red lipstick.

All of the air in Steve’s lungs is punched out of him, hard and fast. A feeling he should be used to from Jonathan Byers. 

Steve thinks he sees a flash of pastels in his periphery, dashing through the trees to the road. Or maybe it’s his imagination. It doesn’t matter, because he can’t look away from the uncomfortably familiar mark on Jonathan’s neck.

Jonathan must notice. His hand flies up to his neck, wiping the mark and finding a smear of red on his fingers. The spell holding Steve breaks, and he can breathe again. 

Their eyes meet, and Jonathan’s cheeks now match the stain on his fingers. It’s awkward and Steve doesn’t know how to fix it or how to make this easier. Because Steve never knows how to fix things, only how to break them. Something Joyce seems well aware of.

Distracted, Steve’s just now noticing the small shadow creeping up behind Jonathan. He sees the young boy poke his head out from behind his brother’s back as he takes a small step towards the commotion.

“Steve was just leaving, sweetie,” Joyce answers, voice soft and sweet as she turns away from him to go back inside.

“Wait, no that’s not what I meant,” Jonathan continues. He shakes his head and roughly pushes his unruly bangs from his eyes. “Steve, why are you here?”

Jonathan’s looking at him like he knows the answer. And he should really, considering the only reason Mike agreed to have Steve as his babysitter was because Jonathan promised he’d talk to Will about it, and then they’d talk to Joyce. 

A long train of telephone Steve was relying on to get a head start at Joyce’s good will. Which, apparently, never happened.

Steve plays along into Jonathan’s prompting. She’s already said no, so what’s one more try with a little back-up.

“I was asking if I could babysit Will, since I watch the rest of the gang too. Can’t leave any party members behind,” Steve says, parroting Dustin.

“And I was just telling him–” Joyce starts, before she’s interrupted.

“I think Steve would be a great babysitter,” Will says. His hair’s a mess, and he’s straightening out his matching Star Wars pajama set as he steps further into view.

Joyce rushes over to him, squatting down to meet his eyes. “Will, honey, you don’t need a new babysitter. You can still spend time with your friends at their houses, when their parents are home.” Jonathan takes the distraction to wave Steve into the house, silently closing the door behind them.

“But the other parents don’t know about– you know,” Will hesitates, before mustering up the courage to say “about what actually happened to me.”

“Baby,” she says, gently running her hands up and down his small arms. “You know we can’t tell them. We went over this.”

“It’s not about them knowing the truth,” Will says. Steve watches as the boy tries to make himself bigger, taller, even with the slight shake in his voice. “They just look at me like I’m broken. They’re sad when I’m around and they just think I was kidnapped or lost or– whatever the story is. That I was sick or something.”

Steve can’t help but imagine Will Byers, always the shy, quiet kid in the Party, having to constantly withstand the severely misguided pitying glances from adults who aren’t read-in on vast government conspiracies and alternate dimensions. Steve’s almost nineteen and can barely manage alone.

Her brows are knitted tight and her lips downturned the more Will confesses. “Well, Jonathan can–”

“I don’t want Jonathan to watch me anymore.”

Joyce’s eyes widen, confusion painted across her face as her mouth drops open. Steve turns to glance at Jonathan to find that, unlike his mother, he’s not surprised at all. In fact, there’s a light shining in his eyes and a small uptick to the corner of his mouth.

The tension is thick but familial, leaving Steve unwelcome and gawking at a private conversation. Which he supposes he is: both unwelcome and gawking.

“Go on, Will, it’s ok,” Jonathan encourages. He shines with a proud smile, like he’s watching his little brother walk for the first time. 

Will’s hesitant, his eyes downcast as he shuffles side-to-side. Waiting for him to continue, Joyce stays quiet. Steve can’t help but feel envious of Will and Jonathan at having a mom patient enough to hear her son outright, even when she doesn’t agree with him. She saved him from an alternate dimension, but sometimes the little things are just as important.

“When Jonathan dropped me off at Steve’s for DnD last week, it was fine… at first.”

“You both told me that was at Mike’s,” Joyce interrupts, turning a motherly glare at Jonathan who sheepishly avoids eye contact. She rounds on Steve again, closing the distance between them in three long strides to get in his face. “This is exactly what I’m talking about, Steve. What if something had happened and I didn’t know where to find him because of you?”

“Mom,” Jonathan interrupts, irritated. “That’s not fair. We are the ones who said it was at Mike’s– Will and I. I knew you wouldn’t let him go if you knew it was at Harrington’s place, so I told Will to lie.”

“You’re damn right I wouldn’t have let him go,” Joyce argues, turning back to Jonathan. “He’s not safe there! I know Steve Harrington and I know his parents. What if they had been home?”

“They haven’t been home in weeks,” Steve mumbles. He doesn’t mean to say it out loud, catching himself off guard. Years of practicing the lie, and he slips in front of the last three people on earth he’d want to know about his home life. He’d never complain, not to them. 

She shoots him a confused glance, an emotion behind her eyes Steve refuses to consider. But it seems she’s the only one whose noticed he said anything at all as Jonathan speaks up again. Shaking her head, she shifts her attention back to her son. In the midst of the chaos, Steve breathes a small sigh of relief.

“Mom, it was fine– everything was fine. Just–” Jonathan stops. He gestures to Will to keep going.

Will puffs his chest up, holding his mom’s gaze as he barrels on. “I liked having it at Steve’s. It smells nice, like candles, not like farts and laundry detergent like Mike’s basement. He had all the snacks we like, and he’s got a huge table that can fit all our stuff.”

The kid’s smiling now, and goddamn if it doesn’t melt his heart. Steve’ll be disappointed if Joyce says no, but at least he knows for a fact Will felt comfortable around Steve and liked being at his house.

“But after Jonathan picked me up, Lucas said they stayed up and watched movies all night. That Steve even made an ice cream sundae bar and there were a million toppings.” Will’s arguing is starting to sound like a petulant child, a slight whine to his tone, and Steve can tell Joyce is losing her patience.

“Will, that’s something you and Jonathan can do. We’d love to do sleepover nights with your friends.”

“No, Mom,” Jonathan states, strong in a way Steve’s never seen from him before. His only tell is the waver behind his voice. Steve’s willing to bet Jonathan would rather face down another demogorgon than take on his own mother. Yet here he is, sticking his neck on the line for Will.

“What do you mean, no?” It’s barely a question.

“I don’t want to babysit Will anymore.” He quickly closes his eyes and shakes his head, like an etch-a-sketch. “No, wait– I’m not babysitting Will anymore.”

The room falls deadly silent. Joyce’s lips flatten into a thin, white line, matching the color of her knuckles. She looks ready to explode, like how his father used to look before the first blow. 

Steve flinches when she takes a step towards Jonathan, and she clocks his reaction just like before, but ignores him to glare at her oldest son.

“I want to spend more time with Nancy.” Jonathan’s eyes are wide, like he forgot Steve was there, and he can see an embarrassed flush painting his ears. Steve just shrugs. It is what it is, he’ll get over it like he always does. Jonathan relaxes a bit. “I want to get a job so I can take her on dates that are more than just driving out to the quarry.” 

“Jonathan,” Joyce jumps in, “you can’t get a job. You’re grades are slipping as it is and you don’t have time–”

“Exactly! I don’t have time for a job right now. But if Steve starts watching Will after school and some weekends, I can get a job and keep my grades up and spend time with Nancy.”

She’s shaking her head, but Jonathan plows on before she can jump back into the fray.

“Billy Hargrove is a goddamn monster, Mom. He almost killed Steve! And we all know the kids would’ve found a way to get to the tunnels no matter what. Steve was beat to hell and still went with them.” Jonathan points at Steve’s face in emphasis, like a fucked up version of a pretty model showboating a new car. Except the model is the guy who stole his girlfriend, and the car is a has-been with a fucked up brain and no future.

“And last year,” Jonathan continues, “Nancy and I would be dead if he didn’t come back for us. After everything that happened between us, he had no reason to turn around. Hell, I’m not sure I would’ve.”

He doesn’t know Jonathan Byers well, but Steve knows for a fact Jonathan would’ve faced death to save him– to save anyone. It’s not even a question.

Joyce still doesn’t seem convinced. “Everything that happened last year is exactly what I’m worried about, Jonathan.”

“It’s my fault, not his!” Jonathan shouts. “It’s my fault he got sucked into this mess, it’s my fault Nancy left him, and it’s my fault he broke the camera!” Color drains from his face. Steve freezes, staring at him. 

Steve still hasn’t told anyone why he broke the camera– none of them have talked about it, and he never planned to bring it up. Ultimately he’s thankful that the pictures exist, since it provided the only clue to Barb’s death and the Upside-Down. 

But he doesn’t understand why Jonathan took the pictures. And it doesn’t change the fact Steve closes his blinds every night.

“What do you mean, your fault?” Joyce asks, out of sorts. 

He stammers a bit, looking to Steve for help. Steve doesn’t want to have this conversation at all, let alone in front of Jonathan’s entire family. He glares back at Jonathan, tersely shaking his head once.

Lie.

He gets the gist, relief stark on Jonathan’s face. 

“Steve caught Nancy and I sneaking around when we were looking for Barb and Will,” Jonathan quickly recovers. “We didn’t want him poking around, so we let him think we were flirting. But some pictures I had taken of Nancy fell out of my bag, and Steve saw them. That’s why he broke my camera.

“We ran into him and his friends later while they were spraying up The Hawk. I didn’t know it was all Tommy Hagen’s idea, so I got in Steve’s face and I hit him first. He called me queer, and that’s shitty. But he apologized, saved our lives, and bought me a new camera. So–”

Jonathan turns to him and holds out his hand. It reminds Steve of his father, but also of Hopper, which he decides is a more apt comparison.

He reaches out and Jonathan grasps his hand firmly, shaking it up and down just once, yet continues to hold on. Forging a new pact for the future.

“Steve, I’m sorry about everything.” He seems genuine– eyes wet, shoulders set, and back straight. Steve tries to match his posture. He might not be as good with words as Jonathan, but he can at least show this moment is just as important to him. “But you helped protect the kids so we could save Will. And you saved Nancy and me. So– I trust you.”

Steve can’t handle this. It’s too early in the morning for heavy emotions and deep confessions, but Jonathan’s searching for forgiveness in the face of a former bully. Steve steps up to the plate and meets him halfway.

“I shouldn’t have broken your camera, I know how expensive they are and how much it meant to you. I was angry and I wasn’t thinking. And I, I umm–” 

Steve realizes he’s never really had to apologize to someone before. Sure he’s apologized to Nancy, but it seemed like a normal thing for guys to always apologize to their girlfriends. He’s apologized to Dustin, but that’s more like placating a rowdy toddler. 

This feels different, somehow bigger. Maybe it’s because Jonathan’s his own age, or someone his parents have programmed him to think is lesser than himself. Maybe it’s the deep regret that’s made itself a home in Steve’s stomach, rotting away at the memory of a vicious word spat haphazardly at a stranger.

“I’m sorry I called you queer. That’s fuc– I mean messed– up, and I’m sorry.” Steve sighs, running a nervous hand through his hair, less painful with the stitches removed. He almost misses the stinging sensation. “It’s something my dad says all the time and it was the first thing I thought of, and I hate that. I’m not my dad, I never want to be like him.”

Jonathan nods and pulls Steve forward into a hug, and when they separate Steve feels lighter. A heavy weight he hadn’t known about, removed from his shoulders with Jonathan’s help. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Jonathan felt the same way by the smile on his face.

“Yeah!” Will shouts, unprompted and overly excited for the tone of this entire conversation. There’s a wide grin on his face when he holds up his hand to high-five Steve and cheers “welcome to the Bad Dads Club!”

Steve scoffs, shocked but completely delighted and confused at Will’s eager declaration. Joyce smacks her hand to her forehead and mutters something like jesus christ under her breath, while Jonathan barks out a laugh. 

He grabs his little brother by the shoulder and shakes him like a rag doll until Will breaks out into giggles. “Will,” Jonathan says, failing to keep a straight face, “remember when I explained the difference between family jokes and not-family jokes?”

Will’s smile fades slightly, red embarrassment splashing his cheeks as he quickly glances between Jonathan and Steve, realizing his social blunder. Jonathan squeezes his shoulder and gives him a sad, reassuring smile. But Steve won’t be the reason for the small frown tugging on Will’s lower lip.

Steve holds out his hand, palm up. He smiles at the kid, eyes alight with mischief. “Bad Dad’s Club,” Steve says, like it’s more than just a fucked up childhood and is instead forging a pact, binding them through one shitty commonality. 

Will returns his smile and high fives him, who then turns to his brother. Jonathan laughs again when he pulls Will in for a hug instead, shrugging at Steve.

Joyce’s gaze travels between the three boys standing in front of her, and Steve can see the moment she cracks.

Her stance has softened. Her lips are still pursed, her eyebrows only slightly furrowed, but her arms hang relaxed at her sides and she’s looking at Steve less like she wants to throw him out and more like she doesn’t know what to do with him.

“You get one week,” Joyce says sternly, pointing a finger in Steve’s face. He goes cross-eyed looking at it, but he can still see Will and Jonathan high-five. “One week of picking him up after school. I get done at Melvald’s at six, so you can bring him home at six-thirty.”

Before Steve can wholeheartedly agree, she rounds on Will and Jonathan next, who stand at attention, trying to stay serious through their own excitement. 

“You,” she points at Jonathan, “better keep your grades up if you’re getting a job.”

“And you,” she gestures to Will, “better have all of your homework done when you get home. If you can’t get it done at Steve’s house, then you don’t get to go.”

She backs away from them, taking a deep breath in and exhaling loudly. “Is all of that clear?”

Waves of yes’s pour from their mouths. Will wraps his arms around his mom’s waist and Jonathan lightly punches Steve’s shoulder. 

“Thank you, Ms. Byers,” Steve says as he turns to leave, “I’ll make sure you don’t regret this. Any of you.”

She sighs, a small sad smile on her face. “I really hope that’s true, Steve.”

On the drive home, he realizes she never mentioned the slip-up about his parents’ absence. He’s grateful for it. Talking with adults has never been his strong suit, and his conversations with each of the kids’ parents are starting to weigh on him. 

The Byers’ might not have as much money or means as the Harrington’s, but that doesn’t stop Joyce Byers from being a damn great mom. So he’s not surprised she took note of his own small mishaps. Maybe she’ll bring it up one day, maybe she won’t. All Steve cares about is that he finally has the opportunity to earn the trust of the fiercest parent he knows.

~~~