#he knows through the memories of will. nancy. el and max that he's important to all of them. he's gotta exploit that somehow

[butchrobin]

“will gets trapped in the upside down in s5” “byler get trapped in the upside down together in s5” i hear you but what about just mike trapped in the upside down in s5, like a direct parallel of s1 except this time it's will going insane looking for him. and they realize they really are lost without each other and can't stand the thought of losing each other that way ever again

[willbyersabyss]

Creation Powers, Memories, & Time Travel

Will has creation powers and he's the main component in time travel, the Montauk book (confirmed inspiration for ST) proves it. This is yet another addition to the memory time travel theory.

Important posts to read before this one:

The Upside Down is stuck on multiple days

Will traveled into the Wheeler house memory when he was kidnapped

In "The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time," a man named Duncan Cameron has a set of powers, one of which is the ability to create things out of thin air. He would create objects, even buildings, using his mind. Later on, they discovered that time travel was possible because of the creation powers. Duncan would think of a time period, his creation powers would activate, and a portal to that time period would appear. As long as he concentrated, the time tunnel would stay open and stable.

Ring any bells? This is just like Max's memory travel. She focused on a memory and was able to make her mind look like that memory. When she was distracted by Vecna, her memory travel couldn't be achieved. This is likely how time travel will occur in the show.

Max thought she made El. She's making things. Not thinking, making. Max made the Snow Ball a real, physical location somewhere...

Shadowfell, the DnD dimension that's the inspiration for the Upside Down, is described as a timeless dimension. Like Shadowfell, time doesn't function in the Upside Down and this is why it seems stuck in 1983. It's just a transitional plane between the real world and Dimension X. This plane can be tapped into using the mind. This is why El and Vecna can open gates to the Upside Down using psychic connection.

The Montauk book describes one of the time periods they traveled to as: "Everything was stationary, not unlike a dream state. There were no signs of life." If you told me that this was a canon description of the Upside Down, I wouldn't doubt it for a second. A lifeless place stuck in time.

When Max traveled into her memory, her mind connected with the Upside Down and replicated her memory there, creating the Snow Ball decorations we see in the UD at the end of s2 (read this post).

El said that they're all time travelers. Yeah, they definitely are. Max was able to time travel through her memories despite her lack of powers. Emotions impact time. Why would that be? Because time travel is linked to their brains, their emotions.

Max's memory time travel was possible because of her emotions. She wanted to be somewhere happy, to hide in the light. But when Vecna interrupted her with upsetting images, it no longer worked. Emotions change time!

So how does Will factor into this? As I've theorized before, he tried to travel into a happy memory (the Wheeler house) when he got kidnapped and this changed the appearance of the Upside Down. He then continued to memory hop to hide. How? Creation powers.

The inspiration for Will's look in s1 says all I need to say. His outfit is based on Marty McFly, a time traveler, and Bastian Bux, a kid who created a world using his imagination. Back to the Future and The Neverending Story are huge influences on the show and they're directly referencing them through Will for a reason. Will is time traveling through imagination. And his imagination is becoming real... creation powers.

The longer Bastian stayed in the imagination world, the less he would remember about his real self. Sounds similar to what happened to Will in s2, doesn't it? As Will is caught between the two worlds, he loses himself. He loses his memories.

The first thing that really clues Nancy into the state of the UD is her study cards. Cards that she had to memorize. These cards instantly send her into a memory of her and Steve. Before we even know what's happening, we are being shown memories. Then she looks at the journal, where she emphasizes Will's disappearance before relating it to the gate. Memories -> stuck in time -> Will.

In an interview with Chris Trujillo, the production designer for ST, he says that the UD is stuck in time because El created a snapshot of Hawkins when she opened the first gate. This would be a pretty crazy thing to reveal before it's directly discussed in the show. That's why I think he's lying. People who work on ST have a history of lying to cover up plot points (cough cough "Will isn't gay"), so I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case! Ross Duffer himself said that the reason why the UD is stuck when Will went missing has yet to be answered.

So that pretty much rules out the UD just being stuck because El opened a gate there. They wouldn't just give that away. But we have yet another mention of Will's disappearance being related to the reason for the freeze. Thank you, Ross Duffer.

Anyways, Nancy runs downstairs and she can't get her mind off of Will. They hear Dustin on the other side and Nancy says "Will found a way" to speak through the lights. It's really just Will, Will, Will once they find out that the UD is stuck in time! He is the reason!

Ok back to the Montauk book. The book mentions time tunnels. They would take samples from the environment of these tunnels to experiment on, just like the lab did in s2. It's a reference! The tunnels that extend from the main UD gate have something to do with time travel. They're portals. This is why Hopper loses track of time after investigating the tunnel-related rot at the farm.

The tunnels in the Montauk book were also related to "Seeing Eye" experiments done on Duncan Cameron. The discovery of his creation powers led to experiments where he would try to see through the eyes of other people. In these time tunnels, people would feel an intense energy related to a higher intelligence. They wanted to harness this energy so Duncan could practice mind control.

Who was able to see through the eyes of the Upside Down tunnels because of mind control again? Will.

Will's tunnel connection is a reference to Duncan Cameron. The Mind Flayer was seeing through Will's eyes, but Will was also able to see through the Mind Flayer's eyes.

His power is literally called "now-memories." The UD tunnels not only relate to time travel, but also memories! This is telling us that memories will unlock time travel. Will was using some sort of creation power like Duncan to make his memories become physical locations in the Upside Down in s1. This creation power would be impacted by emotions like the other powers are, linking this back to the "emotions change time" sentiment El mentions.

The time travelers in Montauk would be recorded, much like how the lab was recording and tracking stuff within the UD. Will's Halloween video also recorded UD weirdness. The time on the camera starts at 8:15 even though the original recording said it was 8:03. Will's Mind Flayer vision was him actually traveling into the UD, making this different from Vecna's visions. It was real.

Will's visions in s2 do have something in common with Vecna visions, though. They're related to memories! Vecna would take the memories of his victims and alter them to fit his agenda. Will was both physically traveling into the UD and experiencing a memory because the UD is both. That's why the camera changed times. He was time traveling through a memory.

If it's true that Max's mind connected with Will's during the piggyback (read here), then that may be why Max was able to change the UD with her memory travel. Will has the creation powers to change the UD and when her mind tapped into his, he accidentally made her memory come true in that dimension too.

But how can this time travel be used? The UD is just a snapshot of the memories, not the actual time period.

When El went into Max and Billy's memories, she was just a spectator. She couldn't be seen by anyone there or interact with them because this is basically a recording of the time. This memory travel is different from the one Max experienced and the one that is changing the UD's appearance.

So what if they... combine? This conversation feels like code to me. Robin found the girl of her dreams (El found Max in her memory) while Steve goes on a million dates (Will memory traveled to a bunch of different dates in s1) without achieving what they want. And to really hammer in that this is secretly about Will: the movie they're standing in front of came out on March 22nd... Will's birthday. So Will and El need to combine in order for the time travel to actually take them into a new time.

El can travel into memories that include people. Will can create memories into real locations without people. If they combine their powers, they may be able to create people in these memories too, making the time travel substantial enough to matter. I believe this was foreshadowed when El used happy memories to bring Max back to life.

This also gives the Mind Flayer/Vecna a motive. He said that when he kills people, they aren't really dead, they're still with him in his mind. The more minds he collects, the more memories he has. He just needs Will by his side to make these memories a reality, allowing him to travel to as many time periods and locations as he wants. Memory time travel could very well be the reason why birthdaygate exists. If Will has no powerful memories to travel to, he can't harness time travel. Vecna may be interfering with his memories to keep that power at bay.

I recommend reading @conflictofthemind’s post about Montauk’s time loop as well. Will already has a memory of the USS Eldridge and this could be how he travels there in the future. He uses that memory (or is forced to by Vecna) to both start and end the time loop. Will’s memory of the ship being because of a memory really ties in the time loop implications.

So there you have it. Memories and emotions are heavily linked to time travel throughout the show and this time travel has already been unlocked before. Will Byers is one of many characters inspired by Duncan Cameron, so he is likely the owner of creation powers. The constant mention of memories surrounding Will (birthdaygate) is another hint for memory time travel occurring thanks to Will!

[kiirotoao]

Season 3 rewatch notes

Wait a minute, I just realized that Mike and Will are the only ones in The Party who’ve canonically been dungeon masters. Idk what that means for them, but, yeah. Another exclusive detail of theirs

Oh, lord. Mike’s arm being torn off in the D&D game better not be a prophecy. If those s5 notes are accurate about Mike being seriously injured… I’m scared.

GOD I’ve never noticed how hard Will breathes in the rain scene. Poor baby he was so stunned 😭😭😭😭

The thing that I love most about Jonathan and Nancy is that they’ve been through the real shit. Arguments and hardship through the supernatural and the struggles of discrimination and privilege.

I love how Max is usually the one who speaks after Will. It’s like she’s the only one brave enough to answer after he says something profound or important. I need more of Max and Will’s friendship and them having well-thought out arguments I swear

Omg I love Erica’s little green star on her cheek. It’s so cute 😭🩷

After watching The Princess Bride, I am fangirling so much over Cary Elwes - it’s so crazy to me that he got him to play such a character! I wonder if they thought of him because of all the physical stunts lmao

As much as Karen isn’t in the know of much of anything in the supernatural story, I love how she’s a picture of raw strength in the Wheeler family, the true head of the household. She takes charge. Stops at nothing to help. Not even in the face of temptation. Go Karen.

DAMN I forgot that Billy dropped an f bomb! I thought that the closest that the show got was when Max got cut off in the hospital, but nope. There it was

Shit, I’m tearing up at that scene when El collapses into Mike’s arms because I know that that was real exhaustion. Poor Millie 🩷🩷🩷. She did such a phenomenal job there.

I LOVE whenever Joyce is angry this season. Now that’s how you demand. Straight to the point, justified in her worry, and cutting past any unnecessary bs while still including the cherry on top “please” or “good day” of politeness out of basic decency. I want to be her when I’m upset.

I’m always so blown away by Maya’s performance when she comes out to Steve. Straight (haha) through the heart, so good. And I always, always smile at Steve’s reaction. So in character, so accepting. No questioning if she’s being honest, just immediately questioning her type and believing that she’s into girls. So, so important.

Oh, no. Holly saw the trees moving in the woods. Thus far, she’s noticed the demogorgon coming out of the wall, and now this. She’s definitely a target next season.

When El tells Billy the memory of his mom, I teared up a little! Something about the way that El says, “you were happy” breaks me, dude. Millie and Dacre did so well.

Also, thinking in foresight of s4, Max’s letter is so heartbreaking. The Mind Flayer made a huge show of killing Billy slowly and painfully. I don’t blame her for being too horrified to move. It really wasn’t her fault. That was traumatic. Sadie did amazing there, too. Ouch.

I’m never getting over the helicopter lights being blue, yellow, and red. Were starboard and port always blue and red? And isn’t starboard supposed to be green? It’s all intentional, I’m telling you

I love how Max and Lucas are supposed to be “butchering” Never Ending Story but those two theater kids actually sound amazing. I just wish they harmonized 😆

Oh my gosh Jonathan did the Byers hold to Nancy 😭😭😭😭 I am not okay 😭😭 I never noticed that

Okay wait. This is kinda horrible. I feel bad for saying this. But y’know how Mike has a Will voice? Well I just noticed that Mike definitely does not have a soft voice for El. I swear, he’s always so loud around her like nothing’s different about her 😂😭 Any time he’s sweet with her he’s just like YEAH. COOL. and it’s kinda hilarious.

Jancy is WRECKING me this season wtf. Charlie and Natalia are so cute 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Oh my gosh David’s voice kinda breaks at “doze off.” Fuck.

Erica has blue, yellow, and pink balloons plus a rainbow drawing on her door. I now headcanon Erica as pansexual/panromantic, thank you.

AHHHGHH I can’t wait for the original version of Heroes to play next season over Byler kissing when everyone thinks that they might be dead but they’re just surviving in the Upside Down, clinging to each other and having the highest moment of their lives!!!!!!!

This has been my s3 thoughts for the 6-8th time watching? I forget? And I missed a number of moments because I got too absorbed so, oops. Anyway, I love Jancy, I love Jopper, I love the Scoops Troop, I love Suzie, I miss Alexi, Byler is endgame, and this season was way more fun than I remembered and it always makes me laugh. My list of favorite seasons has been shaken expertly.

[acowardinmordor]

I'm never going to write it, so here, enjoy some suffering as I combine multiple fics and tropes into a bouillabaisse of angst.

----

Eddie isn't quite dead when Steve, Robin and Nancy get back to them. Since the gates are starting to weaken, it's a mad rush to get everyone through. Steve gets Nancy and Dustin through so they can at least sort of help catch Eddie -- who is entirely unconscious and lacking a lot of blood. The gate is narrowing, the Upside Down is trembling, and Steve doesn't ask, just hefts Robin up and gets her through.

She makes it, but by the time she lands and looks up to yell for him to haul ass, everyone can tell that Steve won't make it through. The gate is too narrow and they don't know, they won't risk finding out what happens if the gate closes on him.

It's closing with exponential decay, so the slow creep it started with becomes a rush, and he yells for them to get to the damn hospital.

Then he's gone.

And look, they're furious and horrified and yes, they want to go after him right this second, but Eddie is dying and Dustin's leg is broken, and they don't even know if Max is okay. Besides, its not like they know how to open a gate.

It's a few days before Team Cali gets to Hawkins, and everyone, including Max in three casts begs El to open a gate.

And she can't. Something about how Henry died, something about the hivemind and the interconnection to the whole world. She knows it's still there, but she can't reach it. She can't find Steve either.

So a few days becomes a week, and Will won't answer questions, because he knows what its like to be alone there, and telling the others when there's no hope of rescue is cruel.

Then Eddie wakes up, coherent for the first time after the infection and the fever and the pain meds. They tell him, and they try to prevent the survivor's guilt - which was already awful - from destroying him. Robin gets it. She was the last through. Steve could have gone first and left her there, but they both know he never would.

They bond over it in the next few weeks as he recovers and leaves the hospital with a few hundred stitches.

After a month, they hold a small memorial, even though they haven't reported it. Without a body, it would take more paperwork than any of them can bear to complete.

The G-men took the Munson trailer, so he, Robin and Wayne are at Harrington's place for now. And if Eddie snoops a little when the others are at work, learning more about this idiot that died instead of him, its understandable.

The way he has all the scraps of his relationship with Nancy, dwarfed by the notes and dumb gifts and mementos of the gremlins. The enormous first aid kit, right next to the enormous supply of hair spray. The box of things from before '83, shoved in a corner, but not forgotten. Post its with important dates. A bank statement showing that his parents left him the house, but no money to cover upkeep or taxes. A scratchy budget where Steve so obviously prioritized his friends over himself.

Eddie learns about Steve Harrington and wishes he could trade places. Eddie is selfish and an asshole and a failure, and he isn't worth what it cost to save his life.

No matter what Robin says about being last through, Eddie knows it must have taken longer to move him, so if it wasn't for Eddie, Steve would have made it. If Eddie had died instead of clinging to life --

When Eddie develops a cough, everyone winces in sympathy as his still achy wounds protest the movement. When his cough gets worse, they consider contacting Owens about Upside Down pathogens.

When he has a coughing fit while the others are out, and ends up with a few blood stained petals in his hand, it takes a few seconds for him to understand.

It takes a few more for it to really land.

He spends the next hour over the toilet, first vomiting, then dry heaving as he sobs.

Because see, Hanahaki might be rare and a remnant of ancient magics, but it's well studied. The sufferer has to be in love and pining. They have to have no hope of the person they love ever reciprocating.

It isn't always fatal. If they confess, and they're rejected, they'll die within a day. If they confess, and it's reciprocated, the flowers fade within a day. If they fall out of love, the flowers fade within a week. If they stay silent they'll live another month from the first petals.

There is a surgery that can remove the affliction and the affection. It's safe, it's a priority treatment in every hospital, and the only side effect is emotional disconnection from the person who caused it.

But none of that is what has Eddie sobbing.

Cause see there's another thing that science knows for sure. Hanahaki will not, does not, absolutely cannot bloom if the person they love is dead.

[c-is-for-circinate]

Ok so regarding the stranger things extended universe, i definitely want to know more about nancy and her storyline, like does this become her career ? investigating government conspiracies? And how does she feel about it? About not living a more peaceful life after everything?

After something like Hawkins, there are three ways to go if you want to keep sane, Nancy thinks. Or, well. As sane as any of them are, now.

Some of them went out into the world ready to grab life and joy with both hands and all their teeth, the memory of how close death came to devouring them enough to spur them on to devour life right back. (Eddie's playing Boston next week, wants to know if she'll go to his show; Max and El, last Nancy heard, are learning to surf.) Some of them went out into the world still full of combat reflexes they didn't mean to keep and tripped into a new fight, a slower quieter more mundane one. (She saw the photos Jonathan took last time he visited Steve and Robin in Chicago, the protests last month, the signs, the flags.) And some of them...well. Some of them left the lessons of Hawkins a little less behind than that.

They won in Hawkins, inasmuch as burned-out buildings and the town memorials and the deep scars cutting through a still-damaged downtown count as winning. That battle's fought and won and done. But Nancy hasn't forgotten who started it, and it wasn't Henry Creel.

(She'll argue with Dustin about it, over a mountain of fried shrimp and a pitcher of beer he's somehow old enough to legally buy, because Dustin's always cared more about the how than the why. He thinks the important lesson of Hawkins is that the laws of physics known by everybody across the global scientific community are wrong. They spend an hour and a half going back and forth about Oppenheimer and Eisenhower, Regan and Brezhnev and Martin Brenner, because one of the only differences between Vecna and a nuclear bomb is still the fact that nobody thinks Vecna could exist, but Dustin is wrong about why that's important.)

Science can do a thousand things nobody thinks it can do. Science can split an atom. Science can split dimensions. It doesn't matter why it's possible; it doesn't even really matter what's possible, beyond the fact that massive governments with thousands of soldiers and billions of dollars can always kill when they want to. Whether it's a bomb or a child experiment or a gas leak.

What matters, every time, is that people are dead. What matters is that the public needs to know.

Nancy makes her name in college breaking a story about illegal sewage dumping near a residential neighborhood before the Boston Globe even has it. She gets a professor fired for plagiarism. She almost gets expelled for libel when she tries to run a story about date rape on campus. (She almost gets caught slashing tires, after that one, but she learned from the best. Erica Sinclair taught her plenty about stealth, and Murray's been trying to drive in the idea of patience since the first time they met.)

It's not about monsters, it was never about monsters. There aren't any more monsters, Nancy thinks. (She keeps a licensed handgun in a shoebox in her apartment, because she ran out of ammo for the Makarov years ago, because monsters aren't the only things that like to threaten too-curious reporters in the middle of the night, and because you never know.) It's always been about the people the monsters destroy.

Nobody will ever believe the story of what destroyed Hawkins, probably. (Maybe someday they'll declassify. Nancy has a four-hundred-page memoir under lock and key in the safe where she doesn't store her gun, if the world ever gets there. Maybe she'll just pass it down to Mike's grandchildren.) But people know now that it was Hawkins National Lab. That some kind of government weapons research, right there on Indiana soil, broke a small town in half. That's something.

Nancy graduates college and interns anywhere she can get a foot in the door. The Globe. The Times. The Washington Post. The Post, finally, sticks. There's an editor there who loves to give new reporters just enough slack in their leashes to hang themselves with, so they can fill the back of the paper with issue-selling scandal and then have somebody to fire if the wrong person in power gets upset. Nancy does three months of research, jotting off puff pieces and human interest stories about charity work and bills with no opposition, quietly filling up file folders of photos and receipts and evidence that nobody can prove she didn't obtain legally. Her first headline runs on a Tuesday morning and gets a White House senior staffer fired by Thursday afternoon.

It could have gotten her clearing out her desk by the end of Friday, but Nancy was careful. Nancy was smart. It chafes from the inside out, like a blister on her soul, but she knows all about water it down. She could've implicated a dozen elected officials in this, and ten of them would have skated right by with no trouble, just plenty of cause to make Nancy trouble right back. (There are already people in Washington who know her name. Nancy knows there are files about her in the Pentagon.) So she's careful, she's delicate, and she implies nothing at all about anybody she can't demolish outright. She waters it down. It gets her a promotion.

.

Nancy doesn't drink icewater vodka, herself. She likes whiskey instead, in her coffee, in her tea. She talks on the phone with Murray Bauman at only the most irregular intervals, and he sneers at her in a way that Nancy's pretty sure translates, on Murray's tongue, to a colleague's respect. She tries not to lie. She's better at it, nowadays.

Nancy is hungry, has always been hungry. Has always been starving, one way or another, all the way back when she was twelve years old thirsting for adventure in the basement with her little brother, fifteen and ravenous for a challenge, an experience, the chance to grow up. She's choked on what she thought she wanted enough times that you'd think she'd learn by now. Mostly what it's done is toughen her teeth and teach her to chew.

She wants truth, and she can have it for herself, if she's good enough. If she doesn't try to force-feed it to the rest of the world too hard. She wants respect, she wants justice, she's selfish and selfless and hungry for all of it.

She wants to not be so afraid. She wants to not be so alone. She wants, sometimes, just once in a while, to be a little bit quiet and a little bit soft and rest.

It didn't work with Jonathan the same way it didn't work with Steve, or Liam, or Casey, or Diane. Nancy aches to be a little less alone, but she doesn't starve for it. Never once in her life has she been hungry for a person the way she's hungry for everything else. Never once in her life has she actually fallen in love back.

But Jonathan is at her front door again, because Jonathan is a yo-yo to all the people he's ever loved: backing off to give them time and space to grow, rocketing off into the world alone just for a little while, just as long as he can bear it, and then slinging himself back. Back to her again, this time.

Jonathan knows the score. Knows she loves him as much as she's ever loved anybody, other than Barb and Mike and her mother and Holly. And if it's not hunger -- if the closest Nancy has ever gotten to hunger for another person tends to happen in that oh-so-very, very discreet bar where Nancy can wear a perfectly-tailored suit and buy whiskey sours for girls in short skirts with no nightmares behind their eyes -- well, Nancy's never wanted most of them past the next morning anyway.

So sometimes Jonathan is on her couch and sometimes he's in her bed, and sometimes they fuck and sometimes all they do is sleep. When she needs a photojournalist, he's never once let her down. When she has nightmares, she wakes up just as terrified, but it's so much easier to pull herself together with someone to pull it together for. And Nancy Wheeler has never been in love, will never be in love, but she doesn't know what it could possibly have to offer that she could want more than that.

.

Does Nancy like her life? Wrong question. Stupid question. Better to ask if Nancy would have it any other way -- and well, yeah, she'd have a president who didn't sexually harass interns, a national defense budget that wasn't ten times the size of the department of education's, and a coffeemaker in the office that didn't get grounds in everything. She'd live in a world that didn't need her, find a new thing to be hungry about. Maybe she and Barb would both be on track for tenure by now.

In this world, she has half a dozen Pulitzer nominations and a Polk Award on her bookshelf. She has a locked filing cabinet full of other people's secrets and a locked safe full of her own. There's a file with her name on it somewhere in the Pentagon, although she hasn't managed to sneak in to read it yet. She's pretty sure the files on her desk about Pentagon staff are thicker.

[liesyousoldme]

like you've known me | rated T | word count ~25k

a @steddiebang fic coming february 29

featuring art by sharkscouts and @vesperalhemlock

Summary:

When the only way to beat the Upside Down is to erase it (and the last three years) from time, Steve Harrington is transported right back to the Fall of his junior year. His biggest problem? Everyone who had died in the last three years fighting inter-dimensional evils has no memory of the events. Suddenly, Steve finds himself with Tommy and Carol at his side and sitting mere feet away from Robin in class, and she has no idea who he is except the douchebag with the good hair that Tammy Thompson has a crush on.

With a little help from Nancy, Jonathan, Dustin, Lucas, and El, Steve will learn to navigate his life, The Right Way, this time. Which friends he wants to keep, who he wants to spend his time with, and if he wants to take notes in class this time around. If that means sometimes he needs a little weed to take the edge of stress off? Well, it's a good thing he knows a good dealer.

As things finally fall into place and Steve begins to re-form the most important relationship in his life, he thinks anything strange is over. Then, Robin starts mentioning weird dreams about ice cream and torture, and Max Mayfield shows up from California with an angry step-brother and a lot of questions. Maybe those memories aren't erased, after all.

Pairings: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Lucas Sinclair Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Eleven, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Tommy Hagan, Carol Perkins, Max Mayfield, Billy Hargrove Tags: Romance, Angst, Friends to Lovers, AU: Time Travel to Pre-Season 1, Post-Season 4, Impermanent Major Character Death, Fix-it, Falling In Love, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Gay Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington-Centric, First Kiss, Drug Use (Marijuana), Steve Harrington VS Junior Year (Again)

Excerpt (cont. under the cut):

It had been a few weeks in the new timeline when Steve jumped at the sound of the phone ringing through the empty house. He frowned, setting down his fork and walking to the phone. It was Wednesday, Steve was sure of it, and Dustin’s calls always came on Thursdays, so who the hell would be calling?

“Hello?”

“Hi, Steve.” Nancy’s voice was soft and sweet and surprising.

“Oh. Uh, hey, Nance, what’s up?” He asked, heart suddenly starting to race – not because he had feelings for Nancy but because if Nancy was calling then something was wrong. Had something happened? Had their plan not –

“Listen, I don’t have too much time, Mom’s making dinner and I just finished up my homework, but I really wanted to call you,” Nancy said. She wouldn’t start out so calm if something was happening, right? So this was just a social call?

“Um. Why?” He asked, then winced. Since when did he forget how to have a conversation?

He could hear Nancy’s sigh through the phone. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you at school lately, and –“

“Okay, creep,” he joked, lips curling at the corners when Nancy laughed.

“Shut up, I just mean I’ve – Look, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And like I said, I’ve been watching you in the halls and stuff, and I know you’re eating lunch in the library because Tommy told everyone in the cafeteria one day –“

He what?

“- and I know the whole thing with Robin is hard for you but…”

“But what?” He prompted when she trailed off.

“But you’re moping, Steve. You’re moping all over school, and probably all over your house.”

“I – wha- I mean, that’s not true,” Steve said, frowning.

“Steve, we beat the bad guys and everybody is fine. Everybody’s alive! And you’re moping.”

“Okay, now this just feels like you’re being mean.”

“I’m not trying to be mean, I’m trying to – “ She cut herself off with a frustrated groan. “Do you even know how El is doing?”

“I – what? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s okay, Steve, but also, no, she’s not okay, because Hopper is still trying to find Owens since he’s the one that will probably know best if it’s safe for Jane Hopper to suddenly show up in Hawkins and enroll in school. So, she spends her days alone, but everyone always goes to visit her, every Saturday, at the cabin. Everyone except you.”

Steve felt tears prick behind his eyes. “I didn’t know.”

“Yes, you did,” Nancy said, sounding tired. “Dustin said he asked you to come that first weekend, and you said no, so he didn’t ask you again.”

“I don’t – I don’t remember that,” he admitted, feeling dreadful disappointment spread through his veins. “Nancy, I hardly – that first week was –“

“But it wasn’t just the first week, Steve. We’re all trying to get back to our lives but you’re just going through the motions. Even Dustin knows something’s wrong.”

“What? I talk to Dustin every week!”

“Lucas wanted to invite you to the park to play basketball and Dustin told him you probably still weren’t ready.”

Steve’s jaw dropped.

“Dustin knows you, in this timeline probably better than anyone, and he knows something’s wrong but he’s still just a kid, Steve, he doesn’t know how to deal with this.”

“Did Dustin ask you to call me?”

“No, this was my idea,” Nancy said. “I’m just a kid, too, Steve. I don’t know what to do to fix it but I want to help you, and so does Jonathan.”

“Jonathan wants to help me?” He asked, incredulous.

Nancy chuckled. “Honestly, I was as surprised as you are. But he does because despite everything, he cares about you. We all care about you, and it’s way too easy for you to hole up in your house and ignore everyone at school and… mope.”

“I don’t think I like that word anymore,” Steve said, even though it was true. His stomach twisted in knots at the sudden guilt he felt.

“Well I didn’t think you’d like it very much if I accused you of being depressed,” Nancy stated boldly, and Steve winced. “Just meet me and Jonathan at that picnic table outside of school tomorrow morning, okay? Like, twenty minutes before first bell. Can you do that?”

Steve swallowed thickly and fought every instinct in him that wanted to say no.

“Yeah, Nance. I can do that.”

Steve woke with a sense of dread hanging over him. He really didn’t want to show up just for Nancy and Jonathan to chew him out for how selfish he’d been (he could beat himself up for that without their help). But he got in his car twenty-five minutes earlier than he usually would, just to make sure he wouldn’t be late, and laughed to himself when he got to the school. He pulled into the empty spot next to Jonathan’s car. Apparently, they had the same idea.

Steve got out of his car and shouldered his backpack. He looked around; there were a few people milling about, and more cars pulling into the lot than he expected this early.

“Do people always get to school this early?” He asked by way of introduction.

Jonathan laughed and walked over to him. Nancy stepped up behind him and gave him a pointed look. “I think you’ll find that you’re just always late.”

“Yeah, okay,” he conceded. “So, uh… Picnic table?” He suggested, already feeling the stares of their classmates from around them.

Nancy and Jonathan agreed and they made the walk together, quietly taking in each other’s presence. Nancy was in between the two boys but it wasn’t as awkward as Steve expected it to be.

Maybe he really was over Nancy Wheeler, after all.

He choked on a laugh when the picnic table came into view, and they were sighted almost immediately.

“Oh,” Eddie Munson said, grabbing his metal lunchbox and dropping it near his feet. Steve snorted. Eddie huffed. “What?”

“As if we don’t know what’s in your damn lunchbox, Munson,” he said, finding himself immediately falling back into the banter he’d developed with Eddie before –

“I don’t really know what’s going on here,” Eddie admitted with an awkward, nervous laugh. “You three might be the weirdest combination of buyers I’ve ever gotten.”

“Oh, we’re not –“ Nancy started, but Steve interrupted.

“I am,” he said, ignoring the looks from Nancy and Jonathan. He pulled out his wallet and made eye contact with Eddie. “I’ll –“ He paused, unsure of what to say. He’d never done this himself before. “I’ll take some weed. Uh – a joint? Uh. How much?”

Eddie looked at him with a furrowed brow and a frown on his lips. “Are you wearing a wire?”

Steve snorted a laugh. “Dude. What kind of operation do you think is being run in Nowhere fucking Indiana where a 17-year-old is wearing a wire for a drug bust on your tiny fucking lunchkit –“

“Okay! Okay,” Eddie conceded with a barely concealed laugh. Jonathan was openly laughing behind him, and Steve recognized the amused look on Nancy’s face.

Steve sighed when Eddie just kept looking at him like he didn’t believe him. “I’m being serious. If I’m not gonna have a social life anymore at least let me be high for it.”

“Amen,” Jonathan said quietly, and Steve choked down his laugh.

Finally, after a few more moments of silence where Eddie stared at his face, seemingly deciding whether or not to trust him, Eddie sighed and picked up his lunchbox. Steve let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

“I’ll sell you a gram for twenty-five bucks. Do you want pre-rolled, or…” Eddie trailed off.

“Uh,” Steve said, unsure. “Yeah, that’ll probably be easier.”

Eddie opened his lunchbox and got to work rolling the joint. “Usually, it’s your friends I sell to,” he said conversationally.

“Not my friends,” Steve corrected, then awkwardly added, “I don’t have any of those.”

“We’re your friends, Steve,” Nancy said, and Steve could hear the pity that coated her voice.

“Didn’t you, like, dump him for him?” Eddie asked her, pointing first and Steve, then at Jonathan. Nancy huffed, took a breath to begin talking but Steve cut her off before she could begin.

"That's not what happened. Tommy and Carol told everyone that because they're pissed off that I don't wanna hang out with them anymore. Me and Nance are fine. Me and Jonathan are fine. Look. I know you're overcharging me so badly right now but I don't care enough to fight you on it. Can you please just sell me the weed?"

Eddie frowned. “Fifteen.”

Steve looked at him incredulously.

"What can I say? You guilt tripped me and I'm a sucker.” Eddie held out the joint. “Just. Take it."

"Thanks, Munson." Steve said, taking it and stuffing it in a zipper inside his backpack.

Eddie closed and shut his lunchbox, then stepped away from the table and gave a little bow. "King Steve."

"Just Steve."

Eddie looked at him through calculating eyes. "Just Steve, then."

The three of them waited until Eddie was far enough away before taking seats at the table.

Nancy started after a short awkward beat. "Look, start hanging out with us at school. I have mutual friends with Robin, somehow we'll get it through her head that you aren't a bad guy and then it's just a matter of winning her over again -"

"It really isn't like that; I’ve told you a million times, she's my best friend.” Steve said. “And I already just started fucking crying in front of her, I think the ship has sailed."

"Don’t say that, man," Jonathan said. "Just… give it time. Let the school get used to the new you. Maybe you can figure out if she's got a job and apply wherever she works and do whatever you did at Starcourt to make her like you."

Steve sighed. He already knew where Robin worked; she'd told him about the job she had before Scoops. "She's working at a hair salon as a receptionist right now."

"Sorry, they let Robin be in charge of answering phones and setting up appointments?" Nancy asked with an incredulous giggle.

"She doesn't last long," Steve admitted with a little laugh.

The bell rang, interrupting them and signaling the start of another day. Steve sighed to himself and stood, following Nancy and Jonathan into the school. At least he had somewhere to sit at lunch now.

And the chance to get high tonight.

[brionysea]

okay SO. @madwheelerz' manifestation theory. in trying to wrap my head around it, i have come across some THOUGHTS

season 1

mike wants will back. the universe rearranges itself to give him this. i find the first season the easiest to understand in terms of mike's internal world being expressed through the supernatural, because of its relative simplicity

season 2

mike wants el back. the universe, again, rearranges itself to give him this. the new supernatural threat draws el out of hiding and back to the party

there's also a lot of talk about trauma this season. a lot of it is limited to what they knew about PTSD in the 80s but i find it really, really interesting in this context

owens: it's called the anniversary effect. we've seen this with soldiers. the anniversary of an event brings back traumatic memories. sort of opens up the neurological floodgates, so to speak.

hopper: so what does this mean for the kid? he's gonna have more episodes, nightmares?

owens: yeah, that. maybe some personality changes. he might get irritable. he might lash out.

will's anniversary is around the time the second season picks up, but there's another one that flies under the radar: mike's. lucas and dustin were with mike when the demogorgon cornered them, but they're fine. they're having fun with max. they're vibing. meanwhile mike is acting out, being abrasive and argumentative towards absolutely everyone, shutting himself off in his basement even when his friends spend all day trying to reach him

what owens said above doesn't really apply to will at all, beyond him literally acting like a different person, but it applies perfectly to mike. mike, as of season 2, according to the show's own definition, is traumatised

owens: just treat him normally. be patient with him. don't pressure him to talk. just let him lead the way.

joyce: i'm sorry, what you're saying is it's gonna get worse and worse and we're just supposed to pretend it's not happening?

owens: it sounds counterintuitive, i know. but i assure you that is really the best thing you can do for him.

this is the approach the wheelers seem to be taking. i'm reminded of karen saying mike would "come to them when he's ready" when ted asked if he should go talk to him after will's body was found. joyce does the exact opposite of this at any given opportunity, but karen seems to buy into it, and ted follows her lead

a year later, nancy's not better yet. mike's not better yet. that's to be expected, but i think the way those facts are treated is pretty reflective of the emotional situation in their household. will has endless support from joyce and jonathan, to the extent he feels suffocated by it, but mike just gets told to suck it up and stop making his parents look bad. nancy clearly understands this more intuitively from how she isolates herself before letting herself express much of anything unless she's drunk (and even then, she didn't start laying into steve until they were alone). their reputation is more important than their mental health

the demodogs, as an antagonist, are a physically smaller (but larger in numbers) retread of the demogorgon. almost like when something traumatic happens and your brain keeps going back to it in bits and pieces. and who got directly traumatised by the demogorgon? who thought they saw their friend get taken away by it right in front of them? mike. that scene in the middle school was very obviously traumatic for mike and mike alone

owens said that more episodes should be expected close to a traumaversary. and when's the last time mike was as upset about anything as he is about el being gone, one year later? when will disappeared. so he did something about it without realising again

season 3

following the pattern of the upside down being used as a tool to address lingering trauma: the mind flayer comes back

again, the mind flayer being will's trauma is more obvious. it took control of his body. it used him to kill dozens of people. it used him against his friends and family. but another thing that flies under the radar is the fact that mike witnessed all of it

mike saw will get taken on the field. mike saw will's nightmares. mike saw will's seizures from the tunnels being burned. mike saw will screaming. mike saw will slowly becoming less and less of himself. mike was the only (conscious) child trapped in the lab with the demodogs

if you think that just witnessing things like that isn't enough to count as traumatising, allow me to remind you of something this show's certified Trauma Monster has said:

vecna: i just want you to watch.

just watching is what got max killed. just watching is what got fred killed. just watching is what traumatised mike the first time around. just watching is what traumatised lucas and dustin. experiences like this do not have to be firsthand to be harmful

mike's more clued in to the wheeler rule of acting like everything's fine this time around, but he's still... not quite himself. he's ignoring most of his friends. he's extremely anxious and panicky about the idea of seeing el die again. he's denying himself things he used to love. he went through hell to get will back and keep will and now he's suddenly pushing him away out of nowhere. things like that don't happen without a reason

he's got even more trauma now than he did before, and when you're a 14 year old boy who can't go to therapy because it would make your parents look bad, that's not going to go away just because you act like it's not happening

season 4

being the Trauma Season, this one's source is more unabashedly, purely emotional: the relationship drama

last season, el took max's advice and dumped mike. while they were broken up, they started having friendly conversations again and both seemed happier and more comfortable, both as individuals and with their relationship. then the whole "because i love her" mess happened and they got back together, notably without any input from mike at all. immediately after that, the byers and el moved halfway across one of the biggest countries in the world

here's mike's issue: he's not aware that you can Not Date someone and also Not Lose them. el saying that she loved him back recontextualised all their interactions when they were broken up as romantic, and made him think that if he isn't el's boyfriend, he can't have her in his life at all. this is unacceptable to him for obvious reasons

so mike, knowing full well what he's doing, tries to give el what she wants without lying to her. obviously, this doesn't end well, but it also has a massive impact on mike's mental health in the meantime, which is only compacted by the distance from el and will. he's not eating. he needs constant reassurance. his bedroom and basement are messier than we've ever seen them. mike, much like max and chrissy and nancy, is not okay

mike sees things in a very, very black and white way. good and evil. monsters and superheroes. that's why he was so weird about el hitting angela: good guys protect, bad guys hurt. mike rarely thinks violence is justified, even in self defence when it comes to his own bullies, and el's physical safety wasn't being threatened

now put someone with a mindset like that into a situation like the one we've laid out

mike isn't an idiot. he's young and inexperienced and doesn't have a clue how to handle his emotions, but he's not unintelligent or lacking self awareness, and he's not this dense. he knows what he's doing. he knows he's not okay. he's just not doing anything about it, because that would mean hurting el, and mike would always rather get himself hurt than another party member

and isn't it convenient that the latest supernatural threat is one that says, "admit you're not okay or die. get better or die. fix this or die." doesn't that sound like exactly the kind of thing that mike, when backed into a corner, with his binary viewpoint of how good people and bad people act, would think of? doesn't it sound like his subconscious telling him this isn't right? to get his act together and stop pretending?

[storiesbyrhi]

I just re-watched season 2 of Stranger Things and here's the takeaway for me - stop me if you've heard this one before ;) - whoever I was when I watched it in 2017 is not the girl you see before you. I have a wayyyy different interpretation of the characters and the show.

(Season 1 thoughts here.)

'MADMAX' was the coolest way to introduce Max. She is absolutely as rad as I remember. I'm not entirely sure they knew why they wrote Max into the show... Was it to give Lucas something to do (which is shitty for his character); was it to add another girl (yay tokenism); was it a setup for later seasons (I might accept that because not all new characters have to be the star of the show)? Who knows! What I do know is that Sadie Sink really gave Max teeth in an otherwise... eh storyline.

I forgot Nancy and Steve went to Barb's parents for dinners. Makes me so fucking sad. The entire Barb situation is tragic. Idk if it was a reaction to the 'Justice for Barb' movement but regardless, having some follow-up around that was so important. Nancy's trauma being (somewhat) explored was great too.

Jesus H. Christ Noah Schnapp can fucking act. Like yeah, Sadie Sink killed season 4 but Noah Schnapp season 2 is incredible. And he's thirteen! And the intensity and nuance in his performance are wild! !!! !!!

I remember being so charmed by the Dustin and Steve pair-up. Still am. Still am.

"He likes it cold." Yikes. Like I said about season 1, it's cool watching this through a Vecna lens. It feels plausible he was the plan for the show all along.

My memory of Dart was a nice one. Turns out that I forgot he killed Mews. Fuck that guy Dart. He is not my homie. RIP Mews. You deserved better.

I remember the demodogs being more dog-like. They truly be serving Silent Hill, huh?

Unpopular opinion but I don't hate the Kali storyline. I can see how I thought it sucked in 2017; waiting all that time for season 2 to finally come out, then getting that. I probably wanted more action and group bonding. However, I like that we got to see a) an alternative outcome for El had she not found Mike and Hopper, and b) El gain some autonomy in her search for history and home. It makes her choice to be Hopper's daughter more meaningful. The storyline also broadened the danger and cruelty of Brenner and co., and gave a legit setting for El to learn more about her powers.

RIP Bob. My memory of you was correct and you truly are a hero. Casting was A+ because nobody thought they'd violently kill a LOTR/Goonies star in the 80s themed show.

Watching the entire gang in the Byers house in episode 8 was so cool. That sweeping shot of all of them poised ready for the demodog attack... chefs kiss. I am now even angrier that they were all separated in season 4.

There's so much talk about cool television dads. Din Djarin this. Bandit Heeler that. Joel Miller who. Bob Belcher why. Where is the hype for Joyce Byers, who once again proves to be parent of the motherfucking year?! Are you kidding me?!

Knowing that the show goes on to call Mike the heart of the party is a real kick in the teeth. Will is so utterly the heart of this family and found family.

So, I never fell in love with Steve. Not a Stevie girlie. But, ah, this rewatch has me feeling all kinds of things. The fucking character development on this boy?! Might have to branch out into some Steeeeeedie x Reader fics. Shiiiit.

I. Love. Nancy. She. Is. So. Smart. Give. Her. More. Guns. And the scene with Dustin at the dance still breaks my heart. I love her, your honor.

Murray was exactly how I remembered.

Hopper was wayyyy better this season. The "sometimes I think I'm a black hole" speech was fantastic. Him telling El about Sarah, finally, is so healing for them both.

My opinions about Jonathan and Steve changed so much between 2016 and 2023, so I went into this with an open mind re: Billy. However, here's the thing. He's racist. Racists just aren't babes. No matter how else his behaviour and personality are contextualised, he will always be a racist so it's a hard no for me. Yes, Billy is the victim of an abusive parent, but that can only be used to explain some of his behaviour. Not all of it. Nor can it be used to excuse some of his behaviour. Nothing that has happened to Billy can justify the way Max is terrified when she hears his car. She is terrified of him. I'm not saying they don't love each other in a very complicated messy way, but when I try 'redeem' (for lack of a better word) season 2 Billy, I can't. Billy deserved a safe and good home, deserved better than what life gave him, but he'll continue to be a blocked tag for me. I do wanna say that I think he's an important character for a lot of people, and that is so valid. That's why I don't go around posting shit about him 24/7. I'll probably have a lot to say about him in season 3 too, because hey guess what, sexualising a teenager is weird as hell @ grown up adult women living in Hawkins.

At the end of season 2 I am so keen for some more El/Will friendship, Max development, and Jopper.

And I'm onto season 3. (Edit: here's the link!)

This has been a Stranger Things Rhi-Watch.

[the-believer]

max escaping vecna was every bit as powerful as eleven using her powers. it was such an incredible and beautiful scene

max has had to be strong her whole life; she’s been through so much and that’s what was expected of her. if she’s not strong, who will be? she was so underrated (both in the fandom and in her group) and i’m sure she felt that she could never quite fit into the group because she got there late and didn’t have superpowers. and then she spent the year after the fourth of july dealing with horrific trauma and guilt, and did so alone- her best friend moved away and she felt like the others couldn’t understand- not to mention max blamed herself. and then she finds out vecna cursed her- “of course”. and max uses her final hours to write out letters to the most important people in her life and all but resigns herself to her fate. i’m sure she thought it would be easy- because no one undervalues max as much as she does herself. i’m sure she thought that really, they would be okay without her, because she pushed them away and it’s “just” her- not el, not will.

but her friends rally around her, refusing to give up, and do everything they can to save her- just like they would for el, for will, and the others because they. are. family. and max is irreplaceable. even nancy and robin, who we hardly see interact w her, do everything they can (breaking laws) to get the information to save max. and when vecna does catch up to her and they know from eddie’s story that this might be it for her, they still refuse to give up on max. i’ve never seen steve so panicked, never seen the boys try so hard to get through to someone (and lucas knowing her favorite song shows how much he loves her, how he never really left her)

and max? she was going through even MORE shattering trauma but she was still so brave. she ran, kept fighting and got into vecna’s mind because even at her lowest, max is a fighter. max mayfield has had to depend on herself for so long, and she kept trying until vecna finally got her. you can see in her eyes how alone she feels, how hopeless, how she’s out of options. and as her worst fears come true, max’s friends’ love and devotion breaks through another dimension because they will never give up on her. 15 feet in the air, they call her and tell her they’re there for her.

max’s eyes change the second she sees them breaking through. she truly sees that she isn’t alone- she sees memories of lucas and dustin welcoming her to hawkins, bonding with mike, dancing with lucas, her day at the mall with el, having fun with her all of her best friends and realizes that all along, they have loved her every bit as much as she loves them. max realizes that she is strong, but that when she needs help, her friends will always be there for her. so max chooses to hope, to fight, to live. she escapes vecna’s control, something no one has done before, and runs. she dodges every obstacle, refusing to give up despite all the odds and everything she’s been through to get back to her friends and her life. and as she escapes, you can see vecna realize- this girl is special.

max overcomes her trauma and an otherworldly demon purely through her own strength and the love of her friends family and there is nothing more powerful.

[mlchaelwheeler]

The party's dnd games as foreshadowing for S5

After seeing this post by @bylertruther yesterday, I started theorizing about possible scenarios for the end battle of S5 and how the party's dnd games throughout the seasons foreshadow what might happen.

The very first scene we see of the party in S1 is a dnd game, in which Will rolls a 7, and his character is attacked by the demogorgan. It’s quite clear throughout S1 that this move foreshadows exactly what happened to Will when he got taken to the Upside Down later that same night-- he even tells Mike right before this happens: “the demogorgan, it got me.” We’ve all been over this fact a million times and we all know how blatant the foreshadowing is, but this is important setup for the rest of this analysis, so just keep this scene in mind.

After Will gets saved and as Christmastime approaches, the party gets together for another dnd game. Mike has spent lots of time planning it, and wants it to be perfect because it’s supposedly Will’s first time playing dnd again since being in the Upside Down and being hunted by the demogorgan. The game ends in victory, with Will rolling a 14 and defeating the new enemy Mike has cooked up: the thessalhydra.

Here's where things get interesting. Even though Will defeats the thessalhydra, the party isn't happy with the outcome of the game. They question Mike about plot holes and loose threads that never got addressed (which led to lots of plot theorizing pre-S2, but even after S2 a lot of this didn't make sense-- but that's because it was meant as foreshadowing for even later). The questions asked didn't make sense back then, but they could make sense in the context of S5.

The "lost knight"? Mike is the paladin of the party: a knight in shining armor who bravely protects his friends to the death. Could this be foreshadowing to Mike becoming trapped (or lost) in the Upside Down in S5? Or is this perhaps a reference to Mike being "lost" in regards to his feelings towards Will and El and how to accept deep truths about himself?

The "proud princess"? I originally couldn't come up with anything for this one, but @bylertruther brought up the fact that Max is going to be a damsel in distress of sorts in S5, while waiting for her friends to save her from Vecna's clutches. She also has the princess imagery going while stuck in her coma-- think of Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. True love will be what saves her in the end, either romantic (Lucas) or platonic (El).

The "weird flowers in the cave"? It's pretty self-explanatory that the demogorgan's/demodog's faces are flower-shaped. As for the caves, the Upside Down as a whole has tons of cave/rocky imagery, what with the tunnels, the cliff Henry climbs after first seeing the mindflayer, and the stalactite-looking spires in the mindscape. I'm guessing that this points towards the final battle taking place not in Hawkins, but in the actual Upside Down for a change.

Let's talk about the thessalhydra itself for a second though. Because where have we seen something similar before? That's right: the three-headed dragon in Will's painting for Mike. Yes, they're not identical monsters, but there are similarities here. Will's art has been foreshadowing before (see: the entire plot of S2), so is it that much of a reach that the painting could be foreshadowing to the threat posed to the party in S5?

It's clear that there will be a monster of some sort in S5-- a monster worse than a demogorgan. In 4x08, Vecna shows Nancy the past (his past) and the future. He shows her a monster, her whole family dead, and four gates opened. This was before Max was captured and put into a coma, so Vecna was showing Nancy the true future here. Could Will have seen this same future through his connection to Vecna and subconsciously added it to his painting?

In S2, Will's connection with the mindflayer (or Vecna, as we now know) allowed him to see what the mindflayer was seeing. His "now-memories" allowed him to see somewhat into the future. Will was able to predict Hopper being in danger based on what he dreamt the night Hopper entered the tunnels. He was even able to pinpoint the exact location of Hopper's car-- just from the now-memories alone! It's completely feasible that Will would be able to also see things Vecna is seeing in S4/5.

Furthermore, Will acquired true sight from his time in the Upside Down (or possibly related to latent powers?). This is important because true sight means he can see the reality of what's occurring in the ethereal plane. He's not seeing visions of what might happen, he's seeing the truth. This is different from Vecna's visions, where he causes people to see their worst fears and trauma they haven't dealt with-- truth as a basis, but exacerbated by lies and illusions. Will is seeing the reality of the Upside Down, which can probably extend to Vecna'd mindscape as well, giving him a way to see Vecna's thoughts and what could happen in the future.

Mike said it himself in S2: Will is a super spy. Sure, the mindflayer was spying through him for a time, but Will was spying right back. Since this connection is still as strong as ever, I'm willing to bet Will may need to take on the "spy" role again in S5. Will can already feel what Vecna is feeling, and see what Vecna's seeing. I'm sure he's also privy to Vecna's motivations and tactics for choosing his victims, so this could be very valuable in the fight against Vecna in S5. If Will can sense who will be targeted and how, it could protect his friends and family from ending up like Max (for now).

So how does Will's true sight and connection to Vecna connect to the dnd games, the thessalhydra, and his painting? The second-last and final rolls are always very important in foreshadowing what will happen later in the season, and with the "every ending has a beginning" tagline for S4, it's important to first look at S1. During their dnd game, Will's role of a 7 got him taken to the Upside Down. But in the next game, he rolled a 14 and defeated the thessalhydra. I think this is pretty clear foreshadowing to the fact that Will is going to be the one to defeat Vecna/the mindflayer for good.

El's already had her chance, and did her part in S4. Yes, she got out of Vecna's clutches and hit him with her powers, but she still wasn't able to save Max. I'm guessing El's arc will be geared more towards saving Max in S5, rather that directly confronting Vecna again. She's already done that, so it would be somewhat of a waste to just do a repeat of their battle.

What would be a better alternative? Will being the one to face down (and destroy Vecna). It's Will who Vecna has been targeting since S1, Will who shares the same similarities to Henry growing up, and Will who has the seemingly unbreakable connection to the mindflayer after all these years. Remember, back in S2, the mindflayer wanted to kill everyone except Will. Why? He obviously has a special connection to him that remains to be seen until the big reveal in S5.

Whatever happens with Vecna though, I think Will's painting is clear foreshadowing that the party will be facing down a threat from the Upside Down. The Duffers said that the characters will be back in their original S1 groups in S5, and Will is going to be the main focus, so having the party together as a whole (the original four boys, since El will likely be off saving Max) would be the perfect culmination of this.

If we look at their dnd characters, Mike as the paladin is front and center, leading the attack. It's also important to note that it's his shield which has the heart on it, pointing to the fact that it's Will's love that will ultimately protect Mike. Perhaps since Will is a cleric (and has healing powers), he will have to heal Mike from a bad injury suffered during the battle.

In the dnd game in 4x01, Dustin first rolled an 11 (a miss), which failed in defeating Vecna-- clearly foreshadowing the fact that El wouldn't be able to defeat Vecna on her own. That fact was backed up by how the "final" battle went down in 4x09, when El stopped Vecna briefly (in order to somewhat save Max), but ultimately didn't defeat him-- he managed to escape, and will likely gather his strength to become stronger than ever for the next confrontation in S5.

A 20 was rolled later (by Erica), which was the final blow that defeated Vecna. It's important to note that Erica was the underdog of Hellfire-- the one who was somewhat overlooked because she wasn't originally from the club. This same concept can be applied to Will (even though he is an original member of the party): he is an underdog in the sense that he hasn't showed obvious signs of manifesting powers yet, plus, he was overlooked and forgotten by all his friends (and family) in S3/4.

It's very likely, given all this foreshadowing, that Will is going to be the lucky break that the party needs in order to defeat Vecna once and for all. Will feels different, but Mike makes him feel like it's ok to be different. Similarly, Mike feels like he has to be needed in order to be worth something, but little does he know Will needs him in the exact way he's hoping for.

Mike's love makes Will stronger, and Will's love protects Mike. Together, they have the strength and ability to defeat Vecna. It may be a cliché, but love does overpower hate and evil. Once Mike and Will realize the love they have for each other is true and pure, they'll be unstoppable in the fight against Vecna, mainly because they won't be able to befall any of his tactics of manipulation. Vecna can't hurt those who are at peace with their inner turmoil and are at the happiest moment in their life. Together, Mike and Will are a force to be reckoned with. Vecna should be scared. El's powers, he understood because he has observed them and manifested similar ones. Whatever Will has hiding away though, Vecna won't see coming, which will be the way to end him once and for all.

[whyrish]

Hello! I’m angry and want to rant so Stranger things season 4 spoilers under the cut.

I am so again angry that Steve decided all of his character development is due to Nancy. Yes, she was a part of it but the “kick upside the head” was her telling him that she didn’t love him that they were bullshit and then getting with the guy she told him not to worry about. (Btw I literally love Nancy Wheeler and she is one of my favorite women characters so this is NOT Nancy hate)

But putting all the emphasis on her breaking up with him as the main source of him realizing he isn’t all that feels like it lessens the other major events that happened in his life. As if he wasn’t affected by Barb dying in his pool (although he did get over it easier than Nancy did 100% as evidenced by him moving on) As if he didn’t almost die 5000 times from the monsters, from Nancy holding a gun to him, from the Russians, from Billy practically beating him to death. I’m pretty sure that those things could have accounted to knocking him around.

If it isn’t just the bad things happening to him that gave him the jumpstart, then how about the good things. Caring for her made him a nicer person yes. Absolutely. But most of his character development you see with him comes from his friendships with primarily two people: Dustin and Robin. He learns to be less selfish and open up and care for Dustin and by extension the rest of the gang over the course of season 2 and 3. Then he meets Robin who constantly holds him accountable for his douchebaggery and teases him and teaches him to take himself less seriously. You watch all of these platonic relationships affect him and watch him learn to be more and more selfless and stand up for people and be more open and understanding and patient.

Steve has had his character development unfurl our eyes since season one, and attributing it all to a romantic upheaval from Nancy not only cheapens that development, but also feels reductive to Nancy’s character and makes her feel like just another love interest. The way he goes on to talk about his dream of a bunch of kids with Nancy as the mom only makes it worse to me. What about her dreams? He had moved on from her in season 3 and now he’s back to liking the idea of her. When has Nancy ever said she wanted kids??????????????????

Overall, I feel like this points to an overall problem I had with season 4. It has lost sight of a common theme that was SO important to me for the first three seasons: the theme of chosen family and friends. You can see this in how Mike just doesn’t see his best friend since childhood crying next to him that he spent season 1 and 2 fighting tooth and nail for and biked through the rain in the middle of the night to talk to in season three cause he couldn’t sleep knowing Will was mad. How Eleven is only able to power up when her love interest (which is what Mike pretty much all he was this season) said he loved her and gave her a pep talk as if her best friend who she had come to help literally dying was not enough for her to have that breakthrough. How Max’s only happy memory was the dance with Lucas (which was a very cute scene yes) and not bonding at the mall with El or bonding with Mike in the Gym, or them teasing Dustin. Why was that dance the ONLY happy memory she could retreat to? Also how Steve lets Robin run off into the woods alone. How we only see Dustin affected by Eddie’s death as if the whole gang wasn’t friends with him.

I know this whole rant is borderline incoherent and please tell me if I misremembered the show or certain elements because I want all this to make SENSE.

[lakemichigans]

my thoughts! SPOILER WARNING

i already complained enough about will's lack of plot and screentime so i won't get into it here, but my point still stands. that throwaway line at the end where he says he can still feel vecna gives me hope for season 5, but doesn't take away my anger at letting him become gay background noise the past 2 seasons. the fucking vecna parallels!! the parallels!

i loved how they handled max's trauma regarding billy and how she secretly prayed for him to die (especially in a car accident, considering his car is where he continuously terrorized her). very spot on. then the survivors guilt that lead her to feel so guilty for what is, in reality, just a normal trauma response. i sincerely hope that they bring her out of this coma otherwise all of it will be for nothing (but i have a strong feeling she'll pull through, otherwise why wouldn't they just kill her in the finale?) also, caleb's acting in this scene was fucking heartbreaking :(

the whole robin/vickie subplot sucks. we're already doing the unrequited love thing with will & mike!! i get that they're hinting vickie is actually interested in robin, but they didn't need to do any of this. it's irrelevant, just give her a girlfriend and put that angsty screentime towards more important things

controversial opinion but eddie's death was perfect to me. he's like bob. he's great, he adds something to the group, but when it's his time to go (to further the plot in a meaningful way that's been built up since the beginning of the season), he goes as a hero. i know it's never fun to see a character you love get killed, but i appreciate the purpose of it and that's why i liked it. HOWEVER it's bullshit that steve/robin/nancy we're never shown mourning for him?? dustin's scenes were amazing, especially with eddie's uncle, but why did eddie's other friends not seem to give a shit??

steve's feelings for nancy feel very genuine and mature - it's nancy's feelings that are chaotic and naive (and i say that out of love for her). i fully believe that steve has worked on himself and wants nancy back in his life because he thinks that they only broke up because of what he did, but the truth is that it wasn't just his faults that ended the relationship, it was nancy's too. she NEEDS breathing room and the ability to find herself without putting anyone else first. steve has had time to grow, but nancy hasn't. she needs to ditch them both. months or years down the line, if she reconnects with one of them (or both in my dreams lol) then perfect, it will be much healthier for all of them. but right now? dump him!!!

they gave karen wheeler some of her agency & brain back, that's cool.

i don't mind the fact that vecna is also the mind flayer. it was clear that the mind flayer was communicating with will somehow, it wasn't just a cloud of smoke, you know? it was sentient in some way. and it furthers my belief that vecna chose will on purpose, because he sees himself in him. he doesn't want to kill will, he wants to use him. the same way he wanted el to join him. please god let it mean something. i am so tired of seeing will get NOTHING from the plot

i love that we're consistently shown how love is stronger than anger. it's never the bad memories that give them strength, it's always memories of friendship and love and happiness ;-;

[sevensided]

Fathers in Stranger Things

This recent conversation about family acceptance in ST has made me think a lot about fathers in the show. I believe that a central theme in the story is acceptance. Acceptance of the supernatural, acceptance of differences, acceptance of one another. This dovetails into other key themes - forgiveness, friendship, and love - but in the context of parents and, specifically, Mike and Will, I think acceptance is an interesting way to think about how fathers or father figures play in their eventual relationship.

Every father on the show is an absent figure. This is for two reasons: to illustrate how much more hands-off raising children was in the 80s; and to highlight the role mothers play in the development of our characters. This also links into broader, structural themes, such as heterosexuality, patriarchy, and gender roles. On a simple level, the fathers are absent because it is the mothers who do the child rearing. This absence, however, also reveals the lack of paternal support in the lives of our core characters, and as a result, the supplementation of father figures. This dovetails into a theme that carries throughout the show - that of found families - but when it comes to Mike and Will’s development, together and separately, this relates importantly to how they will come to see themselves as young, probably gay, men.

Fathers

To start, I’ll briefly overview the main fathers of the series. We can largely group them as absent but harmless, or absent and harmful.

Ted Wheeler is an apathetic feature in Mike’s life. He is typically involved in scenes that underscore the domestic discord of the Wheeler household, and his role is primarily to show how unhappy Karen is in their marriage, and how his children do not connect with him. While there are some indications that he cares for his children, these are not carried through onscreen and, for the most part, Ted does not participate in raising Nancy or Mike. 

Lucas’ father, Mr Sinclair, is presented once in association with his wife, Mrs Sinclair. Their breakfast table scene is used to show the dynamic of the Sinclair household, and for Lucas to ask his parents abstract advice on how to win Max back after their argument. Mr Sinclair makes some period-typical comments that are intended to be funny, but they also indicate that Lucas was brought up in a fairly stereotypical atmosphere (to paraphrase: “What do you do if mom’s mad at you?” / “Yes, what do you do?” / “Your mother is never wrong”). You could go all galaxy brain and say this is a nod to Joyce Byers - who spends a lot of the show trying to prove she’s right - but as this is the sole scene that features Lucas’ parents, it is our only insight into their familial dynamic, and therefore our only frame of reference as to how Lucas is raised.

Dustin’s father is not mentioned in canon and it appears he was raised in a single-parent household. With no evidence to the contrary, we can go ahead and assume that Dustin’s only meaningful parental relationship is to his mother, with whom he has a strong bond.

Lonnie Byers is an undesirable and unreliable father who left Joyce and his sons before canon. When he does reappear in S01, he is proved yet again to be a grifter looking to take advantage of Will’s disappearance and assumed death. It it subtly indicated that Lonnie was abusive to Jonathan (“You’ve gotten stronger”) and, it’s possible, to Joyce or Will too. He is certainly proved to be homophobic (“Lonnie used to call him a qu**r, said he was a f*g” / “Is he?”). Lonnie may be entirely physically absent, yet his impact on Will resonates through the story, and in a figurative sense, he is very much present.

Steve’s father is, similarly to Ted, indicated to be a work-focused man who is rarely around the Harrington household. In S01 he goes on a work trip and is accompanied by his wife (“My mom doesn’t trust him” / “Probably a good thing”) which indicates he may have been unfaithful to Mrs Harrington in the past. He is a very literal absence in Steve’s life yet appears off-screen as a forceful presence (“My dad is a grade-A asshole”) that shapes Steve’s life, culminating in S03 with Steve’s job at the mall.

The biological father of Billy and Max’s step-father, Mr Hargrove, is an abusive, sexist, and dangerous man, whose impact on Billy is so severe that it renders him vulnerable to possession by the Mind Flayer and eventually results in Billy’s death. When El goes into Billy’s memories in the S03 finale, we see how Mr Hargrove used sports to bully and antagonize his son into performative masculinity, and how he often resorted to physical violence against Billy and his late mother. Our other insight into Mr Hargrove’s paternal presence is through Max, whose behaviour indicates that while she is, possibly, partly protected by her mother, she is not protected from Billy, who takes his anger with his father out on her. Max is cagey about the full impact of Mr Hargrove, but is it subtle and sufficient enough to show that he is among the most dangerous male characters in the series so far, and his onscreen absence, like Lonnie, resonates figuratively in the lives of our characters.

The final father figure to discuss is Dr Brenner. Brenner is cold and remote in that he is the PI of a government-funded underground project modeled on MK Ultra, and thus treats Eleven like the scientific subject she is. Brenner’s acts of care are only figured as manipulation tactics (such as talking quietly yet firmly to El, carrying her from the solitary confinement cell when she kills the guard, allowing her a toy lion) and cannot in good conscience be considered parental kindness. Brenner’s power over El is so potent that Kali draws on their shared memory of Brenner in S02 to capitalise on El’s powers. El perceives Brenner as a father (“Papa”). Like Lonnie and Mr Hargrove, Brenner’s absence lingers and retains a hold over El.

As we can see, you have absent but harmful figures like Dr Brenner, Lonnie, and Mr Hargrove, and absent but harmless figures like Ted, Dustin’s father, Mr Sinclair, and even, to an extent, Mr Harrington. This rough categorisation helps us see that the show’s fathers are painted into a conspicuous binary that reflects the expectations placed on our characters as they learn to become men. Are they jocks or nerds? Straight or gay? In the world of Reaganite Hawkins, society is bookended by the normal and acceptable, or the abnormal and unacceptable. In this context, fathers - and to a larger extent, masculinity - either exist passively or aggressively, and both impact our characters either overtly (Billy and Will) or subliminally (Mike and Lucas).

Father figures

The characters above stand in stark contrast to the father figures presented in the series. These include Hopper, Bob, Mr Clarke, and Steve. Quite by chance, they each represent different elements of masculinity and different figures of power in the lives of our main cast. 

Mr Clarke, for example, is representative of institutional power (a teacher) and has a strong influence over the Party in encouraging their curiosity and natural interest in science and the world around them. He is not typically masculine - he is a nerd - but he gently guides the Party through school and is shown to care for them.

Bob is representative of a found father figure in that he steps into the Byers’ life in no permanent sense (“This is not a normal family” / “But it could be”), but his respect of Joyce’s boundaries nevertheless sees him exercise a positive influence over Will (Jonathan, by Bob’s own admission, is harder to crack - understandable, given Jonathan’s past with Lonnie and, possibly, other men Joyce has occasionally had in her life). Bob’s absence - his death - is palpable, and leaves a lasting impression on Joyce, who is arguably in mourning for a good part of S03. In a similar vein, you can also make the argument that Jonathan is a father figure to Will (but that deserves its own post).

Steve represents more of a big brother role to the rest of the Party, but it is possible to see Steve as a father figure to Dustin, particularly over the course of S02. Steve drives Dustin to the dance, gives him advice on girls (a stereotypical “dad talk”), protects him, and supports him. In S03 their relationship has shifted into more of a friendship, but that does not take away from their initial dynamic that had a paternal undertone to it.

These are all examples of father figures. But the most important example of this is Hopper, and it is because he subverts this mold. Aside from the obvious link to El, in that he raises her from S02 and even becomes her “father” (Jane Hopper), it is not Hopper’s absence as a father that is important, but the absence of his daughter. Hopper is therefore an inverted male character. The absence (death) of his daughter stands in binary to the Party’s biological fathers, who are otherwise the absent ones. In contrast, Hopper is very present. Hopper is a father in the literal sense, but he is a father figure to Mike and Will: Mike, through his relationship with El and in the absence of Ted (Hopper gives Mike the “dad talk” in S03); and Will through Hopper’s relationship with Joyce. Hopper’s absent daughter is substituted most clearly by El. But in an abstract way, he also fits that role with Mike and Will too. In sum, Hopper’s absence as a biological father is redeemed when he becomes a father figure to other characters. He is therefore neither harmful or harmless, and can be seen as an outlier - but that is deliberate. It is deliberate because he and Joyce are the only parents/parental figures who know and understand the supernatural in Hawkins. I suspect that by the end of the series, Karen may be drawn into the fold too.

Mothers

I mentioned at the start that the absence of fathers highlights the role that mothers play in the series. This is best understood - and perhaps only understood - with direct reference to Karen Wheeler and Joyce Byers. Karen and Joyce have huge roles to play in how Mike and Will will come to understand themselves. They do this in spite of the male absence in Mike and Will’s lives, because a central theme of the ST story is love, especially maternal love.

Karen Wheeler is introduced as a typical housewife whose role it is to care for her children - Nancy, Mike, and Holly - and take care of the Wheelers’ home. She is in an unhappy marriage with Ted, and is unhappy enough to consider having an affair with Billy in S03. It is her sense of duty that prevents her from carrying this out. Karen is repeatedly shown to reach out to her children and frequently offers emotional support (most potently in S01-2, S03 being the sole exception [“It’s hard to keep track. You know what it’s like - summer!”]). Despite their rebuffs Karen does not give up trying to support her children. She is occasionally successful (Mike comes to her for comfort once per season, and she and Nancy are shown to have a tumultuous but altogether strong relationship, culminating in the S03 kitchen speech scene) yet, arguably, Mike and Nancy’s willfulness and growing up is a point of frustration and another source of unhappiness. While it will blow over - they are both teenagers - in the context of the show their rejection of her emotional support further reinforces her isolation. It is important to note that while Mike does crumble and come to her for comfort, this happens only in times of duress (Will’s disappearance, Will moving away). In other words, Mike does not rely on his mother for emotional support but she is still his mother, and when he does come to her it is during Mike’s emotional high points. These are always linked to Will. This directly ties Mike’s emotional development as it relates to Will to the maternal support given by his mother.

Joyce Byers is, as we all know, the resident PFLAG rep. Her relationship with Will is a central element of the story, and it is strengthened not despite Lonnie’s absence but in spite of it. It is moot to think of how Joyce and Will would have developed if Lonnie had stayed in canon, because Joyce is repeatedly shown to be driven by the love for her children. What is essential to understand about Joyce is that she is an atypical parent. She is a single working class mother whose brushes with normality (e.g. Bob) are taken away by the supernatural. As mentioned before, this further highlights the thematic divide between normality/abnormality and visible/invisible that are staples to the plot. In other words, Joyce has not found her “normal”, because Will has not yet found his normal. Until that happens, her happiness is at stake, partly because it is tied to the happiness of her children, but because Will’s overarching influence over the supernatural elements in the story is inextricably tied to his sense of belonging. Joyce, unlike Karen, has already won her child’s trust and support. Will’s story, therefore, is linked more closely to the absence of his father, whereas for Mike, it is not the absence of his father that is to be overcome, but his aversion to connecting with Karen.

Mike and Will

Taken together, I believe that when it comes to Mike and Will and their respective sexuality, it is not the fathers that will figure in their coming out, but their mothers. The show plays on the absence of fathers and places them in opposition to the presence of mothers. It is maternal love that guides Mike and Will, and it is maternal love that will protect them. This concept is only subverted by El and Hopper’s relationship, for it is El’s mother and Hopper’s daughter who is absent, therefore implying that they are contradictions, or inversions, of the show’s presentation of the familial.

Mike’s relationship with Ted is not a model. Aside from Ted’s general apathy towards his children - he demonstrably leaves the discipline and care of their children to Karen, as evidenced by every family scene in which Karen makes the decisions and Ted remains silent - he appears to have given up in connecting with Mike as his son. I mentioned before how Mr Hargrove used sports to coerce Billy into performative masculinity; the same can be said of Will, who disliked it when Lonnie took him to baseball games, and even destroys Castle Byers with a baseball bat. In contrast, Mike’s baseball bat (picked up in S01 by Nancy, who pretends to be practicing for the softball team) is in the garage, indicating it is not used, if it ever was. Arguably, Mike’s insistent and forceful personality might have bowled the passive Ted over, but Ted’s disconnect to his son is also evidenced in S01 when Ted jokes, “Our son, with a girl?” I have discussed here how this line was a blatant reference to Mike’s “nerd” status. As S03 has proved, the Duffers rely on 80s tropes to sublimate existing themes in their story. With nerds typically understood in 80s cultural discourse as sexually and romantically inexperienced social loners, Ted’s comment betrays three things: how he perceives his son; the failed expectations for his son; and how the audience is meant to understand Mike as a character. Ted does not feature in Mike’s upbringing, and I think this is deliberate for two reasons: to underscore how traditional Mike’s upbringing is; and to foreshadow that it will not be Ted’s opinion of Mike that matters in the end. It will be Karen’s.

Will’s relationship with Lonnie is, as presented onscreen in canon, non-existent. It only plays out off-screen and we have not yet seen Will and Lonnie interact in person. Regardless of where you stand with the theory that Lonnie’s abuse manifested in Will to become the Mind Flayer (I personally agree with it), Lonnie’s eventual presence in the show will be a critical moment and, likely, the climax of the entire series. As addressed above, Lonnie is indicated to be homophobic, if not abusive, to Will in the past. I won’t touch on the abuse as that is largely hearsay at the point of writing this post, however the homophobic language is canon and therefore has a bearing on how we are expected to interpret Will and his relationship to 1) other boys/men, and 2) his sexuality. Both Mike and Will have no meaningful relationship with their fathers. Yet, while Mike’s father is absent and harmless, Lonnie is absent and very much harmful. Thus, the lasting influence of his absence is made more potent by the power of Will’s memories/imagination. Having been subjected to direct homophobic bullying, Will’s sexual identity is tied very much to his relationships with older men, with Jonathan, Bob, and to an extent, Mr Clarke, as positive representations of masculinity, and Lonnie on the other end of the spectrum. To Will, Lonnie may be physically absent but he is figuratively present. As such, it will not be Lonnie’s reaction to Will’s sexuality that is important. It will be Will’s overcoming of Lonnie’s hold over him that will be the defining moment in his character arc. 

Parental absence is key to Mike and Will’s development together and individually. Both Mike and Will have to overcome their absent fathers in different ways. The key to this will be breaking free of the societal expectations placed on them, drawing strength in maternal love, and, crucially, finding love and acceptance with each other. The defining point is that despite surface-level indications to the contrary, it is not the fathers who are important: it is the mothers.

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

S.T. REWRITE - S2:E9; Chapter Nine, The Gate - [Pt. 2]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

The survivors turn up the heat on the monstrous force that's holding Will hostage, and Y/n's powers are put to the ultimate test in the process. Eleven makes plans to finish what she started.

A/n: **PEAK** Mama Steve here. Don't forget to get him something nice next Mothers day, okay?

||3rd Person POV||

"It's not like it was before," Hopper recounts to the rallied group in the kitchen. "It's grown."

He leans against the counter, everyone is packed inside the kitchen with him. The majority circle the table but everyone is listening intently regardless as Hopper continues.

"A lot. And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demodogs." Dustin quickly corrects.

Lucas and Y/n meet eyes and shake their heads in matching disbelief. Somewhat dramatically, Y/n rolls her eyes and drops her forehead on top of Lucas's shoulder in exhaustion. She shakes her head and he chuckles weakly and noiselessly down at her before they return their attention to an equally aggravated Hopper.

"I'm sorry," he says flatly. "what?"

"I said, uh, Demodogs. Like Demogorgan and dogs. Like, you put them together, its sounds pretty badass--"

"How is this important right now?" Hopper demands, cutting him off.

"It's not. I'm sorry," Dustin mumbled.

El speaks up, looking directly at Hopper knowing he might resist her statement.

"I can do it."

Hopper and Mike share a brief and subtle look before Hopper shakes his head at her protectively.

"You're not hearing me."

Never blinking, her eyebrows raised in a challenging manner right back at the man.

"I'm hearing you. I can do it."

"Even if El can," Mike cuts in, looking around the room. "there's still another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the whole point," Max asks.

"It is, but if we're really right about this... I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army..."

"Will's apart of that army." Lucas finishes.

Mike nods gravely. "Closing the gate will kill him."

A heavy silence befalls the room, and soon all are wearing the same grave and fearful expression as Mike. All apart from Joyce Byers, who's eyes sit wide and her heart racing.

She had an idea.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Everyone follows her closely into Jonathan's bedroom where Will slept. She looks at his sleeping form. He was completely on top of the blankets, as he had been sleeping the past few nights. The final pieces click into place when her eyes trail to the open window. The curtain dances in the air as a steady stream of chilly autumn air was being pumped into the room.

"He likes it cold." She mutters.

Hopper looks on in confusion between Joyce and Will. "What?"

"That's what Will kept saying to me," Joyce mutters. "He likes it cold."

She marches across the room and shuts the window without hesitation. She turns to the others, agitated.

"We keep giving it what it wants."

Nancy nods in thought.

"If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..."

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable," Jonathan confirms.

"So if he likes it cold..."

"We need to burn it out of him." Joyce nods.

Several hearts spiked at the conclusion, but none more so than a certain individual lingering at the edge of the group. Her mind had been racing at inordinate speeds as they developed their theory. Her mouth ran bone dry, and her throat felt like sandpaper. But much like El just minutes ago, she knew that despite the risks, she had to what she had to do.

She steps forward into view, catching everyone's eye, looking to Will sadly. The state he was in was enough to assure her of her decision, to put to rest any lingering unease. She eyes Hopper and Joyce, and with a definitive nod, Y/n speaks.

"I think I can help with that."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The house was now completely abuzz with activity as everyone prepares. Will's sleeping form - now wrapped in the Byers' warmest and thickest blanket - was now being carried outside by an urgent Hopper.

"Take Denfield, then you'll see a large oak tree." He orders to Jonathan quickly.

After a brief, but hefty catchup on Y/n's developed abilities - a conversation that rose many questions, and was news to some - the final details of their plan began to fall into place.

"Sweetie, what are you saying?" Joyce had asked.

Her, Jonathan and Nancy were the last to receive the shocking news of her origins. Hopper only asked one question, and it did not surprise Y/n as to why seeing as he had discovered and previously possessed the Missing Experiment files.

"You're the one they were looking for all those years, aren't you?"

Y/n nodded and pulled out the files from her jacket again. She handed them to him and he examined the folder in surprise. It quickly evaporated before he returned his gaze - and the files - to the girl, nodding.

"I always wondered, but I thought it was too big of a coincidence." He mumbled.

Y/n shrugged weakly, with a hint of a deflated smile. "Guess not."

Now the matter at hand was getting Will somewhere he wouldn't be able to recognize.

Hence their trip to Hopper's cabin.

It was decided fairly quickly they would need to split up. Groups were formed even quicker. Y/n would go with the Byers to Hopper's cabin, where hopefully they would be able to smoke the Mind Flayer out of Will. This group was inappropriately but rather aptly named by Dustin as the MacNeil Team after his favorite horror film, the Exorcist. But not without some hurried scolding from his sister.

Dustin, that is literally the least important thing right now!

Hopper would be escorting El to the gate so she could close it once and for all. Another group coined by Dustin, as the Gatekeepers. Dude! And the rest would remain stationed at the Byers home, on-call should either group need assistance. And much to everyone's great agitation, Dustin declared them the Brady Bunch.

"You're gonna swing a right. That road is gonna dead-end," he continues. "And it's about a five-minute walk from there."

Hopper lowers Will into the now open car, Jonathan gripping the edge of the door tightly as he runs through the checklist in his brain.

"Okay. Denfield to oak tree. Swing a right." He repeats, nodding. "That's it. But it's channel ten, right?"

Jonathan swings the door closed, and Hopper nods, placing his hand on the kid's shoulder.

"It's channel ten. Listen," he pants, still out of breath from the sudden rush of things. "You let me know when that thing is out of him."

Jonathan manages a nod, and Hopper stalks off. He shifts around to face the car, and peered inside he sees his brother. He looked so fragile, but it was also threatening knowing what was inside him. A great sigh escapes Jonathan and he pulls his hand down his face in a nervous manner. Before tearing his gaze away to help the others prepare, he makes a silent promise to his sleeping brother.

'We won't give up, Will. I promise.'

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Two shaky beams of light skitter across the pile of discarded things in the Byers backyard. They grow larger and larger until Nancy and Steve stand at the edge and begin fishing through the storage, flashlights in hand. Crickets and the sound of the wind snaking through the trees nearby fill the silence created by the two. Finally, Steve speaks without meeting her eye.

"You should go with him,"

Nancy looks up at Steve questionably. "What?"

"With Jonathan," Steve replies.

He's now kneeling beside the heap, his eyes are hollow as he holds the bundle of Christmas lights from the previous year. His mind is flooded with chilling memories.

"No, I'm," Nancy scoffs lightly. "I'm not just gonna leave Mike."

Steve dropped the heavy bundle of lights, rises to his feet, and nears Nancy. His eyes spotting a useful contraption among the clutter.

"No one's leaving anyone." He assures simply.

Seeing it too, she pulls a large summer fan by the handle and holds it up, allowing Steve to dig for the heater buried beneath it. He pulls it from the heap and smiles sadly, though a hint of pride in his voice as he thinks of his brief time with the kids.

"I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but..." he laughs weakly, his smile still lingering. "turns out I'm actually a pretty damn good babysitter."

He hands her the heater and she takes it reluctantly, her gaze finds his bittersweet stare. The guilt she had previously shelved in the past few days returns and all she can find herself saying is his name.

"Steve..."

His tone matches his eyes, and he shakes his head softly. "It's okay, Nance."

"It's okay." He reassures her.

She wracks her brain for the words, but by the time she manages a syllable, he's already walking away. Nancy watches sadly, his words bouncing around her mind as she watches him disappear into the house, leaving her with nothing but the heater and her thoughts.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"Just be careful, alright?" Mike pleas. "I can't lose you again."

El shakes her head definitively and gazes up into Mike's wide and glassy eyes. The ones that had always made her heart flutter.

"You won't lose me."

The last of the preparations had been made, and everyone had begun to split up, not without plenty of heartfelt goodbyes, Mike and El among the last.

Mike's cheeks are already pink from crying, and she watches sadly as a single glossy tear streaks down his face. She can hear the sadness in his voice, and her grip on his hands tighten in a reassuring and gentle squeeze.

"Do you promise?" He croaks.

El swallows the lump in her throat and puts on a sad smile.

"Promise."

Their eyes lingered on one another and as they both so longed for during their time apart. Slowly, they drew closer, their eyes flickering to one another's lips.

And all too quickly the moment ended at the sound of Hopper's perfectly timed voice.

"El," took a puff from his cigarette, his eyes glazing over Mike's in a warning. "Come on, let's go. It's time."

With a deep and shaky breath, she turns back to look at Mike. They share a sorrowful and understanding nod filled with a thousand promises.

They would see each other again.

Tentatively she backs away, not wanting to part from Mike any more than he did and that's when she spots Y/n on the front porch. She was locked in a bone-crushing hug with Dustin, who didn't seem to want to let her go. His eyes were squeezed shut and his hat was pushed up higher against his head as he tucked himself further into the hug, and she saw his lips moving as he spoke something to her. No doubt words of encouragement and pleas to come back safe.

El smiled sadly.

"El, what is it?" Mike followed her eyes over his shoulder, and his face hardened a bit.

El tore her eyes away from the tearful siblings - feeling quite tearful herself - and back at Mike. Her thumb stroked the back of his palm lightly, bringing his attention back to her.

"Mike..."

His lips were still pressed into a firm line, but he eases immediately when he saw El. "Yeah?"

"Try to understand,"

"Understand what?"

"She was keeping you safe."

Mike searched her eyes, not quite knowing how to react.

"Because I made her promise."

Mike bit his lip in thought, his emotions battling one another. El saw this and squeezed his palms once more before locking her gaze with his to assure her word.

"'Mike needs to know'"

"Huh?"

"That's what she told me. When she saw me. She wanted you to know."

Mike looked taken aback, and timidly he looked over his shoulder once more at his friend. She pulled away from Dustin, a sad and sniveling smile on her face before she sensed eyes on her. She turned her head to find Mike looking at her, and for a moment she didn't know how to react. She just waited to gauge his reaction before offering him a weak smile. He looked back at El before the moment could dwell any longer.

"El," It was Hopper, he was now climbing into the truck. "Come on."

She returns her gaze to Mike one final time and nods before departing. Mike feels the presence of his friends collecting behind him in front of the porch. They all watch with a worried stare as their friends and loved ones pile inside their respective vehicles. Nancy climbs into the front seat with Jonathan, El does the same with Hopper. Y/n, meanwhile, joins Joyce in the backseat of Jonathan's car to be with Will. With sinking hearts, they watch as they disappear down the driveway and into the night. Unable to do anything but hope they will see one another again.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

El's head rests against the seat as she watches the trees fly by her window. Neither her nor Hopper have spoken a word since they left the house, but Hopper quickly changes things.

"So, what? We just not gonna talk about it?"

Without leaving the seat, her head lazily rolls across her shoulders to face Hopper. "About what?"

Hopper shrugs halfheartedly. "Oh, I don't know, just curious why all the sudden you look like some kind of MTV punk."

El looks back at the scenery, not answering and Hopper continues.

"I'm not mad, kid, I just wanna know where you've been... That's all."

Hopper spares a few moments away from the road to look at her, gauging for a reaction then she finally speaks.

"To see Mama."

His head snapped back to the road in shock, his heart plummeting and guilt swept over him. It's quiet for another moment as he processes this, and he speaks again his voice is gentle and listening.

"Okay...?"

Silence.

"How'd you get there?"

"A truck." She answers.

His heart leaps into his throat, and he does a double-take. He tries to suppress his onslaught of emotions, knowing he can't let his worry for her fester into anger again. As best as he can, he tries to remain calm.

"A truck?"

She looks at him. "A big truck."

Jesus, this wouldn't be easy.

"A big truck? Whose truck was it?"

Her answer did not calm him in the slightest.

"A man's."

"A man's?"

"A nice man."

His mouth hangs open in a small gasp as he tries to process the information, his head, all the while whipping back and forth between her and the road.

"Okay. So let me just get this straight in my head, so a nice man in a big truck drove you to see your Mama, and then what? Your Aunt Becky gave you those clothes and that make-up?"

El ponders this for a moment, her mind returning to her interaction with Y/n just days ago. And without tearing her eyes away from the road, she wonders aloud.

"Nobody likes trucks. Why?"

Hopper finds himself bewildered at her comment.

"Wh-? Why does everyone hate trucks? Whatya mean, kid?"

"Y/n. She didn't want to ride with the nice man." She finally looks at Hopper. "She said he might hurt us,"

He eyes her cautiously. He had no previous reason to believe anything had happened to her, and he firmly believed she could have kicked his ass had anything happened. But he had to ask! He still cared about her, and that kind of shit left a lot of baggage.

"Well... he didn't, did he?" He asked gently.

Almost offended, but quite confused as to why no one trusted her or the nice man who helped her, she frowned. She was growing quite agitated, didn't anyone understand the term 'nice man'?

"No." She answered shortly.

"Good," he mumbled, glad that part of the conversation was over. He cleared his throat. "Well, Y/n was still right El, that's very dangerous."

"Why?"

He sighed, taking one hand off the wheel to rake down his face anxiously. It drops into his lap, and he thinks for a moment and glances at her, shaking his head.

"That's a discussion for another time," Another car passes them during their silence, the headlights jumping from Hopper's face to El's and he sighs. "So Y/n came with you to see your Mama?"

No answer. She just stared out of the window.

"'Kay, well those files of hers were at home, so I can only assume you found them and gave them to her? Maybe that's when you two left with the," he sighs deeply. "the 'nice man'?"

Again, no answer.

"Again, kid, I'm... I'm not mad," he tries not to choke on his words. Without his eyes leaving the road, he shrugs, the lump in his throat growing. "I just worry about you... 's all."

He sighs again, and for a few minutes, the car is filled with silence again. The only sounds filling the car is the hum of the engine and the occasional rush as cars zoom by in the other lane. He is surprised when she is the next to speak.

"I..." And then he feels her wide brown eyes on him, her voice is raspy showing she is trying not to cry. "I shouldn't have left."

"Mmm-mmm," he mumbles. "No..."

She feels her gut sink and twist at what she assumes is his agreement with her. He sounds disappointed. And it hurts her. But what she doesn't realize yet is he feels the same. And even though she speaks the words he had been looking for just days ago, they strike daggers into his heart now and all he knows now is regret.

What shocks her is when he continues, he shakes his head in great disappointment, but it is not in her.

"no, this isn't on you kid. I should have been there."

Her lips part slightly in shock, her throat grows sore as she fights back tears but already one is already threatening to spill.

"I should have never lied to you about your Mama... Or about when you could leave."

Her hollow gaze is now fixed on the road as she processes his words as he speaks them.

"There's a lot of things I shouldn't have done."

Her eyes fall to her lap, her heart is pounding faster as the minutes march on, but still, she listens, entranced. His voice is genuine and hoarse.

"Sometimes I feel like..." he stops to fight the tears threatening to spill, years of suppressed heartbreak rushing back to the surface at once. "Like I'm just some kind of black hole, or something."

Her eyes are as foggy as is, but she manages to look at him and speak clearly enough. "Black hole?"

A silent tear breaks through the dam and cascades down her cheek as he answers, unaware.

"Yeah, it's a, you know it's this thing in outer space... it sucks everything towards it and destroys it. Sarah had a picture book about outer space, she loved it." He sniffled.

"Who's Sarah?"

"Sarah?"

He does another double-take, surprised at himself for not sharing that fact of his life sooner with her. Especially since she had reminded him of her all too well and in the nicest ways. He's suddenly aware of the blue band around his wrist again, something of Sarah's he never, ever took off.

A small smile of pride twists his lips, but it's been touched by sadness.

"Sarah's my girl. She's my little girl."

El saw the sadness in his eyes, and as she spoke the words aloud she feared she knew his answer.

"Where is she?"

"Well, that's kind of the thing, kid. She, uh," he says sadly, taking a brief moment to glance up at the stars. The things she loved most. "She left us."

"Gone?" El choked on the word.

"Yeah," he nods. "the black hole... It got her. And somehow... I've just been scared, ya know?"

Another tear escapes her eye, and she feels her head being pulled towards Hopper at what he says next.

"I've just been scared that it would take you too."

He begins to choke up again, and she sees that his eyes are welling with tears.

"And I think that's why I get..." his voice goes away for a moment, and he shakes his head trying to will it back through his tears. "so mad. I'm so sorry. For everything. I can be so... so..."

"Stupid?"

They both crack a smile, and their chuckles break through the air and warm their hearts, melting away the last of the remaining tension and hard feelings. Hopper shakes his head, and on his face sits a wide grin he finds hard to shake.

"Yeah," he laughs. "Stupid. Just really stupid."

Her eyes fall from his smile to the hand that still sits in his lap, and she reaches over to intertwine it with her own small hand. She smiles weakly.

"I've been stupid, too."

"I guess we broke our rule," he chimes, making her smile. "I don't hate it by the way."

His hand gives hers a quick and gentle squeeze before taking it away to gesture to her outfit.

"This whole," he fights a smile. "look."

She looks down at her new outfit and the small sense of pride from before returns. Hopper's hand returns to the wheel, and he smirks at the road, trying not to sound too much like a cheesy dad.

"It's kinda... cool."

The warmth in El's chest spreads, and she finds a grin creeping up on her face at the new word she had taken a liking too.

She nods.

"Bitchin."

The grin on Hopper's face stretched wider, a feat he did not previously think to be possible. He nods, trying hard not chuckle, not wanting her to confuse his happiness as amusement.

"Okay, sure," His grin stretched nearly to his ears. "Bitchin."

No sooner did he speak the word - his eyebrows shooting up in an amused manner now with every intention of being a cheesy and embarrassing dad - did El burst into a quiet fit of laughter. She looked away, wiping the tear away from her cheek but utterly unable to rid herself of her beaming smirk.

El couldn't recall a time she had felt this happy, this hopeful - this at home - in a long time. And neither could Hopper. Even with the frightening and strenuous task before them, they couldn't quite shake the smile off their faces even if they wanted to. And for the first time since he had taken her in all those months ago, they finally felt at home with one another.

Both of them were the missing family they had been looking for.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"Alright," Dustin pants, swiping at his nose. "He-It should fit."

Steve stands across the kitchen with a deadpan look on his face and a dead Demodog wrapped in a blanket in his arms. Dustin had just finished dumping the contents of the freezer onto the floor, shelf and all, so they could store the corpse temporarily.

"This really necessary?" Steve asks.

"Yes, it is. Okay, this is a groundbreaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog!"

Steve's eyes widen briefly, mumbling a 'yeesh' under his breath as he steps towards the fridge.

"Alright, alright," He sends a scornful look at Dustin as the boy steps aside. "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?"

In one swift motion, he swings the dead weight up onto the ledge, but it struggles to fit. It's limp petal-like jowls scrape against the rim of the freezer and when its pulled back, several thick layers of slime remain stitched between it and the fridge. Steve grimaces as he tries to maneuver the Demodog in with little luck, and with disgust still obvious in his voice, he calls out to Dustin over his shoulder.

"Help me out, would ya?!"

After a great deal of shoving, and a whole lot of arguing the boys had managed to close the fridge door with the creature inside. They both sigh, staring at the fridge once again wondering how things had turned out this way. Steve brings up one hand and places it on top of Dustin's head, and ruffles his hat into curls before stalking off.

In the living room, Max knelt before the pile of broken glass where the window had shattered. Using a dustpan and brush she had managed to find lying around, she set to work cleaning up the glass, less no one gets hurt, hoping it would keep her mind somewhat occupied. Lucas had soon joined her with a broom he had remembered being in the kitchen and wasted no time in helping. The silence was much more tolerable in each other's company. Though Mike was no help to their nerves, his footsteps echoed around their skulls non-stop as he paced.

"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas breaks.

Mike turned to his friend, his face hard as stone with worry.

"You weren't in there, okay Lucas? That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

Dustin's voice carries across the house from the kitchen. "Demodogs!"

Mike rolls his eyes, what little patience he had wearing wafer-thin.

"The Chief will take care of her!" Lucas assures.

Max rolls her eyes, muttering under her breath. "Yeah, like she needs protection."

"Listen," Steve said joining the conversation, Dustin lingering by his side as he dries his hands with a rag. "If the coach calls a play, bottom line, you gotta execute it, alright?"

"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game," Mike retorts. "And second, we're not even in the game, we're on the bench."

"Ri-uh-we-" Steve stammers. "So my point is,"

The kids all stare at him expectantly, but he just stares off into space as he tries to find the words that never come. Finally, he nods.

"Right, yeah. We're on the bench, so, uh, nothing we can do." He stated, throwing his used dishrag over his shoulder.

"That's not entirely true," Dustin says hopefully, grabbing everyone's attention. "I think these Demodogs, they have a hive mind. And when they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

Lucas spoke up excitedly, latching onto Dustin's thinking.

"So if we get their attention,"

"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab," Max adds.

"And clear a path to the gate!" Mike concluded.

Steve folds his arms, growing more anxious as they grow excited.

"Yeah and we all die!"

"Well, that's one point of view," Dustin argued.

Mike's eyes grew wide as the gears in his brain began to turn, and hurriedly he stalked off passed a bickering Steve and Dustin.

"No, dude, that's not a point of view, that's a fact," he corrected in what was almost a concerned tone.

"I got it!" Mike called, drawing the others after him into the kitchen.

They find him kneeling in front of the fridge, he points feverishly to the large open spot on the map.

"This is where the Chief dug his hole, this is our way into the tunnel!"

Suddenly he jumps back up to his feet and scurries over to where the hall meets the living room.

"Here, right here!" The others catch up and pool around his sides as he points to the large blue spot beneath his feet. "This is like a hub. See where all the tunnels feed into here?"

He drops to his knees, his eyes widen as the plan begins to solidify as he speaks and he gestures around the map excitedly. "Maybe if we set this on fire--"

"Uh, yeah, that's a NO," Steve scolds, completely appalled. And ignored.

"The Mind Flayer would call away his army!" Dustin chimes.

"They'd all come to stop us!"

"Hey!" Steve tries, growing far more worried.

No was listening. Not to him. They all kept feeding into one another's ideas.

"We circle back to the exit-"

"-guys?" Steve chuckles nervously.

"-by the time they realize we're gone..."

"-hEY?"

"El will be at the gate!"

"HEY! HEY!" Steve shouts, even clapping his hands to get their attention.

Finally, though, it works. They all turn around to find him glaring at them with his hands rested on his hips, the dishrag still hung over his shoulder. His eyes are wild with panic and he wags his finger at the map and at them, shaking his head.

"This is not happening."

"But-"

"No, no, no, no!" He rebukes. "No 'buts'! Listen, I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe and that's exactly what I plan on doing,"

Max rolls her head back in annoyance and Lucas sighs as he scolds them.

"We're staying here, on the bench, and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?"

"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike whines.

Steve rips the rag off his shoulder and jabs it in Mike's direction, seething. "I said does everybody understand that?"

Nobody answers.

"I need a yes," he demands.

Still, nobody answers. Mike merely glares at the floor, Max stares boredly at the ceiling, Lucas looks at Steve weirdly, and Dustin just gives him the same deadpan and unimpressed stare he gave earlier.

He's about to say something, his fuse dangerously short when suddenly the obnoxious sound of an engine revving in distance pulls everyone's attention to the living room window. Everyone seems confused at first, except for Max whose face immediately drains of all color.

She races to the window, having heard that sound far too many times in her life for it to be a coincidence. She jumps on the couch and has to crouch a bit to look outside the of the window, but it's unmistakable.

She feels the cushions shift beneath her and a presence beside her, it was Lucas who was the next and only other person to catch on as to what it might be. They watch in horror as a bright pair of headlights approach the house at an alarming rate, and Max knows she has no more time to gape.

"It's my brother," she chokes out. "H-He can't know I'm here, he'll kill me!"

Her wide and fearful blue eyes meet Lucas's, and he recognizes at once she worries just as much for him. Sure enough, she speaks confirming his suspicions.

"He'll kill us."

Steve's head shoots up at her words, his heart thumping. He knew exactly who her brother was, the guy who seemed a little too obsessed with "taking his title" at school. Something about him was off-putting to Steve. But what scared him was the fear in the kids' eyes and her words of course. He had no trouble believing her, and he knew with absolute certainty these kids were in danger.

His eyes flew to the door, knowing what he had to do.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · CONTINUE FIGHTING FOR BLACK LIVES. BLACK LIVES MATTER. BLACK LIVES ARE PRECIOUS. BLACK LIVES ARE BEAUTIFUL.

"We've got to make noises in greater amounts! So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!" - Dr. Suess

Helpful links:

NATIONAL ACTION AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY! PROSECUTE POLICE WHO MURDER UNARMED INDIVIDUALS! [petition]

"THEREFORE, PETITION IS MADE BEFORE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES TO NOT ONLY ACT ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, BUT TO FULFILL THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE OFFICE - FOR WHICH HE OR SHE HAS "SWORN AN OATH" TO FULFILL UPON OCCUPANCY!"

[Link]

Pardon Black Woman Imprisoned for Voting

"Crystal hadn’t originally planned to vote in the 2016 presidential elections, but after her mother reminded her how important it was, she decided to do so to set a good example for her children. For that, she is now facing 5 years or more in prison."

[Link]

Black Lives Matter masterlist of links

"I've provided several links to sites you can donate to & sign petitions in regards to BLM + each link provides info on the topic PLEASE VISIT THESE SITES AND DONATE WHAT YOU CAN"

[Link]

+++

Tag List: @dickkwad​​ @aimee-lucass​​ @iblesstherainsdown-in-africa​​  @miscellaneoustoasts​ @happyandlonely-blog​ @missmulti​ @youpi-chan​ @peeperparkour​ @ba-responds​ @bibliophilesquared​ @blogforhoes​ @witch-of-all-things-soft​ @shawkneecaps​ @whothefuckstolemykeds​ @mirdall @fishswimbetterunderwater​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​ @stranger-things4​ @heavenlycat567​ @nightbu-g​ @grapesauze​

DM me, or drop by my inbox if you want to be added!

[alteritymonster]

MADMAX

ST s02e01 !!!

So I ended up not able to watch until late, because a writing assignment deadline snuck up on me, but I collected up some thoughts. This is my first re-watch of ST ever (I’m not a huge re-watcher usually, I always wait a long while even if I really love something) so a lot of this is, Oh yeah that, but with knowing what comes later :) Here goes!

So I totally forgot, actually, that the Kali gang getaway is the cold open of season 2. Since supposedly the original plan for ST was that Eleven would die at the end of s1 -- and the whole show be an “anthology” series, with a totally different cast in each season -- seeing this now I can imagine the bones of a very different Stranger Things. A different Brenner / Hawkins Lab victim being a character in a new ensemble each year? I mean I’d much rather have the show we actually have, but, interesting.

Dustin’s mom I love her she is so adorable and they are so adorable together

Mike’s reaction to seeing the underwear in Nancy’s drawer 🧐

“You know I despise Dig Dug.”

When Will has his episode in the arcade, seeing the stormy Upside Down: surprising to me how surprised Will isn’t. Later we’re told he had another episode recently. For whatever reason that detail didn’t stick in my memory. It gets me going wondering what Will makes of the Upside Down; he’s obviously had so much more opportunity to wonder about it than I was imagining before.

Just a bit over nine minutes into ep1, season 2′s first “Will! Are you okay?” 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

When Murray’s trying to talk with Hopper, that one other cop brings up Troy peeing himself in s1. I know it’s setup for Troy actually showing up later but idk, I always thought it was weird the cop would remember it a year later.

Apropos nothing: Hopper’s “now what” vibe in the office always makes me imagine a Muppet movie version of Stranger Things where David Harbour is the only human actor. I don’t know why.

Steve is Ted. Or in danger of becoming Ted, at least. Talking up working for his dad. “Finger lickin’ good.”

ugh Billy’s here.

I do enjoy the way Billy drives up to the school like he’s a badass, and then the way Max slinks out of his car is like he’s the most cringe parent-dropping-off-kid-at-school ever

Mr. Clarke!!!!!

So we’ve seen Joyce with Will, and Joyce (sewing Will’s Ghostbusters costume and then) with Bob. No Joyce just bein’ Joyce. I know it’s a super-common observation about the way adult women characters are often written that they don’t get their own lives outside of the boys/men they’re close to, but, huh.

Not quite halfway through the episode when Hopper gets to the pumpkin patch, and there’s a solid four or five plot threads begun, without the episode feeling jumbled. (except maybe the kali stuff, but yeah)

“How did you feel when you saw the storm?” I've always liked Dr. Owens, but I’m remembering now how at first I couldn’t decide if he was trustworthy or not. Right now I’m thinking about the DID / Will-created-the-Mind-Flayer theories and wondering how important this question might be after all 🧐

Wow Mike, you’ve had a rough year too. It feels significant to me that Lucas and Dustin aren’t affected along with Will by “the anniversary effect” as hard as Mike is. There’s a bunch going on thematically in that scene of him alone in the basement, too: (literally) putting away childish things (paralleling in my mind the stuff with Will not wanting to grow up in s3!!), trying to get El on the walkie-talkie and calling himself “stupid,” setup for the love/stupid/crazy stuff coming later.

Hopper: “Eight-fifteen, not eight-one-five.” He’s correcting the way Mike taught El to tell time in s1. Huh.

That’s all for now. Loving it so far ^_^ I hope everyone’s had a good day 💖💖

[pinkykitten]

Live ur Life

Stranger Things

Steve Harrington x latina plus size! female reader

Warning: cursing 

Specifics: plus size reader, mexican reader, latin reader, one-shot, romance, fluff, comedy, angst

People: steve, joyce, jonathan, nancy, will, el 

Words: 2,318

Requested: By @glimmercrest​ I can’t live my life without requesting a masterpiece from you. Steve Harrington x Latina plus size reader? reader is a chola but minus the bad makeup. A badass reader who isn’t insecure but is still aware that they aren’t what guys look for. Reader is grunge rebel mechanic biker type also childhood friends with the Byers family and friends with Nancy. Reader begins 2 like Steve after the chaos.They don’t pursue their feelings even tho their friends know. Maybe Steve starts to notice them too?

Authors Note: so this is after season 3. i know anything about cars, mechanics nothing, nada so forgive me if i sound like a total dumb a*s. also i really got the feels with this one and got a bit philosophical.

“Papa, can you hand me that wrench over there?” You asked, your arm waiting patiently stretched out from under the car of the old lady that worked at a laundry mat across the street named Alondra. You worked for your father at his mechanic shop.

Your father quickly got the wrench for you. “Mira, y/n.”

You smile as you got to work on your passion. You were taught at a young age how to fix cars, motorcycles, anything with an engine and you loved that greasy life style. Your father always wanted boys but instead he got you. Lets just say when it came to cars, you were better than sons. 

“Okay mi amor. Your car looks good and you’ve kept it in great shape. She’s a beauty.” You wiped your hands getting the grease off as you unraveled your hair from the bun it was in.

“Bueno, adios Alondra,” you smiled to the old lady, giving her a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

“Gracias mija, say, my grandson is visiting us for the weekend, how about you two go out for the night and spend time together? You are very beautiful and he is so sweet, and strong.”

You laugh as you kiss her cheek again, “goodbye Ms. Alondra.” You knew she was trying to play matchmaker.

“Y/n, someone in the front of the store is waiting for you.” Your father played with his toothpick between his mouth.

You waved to Alondra and walked to the mystery person.

The front door opened making a chiming sound as you saw that it was Nancy. 

“Hey girl, how’s everything?”

Nancy turned around with tears falling from her eyes. It looked like she was crying a lot. “I can’t believe he’s going to leave.” She ran to you with opened arms and cried into your shoulder. “Why does it have to be him?”

You were so caught up in work and making sure your friends and yourself were okay mentally from all the chaos that happened, especially with Max losing her brother that you forgot about the Byers family moving away and El. It was a shock to all and you were devastated as well. Jonathan was like a brother to you. He was your best friend even before all this and the Byers family was like your second home. 

You comforted Nancy saying, “I know baby, I know. Listen, things are going to be hard and they are going to be sh*t but you are strong, you are a strong woman you hear me. You are going to get through this because you have me. I’m here for you girl.” You rubbed her hair with your acrylic nails, feeling so sorry for your best friend. You know Jonathan meant so much to her. They were so cute together and they belonged to one another. 

After you comforted her and soothed her to relax she sat beside you on a crate as you brought coke for you both to enjoy and talk. 

“Its going to be hard for me to say goodbye. I don’t know if I can do it.” Nancy looked at the oncoming traffic, trying to take her mind off of the sadness.

“Yeah I feel ya,” you took a swig. “They meant a lot to me. Life ain’t gonna be the same without them, you know. They made me feel welcomed in a town where nobody really looked like me. Not only am I fat but I am Mexican, they ain’t nobody like me here. I felt like an outsider and they took me and my family in without a second thought.”

“You’re pretty bad a*s and beautiful.” Nancy chuckled. 

You giggled, “yeah, unfortunately Joyce gotta work some things out. After Hopper’s death she needs time. Time has a way of healing wounds but this just shows me that life is precious and its short and you gotta make the best of it.”

“By making the best of it do you mean with Steve?” Nancy wiggled her eyebrows. 

Nancy knew you’ve had a crush Steve. You were always friends with him and never really liked him but it was after all the chaos that you saw his true colors and how happy he made you feel. You slapped Nancy’s leg, “da*n girl you too much!” You were silent. “You never know though where life can take you.”

Later that day was the moving day. Nancy had told you to come even though you rather had said your goodbyes on the phone so no one could see you cry, but you knew you would have regretted it. You drove over to the Byers house in your motorcycle and everyone was there. They were already crying, holding hands, hugging. It all was too much for you. You stormed quickly in their empty house. Shocked by how vacant it was. You remembered all the memories here. All the good times you all shared. It seemed like yesterday. You stood in the bathroom looking at yourself in the mirror. You tried to not cry so your makeup wouldn’t get ruined but it was tough. You finally let it all out but somebody wrapped you up in their arms. 

“C’mon you can’t be crying. I’ve never seen you cry.” Jonathan held your face in his hands, smirking. 

“I hate you sometimes Byers,” you giggled but then cried again. “Why do you have to go?” You hugged him tightly not wanting him to go.

“I have to breathe you know.” he laughed but as you looked up at his face you could tell he wanted to cry as well.

“Dude, you know I got you. You grown, he*l if you want to stay I got an extra room at my house, he*l you could sleep in my bed if you want just please don’t leave me.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Jonathan wiped your tears away. “I’m not leaving you. I might be a ways away but I’m still going to call you everyday to make sure you didn’t beat someones a*s. Besides, my mom needs me. Especially right now, she really needs me.”

You nodded, “I know. There’s just so much I want to say but there is such little time.”

Jonathan hugs you, “we got time. This is not a goodbye, this is a see you later.”

“You better visit dam*it! And you better call everyday cause if you don’t I swear your a*s is grass.” You pointed your long nailed fingers at him. 

Jonathan laughed but then tears came out of his eyes as he embraced you hard.

“Man, why do I gotta love you so much. I’m really gonna miss you. Tú sabes qué, you, you are my family right? You know life ain’t gonna be the same without you guys.”

“Jonathan we gotta go,” Joyce called. 

You walked Jonathan out and everyone was saying their goodbyes. You embraced Joyce and Will. 

“What do you want for Christmas, son?” You shook Will’s hair. 

“That new bike that just came out. It looks really cool,” Will’s eyes lit up.

“You got it kid.” You hugged him as you helped him in the truck.

“You spoil him too much,” Joyce kissed your cheek as you two said goodbye to each other. 

“Hey, since you’re the strong one of the family, you think you can keep an eye on those two stinkers?” You knelt down to El. 

El cried as she nodded.

“Aye mi linda, I’m gonna miss you. You are so important to all of us and we all love you no matter what.”

They all went in the truck and were driving out of the drive way until Jonathan put his window down and called you over. “This frickin boy, ay dios mio.” You ran to him. “What?”

“Life is waiting for you okay. Gratitude, okay. We all should be gracious for the time we have. You are going to achieve so many great things y/n. You just gotta go live.”

A tear fell down as you kissed his cheek. “See you later mi hermano.”

In a haste you rode your motorcycle. You thought about what Jonathan told you. “You just gotta go live.” It kept echoing in your head. You stopped your bike abruptly and hopped off to bang on the door. 

“Hello?” Steve came out in his pjs after going through many interviews with Robin. “Y/n? What are you doing here?”

“Okay, just shut up for a minute and let me speak. Life is short okay. Its really short and sometimes we have regrets and those eat us inside and potentially kill us-”

“Alright what does that have to do with-”

“Shut up. The thing is, I don’t want to have regrets. I don’t want to live my life thinking what if, what if. I want to live. I want my life to mean something and to spend time with the people I care about. Things could change. Life is full of unexpected events. But I don’t want regrets. I don’t want to regret not taking you out. So Steve Harrington, would you do me the pleasure of going out on a date with this thick, fat, churro of a girl? Cause if you don’t go out with me, I might lose my mind, just saying.” 

Steve was hella excited he thought he might explode. He showed off a huge grin and said, “wait here.” He closed to door leaving you waiting for him on your motorcycle. 

Steve never really was that interested in you. He thought you were gorgeous but he assumed you would never fall for him that’s why you two were always friends but in the past couple of weeks he couldn’t take his mind off of you. All he thought about was you. 

“Ready,” Steve brushed his hair with his fingers as he wore his denim jacket, ready for the date. “How do I look?”

You paused, teasing him as you tilted your head to the side. You were leaning against your motorcycle. Your nail tapped your chin lightly as you made believe to think of an answer. “I think you look delicioso,” you combed through his hair with your nails. 

“God talk Spanish to me,” he bit his lips and humped the air jokingly. “What did you say though?”

You hopped on your bike and raised your thin eyebrows, “pero you don’t know?  A woman my dear Steve doesn’t ever share her secrets.” You winked. “Now hop on.” You hit his butt. 

He climbed behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. “I think I could get used to it.”

“Here, wear this” You gave him your helmet. “Lets ride!”

You stopped at a comfy Mexican food truck. “My cousin owns this bad boy.” You slapped the truck. “Hey papo, what do I got to do to get some good food up in here?”

Your cousin’s head popped out with a smile and he ushered you to sit stating the food was on the house and saying he was going to get the best of the best for you two. He grinned seeing you with Steve, he left mumbling, “finally ella tiene un novio.”

“Wow this place is really cool.” Steve looked around. 

“I’m glad you like it,” you opened up a soda taking a huge chug. 

“I heard Jonathan moved today. I know you guys were close. How was it?”

You bit your nails as you tried to stay cool. 

Steve grabbed your hands, “its okay not to be okay.”

You faked smiled. “It was tough. He’s been there for me through a lot. He’s a good person.”

“Sorry about how I acted when I was young. I was a huge-”

“D*ck?”

He chuckled, “yeah thanks for that but honestly I was. I was really mean and acted super selfish and like I was entitled and sh*t but I’m so glad I’ve changed. I’m done with that Steve. Do you think I’ve changed?”

“Definitely. 100 percent. I remember you used to make fun of my weight and just make fun of me but now you’re pretty rad.”

“Sh*t I’m sorry. God I hate myself sometimes.” His head fell into his hands. 

“Stop. Sometimes we do things we’re not proud of. We’re not perfect, the important thing is if we change. I’ve changed. I remember I was this insecure little b*tch when I was young. I hated how I let people walk all over me and that I thought I didn’t deserve love or happiness. I changed and I’m never going to think like that again.”

Suddenly, these group of guys started to point and laugh at you. They made fun of your outfit and your weight. You rolled your eyes. “Excuse me.”

“No excuse me,” Steve stood up to those guys. “Why don’t you guys just leave her alone? You think you’re way better than anyone else but you all just need to get the h*ll out of here. Why don’t you go to the mirror and make fun of yourself? That would be super entertaining.”

The guys shut up as Steve smirked at you. “Needed to teach those guys a lesson.”

“Not bad Harrington, not bad.”

You two ate your dinner while your cousin blasted the news to all your family members and they are setting up the wedding date and everything. 

“I’m stuffed,” you hopped on your motorcycle. “Where to now Steve?”

Steve went behind you and rested his hands near your butt. “Why don’t we be like those cheesy movies and ride to a cliff or to a part where it looks over the town. Maybe make out there or talk who knows, wherever the wind takes us and we can just chill.”

You bit your lip as you grinned, “eh, its only 10:15. I got time to spare.” You revved up your bike and set off to your destination, ready to start this new journey called life. 

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