#or maybe start that holly wheeler one

[andiwriteordie]

christmas fic #1: i keep my distance (but you still catch my eye) 

tuesday. be there or be 🟩🟥!

[strangersteddierthings]

No Regrets - Part One

Content Warning: mentions of main character deaths but these are temporary because this is a time travel two-to-four-shot and so, they start dead but then get better :3 Also maybe a whiplash warning? In that it starts off kind of dark for a story that's pretty light-hearted in the end.

Here's the first part of the threatened season 4 AU time travel fic where Steve gets thrown back to the moment in family video when Dustin and Max show up demanding the phones. Previously he was 5 years into a grueling apocalypse.

Part One🦇 Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five🦇Part Six

Steve has lived his life in regret. Replaying scenarios in his head over and over late at night when sleep eludes him. And sleep is always eluding him these days, weeks, past five years. Steve hasn't known a day without regret since the day they failed to kill Vecna, the day Max almost died. The day Eddie did.

It's five years to the day today.

Steve spends endless nights thinking about how he'd change that spring break. It was the start of the end of everything. Eddie's death wasn't world ending for Steve. It was the end of a what-if. A maybe. But for Dustin. Oh God, Dustin. Who had blamed himself for Eddie's death, who was broken and then never able to get time to recover. To grieve.

Dustin, who pulled away from everyone, from Steve, because of it.

He's not dead, Steve knows, because he still hears his voice on the radio. Separated from the group but vital to their survival. He spread intel on Demo-creature movements, where safe spaces are, news from across the broken and destroyed America, and how to survive the hellscape.

There have been losses. Terrible, tragic losses.

Murray Baughman. Lucas Sinclair. Karen and Holly Wheeler. Will Byers. And those are just the ones he knows. A lot of people scattered to the wind when Hawkins became overran with the Upside Down and its creatures.

He's still two days out on this supply run. Two more days and he'll get to know who is still around. Who they lost this time. It's not always someone they know, but the horrors never cease, and Steve's been gone a total of three weeks.

"Hey," Robin breaks him from his thoughts as she leans over to whisper in his ear, "since you're gonna daydream, you might as well actually dream. Scouts say it'll be a while before we can continue moving."

"I'm not daydreaming, I'm thinking."

"Well, be sleeping instead. You'll be more useful with some rest," Robin pats her shoulder, inviting him to lean his head against it.

"Don't use my weakness against me. You know I love being useful," Steve sighs as he drops his head onto her shoulder.

"I know. It makes you easy to manipulate," Robin teases. He can hear the smile in her voice. "Now, shut up and sleep."

Steve grumbles under his breath. No real words, just grumpy noises as he does shift and get as comfortable as he can leaned against Robin. He is tired, and with nothing else he can be doing, he won't feel too guilty about it.

He closes his eyes.

He opens his eyes, blinking rapidly at the sudden brightness of the sun shining through the glass storefront of Family Video. Usually when he dreams of the past, the sun's never this bright. It's been years since he's seen the sun at all, with the red-black sky of the Upside Down looming above them constantly.

He takes a deep breath, basking in the fresh(ish) air of Family Video. How long has it been since he's taken a breath without his mouth covered by a mask, bandana, some cloth or another? Well, he's not really breathing without a mask on, his conscious self has one on, but it still feels good to fill his lungs and release. He has half a mind to jump the counter and go outside to repeat that; see if his unconscious mind will provide a difference in the air, if it remembers enough to do so.

"Hey Steve," Dustin says as he is stepping through the doors with Max at his side. It's then that Steve takes in where the dream has started. The doors have just opened, and Steve's looking partially over his shoulder, towards the doors instead of the TV as it plays the news of Chrissy's death on the screen. The world fades back into motion, instead of the slowness the beginning of his dream started as Dustin finishes his question, "how many phones do you have?"

"Are you seeing this?" Steve asks on autopilot, playing out the scene he knows, but he holds off from stating the someone was murdered part. He's tired of saying it.

"How many phones do you have?" Dustin asks with more urgency.

Steve takes in Dustin and Max while Robin explains the phone situation. It's been so fucking long since he's seen Dustin. Since Max was able to see him. God. He can't let this play out like normal. It's not going to fix reality, he knows that logically, but what would it hurt to live out his fantasy of getting a re-do while he dreams? Wasn't that what he was thinking about while awake?

He tunes back into the conversation when Dustin shoves his backpack across the counter, and then himself. Instead of whining about the tapes, he reaches for the pen and notepad they keep close to the till. "Hey, what's this about?"

"Max, fill them in while I do this," Dustin replies.

Max turns to him and Robin, who is eyeing both Steve and Max but listening. Max explains what Steve already knows. The lights going crazy, Eddie fleeing his own home, and that it might be Upside Down related.

There's a script here. Responses he has memorized because of how often he dreams this moment over and over. An answer Steve usually gives, but this time he finds he can hold his tongue. He doesn't have to speak. Doesn't have to follow the script.

"Okay," Steve says instead. "Dustin, what's the number for the Byers now?

Surprisingly, that actually pulls Dustin from the computer. He spins on the stool to give Steve a confused look. "What? Why?"

If he's being honest with himself, he's never really had this much control over his dreams before. Having this control makes him want to do all the things he's daydreamed about. To change the choices that fill him with regret and guilt. "I want to leave a message for Jonathan," Steve lies, "or talk to him if he's home. Give him a heads up that Upside Down shit might be going on again."

Dustin narrows his eyes at Steve, suspicious, "Jonathan?"

"Yeah. Jonathan," Steve says in his bitchiest voice. "Number, dude."

He can tell Dustin doesn't fully believe the lie, but he recites the number anyway.

"Thanks," Steve says as he scoots around Robin and heads to Keith's office to use the phone there. The first thing he does is call the police station and let them know that he saw Eddie Munson at Rick Lipton's place, up by Lover's Lake on Holland Road. The lady who answered starts to ask questions, Steve just says he recognized the trailer on TV as the Munson's and hangs up. He'll swing by later once everyone else has pieced together the Rick Lipton part of this all themselves. If Eddie's still there, he'll drag him to the station himself.

'Cause the thing is, Steve has thought of many scenarios. So many. And even if nothing else changes, this is the bit that will. Eddie cannot be killed in the Upside Down if he is in a jail cell instead. And if the police do follow up on his tip, then they'll take Eddie in for questioning before Fred dies. And that's.

Well.

Steve's living through the end of the world and that changes people. It's changed Steve. Once there would have been a time when allowing someone to die, knowing it was going to happen and not stopping it, would have filled Steve with guilt, regret, maybe even some self-loathing. But Steve's made enough sacrifices for this town. Lost enough of the people he loves to be jaded. Maybe even cruel. If Fred has to die to prove that Eddie didn't do it, then that's what will happen.

His next step is to call the Byers. It surprises him that Joyce actually answers with a hesitant hello. That never happens in the dreams.

"Joyce. I mean, Ms. Byers. It's Steve. Uhh, Steve Harrington," he says.

"Oh. Hello Steve. What, uh, what can I do for you?" Joyce's voice is still hesitant.

"Listen, the Upside Down is back. Or, like, it was never gone? I don't know. But I needed to tell you."

"Oh my God," Joyce sounds horrified, and Steve can hear Murray in the background asking questions. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Vec- sorry, it has already killed a girl. Max was a witness. Well, of the aftermath. But that's not important. What I need is for you to tell El that she's never been a monster and never will be. That everything has been the fault of One. And I think you should tell her Hopper is alive and you're going to rescue him."

There's not an immediate answer. A rustling sound and then faint voices he can't make out. She must be covering the phone with her hand as she and Murray talk. Or argue, knowing Murray. After a moment, Murray's voice comes through the line, "How do we know you are who you say you are?"

It's followed by Joyce shouting, "How do you know about Hopper?" and Murray quickly shushing her and some shuffling noises before Joyce says, "Okay. We're both listening."

"Look, I know you have no reason to believe me so I'll give you something that might serve as proof that I know things I shouldn't. When everyone gets back from the roller rink, be there for El. She's going to- to have a bad night, because of a girl that's been, like, bullying her at school. Then, I need you to get them headed this way tomorrow morning, because you gotta be gone then, too, but like. Be there for El tonight. There will be an incident involving a roller skate. So, if you believe me, call me back after that."

"How do we know you're who you claim to be, Steve?" Murray questions again, while Joyce says, horrified, "El's been being bullied?"

"I can't exactly prove I'm me. But call my house tonight after you've spoken to El and I'll answer. That's the best I can do. I... I don't know if Jonathan or Mike have my number, but Mike can call home and get my number from Nancy. That'll be proof, right? Or Will can get it from Dustin. Whichever."

"And how do you know about something happening tonight at the roller rink?" Joyce demands.

"I know more than I should. So, if the roller rink thing holds up, and you decide to at least hear me all the way out, call my house," Steve hangs up then, not wanting to get into a loop of explanation.

"Steve! Hurry up and come help people while I help Thing One and Thing Two!" Robin calls through the door and Steve takes a step towards the closed door to comply but he stops, hand hanging just above the doorknob. That's how the dream goes. That's what 19-year-old Steve would have done.

But that's a Steve that died five years ago, when the world ended, when the apocalypse started. Steve's not 19 anymore, though he must look it, a master of his own puppet. He's never sought himself out in a mirror when he dreams; he's too busy taking in everyone who has been lost to him in his waking life to bother with himself.

What does he want to do this time?

What does he want to do right now?

He leaves Keith's office to beeline to Dustin, pausing only to pat Robin on the shoulder. He slides around Max and comes to a stop beside Dustin.

"I already told you, I need this for-" Dustin starts to speak but cuts off with a squawk that sounds like a mixture of indignation and confusion as Steve just reaching out and bodily turns Dustin towards him. "Steve, this is important!"

"I know," Steve says and then hugs Dustin. Dustin doesn't hug back, but neither does he pull away. Steve knows he's missed Dustin, felt his loss for many years now, but holding Dustin now, feeling him solid and here feels Steve what he can only equate to grief.

Dustin lets himself be hugged for what is, undoubtedly, an awkward amount of time for him before he thumps Steve's back twice and says, "okay... You can stop now."

Steve lets go and turns to Max, who immediately puts her hands up, "No. Absolutely not."

He chuckles and steps around her. He won't force his affection on her.

Then he takes off the family video vest and sets it on the counter.

"Steve?" Robin asks.

"Sorry, Robs, I can't stay and help customers. I have some things I got to do."

"Steve, you cannot abandon me on a Saturday!"

He can't quite bring himself to feel bad for abandoning her. It is a shit thing to do but right now saving Eddie and Max from Vecna is more important. He's already wasting daylight, so instead of answering his gives her his best 'I'm so sorry' face and bolts out the door. All three of them shout after him but he doesn't slow.

He's got a list of regrets to change.

-

Tagging the besties and all the people that expressed interest when I posted the lil blurb about this. Sorry if I missed you!

@i-less-than-three-you @nburkhardt @afewproblems @skepsiss @music9009 @apomaro-mellow @soaringornithopter @reighnofdreams @eddie-munsons-lunchbox @sirsnacksalot @livelifeliketheresnotomorow @sageclipse @schnukiputz @mbloggotdeletedsothisismybackup @lumoschildextra @vampirestevie @alex-axolotl @juleswashere3 @yet-still-more-banched

[queenie-ofthe-void]

A Desperate Fool - Part 4

Part 3

Eddie gets settled on his usual kitchen barstool and watches Nancy make a pot of coffee, which is great considering he showed up at the ass crack of dawn, too anxious to wait. Well, and a day early, but sue him, he missed her. 

Nancy and Jonathan’s house is just as cozy as he remembers, while also serving as a solid reminder he’s not the only successful Wheeler. Original hardwood floors complimented with arched entryways and wainscoting. Cream and sage fill the living space, dotted with drops of gold accents. Low, soft lighting illuminates every room with warmth. It’s clean and modern, yet comforting in a way The Harrington’s eggshell minimalism estate and his own dark industrial penthouse have always lacked. 

It’s quiet and domestic and everything he’s missed about having a home. The glow in his chest doesn’t outweigh the thread of tension thrumming through him, but it does ease slightly when she hands him coffee in his favorite Garfield mug.

They catch up for hours as she fills him in on everything he’s missed. Mom and Ted finally retired down to Clearwater after Holly moved out for college. Mike and Will’s adoption went through, after working on it for years– and jesus christ, he’s an uncle now. Will’s still publishing his YA fantasy graphic novels. Mike’s a happy house-husband now stay at home dad. 

El finally quit her shitty government research job and decided she’d rather work full-time at Argyle’s pizza shop learning the ins and outs of the business. She’s better suited for it, he thinks, she’s always loved being around people and working with her hands.

She tells him about her and Jon settling into their new posts at The Chicago Times. Nancy’s managed to make friends with people outside of the Politics department. Jon’s moved from photographing for tabloids to local events like concerts and festivals, currently out of town for the weekend at a festival in Rockford. She says he’s happier now, with a job more his speed, and Eddie has to agree. Although they apparently just missed each other last fall when he’d started the job only a month after Corroded Coffin’s concert at Wrigley.

As Nancy goes on, talking about the rest of the kids while they lounge around the house, moving from the kitchen, to the living room, to the snow covered balcony so he can smoke, he tries to listen– he does. But he’s close to snapping, forced to wait so long for answers. He needs to know everything that’s happened, and why she’s the one who has to tell him. Her and Steve dated in high-school almost ten years ago, and granted they stayed close, but she’s not Robin or Max. She’s one of the few people Eddie’s closest to, except for Dustin, who could easily give him more answers than Nancy probably could.

He’s spiralling. He’s biting his nails, picking his lips raw. His leg is bouncing erratically and the only thing that helps is pacing whatever room they’re in. Nancy’s still talking about Argyle’s newest pizza recipe when he finally breaks.

“Nancy, for fuck’s sake please just tell me what’s going on with Steve.” He reaches down for his smokes but his hand’s shaking, the pack gets caught on his pocket and falls to the ground. When he bends to pick them up, the lighter follows suit and bounces under the couch Nancy’s perched on. 

A manic laugh bubbles from the pit of his stomach as he drops to his knees. Eddie briefly wonders if he even wants answers or if he’s just punishing himself. He bends forward, letting his forehead rest against the hardwood floor, cool and grounding. 

Grabbing the smokes and lighter, he looks up to find Nancy’s eyebrows and nose all scrunched up, lips pursed. She’s looking at him exactly how he knew she would, full of pity and disappointment.

There’s something underneath the expression though that Eddie can’t quite pick out– anxiety, maybe. He wouldn’t have such a hard time reading her if he hadn’t been gone for almost a year. Another reminder added to the long list of his life-altering mistakes.

Eddie stands on unsteady legs, moving to the balcony for another smoke, with Nancy hot on his heels when there’s a knock on the front door. She shoots him an apologetic look, but he waves her off. He’s waited this long for answers, what’s another minute in misery.

When Eddie’s finished his smoke, he does his best to sneak back inside without being noticed. An unfamiliar voice calls him out.

“Oh, Nancy I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had company!”

Eddie pokes his head around the corner to find Nancy standing next to a petite woman with dirty brown hair and thick platinum highlights, who’s dressed in an uncoordinated riot of colors and textures. Knee-high navy blue socks, tucked into tan polka dot flats, end just below the hem of her corduroy skirt. It’s a deep brown, matching the polka dots on her shoes, and the material’s so stiff it moves around her like a hoop skirt. She’s layered a puffy-sleeved periwinkle button up underneath a teal sweater vest.

It’s an odd assortment of colors, patterns, and textures that’s not quite artistic enough to be considered eclectic or interesting. Just bizarre and– if he’s being bitchy about it– a little boring. Eddie’s worn enough dramatic getups in his life, but beige isn’t doing this girl any favors.

The petite woman is blushing, eyebrow cocked in question, and Eddie realizes she’s been holding out her hand to him in greeting while he’s standing her silently judging her, like an asshole.

“Hi, you must be Nancy’s brother Eddie,” she says. Her voice is a light soprano, tonally off in an overly polite, customer service way. “I’m Becky.”

“Nice to meet you.” He finally manages to shake her hand, noticing they’re both wearing rings on each finger topped with chipped nail polish: his black and hers a sparkly baby blue. But while his rings are chunky and silver, hers are delicate gold bands stacked to varying thicknesses. “Umm how do you know Nance?”

“Oh, we met at work,” Becky says, smile widening. “Nancy’s told me all about you.”

“Hopefully just the good stuff.” Eddie tries for a joke, but her eyes tighten for the briefest moment.

“Yeah, she told me you were going to be back in town for a little while, I just thought you were coming tomorrow, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered you.” She glances toward Nancy, her smile straining further.

“No it’s alright, Nance and I were just catching up.” Nancy’s shuffling her feet, eyes darting between Becky, the floor, then Eddie, and back again. Becky is staring at her too, and Eddie’s not sure he’s ever seen Nancy this anxious. She looks completely checked out of the conversation.

He’s always suspected she’s been a bit embarrassed by him. Throughout school, he was the loud obnoxious troublemaker, and Nancy the wholesome straight A student. Every new school year, Nancy spent the first few weeks convincing her teachers that no, she’s not like her brother at all, thank you. Eddie played it off when he could, and has most of his life. But to see it now, so plainly written on her face, hurts more than he expected.

“She said you’re in a rock band?” Becky asks, attempting to fill the silence left in the wake of Nancy’s awkwardness. “Very glamorous.”

It sounds slightly sarcastic, but Eddie’s not sure if he’s just feeling overly defensive. “Playing and songwriting are by far the best part. The rest is just missing out on what’s waiting at home.”

“Mmm, so that’s why you’re in town then? Missing Chicago?” She seems genuinely sympathetic, but he can’t help puffing up like an angry cat at the drip of pity hanging from her lips.

“More like the people,” Eddie snaps. He takes a deep breath to steady himself. God forbid he has a panic attack in front of the first person Nancy introduces him to when he comes home. He’d really be living up to the nightmare older brother stereotype Nancy’s dealt with her entire life.

“Well then,” Nancy interrupts, clapping her hands together loudly causing both Becky and Eddie to flinch. “Thanks for dropping off my laptop, Becky, I really appreciate it.”

“Umm, no problem, Nance.” Becky eyes her warily, but takes the cue. She turns to Eddie to say their goodbyes as Nancy sees her out.

He heads towards the kitchen to get dinner started for the two of them. It’s almost ten minutes by the time Nancy makes her way back and her entire demeanor’s changed. Her spine’s straight with shoulders back, head held high, eyes steeled with resolve. A classic Nancy Wheeler I’m going to tackle this problem head on attitude, except it’s directed at him. Which is seriously not great.

But instead of saying anything, she pulls out the same kitchen stool Eddie had been perched on earlier and plops herself down, all without breaking eye contact. He assumes she’s got something to say, he can spot a Nancy lecture coming a mile away.

Once again, anxiety’s filling out space in his chest as he finishes cooking. They sit in relative silence on the living room couch while they eat, and all he can do is wait. Eddie wants to hear what she has to say, he wants answers, but he’s dreading it all the same. She’s upset with him, which he can’t hold against her. He deserves all of his family’s rage. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily looking forward to it.

“Ok, ask me,” she states, setting the empty bowl down on the coffee table, turning fully face him. Leaning against the the armrest, she pulls one knee up to her chest while sticking her other foot right in Eddie’s lap. He matches her position, grabbing her ankle and plopping his own foot down beside her, hoping the small amount of contact will keep him grounded.

“Ask you, what?”

“Don’t play dumb, Eddie,” she says, “the entire reason you’re in Chicago isn’t to catch up with Jonathan or Mike or me.” Nancy’s chest deflates with a sigh, and Eddie’s heart breaks at the fact that she’s right. He hates himself for it, one more way he’s disappointed her. “He’s completely offline, the kids don’t post about him even though half of them have you blocked anyways. I know you probably did as much digging as you could and even though you hired a fucking private investigator– jesus christ Eddie–”

“That was only to find out where he lived, I swear.”

She scoffs, “Like that makes it any better.”

“I know, I know,” he sighs, lifting one hand from her ankle to rub his eyes. “I’m sorry, keep going. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s ok,” she says, squeezing his leg. The small gesture loosens some of the building tension, and he relaxes his shoulders.

“The point is, you probably don’t know anything about what’s happened with over the thirteen months you’ve been gone. But, I just thought, if you’re going around looking for answers, it’s probably best for everyone if they come from me.”

She looks away from him then to stare out the window next to them, and Eddie can’t help but follow her gaze. The sun has long since set, the only light coming from the end table lamps on either side of them, and the street light across the way. Dark winter nights always left Eddie feeling a little hollow, a chill even the warmest blankets couldn’t chase away. A feeling only Steve could ease out of him. 

When he looks back at Nancy, she’s already looking back like she can read his mind. Except she’s chewing on her bottom lip, and when he meets her eyes, she can’t hold his gaze.

“Nance,” he says, confused at the sinking of his stomach, “why is it best if it comes from you? No offense, but you’re not necessarily as close to him as Max or Lucas, and they seemed pretty clammed up when they came around. Especially when they mentioned the fiance.” Eddie chokes around the word. Swallows around the dry bitterness coating his throat.

She squeezes his ankle again, except this time it’s too tight, her nails digging little moons into his skin. Like whatever she has to say will send him running, because everyone knows he’s a coward, will disappear exactly the same as before. It’s how he knows he’s still the same person as before– undeserving of the people he loves most– when her next words send a small shock through his system.

“Because I’m the one who set them up, Eddie. And I’m not sorry.”

~~~

Part 5

Tag List: @5ammi90

[mikesigninspection]

Honestly, can this scene contain more topics than just one?

As expected, people are asking themselves what are Mike and Nancy discussing about.

Is it about (Holly's) disappearance or, could it be about the relationships (Jancy and Byler). Maybe it could even be Mike talking 'bout his and El's problems and what do you know, he could be coming out to Nancy!

My question is, can't they include everything I just mentioned in their talk?

Can't they just start a conversation about Holly's disappearance, reveal how guilty they feel, what they should've done to protect her and how they could rescue her. Talk about what she is going through. Then tie that with Will's disappearance, how he must've felt during it. How he could help due to his experience, and through the talk, Mike could reveal his guilt and the fear of losing him. Nancy could ask him where he stands with El rn, wanting to understand what her little brother is going through (considering they should reveal their fears so they don't get possessed) and he could talk about the problems, how he acted back in Lenora, what even happened there . He could bring up the bathtub speech which could then be connected to the painting and its own story.

It could have Mike talking about how it all makes him feel, which could again, lead to a potential coming out to Nancy. Nancy could also intertwine with the talk, bringing up the Jancy situation and they could end up joking 'bout the Byers/Wheelers love curse.

They could finally explore that siblings bond and catch a breath for a moment.

[ghostlycleric]

Season 5 Wheeler Chairs (Free Me From This Content Drought PLEASE)

Everyone moved on, but I’m still here. And bored. In fact, I am so insanely bored that I am actually going to analyze the chair placement in this picture. I also actually skimmed through the entirety of seasons 1 and 2 looking for the photos below. I managed to find some (small) new things.

We barely ever see this room, so here’s two moments I found. [While most realize the Wheelers don’t need that many chairs, I just want to prove the extra ones are meaningful.]

The chairs in the new photo are absolutely abnormal. There’s much more space between them in the bottom photo and in the scene the top photo is from. It’s not just part of a chair set, they were put there.

We can also see a matching one behind Mike in the top picture. The Wheelers put extra chairs away. That one is probably Holly’s, as she was still in a different chair in that scene.

We saw the non-matching extra chair already in season 1. It’s next to Ted (where one of their actual dinner chairs is in the new set photo).

We know absolutely for a fact that at least 2 extra people needed a seat in whatever scene this is for. This almost confirms that we will be getting a Wheeler breakfast sequence with 2 new members.

What is the scene, then?

Possibility 1:

I’m most inclined to believe that Will and Jonathan temporarily stay with the Wheelers at the start of season 5. (While Hopper, Joyce, and El stay at the cabin.) The cabin is too small for all the Hopper-Byers, so Joyce might trust Karen to take care of Will and Jonathan. El would obviously want to stay with Hopper. Plus, why would they be fixing the cabin at the end of s4 if they didn’t want to use it?

This would also explain why Will was with Mike and Holly in the biking scene. Maybe he’s stuck babysitting Holly with Mike cause he lives there, or maybe they have some routine of escorting Holly to or from school?

This scene could be a staple Wheeler family breakfast we see in the beginning of other seasons. This time, though, it introduces us to the fact that Will and Jonathan are living with the Wheelers.

Possibility 2:

If it’s not a breakfast sequence, it could be some sort of party meeting. Why wouldn’t they have this in the basement? I don’t know. It can’t be because they were in a rush because why would they bother getting other chairs? Still a possibility, though.

Possibility 3:

It could also be some sort of sleepover. Maybe somebody stays the night and they get extra chairs for breakfast (because Wheeler hospitality). This would be similar to possibility 1, but just revealing some other plot point.

A picture of a dinning room can’t really spoil a scene all that much, unfortunately.

What Happened to the Dinner Table?

Also, the dinner table doesn’t have any chairs. They’re weirdly positioned against the wall, and there’s only 2 of them. I can’t think of any explanation for that, to be completely honest. Maybe the dinner table set is just incomplete?

…Which is also a possibility for the breakfast table, but the set looks pretty complete to me. Why would they post it as the focus of a picture if it wasn’t? I don’t think they’d fully set a table for 7 people for no reason. It’s not like a set worker pulled up a chair to sit in while working.

Possibility 2 Sucks

Also based on the fact that the table is set for 7, I can totally rule out the party meeting idea. Why would they meticulously set up the table to eat if they weren’t focused on eating? Unless it’s late in the season, and the Wheelers aren’t staying at the Wheelers but other people are. That’s super unlikely, though.

In conclusion:

Two people stay at the Wheelers for at least one night, and Karen knows they’re there. She prepares the breakfast table for extra people. We probably get a breakfast scene with them early season like usual.

[We should be getting something about the Wheeler Basement any day now from the polls the ST Broadcast Channel held two weeks ago. Maybe there will be evidence of somebody sleeping down there… Will and/or Jonathan? If not, that wouldn’t totally disprove the ‘they stay at the Wheelers theory’, but it’d make it less likely.]

[alcalystrasz]

Stranger Things 5 spoilers:

We're discussing theories.

So we knew that the first episode was called "The Crawl" because The Duffers posted a tweet with the script title. However, for the other ones... that's crazy.

So remember there are 8 episodes in total, and we possibly only have 6 of their titles. Let's try to understand them together.

EP1 - So, for The Crawl I personally don't have theories for it. I just thought maybe it was going to be about escaping from someplace, or to get to a place.

EP2 - The Episode 2 is the most intriguing, "The Vanishing of ***** Wheeler." It reminds me a lot of the first episode of season 1: "The Vanishing of Will Byers" so it may have a sort of link. So we know it's a Wheeler, but who. If we count the starts there are 5 of them, maybe it's a random number or maybe they did this on purpose so we can know the number of letters in the name. So, Karen has five letters, Holly has five letters too, Nancy also and Mike and Ted are excluded. So only the women could vanish. Between these 3 characters, we know one has been recast: Holly. So maybe, Holly will be the one to disappear, because in a previous spoiler/leak it has been said that Holly was going to be a target of Vecna, so far we thought it was fake but it could turn out to be true actually. So if it's indeed Holly who disappears, and it could make sense because Will vanished when he was 11 and she's going to be around 8, I have a question, will she also get some sort of powers just like Will in the end when we find her?

And now that I think about it, maybe "The Crawl" is Holly's to try to escape from Vecna but she ends up in the Upside Down anyway?

I think Holly is the most possible Wheeler to vanish. And it has been said many times that Holly can be linked to Vecna in some ways. Lots of fans said that Karen could be Henry's sister and Holly is his nephew. Maybe? He would kidnap her to put pressure on Karen, because we know the parents and especially Karen will play a bigger role this season...

EP3 - "The Turbow Trap" is probably something against Vecna, I don't have anything, except maybe it could be made by Dustin because he's a genius at making stuff (He made Cerebro).

EP4 - "Sorcerer." I don't know why but I feel like it's either Vecna, because he's a sort of sorcerer, or maybe it's Will. Remember that in DnD, Will plays a sort of wizard/cleric. I don't know what could happen but... maybe it's also something else. It is probably in this episode that Holly comes back because they could all try to confront this Sorcerer, so Vecna.

EP5 - "Shock Jock" makes me think of "Trick or Treat, freak" an episode of season 2. The episode's name is kinda similar, I don't know how to explain that. But it's a goofy title to something dramatic like in the Halloween one. Jock could be Joyce. It's a shock to Joyce? Maybe something could happen to Will?

EP6 - This episode has probably the weirdest title of them all. "Escape from Camazotz." So... Camazotz is a Bat, more precisely a God who's form is a bat. He's a creature with the head of a bat and the body of a human, really weird to put this in the show. It's from the religion of the Maya, he's associated to night, death and sacrifice. But that's in real life. In DnD, Camazotz is the "Demon Lord of Bats and Fire." He literally likes hunting the mortals in the darkness. Just like Vecna. And in the Upside Down we saw there are in fact Bats, demobats, but is Vecna controlling them? He can't be both Vecna and Camazotz at the same time. Maybe Vecna is just a puppet of this unknown dimension?

The second edition of DnD was introduced in 1974, and Vecna was introduced in this edition. Which explains why they used this name for Henry. But Camazotz wasn't, it's probably in the 3rd or 4th edition.

Who are we gonna see? Camazotz, from the Maya or Camazotz from DnD?

I have some theories.

The first one is, somebody's going to sacrifice themselves to save everyone else. As I said in my previous theories, I had the idea of Robin and/or Jonathan that sacrifices themselves. In this context, I don't think Robin's sacrifice would happen for this sort of thing. However Jonathan's could be. It could be a big twist for Will because I have this idea where he's going to be either stuck, or he's going to stay in the Upside Down in some ways, along with Mike. So this could be one of their conversations later, it could ruin Will so Mike would be there to comfort him.

The second one is, someone's going to get killed by Camazotz, which explains the word "escape" in the title. Maybe Robin, Jonathan, Max (if she isn't already dead) or one parent like Karen or Ted.

The actor of Ted answered a question in an interview. Someone asked something about him not being mentioned by Vecna when he showed Nancy that her whole family is going to die, and the actor simply answered: "Oh. You noticed?" With a wink.

So maybe Ted knows about Karen's link to Vecna. Maybe it isn't their story isn't like what Nancy said to Jonathan in season 1. The whole "Perfect" family is probably a lie.

This could actually explain why Vecna showed what's gonna happen to the Wheeler family, to Nancy. Because she's the one who got this "Perfect family" idea. We never saw Mike talk about it to anyone. So.... this is all a little blurry...

But I think, in this episode, there has to be 1 death. Most likely Robin, because she was only introduced in season 3 and she's a recent character, compared to the other ones who were here since season 1.

I have this theory, what if the end of ST5 is the beginning of ST1. What I mean is that, we go back to the beginning like how it was before everything happened even though it actually happened. It's like, everything ended and now we're back to how it was. So it means, only the 4 boys, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Hopper and Joyce. Eleven wouldn't be, because she's one of the reasons it all started, and it would be such a good ending if she dies saving Hawkins. Barb doesn't count cause she'd dead. And every characters introduced later died so far: Billy, Max (half dead), Bob... Only Murray and Robin are left. Murray will def die that's for sure and Robin, for me, has to die too.

Now, I want to talk about BYLER.

Remember the episode 3 of season 3, with Will and Mike's fight under the rain? Guess who it was directed by:

Shawn Levy.

And who's going to direct episode 6 of ST5?

Shawn Levy.

He didn't only direct that, but he also directed the sauna episode. And what happens in the sauna episode?

Will: I can feel him....

Mike, looking at Will's lips: Max get away from the door...

So, if Shawn Levy direct the episode 6, we'll get byler. And was I thinking? Byler kiss episode 6, that was my theory. With 3 or 4 intimate moments between them before episode 6 and the kiss during this episode.

There is one director I didn't talk about, it's Frank Darabont. He's a director who made a lot of horror movies, and we know how Stanger Things can be disgusting sometimes. Right?

So if Frank directs 3 episodes, they're going to be very scary or atleast be special in a disgusting way, maybe? But it's definitely going to be horror for these episodes.

I think he'll probably direct episode 7, that'd make sense, maybe 8 too.

Anyway, that was it. Tell me what you guys think about these two spoilers/leaks. I hope the directing one is true. And the titles are still possibly to change in the future, but the episode 2 really caught me off guard. I bet it's gonna be Holly.

And by the way, I hope they can bring back Sarah, Hopper's daughter. The fact that her and Holly look alike, isn't a coincidence for me. Maybe Sarah is more important than we think she is.

[bymarara]

Let's talk about this.

"The Vanishing of *** Wheeler." - So... Which Wheeler? Mike, Nancy, Holly? I'm leaning towards the last one, but! They all make sense. One can imagine how Vecna, could be after Mike, to at the same time, hurt Will, Al. Or, he could be using Mike as bait to lure them into a trap.

It's also conceivable that Vekna would come after Nancy for revenge because his plan didn't work out as planned, and Nancy, who knew more than anyone, almost killed him at the end of season 4.(But also, it would be as bait for others, a trap to lure them into the Otherworld.)

And the best part. What if it was Holly? Let's look back through all the seasons and realize the fact that she was somehow but connected to the Yznan, she saw a lot of things.

Season 1 - Holly was the one who went to the Byers house to get light bulbs and saw in Demogorgon style (saw somewhere a suggestion that it could even be Vekna, who even then wanted to kidnap her.).

Season 3 - On the Ferris wheel, Holly noticed that the trees were moving and apparently didn't believe her mom that it was the wind. I think Holly sensed something wrong, you know what they say, kids see more than adults.

Season 4 - We're shown that Holly is the first to notice ash from the sky, calling it snow. Once again, she's the first to notice something weird and it's not weird?

I think she's going to play a big role. Holly, Ted's favorite and father, Ted even fell asleep with her in his arms. We're told that Ted and Mike will have some kind of interaction, so why wouldn't it be a conversation like Ted is worried and starts asking Mike what the heck has been going on for years and where is the youngest daughter missing? Also, Holly's disappearance could strengthen the family as everyone will be on the lookout for the girl.

"Escape from Camazotz" - I think this is going to be a clash of the Bylers. We all know that the Bylers will likely have some sort of tension, but we know that they will most likely be Endgame this season. There are rumors and theories that the Bylers will become canon in episode 7. I think this all makes sense since we haven't been given the title of the last two episodes because they could be a huge spoiler.

" Sorcerer." - I can very likely tell you what was going on in Yznanka with him 1983. We'll be shown this with flashbacks that may show Vecna for some purpose, perhaps to get him to his side and show how similar they all are. Also, maybe it will show us that Will has the ability to hear and sense Vecna. Because of that, everyone might be afraid of him, since he can play both sides, or even if it's not him anymore, they might be afraid of him being evil. Mike and Joyce will be reminded of the events of season 2 and assure them that Will is fine.

[angelynmoon]

More Eldritch Steve

Holly does not get scared easily she knows that her Stevie, her monster will protect her from anything she is afraid of no matter what or who it is.

Holly has always known Steve was a monster, she saw him as he really is when Nancy first brought him home.

She should have been frightened, should have hid from him in fear, but Holly has seen monsters, she saw them in Will's wall, she knows that Steve isn't a bad monster, not when he crawls under her bed to growl at the ones that live there or the way he sat all night against her closet door to keep the one that lived there inside.

He's a monster but he plays dolls with her when she asks, even after Nancy broke up with him.

Nancy got upset when Holly didn't warm up as easily to Jonathan as she had Steve.

But Nancy doesn't see Steve, not really, she sees his human image, his mimicry of humanity, she can't see, or maybe won't see, the monster that Steve is.

But Holly sees it, him, sees too many teeth bared at Ted the first time Holly heard him raise his voice at her mother, she sees him in the darkness that crawls through her window to check on her late at night.

Holly can see Steve the way he really is, he's her monster, her protecter, her safety net that she knows will always be there for her when she needs him.

So, when Holly gets scared, when Ted raises his voice and her mother's rises to match, she crawls out her window, uses the tree to get down and starts off to the dark of the woods where she knows her monster hunts.

Holly knows Steve will know she's there as soon as she enters the woods, he has never once lost her while babysitting with Nancy, even when she wondered off too far from them, he knows where she is, always.

He's her monster, he'll always find her and keep her safe.

Holly yawns and lifts her hands up when Steve looks down at her, she's safe now, nothing bad would be allowed to happen to her now.

Safe and sound in Steve's hold Holly Wheeler falls asleep, unaware of how her life is about to change.

--

Don't ask me what happens, I don't know yet but enjoy Holly pov.

@addelyin @merricatty @lesbiabrobin @apuckishwit @0o-mushroom-o0 @starlight-archer @darkwitchoferie @just-a-tiny-void @swimmingbirdrunningrock @intergalactic-president-awesome @vampireinthesun @goodolefashionedloverboi @adhdsummer @purpleanimeoverart @space-invading-pigeon @lilaclilyroses @nohomoyesbi @plantzzsandpencilzzs @korixae @subversivecynic @flusteredcas @persnicketysquares @freddykicksasses @little-trash-ghost @cupcakesnwhiskey @cats-ate-all-of-my-pasta @planetsoda @paintsplatteredandimperfect @irregular-child @daydreamsandcrashingwaves @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @steddieassheg0es

[parkitaco]

"Mike," Holly huffs, standing over him with her arms crossed, "You're doing it bad."

Mike glances up from where he's sitting on the sidewalk in front of their house, covered in chalk and sweating. "Thanks," he says sarcastically, as Holly kicks her shoe at the drawing he's been half-heartedly creating on the ground. "You're the one who wanted to do this, remember?"

"You're hogging all the chalk," Holly whines, collapsing onto the ground and tossing an arm over her eyes in despair. Mike scowls; anyone who thinks he's dramatic has got him confused with the wrong Wheeler. "And you're not even doing it good."

Mike sighs, glancing down at his half-completed chalk drawing of a bunny, per Holly's request that there be more fun animals, Mike, it's too boring otherwise. She has a point - all his drawings have turned out sort of blob-shaped and ugly. "You do it, then," he says sourly, shoving the box of slightly broken chalk in her direction, and she grins all teeth at him.

Mike pulls his phone out of his pocket, grimacing when he sees the time. With Nancy off at college, he's been getting stuck on Holly-duty more and more often, and he's still got a solid three hours this morning before his mother gets home. Not that Holly's bad company, necessarily, though her incessant criticism certainly isn't helping her case. But it's summer, and Mike had had some vague plans of maybe going to the lake today, and hopefully dragging Will along with him. And besides, Holly's almost nine years old. She shouldn't need full-time looking after. Probably.

As if he's somehow read his mind from afar, Mike's phone buzzes with a text from Will:

hey :)

how's holly duty

Mike smiles, glancing up at his sister, who is currently scribbling out his misshapen rabbit drawing with a stick of red chalk, tongue poking out between her teeth as she concentrates on utterly destroying his attempt at art. It's hard to have authority over someone who knows you're a loser, he texts back, as Holly finishes scribbling out the bunny drawing and moves on to one of his earlier drawings.

don't call my boyfriend a loser :(, Will replies, and Mike's grin widens.

To be fair holly said it first, he types, and a piece of chalk hits him square on the forehead. He yelps and glances up from his phone, scowling at his sister. "Ow!"

"Stop texting Will," Holly says sourly, "and draw with me."

"Who says I'm texting Will?" Mike demands, snatching up the piece of chalk Holly had thrown at him. "And you said I was bad at drawing."

Holly stays silent, staring him down until he reluctantly leans over and starts drawing again. "I know you're texting Will because you have the dumb look on your face," she says, "And it's not fun if you're not drawing with me!"

"My face isn't dumb," Mike mumbles, but he goes back to drawing anyway. Maybe- fish are probably pretty easy to draw, right? He draws a circle with a triangle on the end that looks vaguely fish-like, and then sets about filing in multicolored scales.

Holly starts talking again, babbling on about whatever little world she's drawing at the other end of the pavement, and Mike nods along absently, doodling little circles around the slightly wonky-looking fish and praying that the sunscreen he'd hurriedly sprayed on before going outside is enough to protect his frighteningly pale skin from the blazing sun overhead. It's barely noon, but it's already getting hot, and the sidewalk is in direct sunlight with no trees around to shield him. Holly seems unbothered, though Mike can already see the bridge of her nose pinkening, and he'll undoubtedly get a lecture from his mother lately about taking proper care of his baby sister and whatnot. Even though Holly is literally not a baby, and Mike is pretty sure that when he was nine he was perfectly capable of putting on sunscreen.

It's a welcome relief, then, if a little surprising, when a shadow falls over him, and Mike jumps, dropping his chalk and raising a hand to shield his eyes as he glances up at the person standing over him. When he sees who it is, his entire body relaxes, a slow smile stretching across his face.

Will matches it, offering a little wave as he surveys the situation; Mike, covered in chalk and doodling multicolored circles all over the sidewalk, with his sister five feet away frantically scribbling out his earlier drawings. "Hi," Will says, amused, and Mike waves back, grinning a little sheepishly. "Are we having fun?"

"Hi, Will!" Holly chirps before Mike can answer, popping her head up and smiling brightly. "Mike is being a bummer," she informs him seriously, and Will laughs.

"Is that so," he replies, eyes flicking to Mike, and he nudges Mike's knee with the toe of his shoe.

"No," Mike replies sourly, giving Holly a scathing glare, "I'm being super nice, actually."

Holly is unperturbed, sticking her tongue out at him and going back to drawing, and Will laughs again as he sinks to the ground in front of Mike, crossing his legs beneath him and leaning back on his palms. He looks good like this, warm and tan in the summer sun with a teasing twinkle in his eye and his white t-shirt tucked neatly into his jeans.

"Hi," Will says again, low and soft, reaching forward and tugging at the collar of Mike's t-shirt until he leans forward for a quick kiss. In his peripheral, Mike watches Holly pull a face of disgust, and actively decides to pretend he doesn't notice. "I like your drawing," Will says, glancing down at the fish Mike has been slaving away at, and Mike flushes, whining in embarrassment and scooting away.

"Shut up," he grumbles, reaching for a fresh piece of chalk and halfheartedly filling in one of his circles with purple. "You're the artist, not me."

"Hey, I was being serious!" Will says, laughing lightly, "It's cute."

Mike presses his lips together, giving Will a scrutinizing look. "You're cute," he mumbles, which isn't quite the comeback he'd been looking for but is still, unfortunately, very true, and Will brightens, shooting him a brilliant smile.

"Hey, thanks," he replies, and leans over to steal the chalk out of his hand. "Can I draw too?" he asks Holly, who glances up from where she's drawing a mustache and goatee onto Mike's poor attempt at drawing a cat.

She looks Will up and down, weighing her options, and then nods once, shoving the box of chalk in his direction. "Don't break any," she chides.

"I won't," Will says seriously, placing a hand over his heart like he's swearing it.

Mike rolls his eyes. "You've already broken like half of it, Holly," he says, reaching for a blue piece and doodling another circle near his fish.

"That's why we can't break any more!" she says shrilly, which is a fair enough point. Mike lets it go.

Will smirks, leaning over and sketching out a few gentle lines on a blank stretch of sidewalk. "When does your mom get back?" he asks, as the lines he's sketching gradually take the shape of a much more realistic-looking fish than the one Mike had drawn.

"Like, three maybe?" Mike says with a grimace, pulling out his phone to check the time again. Tragically, it has been less than fifteen minutes since the last time he checked. "She has to do grocery shopping and then yoga, I think. I don't know, I wasn't totally listening."

Will snorts, picking up a piece of blue chalk and drawing gentle, wave-like lines around the two fishes they've drawn. "Okay," he says, chalk-dusted fingers brushing over the back of Mike's hand gently, "But you're free tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah," Mike confirms, "Why, did you want to do something?"

Will nods, filling in little white crests on each of the waves he's drawn. "Yeah. The lake, maybe? I don't know, I just want to hang out with you."

It's impressive, how easily Will is able to make Mike's entire chest fill with butterflies with a single phrase, especially such a mundane one considering how long they've been dating. He bites down a shy smile and nods as normally as he can manage, though he's pretty sure Will can sense the giddiness radiating from him anyway. "That sounds nice," he says, and then, because he can't help himself, "We are hanging out right now, though. In case you hadn't noticed."

Will rolls his eyes, lifting a chalk-covered finger and booping Mike's nose lightly, undoubtedly covering his face in green chalk dust. "I did notice," he says, jabbing his finger at him again, "But- alone, I meant. Sorry, Holly," he adds, glancing over at her apologetically, and she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Mean," she whines, and Mike rolls his eyes.

"Don't dish it out if you can't take it," he tells her, and she scowls, maintaining eye contact with him while she draws a giant red X directly over one of his earlier drawings.

Will's eyes widen. "Cold," he mutters, and holds his fist out. Holly bumps it dutifully and goes back to drawing.

His eyes flick back to Mike, and the corner of his mouth ticks up as his gaze darts over Mike's face. "You have chalk on your face," he informs him, looking like he's trying very hard not to laugh, and Mike scowls, lifting a hand and scrubbing at his face with the back of it.

"That's your fault," he grumbles, and Will makes a fake-sympathetic face as he scoots closer and bats Mike's hand away, raising a still green-tinged hand to wipe at his face. Mike lets him, leaning into his warmth, even as he says, nose wrinkled, "Listen, I can't see my face right now, but I feel like you're making it worse."

Will grimaces, and his hands tragically pull away from Mike's face as he surveys his work. "A bit, yeah," he acknowledges. "I kinda just spread it around."

"Idiot," Mike accuses, and Will grins all teeth, tilting forward slowly like he's falling into Mike's gravity before closing the rest of the distance in one swift motion and stealing another quick kiss. "Idiot," Mike says again, and leans in for another.

"Love you too," Will replies cheerily when they part again, and Mike shoots him the finger before remembering that there's a child present and quickly hiding it behind his back.

"I saw that," Holly says anyway, as she finishes whatever she's drawing and glances up at him.

"No you didn't," Mike says matter-of-factly, and Will elbows him.

"Don't gaslight her," he reprimands, and Holly points at him and nods.

"Come here," she demands, despite the fact that Mike and Will are sitting less than ten feet away from here. "I wanna show you what I made."

Mike wants to tell her to say please, or something, or at least take a slightly less bossy tone with the person who is literally in charge of her for the day, but Will is already scooting over to her, peering down at her drawing with genuine curiosity, and Mike has no choice but to follow. It's a little infuriating and all too endearing, how nice Will is to Holly, and most people in general. He makes people feel important. Mike in particular.

Holly's drawn a rainbow, Mike sees as he clambers over to sit beside Will, hooking an arm around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. There are little multicolored hearts all around it, complete with white clouds at either end, and Holly looks way too pleased with herself for someone who's basically just drawn a bunch of lines, but whatever. It's probably better than Mike could do.

"It's for you!" she chirps, grinning wide, and Will huffs a surprised laugh, hand absently coming to rest on Mike's knee. "Because rainbows."

"Aw, Mike," Will laughs, tilting his head back to look Mike in the eye, "Did you teach her that?"

"No," Mike says, squirming closer to him and grinning, "Nancy, probably. She keeps sending me all these lists of queer resources and shit."

Will hums a laugh, thumb tracing gentle circles into Mike's knee as he reaches for his phone. "This is very sweet, Holly," he says sincerely, and she blushes as he snaps a picture. "Thank you."

"You should take a picture of Mike's fish, too," she says seriously.

Mike frowns. "I thought you hated my drawings."

"Not the fish!" she says, and does not elaborate, which- yeah, sure. Mike will take what he can get.

"Here, you take it," Will says, passing Holly his phone, and she hops excitedly to her feet and shuffles over to the other end of the sidewalk to snap the photo.

Mike settles more comfortably onto Will's shoulder, enjoying the solid warmth of him even under the burning summer sun. "You know there's a twenty percent chance she's going to break your phone," he murmurs into Will's ear, still half-hugging him from behind, and Will lifts a hand to rest over Mike's where it's pressed against his side, threading their fingers together.

"She's like four feet tall," Will points out, "she can't break it any worse than I already have."

"You'd be surprised," Mike mutters darkly, and Will laughs, tilting his head to the side and pressing a soft kiss to the side of Mike's face. Mike leans into it, a smile creeping onto his face despite himself.

Holly flounces back over, dropping Will's phone unceremoniously into his lap and resuming her previous position amidst the chalk drawings. "You guys are gross," she announces, as Will presses another kiss to Mike's temple.

"You made a drawing for us, though," Mike points out.

"Doesn't mean you aren't gross," she says matter-of-factly, and Mike supposes it's kind of hard to argue with that. "You have chalk on your face, by the way."

Mike splutters something incomprehensible, and Will laughs quietly, slinging an arm around his shoulders and grinning up at him. "It's okay," he says seriously, "I like your face."

"I like your face too," Mike replies teasingly, leaning in to rest his forehead against Will's.

"Gross," Holly says again, and the sun keeps shining.

[turkeycalamitybff]

on my stranger things bullshit again anyway

Holly being a major character this time???? I’ve got SO many things to say about that. Because she’s been foreshadowed to understand more than she’s letting on this ENTIRE TIME. Like I’ve seen no one talk about this but Holly def knows more than she’s letting on. And we’ve been shown that for so long. Look at season three episode seven “The Bite” around 2:50. When the other Wheelers are on the Ferris wheel Holly sees the trees moving, (the mindflayer) and comments on it. Like!!!! She has been in so many background scenes commenting to Karen about things from the upside down. And in season one she is the first one to see the “messages” from Will and the pressing on the wall. Will and Holly are TOTALLY connected. I was genuinely confused when she didn’t get a bigger role in season four but now it makes sense.

Will is what started the series but Holly will end it. And the Duffers legit said that they were paralleling season one (going back to those groups) so wouldn’t it make sense for ANOTHER CHILD CONNECTED TO MIKE WHEELER (who has been intimately connected to the plot each season I feel like) to go missing??? This is the WHEELERS season and no one can convince me otherwise. It’s all about learning that it’s good to be different. It’s about the WHEELER family learning that.

and it helps Karen get involved! Because in all the scenes Holly shows Karen something she could’ve just seen it herself. Holly was, objectively, a character that didn’t have to exist before now. But she does BECAUSE SHE IS CONNECTED TO THE UPSIDE DOWN. My guess is that she is heavily paralleled to Will this season (the title of chapter two one of the biggest examples) and is going to be the main catalyst and I for one am HERE FOR IT.

Will is the main character this season but the Wheelers are the ones who create the plot.

in general the Wheelers have always seemed to be huge. When the Cali gang gets back it would make sense for El to be at the front, correct? Or will? But no, Mike the one “leading the charge” it looks like. He really is the heart. When his sister goes missing?? Oh it’s over for Vecna.

also manifesting a scene after Holly goes missing for Mike to have a mental breakdown about the similarities to when Will was missing and Wills like so confused??? Like Dustin and Lucas see it too and they tell Will about how insane he went and Wills just. Shocked.

also manifesting a scene for the party (or everyone) where they find out what happened at the quarry with Troy in season one bc that was so built up? (Scene where hopper says that for someone to jump off was a death sentence) and then NOTHING happened and I need it to be addressed. Like maybe something similar happens and Dustin comments on it, and everyone finds out?? Just in general I can see how losing his younger sister could lead to Mike nearly committing suicide (that boy is SO depressed, Jesus) also I know this probably actually means nothing but I’ve always thought Holly was getting a bigger role since I saw the episode title “Holly, Jolly” like idk? It always seemed so weird to me and I always thought “oh hollys going to get bigger” and she never did? Also idk the episode title is just plain weird. Like I understand it’s like a play on the Christmas lights and ironic cause no one is happy but what always gets me is the comma. Like I would’ve thought they would’ve named it “Holly Jolly” which in my opinion makes more sense and is more continuos. Plus it wouldn’t bring Holly to mind as much and wouldn’t foreshadow her being part of it. BUT MAYBE they are going to parallel that episode and I won’t be crazy but who knows even. This last paragraph is me ranting.

tl;dr Holly and the Wheelers have been foreshadowed since season one to play a bigger role and to be connected to the upside down and we’re gonna see it in st 5.

[alchemistc]

Forever, For Always

Steve had called her 'mama' once. Just the once, because he'd heard one of the kids in first grade calling their own mom that as they streaked towards the pretty lady already kneeling, arms open wide to receive them. He can't remember who it was anymore, only that at the time it seemed like 'mama' was a magic word like 'Alakazam' that had the mystical power to make moms drop everything and wrap their kids up in their arms and cling to them, nose pressed right up by their ear and swaying back and forth on a laugh and he'd wanted that for himself but he'd wanted it for his mom, too.

Victoria Harrington had tutted when he tugged at her pant leg, head tilting to cradle the phone between her ear and shoulder, and her mouth had quirked up a little, and she'd ruffled his hair - that was before it became His Hair, when it was just a flop of golden-brown that the lady at the salon always cut just like his mom showed her - and then she'd turned away and it turned out 'mama' wasn't a magic word at all.

When Steve was thirteen Carol's mom drove them to the movie theater and halfway there someone ran a stop sign going way too fast and blowing straight through the two way stop and they'd almost been t-boned. Steve and Carol were in back, because Tommy had had a growth spurt and his legs were long and gangly and he'd been so fucking pleased with himself when Carol's mom told him he could sit up front with her.

And then the car almost slammed into them and Carol's mom slammed on the brakes and they skittered and slid and the speeding car clipped Carol's mom's bumper and Steve felt like he might throw up but instead he caught the harsh features of Carol's mom in the rear view, thought for a second he and Carol had been too loud and she was mad at them for distracting her, but then he saw the way her arm was out to the side, bent at a weird-wrong-bad angle with her plalm still facing towards Tommy, and sound had come rushing back in his ears when the chief of police jogged past the line of cars behind them and yanked open the door.

She'd been fine, mostly - arm stuck in a cast for six weeks and laughing at Steve as he hopped up on the stool next to her to help her stir her famous goulash and Tommy whirled around her grabbing things from cabinets that needed two hands, and he never said anything, because by then he was already eating dinner at Carol or Tommy's four nights a week and mostly he only saw his mom in the weekends but -

For years after he remembered the way she hadn't even noticed her arm was broken until Hopper eased her out of the driver's seat, the way she'd reached out to protect Tommy who wasn't even her kid and how she hadn't even thought about it, how her first words had been 'everyone alright?' even though her elbow was totally bent the wrong way.

Joyce Byers is fierce and protective and totally not worried about going a little fucking crazy for her kids, and -

When Steve was seventeen Karen Wheeler pressed a kiss to his forehead and a Christmas gift into his hand and then scolded Mike for not telling Steve Merry Christmas and when Nancy and Mike and Holly and Ted weren't looking he'd just sort of watched her, teasing her kids and curling hands around their shoulders and getting So Mad at Mike for being such a dickhead but then still curling her arm around his shoulder and tugging him in for a hug Mike was too young to savor like he should.

Dad's are - dad's have always been complicated, and Steve mostly thinks they're all, at a minimum, a little useless, when it comes down to it. Hopper was maybe an exception, but even that was sort of hit or miss, and Hopper wasn't like, a real dad. (Anymore)

So. The kids fall into his lap, one after another, tumbling into his life like little fucking parasites, and Steve just -

Dads are useless, and Steve wants to be useful, and so when they start mockingly responding to his "Get your grody sneakers off my dash." and his "You all need to eat a meal with vegetables or you're gonna get goddamn scurvy." and the way he takes two large steps forward even as he's telling them to get behind him with "Yes mom," or "Whatever, mom," he doesn't actually stop them. He complains about it, loudly and with a hip cocked and a frown on his face, but even that is more Mrs. Perkins than anything else.

And -

When he tells them all to stop fretting and go home, take a shower and eat a real meal, he remembers the way he'd looked at Mrs. Perkins, all fond exasperation as she craned her neck to check on Carol and Steve while her arm was bent the wrong way and he doesn't fight them on it when in unison they all murmur mocking but still quiet "Yes moooom"s at him.

When Steve is twenty he spends six days in a hospital bed with Wayne Munson hovering over him like a nervous hen and Jim Hopper yelling at nurses on his behalf because "He's been here goddamn enough for you to notice, he passed out the migraines were so bad, are you telling me you never told his parents to look into it?" and the kids all hush when they pile in around him, Dustin over his legs and Max's chair slid as close to the side rail as she could angle it and Mike white knuckling the end of the bed and refusing to make direct eye contact and Lucas distracting him from the way they're all fretting with absolutely terrible puns he huffs a laugh at anyway.

Later, he'll tell Eddie about the magic word that turned out to just be plain old love and devotion, and Eddie will frown and roll his eyes and thread their fingers together and mutter some shit about Victoria Harrington that Steve still wants to deny even if it's all accurate, and Eddie will whisper him off to sleep with a story about his own mama catching a still hot frying pan with her bare hands when the elder Munson's aim was off and it'd nearly brained Eddie instead of it's intended target. Later he'll accept the exasperation in Karen's eyes when he apologizes for passing out at the barbeque, and when she ruffles his hair she'll be looking him dead in the eye. Later, much later, he'll type up his resume and leave Victoria Harrington off as a reference, and Eddie and Robin will glare at the back of her head when he hefts the last of his boxes into the back of Eddie's van and she holds out a stiff hand for him to shake.

Later, he'll forgive her, and secretly (never-tell-a-soul-especially-not-eddie-or-robin secretly) be grateful that he'd taken her lessons and overcorrected in the opposite direction.

Later, when the adoption agencies realize gay men are generally completely willing and eager to take in kids that white-picket-fence families aren't, he'll get into a screaming match with a twelve year old and when they're both out of breath and sullen he'll poke his head in his daughters bedroom door and she'll pretend to be sleeping but he'll still press a kiss to her temple. Two years she'll call him "Ma" in that fond teasing way of hers and something in him will just break - and he keeps it together through her recital and a late dinner and the movie they all watch before bed but Eddie will curl his arms around Steve and rub his back while he chokes on silent sobs because they'd been pretty sure they'd never get kids of their own and the last year has been hell trying to convince Mary they give a shit about her and even if she'd been joking, a bit, she'd still reached over and pressed her palm to his, and he's understood since that night on the train tracks exactly why Mrs. Perkins had broken her own arm in that car crash but now he knows 'mama' DOES have some magic to it.

[strangersteddierthings]

Porcelain Steve - Part 3

Part One🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five🦇Part Six🦇Part Seven🦇Part Eight🦇Part Nine

Eddie hasn't moved from his spot on the Harrington's living room floor since El placed Steve back in his hands two hours ago except to switch his weight from side to side, depending on which buttcheek is currently numb. The mass exodus from the Byers-Hopper house to the Harringtons had taken less than 15 minutes and there has not been peace since, hence the remaining-on-the-floorness of it all for Eddie.

People stop by his stop in the living room to talk to Steve, looming over Eddie in their uncertainty. He stopped offering for people to take Steve after the third rejection because Eddie gets it; he's still the most chill about this (except Argyle, but Argyle is currently high, and Eddie is exceptionally sober and perhaps resenting that fact a bit) but he gets it. The situation is fucking freaky and maybe the thought of holding their transformed babysitter slash older brother figure slash hero might be a bit harrowing.

Of course, there's always an exception, so when Max lowers herself to the living room floor next to him, cane set down between them, and says, "Give him here." Eddie obeys, instructing her to hold her hands out so he can place Steve in them upright and facing her. Max's bones had healed alright, but she'd never get her vision back.

"Am I looking at his face?" She asks, gripping him around the waist with two hands like he's a messy hamburger.

Eddie can't actually tell from this angle if she's looking at his face but it's got to be close enough, so he says, "Yeah."

"Hey Steve," Max starts. "Everyone else is too much of a wuss to hold you but don't worry. They'll get over it. Not going to lie to you, though, this is pretty weird, but, like, mostly because I expected your body to be squishy, like a stuffed toy or those babydolls Holly drags around and forces us to take care of when we all hang out at the Wheeler's house. You know, the ones that are like soft with the plastic head, hands, and feet? That's what I expected." She runs one thumb up and down on his torso before tacking on, "ugh, this feels like a polo. Eddie, is he wearing a polo?"

"Yeah. I think he's in the outfit he was wearing when whatever happened happened. The polo was tucked into his jeans but Robin untucked it to check if there were scars on his lil' porcelain tummy."

"Are there?"

"Yeah. Painted on, Robin says. It's pretty accurate."

"Like, chest hair and all?"

"I... don't know? You'll have to ask Robin. She was the one holding him like two inches from her face."

Max's attention goes back to Steve. "I bet your tiny polo looks cute, simply because it's tiny. Only way a polo could be cute, Steve. I still can't believe you dress this way because you like it. And worse, I can't believe you actually pull off the look."

Eddie looks on, amused, as Max rambles from there. Which is an experience. Max isn't quiet by any means, but she's not a talk to fill the silence type, which is what this seems like. The topics are mundane, like how summer school is going, and about her plans to try and teach El how to skateboard using only verbal directions, and debating the pros and cons of trying to convince her mom to let her get a seeing-eye dog. Then, they make a turn Eddie didn't expect.

"I think I'm going to be mostly on babysitting duty instead of active research and rescue. You know, on account of the blindness and all. So, like, I hope you're going be okay just hanging out with me and listening to Kate Bush for hours."

He should not be feeling a twist in his gut of jealousy at the fact Max wants to take Porcelain Steve from him, and yet. "You gonna look after him, Max?"

She shrugs, turns her face towards Eddie, "I figured we'd all take turns babysitting. Might get boring for him otherwise. He'd drop everything to watch us, if this had happened to us. He has done that. We have to do the same for him. Plus, Steve likes to check in on us, don't you Steve? What better way than to give you, like, a day with everyone in rotation."

"Always the savior, never the saved, huh?" Eddie is trying to joke but Max's face twists into a frown and her arms lower for the first time, lower so Steve's little porcelain face stares up at the ceiling.

"No. Not always."

"Oh?"

"I saved him, once. From Billy. It was my fault he was even in danger," Max says, voice sad.

"I doubt it was your fault-"

"It was my brother trying to beat him to death," Max snaps and it shuts Eddie up quick. "And the only reason he was in the house, beating Steve to death, was because I couldn't follow the simple instruction of 'stay away from the window'. Steve could probably have gotten Billy to leave if I had. But I didn't listen, and Billy got in, and then he was threatening Lucas. He'd said 'you're dead, Sinclair' and then Steve had to be super lame but super cool at the same time by saying 'no, you are' and decking Billy in the face with, like, the full force of his body."

"That is a very lame thing to say."

"Right? Anyway, he was winning that fight until Billy cracked him over the head with a plate. Then it just went downhill so fast for Steve, and I was so sure I was about to watch my stepbrother murder someone. I-I don't even know what came over me, really. I'd never stood up to Billy before. I just knew I had to do something. There were these syringes filled with something that put you to sleep and I grabbed it and then I stabbed Billy with one and then threatening him with Steve's nailbat to never touch any of my friends again."

"Holy shit, Red. Metal as hell!"

She gives a small smile at that. "Well, the boys were basically useless so." She gives a shrug that suggests that sentence should have ended with what can you do?

"True. I've seen you girls in action. Scary and deadly."

Max looks down, then, back to Steve. "Alright, Steve. This is enough floor time for me. I'll yack your ears off later."

She holds Steve back out to Eddie, and he returns Steve to the place in his lap. She gathers her cane and pulls herself from the floor, calling out to see where El is, then presumably going off to find her.

"You really do have a tit-for-tat thing going on with these kids, don't ya?" Eddie chuckles, falling back into the quiet.

His mind does go back to Max and her story. Saving Steve from Billy. He's heard that story but never that part. Steve had given him a watered-down version that left out the fact Billy had threatened Lucas, and that Max had come to his rescue. He wonders if Steve even knows that part.

Had they told him? In Steve's version he's getting his ass beat, and then he's coming to in the back of Billy's car with Max at the wheel. It seems out of character for Steve to not take the time to brag about the kids.

Given the events of spring break of last year, and Max's complicated feelings towards Billy, maybe Steve does know the full story and it was left out intentionally. A thing left up to Max to tell or not, to have to relive. She's been better, doesn't bottle up the hard things anymore, even though it's not Eddie she talks to.

It's Steve.

Eddie feels a bit worse about his jealousy earlier. Of course, Max wants to spend time with Steve even if he can't talk back. He's been the stable male figure in her life for years, just like he's been for Dustin.

He looks up, really taking in the people around him. All the people that have gathered because they care about Steve. All the kids, their peers, Joyce, and Hopper, and some guy Eddie's never even heard of before named Murray.

Does Steve even know how much he means to everyone here?

He's going to ask Steve just that but Robin shouts from the dining area at the same time he opens his mouth, so he snaps his jaw shut and focuses in on that.

"Absolutely not! Those assholes dealt with StarCourt by burning it to the ground and that's it! What do you think they'll try and do to Steve!?" Robin's back is to Eddie, so he can't see her face, but he can see Nancy's, who she seems to be yelling at. Nancy looks determined.

"I'm not saying we go asking the shady government for help immediately! I just brought it up as an option for if we hit a dead end, or can't figure this out, or-" Nancy argues back, and Robin cuts her off.

"Shut up! We'll figure it out! We have before."

Nancy's face softens, looks sadder. "I know, Robin. I do. But how long do we try ourselves? How many days, weeks, months, do we just keep trying ourselves while Steve is stuck? We don't even have a starting point for fixing this, the least we can do is plan a time to ask for help."

"Nancy's right," Hopper says, even if he sounds upsetting about admitting it out loud. "We can trust Owens at least. He helped us."

"No, I'm with Freckles there. You cannot trust anyone in the government, Jim. How many times do you need to learn that lesson?" Murray says in a condescending tone (though Eddie hasn't heard any other tone from him, so maybe that's just his voice?).

Eddie finally stands from the floor. This feels like an argument he should join.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for a @astrangersummer.

The Remnants

Week #11 Prompt: Sunglasses | Word Count: 898 | Rating: T | POV: Karen Wheeler | Characters: Karen, Steve Harrington | CW: Prior Major Character Death (Unspecified Member of The Party) | Tags: Future Fic, The Party, Unnamed Character Death, A Look at Grief, At Loss, Steve Harrington is Still Their Babysitter Person, The Kids Are Home For A Funeral

Inspired by the song Pink Skies by Zach Bryan.

The kids are in town for a funeral. 

Karen has been listening to them move around the basement, getting ready to go. She doesn't want to make them wait, not on her. Not today.

She's touching every surface in her kitchen, every counter, frantic. It doesn't make any sense. They were just here. She's sure of it.

She laid them out with her purse. She swore she did. 

She's yanking open drawers, then slamming them shut, over and over.

"Can I help you find something?"

It's Steve Harrington, standing at the edge of her kitchen.

She's not surprised to see him, because the kids don't want anything from anyone, except Steve Harrington, and she's had to stand back and accept that this isn't something she can fix.

She can't make a pot roast, and let them run wild on their bicycles. Not now.

If Steve can ease any of this for them, in any way, she'll be grateful. 

"My sunglasses," she says. They have to leave, and soon, but she can't go without them. 

Steve pulls his own sunglasses out of his shirt pocket, and hands them over, "Until yours turn up."

Karen takes them, isn't sure what else to do, and lets him lead her to one of the waiting black cars. He's not a kid, not anymore, none of them are, even if she'll always see them that way.

Even as they have to go to a funeral. 

After, Karen watches as Steve Harrington herds the remnants back through her house. All that's left of their little group. The Party. The fuss and fight gone out of them, now. The boys, and later, the girls, that trampled up and down her staircase, excited and loud, are now long grown. Men and women, somehow here in their places. 

They haven't all been gathered together, not all of them, not in years. Maybe not since Ted's funeral. 

Burying parents, that's the stage of life they've reached. It's a rite of passage that sneaks up on you, hard and fast, and often before you're ready. But it's the order of things, to be expected, even when it's a complete surprise.

But they shouldn't be burying each other. Not yet.

And now that they have, now that the seal is broken, they won't ever be whole again.

It's unfair. 

Now, they're silent as they walk past the doorway, and don't even look at the growth chart they all spent so much time and energy trying to be the tallest mark on. 

She listens to them go down the stairs, and maybe it's her imagination, or her failing hearing, but they still sound exactly the same as they did as kids. 

Now, though, the noise stops too soon. One pair of feet too few.

She leans in the doorway. Listens. Hand touching the carved-on piece of wood. The growth chart on the door frame started as Nancy, then Mike. By the time Holly came, all these other kids had scraped their own right alongside her kids. Cheating, standing on tiptoes, so desperate to grow taller than each other. 

The funeral was beautiful, but the kids are all pretty stoic. Like they didn't even notice. They aren't kids, not anymore. But they still feel like her kids, always will. All of them, and now one is missing. 

They've had a practice run at this at twelve-years-old, but then they got a do-over. They learned to believe in magic, to believe in the impossible being possible.

She knows that won't happen again. This time it's for real. One of them is really gone, dead and buried, and they don't know how to act.

She doesn't know how to act.

She's still supposed to be the adult here. The mom.

They'd spread their wings. Flew far, and wide, but always flocked home, together. 

She's pretty sure that won't happen again. They're cleaning the basement, clearing the drawers, mopping the floor. Steve's been up and down a dozen times, digging under the sink for cleaning supplies, then carrying up box after box, taking them out the front door, and she doesn't know where it's all going. 

Just that it's already gone.

The basement, their safe space, can't go on with one missing. Won't.

So, they're closing up shop. 

And she's having to watch from afar. Only getting kernels of secondhand knowledge from her daughter's ex-boyfriend. 

It's a strange life they've all lived.

But once they got past that, she thought they'd made it. That they'd all be fine. 

That she would eventually go first.

She wishes she could go back to the start. When Mike was so little, and just meeting Dustin, Lucas and Will for the first time. When they were just old enough to ride bikes down the driveway, and then later, out of sight. Not to be seen until the streetlights came on again.

Kids don't roam like that now. Her grandkids sure don't. Their parents, far too well aware of what can go bump in the night.

She listens.

It's quiet, too quiet, down there. 

She misses the sounds of screaming, tumbling dice and curse words they weren't supposed to be saying, but did anyway when they thought they could get away with it. 

She settles in her chair, and gets poked in the thigh. She reaches down, and her sunglasses aren't lost. 

Just broken. 

Just like everything else here today.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @astrangersummer and follow along with the fun!

[williamprattz]

EDANCY FIC RECS

↳ user williamprattz all time favorite edancy fics

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don't, don't, don't throw it away by roykentt [Completed]

Teen & Up • 72k words

Everyone in Hawkins, Indiana knows of Karen Wheeler’s three rules for raising her three children. Rule number one: No dating until college. Rule number two: Everyone takes care of Holly. The third rule, the most important rule, is to never go to bed angry. The first rule is rather infamous. What happens when Mike Wheeler wants to date one of the new kids in town and the only way to do that is to make his older sister, Nancy, date? Well, naturally, enlist the help of an unlikely student to be the one to try and tempt the angry and elusive Nancy Wheeler out on a date. The only thing Mike and his two best friends have to do in return is make sure that Eddie Munson graduates this year. It shouldn't be hard. Right?

[LINK]

—

be my nightfire (while i close my eyes) by sunmaiden [Completed]

Teen & Up • 2k words

What if Nancy Wheeler agreed to join Hellfire club in Lucas’ absence the night of the game?

[LINK]

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Don't look at me like this by Kat_Of_Dresden [Completed]

Not Rated • 1k words

Robin thinks there might be something going on between Eddie and Nancy. Sure they are "just friends".... For now.

[LINK]

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marked for death by paranypmh [Completed]

Explicit • 10k words

better known as the edancy pirate au where they have far too much sexual tension in their sword fights to deal with like normal people

[LINK]

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the princess and the pub by mcplestreet [Completed]

Teen & Up • 16k words

When Steve proposes a plan of escape Nancy is forced to face whether or not the comfortable life she's always known is worth giving up for true love and her best friend.

[LINK]

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When you're near me darling can't you hear me SOS by fandom4fandom [Completed]

General • 2k words

Nancy realizes she's absolutely in love with Eddie Munson.

[LINK]

—

The princess and the rockstar by Thecricketsarecalling [Completed]

Mature • 42k words

A slight twist on the series of events leading up to Season 4 of Stranger Things. Nancy knows things are ending with Jonathan, and out of nowhere...Eddie Munson walks into her life and changes everything. Maybe there's something else she's trying to protect when Venca strikes months later.

[LINK]

—

can i waste all your time here on the sidewalk? by paranypmh [Completed]

Teen & Up • 3k words

Mike said he would be out of his Hellfire Club meeting at 8:30. Nearly an hour later, Nancy is done waiting for him and goes to find out where the hell he went.

[LINK]

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Sing me to sleep by Kat_Of_Dresden [Completed]

Not Rated • 2k words

Nancy can't sleep, Eddie helps her with his soothing singing voice.

[LINK]

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Pretty Eyed, Pirate Smile by roykentt [Completed]

Mature • 60k words

I know Eddie. He used to DM in Hellfire. Remember? She didn’t. She didn’t remember Eddie Munson or any of the other members of the band. But she knew the story. She knew that the moment their drummer and bassist graduated, a few years after Eddie had, the band started to gain momentum. It took them four years until they were breaking out into the scene in a big way. Like playing on MTV during prime hours big. Like selling out Madison Square Garden for two back to back nights big.

[LINK]

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School Bell Rings by fandom4fandom [Completed]

General • 3k words

Nancy Wheeler tutors Eddie Munson to help him pass his third senior year of high school. Along the way, feelings develop.

[LINK]

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one of a kind (of mine) by paranypmh [Completed]

Teen & Up • 2k words

nancy needs a shirt to wear, and eddie's got plenty.

[LINK]

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waking up to you by mcplestreet [Completed]

Teen & Up • 1k words

The morning after Eddie's first Corroded Coffin gig post-spring break he wakes up not only with a hangover but with a girl in his bed. Though he never expected her to be there he doesn't think he minds.

[LINK]

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pursuit of truth (no matter where it lies) by paranypmh [Completed]

Teen & Up • 9k words

The five things Nancy Wheeler knew about Eddie Munson, and the one thing she didn’t.

[LINK]

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Eyes Outshine the Horizon Line by fandom4fandom [Wip]

General • 22k words

Nancy Wheeler is the oldest of Queen Karen's children and the one with the biggest thirst for adventure. One night Nancy rescues the self-proclaimed "pirate" Prince of Hawkins, Eddie Munson. Doing this, Nancy quickly falls for him and longs to find a life on land. The sea warlock Vecna may be able to help her with that.

[LINK]

[eskawrites]

Pause.

Karen Wheeler gets Vecna’d.

She’s been a target since summer of 1985, since a shadow whispered to Billy Hargrove, shut her up, kill her, bring her to me.

And oh, what a target she is. So miserable with her perfect life. Already reaching for the bottle, grasping for any escape, however dangerous it is. Drowning in the guilt that she regrets her choices, regrets her family, regrets her children. Maybe if she didn’t, maybe if she could just be happy with her life, she could be a better mother. And maybe, if she was just a better mother, she could protect her kids from the danger that always seems to lurk in Hawkins.

So Karen starts getting headaches. She attributes it to the stress of sending Mike across the country, of figuring out what to do with Holly during spring break, of worrying about Nancy, wearing her Emerson shirt and standing with one foot out the door already.

It’s easy to forget about it in the chaos of everything happening after the championship game. And it makes sense that everyone else is too distracted to notice that something is wrong.

Meanwhile, the Hawkins gang saves Max and immediately decides to figure out who the next victim will be. They gear up with walkmans and cassettes and scribbled out lists of everyone’s favorite songs. Nancy feels herself pulled in all directions—trying to keep Max safe, putting on a brave face for the rest of the kids, coming up with plans to keep the group moving, worrying about Mike and Will and El and Jonathan half a country away, reconnecting with Steve while trying not to break his heart again, and fighting this increasingly overwhelming draw she feels toward Robin Buckley of all people. It’s too much for one person to deal with, but she’ll never admit that. What choice does she have but to keep going?

Until a police car pulls up at wherever the group is hiding out now, scaring everyone half to death. But the sheriff only asks for Nancy with a weary expression. “Your mother’s been acting strange. I don’t know what’s going on with you kids, or anyone else in this town for that matter, but your father’s no help and she seemed rattled enough we don’t really want to leave her on her own.”

Nancy presses for more information, tries to get details, but she already knows. Before the others piece it together, before Max realizes even, Nancy knows.

God. She doesn’t even know her mother’s favorite song.

They split the party, half of them going with Eddie to hide out at Steve’s house, but Nancy, Max, Robin, and Lucas head back to the Wheeler’s.

Cue trauma and shenanigans from there, like Ted really being no help at all, and Holly not knowing much but knowing that everything is wrong, and Karen barely even looking at Nancy no matter what she says or does. Robin searching the entire house for something that seems like it could be Karen’s favorite song, trying to get answers out of Ted and earning herself a place on his bad side as she does, bumping into Holly and awkwardly trying to make her feel better by asking for her help finding the right song. Max and Lucas hovering awkwardly, but Max refuses to leave because if Vecna strikes maybe she can help, and Lucas refuses to leave because it’s Max, he’s always going to be there for her. The rest of the kids staying in touch with walkies and trying desperately to get a hold of Mike back in California.

And maybe Nancy still has her vision, but this time Vecna taunts her with her mother, the final victim, standing right in front of her and she can’t do anything to help her. And Nancy has known she’s cursed, that she poisons everything she touches, since that stupid party back in 1983, but it has never been so paralyzing as it is right now.

[hellfirenacht]

Reader ==> Go Shopping For Appropriate 80's Clothes

lsekai Chronicles Master List

START HERE <<-- FIRST CHAPTER HERE

Recommended Previous Chapter: ==> Meet The Party

Chapter Summary: You go shopping, think about morality, and run into a familiar face.

Cash is king. That’s how the old saying went, right? You’d heard that since you were a kid and had taken it to heart. Plus if you carried cash, that was money that your bank account didn’t know about so if you bought something it didn’t count. That’s just basic math.

It had been payday the night you had fallen into Hawkins, and you had managed to go to the bank that day, pulling out a couple hundred from your paycheck that you had planned to stick in your piggy bank at home for a rainy day. That handful of 20s was sitting uselessly in your wallet, and you knew that you needed to do something not super legal soon.

You couldn’t keep secretly borrowing clothes from the Wheeler family. It was starting to feel weird and uncomfortable. You needed your own clothing and soon.

It was the middle of the week and Ted was at work, Karen had taken Holly to the pool, and who knows where Mike and Nancy were. That was fine with you, in the five days that you had managed to hide in the home you’d quickly figured out the schedules. You hated it though, and you knew you’d need to find a new place to live soon.

Being out of the house helped. You managed to get a feel for the layout of the neighborhood and now made the long trek to the downtown area where there were shops. Your stomach twisted at what you had to do, as you tried to tell yourself it wasn’t that illegal.

It was still technically US legal tender. Would be. Maybe? You had flipped through the 20s in your wallet and picked out the oldest and most crumpled looking bills you could find to use first for things you needed and had crumpled the rest by hand in an attempt to distract the teller from what you were about to do.

God you wish you had a car. It was hot in August, and you were already sweating through your borrowed shirt, and you desperately needed a toothbrush and some deodorant that didn’t smell like teenage boy.

It was just after noon when you arrived downtown, feeling out of place.

Guess I better get used to it. You thought to yourself.

With the Starcourt Mall burned down, your only choice was a handful of local shops and thrift stores. Thrifting would be the best bet, maybe you could spend one of your twenties on maybe a pair of pants and a new shirt if you were lucky.

Shoulder pads. Shoulderpads and blazers as far as the eye could see.

You flipped through the rack of clothing, the second hand shop you found was filled with clothing that was already dated by 1985 standards, and so with your 2023 style it was pretty far out of your wheelhouse.

You wish you had a friend in this world. Yeah, Dustin and Mike had been nice to you and letting you hide out until you could find a more permanent place to stay but they were kids. You weren’t gonna add any additional stress on them when they were already trying to help you. And there was no way you were gonna ask them for fashion advice.

...Okay you were tempted to ask Dustin where he got his Weird Al shirt that he was wearing that first night. There was a comfort that the singer was a link to all weirdos and nerds in any decade.

It took all afternoon, sorting through the racks for clothes that fit you, felt like your style, and (hopefully) helped you blend into this world. Seeing the prices made you want to cry, realizing that you could afford the few pieces of clothing easily.

Right, things were cheaper in the 80s. You add that to the mental tally of ‘reasons to stay vs reasons to try and go home’ list you were keeping in your mind.

Stay. Go. Could you even go home? Did you want to? There was a way here, so there had to be a way back. If a portal opened up and you were able to jump through it right now and end up home would you take it?

The logical part of you said yes, that would be the smart move. Shit was going to hit the fan in a few months and it would be dangerous for you to be here, you could end up dead or worse. Finding a way home should be your priority, or at least getting out of Hawkins.

But there was another part of you, a part that lived in the back of your mind, that was saying something different. Four people were destined to die, and what if you could change that?

What was your responsibility to this world? To these strangers?

Every time you thought about anything harder than your immediate needs your stomach twisted into a knot. You couldn’t think about that, not yet. There were months before this was supposed to happen, right? And you wouldn’t be of help to anyone as a homeless time traveler with out of place fashion.

But those questions were what you kept coming back to as you made your way to another shop to get yourself some toiletries and underwear. You tried to focus on anything else, the songs on the radio you recognized, the brands in the store you didn’t, the people around you-

Well, that last part didn’t work out for you as you ran smack into someone head on. You dropped the tooth brush, toothpaste, and 8 pack of value underwear that you were holding and scrambled to pick them up.

“Shit, sorry-” you started, grabbing for the toothpaste that was closest to you while the person you ran into grabbed the value pack.

You stood up, and your face paled at the young man you had run into.

“It’s okay, I shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the aisle like that.” Steve Harrington said, as he handed you your underwear back.

Philosophy aside, you decided that if a portal opened up you’d hop in no matter where it led you.

You grabbed the pack out of his hands, nearly dropping the toothpaste again in the process.

Before you could say anything else, you heard someone call Steve’s name and you booked it the second he turned around, leaving the toothbrush on the ground.

This was stupid, you knew that it was. There was no reason for you to be panicking like this, but when you saw him you didn’t know what else to do. Meeting him again was inevitable, and you knew that. He was friends with Dustin and the rest of the Party. You ducked into the clearance section and tried to calm your breathing.

Jesus Christ, he’d handed you back the underwear that you were about to buy. Had this been any other situation, with any random stranger it wouldn’t have mattered. You would have just gone about the rest of your day and not even thought about it unless the other person made a weird remark.

But this wasn’t just anyone, this was Steve Harrington. You couldn’t afford to fuck up any relationship with any of these people if you were going to help.

You were going to help, right? That’s what a good person would do.

Steve Harrington has a hairy chest. Your brain offered up helpfully, providing an image for you. No brain, that was not helpful, actually. Of all the information you could remember about Steve, it was THAT?

You rubbed your face and decided to check out before anything else happened. You found the aisle with the least interested looking teen and handed over the crumpled bill, holding your breath as they didn’t even look at the bill before ringing you up.

You stood outside the shop with your haul shoved in your backpack. Your D&D books were being borrowed by the boys, and you somehow doubted you’d see them again any time soon.

Now what?

Tumblr User ==> Now what?