#to quote nancy wheeler 'bullshit'

[mrkeatingsblazer]

i didnt like vol 2 there i said it

[harringroveera]

Steve: Nancy, I did something

Nancy: There’s no “I”, Steve, it’s just “we”

Steve: Okay, we slept with Hargrove

Nancy: What?

[rowan-lee]

[jonathanbyersphd]

undefined

#Jancyweek2022 Day 1- Lyrics

You know how scared I am of elevators never trust it if it rises fast it can't last/You know how much I hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back Just like that - Labyrinth by Taylor Swift 

[xoxo-sarah]

I Wanna Be Yours || Part 1

Series Masterlist | Part 2

↝a/n: my first Robin Series. Set in season 4.

↝pairing: Robin Buckley x fem!Wheeler!reader

↝ Warning:slightly proof read. Possible spoilers if you still haven't watched season 4, everything that happens in stranger things, slow burn, Vicky doesn't exist here, not because I don't like her, but because it's easier to write for Robin when she's not madly in love with another chick.

↝⎙ 6.24.23

Nancy jiggled her keys, annoyed with the mop headed boy. “Mike! Let's go.” She turned, looking at you with an irked expression. “This kid.” She opened the door, walking past you as you put your backpack on.

Mike rolled his eyes, hunching over the toaster, impatiently waiting for the pop tart to pop any second. “Jesus. How am I gonna survive a whole week without you guys?” You grinned as he walked past, handing you one of the warm pop tarts. “Besides you. You're cool.” He whispered before practically jogging to the car, where Nancy sat with her head thrown back in annoyance. You bid your parents goodbye before following him to the car, deciding you didn't have time to argue over who was getting in the front.

“So, Cali, huh?” Nancy glanced at you from the rearview mirror, a small grin making its way onto her lips. You two have tormented him for weeks over him going all the way to California for spring break. You did it more than Nancy though, only because you loved his grossed-out reaction when you'd turn around, acting as if you were making out with someone, hinting at the two.

“Yeah.” Mike grumbled, looking out the window from the passenger seat.

You nodded, not mentioning it for the rest of the car. At least, until you got to school.

“And then there's Heidi tomorrow night, but the problem with Heidi is that she's going out of state for college. So, it's like, do I really wanna start another relationship that has no point other than sex?” Steve continued to rant to deaf ears. “I mean, I don't know. Does that make sense to you?” He rubbed his forehead, glancing to his side, where Robin was putting on mascara, solemnly paying attention to the mirror and not to the man who was ranting for the whole car ride. “Robin, are you listening?”

“Uh, yes. I-I'm lis-”

“What did I just say?” Steve threw his hand up, shaking his head, unimpressed.

“Something about sex with…Linda.”

“No! I'm talking about Heidi.”

“Cut me some slack, please!”

Steve bit his cheek before rubbing his forehead again. “Well-”

Robin began to rant, “Your love life is one of labyrinthine complexity. And it is 7:00 in the morning, we have this stupid pep rally and I woke up looking like a total corpse.” She stretched her hands on the sides of her face, surely not looking flattering at all.

“Oh, you're worried about a pep rally? You expect me to believe that?” He glanced over again, his expression showing he absolutely did not believe that, not one bit.

“Yeah? So?”

“So, we both know what this is about. Okay, I'm not buying that bullshit. This is about Y/n.” He had met you a few times, when he was with Nancy and when you guys had to fight some ugly parasite looking monster. You were quick to catch Robin's eye in school, which, in turn, made her turn to Steve and tell him all about this girl. There were a few characteristics that led him to know she fancied you before she even told him your name.

“Absolutely not.” Robin couldn't help the blush that painted her cheeks, moving to do anything with her hands. She began applying lip balm, staring back into the little mirror in the visor.

“Yes it is. You know what else I think?”

“I really don't care-” Steve could go on and on. If you were to ask Robin what he said, she'd surely say blah blah blah with a roll of her eyes.

“I think you gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you're around her. You just gotta be yourself.” He had his hand out, motioning around absentmindedly.

“You're literally quoting me to me. You do realize that, right?”

“Well, maybe you need to listen to yourself. Ever think about that, smarty-pants?” Robin stared at him with a look that could kill. Was she this annoying when she scolded him, telling to get his shit together? "I listened to you and look at me. Boom. Back in business.”

“It's not the same thing, okay?”

“Well…"

Robin made a sound of disagreement at that, not letting him finish that thought. “You ask a girl out and she says no, big deal. Nothing happens. Maybe your ego is a little bruised.” Robin looked at him with false pity, before moving her hands around again. “But I ask out the wrong girl, and BAM! I'm a town pariah.”

Shaking his head, Steve understood where she was coming from, but disagreeing with how she was going about it. “Yeah, okay, I'd buy that, except Y/n is definitely not the wrong girl.”

“We just don't know that do we?”

"She returned Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds. Do you know who paused Fast times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds?”

“...”

“People who like boobies, Robin!”

“Ew! Gross! Don't say boobies!”

“Boobies. It's not a big deal, okay. I like boobies. You like boobies. Y/n likes boobies. Definitely.”

Climbing over the seat after Nancy parked, you patted Mike as he held the car door open. “Use protection at least.” Before he could reply or grumble, you were jogging towards the gym, finding some of your friends in the process.

“Got any plans for spring break?” Chrissy asked, trying to keep in stride with you.

“Not really.” You hadn't made plans, but you'd probably end up staying at one of your friend's house. After walking in, you turned towards her, grinning to ease her nerves. “Have fun. You'll do amazing.” She smiled back, giving you a quick hug before running off.

Turning back to the bleachers, you tried to look for an empty seat, which was becoming harder with the people trampling into the double doors.

Hearing your name being yelled, you looked around, stopping when you saw Steve. He motioned you over, making sure no one sat down beside him.

With the glare he could feel on the side of his head, he'd definitely be getting an earful from Robin.

He held his hand out, helping you step up the stairs with all the people walking around you to take a seat. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He turned to face Robin, mouthing '53 minutes, 5 seconds'. She rolled her eyes before looking forward.

When everything started, he cheered with you as you not only cheered on your school, but your friends and all the work they put into the moves.

“And of course, I have to give a special shout-out.” Steve glanced over at you when he heard you scoff at Jason Carver.

“What? You don't like Jason?” His words were playful, already knowing you despised him for some reason, hearing it from Robin.

“I don't know. He loves Chrissy and shows it, but he's just a dick to everyone else.”

Jason continued to speak, “Chrissy…" He stared at her as they were the only two in the room. “Chrissy, I love you, babe.”

You made a gagging sound, only loud enough for Steve to hear it.

Jason went on to make another speech. “You know…I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss. And sometimes I wonder 'how much loss can one community take?' In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So, last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy I looked at my team and I said, think of Jack, think of Melissa, think of Heather, think of Billy.”

Both you and Steve looked down, searching for the red head you had seen climbing the bleachers to sit with your brother and Dustin. You both looked back at each other, taking pity on the poor girl.

Sure, you never got along with Billy. But you would've never wished that kind of death upon anybody, including him. Especially with the way it affected Max. You could tell she felt guilty. It wasn't fair for her; she was just a kid- a good kid at that.

"— Think of our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper. "

“You alright?” Chrissy almost walked past you in the hall, looking a little uneasy.

“Yeah, people died so they could win a basketball game. That's the reason.” You rolled your eyes, grumbling as you glared at the man screaming into the mic. “For a stupid trophy.” Sure, you will still congratulate Lucas if they do, indeed, win the trophy. But to say many people died for that was just ridiculous. Honoring the people who have fallen is different, but that's not what he's doing. Maybe Lucas would play in honor of them, but not Jason.

She blinked a couple of times before trying to smile. “Yeah-yeah. Of course. Just had to go to the counselor. I'm alright.” You slowly nodded, before wrapping an arm around one of hers and walking towards class. She had been acting weird lately. So you made sure to stay close to her, making sure she didn't do anything. “Would you like to do something for spring break?” You brought back the question she asked earlier.

“Like what?”

“I don't know. We could hang at your house-”

“No!” You looked at her, confused by her outburst. “Why would we do that when we have your house?”

“I mean, Mike's not going to be there, so sure.” You gently smiled at her, squeezing her arm affectionately when she stopped by the bathrooms. “I'll talk to you about it later, yeah?” She nodded before pushing the door open.

You began walking towards class, trying to wrap your brain around what was going on with her. She obviously wasn't okay.

•2021-2024 by xoxo-sarah on Tumblr•

•My work is not to be translated, copied, modified, and/or reposted on any other site without my permission. [!I don't give permission!]

[crackers4jenn]

"I was thinking, 'Nancy Wheeler, she’s not just another suburban girl who thinks she’s rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does... until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and they live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac. Exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing, but now, hey, they get it.'"

The way this scene, this quote, has such a chokehold on the Stranger Things fandom to the point that most people refuse to let Steve or Nancy out of the box it pigeonholes them into. I'm always so baffled when people reference it as ✨proof✨ that they shouldn't get back together.

First of all, what Jonathan is doing here is projecting. Big time. He barely even knows Nancy at this point (beyond being his brother's friend's sister) but he's got this idealized version of her in his head and this, you know, Nice Guy complex that makes him think he knows the Real True Nancy, that he's the guy who really sees her for who she is and not who she pretends to be. He says as much to defend his picture taking. "I saw this girl, you know, trying to be someone else. But for that moment, it was like you were alone, or you thought you were. And, you know, you could just be yourself." Which, again, lemme repeat that he barely even knows her.

BUT ACTUALLY. The reason Jonathan is so disparaging is because he has this annihilistic approach to romance/marriage/happily-ever-afters in general based on his own experiences that have NOTHINGGGG to do with who he's even perceiving Nancy to be here. Case in point, fast-forward to season 4. Even when him and Nancy are dating and seemingly headed toward a lifetime together, he can't help but think they'll end up just like his parents based off of nothing but the fact that he doesn't want to go to the same college as her: "the cycle never ends." This is why I say Jonathan was projecting in the scene above. Not because he's full of bullshit but because, first and foremost, he already has trouble believing happy marriages can exist in the first place. So surely Nancy is just going through the motions with Steve, and of course that's just going to lead to resentment. That's the end result, right? Regardless of whether she's dating Steve or with Jonathan himself, it's the ending he assigns to both relationships.

It's also worth noting that, at this point in time, only 5 episodes into the first season, there is definitely a lot of truth in what Jonathan's implying about Steve and Nancy's relationship. Steve's still King Steve at this point, he's only just starting to crawl forward, he hasn't even gotten the thunk on the head he credited Nancy with giving him. So, yeah, it's very easy for Nancy to hear this superficial reading of her and Steve's relationship and want to rebel against it because, at that point, at that exact moment in time, her and Steve very well could have headed down that path.

But the thing is, what you can apply to these s1 characters (by way of this scene) is no longer applicable to their s4 characters - at least where Steve and Nancy are concerned. Nancy once admitted she didn't want to be trapped in a loveless marriage that ended with a cul-de-sac and a husband too checked out to look up from the newspaper. Great news is, that version of who Steve could've been no longer exists. Steve is now the guy who shows up when Nancy is first feeling adrift (present instead of distant,) he's the guy hoping to tag along on her investigative quests (interested instead of dismissive,) he's the guy literally leaping headfirst into danger (active instead of passive,) he's the one holding onto her with both hands during her Vecna mindfuck, he's at her side the entire time once they reunite.

So.

If ever there was a point being made about s1 Steve's incompatibility with Nancy by way of his early-on passivity, then SURELYYYYY there is something to be said about how directly involved s4 Steve was in aiding Nancy and what that says about their CURRENT compatibility.

[jaegerisim]

Imma rant but Mlvn is not romantic it is the most platonic thing in this entire universe. Their whole dynamic screams "wlw and mlm solidarity" like stobin. They are literally stobin. And coincidentally mlvns like to ship romantic stobin too!! erasure much?? like girl they are so Platonic with a capital P. The times they are happier and more comfortable with each other is when they're friends. Mlvns saying " b- but- but i-in the pizza scene before Argyle came they held hands and said they missed each other!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺" yeah, no. If I had been trapped in a lab for a whole ass week with the guy who abused me both physically and mentally during my whole childhood. I'd also be glad to be with my friends and family and obviously I'd tell them I missed them. Like she also expresses she missed Will does that make them romantic?? I better hope not. Also they NEVER kissed she was just smiling at him and being nice. Can't a girl not be friends with a guy anymore??? like promote healthy platonic relationships. Plus there is plenty of evidence on how eleven's arc is going to focus in HER alone not in her AND mike. While will's arc is clearly gonna be focused in his romance with mike and would make zero narrative sense to do these arcs just for the romantic one to end with mike rejecting will and fucking el. bc apparently many mlvns want el pregnant or at least mlvn sex scene, which is honestly gross bc they're 20 yos and the only sex scene has been jancy and stancy. Speaking of which many want Nancy married. lol. Are we even watching the same ST???? I don't think so... Furthermore ST ending with mlvn would mean will dying which the duffers know would anger a lot of fans. In addition to this, Millie stated, in an interview to which I can't find the link but it's true, that she wanted El to be killed off in the final season along with other characters. Afterwards due to fans pressuring her and sending hate she said and i quote " might also say as a joke i want her married and working at target but maybe that's not a joke?" this also created hate bc that is such a lame ending for a great character like her. Like I would rather see her dead than turned into the typical pawn of white cishet entertainment. Honestly. That would suck ass. Not only bc that would mean mlvn ending but bc that message is clearly "women no matter how extraordinary or powerful may they be need to get married to a wealthy man and once they do, they should just worry abt him and being a good wife to him no matter how unhappy your marriage maybe. Also if you want get a lame job at target or some shit." This would also go against the point of ST and love. We were presented in the first season with the Wheelers unhappy and unfaithful marriage which made Nancy angry and Mike unhappy. In general throwing to waste a whole family. This couple has constantly been criticized by all, cast and crew included. So why, may i ask, WHY would they do the same with their FL and heroine??? that would just throw her whole character and development arc to the garbage can. It will be absolut bullshit. and i will get mad. for misogynic behaviour and queerbaiting. bc you cant tell that what they've been doing since the infamous milkdud kiss in front of the open closet. They've been setting up romantic scenes just for rejection?? hell nah. ain't no way!!

Anyways thanx for coming to my TED Talk!! <3

[cambria-writes]

welcome back to your regularly scheduled programming!

this is here i started having a hard time keeping the days accurate lol. i’m pretty sure i fixed it all last week, but i’m probably gonna have to do a third pass to make sure things are at least consistent.

if you’re not comfortable reblogging my fic here, please consider leaving a comment on AO3!

rating: rated T, each chapter rated individually warnings: a lot of swearing, mention of death, pop culture references to things i don’t know about, mention of alcohol but no drinking (yet), let me know if i need to tag anything else! word count: 3,655

Masterlist

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖝: 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔠𝔱 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠

“You got that all down?”

“Eddie’d dungeon master guide, milk, a six pack,” Henderson sighs and you can feel the disappointment in it. “Clothes that fit, quote, ‘Munson’s Enormous Self-Righteous Ego’, anything else?”

“Priority on the books,” you specify, and Eddie wrestles the walkie out of your hands.

“And the beer, Henderson. Do not forget the beer.”

“Sure. We’ll send Nance when she gets back.”

“No news from her yet?” you ask, holding onto Eddie’s hand to make him press the button on the side.

“Not since she, uh...” Dustin trails off, and it’s clear to the both of you that he’s hesitating.

“Spit it out, kid,” Eddie says, bowing his head and tapping his foot.

“Not since she spoke with your uncle,” Dustin says quietly. “He’s on your side by the way, doesn’t believe the bullshit everyone else is saying about you being a murder cult leader—”

“They’re saying what now,” you deadpan, looking up at Eddie. He just barely shrugs it off.

“Thanks, Henderson. Let us know if anything else happens.”

You frown at Eddie’s sudden shift in behaviour. He walks to the table, to your abandoned late breakfast, and leans into it after putting the walkie down. You take a few steps towards him and lift your hands, though you’re not entirely sure what to do with them.

“Hey, are... are you alright?”

Eddie scoffs and shakes his head. You can’t see his face behind his hair.

“My uncle doesn’t fucking deserve this, man,” he says quietly. When he stands straight again, runs his hands through his hair and takes a deep breath before an equally deep sigh.

“Uh, hate to tell you dude, but neither do we.” You cross your arms and bite the inside of your cheek before speaking again. “I’m worried about my folks too. But there’s nothing we can do about it while the entire town is crawling with pitchfork-wielding maniacs foaming at the mouth ready to crucify the first palatable scapegoat.”

Eddie stays quiet, but when he turns around he does offer you a small nod, and what you think might’ve been a ‘you’re right’ under his breath.

“What do you even want with my books anyways?” He eventually asks, rounding the table and taking a seat back on his chair. You follow suit, and gently slide your mostly empty plate out of the way.

“When you called me a cleric, I kind of had a thought.”

“Truly a rarity.”

You pick up the last piece of pancake on your plate and chuck it at his face.

“Shut up, asshole, I’m being serious.” You take a breath to compose yourself and lean forward on your elbows. “So everyone’s been using D&D terminology for all of this shit so far, right? You even compared what’s happened to me to the cleric spell list. So I figured...”

You see the lightbulb go off above Eddie’s head. He snaps his fingers and points at you.

“So maybe we can find out what the fuck Vecna’s doing!”

“Wow, and somehow you’re a super senior.”

Eddie pulls a face and immediately leans back in his chair to cross his arms. “Low blow, man.”

When Nancy isn’t the one that shows up with a box of stuff, but Steve, you and Eddie drag him in the house by his collar and sit him down.

“You have some explaining to do,” you say, putting your hands on your hips, clearly fuming.

“We’ve been on the hook for hours, and now suddenly your dumb face shows up instead of Wheeler?” You make a confused—and perhaps slightly disgusted face—at Eddie. “What? She’s hotter and better company than he is.”

“I’m right here?” Steve stays, sliding the box to the center of the table.

“Uh huh, yeah. Why?”

Steve sighs and leans his head back. “Alright look, Nance hasn’t spoken to us in hours either. I’m off to see if I can get a hold of her after I leave you guys.”

“What the hell do you mean—” Eddie starts, but the walkie chooses that moment to crackle to life again.

“Guys we’ve got more less than stellar news,” Dustin says, and you’re the one who carefully walks to the kitchen counter to grab it.

“Steve just got here,” you reply slowly, turning along to look at the other two. “What’s the less than stellar news?”

“Nancy just came back. She went to Forest Hills with some guy she knows,” You wave at Harrington to shut up and stay in his chair. “And the guy just up and vanished. No one’s seen him around.”

You close your eyes and nod. “So you think he’s the next one.”

“There’s a search party out for him, but...”

“Fuck,” Eddie whispers under his breath, crossing his arms and turning away.

“Nancy and Robin are gonna head up to the Pennhurst asylum tomorrow to try and see if they can talk to Victor Creel. We’re gonna see if there’s any connection between Missing Dude and Chrissy. That’s all we got.”

“Appreciate it, Henderson,” you say quietly. “We’ll send Steve back your way. Keep us in the loop.”

You put the walkie back down on the counter and flex your hands. Dustin was right, that really is less than stellar news.

“Why Victor Creel?” Eddie asks, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Who the hell is that even?”

“Some weird murderer dude who killed his whole family back in ‘59,” Steve explains, looking and sounding just about as confused as you and Eddie. “I dunno, apparently your uncle said what happened to Chrissy looked exactly the same. Something about the eyes,” Steve motions his thumbs pressing into his orbits. “Looking like they were sucked into the skull from the inside.”

Both you and Eddie wince and turn away. Steve looks from one to the other for a second, before his face lights up.

“Oh, you—shit, you didn’t know,” Steve says, sighing and looking all the world like he just shoved about five different feet in his mouth. “Yeah it wasn’t...”

“Just don’t,” Eddie mutters, heading down the hallway and into the bedroom. You hear the door close a bit more loudly than you think is probably warranted.

“Did he... know Chrissy, or something?” Steve asks, taking the chance of slowly standing up from his chair. When you don’t move to stop him, he takes a few steps toward you and keeps his voice low. “I didn’t think they ran in the same circles.”

“They didn’t,” you confirm, keeping your voice hushed as well. “But we saw what happened to her, man. I just,” You take a second to clear your throat and try not to vividly imagine the sound of snapping bone. “I just hope she wasn’t conscious for that. I can’t imagine the pain.”

Steve looks down and nods, frowning. You sigh and head for the front door.

“Come on Harrington, if you’re gone too long the kids are gonna flip,” you say, waving him over.

He takes a second to lean over and look down the hallways, and looks for a second like he wants to say something, but decides against it and joins you at the door.

“You’ve got uh,” Steve starts, motioning to the box on the table. “The beer’s at the bottom. Just, maybe take it easy?”

“Really don’t know how to feel about the fact that Steve Harrington is concerned about me,” you chuckle, but it doesn’t really have any mirth behind it. “But I appreciate it. It’s Eddie you should be worried about, though.”

Steve hums. “Yeah, well. He’s got you.”

You open your mouth to ask what the hell that’s supposed to mean, but he’s halfway through the door already.

“Don’t forget to let us know—”

Your eyes lose focus for a second when you hear it again. Something must show on your face because Steve immediately runs back up to the door.

“Hey, what’s going on?” He asks, both hands up like he’s ready to catch you if you faint.

“The clock,” you say quietly. You exhale shakily while you wait for the last chime. When you look up at Harrington, you can’t quite figure out what to say.

“Shit,” he says, turns around to start bolting for his car before coming back for you one last time, “Let Henderson know next time it happens!”

He’s off before you can voice your agreement. You slowly and quietly shut the door against the sound of his car speeding away, turn around and lean against it. When you slide to the floor and pull your knees to your chest, you can’t help the sob that bubbles out of your throat.

Vecna’s Curse, huh? Starting to feel like you’re the one cursed right now, actually.

You hear the bedroom door open not too long after that; Eddie probably decided to wander out when he heard the sound of Steve’s car pulling away. You pull your legs as close to you as you can and let your head rest on your knees. This isn’t exactly the kind of position you want to be found in—ugly crying and curled up in front of a door—and you feel just a little bit more cursed because of it, too.

Eddie calls out your name when he gets to the kitchen, but once you sniffle he rushes over, practically sliding on his knees to get to you.

“Hey hey hey, what’s up? What happened?” he asks, putting his hands on your legs. You shake your head and hiccup, squeezing your legs tighter. “Alright, okay,” he breathes, moving to sit next to you against the door, his entire left side plastered to your right. Puts an arm around your shoulders and you can’t help but lean into him.

“I fucking heard it again,” you manage to croak out eventually, after several too-long minutes of trying to control your breathing. Wipe your face on your sleeves. “Now that I know what it—fuck, man, I’m so sick and tired of this shit.”

Your wrists hurt. Your shoulders hurt. Your nose still hurts. You haven’t looked in a mirror in a bit—even in the bathroom here, you refuse to look up at yourself—but you’re sure there’s a purpling bruise along the bridge of your nose. You can just barely see it along your cheekbones when you look down. Your head is throbbing and when you finally lift your head for a proper deep breath, Eddie sucks in a breath next to you.

“Hey, your nose,” he says quietly, points at his own nose.

You feel something warm dripping down, and when you muster the energy to pull an arm out and run a finger under your nose, it comes away bloody. You whine a quiet ‘god dammit’ and hide your face behind both hands.

For a few minutes you both stay like that. You can feel Eddie’s thumb rubbing circles into your shoulder, and when you’re not trying to get rid of the tears on your face, you’re wiping viciously at the blood that slowly seeps from your nose. You feel miserable. Small, inconsequential, sore, scared and miserable.

“You, uh,” Eddie clears his throat. When you look sideways at him, he’s staring straight ahead. “You remember in third grade when I punched that kid cause he was making fun of your hair?”

You snort through the sniffling and nod. “Yeah,” you squeak, making one last pass at your eyes. “That was Tommy. And then I punched his friend for shoving you.”

“You were the coolest person I knew.” When you scoff, Eddie grabs your shoulder a bit tighter and shakes you a bit. “You think I’m kidding?”

“Perish the thought,” you reply, slowly letting your legs fall straight in front of you. “I think that’s the first time anyone’s ever called me cool.”

“And that should be a federal crime,” he states back, entirely serious. “And that time in sixth grade when we tried to make a treehouse in the woods?”

You wince and groan. “God, isn’t that the time I stepped on a nail? That was awful. We didn’t even get anything done.”

Eddie laughs. The rumble of it through his chest somehow helps you breathe a bit easier. “Damn right. I had to carry you on my back all the way to the trailer. Wayne was freaking out.”

“I hated the tetanus shot,” you complain quietly, but there’s a smile on your face now. You chuckle quietly before speaking up again. “That one time you roped me into making a character for your first campaign.”

“The time you crit failed your attack roll on your party member? The time you stabbed yourself and were out for three rounds?”

“It was four,” you correct, slap him in the chest with the back of your hand. “And Gareth was being an ass. I had to do it.”

“Whatever you say, princess,” Eddie says, and stays quiet as he rests the side of his head on top of yours.

“Hey, I’m...” you trail on, picking at the skin around your nails, hands in your lap. “I’m sorry that I—”

“Don’t,” Eddie cuts you off, and you can’t help but stiffen up at his down. Pulls his head back up and, with the arm that isn’t around your shoulders, turns you so he can get a better look at you. “Don’t apologize. I didn’t exactly come knocking on your door either.”

You frown, twist your tongue in your mouth before trying to speak again. There’s about a thousand different things you want to say, apologize for—sorry for ditching you without a word, sorry for not coming to see you when I was feeling better, sorry for letting shit fall apart—but you figure he wouldn’t hear any of it. You wouldn’t either. So instead you just sigh and nod.

“Right,” Eddie says, though it doesn’t seem to be aimed at you or anything in particular. He gives your shoulder one last squeeze before getting up. “What say you to making an ungodly amount of mac and cheese while it’s still,” he turns to look out the window in the door. “relatively daylight out?”

You keep your eyes on your hands when you nod, but smile anyways. “Sounds like a disgustingly good plan.” When you stand up and pull nervously at the sleeves of the sweater you threw on, Eddie lightly grabs your wrist.

“We’re good,” he says, letting go of you when you turn to look at him. “Seriously, we’re good. Don’t worry about it.”

You sniffle one more time and nod. “Yeah. We’re good. thanks, Ed.” You roll your shoulders and neck and try to shake the stiffness out. “I’m just gonna,” you start, motioning at your face.

“Oh, shit, yeah, go ahead,” Eddie rushes to say, moving out of the way and bowing theatrically, an arm extended.

You scoff at his antics, but head for the bathroom to at least attempt to wash the leftover dried blood from your face.

Dusk finds the two of you camping out in a hastily thrown-together blanket fort in the living room with two literally enormous bowls of Kraft dinner and the most palatable movie Reefer Rick had on hand. You’re not entirely sure that watching Dawn of the Dead, considering everything that’s been happening, is the best choice, but at least it’s entertainment.

“The mall was the worst choice,” you point out, around a mouth full, while the credits roll. “Sure they have access to food and shit, but it’s way too easy access.”

“Are we not gonna talk about the really awkward blue face paint?”

“I’d love to see you do a better job of making a living human being look dead.” You put your near-empty bowl on the floor between your crossed legs and lean back on your hands. “Wasn’t a bad movie though.”

Eddie laughs and nudges your shoulder with his. “You’re telling me you never watched Dawn of the Dead until right now?”

“Yeah, well,” you toss your head back, swatting at the blanket ceiling above you. “Wasn’t super fond of horror movies when I was younger, and I don’t think I could’ve stomached watching it alone the past few years.”

“Alone?” Eddie asks, putting his bowl aside on the floor and leaning forward to look at you.

“I didn’t really have too many friends outside of you dude,” you admit, turning your head to look at him. “Might not have been part of the rising Satanic Panic,” you start, making sure to make air quotes and roll your eyes. “But people thought it was weird that I was watching shit from Japan and reading three novels a week. Not my fault fiction was more entertaining than them.”

There’s a look that passes over Eddie’s face when you say that, but he turns away before you can place what it is. He leans forward to turn the TV off and quickly pulls the sheets down from above you.

“Alright, I think that’s enough for now,” he announces, balling up the one sheet in his arms while he stands. “We’ve got another pack of beer and books to go over.”

“You and what light source?” you ask, leaning over to grab his empty bowl off the floor, picking yours up, and moving over to the kitchen to carefully place them in the sink. Nevermind that you almost tripped a handful of times on the way.

“Actually,” Eddie starts, and you can already tell from his dramatic tone that he’s found something. “While you were still asleep, I did some digging around.”

You can still more or less see him leaping over blankets and cushions on the floor to make his way back down the hallway. When he comes back, you can’t really tell what’s in his hand, but the metallic clanging gives it away.

“What the hell is your dealer doing with an oil lantern?”

“Who cares,” Eddie shrugs, and puts the lantern down on the dining table. “At least we can actually see what we’re reading.”

You laugh lightly and agree. “Hold up before you light that, we need to cover the windows first,” you say over your shoulder, gingerly making your way to the living room to grab one of the couch cushions you’d pulled off the couch.

Eddie hops over to come help you, but when he’s about to lean down to grab the other cushion, you grab his arm.

The chiming is eerily close, this time, and the hairs at the back of your neck stand on end. You don’t hear if Eddie says anything before you’re bolting through the house, to the bedroom and the desk you left the pistol on. Double check that the magazine is still full, snap it back in, shove it in the back of your pants and make it back to the front door.

“Hey, no, you’re not going anywhere,” Eddie calls, but you ignore him in favour of stuffing your feet into what you really hope are your own shoes. “Hey, listen—”

“No, you listen,” you round on him, hand on the doorknob. “I’ve heard this fucking thing too many times to just stay here and do nothing,” you spit, throwing the door open and breaking out into a run.

The sound of Eddie’s swearing gets further away. You can tell the chiming had come from the main road you’d come down when Steve had driven you here. It was dark, the few houses around the lake had their lights off for the night. It wasn’t like anyone would see you, right? And so what if they did! It was dark enough that no one could possibly make out your face, and that was assuming that there was anyone around to pay attention.

You’re almost at the split in the end of the road, past the lake, when you get slammed into the ground. You can hear the gun slide somewhere to your left over the sound of the air rushing out of you.

“Let go of me!” you shout, trying to shove Eddie off of you.

“Would you stop screaming?” he whispers harshly, rolling you over so he can pin your arms to your side. “Or did you forget that we’re wanted suspects in a fucking murder?”

“I literally could not care less right now!” you throw back at him, wrestling an arm free arm trying to reach for your gun. “If someone’s going to die I don’t want to just sit around and wait for shit to happen!”

“And what exactly is your plan, huh?” He asks, pulling your stray hand back to your side. “What the fuck good do you think a gun is gonna do you against something you can’t see?”

You growl through your panting and try, unsuccessfully, to get your arms free again. “I was gonna plane shift you absolute fucking brute, now get off of me!”

“The hell I am!” Eddie moves his hands from his arms to your shoulders. “We have no idea what the fuck we’re dealing with, and you don’t even know if you can get back in one piece!”

Incensed, you grab Eddie by the shoulders and thrust your hips up as far as you can go, giving yourself just enough momentum to shove him off of you and scramble for your gun. You have a death grip on it with both hands when Eddie manages to get up on one knee.

“Listen,” you say, shaking and out of breath. “You can come with me or you can run back to the house. I’m gonna try it regardless of whether or not you’re there.”

Eddie stands up and turns around, running both hands down his face. “This is stupid, this is so stupid,” he complains, but eventually turns back around to walk over to you with a hand out.

You bite your lip and stare at him for a second. You leave the gun in your right hand and firmly grip his wrist with your left.

“Hold tight.”

@anothermunsonsimp​ @doratheignora​

Let me know if you want to be tagged for the next update!

[ronanceisintheair]

This quote is so "Nancy Wheeler you're bullshit." s2 party/break up coded.

[hufflepuff-huff-and-puff]

to quote nancy wheeler, "it's bullshit."

[symphs-space]

Robin: Remember how I said Steve and I were going to have a nice night out for once?

Nancy: Yes

Robin: Well- We’re in jail.

Nancy: *Hangs up*

[youknowiambad]

[onetruebitch]

People who call others fake fans of some fandom are pieces of shit. Let people enjoy stuff without having to meet the ‘requirements’ for being able to say they love it.

[0kayblue]

Let’s Go Home

Let’s Go Home 

Fights between friends happen, but sometimes they go a little farther than what they need too. 

Main Character Relations: Billy Hargrove x reader (romantic) Steve Harrington x reader (teeders on lines of romantic and platonic)

As you sat in the passenger seat of Steve’s car with your arms folded against your chest while your mind remained in a blank red state of anger. You didn’t know what set you off or why right now everything caught up with you and all you could feel was this seething hot rage. You felt like it was pouring out of you like hot lava while Steve ranted about some type of bullshit of being the babysitter. The nanny that never got to save the girl or some shit like that. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I like you kids. You’re all funny and very oddly charming, but just once I would like to go off with people my own age! Keep Nancy out of trouble at least.” 

“One, we aren’t kids anymore, two, you are literally with (Y/N) who is the same age as you!” Dustin’s voice laced with this growing annoyance after still having to argue about this. 

“Yeah, and (Y/N) knows how I feel about her and that this is nothing against her, at all. At all.” You let out an annoyed chuckle at Steve’s half assed reply. “What?” 

“What? Harrington, seriously? Do you think this fucking car is filled with people who can’t tell a toilet from a hole in the damn ground? We all know what this is about, and it’s not because you are the quote on quote babysitter, it’s the fact that you keep throwing yourself at Nancy Wheeler’s feet and she just keeps turning you down.” You glared Steve down while his grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. 

“It is not about that!” 

“Give it a fucking break! Just admit you still have feelings for her, Jonathan isn’t right in front of her at the moment so her attention isn’t on him so, she’s been entertaining this little fucking fantasy of yours that you just might- might- get back together!” A light gasp of disbelief leaving the peanut gallery of Dustin, Max, and Lucas from the backseat. Max prayed that you would look into the rear view mirror and reach her eyes so you would stop going further past the line you just crossed, but it didn’t happen. Fixing your posture and keeping your eyes trained on Steve you opened your mouth unable to stop what was about to fall out of it, “How can you possibly play this little game with her right now? The fucking audacity of it all! You need to get your head in the fucking game, Harrington!” 

“This isn’t a game! And you are one to talk!” Steve took his eyes off the road and met your icy stare. As if you weren’t carrying on your life like Billy was still alive? As if you didn’t live in this fantasy that Billy just took off regardless of the fact that you watched him die. That everyone in the car didn’t see the mindflayer send that last fatal blow through his chest.

“Me? Me! Last I checked I’m laser focused on trying to keep my friends alive and not trying to reignite a cold damp wet spark that didn’t have that much of a spark to begin with!”

“How do you fucking know? You weren’t in the relationship!” 

“It doesn’t take being present to read the body language of someone who clearly wasn’t as in it as you were!” You needed to stop talking, you wanted to stop talking. The not so hidden truth of the matter was that you were jealous of Nancy, of Steve. Jealous that they were both still alive, that they both had the privilege to run back to each other. Having to face the reality that Billy was truly gone and all you had was a jean jacket that smelt more like you than it did like him. “She can’t give you what you want, Steve! You want someone who loves you as much as you love them and Nancy cannot deliver on that, and you know it! I think that's the saddest thing, you know Nancy won’t be there yet you still are willing to give her the time of day! It is honestly so pathetic just like you.” 

Steve slammed on the brakes and fought back, “Don’t you dare project whatever you had with that jackass onto me and Nance!” Steve put the car in park while the back seat adjusted from the harsh and abrupt stop, too shocked to mutter a word. “You live in your fucking head, (Y/N)! He didn’t just run off somewhere, he’s fucking dead! And he isn’t coming back, so whatever life you’ve made up in your head where you both get that chance to run away and live a perfect little dream underneath the Californian sun isn’t happening!” He paused only for a mere second to take a breath before he delivered his final blow without thinking, “You talk a lot of talk for someone who harbors so much guilt! You said no to him that night, you chose not to go with him so stop punishing me for your choice! Wake the fuck up and smell the god damn roses, (Y/N)!” Tears threatened to come rushing from your eyes even though you knew you deserved that. 

“Enough you two.” Max tried to say as sternly as she possibly could while her voice still wavered. She was cautious and slow as she placed a hand on your shoulder from the middle seat, the sight of her shaking slightly catching in Steve’s peripheral vision causing him to step back and really see what he was looking at when he looked at you. Instead of cheeks flushed with anger and eyes that glared freshly sharpened daggers he saw a shaking, scared, and glassy eyed girl. A girl that seemingly shrunk three sizes too small compared to the once large out bursting emotion you just were. A raging fire that he put out by being unusually cruel. 

Steve’s demeanor softened as he spiraled into regret, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t mean it. (Y/N), I swear-.” He was cut off by the simultaneous slamming of two car doors. 

“Steve, what in the world are you doing?” Robin asked as she approached your window, her voice muffled by the glass. You broke your gaze from Steve, looking straight ahead as you rolled down your window for Robin to peak into the car. 

“Avoiding those.” Lucas was quick to change the subject and point to the faint red and blue of police lights that were definitely coming from the Wheeler’s house. 

“Shit, Ted.” Dustin said while Nancy sent him glare from Steve’s window. “Sorry, but your dad always does this!” 

“He’s old fashioned, came from a different time where I guess the cops were his friends, I don’t know. He just thinks they can help and he doesn’t want to deal with it.” Nancy defended her father even though she really didn’t want to. 

“Where to now then?” Dustin questioned the group, knowing that his place and everyone else’s houses were out of the question due to their involvement in the ‘mall fire’ a year ago. Each place has to be crawling with the cops and feds by now. 

You opened the car door startling Robin slightly as you got out, “Creel’s.” You muttered, “It’s our only option.” 

“The enemy’s base?” Steve raised a brow as you gestured for Robin to get in the car; which she very awkwardly did, afraid to ask questions. 

“Even though I don’t like it, we only need to lay low for a little while, not make any moves.” Nancy entertained the thought seeing where she could go with this. “We also could take the opportunity to dig around some more, find a weak spot.” 

“He can see everything we do there.” Lucas chimed in, wanting to keep Max far away from there.

“Just as he can see everything here. He already has two sets of eyes. Stay or go, we have the same problem.” Dustin made known as you sniffed, getting yourself under control. 

“So it’s decided. Max I’ll see you at Creel’s, keep the music going, I’ll take over driving for Nancy so she can keep the headphones on. Let’s go.” You headed towards the car while Steve watched you from the rear view while letting out a regretful sigh before his gaze fell to his lap, kicking himself for not being able to shut up. Nancy observed the situation before looking to Robin for answers but was greeted with a shrug. 

“Steve.” Nancy rested a hand on his shoulder calling him out from wherever he was lost. His hesitant look to her caused Robin to question what she was seeing. This whole time Steve has been on beat to everything Nancy has done, why was his reaction so slow now? 

“Other Wheeler, let's go! We don’t exactly have time to kill!” You yelled from the driver's side of Nancy’s car as you got in. Nancy pulled away from Steve and with a nod she was gone, and then the headlights were also gone and focused on the front door of the Creel House. 

________________________________

It was a silent drive and somewhat awkward given that you didn’t know anyone in this car as well as you knew the others. Munson, Wheeler, and Erica Sinclair. You used to make the occasional Mary Jane purchase from Munson, but other than that you knew nothing about him besides the things that were practically written on his forehead. Nancy you were never really friends with and it took awhile for Mike to grow on you and Nancy was still growing, but she didn’t seem to care. Erica was your favorite person in the car even though you barely knew each other. You sighed a sigh of relief as you parked the car and turned off the ignition. “All out who’s getting out.” You said as you all got out of the car noting Eddie’s cautiousness. “It’s your best bet right now, Munson.” 

“Eddie.” You looked back at him with a raised eyebrow as the others got out of the car to meet up with the rest of the group that just arrived. “I know you probably don’t want them to know about our business meetings, but you can call me Eddie, (Y/N). This is me just putting that out there.” He managed to get a sly brief smile out of you before you headed towards the house. 

“Come on then, Eddie.” He followed as you headed up the porch stairs and into the house as you pushed open the cracked door with your foot. The rest of the party filed in quickly with flashlights as your eyes met Max, checking up on her. She nodded slightly giving you a thumbs up. 

Lost in a fog of what you considered to be your biggest failures in life you tuned out the bickering and orders. Steve was right, you needed to get out of your head, Max was your priority. Keeping her safe and alive right now was the only thing you needed to concern yourself with. Keeping the closest thing left to a sister alive. You’ve sucked at your job lately and now was the time to pull through, to bring things back to normal. And then you heard it. 

“(Y/N).” Billy called for you from behind. Your head nearly turned a full ninety degrees as you quickly looked behind you. Greeted with the sight of a dark hallway and a cold nothingness. 

“(Y/N)? (Y/N), are you alright?” Steve asked as you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding. You sniffed before looking him in the eyes, he must’ve weaseled his way by you while you were lost in your train of thought. 

“Fine, Fine. Pay attention.” You sniffed again, rubbing your nose with the back of your hand before looking at Nancy. 

“So we agree; Erica, Dustin, Lucas, and Max dig around in the attic, Robin and I will look into this clock thing a little bit more- possibly rip it apart- and, Eddie, Steve, and (Y/N) will study the spider room.” You tried your best not to groan at the pairing, so you just nodded as you took the flash light that Dustin held out to you. “Above all else, stay safe, cautious, and do not let him in.” Nancy finished as the group exchanged glances before splitting up. 

Climbing up stairs that creaked with each step and felt nearly hallowed out from dry rot you all reached the top of the stairs; while Robin and Nancy remained downstairs dusting off years worth of dust looking for anything that could be illuminated by the nearly dead batteries in the cheap flashlights. You and Max parted ways as Steve and Eddie followed you into the bathroom as you crouched down to the vent you handed the flashlight to Eddie. 

“What’s that?” Eddied said, taking the flashlight illuminating the red smeared on the back of your hand, “Did you get into some paint or something?” 

“You’re bleeding.” Steve said, pushing Eddie aside as he was quick to your side grabbing your hand gently to look at it. 

“It’s okay, I probably scratched it on something somewhere earlier and didn’t notice. I’m not going to die.”

“Yeah, well move, in case spiders are magically attracted to the smell of blood or something.” Steve let go of your hand as he reached into the vent. 

“I think you are thinking of sharks, moron.” You laughed slightly, softening the tension from the fight you both had not only an hour ago. 

“Better safe than sorry.” He pulled out each jar and set them on top of the toilet seat while the three of you just stared at them blankly. 

“So what now?” Eddie said with a raised eyebrow as you reached for a jar, peering into it looking for something. Anything. 

“Nancy said that Vecna feels a kinship to spiders, right? So what if we just,” You screwed open the lid and gently put your fingers in, “Get to know them.” Eddie winced as he watched one crawl up your fingers and into your palm. 

“There is no way that thing should still be alive.” Steve said and your face lit up. 

“Reapply to community college because you are a goddamn genius, Harrington.” Steve started to mockingly laugh, thinking that you were joking as you set the spider on the ground and then stepped on it. The sound of its exoskeleton crunching underneath the sole of your shoe. “I’m serious. I mean it’s a long shot but what if these spiders are like a talisman or something? They obviously mean something so what if we-.” 

“Harm Vecna by harming some of the only things that gave him a sense of belonging?” Eddie cut you off by questioning your train of thought. 

“Bingo, I mean for lack of a better understanding.” 

“Woah, woah, wait. What if this only royally pisses him off. Have you thought about that? Put a bigger target on our backs.” Steve tried to reason with you. 

“I killed one and nothing happened.”

“Maybe because it’s only one, the dude has a whole nest here. Let’s not push it.” 

“Well there is only one way to find out.” You said reaching for another jar. 

__________________________________

“(Y/N).” You stopped dead in your tracks as you heard it again, turning and seeing him standing behind you. Looking just the way he did the night he asked you to finally run away with him and looking down at you like you were the center of his world again. 

“Billy.” You jumped to your feet, your eyes locking with his as a sense of calm washing over you. 

“Let’s go home, now.” 

“What? I can’t leave, we can’t. Not yet, anyways, I mean we’ve still got to save Max, defeat Vecna-.”

“What are you talking about, sweetheart? Are you feeling okay?” Billy approached you with a funny smile as the back of his hand felt your forehead. You flinched at the abrupt and cold touch. “It’s okay, it’ll be okay, just pack what you need and we will worry about the rest later. We've gotta get to the apartment before noon Sunday to make it ours, which means we need to get moving.” You stood there as you felt hands that weren’t his rub up and down your arms. Just like he did. “I’m going to grab some stuff from the fridge while you go grab your stuff.” You let out a breath as you slowly started to laugh a quiet and delirious laugh. You didn’t cut your hand, you are just an idiot. Your nose must’ve started bleeding and you didn’t realize and now you’re stuck. Vecna has you and this is the end of the road.

Maybe it wasn’t, maybe you dreamed all of this. Maybe this was just another nightmare, maybe you were okay. You took a deep breath before shutting your eyes and tried to convince yourself that once you opened them you would be in bed and waking up from a cold sweat. This was just another nightmare that started the way all your nightmares did. Billy begging for you to go- just like you both talked about-  while you told him no. The screaming would commence, you would say things you didn’t mean, and then you’d wake up. Your throat would hurt, you’d take some pills, and go about the rest of your day while you watched him die whenever you weren’t completely occupied. Now, all that was left was to open your eyes and go about your day.

“Billy!” Max howled in pain as your eyes shot open. Your body begins to shake as your legs give out and you fall to the hard floor of StarCourt mall. You didn’t wake up and Vecna has finally taken hold of you and placed you in the most traumatic memory of your life. Forcing you to watch your boyfriend die again. A monster taking the person you held most dear to your heart and destroying him in front of your very eyes. 

“No, no, no.” Your hands covering your ears as you began to cry. Having to be a part of the memory that stained every corner in your mind was too much. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Billy.” You repeated over and over while Max cried for her brother to wake up. 

Letting out a gut wrenching scream as it played on a loop behind you while you tried to hide from it curling up into a ball.

_________________________________

“(Y/N)! Come back, (Y/N)! Come back!” Steve screamed at you, shaking you by your shoulders. 

“Not again, I can’t watch this again, man!” Eddie started to spiral while Steve pleaded with you to come back. The gears in his head turned as he searched for a solution. 

“Eddie! Eddie! I’m going to be right back, keep her on the ground!” Steve raced out of the bathroom and nearly tripped over his own feet as he went down the stairs. 

“Steve?” Nancy and Robin called as they followed him out of the house. Watching him from the porch as he fumbled into the driver's seat of his car, opening the glove box and desperately searching for that cassette that played that song that you always hummed along to whenever it played at Family Video.

_________________________________

“You can make it up to me, y’know.” Billy said, as a cold hand was placed on your back. You uncurled yourself from the ball as you looked at him. Your eyes connected with his as he moved closer to you and his other hand cupped your face as he gingerly traced his thumb over your cheek bone. It wasn’t right, this isn't right. “Do you want to make it up to me?” Your lungs tried to regulate your breathing as you pulled yourself up to sit in front of him. Sniffling as you hung on to every word he said. You felt so weak, so pathetic in front of him. Completely and utterly fooled as you melted into the palm of his hand. You were so lost without him and you’ve missed him so much. Every fiber of your being consumed by not knowing how to grieve his loss. 

“Then take my hand and let’s go home.” A single tear fell from his eye as he stood. Outstretching his hand for you to take.

“Home.” The word falling from your lips hysterically. The word itself sends you into a spiral of anxiety and second guessing.

If I could save time in a bottle

The first thing that I'd like to do

Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away

Just to spend them with you

Your gaze broke from Billy as you heard the lyrics that were etched onto your heart. They were almost muffled, but the next desperate plea was not. You turned and faced the sound head on as Steve called for you. Steve, this song, the Family Video. You hummed it and Steve called you a secret sap and then Robin. Robin. She told him to take a page out of your book. And you laughed, a genuine laugh, and you remember that because you laughed about later that night when you thought back on it. 

“Steve. Robin.” 

“(Y/N)!” Steve called again, snapping his fingers in front of your face. An opening presenting itself as you saw silhouettes of Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Eddie. “C’mon wake up now! Don’t make me worry Max! Dammit!” 

“Max.” The Diner, she nearly choked on a fry when you told her that her brother could be quite the dancer when he wanted to be. And your remember the time she confessed she didn’t want an on and off relationship with Lucas, she wanted to be his steady girlfriend and she said she felt stupid for feeling that way. You reassured her that she doesn’t need anybody, but it was okay to want someone who wanted you. 

Billy. Wanting him, needing him. Laying on the hood of his car and staring up at the night sky in your driveway. Just the two of you, a home of your own, you both could just go home. Where they couldn’t follow you and you both could just be. Home. 

“Billy.” You said as you turned away from the opening and to face Billy. 

“(Y/N)!” You were greeted by the low grizzly voice of Vecna as you looked up at him. Quickly crawling backwards, kicking yourself into gear. Before you could pull yourself up though, Vecna had you by the throat and hanging in the air. The air leaving your lungs while the rest of your body felt like it was being set on fire. “I see your guilty conscience and I know your sins. I can get rid of them, I can end your suffering.” 

“Leave. Me. Alone!” 

_________________________________

They watched in terror as your body levitated off of the ground to where your head grazed the ceiling. Your limbs limp and your eyes red and clouded. This felt different to each of them as your arms started to raise to your side and your mouth opened while a gut wrenching scream fell from your agape mouth. They covered their ears to try and drown out the never ending screech of pain.

This was different, this was more terrifying than Max or Nancy. This attack felt personal. One that Steve knew Vecna wasn’t going to give you the chance to get out on your own. Steve uncovered his ears as your head whipped in his direction while an empty face stared him down. Your knees harshly hitting the solid tiled floor as you kneeled in the center of the room, your scream lowering and stopping as this long dry guttural sound left your throat. Steve started to breathe again before he heard the thumps of dropped flashlights hit the floor. 

His attention waived from you to the doorway where Max stood paralyzed along with the other kids. The lights started flickering as the attention from Steve broke and narrowed in on the kids. 

“Follow me.” You said in your voice as the lights began to flicker. “Follow me.” You repeated, but this time not in your own voice but in Billy’s. “Follow me, follow me, follow me.” You repeated over and over as you cycled through your own voice and Billy’s voice while your body slid across the floor and to the doorway. 

Steve began to feel his stomach acid work its way up his throat, ready to throw up whatever was in his stomach. He forced himself to look away knowing that if he watched for much longer he would vomit. His eyes met the toilet and then it hit him and in a last ditch effort he sprang for the toilet and grabbed a jar and with all the force in his body chucked it onto the ground. The glass jar shatters into pieces causing the whole room to grow silent and flinch from the abrupt movement. His eyes locked on the spider that now ran free only momentarily until his foot smashed down onto the spider killing it instantly. 

“The spiders! Kill the spiders!” He strictly instructed as he threw more jars on the ground. As spider after spider escaped from their habitats they were killed before getting to experience a taste of a world that they had been locked away from. 

As Steve reached for the last jar your body was placed back into the air before Vecna had let you go. You began to fall as Steve left the last jar to catch you just in time to keep your tailbone from breaking from the sudden impact of the solid bathroom flooring. 

“(Y/N)! C’mon, c’mon. (Y/N).” He pleaded using two fingers to find a pulse on your neck. “Wake up. Please, wake up.” He pulled your body into his lap as he prayed to feel a heartbeat. 

It was a sudden movement that nearly caused everyone who saw it to jump eight miles back, but you sat up quickly as air filled your lungs and some color started to rush back to your skin. Steve could feel your body shake before your eyes met his and he couldn’t help but to smile as you looked at him with tear filled eyes that were lit up with life. 

Your arms quickly wrapped around him pulling him into a tight hug as you squeezed him. You cried as you desperately clung to him. He returned the embrace as he held you to him and you felt the warmth of his body, the safety that he provided, the comfort of knowing that someone else was there. Something you haven’t felt in such a long time, trust in another person that they had you. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said in the car and you are far, far from pathetic.” You nearly whispered it into his ear before resting your head against his collarbone briefly. He felt your grip on his sweatshirt tighten slightly before you regretfully let go of him and tried to get up. 

Steve felt remorse as you let go of him and a chill from the lack of your presence so close to him. It felt dirty but he couldn’t help but to wonder if you ever clung that desperately to Billy. He quickly moved on from the thought though as you clearly struggled and everyone else in the room was too scared to help you. 

“Was it this hard for you guys?” You forced out a light tone as Steve adjusted himself to help you up. The whole room sighed a sigh of relief as you stood up. Max was quick to your side as she wrapped an arm around you to help steady you. 

“Yeah, it takes awhile to get your balance back, but you’ve got it.” Nancy said, “You got it.” 

“Man, after that your next ounce is on me, (Y/N). The pure D&D material you just gave me-.” Eddie cut himself off as Dustin signaled for him to stop talking. “I mean, like, are you alright? That was rough.” 

“I’ll hold you to that, Eddie.” You assured him, “In the meantime I say we get the hell out of the god damned house so we can have a chat. Because the Vecna that I saw wasn't the Vecna that we thought we knew.” 

 A/N: Hey! With ‘As It Was’ sort of gaining some traction and with the new season I got inspired. This takes place before episode nine of season 4. It is shorter and a little different than my past stuff, with that being said this reads a lot more like an actual episode of Stranger Things. I just had to get something out riding this new season high. I just, season 4 is so good and I can NOT wait for the next volume! Also, I added a little touch about someone’s tears that I would love to discuss in more detail, but I’ve gotta go because it is really late. Enjoy! (Also a little Steve gif for a treat) 

[lesbianrobin]

hey guys it's me again back on my bullshit <3 wanna hear my theory about how tommy created king steve? warning it’s like 2800 words long okay let's go!

So, at first glance in S1, the Steve and Tommy dynamic seems somewhat obvious: King Steve and his loyal sidekick. This post is me arguing that the only reason we really have this perception is because Steve is the more attractive of the pair (no hate to Chester Rushing, he’s very cute, but. Joe Keery) and because Tommy himself encouraged it. Tommy was actually the more “dominant” partner in the duo. I believe that it was Tommy who encouraged Steve to lean into the “King Steve” persona and who encouraged belief in this persona among their classmates, all for his own benefit.

Before we can really get into it, I have to establish something about Steve’s character, specifically that he bases his self-worth and self-image almost entirely on what others say and think about him. I’m basing this assumption off of a few key moments in the series, but I don’t want this to be insanely long so I’ll try to focus on season two where this trait is most evident.

At the Halloween party, Nancy tells Steve that they killed Barb and that their “love” is bullshit, and then later outside of the gym she insists that he isn’t being fair or reasonable in his anger with her. The next day Steve shows up to her house with roses, rehearsing an apology (”I’m sorry... what am I sorry for?) even though he doesn’t feel that he’s done anything wrong. That’s important: apologizing even though he doesn’t actually believe or understand his feelings and actions to be wrong. He’s trusting Nancy’s perception that he’s been unreasonable above his own hurt feelings and his own perception that he’s done nothing he needs to apologize for. Then, at the end of the season, he tells Nancy that he may have been a shitty boyfriend, but he’s a pretty damn good babysitter. 

Sometime between going to the Wheelers’ house with flowers to apologize and talking to Nancy at the Byers’, Steve did a pretty serious 180 from “What the hell am I sorry for, what did I even do wrong” to “I was a shitty boyfriend and you should go be with Jonathan.” The last time he interacted with Nancy was prior to the flower incident, so what happened to cause this shift in perspective? I’d like to suggest... that nothing happened! 

See, Steve is on a pretty linear emotional path in S2 after the Halloween party. At first, he’s so upset that he can’t even look at Nancy, asking Jonathan to take her home. The next day he avoids her until she confronts him, at which point he’s rather confident in his own feelings that Nancy has hurt him and doesn’t love him like she should. As time goes on, though, he loses confidence in his feelings. He buys her flowers to apologize. He isn’t remotely angry with Nancy or Jonathan once they show up together and it’s pretty clear that something’s going on between them. Finally, he calls himself a shitty boyfriend. I think that the more time passes, the less Steve believes in himself, and the more he tends to default to believing others despite his own feelings. As the anger fades, he questions himself, and since he loves and trusts Nancy, he’s inclined to believe her! Since she doesn’t love him, he must have done something wrong. Because Nancy doesn’t love him, because she wants Jonathan, because their relationship was “bullshit,” he now believes he must have been a shitty boyfriend.

Sidenote, in S3 he says a lot of shit about how he’s a loser with no future, and the way he says it indicates (to me) that it’s something he hears quite often, likely from his father. Even though it’s pretty normal to be working minimum wage the summer after you graduate high school and not have things figured out yet, even though he’s literally helped save his friends’ lives, perhaps even helped save the whole town, Steve has internalized the idea that he’s a total failure at the ripe old age of 18 (19?) and I can’t help but think that it’s because his father has told him. So. Also in S3, he says his hair is his greatest feature, and apparently people literally call him Steve “the Hair” Harrington so like, maybe he just knows he has really good hair, but he ALSO might be responding to the nickname by saying like, “Oh, okay, the hair is Objectively my best feature, okay.” Just a little bit of speculation!

I know this is a lot of my own personal opinions and speculation, but if you can get behind it, let’s keep going! If Steve is someone whose every belief about himself is a direct response to the words and feelings of those around him, if he places the opinions of others above his own feelings, it would logically follow that he might be easily emotionally manipulated.

So, let’s apply this lens to his friendship with Tommy!

Let’s run down the list. Steve cleans up after Tommy, making excuses for his shitty behavior, even wordlessly giving Carol his own food at lunch after Tommy ruined hers. He allows Tommy and Carol to have sex in his mom’s bed, and as indicated by their familiarity with the bedroom and knowledge of where the spare sheets are, this is a regular occurrence. He’s also always seen driving the two of them around. 

Neither Tommy nor Carol is ever really seen doing anything kind for Steve. They tease his girlfriend, then later use his heartbreak as an excuse to graffiti some shit and make cruel jokes about Nancy and Jonathan. That’s just not the behavior of a couple hangers-on to the most popular kid in school! Neither of them ever even pretend to give a shit about Steve. It seems that Tommy and Carol were very comfortable using Steve for his big empty house and his nice car and his popularity at school because they’d been using him for years at that point, and they thought there was no way he’d ever ditch them.

I think it’s generally accepted among fans that Steve and Tommy have been close friends for years. Tommy’s familiar with Steve’s father’s infidelity, and is comfortable enough to joke and laugh about it with Steve. The two of them just... operate like people who’ve existed around each other for a long time. So, if we accept that Steve and Tommy have been friends for awhile, we can then accept three things: the two of them know each other very well, Tommy is used to having fun at Steve’s expense, and Steve is used to allowing it.

When Steve does finally stand up to Tommy and Carol, Tommy turns on him immediately. It’s an incredibly fast turn. He shoves Steve up against his car, physically threatens him, and proceeds to taunt him angrily even as he’s driving away. Specifically he yells, “That’s it, run away Stevie boy, run away! Just like you always do,” and continues to shout variations on this phrase even after Steve’s driven far enough that Tommy’s only yelling to himself. The fact that Tommy keeps shouting after Steve can’t hear him indicates that he is genuinely very upset by Steve’s standing up against him and Carol. His fury, however, as indicated by the speed with which he turned on Steve, seems to be less like that of one who feels betrayed by a friend and more like one angry at some perceived loss or threat. 

Now, let me just state the obvious: that was a really weird thing for Tommy to be yelling!

There’s no real precedent at this point (or any time) in the show for Steve “running away,” unless you count him running from the cops, which... Tommy also did, and which also happened, like, ten minutes ago, which I don’t think would really qualify for the wording “like you always do.” Tommy also suddenly calls him “Stevie boy,” which (correct me if I’m wrong) nobody has called Steve thus far. Maybe he’s just trying to mock and belittle Steve in any way he can think of, but it’s just... weirdly specific. The whole thing is a bit of a non-sequitur.

But! Remember how we established that Steve and Tommy, by virtue of having been friends for a significant period of time, know each other pretty well? Remember how Tommy is knowledgeable about Steve’s father’s infidelity, so familiar that he’s comfortable joking about it? Keep that in mind.

This phrase that Tommy shouts at Steve only makes sense in the context of some offscreen information that we the viewer are not privy to, but which Tommy and Steve are. What might that information be? Nothing in the show indicates that Steve has a history of picking fights prior to the incident with Jonathan. He’s a fairly respectable suburban kid, what is Tommy accusing him of running from? It’s my opinion that the only logical answer is that Tommy’s referencing a specific event with Steve’s “asshole” father, or a specific phrase that Steve has perhaps often heard from his father. I’m gonna ask you to sit on this assumption for a minute, and I’ll come back and support it soon.

Okay, so that’s S1 out of the way. At this point, a few things are clear: Steve has issues with his dad. Tommy knows about those issues. Steve allowed himself to be used by Tommy and Carol for some indeterminate yet significant amount of time before finally snapping and dumping them completely, something which infuriates Tommy.

Tommy is also in S2! And... all he does is tell Steve that Nancy and Jonathan are skipping school together. He never actually interacts with Nancy or Jonathan; he shows up in S2 entirely to mock Steve, to use his deepest fears and insecurities against him. 

First thing: in the S2 shower scene after basketball practice, Tommy makes it a point to shove Jonathan and Nancy’s relationship in Steve’s face. Billy doesn’t know Steve, so he attacks his basketball skills and his keg stand record, but Tommy? Tommy knows about Steve’s dad cheating on his mom, he was there for the S1 fistfight, he knows how monumental infidelity is to Steve, especially in the case of Nancy and Jonathan, and so that is what he chooses to torment Steve with, and it clearly strikes a nerve. 

Now’s where I circle back to my assertion that Tommy was referencing/quoting Steve’s father while yelling at him back in S1. S2 makes it clear that Tommy  knows Steve’s biggest insecurities, and he intentionally exploits them for his own purposes. This, combined with the way Tommy demonstrates intimate knowledge of Steve’s family situation and the fact that his words just don’t quite make sense in context, the fact that “Stevie boy” sounds like something a father may call his young son, makes me believe that at some point, Steve told Tommy about something his dad said that hurt him, and Tommy remembered that to use against him later. 

This paragraph is just speculation on what Tommy might be referring to, so skip if you want, it’s entirely my own opinion. We know that Steve’s parents sleep in separate bedrooms and his father can’t be trusted not to cheat, and thus we might assume that they argue a lot. Maybe his parents get into lots of arguments, and whenever Steve chooses to remove himself from the situation, he’s accused of running away. Maybe Steve runs off whenever he gets in trouble with his father. There’s a lot of possibilities, but either way, “run away, Stevie boy, run away just like you always do” just... sounds too personal and specific to be something random and meaningless that Tommy came up with on the spot.

Now, in S2, Tommy also appears to have latched onto Billy rather quickly after Billy’s arrival in town. Coincidentally, Billy is kind of obsessed with Steve and taking him down, despite the fact that Steve never sought him out or challenged him in any way. Steve has been minding his own business! When they later end up in a fistfight, Billy says that he’s “been dying to meet this King Steve” that people have been telling him about, and I can’t help but think... who would make it their priority to talk to Billy about Steve Harrington? Like, new guy from California moves to my small Indiana town, I don’t want to tell him about some popular guy at school who’s gotten kinda lame and quiet lately, I want to ask him about himself, or tell him what we do for fun around here, right? So who might be incentivized to talk Steve up to a guy who’s clearly itching for a fight, a guy dying to prove that he’s top dog? Who did we see hanging out with Billy a couple of times?

Did you say Tommy? Because it’s Tommy! It certainly seems to me as though Tommy saw an opportunity in Billy. The opportunity to befriend someone with a certain social power (much like with Steve), but also the opportunity to torment or get back at Steve in some way. I think that Tommy intentionally inflated the character of “King Steve” to Billy in the hopes that Billy would pick a fight with Steve and Steve would get his ass kicked without Tommy having to get his hands dirty.

Which makes me wonder... what if Tommy played up that King Steve image to people besides Billy? Other kids at Hawkins High... or perhaps Steve himself. Remember how Steve internalizes things? Believes that he must be whatever others see in him? Yeah.

Let’s say you’re an asshole teenage boy who wants it all. You want to be popular. You want to have a spot to hang out with your girlfriend with no parents around. You want to feel strong and powerful. You meet a kid who could give you all of that, and all he wants in return is friendship. He doesn’t even seem to care if that friendship is genuine or not! All you have to do is hang around and make him feel like a cool kid. Convince him to throw a small party, you and your girlfriend get free reign of his nice big house. Make sure he knows that he’s got Prom King potential, that he’s the top dog, and you get to be one of the popular guys, too. It’s a pretty sweet deal if you can recognize the opportunity for what it is.

One last thing: Actual Steve is nothing like he seems around Tommy and Carol in the start of S1. Making friends with Dustin and coming up with a goofy handshake, singing to cheer Robin up in S3, singing into the bat to try and cheer Nancy up in S1, holding her hand during their first time, unabashedly telling her she’s beautiful and that he missed her even if only an hour had passed... Steve is a very emotional, dorky guy, and we never really got to see that side of him when he was around Tommy. I just find that interesting in light of the fact that Steve and Tommy seem to be otherwise rather close. Steve was clearly playing a part to some degree while around them, and in S3 he explicitly says that he behaved the way he did in high school because he was concerned about what others would think of him, about losing his popularity. Even prior to their argument, Steve was wary around Tommy, concerned about losing his friendship despite the fact that Tommy was a pretty objectively shitty friend.

So, here’s what we know. Tommy knows a lot about Steve, including his private family issues, and he isn’t above using that knowledge to hurt or manipulate Steve. In fact, he seems to be really good at it. Tommy benefitted from Steve’s popularity, from him throwing parties and living up to the “King Steve” image. Steve followed Tommy’s lead in their friendship, cleaned up after him, made excuses for him, and let him get away with just about anything. He masked aspects of his personality that didn’t fit the image that he and Tommy aimed for. He was desperate to retain Tommy’s friendship and afraid of letting the mask fall. Tommy was furious when Steve rejected him, taunted Steve with deeply personal jabs, and a year later he latched onto the new “top dog” in town with record speed. Steve is a completely different person when he’s around Tommy versus when he’s around Nancy, Robin, and the kids. Most importantly, we know that Steve has a tendency to construct himself in the image provided by others. 

Taking all of this into account, I think that Tommy Hagan met sad, rich, handsome little Steve Harrington, saw just how lonely and desperate he was to feel a sense of belonging, and used that to nudge Steve into striving to be the person that Tommy wanted him to be: King Steve. 

[tvandenneagram]

Stranger Things: Nancy Wheeler- Type 1w2

Type 1s are conscientious, idealistic, orderly and judgemental. 1s have a basic desire to be good and have integrity, and they have a basic fear of being corrupt or bad. At their best, they can be discerning, noble and moral. At their worst, they can be highly judgemental, critical and impatient.

Nancy is conscientious and studious towards her schooling. She is somewhat reserved but begins to take on the traits of those around her when she is among the popular kids and her boyfriend Steve. Nancy is seen as a bit of a priss within Steve’s group with some of his friends labelling her “Miss Perfect”. Nancy is also seen to be the “good girl” within her family and school and strives to be perfect in the different areas of her life.

Her relationship with Steve shows a more rebellious side of Nancy and she wants to impress the “cool” kids. Her best friend Barb mentions she is beginning to change and this is not the person she is. Nancy thinks she has a role to fit and tries to conform to this within this relationship with Steve.

Nancy is sometimes typed as a 3 and has some strong qualities of a 3. While, she is ambitious and wants to be liked she is not concerned with being the best. She is much more worried about being a “good” person and following her own moral code of what she believes to be the right. This can be seen when she is looked down as a reporter because she is female.

A huge part of Nancy’s story is the guilt she has for the death of her friend Barb and the actions that she made leading up to it. Nancy becomes consumed with thoughts about Barb’s death and puts the blame on herself. She has a notion than her behaviour was “wrong” or “bad” and if she had been a “good” friend-then Barb would still be alive. This consuming guilt urges her to investigate and find out what actually happened to Barb as a way to make amends.

At her best, Nancy is brave, hardworking, compassionate and searches for the truth. She works diligently to try and solve the mysterious death of Barb as well as the following mysteries as the series progresses. She doesn’t back down when she is sure of something and will continue to investigate as seen in Season 3 when her boss becomes increasingly frustrated with her.

At her worst, Nancy is judgmental, rigid and critical. She becomes easily frustrated when she feels she is right about something and is not supported by the people in her life. Jonathan will sometimes see this side of Nancy when he is beginning to doubt her need to investigate and prove herself as a female reporter.

Nancy’s relationship with Jonathan is very different from her relationship with Steve. With Jonathan, Nancy is more secure and comfortable being herself. Nancy and Jonathan bond over their traumas and work through them to uncover the truth about Will’s disappearance and Barb’s death.

Tri-type: 1w2 - 3w2 - 6w7

Some quotes to describe Nancy’s motivations:

"You're pretending like everything's okay, you know, like, like we didn't kill Barb.”

“All this time, I’ve been trying so hard to pretend like everything is fine, but it’s not.”

Murray (About Nancy): “You're being naive, Nancy! Those people... they're not wired like me and you, okay? They don't spend their lives trying to get a look at what's behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition. This--this would open the curtain, and open the curtain behind that curtain, okay? So, the minute someone with an ounce of authority calls bullshit, everyone will nod their heads and say, "See? Ha! I knew it! It was bullshit." That is, if you even get their attention at all.”