#I have so many thoughts about him in my head at all times and S4 made that so much worse!!! grahgahhmnmmmnn

[zaacoy]

It's 3 am!! You know what that means!!! Delusional tang posting time let's gooo yippee!!!!!!

Said I'd dump S4 Tang thoughts here a week ago and then I just kinda. didn't. oopsies, but I can start now!!

S4 Spoilers below the cut, you have been warned!!!

AUTHOR'S NOTE OF SORTS AFTER WRITING THIS: WOW IS THIS LONG. I got a little too silly and put too many thoughts down at once oops, prepare to be reading for a good minute you have been warned (twice!!) aughdhsj

My thoughts are so disorganized rn prepare for a rollercoaster of whatever my brain spits out!!

First. Ep 4 intro.

Good to see that Tang still can never have a nice landing unlike everybody else

THE CROCODILE??????? HELLOSNBD?!?

MF GETS BODY SLAMMED?????

THIS SCREAM????? He gets to scream for like, 2. SECONDS. BEFORE HE GETS?? DRAGGED RIGHT BACK INTO THE WATER????

ALL OF THE SCREAMINGSG??? THE BASS???? THE FUCKING GUITAR????????

I can't. I cannot. convey in words how incredibly funny this scene is to me. I can't sit through it and not laugh or start kicking my feet it's just THAT good. They had Z E R O business doing this to him, this scene had absolutely NO REASON to be THIS chaotic but they?? did it anyway????? jgkngm???? I love this show sm

He's so pretty in this specific lighting I need to draw him like this soon or I will explode wowowee

HE DEFLATED. SO FAST.

That's such a funny reaction, no more energy just. Whatever. Eat me I guess I don't care just start cooking so pigsy can come back please. He is so funny

weapon. just straight up bonk him into a demon like a plank of wood

Actually now that I think about it why? Did nobody untie him??? they found him and just left him like that?? Neither of them ever untied him if memory serves I'm pretty sure pigsy did it while he was cooking. ???

"To get crammin' APPARENTLY! HMPF!"

"Oh, haha! I'M the dinner! Excellent."

Good to see Tang's sass and saltiness never leaves, they should let him be sarcastic and talk back more often

Done with all of your bs glares at you glares at you glares at you glares at y

What comes around goes around!!! Their dynamic is fun wahoo

He noms very happily!!! omnomnom (he deserves it at this point mans DESPERATELY needs a break)

THEY DID NOT HAVE TO CALL HIM OIT LIKE THAT DHDHJS PLEASE????? JAJJS The little sad noises he makes as he gets torn into, little guy behavior tbh

"-stop gorging yourself on our rations!" "I'm sorry! It's just I'm stressed okay!?"

STRESS-EATER CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!! YOU AND ME BOTH BUDDY. No wonder he married a cook, wonder if in college everytime Tang was mega stressed about finals or a big deadline coming up (the latter could be true later when he's out of college and had a job too) if pigsy, assuming he had the time, would just make a meal for him. They probably wouldn't be able to spend much time together in that situation so making him something when he knows Tang is stressed seems like a realistic thing for Pigsy to do in order to subtly show he's there for support when need be. Tang pays that kindness forward by actually paying his tab for once coughs

"HEY! I so to am perfect!" (S1)

"hmmmm, if I wasn't so cool and relaxed all the time I'd be reeeeeally worried about the consequences of this" (S1)

"I know my issue is my self confidence" (S4)

(Can't find a way to make it a gif) Tang: so ""relaxed"" in his current situation that he is shaking hard enough to vibrate in place, coupled with the look of completely calm and collected and ""coolness"". (S4)

Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night chan- gets shot

ACTUALLY THo S4 fleshed him out as a character so much, especially when we compare him to how he started all the way back in S1. Beforehand in earlier seasons everything was mostly stable for him. Same places, same people, consistent comfort, it gave him some sense of security that could have made his "calm and relaxed" demeanor viable back then. But now that everythings been thrown up and ruined by powers out of Tang's control, his bubble of safety no longer stands. We begin to see it in season 3 with lady bone demon's attacks + macaque's continued interference. Tang seems a lot more on edge near the latter half of season 3 then he had been all of the rest of the show and there's definitely WAY more panic present as one bad thing after another unfolds, notably when he is quite literally moved to tears as he's forced to forge the samadhi fire. It does kind of consistently crop up during other prior conflicts too but much more mildly and on a more temporary scale. Now, seemingly not long after the lbd incident as mk evidently still hasn't pushed past lbd all that well, his entire framework of stability is practically smashed into pieces. He's stuck in a scroll, he loses track of all of his friends for a while, there is no comfortable safe space for him anymore(a book can probably only realistically tell you so much about a setting, probably not enough to evoke the same familiarity that his house or pigsy's shop does), he literally almost gets eaten, there's ANOTHER massively powerful divine being threatening the safety of his loved ones along with his own, and on top of it all he can't get his powers (which are evidently in DIRE need right now) to work half the time. He had built a dependency on the routine of mundane life beforehand and S4 completely shatters that routine and subsequent stability. It's no wonder why we begin to see him crack, it make sense why we're just now seeing the actual depths of his lack of confidence and his anxiety. This has always been a problem more likely than not, he was able to cope before, or at least hide it, but he can't now. His inability to use his powers properly inevitably worsens the problem. He needs to use his powers but he cant. He needs to be useful, he has to be, but he just can't no matter how long or how hard he tries. Every odd is against him, it's getting to him and it shows. I love how lmk doesn't try to hero-speech it's way out of every character's doubts. I love how they let him break down several times throughout season 4, I love how they let him show emotional weakness not as a plot obstacle that can be ✨✨completely overcome with the power of believing in yourself!! And friends!!! And flashy magic!!! Yayyyyy!!!✨✨ but as a fundamental part of Tang that he just has to work around and deal with it. They obviously can't get too in depth into it (and probably never will) because a. This is a kid show made by Lego, and b. Because he's, y'know, not the main character, but the attention they did bring to it is nice.

I have. Accidently written a paragraph. Oops. uhhhh tldr: They did a good job portraying Tang's internal struggles through S4 while not invalidating his character and behavior from previous seasons. When you kick the rug out from someone's feet and then throw them off a 400ft cliff into a pit full of spikes they're going to be at least a little bit terrified out of their mind and are probably going to understandably show weakness somewhere along the way, I'm glad Lego takes a moment to explore that with Tang at least a little bit.

OKAY!! MOVING ON!!! SORRY ABOUT THAT GHFJJ

Mentioned this earlier on twt but the death grip he maintains on his staff when he gets really scared is a nice touch. He has a history throughout all 4 seasons of latching onto objects or people when he's distressed, a small but fun character detail!

LOOK AT HIM. GIVE HIM A BREAK HE HAS EARNED IT AND HE NEEDS IT PLEEEASDE IM BEGGING SOBS FORERVRRHRHNM

"ahh I'm sorry I'm just- I'm having a melt down and I have no idea what's going on and I just-!"

In line with what I ranted on about for an entire essay earlier- explicit mention of a meltdown! It's quick and short but the fact that they called it a meltdown at all is impressive, this is the first time I can remember a show calling one as such. A meltdown in response to a seeming extended lack of security and a disconnect between Tang and what's going on around him is realistic too, I think at least. The scene right after this when the gang (mostly sandy) does their best to bring Tang back down to earth for a moment was nice, they're such a supportive friend group I love this little found family

DHDJJ???? THIS ENTIRE SCENE WAS GREAT BUT THIS ONE??? WHERE HE JUST GOES ZOOMING THROUGH THE AIR SCREAMMG?? IS HE OKAY?????? HSJH

I HAVE. HIT MY IMAGE LIMIT UMMMM.

I had more to say and I will probably say those later!! For now this is it, it is almost 6 am I should really go to bed augahh

Remember!!!!: live, laugh, tang lego monkie kid. GOODNIGHT!!

#TLDR: Tang. #Can you tell how insane I am about this fictional man #I have so many thoughts about him in my head at all times and S4 made that so much worse!!! grahgahhmnmmmnn #tang lmk #tang monkie kid #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #I am so eepy rahh #Zaacoy rambles🌙

[mazojo]

Guys I finished the supernatural aliens not aliens demogorgons dnd something something show !

#so many thots so many head empty i am quite literally dealing !!! #as you can see characters are ranked in a scale of whether they are Will Byers or not and as most of the cast is not will Byers they can't #be as cool important relevant funny and interesting as S tier rip #ALL JOKES ASIDE I AM CRYING SCREAMING AND THROWING UP ALL AT ONCE S4 FINALE HELLO??? #(also no one get offended okay this is me being funny dont take me seriously) #but yes objectively Joyce is the best character in the show but Will makes me emo because he needs a hug and therapy and aha pls someone #help him and by someone I mean Mike Wheeler helLO STOP BEING DUMB REACT DO SOMETHING #every time mike says does or literally appears on my screen is constant go girl give us nothing it irks my blood #I still love them all but goD did they decide to make Mike annoying ! #plot wise s1 is the best imo but emotionally devastating wise s4 because none of them made me cry except the last one in the lumax scene #loved s3 aesthetic tho and s2 Noah's acting is amazing #ship wise only canon ships I care about is Joyce and hopper & Lucas and max #(hopefully robin next season please ??? girlfriend???) #non canon obviously Will x mike soulmates and it hurts haha but also love me my max x el and steddie was also nice #I thought I would care about Eddie more and while I dont hate him or anything he was just kinda there and I wish he had more moments to shin #because that final scene with dustin was devastating #anyways sorry I needed to rant I have feelings #stranger things

[cookinguptales]

So… I’ve been turning all this over in my head since last night, and I wanted to make a post about vampiric transformation as sex, and how it’s being used in wwdits as a metaphor for sexual repression, sexual freedom, virginity, and cuckolding.

Before I even get into the obvious metaphors about virginity and cuckolding, I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room. Guillermo’s sexual repression and how that’s come to find an outlet in his vampiric longing.

Guillermo is highly repressed, sexually speaking, but I don’t think he’s asexual. He’s shown interest in sex several times, but in an uncomfortable “this can’t be for me yet” kind of way. He was clearly raised Catholic and has internalized a lot of that shame re: sex, especially gay sex. He wants intimacy, but he’s also internalized the idea that wanting these things is dangerous and shameful.

But… the vampiric world seems to symbolize all the things that Guillermo wants but cannot have. He wants to be strong, powerful, attractive, and sexually liberated. As much as their openness about sex embarrasses him, there’s a certain longing there, too. He didn’t just want to be handsome as a vampire — he explicitly used the word “sexy.”

A vampiric Guillermo is a version of Guillermo that gets to have sex. Loudly, proudly, and without shame. It’s a version of him that is wanted, that wants, and who gets to have the precise kind of intimacy he's always craved.

Now, how much Guillermo has actually done sexually is still up for a lot of debate in fandom, but I think that’s kind of immaterial. For most of the show, Guillermo clearly wasn’t having the kind of intimacy that he wanted to be having, and he only started to even begin to allow himself to seriously consider all that in s4, when he got a boyfriend and came out to his family.

As being gay and wanting to be a vampire. 

Guillermo is finally starting to own both his homosexuality and his vampiric life, and that means he’s finally starting to explore sex.

Now… At the end of s4, I talked about how Guillermo going to Derek in the finale had the air of a person who’d been fantasizing about losing their virginity in a certain way all their life — but then they finally give up on those dreams and hire a sex worker instead. There’s a resignation there in Guillermo that he couldn’t get it “the old-fashioned way,” he’s disappointed and jaded when it comes to intimate relationships, and now he’s tired of waiting for love and just wants a business transaction.

I wasn’t quite expecting for them to push that metaphor even more in s5! The money aspect was almost forgotten (Did… Derek even take the money? Why is he still cleaning toilets?) but the scene with Derek biting Guillermo was clearly a metaphorical virginity scene.

Guillermo’s nervous eagerness, his growing realization that this wasn’t actually the way he wanted it to happen. Asking Derek if he’d ever done this before and figuring out if he was “ready.” Taking off his clothes (that his grandmother got for him, even, that’s a whole meta post right THERE) and trying to make the vibe “right.” His insistence that though Nandor had never done this for him, they still had a caring and intimate relationship.

But… it was also a metaphor for bad sex. Many people lose their virginity in a way they don’t find satisfying, and Guillermo definitely seems to fall in this category. It was awkward, it was bloody, it hurt, his partner didn’t listen to him, they weren’t on the same wavelength, they didn’t connect, there was no emotional bond, and most importantly, he didn’t feel changed.

Like a lot of people do, Guillermo thought losing his virginity would change him. He’d be cooler, sexier, more powerful. His station in life would change. He’d become an adult his ideal form. But he’s still just Guillermo.

As he told Laszlo, as soon as he did it, he regretted it. He immediately knew that he’d been right, that this wasn’t the way he wanted to do it. He wanted to do it with someone experienced who loved and cared about him, who listened to him, and he wanted that person to be Nandor. But he wasn’t patient, he paid an inexperienced acquaintance for a one-night-stand instead, and he was left feeling deeply unfulfilled.

Most upsettingly, he immediately discovered that, like virginity, you can’t lose it twice. He can’t just have a do-over with Nandor now. He’s given something up that he can’t give to anyone else, and he’s going to have to live with the consequences.

Because like sex for humans, transformation has social implications in the vampire world. It can only be done in very specific situations. Guillermo seems to have grown up in a human world where sex should only be happening within a heterosexual marriage, and now he’s finding that in the vampire world, transformation is only supposed to happen between a master and familiar currently in a contractual bond.

So… him going to Derek and finding “outlet” in another relationship, so to speak, is effectively vampirically cuckolding Nandor. He’s given that honor to another vampire, which Nandor seems to find both vampirically humiliating and personally hurtful. It would in fact hurt him so badly that he would probably not survive it, in Laszlo’s words.

(There’s also definitely an element of an abusive “if I can’t have you, no one can” vibe in Nandor’s threat to kill Guillermo and then himself if Guillermo got what he needed from another vampire, but since when have we ever liked them well-adjusted?)

Guillermo is realizing that, as much as he’s been thinking of this in sexual terms, so have the vampires. He thought he was the only one who thought it was a big deal. He thought he was the only one placing intimacy and partnership and loyalty into this event. But now he’s realizing that as much as it meant to him, it might have even been a bigger thing for Nandor.

For Guillermo, vampirism-as-sex represents the idealized transformational aspects of losing your virginity. He’d built up this big event in his mind that represented his intimate bond with Nandor, he’d built up this idea that the event would change him, would make him better, would make him free. But he’s finding, like many first-timers do, that sometimes it’s not transformational. It’s just awkward and disappointing and the only thing that’s changed is that you ache in the morning.

He still doesn’t have the intimacy he wanted. He still doesn’t have the ability to be loudly himself. He still hasn’t been able to fully own his sexuality and ask for what he wants. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t enjoy it. He regrets it.

He also regrets it because now he knows it will hurt Nandor and the relationship they’ve built. Because for Nandor, vampirism-as-sex represents the societal aspects of sex. The rules people follow. The societal humiliation you feel if you’re cuckolded. The personal agony you feel when you’re cheated on. The sense that your home is broken if your partner goes to find satisfaction with someone else.

Guillermo, who has had to deal with societal disapproval of his desired type of sex in the human world his whole life, was viewing vampiric transformation as a way to be free of all that. The shame and the repression and the societal penalties for being himself.

But he’s just found himself in a mess of new rules, hasn’t he? Different culture, same struggle. And while the vampiric world has always symbolized a sexual liberation that both repulses and attracts Guillermo, he clearly doesn’t have as much freedom here as he thought.

So… to sum up, Guillermo always kind of thought of transformation as losing his virginity. He associated vampirism with sex, and he thought this would be his entrance into the sexual world. He wanted to have an intimate experience with Nandor, but eventually gave up on that and decided to pay for it — and then immediately regretted it, both because he found it personally dissatisfying and because it came as a betrayal to the man he loves.

The problem is that he thought he was the only person thinking of it as sex — he didn’t realize that Nandor does, too, just in a very different way.

Nandor was also thinking of vampiric transformation as this special act, and one that belongs only to him as Guillermo’s master/partner. He was thinking of it in intimate terms, but also in societal partnership terms. He’s thinking of his household, while Guillermo was thinking of things on more individualistic terms.

If only they’d both talked about all this shit even once. :’)

But that’s not how we do things here in Staten Island!!! We just long for things ineffectively, keep secrets, and fuck everything up!

(There’s also a whole thing here about how Nandor wasn’t keeping his side of the relationship bargain and that’s why Guillermo looked elsewhere in a moment of weakness, but I guess that’s probably a separate post. This is long enough already.)

#I could talk about this so much more but this post is so long lmao #well guillermo you can never give nandor your first time but that doesn't mean you can't still build a relationship with him #more important for a guy to have your future than your past right? #lmao we'll see #nandermo #wwdits #wwdits meta #long post #wwdits spoilers

[steddieas-shegoes]

uh. what?

for @steddielovemonth prompt 'love is healing wounds'

rated m | 1,782 words | cw: injury recovery, mild blood, recreational drug use | tags: post s4, hurt/comfort, getting together, fade to black

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

The stitches pulled and he couldn't get comfortable. He almost wished Robin hadn't made him get checked over, but anything that required this many stitches probably would've killed him if he hadn't. At least that's what Nancy said when he complained to her about it.

But now, Steve couldn't sleep, and sleep was apparently very important for healing.

The alarm clock next to his bed said 2:07 am, so calling someone was out. Going somewhere was also out, unless he wanted to go to the 24 hour diner alone.

Fresh air sounded good until he realized he'd have to either go for a walk in the middle of the night alone or sit by the pool alone.

He didn't want to be alone.

His phone started to ring just when he was considering taking a shower out of boredom.

"Harrington residence, this is Steve."

"So formal for two in the morning, Stevie," Eddie's laugh rang through the line and Steve couldn't help smiling. Something about Eddie's energy was contagious, a beacon of light when all he had was the darkness of his room.

"Didn't know if it was an international business partner for my parents. Happens sometimes when they forget time zones." Steve moved to the edge of his bed so the cord didn't have to stretch as far. "What are you doing up?"

"Had a dream about being eaten alive again. This time they managed to eat both of my nipples." Eddie scoffed. "Isn't one enough?"

Steve chuckled. "And you can't go back to sleep because you're scared they'll come take your other nipple?"

"It's a genuine concern, Steve! I have big dreams of piercing this thing and if they take it from me, what do I have left?"

"I think you'd probably just find something else to pierce," Steve shook thoughts of what that might be out of his head before they could take over. "So you can't sleep. You thought you'd call and wake me up to suffer with you?"

Eddie was silent for a moment before responding. "Did I wake you up?"

"No," Steve said quickly, not wanting Eddie to feel bad. "I was awake."

"Nightmare?"

"No, stitches are bothering me."

"You wanna come over? I found my hidden stash. Might help with the stitches," Eddie offered.

Steve probably shouldn't. He was on some pain meds already and if he got too fucked up, he'd probably cry. That's what happened last time he had some of whatever Eddie was selling.

"I'll come over, but probably shouldn't have anything. Robin would kill me if I end up in the hospital," Steve gave a half-truth.

"Yeah, she's terrifying. I'll leave the door unlocked."

Before Steve could tell him that was a bad idea, he hung up.

********

When Steve got to Eddie's, he let out the breath he'd been holding the entire drive. Eddie was sitting on the porch, alone, his guitar by his side.

Maybe he'd been playing already, or maybe he planned to play to help distract Steve from the way his skin felt like it was too much.

He got out of the car and waved when Eddie looked over at him with a smile.

"Didn't think you'd get here so quick," Eddie didn't bother standing up, Steve just knew to go sit by him.

But the steps on the Munson's porch were rickety at best, "temporary" according to the government officials who had stuck them here because they didn't think it was worth putting them in a home across town, and Steve's eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the dull glow of the light by the front door. He missed the top step and immediately fell, barely catching himself on the wood of the porch.

Eddie was helping him up immediately, doing his best not to make his own injuries worse.

"Shit, you okay? Wayne tried fixing it, but it just keeps getting loose."

Steve felt a stinging pain on his side, and when his hand grazed over the worst of his bites, he felt something warm and wet on his fingers.

"Shit," without looking, he knew he'd torn his stitches. "Eddie, I need a towel or something."

"Shit, that's a lot of blood. That's a lot of blood. It shouldn't be that much, right? Like even tearing your stitches, it shouldn't be-"

"Eddie." Steve poked his arm, stayed as calm as he could. He bled easy, so sometimes even small things looked worse than they were. "Towel."

"Right, yeah. Should you come with me?" Eddie shook his head. "I mean can you move? Should you stay here?"

"I'll sit here until I have a towel. Don't wanna get blood on the carpet."

"Got it."

Eddie still seemed unsure about leaving him, but must have noticed how much blood was soaking through Steve's shirt and rushed inside. He was back in less than a minute, a black towel in his hand.

"It's clean. It's the one I usually use for my hair, but I didn't get to fold it from the dryer yet. Um, just put pressure on it."

Steve knew what to do, was used to putting pressure on wounds, but appreciated Eddie trying to triage it anyway.

"You got a needle and thread, right?" Steve asked once he took his shirt off and put pressure on the bite. It was already bleeding much less, a positive sign that maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

"I mean, I do. I don't have medical tools that have been sanitized properly."

"You have water to boil and vodka?"

"Steve. I'm not fucking performing a medical procedure on your stomach," Eddie shook his head. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"I trust you."

The words hung heavy between them, despite the fact it wasn't exactly news to either of them. They'd been through it all together, why wouldn't he trust him?

"Okay, let's get inside and I'll get everything ready."

Getting inside was easier said than done. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but the pain had really started to set in and every breath felt like knives stabbing into him.

"Deep breath, Stevie," Eddie said as he sat him down on the couch and helped him lay back. "I'll get you something for the pain."

"Something" was an edible, and Eddie seemed hesitant to give it to him, but all reservations Steve previously had went out the window as he felt his hands shaking from the pain.

Eddie prepared everything while the edible kicked in, checking in with Steve every few minutes to make sure he hadn't passed out or started bleeding again.

When the room started to feel blurry and his head felt light, Steve smiled over at Eddie, who looked nervous.

"Ready for your magic hands," Steve wiggled his brows.

Eddie made a strangled sound before leaning over the wound and wiping some of the blood away gently so he could see where to stitch him back up.

He worked as quickly as possible, humming softly to distract himself and Steve from what was happening.

Steve was high.

He was high and he was feeling good despite the needle in his skin.

He drifted for a bit, couldn't be sure how long, but eventually, Eddie was touching his cheek and making him open his eyes.

"Think you should stand up so I can wrap a bandage on it. Then you can try to shower off some of the blood if you want. Wayne got one of those removable showerheads. Feels fancy," Eddie said as he moved the hair off of Steve's face.

"Help?" Steve managed to ask.

"Yeah, I can help you with the wrap and start the shower for you," Eddie nodded.

"In the shower?" Steve asked.

Eddie paused. "I can keep us dressed?"

"But." Steve huffed. "Blood."

Eddie couldn't help but laugh at his confusion, Steve's lips pouting out and his eyes squinting. "Okay, okay. If you're okay with it, I'm okay with it. You're high as shit, man."

"I'm standing right on the ground," Steve waved his arms around him. "Or is the ground standing on me but the other way?"

"God, this is the best. Okay, let's go."

"Wait!" Steve grabbed Eddie's arms. "You should know something."

Eddie raised his brows in question. "Go on."

"I'm very in love with you. And also kinda hard."

Eddie blinked, not processing. Now he felt high.

"Uh. What?"

"I have an erection." Steve made a disgusted face. "Hate that word. Sounds so middle school sex ed."

"It is." Eddie shook his head. "I guess I meant more like, how and why and what the hell do you mean by it."

Steve giggled. "I said you had magic hands and I was right."

"Dude, I was literally giving you stitches. I am failing to see why that would make you hard."

"It's cuz you're so gentle and your tongue sticks out when you're trying to focus. And also I started thinking about what you'd do if I couldn't move," Steve sighed dreamily. "You have handcuffs."

"Okay. Let's pause." Eddie let out a small hysterical laugh. "You want me to help you in the shower because you love me? Do you even need help?"

"Probably. But I also want help. And also you're a helper for me."

"What does that even mean? Where's Robin when you need her to decode what the hell you're talking about?"

"You're a helper for me! Because you help me be better about asking for help! And then you help!"

"Okay, that's. Good. I'm still not sure what's happening."

"You're gonna help me shower. I'm gonna try very hard not to come. We sleep?" Steve looked around Eddie out the window, like he was checking if it was still night time. "And then in the morning I wake up and get yelled at by Robin."

"Why would she-"

"The stitches. And the telling you I love you thing. She's gonna be real mad about that."

"Why?" Eddie felt like he was losing it. What was even happening anymore? How had he completely lost control of the night?

"She wanted to help me do a speech thing."

This was just getting more wild.

Steve needed a shower, and he needed sleep. Eddie needed a minute to gather his own thoughts.

"Shower. Sleep. Talk in the morning." Eddie raised his hand to cup Steve's neck. "Robin murders you after we talk."

"Deal." Steve's face sank, but he quickly perked back up. "But shower?"

"Yes, shower. Go, horndog."

Steve laughed as he half-limped to the bathroom, clearly feeling some pain even with the drugs in his system. Eddie followed and resisted touching Steve as much as possible.

Which ended up being about two minutes.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #steddielovemonth #love is healing wounds #injury recovery #cw: mild blood #post s4 #hurt/comfort #getting to know you #tending to wounds

[franklespine]

You know I think you guys might be on to something when you call Sam woman coded cause - genuinely - how do you, as writers of a show, be so misogynistic as to not include any female characters asides from damsels and hookups (specifically referring to the early seasons), and yet need so desperately to have a outlet for macho masculine patriarchy power dynamics that you have an adult male character experience misogyny?? How do you mess up that badly??

It's like, although they thought that putting female characters in the narrative other than to exist as sexy distressed lamps wouldn't appeal to the true blooded 2000s American audience. But yet it was completely necessary for there to be a bottom rung in the masculinity pyramid because - well how else can we as a society function!!

Anyway, ik reading too far into things is my special talent, and in most circumstances all of this stuff is just a joke in the show but wow they really had Dean poking fun of any of Sam's characteristics that don't fit into this Hyper True Blooded American Masculinity ideology as a butt of jokes for 15 years. The fact that he has longer hair, that he cares about his hair, that he's tidy, that he likes salads and isn't a big meat eater, that he's sympathetic, that he's a bitch. And of course these are just silly little jabs that Dean makes in sibling-like fashion but like wow 15 years. Damn.

And of course it's not only this that leads to the rather odd interpretation of a woman-coded Sam, but also the way he is treated directly by the narrative. Like, for example, being the family's possession, rather than an equal member. Dean has seen it as his job to look out for his little brother since he pulled him from the fire and the wellbeing of this infant was thrown onto his shoulders at age 4, and this has created a lot of ricocheting effects on both of them. This isn't to say that Dean doesn't love, care, respect, and value Sam, but it does mean that sometimes he treats him like a possession rather than a person. He makes a lot of crazy decisions in the show that he justifies as being for Sam's own good, even if it goes directly against Sam's wishes. After Sam leaves a note to Dean telling him he's going out for a bit to handle a case, Dean weasels his way in, not trusting him to handle it due to the mental issues Sam is facing at the time, and kills Amy, despite Sam begging him not to. Even though Dean knows Sam would never consent to an angle possessing him, he tricks him into it anyway. He does these things, and many others because he believes that he is acting in Sam's best interests, totally disregarding the fact that Sam has capacity to make judgements and handle the consequences himself, even going so far as to oppose what he directly knows or Sam tells him he wants.

Then of course there is the fact that the fear integral to his character - a loss of autonomy (bodily autonomy, but also autonomy to make his own decisions about his future, to be good, to be pure and faithful), is an explicitly feminine one. Then there is the strong subtext in his story of SA themes, I think in s4 a demon even refers to Sam as a 'whore' or that he's 'whoring it up' (with respect to Ruby), and the interesting prevalent idea of Sam questioning or going against the ideals/ideology of the masculine figure head (which would be Dean I guess) and getting punished for it. Sam suggests that maybe they take a more humanitarian approach with the cow blood drinking vampires in s2 and Dean punches him, Sam tries to get him to talk about their Dad and Dean punches him, Sam tries to get him to talk about Lisa and Ben and Dean punches him, Sam gets caught simply using his abilities and Dean punches him - twice. I think you get the picture.

Anyway. This post comes off as rather critical of Dean, which wasn't really my intention. It's more sort of a broader criticism of the rampant sexism that had its part in shaping the show - being one to come out of the early 2000s. Ideas such as this - you could really go on for hours as its fascinating how ideological frameworks are presented certain ways in media - and the way masculine and feminine social dynamics, to list only one, is presented in supernatural is definitely a can of worms.

#also dont take this too seriously LMAO its late and I am just thinking about woman coded sam #seriously - how did this happen #saw someone else talk about that scene in s7 after sam finds out dean killed amy and dean says something along the lines of #be pissed all you want but dont be a bitch about it #like wow he really called sam a bitch in the way that woman are called bitches #stop being overdramatic and having an irrationally emotional response to the horrible thing i just did to you #crazy #maybe it was the time it was made but genuinely the amount of times dean punches sam in the early seasons #just for having an opinion or wanting to talk about feelings #i was actually surprised #supernatural #spn #sam winchester #dean winchester #spn meta #i guess #again dont take this too seriously lmao #just a pondering

[harringtonstilinski]

It’s A Date - Steve Harrington (Smut)

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader Word Count: 3,530 Warnings: ST4 spoilers, fluff, little bit of angst  Smut: car sex between m+f, mutual masturbation Requested: Nope. Based off a prompt from this list A/N: Hi, friends! Of course, my first Steve Harrington fic is a smut piece, haha! This contains spoilers for S4, so if you haven’t watched it already, pls do not read. If you have any requests for our mom of 6, my askbox is open for requests. I might overuse the gif below because hotdamn🥵!!! Anyways, I hope you like this little piece! If you do, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

“Dusty! Hurry up, you’re gonna be late!” 

Do you know how many times a week I hear that? Five. Five days a week! All because my brother is still in his room, doing God knows what!

Upon hearing Mom’s voice calling his name again, I pulled the covers off my body and got out of bed. Opening my bedroom door, I glared at Dustin’s. I walked over to it and opened it up. “If you don’t hurry the hell up, I’m gonna drag you out of here by your hair. Got that, dipshit?”

“Okay, okay,” he said, getting up from his desk chair. “I was talking to Suzie.” 

Confused, I asked, “Why?”

“None of your business. Besides, aren’t you late for work?”

Facial expression going serious, I asked, “What time is it?” before going back to my room to look at my clock. “Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Keith is gonna kill me.”

I quickly changed my shirt and brushed my hair out. Since I had a phone in my room, I called up Family Video. As it rang, I searched for my jeans that I thought were on the floor. They ended up being on my vanity chair. 

“Family Video.”

“Steve? Holy shit, thank you for answering.”

“Y/N? Aren’t you supposed to be here by now?”

Resting the phone between my ear and shoulder, I pulled my shorts down and began putting my jeans on. “That’s why I’m calling. I apparently overslept and somebody was supposed to come pick me up.”

“I was? Damn, I forgot. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Cover for me until I get there?”

“What should I tell Keith?”

“Lost track of time running an errand?” I heard Dustin’s voice and got another idea… well, excuse. “I had to wait for Dustin ‘cause Mom needed me to take him to school. It’s also a perfect excuse for me to use the car today.”

“Has anyone seen Y/N?” I heard Keith asked.

“I’m on the phone with her now. She has to wait for her little brother so that she can take him to school.”

Silence. I stopped zipping and buttoning my jeans to hear what else Keith had to say. After a few more seconds of silence, I whispered, “Am I in the clear?”

“Not in the slightest,” Keith answered. “If you’re late again, you’re fired.”

“R-roger that.” I hung up after that, quickly zipping and buttoning my jeans before grabbing my vest with my name tag attached. I went to the kitchen, seeing Mom standing at the sink. “Can I borrow the car?”

“What for?”

Looking around to find the clock I knew was there, I spotted Dustin about to walk out the door. Quickly turning my head back to my mom, I said, “Dustin asked me to take him to school.”

“No, I didn't,” said boy responded, confused.

“Last night, you did.”

“Before you two start up, yes, you can borrow the car,” Mom said.

“Thank you,” I said, kissing her cheek. “I love you! I’ll be safe!” Walking towards Dustin, I said, “Your ass owes me.”

~~~

10:30AM. Only 30 minutes late for work. It took me all of 15 mins to get Dustin to school and myself to work. Did I go over the speed limit? Maybe. Was I driving like I didn’t care about the speed limit? Maybe. I mean, I didn’t get pulled over or anything, so I’m good!

Once I walked in the video store, I was met by Keith at the front counter. “You’re late.”

“Yes, I’m aware. Thank you. We’ve already established this,” I answered. I walked around the counter and straight to the back to set my stuff down and clock in. Once that was done, I immediately got to work on putting away the tapes people had returned.

“And then Vickie laughed,” I heard Robin say. I peaked out from one of the aisles to listen in on her conversation with Steve. “And it wasn’t like a cheap, fake laugh, either. It was like…”

I moved out of the aisle, knowing that she had to be at the basketball game the night before. “It was genuine, right?” 

She looked at me and smiled a little. “Yeah. It was.”

“I remember when I used to make someone laugh genuinely,” I said, looking in Steve’s direction.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Steve and I dated for about a year. We got together the night he fought the demodogs, and then we broke up right before I was supposed to leave for school. Yes, my feelings are still there. Are they still there for him? I’m not sure. Anyway.

I went back to putting the movies back up, and before I knew it, about 15 minutes had gone by. Sitting down behind the front counter, I watched the movie that was playing; Doctor Zhivago. Don’t ask. Robin put it on. A body sat down next to me.

“Ya’know, if I’m utterly and totally right, I would say that Steve still has mad feelings for you.”

I looked over Robin, giving her a face of… well, curiosity. I looked back at the tv, crossing my arms. “Yeah, I’m not so sure.”

“Hey, guys, check this out,” Steve said, turning the tv behind the counter on.

Robin and I both moved to the front of the counter; Robin sitting in a chair, me sitting on the counter, and Steve standing. I was in the middle. What was on the television disturbed me; a teenager from Hawkins High was killed. 

My first thought was, “Dustin.” I hadn’t realized that I said his name aloud until I felt an arm around me, the hand attached rubbing my left arm up and down.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Steve said.

“Better be,” I said, tearfully. “Or else I’m gonna revive him and kill him myself.” Hearing the front door open, I quickly gathered myself, but was shocked when I heard a voice say, “Hey, Steve.”

I turned around so fast, I thought I gave myself whiplash. “Oh, thank fuck.”

“You see this?” Steve asked.

“How many phones do you have?” Dustin asked, Max right on his tail.

“Someone was murdered.”

“How many phones do you have?” Dustin enunciated.

“Two, why?”

“Actually, we have three,” I said. Robin, Steve, Dustin and Max all four looked at me, but my eyes landed on Steve’s. Shrugging, I said, “If you wanna count Keith’s, it makes three.”

“Three works,” Max said.

“Guys, what’s going on? Does it pertain to the person was murdered?”

Taking off his backpack, Dustin said, “Y/N/N, move.”

Moving, I asked, “What fo–” Interrupting me, Dustin slid his bag across the counter, causing Steve and I to shout, “What are you–?”

“My pile,” Robin complained.

Dustin slid across the front counter, knocking over the tapes Steve stacked, causing him to shout, “No, no, no! My tapes! Dude!”

I had moved as soon as I knew what my brother was doing when he slid his bag and then his body across the counter. I walked up to him as he sat down at the computer. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Setting up base camp,” Dustin said.

“Base camp? Dusty, you can’t do that. This is my place of work.” I looked behind me at the back of the store. “If Keith finds out you’re back here, I’m dead.”

“You won’t,” Steve said.

I looked at him, asking, “What?”

“He left after you got here,” Robin said. “While you were in the back.”

Sighing, I said, “I’m gonna kill him.” Looking back at Dustin, I asked, “Why do you even need the computer?”

“Eddie’s friend’s phone numbers,” Dustin said.

“Your new best friend you think is cooler ‘cause he plays your nerdy game?” Steve asked.

“If you stop complaining about Eddie, I’ll go on a date with you,” I said, looking at Steve.

I turned back around to watch my brother, seeing him writing down names and numbers. Groaning loudly, I walk to the front of the counter to help Robin finish picking up. 

“You want me to strangle him or should I let you do those honors?” Steve said.

“Take turns,” Robin said.

“Oooh, good idea,” I smiled, looking back and forth between the two.

“Fill them in, please,” Dustin said.

“Fill us in on what?” Robin asked.

I looked at Max, who looked like she didn’t want to say anything, but told us anyway.

~~~

Apparently, Eddie had killed Chrissy Cunningham, and how he’s on the run from the cops… or at least that’s what I got out of it. 

“So, he killed her or something else killed her?” I asked.

“I’m thinking something else,” Max said.

While Robin, Max and Dustin called Eddie’s friends, we ended up getting a few customers in the store, to whom Steve and I both attended to. As I walked past him and a female customer, I overheard him try to explain Doctor Zhivago to the poor girl, who stated she had a boyfriend.

After I was done with my customer, I noticed that Steve had walked this girl to the door and stood there as she got in her car and drove off.

“Stop gawking,” I said. He pulled himself back in the store after saying the GD word. Looking at me, he gave me those eyes that I knew was him beating himself up on the inside. I took a step closer to him, almost chest to chest. “Hey, listen. If you can go the rest of our shift without complaining about Eddie or beating yourself up mentally, I’ll go on a date with you. Tonight.”

“Where?” he asked.

“Lover’s Lake. Pick me up at 9. I’ll be sitting on the trunk of my mom’s car.”

“It’s a date.”

“I might have a lead,” Max said, interrupting our moment. She started explaining something, but all I heard was one name; Reefer Rick.

“Wait a sec, I know him,” I said, walking to the counter.

“You do?” they all asked.

“Yeah. I used to buy weed from him back when I was a sophomore. I know where he lives.”

~~~

Robin, Max and Dustin gave the plan of going to see Reefer Rick as soon as possible. So, the five of us went to see him, only for him to not be at home. We found Eddie, though, in the boat house, hiding in a boat.

He explained what happened with Chrissy after we convinced him to tell us. As he was explaining what happened with her bones and how they were snapping, I shivered and turned my head to the side with my eyes closed.

I jumped when I felt an arm around me again. The arm belonging to Steve. I did what I always did when he did that; curled into him the best I could.

“You all think I’m crazy, right?” Eddie asked.

I looked over at him, sniffling, “No. We don’t think you’re crazy at all.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Y/N! I know how this sounds.”

“We’re not bullshitting you. We believe you.”

“Look,” Dustin said. “What I’m about to tell you might be a little… difficult to take. You know how people say Hawkins is… cursed? They’re not way off.”

Sniffing again, I said, “There’s another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins, and sometimes it bleeds into ours.” “Like ghosts and shit?” Eddie asked.

“There are some things worse than ghosts,” Max said.

“There’s monsters in this other world,” Dustin said. “We thought they were gone.”

“But they’ve come back before,” I said.

“That’s why we needed to find you.”

“If they’re back again,” Max said. “We need to know.”

“That night,” Robin said. “Did you see anything?”

“Dark particles, maybe?” 

Eddie shook his head before Dustin explained, “They would almost look like dust, swirling dust.”

“Or snow,” I said.

“No, there was nothing you could see or touch,” Eddie said. “I tried to wake her. She couldn’t move. It was like she… she was in a trance or something.”

“Or under a spell,” Dustin said. 

“A curse.”

“Vecna’s Curse.”

Rubbing my arm again, Steve asked the group, “Who’s Vecna?”

“An undead creature of great power,” Dustin answered.

“A spellcaster,” Eddie said.

“A dark wizard.”

~~~

After taking Max and Robin home, Steve took me and Dustin home… well, mainly Dustin since it was already about 9pm. When he got out of the car, Dustin asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Tell mom not to wait up,” I said. “There’s a conversation that needs to happen.” I looked over at Steve for a second before looking at the sky, lightning striking.

“Make it fast.”

Steve drove off towards Lover’s Lake, the silence in the car deafening. “Hey, listen,” he said. “What happened between us–”

“Can we pause this conversation until we get there?” I asked. He sighed and went back to not saying anything. I watched as the rain started to come down, lightly before it gradually got heavier.

I looked out at the lake as soon as Steve put his car in park. After a few seconds of silence, I said, “I don’t know why I did it.” Looking down at my lap, I tried to will the tears back. “I was either scared you’d cheat on me or that I’d cheat on you. Truth is…” I sniffled. “I never stopped caring about you, thinking about you, or… loving you.”

I looked at him, seeing his eyes already on me. “I wouldn’t have.”

“I know, I know, I just– I had that small fear. And no, it wasn’t because I didn’t trust you because I did and still do. It was me and my stupid brain.” I couldn’t hold the tears back as I said, “I’m so sorry, Steve.”

He cradled me the best he could with us being in the car. “Hey, it’s okay. I understood then and I understand now.” I looked up at him the best I could as he looked down at me. “I still love you, too.”

Without thinking, I leaned up and kissed him, feeling him kiss me back. A simple kiss turned into a make out session which turned into me climbing into his lap after he pulled the seat back.

Detaching his lips from mine, he smiled a little, saying, “Bring back memories?”

I took my shirt off and nodded, but I said, “Shut up and kiss me.” 

We quickly locked lips again before I helped him take off his shirt. His lips went for my neck as my hands went to the back of his head, gently balling up his hair in my fists. He found my sweet spot, which made me moan.

“God, I’ve missed that sound,” he said.

“Steve,” I breathed.

“Yeah?” 

“Shut up, please.” I hadn’t realized that he unhooked my bra and pulled it off my breasts a little until I felt the flesh of his hands on the flesh of my breasts. “Steve, do something.”

I put my arms down, feeling my bra straps fall down before I felt Steve’s hands on my back, pulling me straight. I moaned loudly as I felt his lips wrap around my nipple, him hardening the bud.

Pulling away from my breast with a small pop, Steve said, “There’s my girl,” before moving on to the other one, eliciting another moan from me.

I felt his bulge on my core, so I reached down once he pulled away from my breast again and palmed him through his jeans, making him groan. After doing that for a moment, I looked down at his button and popped it, unzipping his jeans right after. 

Without him even saying anything, I got up on my knees as best as I could so that he could slide his jeans down his thighs. Before I could reach into his boxers, he said, “Do you remember where I keep them?”

I nodded, turning my head to the glove box and reaching the best I could to open it and retrieve a condom. Steve and I were both a panting mess, our breathing heavy. I turned back to him, holding the packet up and smiling. “Are we really about to do this?”

He nodded while smiling before taking the packet out of my hand. “Yup.”

I chuckled before I looked down at his package, reaching for it. I looked at him and asked with my eyes if he was totally sure, to which he nodded just slightly. 

It’s not like Steve and I never had sex before because we have. We just haven’t had sex in about seven months, so I just wanted to be sure with him before we went any further.

Reaching into his boxers, I wrapped my hand around his hardened length, pumping slowly a few times to get the blood flowing even more. Before long, I started pumping faster, finding a rhythm. 

Steve moaned, letting me know he was liking what I was doing. Not realizing that he popped the button on my jeans and unzipped them, I moaned as well when I felt his finger enter my core. Mutual masturbation, I guess.

“Mmmm, baby, baby, baby,” Steve said. “You keep going, I’m gonna cum right all over your hand.”

I stopped, putting my hands on his face to pull him in for a deep kiss. He pulled his hand from my panties before I felt him tap the outside of my thighs. I got up on my knees again before he broke the kiss.

“Sit over there,” he said, breathing heavily.

I did as he asked and sat in the passenger seat to finish undressing, him doing the same. “Do you have a blanket in the back?”

“Always,” he smiled.

I watched as he rolled the condom down his length after taking it from the packet. He grabbed my hand and helped me back over, but not before I hit my head on the roof of the car. “Ow, fuck!”

He chuckled while holding my head, kissing where I hit it. “Are you okay?”

I chuckled as well, looking up at him. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

After calming down, I looked down and grabbed his hardened cock, giving him those eyes once more. He nodded again, so I carefully lined him up with my entrance and slowly slid down, moaning all the way. 

“Fuck, I forgot how big you are,” I breathed.

“You know you love it,” he said.

“I do,” I said. “I do.” After adjusting for a moment, I started bouncing… or what bouncing I could do considering we were in his car.

Steve and I were still breathing heavily, moans coming out of my mouth left and right. I felt his hands on my hips, his own meeting mine.

“Wait, wait, wait,” I breathed, stopping my movements. “If you’re wanting to do that, we should lay the seat back. It feels awkward.”

He thought about it for a second before nodding and saying, “You’re right.” He laid the seat back and told me to stay on my knees before we started up again; me bouncing and him thrusting up into me.

With my hair in front of my face and my mouth open, I moaned with every thrust Steve made.

“You’re so beautiful,” he grunted. “So goddamn beautiful.”

“Oh, my god,” I breathed. “I’m gonna cum. I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna–” With one more thrust into me, I came all over Steve’s protected cock. Leaning forward, I caught myself with my hands on the top corners of the seat. 

With his hands on my hips, I looked down at Steve, seeing him eye our bodies meeting, sweat forming on his brow. “Almost there,” he grunted.

“Ahhh, fuck,” I moaned loudly.

With one final, “Fuck!” from Steve, he stopped all movements, grunting while his hips jerked, letting me know he had came.

We didn’t move from our positions, just sitting there trying to catch our breaths. After a couple of minutes of being completely still, I moved my hand from the seat to Steve’s cheek, bringing our lips together.

When we pulled apart, we rested our foreheads against each other. I had my eyes closed, so I couldn’t tell if his was open or not.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you, too,” he whispered back. “But, uhm, can you move? I’m getting soft.”

I laughed at his statement, nodding my head. I moved to the backseat, hoping he would pick up what I was laying down. Grabbing the blanket, I wrapped it around myself, noticing that Steve was pulling his boxers and jeans back up.

“Y/N/N?” he asked.

“Back here, dorkwad.”

He turned his head and smiled when our eyes met. He looked at my clothes before handing them back to me, silently telling me to get dressed, and after doing so, he climbed in the back with me, laying down in the seat first before I laid on top of him.

He sighed, rubbing his hands up and down my back. “I’ve missed this.”

“Me, too,” I smiled. “Next time we do this, though, at least take me to dinner first.”

He chuckled before saying, “It’s a date.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! i hope did steve harrington justice! i’ve been wanting to write for him since season 3 came out but just didn’t have major inspiration until now! but let me know what you thought! again, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24​​ @stixnstripesworld​​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​​ @quanticobae​​ @mischiefandi​​ @kellyashcroft​​ @lauren-novak​​​

Steve Harrington Taglist: none yet!

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @stilinskiparker​.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers. 

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on June 3, 2022

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington smut #steve harrington #stranger things #joe keery x reader #joe keery x y/n #joe keery smut #steve harrington x henderson!reader

[littlelioncub43]

Come On, Angel

Summary: You and Eddie have been exhausted, and sometimes a nice long nap is exactly what you need.

Pairing: Mechanic!Eddie Munson x Best Friend!Female!Reader

Warning: Fluff, sooooo much fluff, idiots in love, friends to lovers (kinda, nothing happens but it's lowkey understood that they're in love with each other), cuddling, forehead kisses, Eddie and Reader being in love with each other and showing it in sweet ways, one mention of masturbation but it's not even graphic, Eddie has been having nightmares but doesn't know what they're about (S4 doesn't happen in this. He's safe and loved and always will be), slight angst, pet names, just—nice things.

Word count: 2,209

A/N: Oh my goodness, I loved writing this one, ok? This was so much fun. It made me feel all sorts of nice things, and I hope it makes you feel all those nice things too. This is based on a thot I shared with my bestie P!R Anon that I just couldn't help but expand. They put up with a lot of my ramblings and they're amazing for that. And so! I hereby dedicate this slice of heaven to them. Here you go, bestie. Enjoy!

Kisses💋

— K

Part II. Series Masterlist

“If I only could, I’d make a deal with God, and I’d get him to swap our places…” Eddie mumbles under his breath with the radio, silently cursing Max for playing that damn cassette so many times. The drive through the slowly chilling streets of the trailer park was quiet, a few solitary cars and trucks passing Eddie’s prized van as he made the journey to your trailer. With the sun dipping low behind the trees, the shadows and wind bit harder than normal and told of a fast approaching winter. 

Your trailer was a familiar shape at the end of the road, a beacon of comfort that pushed his foot on the pedal hoping to cut the journey as short as possible. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long before he was slamming the rusty van into park, shutting off Kate Bush, and hopping out of the driver’s seat with that impish grin that never seemed to leave his face around you. The door was locked, which didn’t deter him in the slightest. He pulled the mess of keys from his jacket pocket and found the copy you’d given him a few years ago, just after you moved into your own trailer. The moment you gave it to him, he swore that he wouldn’t let it out of his sight, and, surprisingly, he hasn’t. 

“Helloooo!” He calls as he pushes the door open. He waits for a second for a response but when he gets none he slips his jacket and vest on the couch, heading for your bedroom. 

“Lucy, I’m hooooome!” He sings as he pokes his head into your room, immediately regretting the loudness of his voice. He hears a soft chuckle from the lump of blankets on your bed, your limbs slowly stretching as you peel back the duvet from your sleepy face. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he says, much softer this time.

“Hey,” you croak, still rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you click on the lamp next to your bed, “whatcha up to, Munson? No good?” 

“Oh, yeah, you know me; scaring housewives, stealing cats, sacrificing goats—the whole nine yards, babe.” He grins and slides his hands into his pockets. You giggle again at his silliness and let yourself take him in in all his glory. Eddie Munson looked far too handsome leaning against your doorframe, his frizzy, wild hair illuminated from the light behind him (God, was he an Angel?), dressed in his usual uniform: a well-loved Hellfire t-shirt, black jeans, that God-awful handcuff belt that you secretly loved, and the same pair of white sneakers that he’s had since his junior year. 

“The poor thing, you must be exhausted,” you yawn, even with sleep still heavy in your system you could see that he was tired. 

“Nah,” he winks with a shake of his head, noting how adorable you look swaddled in your blanket. The thought is quickly tossed aside as quickly as he thought it, he shouldn’t think of you like that, you were his best friend. He pulls his keys from his back pocket. “Didn’t mean to interrupt, I’ll leave you to your nest, sweetheart.”

“Noooo, com’ere,” you tiredly beckon to him with a soft smile, “join me in the nest.”

“What?” He pushes off the doorframe to make his way to kneel beside your bed, the grabby hand you make at him has his own hand itching to hold yours. He rests his chin on the edge of your bed, his hands folded neatly. 

“Stay. Nap,” you say, sitting up on your elbow, “I know you need it, I can see your eye bags without my glasses on.” 

“Ok, see, that’s not how to get me into bed with you,” he jokes with a laugh, easily making you laugh with him. He hadn’t been sleeping very well lately, strange nightmares about strange looking bats and massive basilisk-like vines kept him from getting good rest. Then he spent his days toiling away in the garage.

“Com’on, just a small nap,” you pet his arm gently, trying to lure him into agreeing. It was working.

“I don’t have pajamas,” he points out, already caving to your suggestion, you could suggest he take a flying leap and he just might. He straightens up so your eyes are level, subtly searching for more of your warmth. 

“Just ditch the jeans and t-shirt, and sleep in your boxers—which I assume you’re 100% wearing?” You suspiciously raise an eyebrow at him. 

“Yes, mom, I’m wearing underwear,” Eddie sasses at the accusatory tone of your voice. 

“Good! Then you can sleep in those,” you rationalize, your sleepy brain may not make the best choices, but goodness, you were sleepy and you could tell Eddie was too. He clicks his tongue with a heavy sigh, feigning defeat. 

“Alright,” he pulls himself standing and reaches for the hem of his shirt. “Avert your eyes, sweetheart, the show ain’t free.”

“Boooooooo,” you groan and cover your face with a blanket before flopping back on the bed dramatically, earning a chuckle from the metalhead. He was thankful you covered your face so he can blush in private. You’d seen him in his boxers many times before, but this would be the first time he’d be in bed with you, while practically naked. ‘She’s in her pjs, it’ll be fine,’ he tells himself and tugs off his Hellfire shirt. He quickly strips down to his checkered boxers, the chill of the room nips at his skin and leaves him with goosebumps, it mixes with the perpetual exhaustion in his bones. 

Yeah, a warm bed sounds like heaven right now. 

“Done yet?” And there was an angel. As soon as the blanket was over your face, you felt a fresh wave of tiredness crash down on you. 

“Mmhmm,” he hums, trying to remain as calm as possible to fight off the blush that desperately wants to return. You throw open your blankets for him to climb in, reaching for him on instinct. 

Eddie smiles as soon as he sees your pajamas; one of his favorite shirts that mysteriously went missing a week ago and, he hopes to God, a pretty pair of panties. He’s never seen anything more gorgeous than you in his clothes, but you sleeping in his clothes? Oh, he’d pay good money to see that every day for the rest of his life. 

He lets you gently guide him into the spot next to you before he scoops you up to hold you a little closer, an uncontrollable shiver racing up his spine. Boy, he was cold. You nuzzle deeper into his hold on instinct, the feeling of his arms around you always sent your heart a-flutter. The chilled skin of his chest pressed into your cheek as you snuggled in, your hand coming to his arm to rub his skin warm. 

“My God, Munson, are you made of ice?” You joke and curl yourself around him, slinging your leg over his. You swallow lightly when you feel his bare thigh against yours, the light dusting of hair scratched against you ever so softly. If you weren’t so sleepy, you’d be having a mini heart attack right about now. 

“Well, they do say I’m cold hearted,” he teases through a yawn, his eyes getting heavier and heavier with each breath. He hears you hum out a tired laugh but he can barely focus on anything except your leg in his lap and the rhythmic thumpthumpthump of your chest against his. 

There’s a spell of comfortable silence. The room is filled with slowly deepening breaths and two heartbeats. Sleep takes hold of you quickly, your eyes already shut and dreams just about to start. Eddie catches himself dozing and has enough sense to carefully shut the lamp off before relaxing again. 

As soon as the room was dark, sleep came to him and carried him off. 

~~~~~~

There’s laughter. And sunshine. And his favorite Metallica record playing. He remembers you in the passenger seat of his van, passing him a spoon with ice cream on it. He remembers eating the spoonful of chocolate ice cream while never looking away from you. You were smiling at him, and, God, it was the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. The light was red, there was no danger. No bats, or vines or whatever the fuck they were. It was just the two of you and a bowl of chocolate ice cream. What more could he want?

Soft movement twitched in his limbs as he slowly came back from the dream realm. His head was resting on something soft, tresses of his brown hair covered his face but he couldn’t be bothered to move them yet. He felt you stir with him, wakefulness rising in you both. The feeling of his head on your chest was what you could only describe as perfect. You laid on your back with Eddie resting on top of you, his arms bracketing your sides, hands holding the fabric of your shirt that had ridden up in the night. Your legs were spread comfortably for him to fit between. 

With a gentle stretch, you run your hands across his naked shoulders idly. The soothing touch igniting awareness in Eddie as he finally blinks his eyes open. The sun was peeking through the light curtains of your room, the morning birds singing their happy songs in the trees outside. He purrs when you bring one hand to his face, brushing the hair out of his eyes for him. Oh, yeah, he liked that. 

“G’mornin’, Princess,” he rasps, not bothering to move from his spot yet. If he were honest, he wouldn’t move for all eternity if it were up to him. 

“Morning, Ed,” you mumble back with a yawn, still rubbing his back as you finally open your own eyes to stare at your ceiling. 

“'Just a nap,’ huh?” He yawns, his own hand moving to stroke your side, “now, I may not be a smart man, but that was way longer than a nap.”

“Well, we needed it,” you respond with a small smile, the feeling of his calloused hands gliding over the heated skin of your side was equal parts comforting and intoxicating. Eddie let out an affirmative grumble before lifting his head, resting his chin on your sternum. The sight that greets him nearly knocks him on his ass. Your hair is a mess, sleep has made your face plumper than normal, lines from your pillow run along the length of your cheek, eye crusties dot the inner corner of your gorgeous eyes. You look beautiful, like always, but you look real. And the fact that someone as perfect as you were, was real and currently playing with a knotted lock of his hair, blew his fucking mind. 

While he was busy surveying your face, you were doing the same to him. Taking in his own puffy face, drool coated lips, wild hair, and glossy brown eyes. You came to the same conclusion, unbeknownst to you, that he was perfectly real. The smile that tugged at your lips was easy and held all the fondness you felt for the man in your bed. He saw it, the fondness that he hasn’t found anywhere else in the world. 

“Sleep good?” You ask, the tension in the room was too much for you to take any longer. It was enough for Eddie to come back to reality. 

“Like a baby,” he hums and stretches his arms out before propping himself up on his forearms with a sigh. “We are so doing that again,” he says with a playful smirk. 

“Definitely,” you chuckle in agreement and rub your face clear of any left over sleep crusties. It’s then that Eddie realizes that he’s on top of you, he glances between you to see your shirt rucked up, revealing a pair of plain black cotton panties adorning your hips. He bites his lip and takes as many mental pictures as he can for some at at home solo activities. He’s quick to pull his mind out of the gutter when he hears your tummy rumble. 

“Hungry?” He asks, you hum and nod. “One ‘Eddie Special,’ coming right up!” He kisses your forehead, it was too tempting to ignore, before getting up and heading for your kitchen. You listen to the sound of his rummaging through your kitchen and decide to switch on your stereo next to your bed. The normally harsh sounds of heavy metal guitars and drums is a quiet hum when Eddie returns. He comes back with a bowl of your favorite cereal, a banana, and a fresh cup of water— all balanced in his two hands. 

“Wooooow, room service? I should let you sleep in my bed more often,” you reach for the glass of water first and gulp it down. He gets back in bed, being extra careful of the milk in the bowl.

“Yes, you should,” he grumbles through a mouthful of cereal before handing you the bowl. You laugh and dig in, letting the morning go on at a comfortable pace. It’s just the two of you and a bowl of cereal. 

What more could he want?

Part II

Reblogs and comments are deeply appreciated!

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[heyitspersephone]

Thinking about stranger things again now that the strikes are over and how, narratively, it would be way, WAY cooler to have Mike get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5

It’s just something about the way Mike’s trauma is never addressed or handled in any way?? Like, he hugs his mom twice and then when he was depressed in season 2 and 4 nobody did anything (his parents scolded him for his behavior in s2 ig but that’s not support). His best friend went missing leaving from his house, he watched his body get pulled from the quarry, watched El (in his eyes) kill herself stopping the demogorgon, watched Will be possessed, saw Bob die, was in Star Court when everything went down, saw Billy die, had his best friend move away, was SHOT AT (and really too few people talk about the shooting in Cali bc omg??), buried a body, and watched the apocalypse start. And that’s just off the top of my head.

(And yes I’m aware that the other characters (especially Will) are traumatized too but I will get to my point in a second just hold on)

The plot is geared towards this idea that Will and Henry have to have some big face off (and they should, in my opinion, but I don’t think it should be in a possession, or at least not the the Vecna kind of possession, yk?) but that makes it all the better, writing wise, to have mike be the one in danger. Will was helpless and hiding in s1, I think Will should get his big strong moments in s5 where he gets to be the hero of the story.

It would just be a lot more fun to work with Mike being Vecna’d than Will, because what are we going to bring up with Will’s visions? His dad? His sexuality? The events of s1 from his perspective? It would be cool to see, for sure, but we already know most of that. Mike, on the other hand, has a number of untapped things, like jumping off the quarry, why he’s so hesitant to tell El he loves her, how someone who was smart and kind enough to take El in in s1 and come up with the spy and sauna plans in s2 and s3 could turn into the oblivious asshole that he was in s3 and s4 (he needs therapy, ik, I still love his character but I want to explore the reasons he went from his s2 characterization to his s3 one)

It would be a very interesting parallel, I think, to explore Mike’s thought processes in this way, especially with all of Mike’s repression business (bc whether you ship byler or milkvan he is repressing his feelings HARD. Like, beyond his inability to say I love you there’s the fact that he doesn’t bring up the apparent many times he called pre-s4 during the Rink O Mania fight?? That literally would’ve absolved him of guilt in that argument since he WAS reaching out to Will the whole time? Hellooooo????).

Anyways, this all brings me to my main point: Vecna targets isolation as much as he targets trauma and guilt. The whole party was traumatized by the events in s1, s2, and s3, but Max was the one targeted. Plus, Henry went for Fred, Chrissy, and Patrick (I think his name was Patrick) instead of going for the perceivably easy targets that the mcs would make (ik narratively that would’ve made it more boring but shhh), so why Max and those three specifically? They were isolated. Lucas and Erica have each other, Dustin goes to Steve and Robin, Will and El have each other and Jonathan and Joyce, Nancy probably goes to Jonathan, and who does Mike go to?

No one. And don’t say Nancy because if those two have heart to hearts then I’m the next coming of Christ. Max separated herself from the Party in the aftermath of her grief and guilt over Billy, and it feels quite obvious that Mike was doing the same (like I said, he has repression issues). So Mike is traumatized, alone, and guilty (be it Will getting taken from Mike’s house, losing El in front of him multiple times, the many deaths he has witnessed, or the internalized homophobia angle), which makes him more of a target than Will, in my opinion (or at least an easier one, especially given his tendency to put himself on the line during fights (quarry, most of s2, s3 mindflayer fight), which would set him up on the suicidal ideation path)

Furthermore, as I’ve seen a few other people point out (and I can’t find the posts but one of them had eight screenshots of the various moments), Mike is always the one getting in the way, so it would be a strategic move for Henry to target him to get him out of the picture. Mike was the one that found El and got her involved in saving Will s1, he was the one who came up with the spy plan and called out the ambush in s2, he was the one to monologue Will out of his possession s2, he was the one with the sauna plan for Billy in s3, he was the one trying to help El get the strength to fight s4 (even if the monologue sucked ass it’s the intention that counts). As much as people like to hate on Mike, he is in the leader position most of the time when the party is grouped up (barring his mental health struggles slowing that down beginning of s3 and throughout s4, but he’s still capable of it). He’s the idea man, and he’s the one whose character’s foundations were built on the desire to keep his friends safe, so it would be a very fun plot line to watch him be the one targeted in s5. Like Will said, as lovestruck and cheesy as he was, Mike is the heart of the party when he’s on his A-game, so Henry should 100% be trying to keep him in the issues he’s been struggling with.

Obviously, Will and El are the Targets with a capital T for Henry since they’re the ones that got away or whatever, but I think Mike is a weakness of Will’s (and El’s tbh but also I think they need to have separate character arcs and I don’t exactly ship milkvan) that should be exploited.

TL;DR: Mike should get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5 because it would make sense in lore and be a very cool way to resolve his character arc

#wow this ended up being super long for no reason oops #I meant to stop at the first paragraph #oh well this was a lot of fun to type out at midnight haha #and I don’t see enough people talking about or exploring this concept #percy speaks #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #eleven stranger things #el hopper #vecna #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #max mayfield #byler #character analysis #stranger things analysis #byler analysis #ish #I’m a byler shipper at heart but it wasn’t the main focus sorry

[givehimthemedicine]

NINA and the magic of VHS ✨📼

I think I just figured out a big part of how NINA works. here's how Brenner is "altering" past events.

something just hit me about this footage that's been staring me in the face this whole time.

before I come to my Big Point, let me establish a few things:

the camera codes don't match

s4 keeps giving us camera POV footage that's labeled per camera. we see codes like CAM 071, CAM 039 and CAM 114.

what's weird about that? nothing, except... here are what the tape labels in the NINA library look like:

alphanumeric codes like CAM B2, CAM A5, CAM TR2. not a single one with just the three-digit numerical codes.

k, put a pin in that.

the NINA library is so spotty

Brenner tells El, "Everything that took place in my lab was captured on video tape. Every success and every failure."

but the dates we saw in that closeup are so sparse. it takes only a dozen tapes to span a month of footage leading up to the massacre (a time period you'd think they'd save every second of):

CAM B6 08-10-79 CAM B5 08-12-79 CAM A2 08-20-79 CAM B5 08-25-79 CAM TR1 09-2-79 CAM RR2 09-4-79 CAM C6 09-6-79 CAM RR1 09-6-79 CAM C4 09-7-79 CAM B5 09-7-79 CAM TR2 09-8-79

no idea what a lot of these camera codes denote, but it's not too hard to guess RR means Rainbow Room.

I can tell you off the top of my head that there are four cameras in the Rainbow Room. and one in each corner of the training rooms, at least one apiece in test rooms, bedrooms, hallways. at least one apiece in observation chambers of test rooms - otherwise the One banishment footage wouldn't exist (is that a bit odd now that I think of it?).

and that's not including the tripod cameras with which are recorded close up footage like plinko and the cat.

so, why so few dates and camera angles?

@lilly-flowerr once kindly calculated an estimate about how many VHS tapes would be produced from 100+ cameras' worth of continuous footage for the duration of the HNL program and the result was in the ballpark of several million.

tbf, Brenner never claimed this was all the footage. so I figured, likely, this library actually just houses a pared-down selection of footage relevant to the massacre.

but the problem with that idea is... consider how when we see El get NINA'd with RR footage: she's being shown four views of the room at once. that's already impossible, based on the selection we see available in the library. there aren't even four RR camera views represented on that shelf, let alone all from the same day.

pin that too.

live feeds vs playback

I thought hey, if those camera POVs had dates and everything on them, why isn't that stuff on El's NINA videos? are they hiding that data to facilitate screwing with her?!??

which, yeah. but here's the One banishment footage that Brenner watches alone. no dates on that either:

so I went to look for other times we've seen lab playback to see if there are ever dates.

Hopper checking out the pipe in season 1; Owens reviewing Will's checkup:

that's actually a plot point on the Hopper one because he decided the lab was lying to him about which night that footage was of - if the tapes showed dates onscreen, that wouldn't have been an issue.

so then I thought, ok, if that data doesn't appear on playback, it must only display on monitors showing live feeds, and that stuff doesn't actually get recorded onto it. right?

well here are some live lab feeds: El and the cat; detained Nancy and Jonathan; scientists watching Will's checkup; Owens directing Bob to safety from demodogs. no dates anywhere.

so... if there's no data on live feeds or on playback.... where ARE those dates on the NINA cameras being displayed? there's no internal viewer on those security cameras, like looking through a camcorder viewfinder, so it's not like it's merely "the camera's view" unseen by any actual entity.

so like... who's seeing that? how are we seeing that?

pin that too. I promise we're getting close.

OSD (on screen display)

quick bit of context for those who didn't grow up with VHS.

in VHS days, your video camera (if you had it configured to do so) would put the date onto your home movies. it wasn't a separate layer you could turn on/off after the fact, like DVD subtitles. if that feature was turned on while you were filming, that date was forever fused onto the footage itself. any time you ever played that tape back, you would see that date. there's no way to get rid of it.

osd however - PLAY PAUSE FFW and all that - those labels aren't fused onto the actual footage. they appear momentarily only as you navigate the tape with your VCR. DVD players do the same thing, you're probably familiar.

you can watch the osd labels appear/disappear as Joyce investigates Will's Halloween tape, while the date stays put.

they give us the live camera view of Bob (which has just the date) vs Joyce playing it back on her VCR later (which has the date and also osd). why the timestamps are different is a whoooooole other post.

so now that we're all on the same page about how dates vs. osd works on VCRs,

I'll bring you to the only time I DID find dates on lab playback:

4x6 when Brenner pops this tape in his VCR.

"who's even seeing those ?" Brenner. yeah, that's not my stunning realization. but look what we see up in the top left corner: osd. PLAY.

so here finally is my point: if PLAY appears on the screen as a result of Brenner hitting play on his VCR....

let me direct your attention to the upper left corner of that other footage:

those camera POV shots all say 🔴REC.

those aren't recordings.

they ARE recordING.

Brenner is taping these past events, live, during NINA.

"how do you explain Little El showing up in some of the camera povs? brainwash her all you want, but she would show up big on a tape being recorded in 1986."

indeed! which is why I'm not going so far as to claim Brenner is recording The Actual Past. what I do believe is that he's recording El's memories of the past, in which she is Little El.

"and how are you gonna say Brenner is able to record El's memories right out of her head with a VCR? yes this is fiction, but VHS technology isn't. c'mon."

it's not actually that far fetched! El canonically has a very similar ability - it's been swept under the rug in comparison to the glamor of telekinesis, not used since season 1, but it's well established:

she not only can hear people remotely, but also relay what only she is hearing via radio/intercom to where others can then hear it.

Brenner was filming this test on a tripod camera, which wouldn't have been affected by the cut in power that happened when El started relaying. so he walked away from this moment with a recording of something only El was able to hear.

which is exactly how NINA works. add video technology, and there ya go. if it didn't already exist in 1983, this scene was Brenner discovering the concept.

onward:

Brenner's tapes aren't the tapes El is being shown.

watch this in 4x7: he inserts this tape, hits play, and then we cut to El in NINA, watching all the monitors flash to life with footage of herself in the infirmary for her bullying concussion.

the implication from the editing is that this particular VHS yields that particular footage for El to watch, but that's a false assumption they want us to make.

first, playing one VHS doesn't result in several screens with different footage rolling all at once. one VHS only holds one camera feed. all NINA's monitors can't be fed by one VCR.

second, "Infirmary" would most likely be abbreviated "I" or "IR". the tape he played said CAM TR2, which could stand for either Training Room or Test Room. El experiences 9/8/79 "memories" of both, so I'm not sure which this would be. regardless, it's not Infirmary.

third, as we've covered before, all the lab footage El is shown inside NINA is devoid of dates and cam codes. that's not characteristic of the tape we saw Brenner play in his VCR.

fourth, as we also covered before, not all the camera angles El's seeing are even represented on that shelf of massacre-month tapes.

so Brenner may indeed have captured everything in his lab on video tape, but the VHS library we and El are shown while he says that? pretty sure that's NOT what these tapes are.

it's implied that he's popping tapes into his VCR at the same time El's off in her memories. but if it's not for the purpose of showing them to her.... what is he doing with his?

"but nat, his finger hit play, not record."

well they're not gonna SHOW us him hitting record or we'd guess!

he's hitting play to get the tape queued up to the right spot to record on, which you gotta do with a VHS or else you could overwrite something important that's already on there.

if Brenner is recording whatever El is seeing, wouldn't that help explain:

the varying appearance of El as both big and little within the camera povs. at this moment, El is big because she's aware she's her current self (she's fully conversing with Brenner). this is definitely not really past footage, because it's not like Little El stood up on a chair and yelled into a camera in 1979. after this point though, she accepts what's going on and submits to the "memories" in which she is little, so she's seeing herself as little, so from then on she appears as Little El on the fresh tapes.

the different camera labeling within NINA and its library of tapes - they need to differentiate between old/real/fake/new camera views.

the sparsity of the VHS library - maybe only key moments need to be overwritten

this camera-yelling moment actually is a potential match for one of the tapes on the shelf. it's Sept 4, 1979, and it's in the Rainbow Room. CAM 071 09/04/79 could be the overwriting of CAM RR2 09-4-79. on the other hand, if that were true I'd expect to also see 09-4-79 training room and hallway footage to match those other povs we saw, and I don't, so idk.

the light circle game is the only NINA footage we ever get to see both live camera POV and playback of (although it's not actually the same moment, the dates and cams are different). the numeric camera code on both of these is part of my support for the numeric camera codes representing new footage.

regarding the date and cam code being different on those two bits of nearly identical footage…. what if I... plugged this into Multiplayer NINA theory real quick and said that maybe CAM 126 is fake-old footage that's been more recently rerecorded in someone else's NINA? that maybe that's what's on all of Brenner's tapes before he records El's new stuff onto them?

so here's my current thinking of how NINA works:

decide how you wish El remembered an event and compile cherrypicked real footage and/or staged footage supporting your version of events.

manipulate and gaslight El so that she doubts the veracity of her own memories.

drug her and throw her in a sensory deprivation tank where your selected footage clockwork-oranges her into "fully re-experiencing" your version of events.

presto! the most powerful person in the world now believes your version of events is true because she genuinely remembers it.

by means of El's electronic relay abilities (induced with a buttload of drugs), these false memories that only El is seeing, inside her mind, are displayed for all to see on monitor in NINA's control room.

pop a plain old tape into a plain old VCR and hit record, capturing whatever's on the monitor.

presto! now you have irrefutable original video footage of a past event that never happened.

now you can show that proof to someone else - the government, the media.... or perhaps more importantly another NINA subject, as an ingredient in your tampering with their memories.

so. I can't prove the ol' MindFucker4000 is also a time machine, not in this post, but I do still feel like there's time stuff involved as well. because I can't think of a way right now to claim that recording someone's manipulated memory of the past actually changes that past, meddles with timelines, etc.

can you? I don't have all the nuts and bolts ironed out, but I welcome your thoughts while mine gel!

#long but I promise this is worth reading #the Henward / Victor memory tampering implications. #I know it sounds crazy it IS crazy.wav #analysis #givehimthemedicine analysis #mine #this post aged me #lab stuff #nina stuff

[mother-of-houseplants-2]

thoughts on the gallagher siblings’ relationships with fiona

and what specific and nuanced role she takes on in their lives—mother, sister, or something in between.

special thanks to @aceyanaheim for not only listening to me ramble on and on about my silly little gallagher siblings thoughts, but also for sharing so many insightful and poignant ideas themselves on the matter. thanks so much for the brain worms! <3

lip

lip’s relationship with his sister is complicated. they’re only four years apart in age, so he’s a little more conscious of fiona’s situation than the other kids.

he doesn’t see it all—fi keeps her struggles a little too under wraps for that—but he knows what she’s had to sacrifice to take care of them all (“i stole so fiona didn’t have to work a third job to cover the bills” s11). he knows how alone she feels (“you’re not supermom; you don’t have to do it all yourself” s3). he knows she struggles (seeing her cry over the sticks and skates job in s1). he knows what she’s lost in the process (“you called her mom” s1). he knows that the kids aren't fair to her a lot of the time ("we've taken you for granted. i know i have" s4).

but as much as lip sees what fiona goes through, as much as he picks up jobs to help out with the bills, as much as he takes care of the little ones, he’s still a kid in need of a mother figure. he still leans on fiona, hard.

all of s2, lip struggles with seeing fiona as a sister vs. a mother. he wants independence, he wants to follow his own plans in life, and he doesn’t want anyone to stop him—in his mind, who’s fiona to tell him what to do? he can drop out if he wants to. he’s done one more year than her! she can’t make him go. she can’t. she’s not his mom.

but, well, isn’t she? he’s still a kid who messed up and needs help. he’s still a boy who can’t go it all alone. he’s still a sixteen year old child who finally comes home and gives his big sister a hug because, despite all his big talk, he needs her. he does. and fiona loves him more than anything. she just wants what’s best for him, even if she struggles to express it in a manner that doesn’t push him away.

lip doesn’t want to call fiona “mom” (s3) but he’s okay with her taking guardianship. and why wouldn’t he be? she’s done the job his whole life. and he sees that.

the problem is that lip, as much as he wants to be independent of fiona, as much as he wants to see her as a sister and not a mom, he can’t help but to idealize her. he still craves for the perfect mom in his head that never messes up and always takes care of them, and since monica for sure was never going to be that mom, he’s superimposed that desire over fiona. but that version of her doesn’t exist. that version of any mother doesn’t exist. mothers are human. they mess up. they make mistakes. even if no one wants them to.

so when fiona messes up (s3 with the club money, s4 with liam, s8 with the apartment, s9 with the drinking) it’s unthinkable to him. he’s furious with her—rightfully so, she did mess up—but he’s disproportionately angry because she was supposed to be their mom! she was supposed to be good and never fuck up and always take care of them! so when she breaks that image of perfection in his head, it shatters his trust in her, somewhat unfairly so.

fiona’s not allowed to mess up. she can’t. she’s not supposed to. she’s supposed to be the one taking care of everyone, not in need of care herself. lip is understanding and gentle and supportive when it’s ian or debbie or carl, and fiona’s the same with him, but when fiona’s spiraling into addiction and her life is falling apart, he’s all tough love. maybe it terrifies him.

when she leaves, it’s obviously sad. but he’s grown by then to know that she’s her own person, not just a mother figure to them all. it’s hard. but he’s at that point that everyone comes to in life when they realize their parents are individuals with their own lives and hopes and dreams. and he lets her go.

at the end of the day, a huge part of lip’s relationships with fiona is his eternal struggle between wanting independence and wanting a mom—and not just any mom, but a mom he can trust and love and depend on. that mom is fiona, even when she fucks up.

ian

ian was fiona’s first baby. he was the first child she really, truly raised—lip was always her boy, but he was also her second-in-command, blurring the lines between brother and son, working together with her to take care of the others—while ian was the first baby she was all on her own for. the “we were living in a car once…” speech in s3 makes that clear.

in the early seasons, it’s clear that ian defers to fiona quite a bit. he listens to her, seeks her out for comfort, respects her word like that of a mother. fiona calls him sweetface, expresses maternal affection with him, and he is receptive of it all in that long-suffering way older teens tend to be with their moms. their relationship is more mother-son than anything else.

but at the same time, he's still marginally aware of her struggles, too, just like lip; the conversation he has with his brother in s3 when fi tries to get guardianship ("she's only twenty-two!") makes it clear that he worries for her, doesn't want her to take on a terrible burden for them. so it's clear that, though he does see fiona in a maternal light, he isn't blind to her reality.

this all changes, however, when ian starts to grow up and want independence and freedom. fiona tries to give him this in s4 when he joins the army, even though it doesn't work out. and in s5, when he is finally forced to confront his own struggles with mental illness and deal with his bipolar disorder, he starts to bond more with monica.

now, this is understandable, seeing as they share the same mood disorder and he feels connected to her through their similar struggles. at first, he actually resents being compared to her ("i'm not fucking monica" s5), but the more they communicate and bond (s7), the more he comes to care for her.

s8 shows ian genuinely mourning his mother (getting sentimental over her meth, getting a tattoo for her), and the other gallaghers don't really understand it, which upsets him; in his mind, that's their mom! why aren't they upset too? i think it's lost on ian that no one else in the family ever had the same connection with monica that he did. she bonded with him; she didn't do the same for the others before her repeated abandonment.

so ian starts to see monica as "mom." where does that leave fiona?

i think this truly marks the final shift of their relationship from parent-child to siblings. especially when looking at s8, where they're fighting over the church. in 'occupy fiona,' ian is furious with her perceived selfishness, and screams at her when she attempts her typical motherly nagging in the form of asking him if he's taking his meds. which, fair; that must be frustrating to hear. but this makes it clear that they're on two separate pages: fiona still sees him as a son. ian sees him as a sister.

but fiona's seeking independence, too. she's seeking an identity that is distinct from her role as caretaker. it isn't just ian growing apart from his sister that's shifted their relationship so dramatically; both characters seek an escape from their family and a life where they can be independent and all grown-up. and in a typical parent-child relationship, only one side of the equation feels those growing pains. in this situation, it's both.

of course, no matter how much they grow apart and hurt each other, they still adore one another. ian's the one fiona goes to for advice about leaving in s9, after all. he's the one who urges her to go and save herself from another lifetime of gallagher chaos. so really, the change in their relationship doesn't destroy their bond; it just alters it a little.

debbie

debbie had, i think, one of the most tumultuous relationships with her sister. as a little girl, she definitely saw fiona as a mother figure, and was very attached to her, almost subconsciously so. the "i wanna stay with fiona" from s1, the way she sought her out for comfort after monica's suicide attempt in s2, the terror she felt at being separated from her after dcfs got involved in s3—it all makes it very clear that little debbie very much saw fiona as her mom.

she still had some understanding of her sister's struggles—"fiona takes care of everyone, but who takes care of fiona?" (s1)—but she was still a little girl and fiona was still her mom.

and then monica came crashing back into their lives. debbie very reluctantly accepted her in, hugging her at sheila's and allowing her to buy her dolls (even though she didn't play with them anymore!) just to humor her mother's attempts to build a relationship. so, as much as debbie unconsciously saw fiona as a mother figure, she still always had this craving for monica—her real mom.

it makes me think of debbie's assertion to sheila in s1 that if monica ever came back and apologized, she'd "forgive her in a heartbeat. because she's [debbie's] mom." she was still a little girl hanging onto the dream that her mom will come home and love her and take care of her. and she barely realized that she'd found someone else to fill in the gap monica left behind, but it's just not the same. she still wants her real mom.

season 4 marks the shift of debbie's character from seeing fiona as a mom to seeing her as a sister—or, at least, wanting to see her as a sister. like ian, she was desperate for independence. she was being peer pressured by girls at school, she was interested in boys, she didn't want to be seen or treated like a baby anymore. she was fed up with fiona still treating her like she's her daughter because she's not. she doesn't want to be.

and anyway, fiona was busy with her new job at the cup company and her new boyfriend mike. she wasn't around all the time anymore. sheila'd been babysitting more and more. debbie was the one taking liam to and from head start. she felt abandoned, alone, with fiona not around as much as before.

she sought comfort in sammi. she found purpose in her friends, in boys. it's a very knee-jerk teenage-girl reaction: to find connection in others when you're mad at your mom. but for debbie, she wasn't just shifting away from fiona as a daughter growing distant from her mom, she was shifting away from the idea of fiona as her mom in the first place.

and then, of course, franny happened and drove a terrible wedge between them both. debbie grappled with her identity as a mother. she rejected fiona's help and advice in favor of her quest for independence. monica returned, made her feel like debbie's a good mom. frank supported her. and debbie was in a position where she had both her parents on her side—her real parents—while fiona opposed her. this, i think, solidified fiona in her mind as her sister. not her mother figure anymore.

don't get me wrong; fiona was in the right opposing her at this time. debbie's pregnancy was a stupid idea. it really did ruin her life and her character overall, and it was unfair of debbie to expect fiona's support in that situation. fiona was being a good mother by telling her she was making a mistake. she still saw debbie as her little girl. debbie's the one who didn't accept that anymore.

after debbie and fiona made up later in the show, they settled into a true sister-sister relationship. debbie came to see fiona at her worst ("she broke her wrist, she's nonstop ugly crying" s9) and tried to take care of her, while fiona still tried to resist the flipping of their roles ("i'm fine. i'm fine." s9). debbie fucked up ford for her that season. got angry and protective on her behalf.

and when fiona left at the end of the season, she left as debbie's sister. no longer her mom. at least, not from debbie's perspective anymore.

carl

carl's relationship with fiona, i believe, was one of the least complicated and most wholesome ones on the show. carl absolutely saw fiona as a mom in the early seasons, without a doubt. he listened to her even when he didn't want to, like a little boy to his mother ("did you brush your teeth? carl?" "yes, ugh!!!!" s1), reluctantly learned lessons from her ("privacy's important" s2), looked to her for permission for things (glancing at her when monica asked him to pass the salad in s1 and only doing it when fiona nodded yes), and sought her out for comfort after monica's suicide attempt (s3).

carl's the only one i can vividly remember saying he loves his sister ("'night, fiona, love you" s1) or thanking her for what she's done for them all ("thanks for being a great sister" s3). at least when he was little, fiona was without a doubt his mom.

it certainly helps that he never really bonded with monica. she left when he was too little to start seeing her as a mom, and every time she returned, she never really took the time to get to know him or connect with him. but carl did briefly bond with frank (the fake cancer arc in s3, "i'm shaving your head to let the sun rays in"), and was the only one who cared about him potentially dying in season four, tending to him in the hospital when no one else did.

season four is when he, like debbie, starts to rebel against fiona's parenting. he's angry and sad and mean and it all comes out in the form of sharp words and beating up kids at school and getting into all kinds of trouble. he's mad at fiona for not caring about frank, but he's also just mad at the world—understandly so. he's fourteen.

the trouble continues well into season 6. carl gets mixed up with g-doggg, starts selling drugs. frank helps him get into the drug world, but he gets caught. he goes to juvie, comes back a little harder, a little meaner. sells harder stuff, sells guns. the whole time, he's established a sort of distance from fiona, because he's too cool for deep, vulnerable relationships, or so he thinks. and the whole time, fiona continues to love him, tries to connect with him, attempts to open his eyes and make him realize how dangerous what he's doing is, but he's determined to be his own man, to earn the respect of his buddies. he feels like frank's the only one who understands.

but then he gets hurt and scared. he sees someone die. he wants out. and frank—who he hasn't like, loved, per-say, but has at least trusted and established some sort of camaraderie with through their shared misdeeds—betrays him, scares the shit out of him with his anger and disappointment. and who does carl have to fall back on but fiona?

fiona tells him she's proud of him. she and sean help him get out of the drug world. their relationship is finally rekindled. and it's around his time when carl overhears fiona cry to sean about being exhausted and scared about losing the house (s6). and it terrifies him, because here's his strong big sister, the woman who raised him, young and vulnerable and afraid. and he steps up and gives her the money to buy back the house. he's there for her. he's being a good man.

from then on, carl shapes up and his character is on track to make something better of himself. he takes on some form of responsibility, denounces his father, and goes to military school. and fiona's so fucking proud of her boy. because he is her boy—always will be, no matter how much he tries to be a strong, independent, grown-up.

when he comes home in s7, he's grown to be a kind, goodhearted, respectful young man. he doesn't refuse her hugs and kisses. he admits—though with some hesitation—that "you were right, fiona! and we were so fucking wrong!" in s8. and when monica dies, he's... conflicted. but he's okay. because fiona was always his mom, anyway. and that never changed.

liam

liam has never known any parent other than fiona.

sure, lip helped a great deal with taking care of him and raising him, and, much later, he bonded quite a bit with frank. and his relationship with most of his siblings is very parental at its core—he’s the baby, after all, and all of his siblings had a hand in raising him.

but fiona was the one who fed and changed and cared for him his whole life. took him to work with her as a baby (s1). dealt with his hair when he had lice (s6). stood up for him against anyone who dared to hurt him (s9). it was always her, really, in the end. it was only her.

liam was just a baby when monica left. and he was—what, 6?—when she died. there are a few times when she randomly returns when they spent time together, but he doesn’t even really remember her because he was too little. he’s never known a mother other than fi. she’s the only one that matters, really.

i’m still upset that she didn’t take liam with her when she left in s9, and that we didn’t see them stay in contact throughout the remainder of the show. obviously, this was just because emmy rossum left, so it’s just a reflection of the writers working around their situations, but it just felt heartbreakingly unrealistic to me.

they loved each other so much. that was her son, her little boy, her baby bear. she was his mom. no two ways about it.

it wasn't until after fiona distanced herself from the family and then left that liam and frank grew close. frank got him into private school (s8), recruited liam to steal from his rich friends (s8/9), and liam, in turn, made it his mission to take care of frank when his health started declining and his mind started deteriorating to his alcholic dementia (s10/11). part of that connection was absolutely due to liam's bigheartedness; he's such a good, loving kid, with so much forgiveness and love to give to people.

i also wonder if a part of that connection resulted from the desire for parental love and affection. liam's smart enough to know that frank will never care for him the way fiona did, but he seems at peace with his father's shortcomings. he wants a relationship with him anyway.

regardless of the reasoning, liam was so loved by his family and his parental figures—both fiona and frank.

in conclusion

i think, from fiona's perspective, she was always the kids' mom ("my siblings are my kids" s9), even though at times her relationship with them blurred the lines between maternal and sisterly. but from the kids' points of view, she was always a very complicated figure in their lives.

the gallagher siblings' complex relationships with their sister are really at the heart of the show; she is the matriarch, the thing holding everyone together, after all. not all the kids had easy connections to her. many of them grappled with their vision of her as a mother vs. a sister. but that doesn't erase what she did for them.

she still raised them. she still cared for them, mothered them. as messy as their relationships were a great deal of the time, she was the best parent those kids ever fucking had. she was their mother through and through, and that is what made shameless truly, unabashedly, shameless.

#shameless #fiona gallagher #fiona and her kids #gallagher siblings #this is long af sorry i'm insane #this is so unhinged holy shit #long ass list of thoughts about how the gallaghers see fiona #and the complexity of their relationships with her #parentification #parentified child #older sister #mommy issues #oof #fiona i love you #thank you @aceyanaheim you are the best #shameless meta #fiona and liam #fiona and carl #fiona and debbie #fiona and ian #fiona and lip

[chirpsythismorning]

Lets talk about Appendix #7

I won't be the first (nor the last) to admit that I’ve only ever paid super close attention to the Russia scenes during my major s4 rewatches (like 4x total). Those just don’t tend to be the scenes I rewatch looking for Easter eggs as regularly as I do with others. Though, I can say confidently now that this will not be the case anymore.

As I’ve said recently, the scenes that come off as unnecessary filler, are likely the ones hiding something deeper underneath the surface. Otherwise, why put any time into scenes that have no importance, beyond just to fill the running time? Especially in s4 when the episodes were really long and they could have easily cut out scenes if they weren't that important to the overall plot.

The reason they do this is because they can rest comfortably knowing that a vast majority of the audience will overlook these scenes, even call them pointless and boring (and they can laugh knowing they couldn't be more wrong). A vast majority of fans felt that way about the Russia plot, but even the Cali plot had a decent amount of viewers saying they were worthless all season with no importance to the overall story. And we all know that wasn’t actually the case. And so why would that be any different for the Russia plot?

And this scene right here, which I completely forgot existed (so pardon me if someone has talked about this before, because I've never seen any discourse on it), I only just remembered existed because of the Piggyback script dropping for the Emmy's.

I just want to preface that I'm being so so serious right now when I say this scene is very incriminating for Mike. Even down to the way it ends. It’s bad.

And by bad I mean holy shit they are sick for potentially hiding the truth in plain sight.

For context, in this scene, Yuri represents Mike & let’s say Dmitri represents the skeptical majority, who have been confused by Mike’s behavior for the last two seasons.

A lot to unpack here.

But first I want to give a disclaimer that Yuri is not literally Mike, nor are ALL of Yuri’s scenes meant to be about Mike.

It just so happens that Mike has a unique trend of his POV being missing from the overarching narrative. And how they play with that sometimes, is by strategically displaying his POV through other characters.

You might think I'm crazy, but this has happened quite a bit. The most well recognized example of this would be with Hopper at the end of s3 with the letter.

A less well known example would be with Argyle in s4. Again not all the time, but there are a couple specific moments that come to mind, where it feels like they are hinting at Mike’s inner feelings, by having Argyle display things Mike cannot express to the audience yet.

I always thought it was weird they decided to put Mike and Argyle in almost identical hats in the airport scene. Though, it makes a lot more sense when you see Argyle call him a shitty knock off, only to watch the whole group walking through the airport, with Mike to the left of El and Argyle to the left of Will.

Mike may be standing beside El with them looking like a happy couple, but he’s actually distracted and hyperfocused on Will. And so how they reference that, is by placing Argyle standing close beside Will, sort of mirroring the blocking of Mike and El. In Argyle’s case, he is not putting on a fake smile, instead he looks almost emotionless about what's unfolding. The blocking there definitely feels intentional, as it could be the writers way of showing us where Mike's head is truly at, aka focused on Will.

The other major example I can think of (there's not too many from what I've seen, but these two definitely stand out) is at the end of s4 when the boys arrive at Nina to rescue El. We've talked about how the explosion behind Mike as he was looking between El and Will, is representative of the extreme mix of emotions he is feeling at that moment. But no one has ever talked about Argyle's reaction in that scene. Knowing what the explosion represents, I think we should consider what Argyle’s reaction to the explosion itself might represent as well.

First, Argyle interferes with the Milkvan reunion, standing in the frame behind Mike, with his hands on his head looking at the fire blazing with stress.

But it gets even more dramatic than that, when El and Will are hugging, that's when Argyle really starts freaking out, OH SHIT AW SHIT, pacing back and forth.

By doing stuff like this, they can hide hidden meanings. It also just makes it a whole lot easier to come up with ideas for scenes. Because when they have a big component that is underneath the surface, they can build anything around that, as opposed to coming up with a bunch of ideas fresh on the spot, without any reason for it.

Which is why, tbh whenever I hear someone say it's not that deep, when referring to basic filming techniques of playing with POV, I'm just sitting there thinking, do these people not know how much easier it is for artists, when it is that deep? It’s sooo much easier (and gratifying).

But back to this scene with Yuri and Dmitri.

Yuri seems to be doing a lot also while doing very little reminds me a lot of Mike's method of boyfriendism at the start of 4x02. He brings El flowers, he's got a whole inspired Cali fit, he's feening happiness the whole time, holding her hand and skating together. He's basically giving off this vibe that he's going above and beyond, when really, we know that despite all those little things, he's not doing the one thing El wants him to do, which is to say I love you.

This scene in the piggyback script initially stood out to me because of the word stalling. And this is because whenever I talk about Mike’s behavior in s3, but especially in s4, with him repeatedly putting off saying I love you to El numerous timed, I often use the word stalling to describe it.

In his letters, he avoids it. In the flowers, he avoids it on the note. When she confronts him during their fight, he deflects, and makes a point to struggle using the word care instead. Even when she's literally crying he still can't muster it. When she's getting taken by the cops, he still doesn't think to say it, even now when things are so bad and it might have given her at least some comfort. When they're separated Mike, gets reassurance from Will that he can just say it to her when they reunite, though Mike doesn't look too excited about saying it. Then not even a day later (during the Letter to Willy scene), Mike tells Will he didn't know what to say to El, even though we all know it only would have only required those 3 famous words... And then him and El are reuniting and he still doesn't say it. And then they're in surfer boy and they get interrupted, but tbh the lead up to it felt super disingenuous anyways, with him looking like he was about to say something out of obligation and not because he wanted to say it. And then the literal moment that she is choking, he stalls, until Will encourages him, and then even still then, they make a point to put dramatic beat right before, and only THEN is that when Mike finally says it.! (And all of that isn’t even including the stalling he does in s3).

Basically, Mike is the king of stalling, but especially in s4 and the Piggyback specifically, bc stalling is what has led to this grand moment of Mike quite literally having no option to stall anymore.

And so stalling being used in this conversation with Yuri and Dmitri instantly peaked my interest. I barely remembered the scene from the show and yet the instant I did, I just knew what was about to go down was something related to Mike, that we wouldn't otherwise get insight on bc we don't have his POV right now.

In contrast to the episode, the script has Yuri admitting to stalling. He doesn't seem to have remorse about it at first, he actually seems kind of like he's willing to admit it because it's the truth. Then we get a Ronald Reagan mention from Yuri, followed by him spitting with disgust, which was not included in the final cut... still sort of an off moment, considering the very few Reagan mentions we've gotten in the series, it's been through the presidential campaign sign in front of the Wheeler's house in s2 most.

But now, this is where it starts to get a little scary in terms of what Mike could be thinking. I don't know how I feel about it because it's a scary concept.

You saw it with your own eyes. You know it to be true. And yet you continue to play tricks.

This could mean one of two things, or maybe even a mix of both...

It could mean that Mike knows El doesn't need him despite her begging for him to say the words I love you (he saw it with his own eyes?), but he isn't willing to accept it. He knows his feelings deep down will never change (he doesn’t love El), making his and El's separation inevitable (also reminds me of the suicide mission comment from Yuri...). He is fixated on this idea of her needing him and if not, losing her all together, instead of what El was actually upset about, which was not being loved.

Or it could (also) mean Mike understood Will in the van. He saw it with his own eyes aka the painting, he knew it was apparently for a girl Will liked, but it ended up actually being for him. And he seemed very happy about this as a revelation, up until Will mentioned it was actually from El. Not only that, but what followed was Will monologuing about feelings that matched closer to what Mike and Will had went through over the past year, not him and El. And so Mike realizes in this moment that Will does return his feelings for him, but he isn't willing to confront it aka he chooses to play tricks instead. He saw Will crying, yet he didn't confront it nor comfort him, and I think it’s at the very least bc Will crying that hard would have definitely caused Mike to start crying himself.

I also want to add that I think supports this sort of unraveling of Mike having different assumptions about the painting at different times. Because it appears in the hospital scene with Max, based on the blocking of Will, Mike, and El according to the painting on the wall in the background, that before this moment, he may very well have assumed the painting was from Will. But upon finding out El saving Max was a miracle, the painting shifts and is suddenly behind El.

I think that’s the main issue with deciding definitely one way or another how Mike interprets what’s going down. Because arguably, his feelings about the situation could actually be evolving based on the events around him unfolding.

Now let’s move on to the Peanut Butter Smuggler line. They use this to sort of make a reference to a past version of Yuri who was revered, and irrefutably considered a hero by many’ aka the mainstream ‘I miss s1-2 Mike Wheeler’ core.

And last but definitely, almost certainly not least, they show us Yuri reaching in his coat's inner chest pocket, to pull out the reason for the issue that was causing the stalling…

And that in the context of lettergate and even pocketgate, is pretty insane.

I also noticed a lot of scenes end with 'as...' in the scripts, as it's sort of their way to emulate the smooth transitions between scenes in words. While the scene directly after this is of Max and Lucas, the scene directly after that is Mike and El in Surfer Boy, right before they eat the pineapple pizza.

'Uncertain as...' Uncertain as who?!?!?! Max uncertain about the plan she herself insisted they do? Perhaps. Or what about Mike who is very much uncertain in all of his stalling glory, not even two scenes later, after they literally just acknowledged Yuri's stalling…

A lot of the pieces are there for this to play out, so I don't really think it's a reach anymore when you really start to add it all up.

Letter to Willy is a major proof that this is important. Although Mike ‘We’ve had it this whole time’ Wheeler was referring to a pen in that moment, the pen also came from secret hero agent man’s pocket, with the number (answer) being hidden inside, and with Mike’s shirt being off in that scene, though still in the frame in the right corner.

And then there’s the whole transition from Mike in Hawkins to the mailmain in Lenora in 4x01, DONT you worry Mrs Byers, it’s coming!!

If you want to know what I think personally. I don't know....

I do feel like what would make it super easy for everyone to figure out what's going on with Mike, is for us to finally read a letter from him, and with it ending with love Mike... Like it would just be that easy. Literally all of the contents could even be written off as a friend missing his friend platonically and really struggling bc he can't reach him, with him opening up about things that we already suspected, but that he hasn't said out loud. And then by simply ending it with love Mike, the case would be closed.

It would also perhaps explain Mike's inablity to write love to El in their letters. You’d think there had to have been something that made him overthink not doing that in the first place? And arguably, him having done it for Will when he tried to write a letter(s) to him, only to end it with love, followed by panicking and making the choice to never write Will a letter and instead focus on sending them to El (bc she’s his gf) it sort of starts to add up.

I also think I have a theory for when this letter will come into play in s5.

In the flashback of Suzie getting her computer taken by her dad, the last shot is of her night stand, which has a letter from Dustin, with a watch laying on top of it, also accompanied by an alarm clock that reads 5:02… I think it’s possible we could get lettergate being addressed as early as the second episode of s5. And with all the time/clock imagery surrounding it, there’s a good chance the cliffhanger of that episode could send us straight to the time jump…

Just a theory for now based on a lot of piling evidence. But it’s all very incriminating for Mike…

#byler #stranger things #mike wheeler #stranger things theory #lettergate #pocketgate #byler theory

[eddie-sweetheart]

Spare me! - Part 2

You and Eddie have a crush on each other, but it takes Murray Bauman to make it embarrassingly clear.

✨ Part 1 ✨

Tropes: Eddie Munson x Henderson female reader, fluff, Murray exposing your feelings, forced proximity, a very soft Eddie.

Warnings: Mention and/or depiction of fighting and wounds, kissing, teeny-tiny diversion from the show’s timeline (this one’s more about the concept than the overall S4 plot😉).

Word count: 3.8k

Author’s notes: Here's part 2, kindly (and unexpectedly!) requested by an anon 🤍 I hope it makes as much sense as part 1 did - there were many types of dynamics that I could go for, but I let the inspiration flow and did my best! Hope you like it!

🌹 Masterlist 🌹

When you open up your eyes again, it feels like you haven’t slept for more than ten minutes. 

As your eyelids flicker open and you try to make sense of the shapes and shadows in the still pitch-dark guest room at Murray’s place, you catch a glimpse of a digital clock on a shelf across from the bed, whose green blinking leds reveal to you that it’s 7 am. Which means that those ten minutes of sleep have actually been 3 hours - not that it makes any relevant difference, anyways: you still feel like a bundle of exhaustion.

You attempt to move and stir your tired limbs under the blanket, but you soon realize two things. First, that the thrill of being on the run won’t let you rest any longer, so you give up on closing your eyes again as your mind starts coming out of its drowsy daze; second, that you actually cannot move.

Something is keeping you stuck, and at first you’re still too sleepy to make sense of what it is - however, as the sudden fluttering in your heart and the butterflies in your stomach are quick to remind you, it doesn’t take much for you to find out that it’s Eddie. 

The memories of last night’s confession and kiss flood your mind, as you realize that your bodies are entangled in the same embrace that saw you fall asleep - his long legs twisted around yours, one of his arms slung over your chest with his hand placed on your waist, his warm skin against yours under the thick cotton of the sweatshirt you’re wearing. You can feel his other arm under your neck and his fingers buried deep in your hair. His face, instead, is nuzzled against your temple, his deep breaths regularly fanning over your forehead, paired with the soft sound of his light snoring.  

You lie like that for a while, staring at the ceiling and just basking in happiness at the thought that just a few hours ago one of your most secret wishes magically turned into reality. It feels surreal to be this ecstatic in such a tragic time - with the Upside Down seeping back into Hawkins, a new monster on the hunt for your friends and the whole town looking for Eddie with (not so) metaphorical pitchforks. But you allow yourself a few more minutes of motionless bliss, feeling Eddie’s presence as it ignites every inner part of you with his sleepy touch. 

When the clock flashes to 7:30 am, you decide that it’s best to get up and start getting ready to leave. You have time, sure, but you’ll need to walk for a while and even if Eddie has recovered a bit he won’t be as fast as he was before his close encounter with Jason’s crew.

With a reluctant sigh, you attempt to move a leg. You manage to untangle it from Eddie’s, so you try to wiggle out of his grasp with caution, unwilling to wake him up as he’ll need all the rest he can get. However, as soon as you start moving away from him, a low “mhm” escapes his lips as his arms softly tighten around your body, causing you to smile in the dark. 

You go for a second attempt, but it proves to be an impossible task: Eddie grunts a bit louder and moves his head to bury it against your neck, taking a deep breath in before muttering something with a raspy voice. 

“What was that?” You whisper, stroking his tangled hair away from his only exposed cheek, your fingers brushing against the polka dot bandaid you placed on him last night. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Eddie repeats, his lips tickling your skin as he speaks while his hand moves up your side in the gentlest caress ever. 

“I’m getting up, Eddie” you reply, wishing with all your heart that you could stay in that bed forever. “I’m going to make breakfast for us and Murray, get our stuff and get ready to leave. But you can rest a bit more”.

Eddie hums, bringing you even closer to him as his eyes finally flutter open - you can’t see them, but you know they are because you can feel his eyelashes grazing your cheek. 

“I’ve just managed to score the most perfect elvish princess in the whole of Middle Earth and she’s already leaving me” he mumbles, his lips smirking against your skin as he plants a soft kiss on your jaw. “It does really take a little to go from Eddie the Banished to Eddie the Forsaken”. 

You chuckle, softly bumping him with your arm  - he matches your laugh, but he cannot hide the hiss of pain that escapes him as your elbow meets his side. 

“Shit, I’m sorry Eddie” you blurt out, fully turning your body towards him to gently stroke the spot you’ve just hit. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart” he replies, nudging his nose against yours. “You could kiss me better, though”.

“God, you’re shameless” you breathe out as you go ahead and, indeed, kiss him. As your lips crash against Eddie’s, you feel every inch of your body light up like Christmas lights. The darkness of the room heightens your senses and you can feel him everywhere - his fingers sneaking under your shirt, his hair tickling your face, his chest breathing heavily under the palms of your hands, his teeth slightly pulling at your lower lip and your breaths mixing up and slowly turning into low moans. It’s a totalizing whirlwind of emotions, and you would die to tear every piece of clothing off of your bodies to feel him even closer - but more pressing matters come back to your mind and you find yourself eventually pulling away from him. 

Eddie sighs deeply as he unwillingly loosens his embrace to let you sit up. “I wish we could stay like this all day” he whispers, nervously running one hand up his face and through his hair. “The thought of going out there again makes me feel like shit”. 

You reach out to him in the dim light of the room, your fingers intertwining with his as the first faint sun rays start filtering through the thick blinds in the window. “Let’s make a deal” you propose. “As soon as we sort this Vecna thing out, you’re taking me out on a date. We can have dinner, if you want - there’s a nice Italian restaurant downtown that I’ve been wanting to try for a while. Or, we can have a milkshake at the diner. Your choice”. 

Eddie’s grin is so bright that it outshines the sunrise seeping into the room. 

“But,” you continue, matching his smile with a gentle curve of your lips, “in order to go to this date, we need you to be safe and alive. And with your name cleared, possibly”.

“Wouldn’t want the whole Hawkins police department to swarm Enzo’s while I’m pouring you some red wine and feeding you a breadstick, right?” Eddie jokes, the scenario he’s just described causing butterflies to make another appearance in your stomach.

“Yeah” you reply, leaning down to peck the tip of his nose before getting off the bed, “I might get offended if you leave me mid-date. Not very gentleman-like, to be honest”.

Eddie clutches his chest theatrically. “Y/n” he exclaims under his breath, “I would never”.

You manage to repress your laugh as you head towards the door. “I’ll take you up on that, then” you say, pointing a finger at him, “and don’t forget the flowers”. 

As you place your hand on the doorknob, however, a feeling of discomfort suddenly hits you, making the playful confidence that you so naturally developed overnight with Eddie waver at the thought of what the consequences of this change in your relationship could bring.

It’s not that you are ashamed of being with Eddie - on the contrary, it feels otherworldly that he actually returns your feelings, and you can’t be happier at the thought of eventually letting your friends know about… whatever this is, or whatever this can turn into. But for a split second, you wonder if these feelings between the two of you could turn into a double-edged sword, hanging over your necks as long as Eddie’s a wanted man.

And just like that, it clicks. You realize that you’ve lived these past few hours into what is nothing but a frail bubble of happiness and renewed hope, hidden under the guise of Murray’s guest room, and that right outside that door and into the real world everything is going to be exactly as it was before you went to sleep. Moreover, you now fear that if anyone else found out about your feelings, they could use them as a weapon, or use you as bait, to hurt Eddie. And you really can’t and don’t want to let it happen.

“Uhm, Eddie?” You whisper, suddenly coming out of your train of thoughts.

“Yes, sweetheart?” He asks, making the mattress creak as he moves to get up as well, a hint of worry in his voice as he catches the change in your tone.

“Maybe you should wait a bit before coming in there” you slowly explain, “like, count to one hundred or something. I don’t know if Murray’s up already, but I think that it’s better if he doesn’t, uh… suspect anything, for now. And the others, as well. For our safety, of course” you’re quick to add with a reassuring smile as you notice his expression saddening a bit, “I think that we should be very careful about our next moves. Keep our cards close to ourselves, not giving anyone anything to hold over us until we’re sure you’re safe”.

Eddie nods slowly, scratching his temple. “Uh, yeah” he agrees, “It, uhm - it makes sense. So we should, like, pretend that everything is… the same, right?”

“I think so, yes” you reply, “until we figure out what’s next”.

Eddie sits back on the mattress with a sigh, making it creak under his weight. You wait for him to give you a sign that he’s ok and that he actually agrees, and the sign finally comes as one of his breathtaking smiles.

“I’ve never been that good at maths”, he finally states, his head tilted to the side as he speaks, “but I think I can count until one hundred”.

—♥︎—

“Good morning, y/n” Murray loudly exclaims as you make your way out of the guest room.

“Hello, Murray” you reply, a bit taken aback by his presence - and by the delicious smell invading your nostrils as you take a step into the living room. It’s coming from the kitchenette, where Murray is noisily fiddling around with a stained apron tied to his waist.

“Did you sleep well?” He very casually asks you, his eyes peering from behind his shoulders as he throws something (salt?) into a pan. 

“Uhm, yes, thank you” you reply, taking a few steps towards him. “Can I help you with anything?” 

“Yes. Will you grab the eggs in the fridge for me please?” He tells you, eyes back on the strips of bacon you’ve just found out he’s been cooking. “Thirty” he then adds, throwing a quick glance at his wristwatch. 

You furrow your eyebrows at him as you open the fridge and grab a pack of eggs. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Murray blatantly ignores your question and, as you place the eggs on the counter beside him, he proceeds to nod to his right. “Could you also get the bread from the toaster as soon as it’s ready? You can find the plates in the cupboard - sixty”

You don’t know what is going on with him and why he’s saying random numbers out loud, but you decide to ignore him and proceed to set up the table.

“Ninety” Murray says, again, and the toaster dings revealing four slices of slightly overburnt bread. As you reach for them to put them on a plate, it finally makes sense - but it’s too late. 

“One hundred!” Murray exclaims, turning around with a twist just as the guest room door opens to reveal an apparently still sleepy Eddie, back in his usual clothes. 

You blush violently as Murray lays his victorious gaze on you. “Knew it” he exclaims with a grin, pointing a fork in your direction before proceeding to steal the plate with the toast from you and placing the sizzling bacon next to the bread. 

“You could have chosen a less predictable number, though” he adds, turning back to the stove to crack the eggs in the pan. 

Eddie looks at you inquisitively, not uttering a single word as you sigh heavily and head back into the guest room to get changed into your own clothes. 

“Nothing better than a good serving of romantic denial in the morning” Murray chants as he scrambles the eggs. “Oh, you may want to take a look at that” he quickly adds, addressing Eddie and nodding towards an open copy of the Hawkins Post on the table. 

Eddie sits down and starts flicking back through the pages until he reaches the front: the huge title, spelling “GOVERNMENT JOINS MURDERER SEARCH”, is very hard to miss, anyway. 

“Fuck” Eddie hisses in desperation as he reads the article, “shit, shit, shit. I’m fucked” he exclaims, dropping the newspaper to bury his face into his hands. 

“Don’t worry, kid” Murray chips in, turning to serve the eggs on the three plates on the table before plopping down on a chair himself, “if we made it out of a Russian secret laboratory alive after causing an explosion that tore down a whole shopping mall and a giant monster, you can make it through this” he says with a consoling tone, “at least you got the girl of your dreams, right?”

“He didn’t get anyone, Murray” you almost yell, emerging from the guest room with yesterday’s outfit back on - but, as soon as you notice the defeat in Eddie’s eyes, you worriedly rush to his side. 

“Eddie, what’s wrong?” You ask him, placing a hand on the back of the chair where he’s sitting. He nods towards the newspaper and you grimace as soon as you read the title. 

“We’ll fix this” you state, inadvertently moving your hand from the chair to his shoulder, squeezing it firmly. “We’ll contact doctor Owens, he’ll make this go away”. 

“He was fired though, wasn’t he?” Murray interjects, his mouth full of eggs and bacon. You look at him with a death glare, eloquent enough to make him backtrack almost instantly. “But we’ll find a way, for sure” he quickly adds, stuffing a piece of toast in his mouth. 

Eddie looks up at you, his brown puppy eyes half covered by his messy fringe. “You think you can do that?” He asks you, the lines in his face relaxing for a second. 

“Yes, we can. He’ll know what to do” you reply, willing to give him even the tiniest sliver of hope, if that’s enough to keep him going. “But right now, you have to eat something. You’ll need all the strength you can get” you tell him, earning a tentative nod in response. 

You sit at the table as well and start to nibble at the food - which is unexpectedly good. And it surprises you how it manages to bring you comfort, making you feel more energized and improving your mood already. 

“Can you, uhm, pass me the orange juice?” Eddie asks you, nodding at the bottle to your right. 

“Mh-mh” you mumble in response, avoiding his gaze as you hand the juice over to him across the table, Murray’s piercing gaze burning through you. 

“Thanks, swee- uh, y/n” Eddie replies, his hand almost missing the bottle once he moves to grab it, as he, too, is avoiding looking in your general direction not to raise any suspicion. Of course, it doesn’t help that Murray’s eyes are studying your every movement, making the atmosphere so tense and embarrassing at the same time that you fear you might burst out into a laugh any second now. 

Thankfully, the silence that follows makes it easier for you to stay serious. Now even Murray is back to focusing on his breakfast, so between one forkful and the other, you feel free to occasionally glimpse at Eddie - and you come to the conclusion that pretending that nothing between you two has happened is going to be way harder than you thought.

Just by glancing at him, you feel your neck and cheeks heating up. It doesn’t matter that he’s quite disheveled, with messy hair, dark circles around his eyes (one turning slightly yellow from the punch he received yesterday) and a crinkled Hellfire shirt. He looks unexpectedly and incredibly good, and not just because of the subtle beauty in his looks, which is always there - but also and especially because of how brave and resilient you know him to be.

You tell yourself that it’s not exactly the right time to think about this kind of things, but you can’t help your gaze from following the movements of his hands and fingers as they slightly drum the fork on the plate, and the way his nose scrunches up as a random thought travels through his mind. And just like that a thought (or better, a memory) travels through your mind, too - and suddenly you’re back in the guest room bed, with his hands all over you, and his mouth exploring yours-

“Dear god, y/n” Murray exclaims, tiny crumbles of bread flying as he slams a hand on the table, “Was it really that good?”

Realization dawns on you as you find out with horror that you’ve been staring into the void with a smile plastered on your lips, a piece of bacon hanging from your fork in mid-air.

You instantly look at Eddie, who is blushing slightly and has his eyes fixed on the last piece of toast on his plate. Hidden beneath the hair that’s falling around his face like a wavy curtain, his lips are curled in a small smirk. 

“I, uh… I’ll start putting the dishes away, yeah?” You blurt out as you jump to your feet, purposefully looking at the clock above the fridge before grabbing your plate. “Then I think we should start moving”.

“As you wish” Murray agrees, “Just make sure to take your jaw as well - I think it’s fallen on the floor” he adds, snickering to himself as he follows your lead and gets up, heading towards the bathroom and locking himself in. 

“Well, that’s a heeeell of a good start” Eddie observes, tilting his head to the side as he helps you pile the plates and collect the cutlery before placing everything in the sink. “Is he always like that?”

You sigh, already exhausted even if the day’s just started. “Yes, he is” you nod, leaning back on the counter, arms crossed on your chest. “But he’s just… Murray. So I guess that’s okay” you smile. He might be annoying sometimes, but Murray is someone you can always count on - so you’re definitely glad that he’s on your side, even with his unforgiving honesty. 

Eddie takes a step towards you. He’s towering over you now, and he places a hand flat on your head, slightly ruffling your hair. “Soooo” he says, the lilt in his voice and the smirk on his lips making your heart skip a beat, “what were you thinking that made you smile like that?”.

“Don’t even try that, Munson. I’m not going to flatter you that easily” You reply as you swat his hand away, scoffing jokingly - but your fingers find themselves intertwined with Eddie’s, the metal of his rings hard against your skin. 

Eddie lets out a small laugh. “Oh, sweetheart, if there’s one thing that you should know is that flattery wooorks with me” he says, pulling you closer. You get lost in his eyes for a second, then your gaze travels down to his lips…

The sound of the bathroom door unlocking makes you both jump away from each other. 

“Alright, lady and gentleman. Time to go” Murray exclaims as he walks back into the living room, clapping his hands while his narrowed eyes scan your way too casual expressions. “The plane is not going to wait for me and I’m not going to miss my flight because of you two lovebirds. So, door’s that way - chop chop”.

“Murray” you sigh, “for the umpteenth time, we’re not-“

“Ah-ha!” Murray shushes you, putting his hands up with annoyance. “Don’t you dare, y/n. My poor old eyes have seen enough in twenty minutes to know that you’ve lovingly spent the night in each other’s arms, whispering sweet nothings and puckering your lips all the goddamn time. And as much as I find that way too cheesy, you know there’s nothing wrong with admitting that you’re so into each other you can’t even eat breakfast, right?” He blurts out. “I swear to god I don’t know what’s wrong with young people today. In my time, we preached free love and we had no problem saying we were sexually act-“

“OKAY” you interrupt him, not really wanting to know how that speech ends, “Okay, Murray, I got it. We got it” you say with a big fake smile, looking at Eddie for support. He, on his part, proceeds to hide his embarrassment with a cough and grabs his leather jacket and denim vest from the sofa, where they’ve been lying since last night. 

“Aaaall ready to go” he then states, as calmly as if nothing weird has been said, before turning to Murray with his hand held out. “Thanks, man” he adds, “I owe you one”. 

Murray shakes it with a sigh. “Mi casa es tu casa” he replies, “but now, please, leave”.

—♥︎—

The metal door of Murray’s warehouse closes behind you with a bang. In front of you, across from the empty street, the woods are waiting. 

You take a deep breath, bracing yourself for what’s to come. 

“Ready?” You ask Eddie, turning your head to look up at him. 

“It’s not like I have any other options” he says with a small smile, the light morning breeze making his hair waver as they brush on his shoulders. “But yes” he adds, his hand intertwining with yours and squeezing it softly. “I’m ready”.

You take a few careful steps, cross the road with a quick jog and disappear into the woods, hand in hand. 

—♥︎—

Hope you liked it :) Feedback is always welcome!

Taglist: @copycatkillerfics

#eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #stranger things 4 #stranger things x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson one shot #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fic #murray bauman

[ssahotchnerr]

Ok idk if anyone else does this BUT I like to imagine an au where instead of Haley, Hotch is married to reader from the start and she’s Jack’s mother 🤭 cause its fun and I like imagining Hotch having a loving and supporting marriage throughout the entire time hes on the show (cause I mean its the least he deserves with all he’s been through 😭)

And in this au reader is like really close with the BAU team like she brings in baby Jack during paper work days, remembers the team members birthday’s and gets them small gifts, them going to her when they feel they need someone to talk to cause she’s like the mom/sister of the BAU 🥺. I like to make up so many scenarios with this AU in my head especially one where she and Jack go through the same thing with Foyet but reader survives 🫣

This isn’t a request or anything just like a idea or thought i’m throwing out there for you to enjoy or expand on in any way, shape, or form you’d prefer ❤️

PLEASE the way everything about this is perfect <3333 and honestly how the show should’ve gone from the start

having that contrast between aaron being all stoic and stern, BUT then he goes home, or reader visits with jack, and he turns into that complete softie we all know he has buried deep in him within seconds ☹️ or after a tough case, he always has a sense of stable comfort waiting for him 🥺 ughshsj i would’ve loved to see him switching between the two fronts more vividly- from hotch to aaron.

AND that with the foyet storyline?!?!?! pure genius. like obv we saw him under stress and pressure with haley, but just IMAGINE how it would be with a partner who he’s so so deeply in love with and can’t be apart from for more than a couple days at a time. like a part of him was truly missing and there's no telling when or if he would see the two of them again :( he would be distraught, so so much more tense, and just the whole process of getting foyet would’ve been more frantic, because he can't live without them and he needs his loves back or else he can't function :(

and their reunion afterwards 😣😣😣😣 the way he would just crumble and be so relieved the nightmare is finally over and refuse to let reader and jack out of his arms :(((((((( like just imagine once foyet said rip, he goes running to wherever reader and jack are and within seconds he's pulling the two into his embrace, just weeping softly and giving them both kisses and saying how he's sorry, how much he missed them, or a "it's okay, it's all over now" :( ugh what we should've received rather than him being all traumatized :(

also ALSO the ending of s4 with reader?!?!?! imagine they're in bed, they can hear aaron getting home and they're all smiley to finally see him after a few days (and aaron mentioned the pig farm disaster and how tough it was:(, so they're waiting to console him), and then a gunshot just rings through the air </3

and i love the idea of reader being close with the team :( <3333 haley wasn't at all to begin with -like the scene where she's at the bau with baby jack, she's not on a first name basis with any of them (while all other bau s/o's were referred to by their first name), it's kinda just awk completely, because they just know each other through a mutual being aaron. but reader being an outlet for them <3 like they're not in the bau, so whenever someone needs a break, reader is an easy person to turn to, for a sense of normalcy. or reader bringing them all dinner if they're working late, going out with the girls for girls nights and just being including in all family get togethers :( <3 they would just complete the bau fam overall :(

AND just reader having more babies with aaron <33333 that would've been the cutest thing ohmygodjdnd aaron wants a big family <3 it's canon in my book <3333

aaron just deserves a happy life 😣 that's all

#katie's inbox #aaron hotchner #criminal minds #aaron hotchner x reader

[clockworkouroboros]

Now that the 60th anniversary specials are all out, I guess I'm gonna share my thoughts about them all, because it's the internet or whatever. Overall, I do think there's a lot of good in these specials. The fan service is absolutely there, but it's been done in a different way than some of the past special episodes, and it really acknowledges I think the many different kinds of Doctor Who fans, from the people who just watch the revived series (or even just bits and pieces of the revived series) to fans of Classic Who and even those of us crazy enough to get into the extended universe. I mean, featuring Beep the Meep and the Toymaker as your two Big Villains is both ridiculous and speaks to the nature of Doctor Who fans that we were all so excited for them. So. A lot of really nice things about these specials all around.

In The Star Beast, we got a really nice blend of nostalgia for the original Tennant era with new, interesting characters and a healthy amount of fan service towards Beep the Meep's half a dozen fans. Between those three things and RTD's obvious love letter to and heartfelt (if perhaps a little clunky) support of queer (and especially trans) people, it's easy to look past the episode's flaws; namely, that it's very light on the plot, and the handwavey bullshit that retcons Donna losing her memories completely undercuts the emotional heavy hitting of Donna losing her memories. You mean it was *always* that easy? Fuck right off.

Wild Blue Yonder really brought in, for me, more than a hint of Wilderness Years Who. The bottle episode slightly claustrophobic feel, the terrifying unexplainable Not-Things, the goddamn salt—I thought this story was the strongest in the set. I think RTD, like many writers, has a tendency to try and make things bigger and bigger and bigger, when really, his best stories tend to be like this. Consider Midnight as another example—brilliant, terrifying, and also very similar to some of the more experimental stories of the wilderness years. If I had a complaint about this story, it's that I would want it to play into more of the sense of sensory deprivation that stories like Midnight and Scherzo did. But honestly, that's a nitpick. It infuriates me a little bit—RTD likes to go in for some spectacle, as seen in The Star Beast and especially in The Giggle (and also the s3 and s4 finales, and also DT's regeneration story, and also and also and also)—but some of his best work is done when he doesn't allow himself the spectacle and instead really pares everything down to the barest of bare bones.

And, honestly? The Giggle was a bit of a letdown. There are so many ways you could bring the Toymaker into Who again, and he ended up sort of being an afterthought. Neil Patrick Harris was obviously having a grand old time in the role, which is great—so why not give him a little more to chew on? I thought there was a lot that was great—Donna and the Doctor in the Toymaker's domain, as an example. I think, building off of Wild Blue Yonder, coming back again and again to just how much the Doctor has been through and how that has affected them, was also a really nice thing to include, and something that I wish had been brought up more during Thirteen's run, because she really went through it.

But that also brings me to my biggest issue with The Giggle, and that is the way David Tennant's Doctor (Fourteen? TenThree? TenTeen?) has been written in a way that still is overshadowing Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor. This was honestly one of my biggest concerns as soon as Tennant's return was announced, and one of RTD's past issues in Who has been his chronic overshadowing of characters of color in favor of a white fan favorite. (Martha and Mickey both get this treatment.) The regeneration scene pissed me off in a way that I didn't think Doctor Who could piss me off—generally speaking, I'm pretty level-headed about most Doctor Who things because this show is ridiculous enough that you sort of have to just roll with it. I already adore Ncuti's Doctor (from his extremely limited amount of screentime), but I can't help but feel that he's been cheated out of a proper introduction because he had to share his limited screentime with David Tennant, the most popular Doctor to ever exist in the show's 60-year history. Likewise, because of this ridiculous Journey's End 2: This Time It's Stupider nonsense, I'm genuinely concerned RTD will randomly bring DT back for some fun multi-Doctor fanwanks, and sort of write all over the first Doctor of color's era with David Tennant. Not that that will happen (I certainly hope not, anyway), but the fact that he's leaving it open as an option already has me worried.

So. Yeah. Maybe I'm being harsher on RTD than I would otherwise be, because the nostalgia for having him back is so ridiculously high that it's driving me a little insane, or maybe these are genuine issues. I'm not upset that he's back, but these specials—and especially The Giggle—left me extremely wary that we're going to get the same exact issues that he brought to Who in his first run. Overall it'll be fine, and again, I did get a lot of enjoyment out of these specials! There's a lot about RTD's writing that is objectively both good and consistent. That doesn't mean I'm not holding my breath going forward.

#dw spoilers #the star beast #wild blue yonder #the giggle #russel t davies #doctor who #fourteenth doctor #fifteenth doctor #sorry for the wall of text #and a reminder to everyone that you do NOT have to agree with anything that i say even a little! #i genuinely am not trying to shit on rtd i'm just concerned #so. yeah.

[veryace-ficrecs]

Steve Harrington with Head Trauma Fic Recs

one of my favorite Stranger Things tropes, here is a list of Steve having head trauma and/or suffering from migraines.

as always this list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own  discretion! :)

Misjudged Your Limits by kikisifi13 - Rated T

"According to Robin, the first signs that Steve was getting a migraine were the little things, things that would seem normal if they were coming from anyone else. Steve had walked into Family Video that morning fifteen minutes late, wearing sunglasses and clutching a thermos of coffee. And sure, it was summer. But the knowing glance that Robin shot Eddie told him this wasn’t that."

After being beaten up one too many times, Steve Harrington has some head trauma to show for it. This also means migraines, which he tries his best to avoid displaying. 3 months into dating Eddie Munson, that particular situation becomes unavoidable, and when Steve is forced to be vulnerable, Eddie doesn't know what the hell he's supposed to do. Cue Robin leading Eddie through Caring For Steve's Migraines: A Comprehensive Guide.

TW: headaches, nausea, vomiting

Odds and Ends by kikisifi13 - Rated T

The plan is this: Steve is supposed to take the kids to see the newest Star Trek movie this Friday. The problem is this: Steve is due for a migraine.

basically the kids thought his migraines weren't a big deal, and now they DEFINITELY do hehe well, with a little help from Eddie and Robin. and Max. she knows what's up.

So Let It Out And Let It In by fangirlandtheories - Rated T

"Steve and his Dad get into a fight so he instinctively seeks out Eddie, only realizing too late that he's in the middle of DnD night with the kids, forcing him to be vulnerable in front of them." Anon request from Tumblr. *** “Hey, Steve, you’re kinda freaking us out dude.” Mike was slowly rising from his seat as he watched Steve’s eyes start to flutter. “Why’s your voice sound like that?”

medicinal by peaktotheocean - Rated T

 “I’ve got a friend who is having a ton of migraine issues," Robin blurted out. Eddie's head rose to look at her. That was a new one. "We heard weed helps. Any truth to it?” She asked hopefully.

Uncle Wayne always used to joke that Eddie was too curious for his own good. Eddie just never thought he'd agree with the assessment while selling weed to Robin Buckley of all people.

Sticky Notes by voidpacifist - Rated M

"It's the only music I can hear," Steve answers honestly. Something soft passes over Eddie's face at the admission. It's not pity. Steve saw pity in the librarians eyes as he and Dustin and Robin checked out all those books on ASL. Steve knows what self righteous sympathy does to a person's face, and it isn't doing that to Eddie's. No, Eddie's expression is maybe closest to understanding.

-

Steve's hearing was already dwindling on the precipice of "not good" after his run-in with Billy Hargrove in 1984. Less than a year and one Russian interrogation later, he loses the totality of his hearing in his left ear, and most of it in his right. To help himself readjust to a world with minimal sound, he starts seeking noise in a way he never expected to — by attending Corroded Coffin's performances at the Hideout.

Eddie wants to know what the hell is up with "King Steve" suddenly showing up to his shows. His questioning doesn't go to plan, and instead he lands himself an unexpected new friend.

-

pre!S3 —> post!S4

 yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter by yellowmarshmallow - Rated M

There were only so many times someone could hit you in the head before you got lasting problems. Steve found that the number was about three.

But now Robin and the kids insist he should look after himself, and with Eddie making it his mission to make sure he does, Steve isn't sure he's in a place to argue.

Maybe being loved isn't so bad.

Stuck in My Head by schrijverr - Rated T

Between Jonathan, Billy and the Russians, Steve’s brain has taken enough damage for it to be permanent. He tries to deal with it, but with the Upside Down coming back, he can’t keep doing it alone. So, he confides in Eddie, the most unlikely person, but the only one who doesn’t yet count on him to be strong. The secret gives them a bond that helps them grow closer together as Eddie has Steve’s back and shows him he’s worth something.

#fanfic #fanfic recs #veryace recs #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #steve harrington has head trauma #steve harrington has migraines #ao3 #ao3 fic recs

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

Something About Books and Covers - Eddie Munson

Eddie is a metalhead. I'm a metalhead. We're perfect, right? Right. Anyways, I sat down and wrote this for almost 3 hours straight with only one bathroom break...I don't expect this to pop off lmao

Warnings: Possibly triggering content, bullying (physical and religion based cause metal music was considered of the devil in the 80s) , very fluffy in the beginning, very angsty in the middle, then back to very fluffy, and very slight spoilers for S4 i guess? But not really.

5.4K Words🤙🏻

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie was ecstatic. Metallica was finally coming to Indiana and there was no way he was missing this tour date. No way in hell. 

It was on a school night, but he couldn’t care less. He’s skipped school so many times already so he didn’t care that he'd miss a couple days, it wouldn’t make much difference anyway, he knew he would already have to repeat the grade regardless. So why not?

He hadn’t seen Metallica before, never having the money or transportation to take him to one of their concerts, but finally having a driver's license and having saved up some money from summer jobs, he would finally be able to see one of his favorite bands.

He was talking to his friends about how excited he was about it. He wore a smug grin when they expressed their jealousy. He was a little disappointed that none of his friends could go with him, but he also didn’t mind going to the concert alone. Besides, it’s not like he’d be paying attention to them during the set anyway. Driving home would be the worst part because he just knew that he’d be exhausted after the fact. But something his friend said suddenly caught his undivided attention. “Sorry, can you repeat that please?” Eddie voiced.

“I said, I heard a rumor that Y/n girl was going to that concert tomorrow night too. I heard some of her friends talking about it at their lockers.”

Eddie scoffed. “There’s no way. I mean, look at her, she looks like she listens to Cyndi Lauper or Madonna or some shit.” He chuckled. “That girl wouldn’t be caught dead at a metal concert.”

“I don’t know, man. Her friends seemed pretty upset about it.”

“Dude, I bet my life savings that there’s no way she is going. It’s impossible. She goes to Harrington parties dude, trust me, it’s just a rumor.”

As Eddie got ready for the concert that next day, he couldn’t help but think about what his friends were talking about. He also couldn’t help but laugh. Picturing you at a metal concert was a hilarious thought. You’d stick out like a sore thumb. For Eddie, he wouldn’t even go near a concert that wasn’t metal, they’d probably stone him to death or something. He scared people, he made them uncomfortable, just by being himself. It was bullshit.

Eddie quickly shook those negative thoughts out of his head, he was not going to go into a mindspace that would put a bummer on his whole night. He turned up his radio all the way and belted out every song that came on his mixtape, trying not to get into a crash from headbanging.

He made sure to get there early, hence skipping school. He needed to get a good spot, hopefully near the front at the barricade. That would be a dream. But this was the first time Metallica ever had a show in Indiana, so there were a bunch of people who even camped outside the building. Yeah…these were Eddie’s people. Didn’t see you in the line though. He didn’t know why he was looking, it’s not like he wanted you there, he was just really curious.

As everyone started to pile into the venue, he felt the nervous excitement bubble up in his chest, almost like the time when he got his first tattoo, but this was obviously different. This was excitement to see a band that inspired him, that he looked up to, a band that made his life significantly better. He’d remember this night forever.

Eddie cheered along with the rest of the crowd as the opening band came on, he knew a couple of their songs but he was really only there for Metallica, but he’d enjoy himself regardless. And he got a pretty decent view considering the larger crowd, and his height helped. He felt bad if anyone behind him was shorter, he’d absolutely hate it if he was behind a taller person. There was this one kid behind him, holding a sign that said it was his first concert. That warmed Eddie’s heart, he couldn’t not let the kid move in front of him.

From his new spot, he could still see the stage pretty well, so he was thankful for that. But the new spot also gave him a chance to have a better look around to see who was in the crowd. It’s not like he wanted to people watch, he had that done to him too many times already, but he did like seeing who else was in the crowd to see who he could be friends with if they looked interesting enough. But one person only really stood out to him.

Eddie couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing. It must’ve been a hallucination, right? There was no way you were at this same concert. You, miss straight A’s and future valedictorian and member of the student council, were at a metal concert? On a school night? Eddie must’ve been dreaming because there was no way someone like you would be in a place like this.

Eddie pinched himself a few times, almost breaking his own skin, but he was still not waking up. Damn…he wasn’t dreaming. 

You couldn’t have been there of your own volition, he decided. You must’ve been dragged here by a boyfriend or best friend…or it was a dare. But from where Eddie stood, it looked like you were having fun. You were even dressed in a slightly different getup, not completely far from what you normally wore in school, but enough that you didn’t look too out of place. But to everyone else, you probably looked like you were in your element. They didn’t have the knowledge Eddie did.

It’s not like you were one of those stereotypical popular girls, he never saw you be mean to anyone or partake in the bullying of nerds and outcasts like the jocks. Granted, you weren’t a jock, but you were still a popular. You were actually pushing people around on the outskirts of a mosh pit with a huge smile on your face, the biggest smile he’d ever seen you wear. It was kind of…attractive. He had a hard time paying attention to the opening bands, he was so enthralled watching you in his preferred environment. He didn’t know why, but he felt a bit of pride even though he didn’t really know you. Maybe he’d have to change that.

While the stage crew set up Metallica’s equipment, Eddie pushed through the crowd to get where you were, apologizing to every person he pushed past until he finally was next to you. “Well, well, look who it is. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Your eyes widened in excitement, wearing that big smile like you had been earlier, it made Eddie’s stomach feel like it was doing somersaults. “Oh, hi! Eddie, right?” You replied. Well, he definitely didn’t expect you to know his name.

“Uh, yeah.” Eddie cleared his throat nervously. “What’re you doing here?” He tried not to sound accusatory, but that edge was still in his tone. He didn’t want to come off as an asshole, but this scene was important to him and he didn’t want someone who didn’t enjoy the music to spoil the atmosphere.

You caught on to his attitude immediately, raising an eyebrow. “Same reason why you’re here, I’d assume.”

“Mm, sorry that I kinda doubt that.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Well, you’re…you. Popular, straight A student, someone who hangs out with people that makes fun of people like me.”

“Oh, so, people who do well in school can’t possibly like this kind of music right?”

Eddie winced, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “Well, no…it’s just, I never expected you to like this kind of music.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. You of all people should know that, right? Or is everyone right about you, that you’re a devil worshiping freak?”

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I got a little protective. This is my safe space and I was just worried you’d…ya know, ruin it or something.” Eddie mumbled, fidgeting with the ends of his hair, then holding out his hand. “Truce?”

You stared at his hand for a moment before rolling your eyes with a smirk. “Yeah, okay, truce.” Taking his hand, you almost shivered at the cold metal of his rings that lined his fingers. You had always thought he was attractive, the jock types never really interested you, but Eddie was interesting. There was just something so alluring about him. The rough start was more than a little concerning, but at least he apologized.

Nobody really knew that you were a metalhead, it was something that you kept on a need to know basis. Hearing society’s opinion about metal music didn’t really make you comfortable to be open about it. Almost everyone thought people who listened to metal were a devil worshiper or a serial killer. You had heard people talking about how Richard Ramirez listened to heavy metal and that must be why he was going on a killing spree, though it was mostly middle aged Christian women you had heard talking that way, but it still wasn’t very reassuring.

You always admired Eddie from afar, but you were always too afraid to talk to him, even about the similar music taste. He seemed nice enough, but then again, you both were from two completely different worlds. It just didn’t seem likely to happen. You had always planned to go to this concert, and when you found out that Eddie would be too, you felt like the stars aligned. Even if you never saw him in the crowd, you would be happy to know that he was at least in the same building as you, as creepy as that sounds. But when he actually made an effort to talk to you, it was almost as good as being at the concert.

After the truce, you both got to talking before the headliner finally played. You actually had some common interests. Eddie played the guitar and you had always wanted to, he said that he could try to teach you sometime, which was unexpected. You hoped the dim lighting in the building would hide your blush, but you could see a smirk on Eddie’s face in the corner of your eye. Thankfully, the lights completely dimmed and the stage lights coming on signaling that Metallica was finally coming on saved you from further embarrassment.

And out came Metallica, James Hetfield front and center in all his glory. It was a real starstruck moment, for both you and Eddie.

Every once in a while, you and Eddie would glance over at each other, huge smiles on both of your faces and slightly sweaty from jumping around and singing to the tops of your lungs. It was surprisingly intimate. You loved seeing Eddie in his natural habitat, you could tell how much this concert meant to him. It was really a sight to behold, if your eyes weren’t on the band you were looking at Eddie. The same thing could be said for him as well. Eddie didn’t know how to handle seeing you like this, it was a fine line between surprise and arousal, he didn’t know if the scale would tip by the time the night ended.

You and Eddie laughed as you both were squished together by the force of the crowd, the only way for him to be truly comfortable was for him to wrap his arm around your shoulders but you didn’t mind. It actually felt nice, despite the humid heat that enveloped the whole crowd, making your exposed skin stick to his leather jacket. Sometimes you’d stumble onto him, but he always made sure to never let you fall. You were grateful that he was your tall person that saved you from being crushed by crowd surfers, making sure your head was ducked before he’d help the person. You got kicked a couple of times, but it was no big deal. You were sure you’d have bruises by the time you got home.

As the band started playing their encore, you and Eddie held onto each other and sang along as loud as you could, knowing all the lyrics by heart. The two of you weren’t each looking at the band, you both were practically singing to each other. Your mouth was so sore from smiling so much, and you could tell that you wouldn’t be able to talk properly after singing for so long.

As Metallica said goodnight and walked off the stage, you felt the post-concert depression already kick in. It was over all too soon, but it was in part because you and Eddie probably wouldn’t even talk to each other after this. You didn’t want that to happen. You wanted to have someone who would go to concerts with you. You didn’t really feel like any of your other friends truly saw you. Music was important to you, and someone like Eddie would understand that. You’ve only hung out with him for a few hours, not even talking to each other, but you already felt closer to him than anyone else.

Eddie kept his arm around you as you both walked out of the building with the rest of the crowd, the cold air instantly making the sweat on your skin feel freezing. You knew you should’ve brought a heavier jacket. He noticed you shivering and he quickly removed his own jacket, putting it around your shoulders. The inside of the jacket felt like a warm blanket, encompassing you and the scent of sweat mixed with cologne filled your nostrils, Eddie’s scent. It brought that blush back to your cheeks, but at least you could blame it on the cold air this time. 

“So…do you have a ride home? Or did you drive here?” Eddie asked after a beat of awkward silence.

“Oh, I was just gonna hail a cab. I just had a family member drop me off.”

“I drove here, I can give you a ride.” Eddie pointed to his van that was parked in the lot outside the venue. “It’s pretty busted up, there’s no air conditioning or heat, and it makes this weird clanking noise sometimes...but it’s something.”

“Yeah, it’s something.” You giggled, wrapping his jacket around you tighter. “Can I keep wearing the jacket?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course! Can’t let you freeze to death now, can I?” He grinned, tugging you by the jacket sleeve to lead you to his van. 

It was still really cold inside the van, but now being alone with Eddie, you felt the heat from your blush all over your body. You tried not to wince as the van’s engine rattled loudly as he started the vehicle, it definitely sounded like it was crying out for a tuneup. Hopefully it wouldn’t die on the way back home. You told Eddie your address, thankfully it wasn’t too far out of the way. It wasn’t on the wealthy side of town, but you didn’t live in a trailer park like Eddie, it was someone in the middle and only round fifteen minutes from where he lived.

You felt guilty as you let your head rest against the window, your eyelids feeling heavier than you expected. This wasn’t exactly your first rodeo, but you used up a lot of energy during the show. “Ugh, I’m sorry I’m falling asleep.” You chuckled weakly.

“Oh, that’s okay. Go ahead, I’m good by myself. I’m a veteran at this point. I’ve only been in a couple car crashes.” He smirked, chuckling to himself when your eyes widened. “Seriously though, you can sleep. I’ll wake you up when we’re in Hawkins.”

“Thanks, Eddie.” You spoke softly, the drowsiness taking over your body quickly and making your eyes close for the rest of the trip.

Keeping his eyes on the road proved to be more difficult than Eddie had anticipated. He couldn’t stop himself from glazing over at your sleeping form, and you looked so peaceful. He couldn’t believe you were actually allowing him to drive you home. It seemed tonight was full of surprises. He almost didn’t want to wake you up when he saw the “You are now entering Hawkins” sign, but your sleepy voice and tired smile definitely made up for it.

“I’ll tell you when to turn.” You yawned, tucking your knees to your chest as close as you could to try and retain some warmth, Eddie’s large jacket almost swallowing your torso and legs.

“Hey, just out of curiosity, do you listen to Cyndi Lauper?”

You snorted followed by a couple giggles. “That’s a random question.”

“Well, do you?”

“Yeah, of course.” You chuckled. “What?” You asked when you saw his facial expression.

“Nothing, just not surprised.” He smirked.

“Oh and what, you don’t like Lauper?”

“I listen to real music.”

You laughed loudly, almost startling Eddie. “Ah, so you’re one of those metal elitists, huh? You think your music is the only real music? Time after time? Girls just wanna have fun? Come on, no human on earth can’t not like those songs.” Eddie only shrugged, a toothy grin on his face that reeked of smugness. “Expand your horizons, Eds. You’re missing out.” You were too giggly to realize what you had called him, but he definitely did. It managed to wipe off his smug grin. “Oh, you turn here.” You pointed out.

A loud silence came over the two of you as Eddie parked in front of your home and turned off the engine, the shared exhaustion between the two of you apparent. But Eddie looked over to you with a smile. “I should’ve said this earlier, but I had a lot of fun. Best concert I’ve been to yet.”

“Me too.”

“So,” He turned to you, “what happens now? Are we just gonna go back to our respective lives? Ignore each other in the halls until the next concert we find ourselves at?”

You frowned. “Eddie, come on. I’m not going to ignore you just because of what other people think. I’m not as shallow as you think.”

“So, we can still be concert partners?”

“I was thinking more than that. We can be actual friends.”

“Wow, we’re moving on up, huh?” He chuckled.

“Sorry, Eds, but you’re now officially stuck with me.”

“Not the worst fate in the world.” He smiled softly, looking into your eyes intensely.

Before you could overthink it, you leaned over and kissed Eddie on the cheek. “Goodnight, Eddie.” You smiled before getting out of the van, not looking back to see his reaction as you entered your home, leaning against the now closed door and giggling to yourself.

Unlike Eddie, you didn’t skip school the next day after that long night, you still had responsibilities. But you quickly regretted it as you walked through the halls of Hawkins High, hearing whispers and dirty looks getting sent your way as you made your way to your locker. It was mostly the jocks, the people you typically hung out with, which disappointed you even more, especially if they were talking about what you think they were. You even heard some hushed laughter from behind you, causing you to turn around to see some of your other friends looking at you with not so hidden smirks. Thankfully, it was only that, just whispers and looks, until lunch.

You sighed as you saw Hawkins' own golden boy Jason started making his way to your lunch table with a mischievous smirk on his face. You just played it cool, talked to him like you usually would. “Hi, Jason.” You smiled.

Jason looked back at his friends before he sat down in front of you. “Hey, Y/n. So, me and the boys heard some rumors about you today and I just wanted to hear your thoughts on it before I made any opinions.” He said, but it was clear he already made up his mind about you.

You chuckled flatly. “And what rumors would those be?”

“We heard that you were hanging with that Munson freak last night. You went to one of those devil worshiping sessions disguised as a music concert, even though it’s not even music, it’s just noise. It’s in your best interest to tell the truth.”

“Is that a threat, Carver?” You spat, your expression hardening.

“Just answer the question.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. I was at a concert last night, and Eddie was there. He was kind enough to drive me home too.”

Jason sighed in feign disappointment, clearly trying to hide his smirk. “I gotta say, I’m pretty disappointed in you, Y/n. I thought you were better than this. I thought you were a church goer, what would your pastor say?”

“I wasn’t aware that he was the boss of me, or you, for that matter.”

“I’m just trying to look out for my fellow brothers and sisters. You’re going down a dark path. Once you start hanging with the wrong crowd, it’s a slippery slope.”

A feeling of dread came over you when Jason looked back at his friends, trying to be subtle as he nodded back at them, the exchange causing their faces to light up in excitement. Expecting him to say more, he only gave you a sad smile as he left your table. And for the rest of the school day, that fake smile was all you could think about it, how sinister it felt. Your panic really started when you couldn’t find your bike, the lock you had on it had been broken off. Then, you felt a pair of strong hands take hold of your shoulders. You turned to look at one of the jocks from the basketball team, a huge smirk on his face.

You kicked and screamed, but either there was no one around to hear or no one cared. He and other jocks helped drag you to the back of the school, where Jason and the rest of the basketball and some of the cheerleading team were waiting for your grand entrance.

You didn’t know how long it was until they all let you go, but the sun was starting to set, but then again, the sun always set early during winter. It felt like an eternity, but you were just glad they finally got bored of you.

Your outer layers of clothing were ripped, your jeans and jacket having rips and holes in them. They’d have to be replaced. You had scratches and bruises and cuts galore. Bruises, and scratches, and cuts, oh my! You weakly chuckled at your own joke, immediately regretting doing so since your sides were bruised pretty badly. You dreaded having to walk home, they stole your bike so you had no choice. Your house was so far and you absolutely missed the bus, but there was one person who’s home was closer, and he wouldn’t turn you away. You just hoped he was home.

You were relieved to see Eddie’s van in the driveway, and you shakily raised you fist to knock on the door, surprised how quickly he answered. He was stunned for a moment as he looked you up and down with his eyebrows tightly knitted together, before he finally spoke. “What the hell happened to you?” He ushered you into his trailer, making you take a seat on his couch.

“Jason and the basketball team.” You replied with a wince, seeing Eddie’s concerned and confused face turn into seething rage. “Guess the whole school found out I was one of those devil worshipers.” You finger quoted, a weak smile on your face.

“They did this to you?” Eddie seethed.

“Well, they held me down while their cheerleaders beat the shit outta me for them.”

“That’s so fucked up.” He almost yelled, pacing back and forth in his living room while grasping at his hair. “God, I am so sorry.” His voice wavered, tears welling up in his eyes as he gazed at you.

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault, Eds. But, it would be nice if you could drive me home. They stole my bike and your place was closer.” You chuckled.

“Hold on, I think I have a first aid kit laying around here somewhere. They’re essential when living on this side of town.” You watched with slight amusement as Eddie frantically searched around his trailer for his first aid kit, it was pretty cute and you would have laughed if you weren’t in pain. “Ah, found it!” He walked back and sat next to you, emptying the whole box onto the cushions with shaking hands. “Don’t worry, I know how to patch someone up. Had to learn how to do that pretty early in life.” He chuckled nervously.

“Hey,” You grabbed ahold of his hand, “I’m okay. These wounds are just superficial, they’ll be gone in a week or so.”

Eddie stayed silent, staring at your hand that held his and hesitantly placing his other hand on top of yours, delicately running his thumb over your knuckles. “This never should’ve happened.”

“You’re telling me.” You tried to joke, but Eddie’s face quickly told you that this was not the time to be joking. “Sorry. But I’ll be fine, really. I probably won’t be at school tomorrow though.”

“I wouldn’t let you anyway.”

“Oh really?” You smirked.

Eddie finally gave you a weak smile, his larger hands enveloping yours. “Let me clean you up though, okay?” You nodded, letting him clean and dress your small wounds. He was gentle, his touch as feather light as possible. He didn’t want to hurt you any more than you already were. His fingertips running along your skin made you shiver. “Cold?”

“Uh, yeah, a bit.” You stuttered. “Oh, that reminds me, I still have your jacket from last night. I have to remember to return it to you.”

Eddie shook his head. “Nah, I’ll let you borrow it for a bit. You look cute in it, especially because it’s mine.” Those kinds of comments can give people heart attacks, you specifically.

“I’ll be sure to wear it often then.” You replied, wearing a small smirk on your face.

“Well, I’m…I’m all done. Did you want to go home now?”

“Do I have the option to stay? For a little while?”

Eddie smiled softly. “Of course.”

You couldn’t recall how you ended up in Eddie’s bed, but you welcomed it nonetheless. You especially welcomed the heat from his body that was against you, his arm draped over your side and holding you to his chest with a hand on your back. You didn’t realize how comfortable being held in someone’s arms could be, but it was probably because of who was holding you. 

You had woken up before Eddie, but that just meant you got to admire his face. He was so cute, you couldn’t help but lean up to gently kiss his stubbly chin. Apparently, that was enough to stir him awake. “Were you watching me sleep?”

“Mhm.” You nodded, smiling sweetly. Eddie briefly turned to look at his alarm clock on his bedside table, groaning in annoyance. “Time?”

Eddie frowned. “If I don’t tell you, will you go back to sleep?”

“No. Sorry.”

He sighed. “I guess I’ll take you home now. But I’m gonna come see you tomorrow, no doubt about that.”

“Can’t argue that.”

The next couple days went by smoothly. Eddie helped take care of you, even though you didn’t need help but you quickly learned you couldn’t win an argument with this boy. You knew he felt guilty for what happened, even though it wasn’t his fault. You tried convincing him of that, but he wouldn’t listen. You also learned that he was extremely stubborn, but who isn’t nowadays. You did dread going back to school, you were more embarrassed than anything else. You probably should’ve been scared, but it was hard when you had Eddie by your side. You’ve known him for a very short time but you already would go to war for each other. The power of music.

But when you walked through the halls, no one even looked at you. Almost everyone moved out of your way when you walked anywhere. You caught some stares, but they looked more fearful than disgusted. You noticed that Jason was nowhere to be seen. It was strange because he wasn't the type to miss school. You heard he had gotten in a car accident, he was driving drunk and ran a stop sign, another car ramming him and getting him a couple broken bones in the process. You thought about asking Eddie, but something told you not to. Either way, you were glad he’d be out of your hair for awhile.

But your curiosity finally peaked when Jason came back and…actually apologized to you. You thought he’d gun for you as soon as he came back, but he apologized. You almost thought that maybe a near death experience knocked some sense into him, but he looked too scared when he was saying sorry to you. It was suspicious, to say the least. You decided to finally bring it up to Eddie.

“Jason was acting pretty weird this morning.” You spoke up after school in his trailer, which became a regular hang out spot for you if Eddie wasn’t at your place.

“What? Why? What did he say to you? Did he threaten you? I swear to Christ, if he-”

“No, no!” You interrupted. “No, he told me he was sorry for what he did to me that day, said he wasn’t thinking straight, among other things.”

“Oh.”

“It just got me thinking, because that’s not like him at all.”

“How would you know what his typical behavior is like?”

“Well, I used to hang out with his crowd and him, for one. Plus, people like him never admit their wrongs, even if it kills them.”

“Guess he’d rather apologize than get killed…”

You narrowed your eyes, thoroughly analyzing Eddie’s expressions and body language. He was fidgeting with his rings, something he always did when he was nervous. And he was looking anywhere else but you. You scoffed in amusement. “You made him crash his car, didn’t you?”

“What? No, I don’t know what you’re talking about. He was the one who ran a spot sign while drinking, okay? It had nothing to do with me.” You only smiled smugly in response, eliciting a heavy sigh from him. “Alright, alright, fine. Yes, I…may have had a tiny part in that.”

“How?” You stuttered, amazed.

“I have some connections. I wasn’t gonna kill him or anything, I swear. I just wanted to scare him a bit. But then…well…it went a little further than I intended. I made him apologize to you, well, more like blackmailed him into apologizing.” Eddie looked up at you nervously, putting on his best puppy dog eyes. “Don’t hate me, please.”

“Oh, Eddie…” You frowned. “I could never hate you. I’m actually pretty impressed. Not gonna lie, I really wanted something bad to happen to that guy. I hope that doesn’t make me a bad person.”

“Y/n, you are literally the opposite of a bad person.” He said with an almost lovesick smile. You couldn’t handle it anymore…

Eddie let out a surprised noise as you suddenly leaned forward to capture his lips in a passionate, desperate kiss. You had wanted to do this ever since that night at the concert, so you were incredibly relieved when he reciprocated with fervor, grabbing you and pulling you into his lap.

You tangled your fingers in his long hair, gently pulling at the roots to elicit a groan from the man. After days and days of tension, having it finally break was almost overwhelming, but you couldn’t ask for anything better. You learned many things about Eddie, now happily learning how intoxicating his lips were. They moved against yours perfectly, his expertise not lost on you. You didn’t want it to end, you wanted to feel him against you forever, but you both had to come up for air.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long.” You smiled, chuckling breathlessly.

“Honestly, I have ever since I saw you in that mosh pit.” Eddie said, making you giggle. “So, I guess we’re moving on up again. From concert buddies to concert partners, yeah?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

~~~~~~~~~~

aw man...it hurts but my heart is also full

#stranger things #stranger things season 4 #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x fem!reader