#and I actually quite like the complexity of Steve and Nancy learning to navigate being friends as well as exes

[laundrybiscuits]

Note: this is not a Stancy story.

“Say it,” he bites out. He’s pushing too hard, being too mean, and he doesn’t fucking care. “Say you love me.”

Nancy’s eyes slide off to the side and she—she laughs, like he’s making a joke, but he can see in the way she’s got her arms wrapped around herself that they both know it’s not a joke.

“Steve, come on,” she says.

There’s a hot, buzzing feeling in him like a hurricane.

The words peel out of him: “But…we’re soulmates.”

He’s gripping his forearm, holding it out in front of him even though he’s wearing long sleeves. It doesn’t matter. They both know whose name is written there in careful, neat cursive, like a puzzle piece slotting next to the blockier name scrawled on Nancy’s wrist. 

Nancy reaches out to push his arm down and out of the way, out of her eyeline, but she laces her fingers with his like she’s trying to calm him down. Like an apology.

“Steve,” she says. “Let’s just—can we focus on the important stuff, here?”

This is important, why don’t you think that nothing could be more important than this. Steve doesn’t say it because he’s trying to be better. He can be better for her, for Nancy, his soulmate. So he swallows it down and nods, gripping her slender fingers tight in his. 

———

It takes him a while, but he figures it out. It’s fate. It’s gotta be. It’s all a big part of their story, the one they’re gonna tell at their wedding, about the time they broke up and made bad decisions and were really unhappy. When you find your soulmate early, sometimes you have some growing up to do, he’ll say. Or maybe Robin will say it. He can’t imagine a wedding where Robin’s not his best man. Best lady?

It’s so stupid, but there was a moment, back in ‘85, when he thought maybe Robin could be his true soulmate. Like maybe there was some giant cosmic error, and the smart, funny, beautiful girl he’d been overlooking all summer was really the one he was meant to end up with after all. 

When she tells him about Tammy Thompson, it’s almost a relief. The universe isn’t wrong after all. He actually feels really sorry for Robin, because without a name on her arm, how’s she supposed to know who to pick? And with the gay thing—it’s gotta be tough even just knowing who’s an option. He doesn’t think he could handle that kind of uncertainty. 

It’s a good thing he doesn’t have to. All he’s got to do is hang on until his story and Nancy’s story bend together again, and become their story. He thinks it’s kind of romantic, even: like he’s been given this time to learn to be a better boyfriend. 

So he’s in good spirits, especially when Eddie Munson gives him a heavy look that shoots through his veins like lightning and says as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen. If even Eddie can see it after spending about five minutes around them, probably not even knowing about the soulmate thing, it must be true. 

———

Afterwards, he finds himself unexpectedly alone with Nancy in the hospital, waiting their turn to see Max and Eddie. It’s not exactly the stuff of fairytales; even though they’ve had a chance to go home and shower and get some sleep, they both have Upside Down gunk caked into their fingernails and purpling shadows under their eyes. The fluorescent lights overhead are way too bright. The flimsy plastic chairs are digging uncomfortably into his thighs. 

But he’s not gonna get a better opening than this quiet moment, with Nancy slumped against his arm, tired and lovely.

“Hey, are you—” He clears his throat and tries again. “Hey, Nancy. Did you…think about, uh, what I said? About…you know. The future?”

She goes tense.

“Yes, Steve. I did.”

Maybe something in her tone should be warning him off, but he’s on this road now, careening down the fast lane with no exits in sight. 

“And? What did you think?”

Nancy takes a deep breath, then lets it out after a second in a heavy sigh. “Steve, I…I’m with Jonathan now. You know that.”

“Yeah, but that’s—I mean, you know it’s not the same.”

“No.” She slips a thumb under the cuff of her sweatshirt and rubs it over her wrist. It looks like something she doesn’t even know she’s doing. “It’s not the same, no. It’s…Steve, it’s better. This way is better.”

He ducks down, tries to meet her eye. “Nance, I know I was kind of a shitty boyfriend, but—things are different now, right?”

Finally, she turns to him. Her back straightens, shoulders square, like she’s bracing herself. 

“Yes, things are different,” she says slowly. She reaches out to take his hand in both of hers, soothing. “This hasn’t changed for me, though. It’s not about—I just can’t be with you, Steve. Not like that. I’m sorry.”

He doesn’t say but we’re soulmates again like a child, but it lives in his throat, in the thump of his heart. Maybe she just needs more time.

Maybe not, though.

(ETA: continuation here!)

#I wrote the first chunk of this a while ago and abandoned it in my scratchpad; had a chat about soulmates today and decided to write more #ofc this whole thing is also a metaphor for heteronormativity (WHEN IS IT NOT) so I may write the steddie follow-up at some point #I’ve never been the biggest fan of soulmate narratives but I find them fascinating from a meta perspective #I want to be clear that I don't think soulmate AUs are ~problematique; they obviously serve a function #the romance genre (and a lot of fic) hinges on the concept of endgame ships #there's a particular kind of comfort in that and I can see how it translates to in-universe predestination #I am personally just more interested in stories about choosing to love without guarantees #and I actually quite like the complexity of Steve and Nancy learning to navigate being friends as well as exes #not!soulmates AU

[grandekofi]

I kind of think the writers might be intentionally misleading everyone about Nancy’s supposedly renewed feeling for Steve (to what end, I don’t know). If you think about, there’s no scene implying that she does. Sure, she clearly finds him physically attractive, but every scene that is about her apparent romantic feelings is from another person’s perspective, most of whom are established as not knowing her well.

The library scene, where Robin thinks she’s jealous, comes right after a scene where Robin says she doesn’t have a “strong grasp of social cue”, and is after Nancy just lost a friend to the Upside Down (again) and is working with someone new. The scene of Eddie telling Steve that she didn’t hesitate is him speaking from his own “cynical” point of view, is literally in the same scene as him stating that he runs from danger, and comes after he is shocked by Nancy’s guns, meanwhile Nancy has had numerous scene of her risking her life for others in similar fashion to her diving in after Steve. The RV scene is after she just saw visions of an apocalyptic future, her family dying and Steve mentions California (where Jonathan is). During the scene of Steve’s confession, she looks guilty for breaking his heart, supportive of him growing up and moving on, but is downright uncomfortable when he mentions her being in his dream (and relieved when Robin interrupts). The only scene that actually has Nancy’s feelings voiced is when she acknowledges that Steve has “grown up quite a bit” (which he has), but it’s Jonathan’s look of worry and slight jealousy that inform the scene’s context. Every other scene is just light flirting (which was established as their dynamic in S1) and sexual tension (whilst is a high stress environment), but there still written more like exes being forced to interact and get along again than a budding romantic reunion.

just wanna say thank you for sending this message! it’s really well put and has been a theory i’ve been lightly sitting on for a bit. i think *some* of my discomfort around steve’s actions is that it does feel very one sided most of the time.

as you mentioned, i think it’s clear nancy is attracted to steve physically. i think some of her sexual yearning comes from the fact she’s been separated from jonathan for a while and they haven’t even been speaking really. tensions were high and steve was there and half naked lmao

and to elaborate on your points further, whilst robin obviously isn’t romantically interested in steve at all, we’ve seen that she immediately had a complex about being compared to nancy wheeler. in her mind all the popular people are infathomable to her - like in her mind nancy is just some priss. during that library conversation robin admittedly doesn’t know nancy or her motivations very well. pair that w her clearly being autistic and obviously not heterosexual i do think it’s mostly conjecture on robin’s part. especially in contrast with her not being able to navigate her stuff with vickie very well - self admittedly unable to determine if she’s into girls or not.

now forgive me this is where my gay eddie tinhat comes into play but i swear i have points!!!! my interpretation of eddie throwing his vest at steve during the fond!stancy eye contact moment is that he was… dare i say jealous. actually i think the parallel between eddie and robin’s interpretations of nancy is super interesting. eddie also has his mind made up that nancy is a priss - which is why the guns take him so off guard. paired with the fact that as you said he feels inferior to nancy’s bravery after he learns she’s not. now pair that with what i think is a kind of obvious crush on steve but also serious self esteem issues (one can argue he feels inferior to both of them) you have his interpretation. he wishes he could dive after people he loves like that so therefore she loves steve. by that same token though robin jumped in right after nancy so either we’re meant to believe ronance is canon (which… please sir can i have some more) orrr it’s clearly a platonic act of love.

now all that makes me doubt the intent of the RV scene is the way the script details it. nancy is supposed to be reciprocally into it. but what’s interesting is that’s not the way natalia played it. like the scene had a visceral awkwardness to it. she was uncomfortable. as she should be. what i’m wondering is if she’s the one who retconned it or if the writers changed how they wanted the scene played. because every time natalia is asked about the love triangle she also looks uncomfortable. i don’t think she likes nancy being reduced to a love interest either. plus she’s a big ronance shipper. but it could ultimately be leading up to the long game of her letting steve down gently as decided for her by the writers idk.

apologies for the essay but i had things to say!!!!!!

edit: i’ve been kindly informed by an anon that the scripts were confirmed fake! so that probably means it was never meant to look reciprocated! so consider that point redacted xx

#anti stancy #steddie #ronance #jancy #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #eddie munson #jonathan byers #stranger things #anon

[popwasabi]

“Stranger Things 3″: The Pain and Love of Nostalgia

(Warning: SPOILERS ahead for “Stranger Things 3″)

“Stranger Things” most obvious core appeal has always been its campy 80’s throwback.

From the bright neon clothes, its brilliant synthesizer-based soundtrack, use of catchy 80s tunes and references to classic 80s horror and sci-fi, “Stranger Things” undoubtedly harnesses the power of its time period to hook viewers into its show. It’s a show that is rooted firmly in nostalgia and wields it prominently to attract viewers from Gen Xers who grew up in this time period to curious Millennials like myself who watched plenty of the referenced movies.

(How do I both love and hate this at the same time??)

But “Stranger Things” aesthetic callback is more than just a style; it’s a narrative choice that plays directly into the themes of the story. By playing on viewers’ sense of nostalgia the show is forcing us to see how these characters react to growing up, by literally looking back on a period we cannot go back to, and all the complex emotions that come with these feelings.

To understand this further, we need to look back on etymology of the word nostalgia. In ancient Greece the word has a far more complex meaning that simply reminiscing on the past. It’s root definition actually has more to do with feeling pain than happiness about the past.

You see, nostalgia back then use to describe a condition of deep homesickness or longing for a period we can never return to and the melancholy that comes with it. “Stranger Things” is deeply rooted in this condition and expressed at times quite explicitly by all its characters.

From the very beginning “Stranger Things” nostalgic feel is about how these characters grow up and often times grow up too quickly. From Will being ripped away from his D&D pre-teen friends in season one and his mind infected by the creatures of the Upside Down, to Elle being experimented on before she can even have a childhood, the show takes us on a journey through the emotions of this pain of leaving the past behind and how innocence can be snatched away all too often by meddling adults and/or monsters in this case.

(Some VERY  big monsters in many cases.)

This theme is by far its most present in “Stranger Things 3” as our band of nerds are now all teenagers trying to navigate hormones, young love and looking back on a childhood they can never have back and all the real horrors in between. It’s not just the youngest characters who deal with the pain of nostalgia, however; our adult heroes and heroines also inevitably deal with the pain of reminiscing on the past on lives that are permanently changed.

But the ultimate theme here isn’t just about the pain we associate with the past but that despite many things inevitably changing in your life, if you hold on to those closest to you in this journey that won’t change at least and the pain you feel is only a reminder that what you felt was real.

(#Feels)

“Stranger Things 3” does a great job of immediately telling the viewer how different things are this season compared to the previous two. Elle and Mike can’t stop making out, as does Lucas and Max, and Nancy and Jonathan are trying to navigate the complex and often humiliating adult workplace. There’s even a new monument to capitalism in Hawkin’s new Star Court Mall. But many of the other characters aren’t handling change all that well. Still new dad Hopper is having a hard time processing that Elle likes boys now, Dustin has spent most of the summer away from his best friends who seem disinterested in his new projects (and suspected made-up girlfriend), all while Will struggles mightily to keep the gang’s old D&D interests alive while his friends suck face.

There’s a tremendous sadness here reflected with these characters that viewers who watched these kids in the previous two seasons will immediately feel. They aren’t quite the same kids they used to be and they’ve grown a bit a part as they’ve grown up literally. We feel Dustin’s and Will’s pain (especially the latter given what he went through) that things are different and will never be quite the same between these friends. It’s a pain that many of us have definitely experienced growing up as we age out of hobbies, places and in some cases our friends.

Another character that has to deal pretty personally with nostalgic pain in this season is quite clearly everyone’s favorite dad Steve Harrington. The once king of Hawkins High has now been reduced to scooping ice cream at the mall to eke out a living. It’s a humiliating fall from grace for a young man who was once the most popular person in town. He’s spends much of this season trying to desperately to hold on to appearances, whether it’s only being interested in women who can up his status or pretending he doesn’t understand nerdy platitudes.

(Seriously, who hasn’t felt inadequate as fuck working a shitty customer service job before?)

Meanwhile Hopper, who probably struggles with change the most this season, gets quite aggressive with Mike and his advances on his adoptive daughter Elle. This isn’t helped by the fact that he still struggles with feelings he still has for Joyce and he often has self-destructive ways of dealing with these emotions. Though his actions border on problematic during the season Hopper’s transformation and acceptance is perhaps the most touching of the series as he lets Elle spread her wings and accepts change in the season’s finale in a bittersweet sendoff.

It’s season’s 3’s “villain” Billy though that we get the saddest feelings we associate with nostalgia. We learn that Billy’s attitude and views on others are more tied to his past than anyone else as we see a much sweeter more innocent kid who just loved his mom when he was a child who has changed so much. As with the series overarching messages its again tied to how easily innocence can be ripped away by bad adults whether its story’s primary villain of secret government agencies running lab tests on children and Interdimensions or in Billy’s case simply a drunk, evil belligerent father. This season finally explains where Billy’s bad attitude comes from and how much he’s changed for the worst because of the way his upbringing has treated him.

This season really shows how when we’re all at our lowest we all wish we could just go back to the way things were and journey back to a simpler time. It’s why nostalgia, no matter how happy the memory is, has a sadness to it; because we know we can never go back.

(I mean yeah, but it doesn’t get this dark.)

It’s through the events of season 3’s story though that we see how nostalgia isn’t all about pain and that there are still constants from our past that we can rely on in the present; namely those we love. The season begins by splintering the huge cast of characters by pitting their emotions against one another, but they each pick up a single piece of the larger puzzle of the plot that ultimately leads them back to one another and because of their past ties they are able to quickly move on from their pain and work together once again as a team. In this way nostalgia reminds us that it’s not all about pain but about love and more importantly and how they make our lives worth living. Though hormonally these kids have changed and their interests are more related to puberty now than Dungeons and Dragons they still care about one another and will do anything to keep each other safe (not to mention save the world). The adults in this story function the same way, quickly setting aside any past bitterness for the greater good.

Love is the ultimate uniter here that brings past to present and its why this fellowship of characters are able to win in the end.

(Daaaawww..)

Growing up is an often painful process and that occurs no matter what stage of life you’re in. Whether it’s like our pre-teen gang of nerds going through puberty, working our first humiliating job like Nancy or Steve as young adults or reminiscing on past what-might’ve-beens or child-rearing issues like Hopper its difficult when we all hit our next inevitable change in our life. We don’t want things to change because we often are happy with whatever stage we were once in. Sometimes we fight it, alienate others in the process and cause even more heartache for ourselves than we ever should.

But what “Stranger Things” reminds us is that despite all this, if we keep those we love and care about closest to us these changes won’t be so painful and drastic. We’ll at least get to go through all of it together.

So yes, nostalgia can be quite painful at times. There’s always going to be melancholy and some level of sadness we associate with the past and though we may fight it there are still friends, family and loved ones who will remain constants through it all in our lives.

All we can do is hold on to them for as long as we can and through those we love maybe we can keep a bit of that past alive forever.

*sniffs* I’m not crying, YOU’RE CRYING!

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #growing up #nostalgia #netflix #80s #eighties #generation X #chief hopper #Eleven #milly bobby brown #finn wolfhard #steve harrington #horror #sci-fi #science fiction #upside down #demogorgon #monsters #dungeons and dragons #david harbour #winona ryder #darce montgomery #joe keery #noah schnapp #red dawn #Charlie Heaton #Maya Hawke #Sadie Sink #gaten matazarro