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upsidedownwithsteve · 22 days

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A soulmate AU: Steve Harrington x fem!reader [3.7K]

THE TIMELINE

"There was something 'bout you that now I can't remember, It's the same damn thing that made my heart surrender. And I miss you on a train, I miss you in the morning, I never know what to think about. I think about you."

- About You By The 1975

V. HAWKINS, INDIANA: 1988

Two years had passed since the last gate had closed and despite the aftermath of the “earthquakes,” Vecna had yet to make any sort of reappearance.

Max’s bones healed, eventually, and she regained most of her sight, relying on thick lensed glasses when she grew tired or the words in her books turned blurry. Nancy went to college, Jonathan tried it for a year, Hopper took El on a month-long camping trip to see something other than the town repairing itself and Lucas went to therapy.

Soon, each kid followed suit, attending sessions that eventually helped them sleep a little better because even though they couldn’t tell the person on the other side of the coffee table about monsters and the world under their feet, there had been enough death and suffering to fill the hour with regardless.

Dustin told Steve he should go too and Robin agreed. After Eddie’s funeral, the one where they all stood with Wayne, a guy from the garage Eddie worked at on weekends and the remaining Hellfire members beside a small gravestone, they had another one.

A second ceremony near the woods behind Eddie’s trailer, close to where he died, to where Dustin had found him bleeding and proud. The kids cried and Joyce held on tight to Will while Jonathan hugged Nancy and Dustin punched a tree trunk. It felt better than the first one, easier somehow, when they didn’t have to lie and hide the guilt they had at knowing each and every one of them felt a little shame in having a hand in someone’s else’s death.

But it was closure.

The town healed, roads were repaired, houses rebuilt, new flowers planted in the park in memory of those who had been lost in the accident - the natural disaster that made headlines, the one that no one could have predicted.

Steve helped Dustin clean Eddie’s grave when the spray paint covered the dead boy’s name. Robin stopped crying when she looked in the mirror each morning. Jonathan left his room.

The kids got better. They smiled more, went to the new arcade on opening day, shared slushies and rode their bikes around town again. Joyce visited Wayne when she could, took him pies and meatloaf and eventually got him out of his armchair and into a coffee shop for a full hour. Hopper got his job back, had a ceremony that preceded the funeral he had years before and Robin managed to get her and Steve a sweet gig at the record store that replaced Family Video.

It felt fresh. New. Clean.

So why was Steve still dreaming about gates?

For the third night in a row, he woke up gasping. A yell stuck in his throat that tasted like metal, like blood, and he was drenched. Shirtless, his sheets stuck to his chest, the weight of them tangled around his legs in a sickly familiar way, vines tugging at his ankles. His room was dark, the house empty, too quiet. Quiet enough that his breath ripped from his lungs in harsh pants, his head pounding from the exertion of running in his dream, back in a place that he hadn’t seen in almost twenty one months.

At first, he dreamt of death.

Of Eddie and how they found him lifeless and in Dustin’s arms. How Max was barely conscious in the attic of the Creel House, her body broken in ways that no doctor could understand. He dreamt of how he had pulled Lucas away from her, the boy sobbing and yelling, fighting with more strength than he knew he had as Steve tried to restrain him just enough for the paramedics to get Max into the ambulance.

Then the dreams turned empty. He dreamt of losing everyone, Robin, Dustin, Hop. El was gone, Will too, Mike nowhere to be found. Nancy’s house was empty, Joyce and Jonathan didn’t exist and Steve sat alone in a town that turned grey, crumbling to dust until the vines came back and the clouds turned red.

He ran miles every night, searching for his friends, his family. Woke up to shaking breaths and sore legs like he’d really sprinted across a town that was no longer home and each morning when the sun rose, he sat with a coffee and his bare legs dipped in the pool in his backyard. He stared at the water until the ripples blurred and wondered how long it would take for Barb to come haunt him too, if she’d reappear in his dreams despite the years that had gone by, if she’d come crawling back out of his pool like she used to, dripping wet and with no eyes.

But Barb never came and he stopped dreaming of the kids, stopped hearing Lucas’ screams, stopped seeing Max in a hospital bed with blood coming from her eyes and eventually, one night, he dreamt of a gate that he’d never seen before.

It didn’t even really look like a gate.

Not the ones Steve knew. It wasn’t framed by dead vines, it didn’t pulsate, it didn’t have a red glow coming from its innards. This one didn’t look like rotting flesh, like a wound in the earth that couldn’t be healed. This one wasn’t at the bottom of a lake, lined with wet moss and cracked rocks, it wasn’t in the Munson trailer nor in the middle of the woods.

This one opened on a blank wall in Steve’s bedroom, replacing the shelves where his old basketball trophies sat, where he usually left his pile of clothes before falling into bed. In the dream, it started as a crack, a crumbling of plaster and blue plaid wallpaper and Steve watched it open, a yawning thing that split the room and bathed it in light. It was too bright at first, like blinking into a summer sun. And once the white-hot of it cleared from Steve’s eyes, he saw blue skies and he could smell the ocean.

There were trees he’d never seen before in real life, something out of a movie, tall and green and narrow as they swayed in a breeze he couldn’t really feel from his spot on his bedroom carpet. The buildings were a pinky-peach colour, like clay, with orange slate tiles and there were foundations and statues carved into the walls, water trickling from the mouths of gods and vases that stone faced women held in their marble arms.

It was like looking at a painting, a canvas between his bed and his old desk, framed with olive branches and large, red fruits that protruded from the gates mouth.

Pomegranates.

Steve could smell them, a sweetness that mixed with the ocean air, a kind of freshness that you couldn’t find between the fields and farms that surrounded Hawkins. In the dream, he wanted to move closer but found that he couldn’t, his eyes wide and his bare feet rooted to the spot as he stared at the scene. It felt like a memory the more he looked, the buildings becoming familiar, a baby blue door that looked like somewhere he’d once owned the keys to and the cobbled streets became a well walked way home.

Then, as if he weren’t supposed to really see it, he spotted something move in an upstairs window. Two houses from the front of the gate, with rusted shutters and white linen curtains, he saw a girl stand between them.

A pretty girl, with eyes he knew he’d seen before, in a white dress that he was sure he remembered the feeling of.

The sight of her made Steve’s heart hammer, the dream making him dizzy, the realisation that he knew that girl making the line between unconsciousness and reality a little blurry. He didn’t know her name, or where he knew her from. He didn’t even know where he was looking or why the gate was there.

But he stared and stared until the girls eyes met his and before he could lift his hand, or even try to speak, there was a crack that seemingly came from the sky - the one above Hawkins or the one inside the gate, he didn’t know - but something flashed, the gate went dark and the rip in his bedroom wall stitched itself back up.

He woke up feeling like he’d remembered and forgotten something all at once. Like a book he’d read back in middle school, a photo he’d once misplaced, a song he hadn’t heard in years but still remebered some of the words too.

He knew her. He knew her.

Steve thought about the girl so much, so often, that it didn’t take him long to think of her, to refer to her, as you. You were someone he’d once known, from a memory or another dream, he wasn't sure. It was the same feeling as watching a movie and seeing a pretty actress on screen, in a different outfit with different hair but knowing her face and wondering what show he’d seen her in before.

Except with this, there was an aching want that buried itself in his chest at the sight of you, an awful feeling that grew larger each night. And every time his wall cracked open again, it seemed like his ribs did too. A crushing feeling, a yawning expanse inside his body that made room for the way his heart seemed to grow and grow at the sight of you.

Yearning, that’s what he thought it was. A slow, burning build of it.

The second night, he dreamt of you in a garden. A sprawling, green lawn with a pond so green-blue it made his eyes hurt. There was an awning beside it, a pergola of sorts made of white stone and it had ivy growing between the pillars, covering the roof and reaching down to trail its flowers in the water below. You were closer than before, than you were in the window, and Steve could see the way your lashes hit your cheeks as you looked down, stitching something that you held in your lap.

There was a wicker basket beside you, a loaf of fresh bread wrapped in a cloth and he could still smell pomegranates, sweet and tart. There was a space beside you on the blanket, enough room for two but no one else came.

You were always alone.

Steve tried to talk to you, to reach out and see if this gate worked like the others, if he could walk through into this other world, this other dimension, but it didn’t work.

Not yet, anyway.

You seemed to notice him more on the fifth night, as he watched you walk along the edge of a lake. Your hair was shorter now and your clothes had changed. They look more modern, more like his, the cabins behind you reminiscent of a summer camp, a holiday lodge or something. He could hear music, a song he swore he heard on the radio not too long ago and that night, you watched him back.

It seemed like you were waiting for someone. And when Steve saw your face light up with a smile, his heart stumbled. You raised your arm, reaching out a hand to the edge of the gate, off to the side as if someone else was in Steve’s walls. He saw another hand reach for yours, larger, definitely male, with a freckle where the thumb joined the palm.

The jealousy he felt was unmatched, a burning thing that scorched his chest and his throat, hot needles at the back of his mouth. Before the man came into view, the crack in his wall trembled and the gate stitched itself closed once more, leaving plaster dust and flakes of paint on his carpet.

Apart from the small mess, no one would have ever guessed another world opened up inside of Steve Harrington’s bedroom each night.

It took him a week and half to notice his hand had a freckle in the same spot. A small beauty mark he’d never really paid attention to before, painted in the space that joined his thumb to his hand. He tried not to read too much into it, tried not to hold onto the hope that maybe it meant something - because none of this made sense, not really.

They were just dreams. Strange things, brain scrambling things. But it was a welcome reprieve from death and darkness and vines that held onto him too tight. He no longer woke up in a cold sweat, he no longer wished for morning to come, no matter how tired he felt when he opened his eyes.

Steve wondered if anyone else was experiencing these kinds of dreams. If the rest of the party were getting glimpses of other worlds, other timelines. He wasn’t sure what they were, too scared to ask, too afraid to make everyone else worry. The thought that these dreams could be a trick crossed his mind more than once, a new tactic from Vecna, an infiltration of his sleep that was meant to lull him into some kind of false sense of security.

Safety - an unknown feeling.

But everyone else spent their days talking about school and their new bosses, the fair that was coming to town to celebrate the town hall finally being rebuilt. No one mentioned Vecna or dreams or gates or girls they knew from somewhere they couldn’t place.

So Steve accepted the fact that whatever these dreams were - whatever they meant - they were just for him. Which meant that you were his too.

Weeks went by with Steve viewing you from the split in his wall, sometimes hearing music, sometimes hearing your muffled voice. Never real words, never loud enough to hear and it didn’t seem like you could hear him either. But Steve watched, enraptured, following you around different parts of the world, new countries and scenes that he could never really place but, oh my god, each one felt like home with you in it.

Then one night, he saw himself.

He felt the surge of panic flood him even in his sleep, his body jolting against his bed as he saw the familiar face, staring back at him, nonplussed. He looked a little different, maybe older. His hair was shorter at the back, cropped closer to the nape of his neck but the biggest difference was how happy he looked.

This Steve, the one in his dream, inside this gate - this Steve from another time, another life - he looked lighter. He didn’t have purple smudges under his eyes, no deep lines settling across his forehead from frowning so much. His clothes were different too, looser, less fitting, the colours more muted. He wore a pair of jeans that looked much more comfortable than his tight Levi’s, a soft burgundy sweater that had the sleeves rolled up.

Steve didn’t recognise where this dream took place, but he knew it wasn’t Hawkins. America, yeah, the street signs and licence plates on the cars in the street giving that detail away, but he wasn’t too sure where. The buildings were bigger, shinier, more glass than brick but the skies were still blue and it looked peaceful, warm.

Safe.

Dream Steve strolled down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets, looking back over his shoulder every now and then as if to make sure the real Steve was following him. He walked past storefronts and stopped to pet a dog, a golden retriever who was waiting for his owner outside of a bakery. When he came to a bookstore, Steve could see a large building in the distance, a huge billboard atop it that looked like it was advertising a new movie, or a show maybe. It didn’t have much details on it, no actors nor dates to tell what year this was supposed to be.

Certainly not 1988.

It only had lettering across it, big and bold and red against a pristine white background: “ANOTHER LIFE.”

The bell to the bookstore jingled and then Steve saw you. As pretty as you had been in every other gate, every other world, every other lifetime. Like a figurine inside a snow globe, like something from a fairytale. Steve had never seen you this close before.

He watched your smile, the way it widened at the sight of his counterpart, this other version of him. You were so pretty that his breath got caught in his lungs, his sleeping body kicking out in shock when you lunged at the dream version of him, throwing your arms around his shoulders in greeting.

Steve watched the two figures embrace on the street, he watched how this luckier man got to bring his hand to your cheek and hold to there to kiss, how his lips - Steve’s own lips - met your own and parted them, mouths melting together in something that was so much more than a quick hello.

Steve didn’t have it in him to feel jealous then. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to. He watched the hand that held your jaw, the thumb that caressed your cheekbone as you grinned into him, your own hands clutching his waist now. There was a freckle, the same as the one he had on his own hand, in the matching spot on yours. This Steve took that hand and kissed that very mark, smacking kisses across your palm and up your wrist until you were laughing, head thrown back, eyes bright.

Steve hadn’t seen anything so happy.

He woke up before the dream finished, before the gate closed. Steve woke up with tears stinging at the corners of his eyes, his vision blurry in the navy gloom of his bedroom. It wasn’t yet morning. There was no gate on his bedroom fall, no new city between the plaid striped wallpaper.

He thought it could’ve been Chicago, maybe New York. Perhaps Philadelphia.

He wondered if he left and went looking for that bookstore, that street, that billboard, he’d find you too. If he was supposed to, if you were real, if this life was all he was supposed to get.

Something told him otherwise, that open crack inside his chest that made him ache for hours after he awoke. He never forgot about you during the day, each life he’d watched you live, how you had grown your hair out and then cut it, how you seemed to change your clothing depending on where you were, from old petticoats to jeans and shirts with logos on them he’d never seen before.

Steve felt like he’d lived a thousand lives with you.

He wasn’t sure what he had to do to get you in this one.

After two weeks of dreaming of this life with you, one that he was so sure would happen, he spoke to Joyce. He waited until the kids dragged Hopper out into the yard to help them with some sort of rocket they wanted to make and he found her in the kitchen. It was the closest kind of feeling he had to home - bar from the sight of you, but he wasn’t really sure if that counted when he was asleep.

So he tried to sound casual when he leaned over the Byers kitchen counter, elbows avoiding the jelly stains that Mike had left after making a sandwich, and asked, “hey, uh, do you believe in soulmates?”

Joyce blinked at him, flour and butter between her fingers as she tried to turn the page in her recipe book back to the instructions for apple pie. The book flopped shut when she let go, her hands reaching for a rag instead. Her eyes never left Steve’s.

“Uh, well. I guess so,” she paused, head tilted to the side as she watched the younger man, how his cheeks turned pink and his gaze fell to the floor. “I haven’t thought about it all that much. Why’d you ask?”

Steve didn’t know what to say then. So he floundered, flushed in the face and nose scrunched as he ran his fingers through his hair too harshly, hoping that no one else walked in. What was he supposed to say? That he was dreaming of gates in his bedroom walls? But it was okay? ‘Cause these ones didn’t have monsters or creatures set out to kill him, no, these gates held something that he thought he’d once had, that they held something he was so sure he was supposed ot have again?

Maybe, just not in this life.

Maybe, this time, something was broken. Wires were crossed, cut, unravelled. Maybe the upside down messed up a timeline, maybe it ripped apart whatever plan it had originally laid out for Steve Harrington.

He didn’t know. But he knew it sounded crazy, even in his head.

So he shrugged and said, “no reason.”

And then that night, after Joyce gave him funny looks over the dinner she served him and the rest of his friends, the kitchen table full, he went home and lay on his bed, hardly bothering to pull the sheets over his bare chest.

He counted his breaths, hoped for sleep and wished for you.

Like always, his room grew darker, his lids heavier and the crack in his bedroom wall crumbled and split until the dust settled and he saw your face. You were alone this time, pretty as ever and in the same looking city he’d last seen himself in. The skies were blue behind you, the buildings still tall and shiny looking, all glass window panes and metal framework. If he concentrated enough, he could smell summer.

Hot tarmac and sunscreen, fresh fruit from one of the stores behind you, tart lemons and freshly ground coffee.

You were looking right at him and even in his sleep, Steve smiled. Your eyes were pretty, too pretty, the colour bright and your gaze excited as you gazed at him. Like you’d been waiting. You held out a hand, coaxing, kind, soft, patient. And for the first time, when Steve reached out too, his hand slipped through the gate.

He was right, about the season, about it being summer. The air inside this world was warm on his skin, like the sun was on him despite being sprawled out in the blue gloom of his dark bedroom. It felt like a July morning, right before the heat hit.

He was almost touching your fingers when he woke up alone again.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington au

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nburkhardt · 9 months

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There’s something off about Steve and Dustin can’t place it.

Ever since they got back from the upside down, Steve seems more… not better but more, relaxed? Comfortable? He doesn’t know exactly, just something different.

It’s not like Dustin has never seen Steve relaxed, he’s been over at his house sitting next to his cat and listening to his mom explain how to make the perfect fettuccine dish. Steve is already comfortable around him to be bitchy to him, calling out Dustin’s shit immediately.

This? This is different.

Steve is on the grass laying down, arms behind his head and legs crossed. He looks like he could be asleep but Dustin watches as Steve shakes his foot and sees his mouth twitch at whatever Eddie’s whispering in his ear next to him. Robin laughing on Steve’s other side, her feet resting on Steve’s legs.

Dustin can tell there’s a difference between how Steve is acting now versus how Steve is normally relaxed.

Something is different and he needs to know what it is and how he can make sure his best friend big brother is always this… whatever it is. He deserves it.

“Are you trying to explode them? Isn’t that El’s thing?”

He startles and looks over at Nancy, she’s standing there with silent judgment; Dustin has seen that look on Mike many times, even if he knows both Wheel isn’t afraid to voice their judgment either.

Looking back at the trio, Robin now laying down with her head on Steve’s stomach and Eddie mirroring Steve.

“No,” he answers and looks back at Nancy to find her now looking curiously at the trio, “Just wondering what’s up with Steve”

Nancy snaps her attention back to him and opens her mouth before closing it again, looking at the trio; looking at Steve. “He’s comfortable-”

“Yeah I know that, I want to know what’s up with this other- whatever it is.” He snaps, crossing his arms, “that’s more- he’s been like this since we all got back.”

She nods, quickly looking over again before sitting next to him, “I think, he’s safe.”

“Of course he’s safe! We defeated Vecna!” He doesn’t snap, but it’s bitchy and Nancy rolls her eyes at him, before looking back at the trio.

“I mean, he feels safer now. As in, he’s not on guard all the time. He can lay there with his eyes closed, with no weapon or walkie within reach. He’s not only comfortable and safe, he’s- Steve’s happy” Nancy explains and looks at him, going to cross her arms before letting them fall again, “with the upside down behind us, all of us are okay and here- so Steve’s happy and safe”

It makes him blink, dropping his own arms before looking back at Steve. He’s got to be asleep now, with the way his foot isn’t moving now and how Eddie and Robin are also not moving.

“You’ve never actually seen him like this have you?”

He goes to nod, only to realize that, no; no he hasn’t.

Sure, Steve looked relaxed sitting on his couch but now that Dustin’s thinking about it, Steve was twitchy. That he had a leg bouncing and how he picked the one spot that has view of every part of the room. He knows that Steve keeps the nail bat in his car, that it goes inside with him at home and work.

And now that it’s in his head, Dustin can see all the ways Steve was and how Steve is now.

Steve is content and for the first time in years, he is safe.

Uh. This wasn’t supposed to go like this? I was going to make this a thing involving Eddie’s necklace but this came out instead 🤷‍♀️

for me there’s a major difference between content and comfortable. Like, you can be comfortable but still on the edge you know what I mean??? But when you’re content… it’s just better?? Idk what trying to say. ANYWAY!!! This is Dustin wanting Steve like this always and hoping to like bottle it up lol.

Also this takes place after spring break, they defeated Vecna. Like a few months after. It’s also pre-steddie, because of course it is.

Taglist (if you want to be added let me know!)

@spectrum-spectre @itsfreakingbats @mysticcrownshipper @artiststarme @thereindeerlady @justforthedead89 @ronniescontinuum @freyaforestafay @littlewildflowerkitten @estrellami-1 @gregre369 @zerokrox-blog @bookworm0690 @flustratedcas @carlprocastinator1000 @marvelmwah @solliesolesito @navnae @i-less-than-three-you @grimmfitzz @strangersteddierthings

#dustin henderson #dustin and steve #henderfam #implied steddie #nancy wheeler #Nancy and Dustin #stranger things fic #Dustin Henderson fic #tbh I don’t know what to tag this #nburkhardt writes #ngl i’m still a lil high and wanted silly #but I think I got just soft hours rn

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estrellami-1 · 5 months

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If I Should Stay

I’m not gonna lie… if there was a part to leave as my last one for a month… I’d choose this one. I hope y'all like it as much as I do! ❤️

Part 1 | . . . | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42

El watches the proceedings with wide eyes, and grips onto Steve’s hand the moment he’s close enough. “It’s time,” she says. She might be asking; she’s not quite sure.

Steve’s face falls. “Almost,” he agrees, pulling her into a hug. She goes gladly, tucking her face into his neck. “I think we’ve got one more day,” he murmurs, not letting go. “Are you up for some training today?”

She pulls back to look him in the eye. It’s the easiest way for her to make sure he’s telling the truth. “I will be stronger?”

“That’s the goal,” Steve nods. “I don’t know if it’ll work.”

El thinks about it, then nods. “I want to try.”

“M’kay. Have you eaten recently? Alli made some pretty great mac and cheese we can heat up, if you want it.”

El had mac and cheese before. It was cold, because she had to wait for Mike to bring it to her in the basement. The noodles were rubbery and the cheese didn’t taste good. She scrunches her nose, but Steve doesn’t look like he’s lying, so she relaxes her face and nods. “That would be good,” she tells him.

He smiles and ruffles the little bit of hair she has. “‘Course, El. I’m gonna heat this up, and while you eat, we can talk, okay?”

“Okay,” she answers, and watches as he puts some of the pasta into a bowl and sticks it into the microwave.

As it’s heating up, Steve turns to Eddie and Wayne. “Eddie, think you can bring him up to speed? We’ll be in the dining room if you have any questions.”

Eddie nods and waves his uncle out of the kitchen in the direction of the living room, already speaking faster than Eleven had thought possible.

When they’re both sitting at the table, her with a steaming bowl in front of her and a fork in hand, Steve starts talking. “First things first,” he says softly. “Eleven. That’s not your name; it was a number assigned to you.”

She perks up. “You know my name?”

Steve nods. “Jane.”

“Jane,” she tries out, then nods decisively. She likes it.

“So eleven. The number. That means there were at least ten others. We know Vecna, Henry Creel, is One. That leaves nine more.”

El shakes her head. She knows this. “They all died.”

Steve gives her a sad sort of smile. “Not all of them. You meet your sister, Kali. She’s number eight. She can make you believe you’re seeing something that isn’t there. She’s very powerful, and she taught you how she got that powerful.” He puts his fingertips together with his palms apart. It looks like a spider on a mirror, and El gets sidetracked for a moment by the image.

“What do you know about fairy tales?” Steve asks, and El blinks and chews the bite she’d just put in her mouth.

“They’re fake,” she eventually says. “Stories about things that never happened, that can’t ever happen.”

Steve smiles at her. “Yes, but there’s still lessons to be learned from them. Can I tell you my favorite version of a fairy tale called Sleeping Beauty?”

El perks up again. “I know that one! A witch curses the princess so she falls asleep forever until her true love finds her and kisses her.”

Steve nods. “That’s the most popular version,” he agrees, lips tilted up. “But that’s not my favorite.”

She tilts her head. “What is your favorite?”

He grins at her. “Once upon a time there was a princess. She was cursed, you got that right, but it wasn’t by a witch. It was by a fairy who hadn’t been invited to her first birthday, which is a very big deal when you’re a princess. So the fairy curses her to fall asleep—her and the rest of the kingdom—when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel when she turns eighteen. Everything goes exactly as the fairy had said, and eighteen years after she casts the spell, the princess—Aurora—falls asleep, only to be woken by true love’s kiss. The fairy came to check on Aurora and found her sleeping, just as she’d planned. But something unexpected happened: the fairy felt compassion for her. She took to sitting by her bedside every day, waiting for the princess’s true love to appear. Finally one day she goes to leave and presses a kiss to Aurora’s forehead. Can you guess when happened?”

El frowns. “She woke up?”

“Exactly,” Steve nods. “She woke up because the fairy loved her. True love can come from anywhere. It doesn’t have to be romantic.” He takes one of El’s hands in his own and looks into her eyes. “Kali taught you to use your anger to get stronger. I want you to try to use love. It’s the one thing Henry Creel doesn’t have.”

El thinks about it. “I don’t have to kiss anyone.”

Steve chuckles. “No, you don’t have to kiss anyone. But you know me, right? You know Mike and Will and Dustin and Lucas. And you know Robin, Eddie, Nancy, and Jonathan, now, right?”

“Right,” El nods.

“And do you love any of us? Do you want us to stay safe?”

El thinks carefully about the question, then nods. “Like the fairy.”

Steve’s eyes crinkle as he grins at El. “Just like the fairy.”

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#stranger things #if I should stay #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #wayne munson #el hopper #el and Steve #they are my absolute favorite I swear #fix it fic #time travel fic #time travel fix it #time travel fix it fic #starambles

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alcalystrasz · 1 month

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This, is what I think is going to happen for BYLER in season 5:

1. They will get multiple heart-to-heart/intimate scenes together. As we already saw in season 4, they got 3 in total: the first on at Will's house, after El shmacked Angela's face, the second one on the car in the desert, after burying the Hero Unknown Agent Man's body, the third one in the van when Will opens to him. In season 3, we didn't get any, but in season 2 we had 2: the first one when Mike reassures Will about the Mind Flayer and they touch hands *so cute*, and the second one when Mike tells about the first time they met. So if we're being reasonable, it could be 4, I think we'll have 4 scenes in total.

Let me explain that... I see the first one being about Max and Lucas' mental state. It could be at the hospital, or at school, or at Mike's house. The second one could be some sort of fight. I remember one of the co-writers saying there will be an other rain fight. I don't really know if it will happen cause he confirmed it a long time ago but let's say it is. So an other rain fight, at Mike's house, but maybe this time it could hint Mike's sexuality instead of Will's like in S3. The third one could be where they try to reassure each other that it's okay they will win right after Vecna's back, more likely at Mike's house or someplace other. The fourth one could be in the Upside Down, because may I remember you that Mike never went in the Upside Down? That's what we call a first time, right Mike! So Mike and Will in the Upside Down could talk about everything they've been through and Mike could finally kiss Will and tell him how much he loves him.

For a final scene, a fifth but not really fifth, it could be when everything's over. They go to some sort of High School Ball to celebrate their final year and I see them finally breaking the "I'm scared" barrier and go in the middle of the dance floor and dance together like no one else is there with a Time After Time song playing on the background.

2. Their first kiss will be awkward from both their POV. What I mean is that when they kiss for like, what, 3 seconds, Will pushes Mike gently and Mike removes himself gently and they look at each other like they did something bad. Will stutters trying to say something but nothing comes out of his mouth. Mike could say something like "Oh, I'm sorry I- I didn't..." but Will could interrupt him like 'bitch wdym you're sorry' he could kiss him back but it is after the kiss Mike will admit he never liked El romantically. Buy yeah, awkward kiss, just like Rockie's one could be actually. Mostly cause they're older so it doubles the awkwardness.

3. Jonathan gets some hate towards Mike. I can literally imagine Jonathan always being mad, upset and distant towards Mike because he can't see his brother likes him. It'd be too funny I'm sorry ;-;

4. Will gets hurt by Vecna and Mike stays next to him at the hospital. It could be the opposite actually, Mike in the bed, but I prefer Will cause he's used to it now- I can see them being close and Mike being super worried but it doesn't count as a intimate scene because Jonathan, Joyce and Hopper are close.

5. Will shirtless makes Mike blush. Let me explain, LET ME. We saw in S5 BTS they swapped clothes for some stuff. Like, we saw Will has Mike's clothes on, logic, he left everything in California and they do the same cloth size (almost). So if we consider the fact that Mike lends his clothes to Will, we can totally imagine at one point Will, coming in Mike's room asking for a shirt because he doesn't have anymore. Mike brings him one and he says thanks, then he removes his clothes, his back facing Mike's face and he gets like flustrated it'd be HILARIOUSLY CUTE. He could stare through a mirror maybe, idk but that sounds nice right?

6. Mike will get hurt in the Upside Down. Of course he has to, he hasn't been hurt in the whole show, BRO'S FINE. So he gets hurt and Will of course would help him, they could rest a little and talk two times, one "normal" hinting a future kiss and the second time they kiss.

An upside down kiss. What a funny name. It isn't a Spider-Man kiss though (should be).

I think that's it, I'll reblog my post if I find anything else.

#stranger things #noah schnapp #byler #will byers #byler tumblr #finn wolfhard #mike wheeler #byler is canon #love #byler is endgame #byler nation

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helpimstuckposting · 9 months

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I’m a ghost and you are a shadow

—

Ever since the Upside-down and Vecna and the world going to shit, Steve’s spent a lot of time roaming the bars inside and out of Hawkins. Once he’d finished with his dad’s liquor cabinet and the only liquor store in town stopped selling to him, he started being a regular at multiple establishments.

It was hard, after losing Max and El and Will and others Steve couldn’t think about without ripping open the wounds again. The portals were all closed, but at what cost? The world was technically saved, but Steve’s was a wreck. The metaphorical wounds were still ripped up and bleeding, fresh holes that would never quite stitch themselves over and heal.

His parents never came back, and he couldn’t even blame them, it’s not like he expected to be worth it to them. He was an adult now, on his own, there was no need for them to come back and pick him up. Honestly, he never wanted to see them again, didn’t really even know who they were. Steve had lived with practical strangers his whole life, made a semblance of family from skin and bone, and had it all ripped away from him.

Steve Harrington was always meant to be alone.

So he drank, went back to King Steve’s routes, used the alcohol to ground him while his mind drifted away to heaven or hell or wherever. It didn’t matter, because Steve never remembered the night before. The nightmares melted with the sunrise, the tremors and gasps, and flooding eyes gave way to cotton mouth and hunger in the daylight, and the blinding sun made it easier to forget all the bad things. Easier, but altogether impossible none the less.

So Steve didn’t quite remember how he ended up in the woods behind his house, dead leaves tangled in his hair and a particularly sharp twig shoved into his spine. He groaned against the sunlight blinding him through the branches and dug the stick out from under him, standing up on wobbling legs to trudge back inside. It wasn’t uncommon to find himself on his porch or lying in an old and tattered lounge chair, or even on a park bench some times. He wandered a lot. There was nothing else to do.

He still had money in his trust fund, still had his parents house to stay in, it wasn’t like anyone was knocking on his door to put him back together. Eddie was somewhere, in another state or wherever he ran off to. Again, Steve couldn’t blame him, either. Wayne wasn’t here anymore, there was no reason for Eddie to stay after everything. There wasn’t any reason for Steve to stay, but there wasn’t anywhere for him to go, either.

So he stayed. So he drank. So he blacked out and woke up outside sometimes.

He rested against a tree for a minute, trying to gain his bearings and see past the blinding sunlight, rubbing circles into his eyes until he saw sparks of white behind his eyelids. He was probably a mess, probably looked half dead, hadn’t been able to look into a mirror in months.

Blinking out into his backyard, he could see a bit better now but the world still wobbled on its axis just a bit. It would probably be another half hour until he was sober enough to see straight, but he wasn’t going to stay in the burning sun for that. He trekked across the dead grass of his yard, using passing lawn chairs and tables as crutches to make the distance more bearable, ignored the memories pressing at the edges of his mind and embraced the pain in his head to push the thoughts away.

The house seemed a bit cleaner on the inside than he last remembered, but he couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t remember the last time he cleaned, but he couldn’t remember much of anything these days. That was the point, after all.

Steve rounded the hallway into the open arch of the kitchen entry — hoping he had some cereal left in the pantry somewhere, not brave enough to handle the stares and whispers he’d get at the diner or grocery store — when he was roughly slammed against the kitchen wall. His head swam with the abrupt movement, stomach churning uncomfortably. He blinked against the sudden impact, feeling one of his own kitchen knives at his throat; pressing, but not digging, a warning. The knife wobbled slightly before the grip righted, pressing just a bit stronger than before, a threat.

Steve opened his eyes, trying to get his brain back online in his hazy state. Putting the pieces together slowly. Brown hair. Curly. Angry eyes. A set grimace on his lips. Eddie Munson. The last time Eddie Munson had a sharp object to his neck, Steve was pinned to the wall of Reefer Rick’s boat house. Now, pinned to the wall of his own kitchen, Steve couldn’t pull his eyes away, couldn’t fathom what Eddie would be doing here, either.

“Eddie? What the fuck are you doing in my house?” He asked, pushing through the uncomfortable cotton mouth and stale alcohol taste on his tongue.

Eddie just stared at him, the hand fisted into Steve’s shirt tightening. He winced.

“Seriously dude, what are you doing?” Was he still asleep outside? Was he ever outside? What the hell did he drink last night?

Eddie kept staring, glaring, like Steve did something wrong again. Steve always did something wrong, he just couldn’t figure out what. The grip on his shirt tightened again, pinching Steve’s chest and clearing his head just a bit more. Definitely not a dream.

“Who are you?” Eddie growled out, shoving Steve harder into the wall.

Steve blinked. What? That was not the question Steve was expecting. Not that he was expecting any of this, really.

“Who. Are. You?” Eddie repeated.

“Steve. Harring-ton?” Steve replied, following the other man’s cadence, words dripping with confusion.

Eddie’s glare tightened like his grip, knife digging into his throat just a bit more. He was sure his brain should be screaming danger, danger, danger, but the fact that it was Eddie standing in front of him was throwing him way off kilter.

“Seriously, Eddie, what’s going on?” Steve begged, unsure if the confusion muddling his brain was because of the alcohol, lack of any decent nutrition for the past few months, or something else. Did he seriously miss something so big that had Eddie up in arms like this? He couldn’t possibly look so bad he was unrecognizable.

“Is this some kind of trick from Vecna? Hm? What are you?”

“Eddie, man, I seriously have no clue what you’re talking about!” Steve’s voice was gaining a more hysterical edge at this point, but it had no effect on Eddie what-so-ever. “I am so not sober enough for this, just tell me what’s going on!”

“Steve Harrington is dead!” Eddie yelled in his face, “Steve Harrington is dead, so what the fuck are you?”

—

If y’all have world building questions pls ask in the replies because maybe it’ll get me somewhere near a plot. Anyway, please enjoy sad lonely Steve

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piratefishmama · 10 months

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Forgiven Not Forgotten | Part 8

The mirror wasn’t weird anymore. But Eddie still found it sort of unnerving to look into it. To see scars on his face. Scars that told the story of time having passed. Time he didn’t remember passing, and knowing that, from context clues and behaviours of the people around him…

He should remember it passing.

They weren’t telling him something. Keeping truths from him for his own good and while yes, nice, lovely, they were protecting him from something undoubtedly harsh, the urge of wanting to know was more of a pain in the ass than it’d ever been before.

Curiosity killed the cat and all that jazz.

Unfortunately he wasn’t a cat, he didn’t have nine lives, he had one, and that’d already been taken from him, so he was really pushing his luck. Especially considering he wound up on that little trip out into town, partnered up with team super girl. Or team Byers-Hopper. He’d wanted to be with the people he knew, Steve, Robin, Nancy… but no, Eleven, the actual superhero had linked her arm with his, and that was that.

She basically adopted him. Pulled him into the direction of team Byers-Hopper.

“She’s comfortable with you” Joyce explained from left field, they’d wound up in a music store after several clothes stores, and Eddie, while mindlessly flicking through the metal vinyl’s, had been watching the psychokinetic teen perusing bins with Will for tapes, Hopper somewhere down the aisles looking for an album to replace one he’d lost in the chaos.

“Can’t imagine why, I don’t know her.” He knew of her, but only through the brief ‘there’s this girl, she has superpowers’ run down during the great Eddie Munson manhunt of ’86. She was the girl. He didn’t know what he expected, but… it wasn’t her.

She looked so fragile. Her hair at her chin, styled in a way that Eddie recognised as someone who also didn’t quite know how to handle natural curls. With a brush and nothing else.

Too young to have been through what she’d been through. She should be in a mall somewhere, trying on clothes, gossiping about boys, or girls, or anything not related to fighting for her life.

She shouldn’t have been through what she had. But then, none of them should have been.

“We find it best not to question it when El takes a shine to someone, it means good things, that’s what we’ve found so far. It means there’s something good in you.”

“Well… if anyone were going to see it… m’glad it’s the superhero.” Joyce smiled, gave him a gentle pat on the back that shouldn’t have been as comforting as it was, probably the overwhelming amount of mom energy she seemed to just radiate, “…do you know what they’re hiding from me?” Just as out of left field as her appearance beside him was, and it had at least some of the desired effect.

She looked surprised. She looked uncomfortable, she looked… like she knew.

“It’s nothing that you did, Eddie, I promise you. I think… I think they’re keeping it quiet because… if you did wind up remembering… the government would likely try and blame you, they’d have an excuse to blame you, the fact that you don’t, well I think that is what’s keeping you out of a lot of trouble.” It was keeping him safe. Keeping him out of the line of fire. Even if it was also keeping the people he’d tentatively begun thinking of as friends… out of reach. “They’re probably trying to avoid jogging that memory of yours for your own safety.”

“So there should be memories…” finally, some kind of clarity. While they’d all been nice to him, while they’d all been glad he was okay, nobody acting like he didn’t belong there, nobody being mean to him… Steve wouldn’t even help him unpack! He and Steve had been fine during the whole Vecna thing, they’d been okay, they’d laughed and joked, they’d gotten along, and now— “did I hurt Steve?”

“Not that I know of, he wouldn’t have told anyone if you did though, knowing him he’d be keeping it to himself to stop you from receiving the fury of The Children. So if you did, you’d have to pry that from him yourself.” Right… pry the knowledge from Steve. Okay, he could do that… if he could get Steve alone then maybe, just maybe, he could talk to him.

Steve was the only one who knew about his void, right? He was safe with Steve, he could talk to Steve. “I suppose I’ll speak to Steve then, thanks Mrs Byers”

“It’s Joyce, Eddie… you can call me Joyce.” He nodded, his smile small, but there.

“Eddie!” And there was the Supergirl, having left the bin to join them, taking his arm to pull him back with her toward Will “there are tapes you will like here. Will says you like Metal, I think I have found some, the name says Iron something, and I am certain that that is a metal.” Joyce offered him a smile, before releasing him from their conversation with a gentle shoo motion.

His attention switched to El as she pulled him along, and with a much bigger smile, he confirmed that “yeah, that’s a metal, Ellie, why don’t we find something for Max too, since I’m sure she could do with something other than Kate Bush by now” and gosh couldn’t that smile of hers just light up a whole goddamn room and make all those negative thoughts just disappear into the wind?

“Yes, I think so too.”

They dropped off the new tapes at the hospital on the way back to home base, the car fully loaded with clothes,it was intended to be a quick visit, Max was still asleep, so they didn’t plan to stay long, but Lucas was there beside her as usual, reading wonder woman comics to her as she slept. She’d wake up soon. The doctors said she would, and he’d be there when she did.

El added a new little woollen friendship bracelet to Max’s wrist, alongside the three others she’d already placed there through the week and whispered something to her, nobody caught what it was, nobody tried to. If El wanted everyone to know what she said, she’d have said it out loud.

It was Lucas who made him feel less like a piece of the background, just by smiling at him and asking him “you doin okay, Eddie?” Checking in with him.

“Feels like I need a montage to catch me up on what I’m missing but… yeah m’good man. Red likes Wonder Woman?”

“Mhm, big on the girl power, y’know? As if anyone could be tougher than her” as if anyone could be braver.

El was pretty damn special but… El could throw things with her mind, could snap all the bones in a human body with a thought, Max was just… Max, impossibly brave, but so very human.

“Princess Diana would bow at her feet, I have zero doubts. What about you though? You’ve barely left this place, can’t be good for you…”

“I’ll rest when she’s awake, she’d do the same for me. And before you say it don’t worry, I’m fully prepared to endure her attitude when she finds out how long I’ve been here. She can be mad at me all she wants, I’ll be here when she wakes up.”

“Good…. m’glad y-you’re… you’re prepared, stalker…”

Part 10

#PirateWrites #ForgivenNotForgottenFiclet #Steddie #Post!S5 #Mentions of Kas Eddie #Hurt/Comfort #Miscommunication #GASP!!

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dwobbitfromtheshire · 6 months

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The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie getting weed for his headaches?

@disrespectedgoatman @estrellami-1 @darkrose517 @panicatthediaz @mandriice @nightmareglitter @limpingpenguin @wonderland-girl143-blog

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen - Chapter Fifteen - Chapter Sixteen - Chapter Seventeen - Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Tw: Laura makes one final appearance. I had to make Eddie do this. 😆

Two days later. . .

Things had settled down a little now, although everyone was still pretty jumpy, and they would probably never stop looking over their shoulder. There was a sense of relief, though, knowing that Vecna was dead and that Chrissy had felt him die, so there was no doubt about it. According to Chrissy, El, Will, Mike, Jonathan, and a guy named Argyle were on their way back to Hawkins. Currently, they were helping Chrissy move out of her house and into her uncle's. They were packing up her things and her brother's. Steve had thought it was hilarious when Chrissy pulled up the floorboard of her brother's room in front of Laura and found all the things Matty had hidden from his mother. The look on Laura's face was priceless, especially when Chrissy flipped her off. Laura was standing off to the side, watching through pursed lips as they moved the last of their stuff out.

"Oh, I've got one thing to say," Eddie said, setting a box down.

Steve and Chrissy watched as he started licking all the things in her tidy kitchen. Laura shrieked when he pulled his pants down and started wiggling his naked butt on her counter.

"Get out!" Laura yelled.

Eddie grinned and quickly pulled up his pants before grabbing the box. He hightailed it out of the house, giggling with Steve and Chrissy.

"Eddie!" Chrissy shrieked with laughter. "I can't believe you did that!"

"I'm sorry, was it wrong of me?" Eddie asked, batting his eyelashes at her.

"Okay, what did we miss?" Dustin asked as he stopped loading boxes into Eddie's van.

Chrissy and Steve laughed harder when Eddie wiggled his butt.

"Oh, you know, just me being a pain in the ass," Eddie laughed.

Max rolled her eyes as she took the last box from him and loaded up in the van. She immediately headed for Steve’s car and slid into the passenger's seat.

"Shotgun!" Max called out.

"That's not fair! I was distracted," Dustin said. "Steve!"

"What? I'm not actually your mother. Get your ass in the car before she calls the cops on us," Steve said.

Chrissy's belongings were packed away into Eddie's van, and she crawled into the passenger's seat of his van, laughing. Eddie climbed into the driver's seat and peeled out of the driveway, allowing Steve out in front of him. Steve watched from the rear view mirror as Chrissy stuck half her body out of the window, raising it above the van. She raised her middle fingers at the house.

"Fuck you very much!" They heard Chrissy scream.

Steve laughed as Max, Dustin, and Lucas cheered for her. When they pulled up to the Fisher household. Vickie, Robin, and Matthew were unloading some more of Chrissy's things that they had rescued from the church donations. Steve scowled for a moment, remembering the look on Chrissy's face when she found out that her mother had donated some of her stuff. Luckily, the pastor thought it was odd and set the stuff aside. As they were unpacking Chrissy's things, Max and Lucas started bursting into song. Steve laughed, and Dustin groaned when they realized it was the Neverending Story song. Steve couldn't help but join in with everyone else looking on in confusion except for Robin. She rolled her eyes and started singing as well with Dustin burying his face in his hands.

"I hate you," Dustin said, without heat.

"Someone let me in so I can also tease the butthead," Eddie said with a grin when they finished.

"No!" Dustin shrieked.

"I'll tell you guys later," Steve whispered to Chrissy and Eddie.

Once they unpacked all of Chrissy and Matty's things, Matthew clapped his hands together with a grin.

"As a way of welcoming Chrissy home, I figured that I would make us a celebratory lunch, and you're all - ," Matthew started to say and then the phone rang. "Goddamnit."

Matthew disappeared and came back a few moments later with a frown on his face.

"Bad news, my dears, I have to go into work," Matthew sighed. "A difficult patient has come in, and he's a bit paranoid, so he only trusts me to work on him. As difficult as he is, I do like him, and I want him alive so . . . "

"It's okay, Daddy, we get it," Vickie said.

"Yeah, nothing to apologize for when you're saving a life," Chrissy said with a smile.

"It's okay, Mr. Fisher, we'll go over to Steve’s and I'll make us something. I'm more familiar with his kitchen," Dustin said.

"Stop offering up my place like it's yours!" Steve exclaimed, half joking.

"Well, it's not my fault that you made it so homey when my mother and I lived there when our house was being fumigated!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Yeah. My place is fine. He does make the best pizza," Steve said, affectionately ruffling his hair.

"And I have just the movie to watch when we get there," Robin said and looked at Vickie with a smile. "I rented it special for a certain someone."

Vickie looked confused at first, and then she made a squealing sound when she realized.

"You didn't?! The Wizard of Oz?!" Vickie asked.

"I did!" Robin exclaimed.

Vickie squealed again, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.

"Well, I'm glad you guys have a backup plan," Matthew said, pulling Vickie and Chrissy into a hug. "Even if I can't be there."

"Oh, Uncle Matthew, we can celebrate with you anytime. We should have dinner just the three of us," Chrissy said.

"That sounds like a plan, too," Matthew grinned.

He said goodbye to Vickie and Chrissy, then to everyone else before leaving. Shortly after, everyone left for Steve’s place. As soon as they got there, Steve called Nancy and the rest of Hellfire to invite them over. Steve then groaned, clutching his stomach. He collapsed onto the couch.

"You okay, baby?" Chrissy asked.

"Yeah. I think I overdid it," Steve said.

"Well, you just relax, sweetheart," Eddie said. "We'll supervise the butthead in the kitchen."

"You mean annoy him," Chrissy giggled and Eddie shrugged.

Eddie pushed his hair back, kissed his forehead, and then his lips. Chrissy leaned down to kiss him too and then started to walk towards the kitchen.

"Wait," Steve said, and they stopped. "You guys free a couple of Saturdays from now?"

"Yeah," Chrissy grinned.

"Yes, quite busy, I have this thing - oof, Chrissy! I'm kidding, kidding. Absolutely free for you, big boy," Eddie grinned.

"Well, I was thinking since I'd be in much better shape by then, I'd figure that's when we have our first official date," Steve said. "What do you say?"

"Definitely," they said and kissed both his cheeks.

As they were leaving, Vickie, Robin, Max, and Lucas were entering the living room.

"Good luck. He wouldn't let us help," Robin scowled.

Eddie just cackled and dragged Chrissy into the kitchen.

Robin plopped down next to Steve while Vickie sat against her legs. Max sat down next to her and pulled Lucas into her lap, pressing her cheek against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her.

"How are you doing?" Robin asked Steve.

"Good, I mean, my bites are feeling itchy, but Matthew says that's good. It means it's healing. Still hurts like a bitch though as well as the road rash and my throat," Steve said.

"Man, life just keeps kicking the shit out of you, doesn't it?" Robin asked.

"Out of all of us, but I feel like some good luck is being sent my way," Steve said, smiling.

"Eddie and Chrissy?" Robin grinned.

"Yeah, our first official date is in a couple of weeks," Steve said.

"Ooh, what are you going to wear?" Robin asked.

"Well, I was thinking Eddie's vest, Chrissy's cheerleading skirt, and nothing else," Steve said.

"Good choice," she said wisely while Vickie giggled at her feet.

"I do not want to be hearing this," Lucas groaned.

"So, if I asked you to put on a skirt, you wouldn't?" Max asked.

"Well, uh, I - " Lucas stuttered.

"Relax, stalker, I'm fucking with you," Max laughed and Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, there was screaming coming from the kitchen and the sound of metal kitchenware crashing. Eddie's laughter soon followed.

"I'm not even going to worry about it," Steve said, leaning against Robin.

A moment later, Eddie entered the living room and plopped down on the floor at Steve's feet, next to Vickie.

"I have been banned from the kitchen for life," Eddie said with a scoff. "Can you believe that?"

"Yes," Robin, Steve, and Max said.

"Whatever. Chrissy can stay forever, apparently. She reminds Dustin of his mother, and he's a huge mama's boy," Eddie said, rolling his eyes but smiling fondly.

Eddie had just taken off Steve’s shoe and began rubbing his feet when they heard the front door open. Nancy came in with Jeff, Frank, and Gareth. She was holding a notebook in her hand and beaming with pride.

"I finished it. The article," Nancy said.

"The article?" Eddie asked.

"On you and Hellfire," Nancy said.

"Oh, is that what all those questions were about yesterday?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Nancy laughed, and she gave him the notebook.

"It's really fucking good, man," Jeff said as he plopped down on the floor and pulled Gareth against him.

Eddie's eyes scanned the page and he beamed with pride, kissing the paper.

"Oh, Wheeler! Marvelous! We should have this framed!" Eddie exclaimed.

"I still need to turn it in," Nancy said, laughing.

"Right," Eddie said, handing her back the notebook, and then his head snapped to look at Jeff. "When did this happen?"

"Oh, you know, it just happened," Gareth said, blushing.

"Cute," Eddie grinned, and Gareth scowled, flipping him off.

A few moments later, Chrissy came bounding into the living room with a smile on her face.

"The first batch of pizzas are in the oven," Chrissy announced.

Just as she said that, a knock on the door sounded. Steve watched as Eddie jumped up and began to count.

"We're all here, right?" Eddie asked. "I mean, besides Uncle Wayne and Matthew, they're both working."

Nancy was the one who went to answer the door, and everyone listened carefully as they heard the door open. Nancy let out a happy shriek. Suddenly, Nancy was pulling El, Will, and Jonathan into the living room. Behind them was a man with long hair. Steve assumed it was Argyle. As soon as El spotted Chrissy, she smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"Sister," El said.

"Sister," Chrissy grinned. "I'm glad we're finally meeting face to face."

"Me too. How are you?" El asked.

"Adjusting," Chrissy said. "Still not used to the fact that I have powers."

"I will help," El said.

"Thank you," Chrissy said softly.

Lucas had pulled himself off of Max long enough to hug Will and Mike tightly while Max moved to hug El. Dustin skidded into the living room, covered in flour.

"Will! Mike!" Dustin screeched and joined the group hug.

"Ugh, you're covered in flour. What have you been doing?" Will asked.

"Making pizzas," Dustin replied. "I have enough to make another one."

"Do you have pineapples?" Argyle asked.

"I think so," he said. "Pineapples on pizza?"

"Try it before you deny it," Argyle said. "It's okay, I'm a professional pizza maker. I'll show you how it's done, my little Hobbit friend," Argyle said.

"I like you already," Dustin said as they walked into the kitchen.

"Unbelievable, replacing me with another long-haired guy?" Eddie muttered. "Does he also smoke weed?"

"Actually -," Jonathan started to say, but Steve gave him a warning look, smirking.

"I would never put pineapples on pizza," Eddie muttered.

Steve knew he wasn't really jealous of Argyle, just still a little bitter about being kicked out of the kitchen. He smiled when Eddie slumped against his legs. Steve smiled and ran his hands through Eddie's hair. Will looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, Eddie's my boyfriend," Steve exclaimed.

"And mine," Chrissy giggled. "We're all dating."

"You can do that?" El asked.

"You can do whatever you want, sweetheart. . .well, within reason," Eddie grinned.

"Dustin's making pizzas, we're going to watch them while watching the Wizard of Oz," Chrissy said. "You should join us."

"I have not seen it," El admitted.

"Oh, you're going to love it," Vickie beamed.

"Alright, settle down there, Glinda," Robin said fondly as she ran her fingers through Vickie's hair.

Everyone got resettled in the living room as everyone made introductions that needed it. Just as the first batch of pizzas got done, someone knocked on the door.

"My turn! I'll get it," Eddie grinned.

He hopped up and bounced into the hallway. A moment later they heard him squawk loudly.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to be dead?!"

A moment later, a figure appeared in the doorway. Steve didn't recognize him at first because he had lost a lot of weight and hair. He was also wearing a baseball cap. It was Hopper.

"Dad!" El sobbed.

She jumped up off the floor and threw herself into his arms. Joyce was watching fondly from the doorway. El cried heavily into his arms. Everyone let them have their moment, watching them in awe as father and daughter were reunited. El pulled away from to hug Joyce.

"I am glad you went to your conference," El said.

"How?" Will asked.

Hopper looked around the room with caution.

"Yes, everyone in the room has been through the recent shitstorm and has, in fact, been caught up," Eddie said, sitting back into his spot.

"I was held captive by the Russians for months," Hopper said.

Steve winced and rubbed his neck, remembering what they did to him and Robin. He couldn't imagine being with that for months. Jesus. There was a new respect for this man, a thousand times greater than the one before. How the fuck did he survive? As he watched El introduce Chrissy to Hopper and Joyce, he realized how he did it. He must really love them a lot to have helped get him through all that. There's nothing like the bond of family, and as he sat here surrounded by all these people, he realized they were his family. Home was anywhere, as long as you had the people you love by your side or in your heart. The same thought ran through his mind even two weeks later, as he sat at the picnic table with Eddie and Chrissy, having a picnic in the woods. There was no place like home.

And they lived happily ever after. . .

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asexualenjolras · 2 months

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Mike's speech to Eleven in Stranger Things S4E9 holds so much more weight after watching the First Shadow in London.

He tells El: "I love you with your powers, without your powers. I love you for exactly who you are. You're my superhero. And ... I can't lose you."

And it mirrors Eleven and Henry together so nicely.

Because we know Patty Newby thought of Henry Creel as her superhero - that was their thing and they constantly talked about him having super powers in the same way Max, Mike, Will and the Squad do with El. And Henry liked being Patty's superhero, and he felt loved for the first time in his life. He felt understood by someone for the first time in his life; by someone that also felt like an out-cast, and also felt like they didn't fit in and weren't "normal".

And we also know that Henry did lose Patty. Because Dr. Brenner isolated him away from her. He isolated him away from everyone and everything.

And he lost who he was because of that. And he became the weapon that Dr. Brenner wanted him to because of that.

If any part of the Henry Creel we meet in Stranger Things: the First Shadow is still there in Henry/Vecna/One, the realisation that Mike is Eleven's Patty must hurt him deeply.

They have so much to work with.

If Eleven finds out Mike loves Will, for example, then El will have to come to terms with losing the person that believed in her.

I'm interested to know what the Duffer Brothers might do with this in ST5.

Because we know Eleven experienced the same bullying that Henry did during her time in California. And we know that Will Byers has also been feeling isolated and alone his whole life, so maybe we'll see those similarities between Will and Henry start to creep into the story a lot more.

I'm excited. And I'm nervous.

#stranger things #henry creel #mike wheeler #mileven #eleven #stranger things the first shadow #st tfs #patty newby #millie bobby brown #finn wolfhard #byler #the first shadow is so good #and the parallels between Eleven and Henry are there #and so are the parallels between Henry and Will #the duffer brothers have so much to work with

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mlchaelwheeler · 2 years

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Why Will Byers is the answer to everything (and the key to vol. 2)

After making a post yesterday about why I think Vecna was the one stalking Will in 1x01, I was reading into some other posts about why this is relevant now, given what we know from S4V1, and how that could affect how S4V2 goes down. I'm going to be exploring the possibility of Will having powers, mirroring Henry Creel (Vecna), and having been watched by Vecna since he was taken in 1x01. This is probably going to get pretty long, so buckle up brochachos!

So, I already explained this in my post yesterday, but I'll reiterate it here for those who didn't see it. When Will leaves Mike's house after the campaign where the demogorgan gets him, the garage lights flicker. It's important to note here that only the garage lights (and the light on Will's bike) flicker, not the rest of the house. While there was a power outage that same night (when El opened the gate, making contact with the demogorgan), Mike's house is on the opposite side of town and wouldn't be affected by the blackout (pointed out by @willel).

Now, on his way home, Will runs into a shadowy figure on the road--I believe this is in fact the demogorgan. You can hear it growl (a sound unique to it that Vecna doesn't display) and it is within the demogorgan's hunting ground, as it would've just escaped from the lab and into the woods. Seconds earlier, you can see Will bike past the HNL fence. However, this begs the question of why the lights were flickering at Mike's house? In stranger things, flickering lights are associated with supernatural creatures or psychic powers. No one was using powers at Mike's house, so it must've been a supernatural presence, not the demogorgan bc it would've just escaped from the lab, which points toward it being Vecna.

Before we get into why Vecna would be stalking Will in the first place, let's quick go over more evidence of why it was Vecna, in case anyone is still doubting my theory. Once Will gets home, he immediately calls for his family, but once he realizes he's home alone, he immediately calls 911, only to hear something growling back at him. As far as I know, demogorgans are only foot soldiers for the upside down and don't possess any sort of powers. Now, I know that in the show characters claim that the demogorgans are capable of opening gates, like the one in the tree Nancy enters. However, I'd like to think that it's actually Vecna who's opening these gates, making it easier for the upside down to infiltrate the normal dimension. If demogorgans can open gates, why did it have to wait for El to open the gate in 1983? And why wouldn't the demogorgan in Russia have escaped by now? But I digress.

When else do we see phones or radios being messed with in relation to the upside down? Think back to the multiple times El has used radio static to find people in the void. Radio static has been associated with psychic powers. We know Vecna has very strong powers, but the demogorgan does not. It would make sense that Vecna was the one messing with Will's phone here. It's also brought up a lot that Will's front door is unlocked and opened using telekinesis. Besides this scene, there's been no indication the demogorgan has powers--but Vecna does! Hence, it was almost certainly Vecna who was stalking (and kidnapped) Will.

So why does Vecna want Will specifically in the first place? Based on what we know from st4v1, Vecna had an unhappy childhood, killed his family, was taken by Brenner, then tested until he was given Soteria to weaken his powers so he could be easily controlled. He spends years in the lab as Peter, biding his time to get back at Brenner. However, he seems to take a liking to El, and before he tries killing her, he attempts to convince her to join him. She says no and banishes him to the red void--his mindscape?

Now why did Vecna wait 7 years before he started killing people again? It's likely that being banished to his mindscape drained him, forcing him to bide his time until he could regain enough strength to get back to the normal world. It's likely that he either needs to absorb enough energy (from people's fear right before he kills them, a parallel to Pennywise from IT) or absorb someone's powers to escape the mindscape.

Since he was banished in 1979, Vecna has most likely been on the lookout for someone with powers (not El, because last time went so poorly, and not Kali because she's "out of range") to target, in an attempt to get his full powers back. So when he senses Will, Vecna goes out himself to snatch him, bringing a demogorgan for backup. Once he catches Will in the shed, the light becomes blinding before suddenly going back to normal, with Will gone. If that has been the demogorgan, Will most likely would've immediately been eaten. However, @willel pointed out that the light in the shed lights up similarly to how the flashlights stay blindingly bright in the Creel house. This points to it being Vecna.

It's also interesting to note that the upside down is stuck on time at November 6, 1983, the night Will went missing. Who do we know of that has time manipulation powers? Vecna. I think that the first time Vecna majorly used his powers (since being banished to the mindscape) caused time to freeze. It's really the only explanation I can think of as to why this occurred. The night Will disappeared was obviously the start of all this, and it seems to be leading back to Vecna.

Furthermore, Will is able to escape his capture and hides in Castle Byers for nearly a week. The whole time, he's singing "Should I Stay Or Should I Go," which is brought up multiple times throughout S1. There's even a flashback to show how meaningful the song is to Will. Mike mentions that Will is "always singing that weird song he loves," and when El finds Will in the void, he's humming his song. Who do we know that's deterred by favorite music and happy memories? Oh right, that's Vecna.

During his time in the upside down, Will is resourceful! He uses lights multiple times to talk to Joyce, like "one blink for yes," the alphabet wall, and the circle of lamps in his bedroom. Now, I know that S4V1 expanded on this lore and showed how to communicate with lights from the upside down, but this actually just raises more questions for me. How likely really is it that Will was able to reach the christmas lights? The alphabet wall wouldn't have even been there if the upside down was frozen the night he went missing. Also, there's no way he would've been able to turn on those lamps in the circle so quickly.

This points back to Will having powers. He seems to be more resourceful when in the upside down than other characters, and is the only one to have survived more than a few hours alone. Even when he's eventually caught, why isn't he immediately killed like the other victims? Instead, he's brought to the library and a vine begins to suck the life force out of him. Why? We've seen that vines feed Vecna's powers, and likely recharge him. Is it that much of a stretch to say that Vecna was using the vine in Will to transfer powers, making Vecna stronger? The mindflayer does a similar thing in S3 with El, as biting her absorbs her powers, rendering her powerless.

Once Will is saved, he attempts to readjust to normal life, but is unable to stop seeing the upside down. His friends say he has "true sight," but what if that's not the case? Vecna could be giving him visions, attempting to weaken his resolve so he can be targeted again. In S2, we even see Will with his eyes closed multiple times, looking like how the tranced people did in S4V1.

Perhaps what Vecna really wants is a vessel in the real world? Even Jason said that the devil needs a vessel, so this could be foreshadowing to Vecna wanting to weaken Will enough to possess him fully. We saw kind of what that would be like in S2 with the mindflayer, but Will was still strong enough to fight back.

However, now, Vecna has been biding his time, waiting for Will to be as weak as possible. He's been alienated at every turn: ignored by his friends all summer, perpetually connected to an evil dimension, abused at home and at school, and now, his whole family and best friend (crush) forgot his birthday. Will is at his most vulnerable right now, so I believe the minute he arrives to Hawkins, Vecna will be taking full advantage of this.

Will is the perfect vessel for Vecna. Through flashbacks, they've been shown to parallel each other: called "sensitive" by their mothers, enjoy drawing as an escape, made to feel different from the rest of the world, and even dress the same. Both feel like they don't belong, and since El didn't work out, Vecna wants Will.

If you made it to the end, congrats, that was long. Hopefully it kind of made sense! This is where I think S4V2 could be heading, and Will is my favorite, so obviously I want him to have a bigger role moving forward lol

#will byers #vecna #stranger things #stranger things theory #byler #this got so long but hopefully it makes sense lol #i am a will byers has powers and is the main character truther!#sarah.txt

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chirpsythismorning · 1 year

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With Birthdaygate pretty much confirmed, here are two moments from 4x02 Vecna's Curse that hit different...

(1) First we have Jonathan stopping Will as he goes into Rink-O-Mania to tell him something. Will turns around quickly and almost looks, dare I say, hopeful?

But why would that be the case? Unless of course there's something Will's waiting for Jonathan to say, that he hasn't said yet? Happy Birthday perhaps? Surprise Will! We didn't forget your birthday! We're coming in! We have a party planned and everything! Meet you inside! (interesting that there were birthday decorations in there as well...)

Unfortunately, all Jonathan does is tell Will that they'll be back to pick them up at 6:00. And so Will goes from sad, to hopeful, only to go back to looking sad again...

I think a lot of fans attributed Jonathan's concerned looks in this moment as him knowing about Will's feelings for Mike. And I do still think that's present, especially as he's telling Will they'll be there to pick them up later. In that specific moment he sounds sympathetic like Sorry buddy, that sucks.

However, the look Jonathan makes after Will turns away, as Argyle starts driving off, doesn't look like sympathy or pity from someone witnessing unrequited love. It looks like confusion and almost deja vu being experienced by Jonathan himself. As if he's forgetting something, but doesn't know what it is...

(2) Next is at the very end of Will and Mike's fight. Mike sort of echoes the same level of frustration he had during their rain fight, when he said It's not my fault you don't like girls. We know the scenes parallel each other, and how after both of those things are said, there's this silence that takes over, making clear that this is as far as they can go, otherwise they might risk hurting each other beyond fixing. We see both of them make faces of deep emotion here, because they probably are also being reminded of their fight last summer.

And so Will's options here were to, either (A) take it even further and risk hurting Mike more than he's hurting him, or (B) just don't say anything and let the argument end there before it gets beyond repair.

But the thing is, it almost looked like Will was going to say something. He quite literally mouths the word But-- only to cut himself off all together, looking defeated.

Here's what I think. THIS would have been the perfect moment for Will to say, But, you forgot my birthday, Mike. If it was genuinely something as simple as Mike and everyone simply forgetting and needing a reminder, without any supernatural implications involved, I think this would have been the moment to do it.

It would have also mirrored their rain fight even better because it would have been Will saying something and likely walking away, leading to Mike being like OH SHIT I have to fix this! I messed up.

But we all know it's not that simple.

As far as Will knowns, EVERYONE forgot his birthday, not just Mike. And so him calling out Mike here, might have felt slightly unjustified in that it wasn't just him who forgot.

It's almost like they're not the problem here, he is. (WILL POV ANGST)

That's what truly makes the scenes at Rink-O-Mania so heartbreaking. Because it wasn't just about Mike and El ignoring him, it was the fact that it was his literal birthday. All the most important people in his life, who used the literal memory of his birthday to bring him back bc they cared about him so much in the past, have now apparently forgot about him in the present.

Not to mention, the story not blatantly acknowledging his birthday being forgotten in the narrative of s4, means that it was framed this way bc the whole point was they only wanted it to be hinted at in s4, saving it as a surprise revelation in s5.

And so, if Will did say here, but Mike, you forgot my birthday, how would that have impacted the conflict in s4 and Vecna's plan as a whole, specifically for Will? All it would have taken was them connecting the dots after that, figuring out Vecna's plan before he could even reach Will, rendering s5 plotless?...

S5 is likely going to jump right into this, there's too much incriminating evidence about unused footage at the Rink-O-Mania location. It also fits with them not mentioning it in s4 if it's intended to be an early s5 revelation.

TBH with all the storylines going on in s4, them exploring the depths of Will's connection to Vecna just wasn't an option, bc they wouldn't have been able to do it justice. He needs to be front and center for that.

They're clearly saving the best for last...

#byler #<- target audience #stranger things #will byers #birthdaygate #stranger things 5 #st5 predictions #rink o mania #unused footage gate #vecna vision #will getting vecna'd #this also explains them just focusing on byler buildup in s4 #if a lot of s5 going to be filled with angst and revelations behind all these hidden truths going way back to the beginning #it's really good we got these moments in s3-4 that sort of show they are struggling but always come back to each other #and how that is always a constant for them no matter what #it's going to make them defying all the odds against them in s5 that much more epic #also vecna knows will pretty well...#he probably knows will is the kind of kid that if everyone in his life he forgot his birthday #he wouldn't say anything bc clearly that's a sign he is a burden (mistake)#like... that's the whole point #he is too humble to make ppl feel bad in this scenario #when he's taking it as a sign he's unloveable #like it hurts a lot but #that's will byers for you

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henrysglock · 8 months

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Don't Speak, Don't Use Powers...What Do You Do?

Has anyone else noticed that Vecna doesn't speak or use his powers without being plugged into the UD tentacles? Because he doesn't speak or use his powers without being plugged into the UD tentacles.

When he fights Max/El, it's all within a vision/in the Mindscape, which we know he accesses when plugged in. They make a point to show us that he plugs in to access the Mindscape/perform Vecna Visions:

He's definitely able to use telekinesis and shapeshifting when he's plugged in/in a Vision or the Mindscape, which we know he plugs in to do...But then, the Mindscape disappears as soon as the tentacles unplug due to Nancy/Steve/Robin molotov-ing him:

He's not just being pulled out of performing a Vecna vision, he's being booted out of his own Mindscape, like someone yanking the ethernet cable out of an old Mac. The connect is broken...in conjunction with the tentacles pulling out.

Like...Young Henward didn't need tentacles to access whatever Vecna-like space he was supposedly accessing here when he was "holding up a mirror" or whatever:

Nor did he need them here to absorb the kids:

So why now? If Vecna is physically him, and he's been able to do it without tentacles in the past, then why now? What changed?

What, is there something special about the tentacles and tearing holes in the fabric between dimensions?

And why doesn't Vecna attack Nancy/Steve/Robin? He has psionic telekinesis (allegedly), so why does he just stand there staring at them once he's disconnected? Why doesn't he react to being attacked?

Why does he just roar and physically charge?

Why not pull one of these quick and easy kills?

He's shown specifically to be able to do it under imminent threat of injury/to protect himself...so why not toss Nancy/Steve/Robin away from him? Why let them continue to attack?

If Vecna is physically Henward, then why does he only use his powers in a mental space?

He reacts like he's part of the hive mind when he's disconnected:

But he never uses his powers. He just goes and plugs in.

Like I said earlier, he also doesn't speak. Vecna doesn't have a single physical line. All of his lines are in visions or in the Mindscape. "Vecna" just groans, moans, snarls, and roars:

Now...not to get too reachy, but there's definitely something special about these damn tentacles...and no one has been able to concretely explain how Vecna got from Dimension X to the blue UD.

However, the tentacles exist in Dimension X too:

So like...not to be insane, but if one guy has the Mindflayer:

and that's how he puppets people (see: Will)...then who's to say that "Vecna" is physically Henward?

Who's to say it's not this guy:

Using the tentacles as, like I said before, an ethernet cable to access a body in the UD, a place which is theorized to act as a middle space between Dimension X and the RSU?

After all...the current form is described as "rotted":

and the tattoo on Vecna does not match Henward's tattoo. Tattoos aren't something that can just change like that.

Furthermore, Em has theorized about Eddie being used as a corpse puppet in ST5.

Wouldn't it make sense for "Vecna" to need a corpse puppet if the current ST4 "Vecna" is also a puppet of some kind?

#henry/edward/vecna/001 #vecna/001 #st vecna #st theory #stranger things

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strangeswift · 2 years

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This season five scenario is 100% completely inspired by this post by @stargrlism

Jonathan and Will are staying with the Wheelers. Most likely Jonathan is meant to take the guest room or something but he sneaks into Nancy's room at night. We get a scene of Jancy in Nancy's bed together, laying facing each other and looking at each other with so much love. The camera is above them so the shot looks like this one:

(Stole this image from that same post)

(Except this time they're facing each other like I said) So theyre gazing lovingly, but then Nancy averts her eyes, looking suddenly upset. In this moment she is reminded of how deeply she loves Jonathan. And with everything going on and all of them being in danger every day, she is terrified of losing him. She knows that losing him would destroy her, and that scares her. Jonathan obviously picks up on her sudden change of mood and asks her what's wrong.

Then we get a different angle, maybe something like this one:

(Except Jonathan would prop up on his elbow or something and be facing her, so they're both in frame?)

Then Nancy quietly admits that she's scared of losing him. Maybe she just simply says, "I can't lose you." And Jonathan understands what she means.

Jonathan reassures her, "Hey. You're not gonna lose me. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." And they share a soft tender lil kiss. We can tell from Nancy's face that his words put her at ease. Then Jonathan pulls Nancy into him and holds her tight.

Then we cut DIRECTLY to Will and Mike in Mike's bedroom.

(At this point they have not confessed their feelings for each other. But Mike and El have broken up. And Mike and Will have been attached at the hip, there's been plenty of gay pining, and more heart to hearts and flirting, basically just status quo of what we saw in season four.)

The shot is a birds eye view, above them just just like the first shot of the previous Jancy scene. But this shot is wider because it includes both Mike's bed and the floor next to it, where Will is laying in a sleeping bag or maybe on a mattress on the floor. They are both staring up at the ceiling, wide awake.

Then Mike quietly asks if Will is awake. Will responds, "Yeah." And there is a beat of silence that goes on just a little too long to be comfortable, when Mike reluctantly asks, "Can you... can you just come up here?"

We see the surprise on Will's face. He lays still for a second before saying, "Yeah," for a second time, and climbing into Mike's bed.

Now we get the tighter shot that looks more like this one:

Except probably they're both still staring at the ceiling (not into the camera though, only Jonathan gets to do that). They're on edge laying so close to each other, they're both nervous.

After a few moments Will clears his throat and asks, "You okay?"

Mike turns to face Will, and Will mirrors him. Now the angle changes again and we get the shot that parallels the previous Jancy scene of them looking at each other.

Mike now essentially admits to Will that he's scared of losing him, but it's different than Nancy's confession. In part so that the scenes aren't too similar and they don't feel redundant, but also because Nancy didn't need to elaborate much, as she and Jonathan are established and he knew what she was feeling. Will doesn't know what Mike is feeling.

Mike says something like, "I feel like I'm still messing up with you." Mike is concerned about losing Will due to his own actions (or lack of action) in addition to being scared about Vecna.

Will seems a little caught of guard as he asks, "What do you mean?" Will is far too in love with Mike to hold a grudge even if he wanted to.

Mike looks nervous as he says, "I don't know. I just. I feel like... things are better between us, but they're not how they used to be."

We see the guilt on Will’s face. He thinks that their friendship not returning to the way it once was is his fault. His fault for having these feelings and for hiding them.

But then Mike continues, "And I feel like it's my fault because I'm not being honest with you."

Will looks surprised again and asks, "What aren't you being honest about?"

And Mike looks incredibly anxious as he responds, "I can't tell you. I... I don't want to lose you."

Will's face softens as he firmly says, "You won't. Mike, you won't."

Mike nods as the tears start to flow, and he see Will pause for a moment, deciding whether this is a good idea before pulling Mike into him and hugging him tightly.

Mike begins to cry, and Will rubs his back subtlety with his fingers (exactly how he did in Max's hospital room).

"You're stuck with me." Will jokes, but Mike doesn't laugh, just hugs him tighter, his face buried in Will’s chest.

End scene. We don't get our confession quite yet. But obviously Will is now wondering what Mike isn't being honest about. He soon finds out that Mike is hiding the fact that he's in love with him. Confessions happen, kisses happen, the audience cheers, we have world peace.

#byler #jancy #idk should i tag jancy? i mean half of this post is jancy but i dont want to be annoying #hey jancys lmk if this annoyed you and ill untag it #p.s. i know nothing about film so this is like a weird half headcanon half script sort of thing? well not a script but like idk whatever #hopefully you enjoy #if it flops ill be kinda sad #mine #s5 senario

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emblazons · 1 year

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I’m gonna tell you right now—if we don’t get a plot about the realities and ramifications motherhood in S5 im gonna be so confused.

Between the parallels of normalcy v stepping “out of line” in a son with Karen / Mike and Virginia / Henry, realities of a loving motherly presence between Joyce and Terry for El, the way a son “being different” comes up for both Will and Henry but there’s a difference in Joyce supporting and Virginia trying to suppress…I will be in the walls of the duffer compound if they don’t explore this to the fullest extent. I am so serious lmao

Also we never talk about the Mike & Henry parallels as a wider people, and we need to. Will mirrors him in half a million ways I know, but…Mike’s push and pull with “normalcy” while grating against it + how isolation and insecurity is becoming a clear theme for him, given how “normal” literally comes up in Henry’s monologue to El, all the Wheelers struggle with conformity, and Vecna goes after people’s insecurities? The way Will is a target right alongside Mike, and they’re paired off as a team even outside of their romance? COME ON

#I’m thinking about making a whole post about it but for now we just have baseline thoughts lol #byler #mike wheeler #will byers #el hopper #joyce byers #virginia creel #terry ives #my st commentary #my s4 rewatch #stranger things

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will80sbyers · 10 months

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I cannot believe people are seriously complaining to me about how they don't know how to filter tags when I'm not even the one using other characters only to talk about byler ( in fact if you actually read my blog I have made many and many posts about almost every singular character because I love them all) and just because I pointed out a freaking parallel about my favourite character and Max being intentionally written with the same story because both have suicidal thoughts in the story and it means Will will face Vecna like Max did... That's in the story because the writers of the show are telling Will's journey of his coming out and that's what will happen next season when he will be face to face with Vecna - byler or no byler involved, that's what this story was always about because he's the one that was kidnapped in season 1 and they have been preparing this since before season 1... they wrote he had problems with his sexual identity before writing the rest of the show

Part of the story was always about El and Will facing Henry in the finale + all the other characters that love them all around them and meanwhile we had the privilege to see the other characters stories before the final story!

It STARTED with Will and he's the one that's gonna make it end and defeat Vecna with all the other characters and that's just what the narrative is telling us

It's a story about the underdog winning against evil

Jamie said once in an interview Will is going to be in the middle of all the connections because his story is the last one that will be told

It doesn't mean he's more important than the other characters but he is connected to everything and he's the one that's gonna put the mirror in front of Henry and make him see that even if they are similar they will never be the same and he's the one ( with El and the others! ) that will make him pay for all the suffering he put his friends and family in these past years through and for what he did to him

Will is going to face his darkest fears next season and he's going to overcome them

#will byers #byler #mike wheeler #stranger things #el hopper byers #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #st5

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klausinamarink · 25 days

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Happy birthday in advance!!

If it's still unclaimed, could you write something for the "swimming" prompt? And if swimming is already spoken for, an alternate choice would be "Because you're a jinx!" While Steve, Eddie, and/or Robin are my favorites, any characters that you are inspired to write about would be great.

Thank you! I hope the entire month of April for you is filled with creativity and fun!! 💜🎉🥳

and a happy birthday to you too! 🎉

—

When Max thought of what she missed the most in California, the beach was always at the bottom of the list.

Sure, it had been fun when she was younger, but that was when it was just Max and her mom. Before Max started skateboarding and found it more enjoyable than burning her bare feet on the sand.

Before her mom remarried and Billy was supposed to be her brother.

Max always hated Billy. But in the first week after their parents’ marriage, Max had tried to connect with Billy. See if there was something else under his spitfire attitude and resentment.

It was a Saturday morning and Billy was lifting his weights when Max had asked him if they could go to the beach.

She saw how the muscles of his bare back had tensed up. The sudden hitch in his breath. His eyes wide and distant in the mirror.

Then Billy had spun around, one of the weights breaking through the drywall just inches from Max’s head. She had cried out but forced herself to be silent when Billy had yanked her towards him by the collar. He had leaned to her face, spitting at her as he growled, “Don’t ever ask me that again, you little bitch.”

When Billy had let her go, Max ran to her room and muffled her sobbing into her pillows.

Since then, she never looked back once at the beach. Not even years later when they moved out to Hawkins.

But here she was: facing the waves while the heat radiating from the sand made her sweat. It made her faded surgery scars itch and rustled the ever so-deep flares from her metal-fixed bones.

“You doing okay?”

Max tore her gaze away from the waves. Steve was crouching under her umbrella, dripping wet from the ocean. His hair was ridiculously flat. Max bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t laugh yet at the future image of Steve bemoaning the loss of his infamous poofy hair.

“It’s hot,” Max admitted. She used to miss the permanent heat. She never liked the Indiana winters even with the fluffiest coats and sweaters. But now she was starting to pray for a December snowfall.

“Did you need the towels soaked again?” Steve asked.

“Please. I’m dying over here,” Max pleaded. Back in March, she would never make another dead joke. Back in March and April and May, she had to chew the guilt with the shitty hospital foods whenever she caught Steve’s fallen expression. As if Max was a lost ghost and he was the only one who couldn’t get her to the other side.

But March was four years ago. Today was a lazy Saturday in May and Max can make as many dying jokes as she could and it always caught everyone off guard that had them spluttering for breath while Steve and Lucas laughed their asses off.

Suck that, Vecna.

Steve gently pried off the towels that hung on her arms and around her neck. As he dosed them with one of their many cold water bottles, Max stared back out into the ocean.

Mike, Lucas, Robin, and Eddie were in the middle of another ruthless round of water volleyball. Dustin and Erica were picking through the tiny shells on the shore. El and Nancy were sunbathing while Jonathan and Argyle chatted. Mike and Will had walked off somewhere, probably for something gross.

It was nice. But the longer she had stared at the waves, the more they called out to her.

A long time ago, the crashing waves reminded her of the broken drywall and Billy’s spittle on her face. Sometimes she had a nightmare of walking in the water, only for a riptide to pull her out into the vastness where she eventually had no choice but to sink underneath the surface where the infinite darkness greeted her.

Max had assumed that it was literal. But it had turned out that the riptide and darkness was just Billy. And then it became the Upside Down and Starcourt. And then it was Vecna.

She was so scared then.

“I think I want to swim,” Max said.

Steve stopped as he was about to place a freshly-soaked towel on her arm. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Steve made an affirmative noise and stood up. “You need any help?”

“Maybe you piggyback me to the water?” Max gave him the best puppy eyes she could muster. “I don’t wanna burn my feet.”

Steve sighed but she caught him smiling, “And when you want to get out?”

“Steve, it’s a crime to leave a girl in the ocean!”

He laughed as he crouched down in front of her, his arms outstretched to carry Max. She managed to slide out of the beach chair and land firmly on Steve’s back, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. The wetness of his back slightly soaked through the front of her baggy shirt and swimsuit.

“God, I swear you used to be lighter,” Steve huffed, already running towards the water.

Max laughed as she bounced, “No, you’re just getting old!”

The waves grew louder as they approached. Max spotted Lucas turning around just in time for Steve to splash into the water, dashing through the first wave. She swore she saw Lucas breaking into a joyous grin and waving to her with a whoop. It made her heart swoon.

Steve stopped suddenly. A particularly large wave was about to break in front of him.

“Ready?”

If he had asked Max that years ago, she would’ve said no. Or maybe she would agree just for the sake of being pulled far from the shore’s reach and accept what waited for her in the depths.

Max said with a grin on her face, “Born ready.”

Steve torpedoed into the wave just as it broke and crashed onto them. Max was immediately plunged into the forgotten warmth of salt water. It went up her nose and she closed her eyes too late so it stung her eyes. She clung tighter around Steve as the water roared in her ears.

When she broke through the surface first, Max’s first reaction was to laugh.

It was kind of dumb to be scared of the ocean after all this time. But it definitely helped when her family was here too.

#the klaus birthday special #klaus writes #steve harrington #max mayfield #stranger things #klaus answers

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