#steve harrington meta

[corrodedbisexual]

I am once again thinking about Steve's injuries. Specifically, the road rash on his back and the back of his arms.

So... About a year ago I slid on a wet rock on a mountain hike and broke the fall on a rocky surface with my bare knee. The surface was relatively smooth, and the overall slide was... maybe half a meter. Nowhere near close to what Steve went through.

Several points from personal observation, in case you're curious and haven't scraped your skin much since you were a child learning to ride a bike and don't remember how it goes, and the resulting headcanons. (Having thought about it, I myself will try to incorporate this into my post-Vecna fics more, bc honestly there's never enough attention paid to it, and in the long run it might just be 100 times more of a bitch than the bat bites, despite not being immediately life threatening, due to the enormous surface of the skin affected.)

1) It doesn't really hurt that much right after the injury. The scrapes are shallow, there's little blood, it's mostly just mangled skin. So despite this being a common criticism of the canon, it's entirely plausible Steve could shrug that off and keep focused on the Vecna shit without treating it. I'll allow it.

2) The fun begins about a day later, when the injury really starts to scab. A knee or an elbow is probably the worst fucking place to get scraped: every tiny movement of your joints results in extreme stretching of the scabbing skin, damaging it over and over again when it's just begun to heal. I spent a week walking with a limp. But really it applies to any part of your body that moves a lot. For Steve, I'd say the worst would be his shoulder blades. Raising his arms, lifting anything heavy, anything that stretches the skin on his back would hurt like a bitch in his condition after a couple of days.

3) Also, he wouldn't be able to comfortably sleep on his back, or lean back in a chair. No fucking way. The edges of the scabs are sharp. When pressed on, they dig into your skin. Ouch.

4) The fun continues when it really starts to heal and ITCH! LIKE! A! MOTHERFUCKER! And of course, the scabs prevent you from scratching, because your body is smart like that, so of course you start peeling them. But you can't do that if it's on your back. I just imagine Steve behaving like a flea infested bear, trying to scratch his back against tree trunks and door frames while everyone tries to stop him from doing that because that keeps opening up his wounds. Maybe Eddie or Robin could offer him gentle backrubs when they hang out. Enough to take the edge off the itching, not enough to damage the scabs.

5) The scarring. It's not gonna be super visible, but it's gonna be there, a white spiderweb of scars. I realize that everyone's skin heals differently, and there are ointments that can help, but in the end, with all that, this is my knee about a day after the injury and 10 months later.

So, uh... Yeah. Stevie. I'm so sorry baby. (Hugging him tight to my chest)

#stranger things #steve harrington #stranger things meta #steve harrington meta #tw wounds #misha-bawlins meta

[findafight]

I think, despite his former King Steve persona, that the parent Steve is actually afraid of becoming, is his mother.

Hear me out. S1 Steve flips out when he thinks Nancy is cheating on him. Like full crazy ex girlfriend shit and letting his friends spraypaint shit on a marquee and goading the guy he thinks she cheated with into a fight.

And then. He tries to fix it. He tells his friends off, he helps clean up the graffiti, he goes to Jonathan's house to apologize for the horrendous shit he said. And then gets pulled into the supernatural monster killing plot.

So it's clear he knows his insecurity spiral was bad. He does his best to fix things before he ever has to save Nancy and Jonathan's lives. In S2 Nancy and Jonathan are friends, and while we don't see it until the "no, that must have been your other boyfriend" line, Steve's probably still a bit insecure about that friendship but doesn't mention it.

Like. He saw he went off the possessive insecure temper tantrum deep end, and decided that along with being a less assholish 16 year old, he was also going to trust his partner not to cheat on him even if he was still a bit uncomfortable with it.

Given what we know about Steve's parents, that his mom often or usually goes with his dad on his business trips because she "doesn't trust him", he's probably seen his mother paranoid about his father's infidelity as well as desperately clinging to a relationship that is untrusting at best. So he's seen his mom do possibly the exact same as he did in S1 (though less public) and thinks he's not gonna be that.

He is getting his act together. He trusts Nancy and, to an extent, Jonathan (fighting an interdimensional monster together really has a way of at least building respect for each other). He isn't going to flip that Nancy has a boy who is a friend who also clearly has a crush on her. It's fine. Nancy is great, and he can't fault Jon for his feelings. He trusts them. He's trying to move on from the upside down, and he's trying to be a better person, and he's trying not to become his mother.

Then, of course, S2 happens.

#steve Harrington #stranger things #st4 #stranger things meta #steve Harrington meta #character analysis #i have many thoughts on this #and i havent seen anyone brong up steve actively not wanting to become is mother but knowing he probably is #finda's rambles #finda writes stuff #fuck it lets put tags on it #stancy #because its relevant sort of. #steddie

[itswhatyougive]

I'm convinced that they gave Steve Harrington ridiculously suggestive lines and sounds in every season so they could all eventually be edited together into one very gay supercut.

#who is going to do it #is it going to have to be me #steve harrington #st meta #steve harrington meta #steve harrington theory #steve harrington analysis #steddie #stranger things #joe keery #steddie tumblr #st tumblr #stranger things tumblr #steddie fandom #steve harrington fandom #bi steve harrington #bisexual steve harrington #queer coding

[dynamic-power]

I desperately need Steve Harrington to be happy, so I present to you these little possibilities.

Steve's parents are actually around a lot. His dad travels sometimes, and occasionally, his mom goes with him. But for the most part, they're around. They have a loving relationship and they dote on Steve. He doesn't often find himself wanting anything because his parents are generous with him. They hardly ever scold him for anything, either, which is why he's an entitled asshole in s1.

Steve's relationship with his dad is pretty good. But he's really close with his mom. A real mommas boy. She's the reason he is so physically affectionate. She's never withheld it from him, so it's natural for him to do the same for others.

Steve sucks at fighting because he's never had to before. His parents aren't violent, and he's always been on the top of the social ladder so his peers have never really been an issue. He's thrown punches before, at the bag in the school weight room. But the first time he ever hits a person with intent is when he fights Jonathan. It's no wonder he lost against Jon and Billy; they've both had to defend themselves against their fathers. Steve never has.

As much as Steve gripes about being told to work after high school, he sorta understands why he should. His dad worked as a dishwasher through college, and he wants Steve to understand the importance of having a purpose. They both have a good laugh when Steve shows him the Scoops uniform.

After the fall of Hawkins, Steve's parents are a very active part in the community efforts to care for their own. It's the first time Steve feels genuinely proud of them.

Steve adores Wayne. He adores Wayne because Wayne loves Eddie. Eddie doesn't have a relationship with either of his parents, and while Steve has never experienced that before, he does understand the importance of having at least one parent who loves you.

He comes out to his mom by choice. Eddie's been around a lot, staying over as friends sometimes do, even though really, they're more than just friends. One day, she asks about Eddie, and Steve takes a deep breath, calms his nerves, and tells her the truth. She tells him that she loves him no matter what, even if she's skeptical about his choice in partner. They keep the secret from Steve's dad, though, because neither of them are sure how he'll react. After that, Eddie is no longer allowed to stay the night. Which, Steve supposes, is fair.

He comes out to his dad after he moves out. While he's not immediately fond of the idea, he doesn't push Steve away, either.

Eventually, Eddie charms both his parents. And three years into their relationship, Eddie receives his first invitation to join the Harringtons on Christmas Day. Steve spends the morning with his parents, Wayne, and Eddie. They all get along, have fun with each other. And as Steve and Eddie leave to catch up with Robin and the rest of the party, he realizes this could be what the rest of his life looks like.

#give steve harrington a happy ending #im begging you duffer brothers #he deserves to be happy #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve harrington's parents #stranger things #stranger things meta #steve harrington meta

[every-dayiwakeup]

On the ST fandom making up "angsty" headcanons for characters like Steve and Eddie:

Steve's parents being abusive is a headcanon. It does not exist in canon, so therefore it is not canon.

There are other angsty headcanons you can create for Steve that are backed by canon, like for example: nightmares about the creatures he's fought. Why not explore him always grabbing the object closest to him and wielding it as a weapon when it's dark and he hears a bump in the night or something. You could say that he can't sleep at night so he falls asleep during class. But no, y'all chose to give him abusive parents.

You've done that to Eddie, too. There are abusive parents in the show like Lonnie Byers and Neil Hargrove. You just don't want to acknowledge Neil because you don't want to acknowledge that Billy is an abuse* victim. Wayne Munson is not an abuser. You've made a privileged white boy and a dude who lives in a trailer park into abuse victims but they are not. That is a headcanon.

Eddie watched two people die horrific deaths in front of him. He has guilt about running away. That is canon. But y'all have to give him Billy's trauma. It's really weird that you hate Billy so much but your version of Eddie is morphing into Billy Hargrove. So which one is it? You want the ✨️aesthetic✨️ of trauma for your "favorites". The Duffers have a fandom that fits their victim blaming ideology like a glove. You want to play Build a Victim rather than accepting a canon victim, which is extremely fucked up.

#billy hargrove #steve harrington #eddie munson #eddie munson meta #steve harrington meta #tw neil hargrove #tw lonnie byers #anti duffers #anti stranger things fandom #anti stranger things

[very-feral-lesbian]

scars, they were a funny thing.

steve has years of scars littered around his body. from minor incidents on the court during intense basketball games to rough housing with his macho high school jock friends. but nothing like what happened starting in 1983. the upside down and it’s coinciding monsters brought intense bite marks, scars from car accidents, and wounds from falling.

childhood had not been kind to eddie, he was an obvious outcast from the beginning. always too loud and out there to fit in with the other kids. it was never an issue until late middle school when the jocks started getting bolder. he went from verbal jabs about his loud personality to physical beatings in the school yard after class. it only got worse from there, leaving behind tiny reminders of his otherness.

but the bats, they were different. they tore across their stomachs, leaving behind nasty gashes the skin near it. a permanent memorial of 1986 etched into their skin.

steve hated it. hated feeling lesser. he may be an asshole, he may work a deadend job and be someone who peaked in highschool, but he always had his looks going for him. something to keep him grounded in who he was when he was the king. but these scars, they changed everything. no more tugging a shirt off without thinking of it first. a nagging souvenir of the upside down.

but there was eddie. eddie who had identical scars, his deeper and redder. a little more intense considering he nearly died from them, but practically a mirror to steves own stomach. and here steve was, falling head over heels for him. not in spite of but because of his scars, mental and physical.

he thought eddie was beautiful. he loved his mannerisms, his love for the kids, for dnd and music. the way he spoke, the way he moved. his confidence, his charisma. he loved eddie, scars included. maybe he could learn to love himself the way he loved eddie.

#this got out of hand #i love steve <3 #stranger things #st #st4 #steddie #steddie headcanons #steve harrington meta #steve harrington #eddie munson #text post #text #right on queue

[toburnup]

Just wanting to pick your brain( bc I'm kind of like this too) what is it about Steve? He's the common denominator in all the ships you write (Which you do so beautifully btw) like steddie, stommy, and now stonathan (!!!!!). And you've also said it's easier for you to write in Steve's POV than Eddie's. Is there a particular reason? Do you relate to him in canon or your writing?

You are such a genius, I could listen to you talk about your writing all day.

I cannot wait for whatevers coming down the pike: the wip stonathan fic, the iylo update (see what I did there?) . Everything you put out into the world is a gift anyway so <3

!! thank you! hah, why steve? i'm not sure! i was a steve hater for a long time. still am, in a lot of ways.

in canon, i like steve best as a side character. his character motivations shift so drastically between seasons that i find the more screentime he gets, the less sense he makes lmao (probably why i disliked the scoops storyline, tho i love s3 robin).

and honestly, i think i like writing steve as much as i do because i want to read him a certain way, and it's not a version i see enough (for my taste). i really like steve as someone with grey moral values, a bit selfish, rude as a default. not necessarily stupid but he doesn't care if he's wrong. competitive to a ridiculous degree. distracted by trying to figure out who he is but also caring too much about what other people think to really find an answer.

i relate to him (the way i write him) in a few ways, but it's hard for me to pinpoint the exact reasons why tbh. some people who know me well can read my writing and see when i'm projecting onto him.

the big thing for me is i like writing him falling for different people. i love his friendship with tommy and carol, and all the potential romantic overlap. him and eddie are fun (and i love eddie, but steddie isn't my ~OTP~ or anything). jonathan is a PAIN to write but i'm liking it so far. and i know some people will give me grief for it, but i'm also writing a metalsandwich fic (so steve, billy, and eddie) which has been super fun.

i find the s2 confrontation between billy & steve at the byers house to be one of steve's best scenes ("were you dropped too much as a child, or what?... she's not here") - lying to billy's face feels like a fucking wild choice and i love it. steve with anger simmering beneath the surface. finally learning to plant his feet. still gets beaten to a pulp <3

he's an idiot boy and i love him.

did this answer the question? maybe! i can also talk about steve forever, so i love getting messages like this :) :) thank you for reading my works.

#oops long post #steve harrington #steve harrington meta #feeling loved #vio answers

[withacapitalp]

Hi Liam! I don't feel like doing work so close to the holidays, so please enjoy this half-baked thought I wasted 10 minutes finding a gif for.

So many fics have Eddie wearing Steve's Yellow Sweater™, yet nothing with dressing him up like S1 Assistant Youth Pastor Steve. Please use the space below for a prompt or a rant or anything else you fancy ...

Oh no you don't even know what you've done here. Okay costuming is one of my all time favorite things, so I'm going to talk too much about subtle stuff (fair warning this is just me having fun so if it's at all inaccurate or not true, well I'm just a guy who likes a show too much LMAO)

Okay so let's start with season one. Steve dresses exactly liek you said like an assistant youth pastor lmao but it's also just like very showing of who he's trying to be there

First of all his hair is way more stylized in this season than any other. We talk about Steve's hair so much, but here in this season it's so obvious that he's trying to be someone specific instead of just who he is. He's also always wearing a collared shirt and a very dark jacket, and the costumers have said that they use darker colors for darker moments/feelings, so he's wearing this exact jacket when he destroys Jonathan's camera AND when he and Jonathan have their fight

Really the first time we see him without his collar or his dark feelings jacket is when he goes to save Nancy and Jonathan

He's laying himself more bare and he's let go of the chain jerking him around (his terrible friends and their opinions.

Okay so season two is also really interesting one because Steve's hair is parted the other way now (literally changing sides), but specifically because of Steve's jacket. Yes I know I talked about the jacket being a signifier of Steve's darkness before, but in this season it's different

This is right after the bathroom conversation between him and Nancy. This is him trying to convince her to stay with him, and feeling rejected, and not understanding how he can fix something he didn't even realize was broken. His jacket is zippered up

But when he's walking with Dustin, it's back to being open. Okay I can hear you saying to yourself 'Liam this is a wild leap to take' except is it??? Bc it isn't and I can tell you why

HIS JACKET IS ZIPPED UP WHEN THEY START THIS WALK. But as they keep walking he opens up to Dustin and the kids. His jacket stays open for the rest of the season, even when it's the middle of the night and probably way colder and it would make a lot more sense for him to zip up his jacket? Is this actually a thing that matters? No probably not to anyone else but I like symbolism and I search it out like a little squirrel looking for nuts to store for winter

Also here is where I mention something important. Steve is a social chameleon. He's learned/was taught that the best way to get people to like him is to be like them. That's why he was so easily ranked in with the popular kids, even when it's clear that he didn't really like it all that much given how fast he flips. He also dresses a lot like Tommy in S1, and then in S2 we see him start to develop his own style once he's broken up with Nancy. But even in developing that own style, he's still a social chameleon. He's still going to try and look like the people he wants to have in his circle

Which brings me to the very first sweater we ever see Steve in

LOOK AT THAT COLOR AND LOOK AT THE COLOR OF DUSTINS HOODIE ABOVE Same exact color!!! Now I'm not saying this is anyyyyything conscious. Steve isn't looking at his closet and being like yes I will choose this because Dustin wore this color and I know he likes it, but I am saying we have literally never seen Steve in any shade of red before this moment.

Now season three. I know he was in his Scoops Ahoy Uniform for most of it (thank the gods for those shorts) so I'm not gonna talk too much about that but I am going to talk about that last final outfit as another example of chameleon Steve

This is actually a two fold example of Chameleon Steve. First of all he's dressed pretty much just like Marty McFly the character from Back to the Future which is the movie he and Robin ran into after the Russians. Second of all he's matching her too. Dark blue, Dark blue, White accents, White Accents. Just like Dustin he chooses colors that are similar to the people he likes. We're also once again seeing him start to open up color wise (first time we see him in yellow).

Now Season four. Well Season four we see him getting stripped bare (quite literally) for a good portion of the season. Obviously we have the battle vest and I love that, but I want to talk about Steve's jacket again and one particular outfit that I think sums up growth for Steve in a lot of ways while also showing some other stuff

His Dear Billy outfit.

This outfit is incredibly similar to the one he wore back in s2 when he first protected all of the kids. Light grey outer jacket, inside darker shirt, but he's wearing a collar again. TLDR he's back to trying to button up, back to something familiar that will 'keep him safe', but also a jacket and a color that he would associate with 'protecting the kids'

Anyway that was a very very long talk, but Steve's progression of outfits and the way he dresses himself is very interesting to me, and like I said if there's even a hint of symbolism I'm there

#Steve harrington #stranger things #st #stranger things meta #Steve Harrington meta #asks #lizisodd #Liam speaks up

[voidpacifist]

new idea: what if steve actually has good parents?

sure, maybe he doesn't have good parents at first. maybe his parents are negligent at best and downright out of his life at worst. maybe when his father is caught the first time in an affair, his mother retaliates by following him on all of his trips out of state instead of staying at home? maybe even when she is home, she's always busy.

but then steve starts getting into fights at school. he's popular and he's relatively well liked, even in just eighth grade, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who can and would try to beat the title of king right out of him. believe it or not, it's his busy, couldn't-be-bothered mother who notices first — she's so used to him giving her space that when he rushes home one afternoon with blood and scrapes and a black eye, she freaks the fuck out.

she calls his father home, and sure, his father's season of unfaithfulness is starting, but his mother sounds genuinely worried, and there's nothing he can do from across the country except to return to hawkins to make sure everyone's all in one piece. the cheating doesn't stop after this event, but the attentiveness is new. it's not necessarily the good kind of attentiveness, but now both his mother and his father are paying attention to him.

for about a week, his mother absolutely fusses and frets over him. his father goes back to his work, but not before actually checking in on steve and seeing if he's okay. but his mother is more...around, now. she starts noticing things about her own son that she never noticed before, and as some kind of penance, she starts spending more time with him.

his mother becomes his mom. they make pastas together in the evenings, and she hugs him goodbye every morning before school. for a few short months, she's exactly what he's always needed her to be. then she finds out about his father's cheating, and she starts going on the work trips with him. it fucks with steve more than he cares to admit, but learning his father doesn't love his mother the way he ought to fucks with him more.

by junior year, he's convinced that love is a sham. then he meets nancy wheeler. and their relationship reminds him of the early stages of his parents marriage, back when they paid attention to him and even when they were busy, made the time to show and tell him that they love him. it's not like they don't anymore, but his mother can't dote on him the same away from home and his father's version of love is terse lectures and "straightening him into a man."

he tries to give her everything he can, exude love the way he was taught is good, but they both have their own damage to work out, and the relationship frays until nancy, sixteen and hurting and making stupid choices, ends things. steve doesn't handle it much better — nancy may be a fighter, a doer, but he's a hider of his own feelings to his core. it's a back and forth of "don't you want to do something?" and "don't you know I can't?" they've stalemated themselves.

and it's especially painful because that's exactly how his parents went from being the young, happy couple to being the couple who isn't really a couple. not in the ways that matter.

and then after junior year closes, his parents come home and stay home. he's quick to rebuild something with his mother, who puts in the effort when she can, but his father is a different story. he wants what's best for steve, but has never been around enough for that sentiment to count. he wants steve to have the best in life, but only knows how to drill into him his version of what's best — a college degree, a successful career, and a nice wife and house.

steve hates it, but a part of him really missed having a dad around in the first place. (hopper's even more emotionally available than his own father, and the chief of police is generally a brick wall, save for spite and sarcasm and deep-seeded rage.)

so he tries for his dad, really he does. and his dad, shock of all shocks, starts trying for steve too. their sole hurdle by the time senior year reaches it's final weeks is the fact that no college wants to take steve and his shoddy grades. but his dad isn't heartless, not in the ways that count — he tells steve he needs to find a job, then finds one for him, because he's noticing things about his son now in the opposite way his wife notices. whereas she's been getting to know steve at his core, he's been seeing what the effects of concussions and contact sports are doing to him. he's forgetting things, having trouble with headaches and vision/hearing issues and it scares him half to death even if he'll never say it.

he writes the job off as a way to get steve to "take responsibility," but truthfully, he just knows the hours steve's getting at the mall means he's further out of a fights way. so imagine mr. harrington's absolute dread when he realizes there's been a fire at starcourt, when he rushes himself and his wife to the hospital and they find steve laid up with a grade three concussion and his system flushed for drugs. imagine what that does to a man like mr. harrington.

what it does is this: he doesn't care if steve gets a job anymore as long as he's around.

summer comes and goes, and in the absence of hopper, steve starts becoming somewhat close to his own dad for once. they start talking about things with one another. little things, but still things. bit by bit, they're becoming father and son again the way steve and his mother are mother and son now.

fall of '85 comes around, and steve has a job again, but it's closer to his house this time so that if anything even remotely similar to the government coverup disaster of the summer shows up, he can still be near his parents. they meet robin, and respect it when steve tells them he's not interested in her (even if they don't necessarily believe it). they meet his gaggle of kids, one at a time, and it becomes clear to them just how absent they've been over the years when each kid has a different kind of surprise when they meet. "steve has parents in hawkins?" or "oh...steve didn't mention you two."

spring break of '86 has steve closing up again, which is the last thing his mother and father want from him with an alleged murderer on the loose, and kids going missing left and right. it isn't until the 25th of march, in the early hours of the morning, when steve shows up with said "murderer" bleeding from all sorts of wounds that look entirely inhuman cradled in his arms, with wounds of his own, that they realize something: he never tells them anything for their sakes, not for his own.

they hole up eddie munson in a guest bedroom, suspended between life and death, for several days. they notice things about steve, about his kids, about the way he looks after eddie, about the way he disappears for hours at a time while the sky outside turns red, and it's then that steve harrington's parents become his mom and dad.

#i have wayyyyyyy more thouchts on this but #i just want him to have nice things #i know we all headcanon that his parents are absent/negligent but let my boy have this okay? he deserves to have this #steve harrington #stranger things #steve harrington drabble #steve harrington meta #steve harrington's parents #implied steddie

[mrstevebuckley]

I just realised this could be where Steve saw his 6 kids dream ( and it includes his nuggets 😭)

We all know about Steve's absent parent and implied parental neglect. Poor boy is celebrating Christmas with the Wheelers.

This Steve sees Karen and Ted being a happy married couple.

This Steve sees Holly running around the house giggling.

This Steve hears the Party having the best time of their lives in the basement.

This is the Steve who witnesses two parental figures and six kids (Holly,Nancy and the Party) enjoying their time. He sees them living the American dream

This Steve doesn't feel lonely. He feels closest to home.

#i wanna cry so bad #Stevie deserves better #Don't anyone dare to make this about stancy!!! #This about STEVE and STEVE only #steve harrington #Steve Harrington meta #My baby deserves to be happy #His dreams are based on his kids dude 😭😭 #mama steve #steve and his children

[edgelordtozier]

whatever I need to defend my blorbo. so deep in the brainrot that im gonna defend the steve harrington six nuggets speech

i for one think steve’s decision to tell nancy was, first of all, the fault of everyone around steve (dustin, robin, eddie, and their collective need to push the stancy agenda on steve for some reason) and, secondly, really more spur of the moment in a “we might die soon” type of way than anything. he tells nancy first about the dream he had because it’s HIS dream, it’s what HE wants for HIMSELF and it’s something that he doesn’t really think he’s going to get, because he probably thinks he’s going to die. he’s confiding in his good buddy nancy because she’s the one who sat with him in that RV and reminded him of what he expects of himself.

he first tells her about the dream Not because he expects something from her, but because he wants her to understand that THIS is what he wanted, this is what he still wants. steve knows that nancy doesn’t want six kids. he knows this. she tells him to his face right there how much it sounds like a nightmare. he! knows! he thinks he wants her back because everyone is continuously telling him he does — and when has listening to his friends in a moment of steve’s self-proclaimed stupidity gone all that badly for him? he thinks he has to adhere to this thing that his friends want him to be doing and want him to be feeling, when he’s been over it or nearly over it for at LEAST a year and a half now.

in season 3 during the bathroom scene with robin, she asks him if he’s still in love with nancy. steve says no and he does! not! hesitate! YES, it’s because he’s about to confess his ill-advised crush on robin, but he’s also clearly telling the truth. he’s over it! he’s been over it!

later, in the upside down, steve tells nancy that she was always there in the six nuggets dream. Weird as fuck, yes, but I don’t have as much of an issue with it as I did when I first watched. steve thinks that no one is ever going to love him again romantically. i even hesitate in using the word “again” because i don’t believe steve has Ever really genuinely been loved romantically in the first place. what nancy felt for him had to have been platonic either the entire time, or turned so through all the bitterness she also had towards him after what happened to barb for her to have been so cruel to steve at the halloween party in s2. the only point of reference steve has for a “good” relationship — that being a relationship where he was in love, even when the other person was decidedly not — was nancy. he believes that he wants that back. and he believes the only person who can give that feeling back to him is, again, nancy.

he tells her that she was there in that dream because, despite the fact that he shouldn’t, he still wants that sort of closure, letting her know this dream he’s had since they’ve been in love. he tells her about the knock on the head that she gave him to make him realize what an idiot he’s been (the knock on the head being nancy’s “bullshit, bullshit, bullshit,” which, in my opinion, is, in itself, bullshit) and how he’s “crawling forward” now, getting more and entirely over nancy, which! funnily enough! he could have been doing all of season 4 if his friends hadn’t all tried to force steve to be in love with nancy again!

i think that the least weird part of the speech, and the most relatable I guess, is steve thinking about whether or not him and nancy could have stayed together if he’d gotten that wake up call from someone else. a part of him is still going to love her and, again, a huge part of him still believes that she’s it for him BECAUSE of the fact that he doesn’t think anyone is ever going to love him again except for her. all of s4 steve spends time agonizing over his dates with girls not working out or his relationships only being built off of sex, and his insecurity shows soooo hard!!!! he doesn’t think he’s capable of love!!!!!!!!!! nancy was the last person to show him any romantic affection and he wants that back because he as a person is not independent like nancy is. steve wants to be loved again, thoroughly. to him — and as it seems, to his friends as well — nancy is the only one capable of doing that for him, which is just simply not true whatsoever.

while it’s a weird speech and steve would probably have been better off not telling it, it’s not as much of a butchering of his character as it is steve desperately wanting to be loved, which is perhaps the most in character thing the duffers have ever inadvertently done (because let’s face it. I don’t think they thought about ANY of this shit I just wrote). steve is thinking of nancy as the only one for him because she’s the only lasting relationship that he knows, even when it ended in his own utter heartbreak, even when she’s now with a totally different man. he shares this dream with her because he has no one else to have sit in that seat, and thinks he needs someone to fill that void.

anyway. this all could have and should be a perfect set up for the epic bisexual awakening of steve harrington. the speech could have gone better. could have been written better. i hate stancy so much. cheers.

#if steve harrington has 1 fan it's me if steve harrington has 0 fans i am no longer on this earth #steve harrington #stranger things #steve defender first and person second he’s sooo my buddy #don’t get this twisted though I hate the six nuggets speech and think it was a dumb bad gross writing decision #I’m just trying to rationalize it bc I hate seeing people say they hate steve for saying it #this did get more into a steve doesn’t think he’s loved meta though soz #st4 #im gonna tag #steddie #bc at its core this has steddie at its heart. Edward munson is a six nuggets supporter #stranger things meta #steve harrington meta

[annemriex]

I see a lot of posts a lot of posts about how much people hated Steve in season 1 and how he’s a completely different and better person from season 2 onwards but I don’t agree. I genuinely loved Steve and could resonate with his actions in season 1 from my first viewing of the show and so I made a list to show that he’s not as terrible or different as a lot of people say.

Steve invites Nancy to his house because his parents aren’t home. Nancy interprets this as a party and invites Barb to come with her. I’d like to argue to this was not the case. 1. There is only the five of them total at the house which suggests Steve really asked Nancy on a double date not to a party. 2. Steve is known as the Keg King of Hawkins high before being dethroned by Billy in season 2 at Tina’s party. This shows that when Steve actually throws a party it looks a lot like Tina’s. Not a group of 5 teens sitting at the pool with no music and a couple of beers.

So Steve although shocked that Barb is here never questions it he’s just happy that Nancy agreed to come and hang out and I’m fact although he’s quite awkward and clearly doesn’t know how to interact with Barb he always makes an effort to include her even when she clearly hates being there and him.

The next day when Nancy is asking if anyone saw Barb leave and Tommy and Carol are being nasty not really giving her a proper answer Steve tells them to knock it off and to answer the question seriously.

After the police get involved and they are going to phone all the parents all Steve asks is that Nancy not mention that they were drinking beer because Barb wasn’t even drinking any of them. I know a lot of people think that’s really harsh and selfish but honestly what scared 16 year old wouldn’t ask for their underage drinking to be told to the police when it wasn’t relevant to what the police are asking? He’s not saying don’t say she was at mine or anything, he wants to help just not to drop himself in shit at the same time.

Then Nicole tells them that Jonathan took pictures of his girlfriend in her underwear through his bedroom window. I honestly don’t think any of that fight at the school was that bad, maybe he shouldn’t have broke the camera but honestly if I was a braver person, I would in that situation. In fact I might have even went to the police for stalking instead.

Then he later wants to check on his girlfriend who’s friend has just gone missing because she didn’t feel comfortable leaving the house. So he’s worried and wants to make sure she’s okay, he climbs up to her bedroom window (a pre agreed form of entry) to knock and ask how she is but he sees her cuddling the man who he just confronted for taking unwanted pictures of her in her underwear. He then understandably thinks she’s been cheating on him.

His friends (I want to stress he wasn’t actually the one to do it) spray paint about Nancy on the movie theatre. Nancy appears again with Jonathan and is angry about the spray paint when she realised why he’s angry she get goes “you came by last night.” And doesn’t say “I wondered if Jonathan’s pictures had any sighting of Barb and he was comforting me when we couldn’t find any.” He then gets angry and lashes out at Jonathan which a lot said was out of line of course it was but how would you be without any of the context the show gave you of Nancy and Jonathan’s side of things?

After having like 10-15 minutes to calm down after the fight Steve feels regret about how far he took things and seeing that Tommy and Carol have no regret what’s so ever he instantly decides he wants to be better and if they don’t want to then he’ll move on without them.

He then goes to Jonathan’s house to apologise not to look good in front of Nancy as he didn’t know she was there. In fact it honestly would have reignited my rage in his shoes that she was still with Jonathan after all that but he just admits that he was wrong and he’s only there to say sorry.

Steve bought Jonathan a new camera for Christmas but gave it to Nancy to pass on as he didn’t want Jonathan to reject it just because it was from him.

Timelines might be slightly wrong I didn’t check what order events happen in the show it’s just been stuck in my head for days and I had to get it out

#not Nancy wheeler friendly #not Jonathan Byers friendly #tagging not friendly just to be safe #steve harrington #meta post #stranger things #stranger things meta #Steve harrington meta #stranger things season 1 #long post

[qprstobin]

I love the aesthetics for punk steve esp in like, s2 aus (specific I know dfihgsirg), but I also really like the idea of steve being comfortable being preppy, likes how he looks and feels in his clothes esp bc he knows he looks good. 

But also liking having like… little acts of rebellion. He gets his tongue pierced bc unless you are literally making out with him ur not typically gonna notice (and his parents prefer that he keeps his mouth shut anyway). Maybe he pierces his ears but only wears little studs or something easily hidden by his hair. 

Letting his hair grow out just a bit longer than is typically socially acceptable, but just in the “oh sweetie it's time for you to get a haircut!” area that he can get away with. Blonde highlights to add a little flavor.

Tattoos on his body but only beneath his clothes, his nailbat but also an ice cream scooper for robin and maybe even a lil d20 for the kiddos. Maybe even more than that, flowers or things that his friends have designed as time goes on. Tattoos that mean something.

Clear lipgloss, that just makes it look like he licks his lips a lot but it’s there and he can taste it. Just little things he can get away with, things that are for HIM. Because he’s perfectly fine in his preppy, normie clothes but it’s the little things he likes to fiddle with to make the whole look feel even more personalized, more like him

#steve harrington #steve harrington meta #stranger things #st meta #steve

[fantasy-land-and-ocean]

Steve as the anti - Neil: a Billy and Steve meta

So, I’ve seen a few post about the fight in the Byers home between Steve and Billy and how the scene where Billy smashes a plate over Steve’s head echoes the scene where Billy’s mom throws a plate at Neil in the season 3 memories scene.

I’ve read a lot how Billy parallels his mother in this scene not only because of the plate use and the similar clothing but because Billy believes that Steve is a danger to Max which parallels his mother trying to protect him. What I haven’t seen though is how Steve -unbeknownst to Billy- is actually the opposite of Neil in that scene..

What I mean is that Steve was in the Byers house because he was actually trying to protect Max and the other kids. If Steve wasn’t so adamant that the Party -Max included- did not out themselves in danger, they would be gone for the tunnels and all Billy would have found would have been an empty house...

Don’t get me wrong, I understand how Billy could have misread the situation and there were definitely a lot more going on in that scene but I also feel that Steve acts as an “anti - Neil” in that scene ironically.

One of the reasons why I like the idea of a potential Harringrove dynamic -even as friendship, because I don’t expect anything more- is that Steve expresses the same type of masculinity as Neil such -not exactly the same way because of factors such as class, age, life experiences etc.-, he does so in a way that is healthy and willing to make space for other people’s expressions:

Neil accuses his wife for cheating and hits her for it - Steve accepts that Nancy is in love with someone else and lets her go

Neil is a homophobic duchebag to Billy - Steve accepts his best friend coming out to him and makes her feel safe

Neil is a threat to Billy as a child - Steve risks his life again and again to protect the younger members of his group

Get where I am going? Steve had to unlearn a lot of toxic notions to reach this point where his own conventional form of masculine expression is not a burden to other people. I feel that Billy needs this type of connection with someone that shares some of his father’s traits but is not toxic.

Anyway, as much as I would love for romantic Harringrove to become part of the text, I am also a realist so I hope that at least ~if Billy comes back, which seems pretty possible~ we see Steve and Billy become friends.

#billy hargrove meta #steve harrington meta #Billy Hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove #harringrove meta

[every-dayiwakeup]

Alright so maybe this is an unpopular opinion but Billy knows who he is and Steve does not.

Steve isn't going to be emotionally open or anything like that. He doesn't communicate his wants because he doesn't know what he wants. He depends on others to tell him what he wants.

He is repressive whereas Billy cannot repress his emotions. He cries, he gets angry because he cries and Neil punishes/mocks him for that. It would be a little safer in the Hargrove house if Billy could repress shit like Steve does, but he's unable to. There are simply too many emotions that he's got no safe place or any free time to process them or anything that happened in the past because he is still being treated that way.

Billy may not be all too great at communicating but who the fuck does he have to talk to?

Steve won't be able to keep all his feelings bottled up inside forever. One day it'll all blow up.

I don't believe Billy has internalized homophobia, either. He's not trying to hide his advances on Steve. The only person he's really hiding from is Neil.

Hating yourself because others make you feel like shit can coexist with you knowing exactly who you are.

#billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove analysis #billy hargrove meta #steve harrington meta #just bc i think theyd be good together doesnt mean that theyre going to 'fix' each other #im really sick of seeing steve as the one whos painted as the patron saint who will 'fix' billy #acting like he doesnt have a whole bunch of shit going on #be fr

[very-feral-lesbian]

steve does not like to be alone.

there were times where this wasnt true, but an alternate dimension, absent parents, and a identity crisis will change some shit.

it started with nancy. when they were dating, he always offered up his empty place to hang. back then his intetions were scummy and it is not something he is proud of. looking back, he was lonely but fuck if he would have ever said that out loud (or to himself).

then it was the kids. letting them come over to play dnd in his living room or having a routine game night. he may complain but fuck if he doesn’t enjoy the incessant chatter of the six kids. he was always lost and didn’t understand eighty percent of what they said, but it was better than the empty echo the house usually had.

next up was robin. by far the best thing about rob was that she was always down to just hang out. in high school, his friends always wanted to go out or be at parties. but robin was always up for a movie marathon. just the two of them, gossiping and enjoying each others company. he had never had a friend that he could hang out with for days on end without feeling the slightest bit bored. by the three month mark of their friendship, he gave her a key, “whenever, buckley, i mean it”.

then there was eddie. if there was ever a presence needed to fill up an empty room, eddie could do it in the blink of an eye. steve knew that was true from the moment they met. when they started dating and eddie would come over, he was never quiet. always full of ideas, spewing out the most random shit about dnd, a book he was reading. listening to or playing music. bringing his guitar over to practice at steve’s, the noise a welcome distraction from the thoughts in his head. or waking up on a saturday to sounds of glasses clamoring, oil sizzling and soft humming filling the kitchen. it was never quiet when he was over, and steve wouldn’t have it any different.

most people want a quiet life, but steve couldn’t think of anything he wants more than a loud life with eddie.

#ok maybe im projecting #but this practically wrote itself #stranger things #st #st4 #steddie #steddie headcanons #steve harrrington #eddie munson #text post #text #dustin henderson #robin buckley #the party #nancy wheeler #steve harrington meta #steddie meta #right on queue