#younger billy with s3+ steve

[atomicpoetrymusic-blog]

Randomly, on a whim, I decided to re-watch Stranger Things s4. I was focused on other stuff, just letting it play in the background, but I had a realisation about my favourite relationship on the show - Steve and Dustin. And I had to write about it.

In s2, when they were first thrown together, no one, not even the writers, predicted how good and compelling a bond they would form. Steve was going through a tough time, but he still stepped up and helped Dustin with his Dart problem. He gave the younger boy advice about girls, and Dustin grew to look up to him as a capable protector, caretaker and role-model, actively enjoying it when Steve complimented him. Dustin, meanwhile, wriggled his way into Steve's heart with his assertiveness, youthful curiosity, high intelligence, and his sweet nature (also because he essentially followed Steve around like an excitable puppy, and proceeded to not leave him alone).

Along the way, the audience saw how they operated as a team - functionally, they were essentially the trope of 'the brains and the brawn'. Dustin came up with the theories and the plans, and Steve implemented them.

By the end of s2, Steve and Dustin had no specific reason to hang out AT ALL, but they both still chose to. As it turned out, they liked each other's company, despite their differences.

In s3, we got more of the same, with added flavours of Robin and Erica thrown into the mix. Dustin, while still the brains of the operation, needed Robin's linguistic skills, as well as her grounding logic to keep him from going completely off the rails, while Steve also needed Robin to lift some of the weight of responsibility for the younger two. Erica, while only initially needed because of her small stature, kept everyone focused on the task at hand, and also provided an iron backbone to simultaneously criticise and embolden her friends. Their dynamic as a foursome worked, and was many people's (mine included) favourite part of s3.

The relationship between Dustin and Steve, in this time, had clearly become more brotherly, with the bickering and snarking overlaying a genuine trust and care for each other. They were thrilled to see each other again after Dustin had been away, insulted each other to their faces despite being incredibly supportive of each other, and were very protective of each other when in the Russian elevator/base.

In s4, however, the duo, while still the same one we know and love, had developed into something even better - a competent team that knew they work well together, and used that to their advantage (sometimes begrudgingly). Because of their intrinsic differences in intellect, physicality, and general skill sets, they both have very different ways of approaching the same problem.

This is probably best shown in the first basement scene of episode 4 ('Dear Billy', probably my favourite episode of the show overall). Steve, Dustin and Lucas are reading up on Victor Creel, and Steve is vocally confused by the information presented. Dustin criticises Steve on not being able to understand the concept, and goes on to talk about his theories on the Upside Down and HOW it is all happening. Steve then explains his confusion, about WHY Vecna would have done these things, and WHY he had started up again.

And later, in episode 6, 'The Dive', when the Hawkins crew are all updating Eddie at Skull Rock, Dustin again is focused on HOW his compass is acting strangely, and concludes it must be because of a Gate (which he was right about). After some discourse between the whole group about HOW Dustin's compass was going wonky, Steve is the first to question WHY a Gate had opened up.

This is why they make such a fantastic team - because they are 2 sides of the same coin. It reminds me of the most famous detective story dynamic - Holmes and Watson (which is fitting, as Dustin quotes Sherlock Holmes in s4, to Steve).

Dustin (Holmes) provides the scientific, factual evidence and uses this to devise theories on HOW something happened. Steve (Watson) provides the emotional, personal reasons for WHY something happened. They round each other out and build off each other's ideas to form a cohesive through-line that explains both the HOW and the WHY.

There are loads more examples, but here are a few off the top of my head:

S3 - Steve hears 'Indiana Flyer' playing in the background of the Russian transmission. Both Dustin and Robin brush him off, asking him to focus on the Russian, but he wants to know WHY the music is there.

S2 - Steve wants to know WHY Dart and the other demodogs leave the junkyard, and Dustin provides him with the HOW (because of the hive mind).

S4 - Once Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eddie get trapped in the Upside Down, Dustin gets stumped on HOW the Gate opened up. His usual way of figuring things out isn't providing him with answers. So, he turns to another way of thinking - WHY there is a Gate in Lover's Lake. Which then leads him to the answer they needed. (Yes, this is all Dustin, but I truly believe he would not have been nearly so capable of coming up with the WHY of it all pre-Steve. Even in s1, he was the one everyone went to for the HOW).

In conclusion, I once again took a single idea and turned it into a multi-point essay. I always loved the Steve and Dustin dynamic so much, and now my love for it has grown that much bigger.

#stranger things #dustin henderson #steve harrington #i have an essay writing problem #steve and dustin

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Seventeen: The Gate

Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 6,766 Warnings: canon violence, angst, lil' bit of fluff, steve unfortunately getting his ass kicked.. again, ...billy Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! We get Billy in this episode, and we get to see more of Liv's protective side with the kids!! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

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Mike and El walked towards each other, saying each other’s name before embracing in a hug. 

Grabbing Steve’s hand and moving impossibly closer, I looked up at him, not knowing what I would do with myself if I were ever in Mike’s shoes.

“Is that…” Max asked. I looked around Steve, looking at Max while nodding my head, whispering, “Yes.”

Once he pulled out of the hug, Mike said, “I never gave up on you. I called you every night. Every night for–”

“353 days,” El said, shaking her head before looking in his eyes, saying, “I heard.”

“Why did you tell me you were there? That you were okay?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her,” Hopper said. 

Mike turned to face him, Hopper walking towards El as he said, “The hell is this? Where’ve you been?”

“Where have you been?” she asked, the two of them embracing in a hug. I saw the crown of her head go back like she was looking at Hop before her voice said, “Is she here?” He moved out of the way, El’s eyes meeting with mine.

I let go of Steve’s hand to walk towards El, giving her a hug that I only reserved for the most important people in my life.

“You’ve been hiding her,” Mike said, realization hitting him like a bus.

El turned to look at Hop and Mike, keeping her arm around me, my own still around her shoulders as we watched Mike and Hop’s small altercation.

“You’ve been hiding her this whole time!” Mike added, hitting Hop at the end.

Turning around to face Mike, Hop responded, “Hey. Hey!” He grabbed Mike’s shirt, saying, “Let’s. Talk. Alone.”

Before a door shut, I heard Mike say, “Protecting her! Protecting her?!”

A couple of moments later, I rubbed her back, saying, “Well, uh…” Looking at El, I said, “I’m digging the new look.”

A throat clearing had me looking at the owner; my little brother, Dustin.

El walked over to Dustin and Lucas, giving them both a hug, Dustin saying that they missed her and that they talked about her pretty much everyday. She noticed Dustin’s teeth, touching them. “Teeth.”

“What?” Dustin asked.

“You have teeth,” she said, a subtle duh tone to her voice.

“Oh,” he smiled. “You like these pearls?” He then proceeded to make a sound that resembled Chewbacca.

“Oh, my god,” I whispered, resting my forehead against Steve’s arm. I had moved back to stand next to him, lacing our fingers together before I had, basically, hugged his arm.

“Eleven?” Max asked, causing my head to shoot up as she walked over to El and the boys. “Hey, uhm, I’m Max.” She put her hand out for El to shake, adding, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

El wanted nothing to do with Max, so she pushed her way through the three younger teens to move to Joyce, the two of them embracing.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered, Max’s head moving to look at me. “She’ll come around.”

“Can I see him?” El asked.

Joyce took her to Will’s room, leaving Steve and I with Dustin, Max, and Lucas for a moment before they both came back out, Joyce whispering my name.

I went into the kitchen with her and El, looking at the words Nancy had written earlier. “Wait a second,” I whispered. Pointing to the notepad, I asked, “You’ve opened this gate before, right?”

“Yes,” El replied.

Putting a hand on her back, I asked, “If we got you back there, do you think that you could close it? Put all this behind us?”

She looked at me for a moment, determination in her eyes. When Hop and Mike came out of one of the bedrooms, I told him what El and I had thought as everyone else gathered into the kitchen; getting El back to the lab to close the gate.

“It’s not like it was before,” Hopper said. “It’s grown. A lot. And, I mean, that’s considering we can still get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs.”

“Demodogs,” Dustin said, turning to face Hop.

Placing my forehead once again on Steve’s arm, I muttered, “Oh my god.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Hop asked.

“I said, uhh, demodogs,” Dustin said. “Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass–”

“How is this important right now?” Hop and I asked.

“It’s not. I’m sorry.”

“I can do it,” El said.

“You’re not hearing me,” Hop retorted.

“I’m hearing you. I can do it.”

I looked at her, impressed at her biting back at Hop.

“Even if El can, there’s still another problem,” Mike said. “If the brain dies, the body dies.”

“I thought that was the whole point,” Max wondered.

“It is,” I said, all eyes turning to me. “But if we’re really right about this, and El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayers army, Will’s a part of that army, and closing the gate means… Will dies.” I watched as Joyce got up after my explanation.

She walked by all of us, going into Will’s room, where we all followed her. “He likes it cold.”

“What?” Hopper asked.

“That’s what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold.” She went over to his window and closed it before turning around to us and saying, “We keep giving it what it wants.”

“If this is a virus and Will’s the host, then…” Nancy said.

“Then you need to make the host uninhabitable,” Jonathan and I said. 

“So if he likes it cold–”

“We need to burn it out of him,” Joyce said, looking at her youngest son.

“We have to do it somewhere he doesn’t know this time,” Mike suggested.

“Yeah, somewhere far away,” Dustin added.

I looked at Hopper, as he thought about where. 

He told them about his cabin in the woods where he was keeping El hidden. They gathered Will and bundled him up, moving through the house as Hop was giving directions to Jonathan as they did.

Steve and Nancy went out back to look for something to help with burning the Mind Flayer out of Will. He came back inside a couple minutes later, looking at me like I held the stars as I looked back at him.

“Is there something on my face?” I asked, brushing my face.

“Liv!” Dustin called.

I looked at him and walked towards him, hearing the papers on the floor rustling under everyone else’s shoes before the young teens and I walked outside to stand on the porch, watching the scene before us.

“Just be careful, okay?” Mike said to El. “I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t lose me,” El replied.

I felt fingers going in between mine, knowing they were Steve’s.

“Do you promise?” Miked asked.

“Promise,” El said.

They stood there for a moment before Hop said, “El, come on, let’s go. It’s time.”

She got into Hop’s truck, Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy getting into Jonathan’s to do their part of this mission.

The kids, Steve and I stood and watched them all drive off, my thoughts starting to… well, start up.

Going back inside, I looked at the Demodog laying in the corner, asking Dustin what was the plan for dealing with that dead thing.

He asked Steve to pick it up and bring it into the kitchen, where I was sitting on the counter. Dustin opened the refrigerator, emptying out a space.

“I-it should fit now,” Dustin said, pointing to the empty fridge.

“Is this really necessary?” Steve asked.

“Yes, it is,” Dustin said, matter-of-factly. “Okay, this is a ground-breaking scientific discovery. We can’t just bury it like some common mammal. Okay, it’s not a dog!”

“Alright, alright, alright.” Steve moved to the fridge as Dustin moved out of the way, saying, “But you’re explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?” He moved his arm to put the Demodog’s head into the cold space, hitting the head against the side of the fridge.

“Christ,” Steve whispered. He looked back at Dustin, saying, “Help me out.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Dustin asked.

“Get the door, man. Get the door.”

“Aright, I got the door.”

I couldn’t help but snort before laughing while watching the two of them as I sat up on the counter. Once they got the creature in and closed the door, Steve patted Dustin on the top of his head, moving his hat some.

Steve started coming over to me, but I put my leg out and said, “You wash that alien slime off of you before you touch me, Harrington.”

He chuckled, moving to the sink to wash his hands. Once he was through, he came over to me, putting his wet hands on my cheeks, causing me to laugh. When he placed his hands on my outer thighs and placed a smiling kiss on my lips, I welcomed it.

I pulled away when Dustin said, “Demodogs!”

“Give it up already, Dustin!” I said, before giving Steve a chaste kiss and jumping down off the counter, giving him a dish towel to use to finish drying his hands.

“The chief will take care of her,” Lucas said as I walked to stand next to Dustin.

“Like she needs protection,” Max muttered.

“Listen, dude, if a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it, alright?” Steve said.

I looked at him, confused, before saying, “First off, babe, this isn’t a basketball game, and second–”

“We’re not even in the game, we’re on the bench,” Mike interrupted.

“Right,” Steve stammered. “So my point is…” He was silent for a moment before I said, “Care to share that point?”

“Right, yeah, we’re on the bench, so, there’s, uh, there’s nothing we can do,” he said, putting the towel over his left shoulder.

“That’s not entirely true,” Dustin said. “I mean, these Demodogs, they have a hive mind.” He looked at me and Steve, eyes bouncing between us. “When they ran away from the bus, they were called away.”

“So, if we get their attention,” Lucas said.

“Maybe we can draw them away from the lab,” Max added.

“And clear a path to the gate,” Mike finished on their train of thought.

“And then we all die,” Steve and I exclaimed.

“Well, that’s one point of view,” Dustin said.

“No, that’s not a point of view, man,” Steve said. “That’s a fact.”

“Excuse me, Liv,” Mike said, causing me to move out of his way. “I got it.” He moved around to the kitchen, finding the spot he needed on the map, squatting to say, “This is where the Chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel.” He got up and moved into the hallway, standing and then kneeling by a spot on the map that was bigger than the rest. “So, here - right here. This is like a hub. You got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire–”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a no,” Steve said, pointing down towards the kids while looking down at them.

“The Mind Flayer would call away his army,” Dustin said, jumping on Mike’s theory.

“They’d all come to stop us,” Lucas added.

“Hey,” Steve and I said, trying to get their attention.

“Then we circle back to the exit,” Mike said.

“Guys.”

“By the time they realize we’re gone–”

“El would be at the gate,” Max said.

“Hey,” we tried again, Steve clapping while saying, “Hey, hey, hey!” Gesturing to the ground, he said, “This is not happening.”

“But–” Mike tried.

“No, no, no, no, no! No buts!” I said.

“I promised I’d keep you shitheads safe, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. We’re staying here on the bench and we’re waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?”

“This isn’t a stupid sports game!” Mike said.

Taking the towel off his shoulder, Steve repeated, “I said, does everybody understand that?” He looked at the kids then at me before looking back at the kids. “I need a yes.”

We all turned to look at the front of the house upon hearing an engine revving. I instantly recognized it after hearing it on his first day of school.

“Oh, sweet shit,” I muttered.

Max and Lucas moved the couch, looking out the window. “It’s my brother,” she said. “He can’t know I’m here. He’ll kill me.” She looked at Lucas as she added, “He’ll kill us.”

I looked at Steve, seeing that look on his face that I knew all too well. “No.”

“Stay in here with the kids,” he said. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Steve–”

“Just stay here,” he said. He looked me in the eyes, waiting for me to answer, so I just nodded before feeling his lips on my forehead. He went outside and stood at the door on the front porch. I only knew this because I moved to the couch with the kids, looking out the window.

Billy turned his car off, the lights shutting off as he did. I was thankful because I was getting blinded by them. He got out and put his hand on the top of the car, taking a drag from his cigarette. “Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?”

“Yeah, it’s me, don’t cream your pants,” Steve replied. 

The walls were thin enough for me to hear their conversation.

Billy took off his jacket, putting it in his car before shutting the door as Steve walked towards his car, Billy doing the same towards Steve. “What are you doing here, amigo?”

“I could ask you the same thing, amigo,” Steve said.

“Looking for my stepsister,” Billy said, looking towards the window. “A little birdie told me she was here.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“Huh, that’s weird,” Steve said. “I don’t know her.”

“Small? Red-head? Bit of a bitch.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Sorry, buddy.”

Billy took another drag from his cigarette, before saying with some weird hand motion, “Ya’know, I don’t know, this… this whole situation, Harrington, I don’t know. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Oh, yeah, why’s that?”

Another drag before Billy says, “My 13-year-old sister goes missing all day,” before looking me dead in the eyes for a second before adding, “And then I find her with you and Henderson in a stranger’s house,” another look, “and you lie to me about it.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” I whispered with every look.

Chuckling, Steve turned his head towards the window before turning back to Billy, saying, “Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what? I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said. She’s not here.”

As Billy pointed to the window with his cigarette, I put my hands on two of the kids' heads as he said, “Then who is that?”

Steve turned to face us as I pushed their heads down, exclaiming, “Shit!”

“Did he see us?” Dustin asked.

“Oh, shit,” Steve said. He turned back to Billy as I moved away from the window, moving the kids off of the couch towards the hallway.

A couple seconds later, Billy walked in the house, saying, “Well, well, well,” slamming the door behind him. “Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise.” He took a few steps to us, stopping when I crossed my arms.

“Touch these kids and you’re dead,” I spit.

“Max disobeyed me,” he said.

I scoffed. “Like she has to obey you.”

“She knows what happens when she disobeys me.”

“What?” I chuckled. “You go to your room and cry like a little baby?”

“I break things,” he said, shoving me out of the way.

I landed on the floor on my back, hearing the door open. 

“Liv,” Steve said, helping me to my feet.

“Billy’s gonna hurt Lucas,” I breathed, both of us walking towards the kitchen.

“You’re so dead, Sinclair,” Billy exclaimed. “You’re dead.”

Steve moved him away from Lucas, saying, “No. You are!” before punching him square in the jaw.

Dustin chuckled, while Max said Steve’s name. Lucas ran over to me, so I had my arms wrapped around him, trying to protect him. I think Mike was just too stunned.

Billy laughed as Steve shook his hand out and fixed his hair before he looked in my direction for a moment before looking back at Billy as the asshole said, “Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody’s been telling me so much about.”

Steve put his fingertips on Billy’s shoulder, pushing him back a little as he growled, “Get out.”

Billy stood there for a second after Steve put his hand down. He swung his fist, but Steve ducked, hitting him back and sending him towards the kitchen sink.

“Yes!” Dustin and I said.

“Kick his ass, Steve!” Dustin said.

“Get him!” Mike said. 

Billy just stood up and laughed, but Steve hit him again, myself and the kids cheering him on.

Steve landed another punch, as Dustin and I exclaimed, “Murder the son of a bitch!”

I watched Billy grab for a plate as he laughed, the kids still cheering Steve on.

“Steve, watch out!” I said, but was too late, as Billy had shattered a plate on Steve’s head. I let go of Lucas to put my arms around Steve. He looked at me for a second before I bolted away from him, giving Billy my own punch to his face.

“Olivia, baby,” Steve said. “Move.”

I was pulled back by one of the kids, as Billy walked toward me, Dustin’s voice in my ear yelling, “Shit!” before both of our bodies went down, Steve’s groans sounding at the same time.

I watched Billy follow Steve into the living room, where he grabbed Steve’s jacket, saying, “No one tells me what to do,” before headbutting him.

“Steve!” I exclaimed, seeing my boyfriend’s body slide against the floor.

Billy hooped and hollered, telling Steve to get up.

I was fighting against Mike, Lucas and Max, the three of them helping Dustin keep me back from putting myself in the middle of the two teenage boys.

“Billy, you’re gonna kill him, stop!” we all said at different times.

“Steve, baby, you have to get up!” I said.

Billy got a few hits in, the boys and I telling Billy to stop and for Steve to fight back. I felt hands let go of me before I saw Max move towards Billy, sticking something in his neck.

The boys and I stopped our protests to Billy, said boy standing up and facing us, taking what I now know to be the needle for Will sticking out of his neck.

Looking between the needle and Max, Billy said, “The hell is this? You little shit, what did you do?” He went down to the ground, hard, laughing once he landed on his back. 

Feeling hands lightly push me, I made my way quickly over to Steve, elevating him by placing the back of his head on my knees as Max got Steve’s bat, holding it up.

“From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone, do you understand?” Max said.

“Screw you,” Billy slurred.

She brought the bat down, mere inches away from Billy’s junk before picking the bat back up, the nails having dug into the floor a little. “Say you understand. Say it. Say it!”

“I understand,” Billy mumbled.

“What?”

“I understand,” he said, a little more loudly before passing out.

Max moved to his left side, taking his keys from his pockets. She held them up, saying, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait,” I said. “We can’t just leave Steve here. We need to patch him and take him with us.”

“What do you need?” Dustin asked.

“A warm washcloth, some Neosporin and band-aids, please.”

The kids got into gear, Dustin bringing me a warm, wet washcloth. He knelt next to Steve as I gently started cleaning as much blood as I could without hurting him, even though he couldn’t feel it in his passed out state.

When he was all cleaned and patched up, Dustin helped me carry Steve to Billy’s car where Mike opened the driver side door, leaning the seat forward and letting Dustin climb in first.

“Dustin, how the hell am I gonna get him in the damn car when I have his arms?” I groaned. 

“Uhhh,” Dustin said.

“Hurry your big brain up, he’s heavy.”

“Switch on three,” he said. “One… two… three.”

I moved out of the way so that Dustin could wrap his arms under Steve’s, dragging him in the car as Max, Mike and Lucas brought all of the gear they gathered while I had patched up Steve.

“Careful,” I said. Once Steve was in, Mike got in. “Where–?”

“Liv, over here,” Lucas said, opening the passenger side, pushing the seat forward. It was awkward getting in the back with Dustin, Mike and Steve, but we somehow made it work. Lucas got in the front seat with Max in the driver.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” I asked, leaning forward, turning my body a little so as to not scrunch Steve’s neck too much.

“I got it,” Max said. “You need to be with Steve.” I leaned back, looking at Steve’s beat up face. As Max started driving, I ran the backs of my fingers over the parts of his face that weren't bloodied and bruised. I heard him wake up a few moments later, watching as he turned his eyes to Mike, saying, “Nancy?”

Mike and I looked at each other like, what?

Steve groaned, going to touch his face. I moved his hand out of the way as Dustin said, “No, don’t touch it.” He tilted his head a little to look up at Dustin.

“Hey, buddy,” my brother said, shushing Steve. I rolled my eyes at his antics. “It’s okay. You put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you still put up a good fight.”

“Dustin,” I groaned.

“Well, he did.”

A pained look on Steve’s face had me petting his forehead into his hair. He might kill me later for touching his hair, but I didn’t care.

“Okay, you’re gonna keep straight for a half a mile, and then make a left on Mount Sinai,” Lucas said.

I watch Steve turn his head towards Max, seeing her driving.

“What’s going on?” he asked, before the kids’ plan came back to him. “Oh, my god!”

“Babe, relax,” I said.

“She’s driven before,” Dustin said.

“Yeah, in a parking lot,” Mike added.

“That counts!” Lucas and I retorted.

Steve started freaking out more as Dustin said, “They were gonna leave you behind.”

They really did. When I patched him up with the supplies they all found, Lucas, Max and Mike wanted to just leave and go with their plan, but Dustin and I didn’t wanna leave him with Billy when they both woke up.

“Liv and I promised that you’d be cool,” Dustin said. 

“I didn’t say jack shit!” I exclaimed.

Max sped up more, Steve repeating whoa a few times before asking, “What’s going on?” I even felt the force of the car speeding as Steve said, “Whoa! Stop the car. Slow down.”

“Don’t puke on me.”

“I told you he’d freak out,” Mike said.

“Stop the car!” Steve exclaimed.

“Everybody shut up!” Max yelled. “I’m trying to focus!”

“Oh, wait, that’s Mount Sinai,” Lucas said. “Make a left!”

“What?”

“Make - turn left!”

Max effectively ran into a couple mailboxes before sharply turning left, everyone in the car screaming and holding on to something or someone; Steve grabbed my leg, Dustin grabbed the front of my shoulders, I grabbed the seat in front of me as well as Mike’s shoulder, Lucas… well, I have no idea about him. She stopped once we got to our destination, Steve yelling out, “Whoa! Hello!”

“Incredible,” Mike said.

“I told you,” Max said. “Zoomer.”

The kids piled out of the car, followed by myself and Steve, who leaned against the opening of the passenger door. The kids went to the trunk to get their gear on and to grab their backpacks, while I stood at the back near the back window.

“Oh, no,” Steve groaned. “Hey, guys.”

Mike, in full gear, walked past me and Steve to the front of the vehicle, the older teen asking, “Hey. Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

Dustin handed me my gear; a bandana to keep my nose and mouth protected as well as some goggles to keep my eyes protected as well.

“What are you, deaf?” Steve said. “Hello?”

I think everyone was ignoring him at this point, myself included. I didn’t want the kids to go through with the plan, but I wouldn’t have been able to stop them anyway.

“We are not going down there right now,” Steve continued. “Liv and I made ourselves clear.”

Turning to face him, I said, “You made yourself clear. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop them.”

“Whatever,” he said. “There’s no chance we’re going to that hole, alright?”

Dustin had a bag ready on the side of the trunk to grab it when he needed it, but Steve grabbed it and slammed it back in the trunk yelling, “This ends right now!”

“Babe!” I said at the same time Dustin said, “Steve!” while turning him around.

“You’re upset, I get it,” Dustin said while I shouldered my bag. “But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance.”

“Now, we know you promised Nance that you’d help me protect these kids,” I said, grabbing his bag from the trunk, holding it out to him. “So, help me keep them safe.”

We looked at each other for a moment before he lightly nodded his head and grabbed the bag from my hand, putting on the bandana and goggles.

Mike, Lucas and Max had already walked to the hole, gas cans, rope and map in hand, so when Steve put on his gear, he, Dustin and myself walked to the hole, the kids going down the rope first before Steve went down.

He looked up at me, holding his arms out to catch me as I slid in, my hands landing on his shoulders.

I looked around, seeing what looked like flecks of snow floating around. “Holy shit.”

“Uhh,” Mike said. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s this way.”

Steve helped me put on my bag as I had dropped it first before I turned around and helped him as Dustin asked, “You’re pretty sure, or you’re certain?”

“I’m 100% sure,” Mike said, turning to face the party. “Just follow me and you’ll know.”

He turned back around right before Steve and I said in unison, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey, hey, I don’t think so.”

“What?” Mike asked.

I walked towards him, saying, “Any of you little shits die down here, Steve and I are getting the blame. Moreso me. You got that, dipshit?”

Hearing the paper map Mike had in his hand rustling, I looked at it in Steve’s hand as he turned and said, “From here on out, I’m leading the way.” 

With an eyebrow raised, I watched as he put the paper in between two of his fingers that were holding his flashlight before he grabbed my hand and led me down the tunnels, as I said, “Let’s go! Hustle!”

I’m not sure how many tunnels we went through; it could’ve been one, it could’ve been 100, I wasn’t sure. Only thing I was sure of was that the part of the tunnel we were in looked like a giant nest of some sort. Very hard to describe.

“God,” Lucas said.

“What is this place?” Max asked.

“Can we keep moving, please?” I asked. “This place is freaking me out, and making me want to scrub my skin off in the shower.”

“Come on, guys, let’s keep moving,” Steve said, leading the way out of this… nest?

I heard screaming a few seconds later, followed by a “SHIT!” Stopping my steps, I said, “Dustin?!” Running back to him, I knelt down next to him, asking him, “What the fuck happened? Are you hurt? Dustin, talk to me!”

“It’s in my mouth! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!” Dustin said before he started coughing.

I was breathing heavily, anxiety and worry filling me up fast.

He spit before looking at me. “I’m okay.”

Small bit of rage filled me as I hit his arm, yelling, “Don’t fucking do that again, Dustin Wade!” Standing, I let out a frustrated growl, pushing my way past Steve and the kids.

“Are you serious?” Max asked.

“Very funny, man,” Steve said. “You almost gave your sister a heart attack.” 

I could see the flashlight trail beside me as I heard Steve tell me to wait up. When he caught up with me, I was walking down what seemed like steps within this tunnel.

“What the hell?” I whispered, looking around the… I guess, room we were in.

“Alright, Wheeler,” Steve said. “I think we found your hub.”

Looking around, I grossly underestimated how big this hub would be. I breathed in a deep breath, releasing it as confidence took over.

“Let’s drench it,” Mike said.

The four younger teens started drenching the hub in gasoline while Steve and I watched. I felt him rub his hand up and down my back. “I’m so ready for this shit to be over with. I want my boring life back. I wanna be able to sleep and not have nightmares.”

“Once we burn this place, it’ll go back to normal,” Steve said. “I promise.”

The kids came back to Steve and I when their cans were emptied, all of us squatting down.

“Alright, you guys ready?” Steve asked, the kids echoing, “Ready.”

I grabbed the lighter from my pocket, holding it up to Steve, saying, “Light her up.” He grabbed it from my hand, his eyes looking into mine before he said, “We’re in such deep shit.”

Steve flicked the lighter, the flame appearing immediately before he tossed it into the gasoline. Flames instantly started burning the hub, the vines almost dancing around as Steve said, “Go, go, go!”

He didn’t have to tell me twice as I got up and started following him and the kids back through the tunnels. Map in hand again, he was at the front of the line, Dustin behind us repeating oh my god like it was a mantra or something.

We made it to the little room where Dustin had his freak out just a few minutes before, Mike’s muffled, “Help! Help! Help!” making me grab Steve’s jacket and telling him Mike needs help.

All of us went back to help save Mike, a vine wrapping around his ankle when we got back to him. “Pull him out, pull him out!” I yelled.

The kids and I grabbed on to him, playing tug of war with Mike and this vine.

“Back, back, everybody back!” Steve yelled before he started whacking at the vine before it split, releasing Mike. 

I looked at Steve with heart eyes, I’m sure, saying to him, “If we weren’t basically in the Upside Down, I’d kiss you stupid.”

“You can do that later,” he said. “Now, come on.”

A growling behind us made everyone turn to face it, the growling coming from Dart. I grabbed onto Dustin, not wanting him anywhere near Dart.

“Dart,” Dustin said, taking a couple of careful steps towards the creature.

“Dustin, no,” I said, trying to pull him back.

He gently pulled himself from my hold, turning to face me. “Liv, trust me. Please.” Turning back to face Dart, Dustin walked forward at the same time Dart did. “Hey. It’s me, it’s me. It’s just your friend. It’s Dustin.” He knelt on one knee in front of the creature, asking, “You remember me? Will you let us pass?”

When Dart opened his face at Dustin, I jumped, ready to save my little brother as Steve wrapped his arm around my waist to keep me in place.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Dustin said. “Liv and I are sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do. You hungry? Yeah?” He took a strap off his shoulder, reaching into his bag.

“He’s insane,” Lucas said, all of us shushing him after.

“I’ve got our favorite, see?”

“Nougat,” I whispered as Dustin said aloud to Dart.

I could tell he was opening it just by the way his arms were moving. “Look at that. Yummy. Here, alright? Eat up, buddy.” He moved his hand for us to move past him and Dart, the creature now distracted. “Come on, come on.”

After Max moved first, I felt Steve lightly push me to move forward, him and the other two boys following.

“There’s plenty more,” Dustin said. “I’ve got more.”

I stopped a few feet away to turn and watch my baby brother say goodbye to his interdimensional pet. “Goodbye, buddy.”

“Let’s go, let’s go,” Steve whispered.

We made it through the tunnels, probably about three quarters of the way back to the rope before the ground beneath us started rumbling, almost like an earthquake for a couple seconds.

I stood from having fallen over at the rumble, hearing the unmistakable Demodog roar.

“What was that?” Max asked.

We turned from the direction we just came from, hearing them roar again as Mike said, “They’re coming. Run! Run!”

He did not have to tell me twice. I just ran, not caring if I was going the right way or not, but thankful I turned down the right tunnel when I saw the rope. “There! Come on!”

I stopped at the rope, waiting for Steve to help me get the kids up to safety.

We got Max up first, then Lucas, followed by Mike and Dustin. Steve went to bend to hoist me up before I started to protest.

“No, no,” I said, watching him stand. “I’m not leaving you to die alone.” He tried to protest, but I just put my hands on his chest, saying, “No! I just got you, I can’t lose you already.”

I heard the monsters before I saw their shadow, Steve standing in front of me a little with his bat out to protect me, the kids shouting above us, “Liv, Steve, come on!”

I screamed a little as one came charging at us, closing my eyes, ready to see nothing but black, but… nothing came. As I opened them, I watched as they all passed us, Steve grabbing onto me as I leaned back a little to dodge the Dogs.

I was breathing so hard, my goggles started to fog up before I breathed, “Eleven.”

Steve and I made it up the rope after the Dogs ran past us, the headlights on Billy’s Camaro getting brighter and brighter before they dimmed back to their normal brightness.

Grabbing Dustin, I gave him the biggest hug ever, thankful that I still had my little brother with me. “I love you, Dusty,” I whispered. When I pulled back, I looked him in the eyes and said, “If you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.”

He smiled. “Same.”

Turning to Steve, I smiled at him before wrapping my arms around his middle, just holding him for a moment, feeling him do the same with his arms around my shoulders. I looked at him after a few moments, saying, “I really thought I was going to lose you.”

He shook head. “You’ll ever lose me. I promise.”

I smiled at him, ready to kiss him stupid like I said earlier, but didn’t, not wanting to hurt his already swollen lips from getting the shit knocked out of him by Billy. Lightly touching them, I said softly, “When these aren’t swollen, I’ll kiss you stupid.”

He smiled a little before wincing at the pain.

A throat being cleared made me turn around, seeing Max with Billy’s keyring on her finger.

“I’ll drive,�� I said.

~~~

After I had dropped Steve off at his car, I took the Camaro back to the Byers, Steve following me. Billy was still passed out on the floor, so I just dropped his keys on his abdomen before getting into the driver seat of Steve’s BMW, driving the kids back home. 

I gave Dustin the option of staying at home alone or staying with Mike. He opted to stay with Mike. Steve also gave me options; go home or go with him. I chose the latter. I didn’t wanna stay home alone.

When Steve and I made it back to his house, we took our showers before I cleaned him up some more and patched him back up. We cuddled in his bed that night, talking about anything and everything; fears for the next few weeks, goals, what we wanted out of… us.

I sighed. “I don’t want a comparison relationship. I don’t want us to be compared to you and Nancy.”

Running his fingers lightly on my arm, he said, “We won’t. And if anyone tries to say it in front of us, I’ll kick their ass.”

I chuckled, looking up at his jawline, cupping the right side of his face. “Need I remind you why that would be a bad idea?”

He chuckled a little, resting his hands on my arms before he sighed. All I could hear was his heartbeat under my ear as I closed my eyes, silence following. 

I wasn’t sure what this thing between Steve and I would hold… if it even held anything.

All I wanted was Steve… and I got him.

~~~

One Month Later

It was sad officially saying goodbye to Barbra Holland, but her parents and Nancy needed closure. I had told Steve that it felt right and respectful to be at the services for Barb, and he agreed.

Steve took me home after the funeral services, promising he’d be back to take me on a small diner date later. As I was getting ready, I heard Dustin stomp around the house, saying, “Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!”

I walk out of my room as my mom and I asked, “Where did you see it last?” She was sitting in her chair holding our new kitten, Tews.

Pointing at a spot on the counter, Dustin said, “Right here, where I put it.”

“What’s so important anyway?” I asked, crossing my arms.

He picked up a brown paper bag, turning to us and smiling. “Got it.” After running past Mom and I, the doorbell rang.

“That’s your ride, Dusty!” Mom said.

Eyes wide, I realized I wasn’t fully ready. Turning to bolt back to my room, I said, “Son of a bitch!”

~~~

“Why am I always in the backseat?” I groaned as Steve pulled up to the Middle School gym.

“Because I’m more special, that’s why,” Dustin replied.

Leaning in between the front seats, I glared at my brother. “I’m his girlfriend, I think that makes me more special.”

When Steve stopped the car, he said, “Stop bickering, please. We’re here. So, remember, once you get in there…”

Dustin turned his head to face Steve, confirming, “Pretend like I don’t care.”

I facepalmed as Steve said, “You don’t care.”

“I don’t care.”

“There you go. You’re learning, my friend. You’re learning.”

Dustin checked himself in the rearview mirror, making sure his hairstyle was still in place.

“Dusty,” I said.

“What?”

“Come on, dude. You look great. I mean, you used half that can. I could smell it down the hall.”

“Really?” 

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Steve said. “Now, you’re gonna go in there–”

“Yeah,” Dustin said.

“Look like a million bucks.”

“Yeah!”

“And you’re gonna slay ‘em dead.”

“Like a lion,” Dustin said, before proceeding to growl.

“Uuuuuuhhhhh, don’t do that, okay?”

“Okay.”

Steve stuck his hand out, Dustin wrapping his own around Steve’s as the older teen said, “Good luck.”

Dustin and I got out before I gave him a hug, whispering, “Care,” before I lightly shoved him away from the door, telling him to have fun as I got in and shut the door.

I looked at Steve, and him at me before we leaned towards each other, smiles on our faces. Our lips connected in a sweet kiss before we pulled apart, Steve driving off with his hand on its normal spot; my thigh.

I was so happy with Steve. Nothing could destroy it.

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

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~~~

A/N 2:  hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3

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Posted on February 19, 2023

#steve harrington x olivia henderson #steve x olivia #steve harrington x oc #steve x oc #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #olivia henderson (oc) #stevia #always the babysitter #atb #dustin henderson #will byers #lucas sinclair #eleven hopper #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #max mayfield #billy hargrove #joyce byers #chief jim hopper #season two episode nine #original character #home slice olivia was all me #stranger things fandom #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fandom #steve harrington fanfiction

[peraltiagos-paper-rings]

Some thoughts/headcanons about the Stranger Things siblings

From the moment Joyce was pregnant with Will, Jonathan was super excited and would use every opportunity to tell everyone about his baby brother. Kids at school, teachers, neighbours, shop assistants, random people in the street - literally anyone and everyone he came across got to hear about how he was a big brother now

Nancy would overhear him talking about his awesome new baby brother at school and would stare at him like he'd grown two heads, because how can he think this baby is so cool? All her baby brother does is poop and cry and sleep and scream and fart and pee and make a mess everywhere.

As Will grew up, whenever he entered a new class, more often than not his new teachers knew him before he'd even introduced himself. They would often say, "Oh, you must be Will! I've heard so much about you from your brother!" (Mike is lowkey offended at the implication that Nancy never talks about him to her teachers).

Will's first word was "Jonathan." Just imagine Jonathan's little face lighting up when he first heard him say it :((

Baby Holly being born meant that the Party were still allowed to play DnD in the basement, but they had to play very quietly if she was sleeping, which annoyed Mike

Lucas adored Erica when she was a baby, but then she learned to walk and talk and became an absolute menace to him.

Lucas and Erica have the sort of sibling relationship where they will just casually toss insults at each other, but if anyone ELSE tried insulting their sibling?? INSTANT DEATH.

They also are the sort of siblings who bicker and annoy each other but when they get older they’re going to become like best friends (who still bicker and annoy each other occasionally)

When she was younger, the Party would sometimes play DND at the Sinclairs’ and Erica would pester Lucas to let her join in, which would usually result in Lucas groaning “ERICAAAA go AWAYYYY” and pushing her out of the room. By the end of s3 though, he starts playing DND with her to teach her how to play it, sometimes DMing for her when she holds sessions with her friends.

Erica really likes Max, looks up to her, thinks she's cool and badass and approves of her and Lucas together (no matter how much she'll insist that they are gross). Every time they broke up, she'd go to Max like "please take him back so he stops moping around the house like an idiot."

During the time that Max was in a coma, Erica stayed by Lucas's side, going with him to the hospital every day to visit Max, helping him bring books and movies and music, sometimes having to coax or nag him into leaving just so he'd eat something or get some sleep.

Erica and Max growing to have a sisterly relationship and just being sarcastic bffs and teasing Lucas together :’)

Steve and Jonathan have both been roped into playing with Holly in the times that they've dated Nancy. Nancy expected Jonathan to be good with little kids since he has a younger brother, so Steve surprised her the most with how patient and kind he was with Holly (not that she thought he'd be unkind, just that she wasn't expecting cool jock Steve Harrington to want to goof around playing Barbie princess tea parties with a little kid). Steve and Jonathan have also both babysat Holly, sometimes alone, sometimes with Nancy.

El loves playing with Holly because she never got to have a proper childhood, so she sort of gets to experience being a normal little kid through playing with Holly or just hanging out with her.

Dustin became friends with the other boys around the time Holly was born, and he thought it was so cool and exciting that Mike had a baby sister, while Mike didn't really see what was so exciting about it.

Max obviously had a shitty relationship with Billy, and often wished she had a sibling who wasn't such a complete douchebag. She found that sibling in Steve, who put himself in danger time and time again, even protecting her when he barely knew her. Steve, who would complain about having to drive "you little shits" around, but never with any real anger or malice in his voice. He would bicker with her and Dustin and Robin and the others, but never got violent or aggressive. He never made her feel scared, never got mad at her the way Billy would get mad. Steve soon became the older brother she'd always wanted.

Dustin obviously collects older brother figures like Steve and Eddie, probably because he doesn't have his dad around so he doesn't have an older male role model/support system in his life. I also like to imagine that he and Max develop a sibling relationship because it’s what they deserve :)

Holly is the only person allowed to call Mike “Mikey,” because she’s little and it’s cute when she says it. Maybe Nancy used to say it when she was little too, but stopped as she grew older. Anyone else who calls him “Mikey” is getting death-glared into oblivion.

#might add more later #feel free to add ur own hcs & ideas :) #stranger things #steve harrington #stancy #max mayfield #dustin henderson #jancy #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #byler #mileven #mike wheeler #will byers #el hopper #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #lumax #holly wheeler

[reaperquinnandkayaquinn-blog]

I saw a post(can’t find it) and I just need to say.

The younger group will NOT be the same age as the older teens were in s1 in s5. In s1 they (the older teens) were 16 or 17. We know this cause

The older teens (minus Eddie) have all graduated by now (that happens when you’re 17 or 18 normally)

eddie was said (if I remember correctly) to be on his 3rd year as a senior) and was originally supposed to graduate before steve

steve and billy were in the same grade, we know Billy was 18 when he died in s3 so Steve would be 18 or 19 himself then. Meaning that 2 years before s3, back in s1, he would have been 16 or 17

And the younger kid are all 13 or 14 is s4, so they would be 14 or 15 in s5. So not the same age as the older teens in s1

#steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #will byers #hatsune miku #jane hopper #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson

[fanatics4l]

the way billy would've fit in with any of the groups in s4. yes i am going to speak about this. (this got long)

cali group: billy in his natural habitat would've been absolutely amazing. the trio smoking weed together?? billy being extra dramatic and sassy when he's high. if they're high enough, those boys will commit minor felonies together! argyle always supports his boys when they're screaming about their broken love lives (jonathan crying about nancy and billy being a sad little gay). billy would be screaming so dramatically while hauling that dead dude into the van and then complaining about how his clothes got all bloody the next second. he'd be cheering argyle on as he drives while the others all scream in terror in the back, trying to stop the bleeding. billy would adore the shit out of will, another gay. they'd bond over how shitty boys are and how they have no options but at least in cali, there are more willing boys. billy would always tell will to forget about mike and jonathan would agree very loudly. billy definitely would've absolutely non stop GLARED at mike after will confessed and mike didn't catch the hint. him and el would've been amazing together because they can bond over their abusive dads and pretty moms. el and will go to billy (the cooler big brother, sorry jon) to rant about mike. billy would terrorize the shit out of angela and her stupid friends for even thinking of messing with el.

hawkins gang: no offence but the hawkins older teens gang are all the same people in different fonts. sure nancy and robin were badasses that one episode but they're good girls at heart. steve is also a good guy at heart. so is eddie but in a drug dealing dork way. billy would've been a great addition with his loud personality and being a takes-no-bullshit kind of guy. he would insult each of them (him and robin roast each other) but be a lot of help. physically, he's probably the strongest and he'd be great at thinking up quick escape plans.

robin and billy would've been an unstoppable queer duo who are also potty mouths and anxious kids with obvious tells (shaking and stuttering). nancy and billy would've constantly been at each other's throats and it would've been great comedy. billy definitely got in the way of steve and nancy flirting because gross. eddie and billy would've easily bonded about their similar taste in music. if he saw eddie perform metallica on the roof, that boy's clothes would've flew off so fast and he'd start twirling his hair all giggly. we could've finally seen more of steve and billy's homosexual flirting and fighting. they would be reluctant friends and billy would have so much trouble trying not to flirt with steve. robin would cough really loud when billy stares at steve all lovey dovey. harringrove would've been amazing in s4

hawkins gang (younger teens): billy and lucas would've become besties on the court. we could've seen him apologize to lucas and then offer to teach him basketball so he isn't always on the bench every game. billy always hypes lucas up when he is in a game. he takes him and max out for shakes after practice, and max starts to hate the fact that her boyfriend and her brother are friends. lucas definitely grows taller than billy and he has the absolute best time of his life making fun of billy, who threatens to stop giving lucas rides everywhere.

let's say vecna still targets max: billy would 100% stay with max and lucas at creel's house because no way in hell is he leaving his sister behind with a literal demon that could kill her. when jason arrives, he fights him instead of lucas so max survives. plus we know that max and billy's relationship was getting a lot better between end of s2 and start of s3 so if billy survived, those two would literally be evil chaotic siblings who torment everyone around them with a smile. lucas is very scared. erica would love billy because they're both sassy and take no bullshit from the people around them. billy would tease lucas whenever erica yells at him. dustin would probably reluctantly accept billy as part of the gang because everyone else accepts him.

russia gang: hopper, joyce, and murray (billy's a weird kid and murray likes weird) would immediately adopt billy. in this au, billy is probably with hopper in russia and then joyce and murray find them. hopper is the absolute sweetest with billy and he's very gentle with him because he sees how terrified billy is. he also misses his kid so he takes another one in. he explains to billy what the upside down is and what happened to him. they share a cell so when billy has nightmares about the mind flayer, hopper is always there for him. when he has nightmares about his dad, hopper hugs billy close and lets the poor boy cry. he sees red when billy tells him how his dad treats him all the time and swears to never let him go back to that man ever again. billy starts seeing hopper as his dad.

billy helps out in all of hopper's escape plans. when the russians make them line up in front of the demogorgan, billy starts hyperventilating but hopper and enzo reassure him that they'll be okay. they're like his overprotective dads because wtf why is a literal child here in this high tech russian prison. when joyce and murray show up, joyce is all motherly with him and she immediately starts bundling him up in layers. she doesn't let him do any fighting. she makes him stick with her and when he argues that he can help, the other adults also agree that he needs to rest. if billy was in this gang in s4, he could've also healed as a person and become better because now he knows what love is. like hopper and joyce tell him all the time, love doesn't hurt his body or his feelings. billy ends up getting adopted by hopper and joyce and murray is like his crazy uncle.

the duffers were too much of cowards to do this!!!! billy would've been unstoppable

#billy hargrove #will byers #eleven #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #jim hopper #joyce byers #jonathan byers #argyle #billy hargrove deserved better #we were ROBBEDDDD #stranger things headcanons

[findafight]

Re: Billy, yeeaahh, I think there’s exactly one *potential* way Billy could have been persuaded to leave without a fight and that’s if Chrissy was there at the Byers for some reason and she and Steve tricked Billy into thinking he saw her instead of Max. (1/ hopefully 2)

Why is Chrissy there? I don’t know. Maybe this is a ‘Chrissy and Steve are cousins’ au and he called her over in the hopes that her presence would stop the Party from sneaking out to commit arson to save Will’s life. Maybe she actually got caught up in everything last year bc she tagged along with Steve when he went to apologize (probably another cousins au scenario). Maybe she saw Max skateboarding, thought it was cool, and started a conversation. (Part 3 incoming)

(3/3) Cheerleading is pretty hard, so if Max was either already aware of that or found out while talking/hanging out with Chrissy, I think it’s reasonable that Max might admire Chrissy, which could potentially result in Chrissy being asked to the junkyard (especially if Max didn’t buy Lucas’s story, which I don’t think she did).

oooh fascinated by Steve and Chrissy being sporty cousins who are basically siblings tho. Steve who calls Chrissy his "sister but actually my cousin but basically my sister" in his brain because she's maybe 7/8 months younger than him so was in the grade below but they grew up together and almost all the baby pictures have them together in matching outfits :') they saved worms together from the pavement after it rained. Chrissy put them in Steve's hair and he cried. (she did this many times) They sit beside each other at family gatherings and just much sly and cutting mean girl comments about their relatives to make the other laugh. Or make distressed faces at each other from across the table when grandpa Otis is getting drunk and ready to rant.

Chrissy who Steve called during his sad boy clean up his own mess hours and she was like "okay I'll drive you to the byers house? You got knocked around I'll drive please don't get in a wreck auntie Diane would kill me." and she waits in the car for him but then Shit Goes Down and there's lights flashing and Steve runs out, but he stops, and looks back. and then locks eyes with Chrissy, and runs back in. So she follows. And finds out monsters are real right beside her brother-cousin.

yeah okay I'm digging Chrissy and Steve cousins au but it HAS to be coupled with Chrissy lives au I can't do that to them. I can't make Steve try to clear Eddie's name while mourning the only family he's known loved him. (but GOD a Jason/steve confrontation in that au? where jason is like she was your family! and steve is like I know!! That's why you need to believe me that Eddie didn't do this! I want revenge just as much as you! oh god this is so sad no no Chrissy lives in harrington cousin au.)

Anyway but Yeah. I think, like. Billy just wanted to punch someone. I guess because Chrissy is a pretty and popular girl, he would at least hesitate in his itch for a fight. Billy doesn't respect women but he's savvy enough to get in with Tommy, Steve's former bestie, so he knows enough that Chrissy isn't someone he wants to be on the bad side of. So perhaps it would...slow down? the events? idk. I really do think once Billy saw Steve or Lucas he wasn't leaving without punching someone. She could try to convince him it was her in the window, if Steve had gone out first, and that might give the kids time to hide better, but Steve isn't leaving s2 without getting punched by Billy in place of Lucas. It's one of those "locked in the timeline" things for me. Sorry Steve :( at least sometimes you aren't knocked out completely.

this answer is all over the place haha but post s3 pre s4 chrissy seeing Max skateboarding and thinking it's pretty cool and striking up a little mentor-friendship with her is so cute. Two lonely girls</3 Maybe Max teaches her to kickflip and Chrissy Teaches her to cartwheel... holds her ankles up to get the feel for it...and for a little while they don't feel so alone... aww... I love giving Max role models and older girls to look up to. She's got Steve but she deserves some girls looking out for her.

#stranger things #chrissy cunningham #steve harrington #chrissy and steve #stranger things au #findaanswers #finda writes stuff #imliterallyjustsittinghere #billy hargrove

[most-tragic-character-tournament]

Here’s some anti-propaganda for Steve Harrington with some propaganda for Ashe Ubert in here!

Out of all the characters in ST, Steve is probably the LEAST tragic out of them all. We actually don’t know a whole lot about him and how the events of the show effect him in a deeper way. As mentioned in a reblog, a lot of stuff about Steve is fanon, one example being what his parents are like as all we know is that his dad is an asshole and his mom is very respectable, and many of the opinions expressed in the propaganda for Steve are incorrect. I won’t be covering them all but the ones I can counter well.

No one can agree on if Nancy actually cheated on Steve or if she didn’t. There are two ideas floating around in the fandom that cause a crap ton of discourse but from the very little evidence we get in the show, she didn’t cheat. Tommy.H says in the locker room that they broke up and Steve says “I think that you’re bullshit” to Nancy and leaves without saying anything else. There is no other way you can interpret that scene. The opinion that she did cheat is used by many Steve fans to demonize Nancy into making her a bad person when in reality she is a traumatized and grief stricken teen girl. The opinion is rooted in a misunderstanding of her character and as a fan of Nancy, she deserves better than being slut shamed by some fans of one privileged white boy.

Two of the four fights that Steve has gotten into where he got beaten up pretty bad happened for a reason. In the first one, Steve was being an asshole and saying shit about Jonathan’s family while also knowing his little brother is dead (we and the characters involved know Will is alive but Steve DOES NOT at this point) and also publicly slut shamed Nancy, which was not okay. The slap Nancy gives Steve and fight he gets into with Jonathan is the entire reason why he changed. Without it, Steve would still be an asshole. The second one was one he initiated to protect Lucas from being beaten up by Billy. There was a sacrifice there but Steve probably knew what he was getting into.

Steve isn’t really being bullied by Dustin. Their relationship gives off ‘older brother and younger brother’ vibes. Dustin also says in s3 that if Steve were to die, he would also die so it sounds like they would both do anything for the other.

Now in the case of Ashe, kid has it ROUGH. The propaganda given sums up a lot of my thoughts and I whole heartedly agree. He’s a teen boy who doesn’t really fit into his own house, he gets orphaned twice and has gone through the five stages of grief multiple times if you include the sorta death of his professer and the death of Dedue in his house route. But even going through all of that shit, Ashe still finds beauty and kindness in the world and it makes him an incredible character.

If we compare the tragedies of Steve and Ashe, Steve’s seems less trivial than Ashe’s. Even comparing the tragedies of other characters in ST with Steve’s, the same result happens. Steve’s tragedies are very minute compared to someone like Will, Nancy, or even Barb and she was only in two episodes and then died but continues to haunt the narrative.

Sorry this got a little long but in short, vote for Ashe instead of Steve. That is all I ask as a fan of both Fire Emblem Three Houses and Stranger Things. I don’t know how strong of an argument I made but at least I tried.

[Propaganda]

#propaganda #Steve Harrington neg #ashe ubert #ashe duran

[stregoniconiconii]

I will just truly never understand why people think Billy is a year younger than he actually is. he's a senior in s2. you can guess that based on the context clues of him mostly being seen with other seniors. he is in a senior gym class. the birthdate that we see on his gravestone would put him within the birthday range of someone in their senior year in s2. he too just graduated a month before the events of s3. Steve IS older than him but only because it seems his birthday is before November (17 in s1. that's from the scripts) they are peers and classmates. stop making it out to seem like Steve is a grown ass man compared to itty bitty billy. they are the same age

[i-am-autistic]

This might be controversial but like when we talk about characters getting sidelined in ST. I think it's important to note that like....the show wasn't unsuccessful with those characters and those characters being as good as they are is what built the platform for the characters after it I think Mike,Nancy and Jonathan are some of the most criminally disrespected characters in TV history. Both by the fans and (for Mike and Jonathan I feel at least) writers. Because lets go back to prior to s1 and nobody had fucking heard of this Stranger Things show. To this day I don't think many fans have seen an S1 trailer and it has less than half the views of the next least viewed with s2(11m vs 25m). I don't think some of the younger people and post s1 fans realize that this show came from literally nowhere and spread out overnight through word of mouth. The show was an overnight success. The writers have talked a few times about how when they originally pitched and were doing the show they imagined it as an adult focused SCI FI show and not the big blockbuster teen thing it became. It's only because of s1 being as good as it is that the show got the audience it did.

S1 is just some of the most pulsating TV they ever put out. It's scene for scene beat for beat no wasted movement no wasted time not a single second. Everything ties in together. Every character on the show is fantastically written

And the main 6 leads of S1 were: Joyce,Hop,El,Jonathan,Nancy,Mike. Dustin and Lucas were supporting and Steve was a minor character. Coming out of S1 a lot of the focus was on Joyce,Hop,El,Dustin as a meme then a bit of distance until we get to Mike then Nancy then Jonathan and Steve was like basically non existent as a fandom thing until season 2. I think it's important to note that like.....whether fans generated a bunch of content about Jonathan,Nancy and Mike was kind of irrelevant. The show was widely viewed and they were a large part of it so clearly they did definitely play their roles and parts in the show and do them well. Like...not every character has to be a viral meme. These 3 characters were awesome on their own and did their stuff and carried whatever themes and drama they had to well. What I'm trying to say I guess is that the first season was a huge success and these characters did all play their parts hence why it's always confusing to me that the show decided they needed so many other characters and honestly many of which retread the same ground as those three. And it's just become strange to me that the show and fandom has become about characters who benefited from the hype rather than those who created it and were there on day one. Even like Lucas never getting a real chance to be a lead while all the other kids have got their shot(Mike-S1,Will-S2,Dustin-S3,Max-s4) is never gonna sit right with me and hopefully he has huge stuff to do in s5. Some of the more popular characters like Eddie,Steve s2 onwards,Robin,Max,Billy,even Murray are just not possible without the first season. It's also weird that the show has come full circle to the point where Jonathan who was kind of the furthest thing from a meme-y character had his own weird meme moments in s4 so he could go viral and IG it kinda worked because he's on youtube links and shit now and people love the stoner stuff outside of tumblr and reddit but it's also weird to me to see that. Please don't kill me fans of post s1 characters and Steve fans. I like those characters very much as well.

#jonathan byers #stranger things #nancy wheeler #mike wheeler #lucas sinclair

[ginalinettiofficial]

just wrote a very long and rambly post then saved it to drafts because it was way too many words for what i was trying to say but the basic gist of it is

i think that a lot of harringrove hate specifically comes from people who primarily ship either the young ships (byler, mileven, lumax, etc) or steddie, and i think that’s not a coincidence, that it has to do with the way that individuals have watched stranger things, in a timeline sense.

and ofc it’s not a hard and fast rule, but i think that people who joined the fandom more recently (post s3 and s4) are more commonly the ones who hold these very strong anti-harringrove sentiments, and i think a big part of that really does come from the fact that they came into the show at a time when there were a TON of ships and possibilities to choose from, and a ton of development of the younger characters and their relationships romantically. whereas, for a lot of harringrove shippers, they started shipping in a time before shipping the kids really felt like an /option/ to most people.

i remember how much our society was obsessed with “the stranger things kids” and how much emphasis we all placed on their age, and i remember seeing a handful of fics of mileven and byler back around season 2 and being icked out because in my mind, those characters and ships were 100% children and not something that it was a real option to /ship/. if we wanted to ship people, we really didn’t consider the party as an option - they were too young. so you shipped the teenagers, or the adults, and, frankly, more people defaulted to shipping the teens, likely because they were closer in age to many of the shippers than the adults and so were the characters that felt most relatable.

and there really weren’t THAT many options of ships amongst the teen characters, so when billy came around? and then they made him and steve enemies? yeah, people immediately glommed onto that dynamic and went crazy with it. in the earlier days of the fandom, it really was a world where you were a harringrove shipper or you were a jancy shipper, or maybe a stancy shipper, or you were on team #JusticeForBarb and cared more about barb holland than any ships. that’s what the fandom was.

and now the fandom is so much bigger, and the show itself has doubled in length and introduced so many cool characters and really developed a lot of the existing characters in cool ways, and, yeah, s4 made shipping the kids way easier and, for those who watched starting with the later seasons, probably those ships seem like the default choices, and shipping steve with the antagonist who then dies probably seems a little whack.

this post got long AGAIN smdh. idk. i just wanted to say that i think that people who are confused about why people like harringrove so much, more likely than not are people who watched the show post s3/s4, and so have a fundamentally different experience of the show than those who watched it in the earlier days.

#d speaks #st #harringrove #fandom wank

[lazybakerart]

i don’t know why i feel this venomous hatred for eddie when i don’t even know him.

i just don’t like seeing him sit with the younger teens as if he’s replaced will at school or hang out with the older teens as if he’s replaced what could have been billy in a better world.

will and billy are my faves and i just don’t want eddie 🥲😫

I'm with ya, man.

I think it's because: the writers isolated Billy in s3.

Pre-possession there were no scene to show us where Billy stood with Max or Steve or Lucas or any of the other kids. All we got was Billy at the pool being eyeballed by an organized group of middle aged women.

So, to then bring in this new character who is the same archetype as Billy - arrogant, smart mouthed, metal head, even the mullet!! and then to have Eddie be involved in the party? With the older teens. The kids!

It just feels like - why did the writers kill Billy off just to copy and paste him back into the story?? Where he could have been friends with Steve and Robin, he could have made up with Max and the kids.

It just feels stupid and irritating that all we got for Billy was 'look how not gay he is' and 'Oh yeah, he was abused and his mom left and the last time he was happy as a kid was with his mom and the only person to know all this is El who didn't bother to tell anyone else for some reason' and 'he dead, but hopper is too (wink wink) so who cares'.

The whole thing makes me feel really bitter so seeing his copy is - a bit infuriating. I'm hoping (a little bit??) that s4 will give us something more for his character tho! And not just as fuel for Max's angst.

#replies #billy hargrove #i feel that way about robin too a bit #why do they keep making new characters instead of fleshing out the ones they have #theres too many already #stop it!!!

[queer-coded-camaro-driver]

Prompt idea maybe: "You look so pretty when you cry."

sorry this took me a minute, but the right scenario needed time to formulate

Harringrove pre-relationship, post S2/pre S3, marijuana

---

He’s stoned as hell when he says it, of course. Otherwise he would never have opened his mouth and let something so totally idiotic come flying out in front of Hawkins’ notorious bad boy, Billy Hargrove. But they both show up at one of the quarry’s lesser known spots at the same time and both outright refuse to leave… So the somewhat-rivals begrudgingly agree to share some of Eddie Munson’s better shit and ignore the tension brewing between them. At least for a few glorious hours.

Until Steve exhales a cloud of blue smoke and says offhandedly: “You look so pretty when you cry.”

Billy’s head snaps up, expression grim – he’s borderline murderous already. The blond’s upper lip curls back until he’s snarling, until Steve is staring down a Billy who’s more wolf than boy. “What the fuck did you say to me, Harrington?”

Steve blinks. Shit. How is he supposed to answer that when he hadn’t even meant to open his mouth in the first place!? How the hell is he supposed to tell the guy who beat the shit out of him a few weeks ago that he looked stunning from below–

In retrospect, obviously. At the time of their altercation, Steve had been angry and frightened and was trying his best to protect the kids; which is, ironically enough, also what Billy had been trying to do. He’d been trying to protect Max from an entire room full of strange guys.

Which, like, fair enough.

But even after the Billy’s-fist shaped bruises have healed and the cuts fade to nothing, Steve’s mind keeps wandering back to those awful but electrifying moments before unconsciousness. The memory is glorious: blood dripping from that statuesque nose, tears forming at the corners of the younger boy’s wrathful blue eyes as he drives his fist into Steve’s face over and over. The howl Steve saw but never quite managed to hear, straining like distant thunder in the back of Billy’s throat. 

He’d been pissed at Billy, going out of his way to avoid the blond until Max filled him in on what went on at their house on Cherry Road. Staying mad about something as stupid as a misunderstanding in the wake of El’s incredible victory and this new information seems childish. Stupid. Steve has seen the end of the world and faced it head on, so what’s one equally lonesome asshole from California, really?

“Hey, pretty boy, you gonna fuckin’ answer me?”

“Oh!” Steve shakes his head and bites his bottom lip before exhaling. “Right… I mean, you have like–” Fuck. “–I don’t know dude, I’m high as fuck!”

“Well that’s kind of a weird thing to say, man.”

“I know that, Billy. Christ, you think I wanna sound this stupid all the time? Kids make fun of me when I open my mouth.”

Unexpectedly, the blond boy’s frown deepens. He starts rolling another joint on the hood of Steve’s car. “That’s not very nice of them, considering how much of your trust fund you’ spend on gas to tote them everywhere. If I were one of those brats, I’d be worshiping the ground you walk on.”

Steve gives Billy a look of outright awe. 

Did Eddie lace this shit? Am I dreaming? 

“Huh?”

“I rarely see you around without one of those nerdy little brats hanging off your jacket, so you clearly spend a lot of time helping them out and taking them places. They think it’s okay to treat you like crap just because they’ve read a few more books and gone to a few less parties? Dumbasses.”

“When I said you’re pretty when you cry, I mean your eyes get more intense. You have nice eyes for, like, a dude. I guess.”

Now it’s Billy’s turn to stare at Steve in shock. 

He lights up the joint and takes a drag before passing it to Steve. “Thanks, Harrington. That’s kind of nice, in a weird way.”

“It’s already been established that I’m pretty weird.”

“And sweet.”

“What?” 

“You’re sweet,” Billy reiterates, taking the joint back. “But you didn’t hear me say shit.”

“Course not,” Steve smiles. He’s really stoned; his head is full of cotton and he has the deep desire to reach out and touch Billy’s golden curls. “Hey, can I touch your hair?”

“Can I touch yours?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, sure.”

They each reach out with one hand. Billy tucks what he can behind Steve’s ears and Steve tugs gently at one of Billy’s ringlets only to watch it bounce back into place. Quietly, so quietly it’s barely audible, the older boy whispers: “What are we doing?”

Billy shrugs, fingers still tangled in loose brown locks. “Dunno. But I kinda like it.”

“Me, too.”

“Cool… Do you really think I’m pretty?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

They watch the sun rise over the far edge of the quarry in silence, shoulders pressed tightly together. They’re almost sober again, and Steve isn’t sure if things will go back to the way they were yesterday or if this new sense of understanding is permanent. The tension in the air hasn’t returned and he’s terrified to think that it may. 

He doesn’t want to lose this side of Billy.

“Hey, Hargrove…?”

“Yeah, pretty boy?” 

“Are we– Does this mean we can stop being assholes to each other?” Steve asks.

Billy laughs, bright and loud and so fucking beautiful that Steve’s chest aches. His gorgeous blue eyes go squinty and thin as his smile grows, slivers of seafoam iris showing through. “Yeah, Harrington. I think we can figure out a way to be friends.”

Steve’s grin is unstoppable. Genuine. Something is stirring in his heart like an animal waking from hibernation. 

“Cool.”

#harringrove #harringrove ficlet #anonswers #anon prompt fill #harringrove prompt fill #harringrove fluff #marijuana tw #billy hargrove #steve harrington #snark #flirting

[neonponders]

Tag Game: Stranger Things Edition ✨

[ Thank you @ratbastardbilly for tagging me! 🌹 ]

1. Ride or die ship (your otp): Harringrove

2. Most annoying ship: Mike and Eleven, for so many reasons, but anything with the younger kids is uncomfortable to me. I understand younger fans will flock toward the younger characters, and that’s fine, but I’m not really interested in them unless it’s platonic. I will say that Max/Eleven and Max/Lucas have the best material to work with, though.

3. Second favourite ship: Eddissy and Buckleway.

4. Favourite platonic relationship: Steve and Robin, Billy and Argyle, Max and Eleven. 

5. Underrated ship: Argyle with literally anyone.

6. Overrated ship: Steddie. I enjoy their art a lot but have a hard time enjoying the fics unless it’s Harringroveson.

7. One thing i would change in canon: Billy dying so soon (killing your most interesting character is bad writing but firing your best actor is just weird bad business). Also both Nancy and Eleven need to be single.

8. Something canon did right: the sibling behavior and Steve’s arc with Robin in s3.

9. A thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: I’m proud of my 2343454 wips (LOL) and my smol selection of finished fics ~ ao3 here.

10. A character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Argyle.

11. The character i relate to the most and why: Steve, Max, and Argyle. I dress very colorfully like Argyle lol am a little sister to a brother like Max, and am kind of mean but do my best like Steve.

12. Character i hate the most and why: Henry Creel. I don’t like that they wrote him as a “psycho straight out of the womb” kind of guy. It’s ironic that they dropped the money for Robert England to be his father, but he has no real foundation as a character.

13. Something i've learned from the fandom: the warmth and strength in this fandom is insane. The strength that people have had to recover from their own abuse and then to go further to enjoy a character who is visibly abused/neglected and is a walking allegory for failing mental health, AND to share these parts of themselves for discussion as well as to thank the actor is impressive.

14. Three tags i seek out on ao3: if I see vampire or werewolf anything, I click.

15. A song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: I’ve got a whole collection of songs that I was listening to on repeat when I first started writing Harringrove but there’s something about LA Devotee by Panic!At the Disco that just hits for Steve and Billy running amok in California together.

.

Share yourselves!! There are too many incredible people in this fandom, so just tag me back lol

#harringrove #stranger things #tag game #neonponders

[bugsbenefit]

apparently a lot of people haven't seen the previous glimpses we got of the table reads before. the deal with them is that they tend to give away the groupings of the season based on where the actors sit. in most cases, not always. examples below for those who haven't seen them yet

here's s2. (using character names instead of actor one's just so i don't flip flop back and forth) you've got Billy in the corner next to Steve who have a few confrontations that season. then Nancy and Jonathan with their Illinois subplot. El with her solo arc. Will and Mike who share their storylines the entire season. and then Lucas, Dustin, and Max. they're all sat sorted in accordance with who they interact the most with that season

but then we've also got s3 where the seating order wasn't really accurate to the season. they mostly got sorted into younger kids and older teens here, doesn't really give away the season's grouping

and then s4 went back to being sorted by plotlines again

with Erica, Steve, Robin, Nancy, Lucas and Max together on the left, the Hawkins people. then the Russia plot people. then El. and then Mike, Jonathan, and Will

so going into the s5 table read, it could be random like it was for s3. but they could also be sorted by their character's actual s5 plot lines. and i know i'll go insane about it until we get actual promo phase teasers that give us concrete answers. especially because it's basically impossible to tell where a grouping ends and the next one starts. Millie in the s2 table read is a solo team for example, El has no shared screen time with Jonathan or Will who are besides her, but you need to watch the season to know that obviously. so we could get a table read with a super interesting line up and it could mean nothing, be an actual team up, or an interesting actor combination is right where one group ends and the next one starts

and we won't know until we get real teasers for the show or credible leaks about the general structure of the season... not knowing for sure if the s5 table read is sorted by in season groupings will be hell on earth for me i already know it

#st s5 #not even pretending to be normal about the table read teasers #we've waited over 8 months i'm so beyond not normal about it atp

[korkiekenobiconfirmed]

Sidelines are for sports games, not characters of color

I want to address the somewhat awful job ST has done with its POC characters not just in Vol 2, but over the course of the show. I've done a similar post talking about the queer rep in the show if you want to check that out.

I'm gonna start with Lucas, who's been sidelined from the beginning. I get this is rural Indiana in the 80's and you wouldn't expect a whole ton of POC characters fine fine fine whatever. But if you're going to include exactly one (1) POC main, you better hope to god you do a good job with that character. Look at S1 -- Will was central to the plot in a major way (duh), Mike was huge in pushing everyone to find Will and was well-defined by his close relationship with him, and Dustin's intelligence set him apart even in a group full of so-called nerds. What did Lucas get to distinguish him in any particular way? Nothing much. Even moving into S2 his character remained distinctly less fleshed out than the others

One part of S1 I did very much like, however, was this scene. I thought it was a great way to address the kind of casual racism that people who grow up with privilege can often display, even unintentionally.

Mike and Lucas had both showed up to school dressed as the ghostbuster Venkman and Mike tried to argue that Lucas should be Winston Zeddemore. Lucas pointed out that Mike only said that because Zeddemore was black, and he didn't want to be Zeddemore because he, like so many black characters in film, wasn't as interesting or influential as many of the white mains.

Ironically, a similar fate ended up befalling Lucas. He began to be drawn more into the spotlight in S2 and S3, but it was more in reference to his relationship with Max than anything else. Listen, I love Lumax (their relationship outclasses Mileven by a mile, argue with the wall) but Lucas needing a relationship with a white character in order to gain real traction within the show and the fandom is pretty fucking shitty.

S4 finally put Lucas' character on par with the others in terms of screentime, lines, and fandom attention, and the Duffers managed this oh-so-impressive feat through the power of... basketball. Come on, I mean really?

Yes, from what we've seen basketball is the fastest path to popularity in Hawkins High (Steve, Billy, Tommy H, Jason) but to make the only black character suddenly a basketball star when he's shown zero interest or athletic ability up until now... it doesn't sit right with me, let's put it that way.

Erica falls into similar black stereotyping as Lucas. We see little development for her over the seasons and from the first moment she's on-screen she's very much the Sassy Black Girl. There's nothing wrong with characters displaying stereotyped traits as long as you can give them other characteristics that define them beyond the typical fallbacks. If your character is essentially reduced to that stereotype, however, it's a problem. All we know of Erica, beyond her never-ending supply of clapbacks and sarcasm, is that she likes DND and My Little Pony. 90% of her lines are full of sass, no matter who she's talking to, and while it's entertaining at times (her calling Murray a bald bastard was funny as hell lmaoo) it can quickly get old. Erica's not the worst black rep I've ever seen, not by a long shot, but the Duffers definitely could've done better with her.

[Having the only black female character also be a staunchly avowed capitalist feels a little weird to me, but I honestly don't have a way to properly articulate why so I'm not going to go into that rn. Maybe in a later post.]

Watching Vol 2 was a crazy fucking experience for a lot of reasons, but watching Jason and his little basketball cult fully beat up black kids significantly younger than them was... really something. A mostly-grown guy full on rugby tackling a middle school girl with aggression that far outweighed the situation...

You can't tell me there wasn't racial motivation there, but the situation really wasn't handled that way on-screen. It wasn't filmed to really make the audience think about the kind of aggressions (micro or otherwise) that black kids in bumfuck Indiana would experience. It wasn't addressed as racially-motivated. It wasn't addressed at all, actually. Thanks to the racist implications of that moment (and, in fact, the racist implications of Jason's entire attitude towards Lucas & Erica) never being addressed ever, the whole scene came across as more gratuitous violence than anything. I'm not saying the show needs to hold the audience's hand and look in their eyes and spell out J-A-S-O-N = R-A-C-I-S-T, but the S1 Zeddemore scene proved there are ways to intertwine talks about racism into the script, ways to address problems like xenophobia without making it stilted or shoehorned in.

When you show the brutal beating of black children and then move on too quickly for the audience to fully process what happened, it takes away from the heavier implications of such violence.

Moving on from the Sinclairs, we have Kali.

I liked her character very much, I'm going to be honest. The way she embodied El's angrier, more violent inner voices, with El's return to Hawkins representing her turning her back on that side of her while never truly facing up to it, made her an excellent lens for the audience to see more of El than what we got in S1.

But brown women in media too-often fall into one of two categories.

the docile, meek woman who comes from a patriarchal culture and will always defer to the men in her life, even when it goes against her own desires and dreams

The angry, probably violent woman who rages against the world because she has been wronged in the past

Again, a brown character being one of these two things isn't necessarily bad, but when we're left room for little else around all the resentment Kali's built up? When there's almost no middle ground between the two extremes?? Let's not rely on the old stereotypes over and over and over again, please.

...

...Did someone say stereotypes? Oh hang on wait it looks like we have another one. I once again feel the need to establish that this is not hate on the character himself, Argyle was legitimately one of the best parts of the California group and I love him with my whole entire heart (& also Eduardo Franco deserves so much better from this shitty fandom).

But the first Latine character on the show being a stoner? That's the best y'all could come up with?? Argyle was funny, he was useful to the plot, and he was a nice foil for the often-serious characters he's surrounded by, but all that being said, I couldn't quite get rid of the nagging irk in the back of my mind every time he was on screen because the stoner Latine character??? At this point, all the blatantly stereotyped characters just make this shit boring and predictable. I don't even have anything new to say about Argyle because it's nothing I didn't just address in terms of Erica, Lucas & Kali.

I feel like the treatment of ST's queer and POC characters is definitely different. We see constant abuse and mistreatment of queer characters without getting any outwardly, happily-queer endings for them; with the POC characters it strikes me more as the typical sidelining and stereotyping that we see in a lot of mainstream media. I'm not going to sit here and argue over which is worse or which is more harmful to audiences, they're both shitty and I'm tired of it all.

Do better.

#stranger things #stranger things meta #lucas sinclair #erica sinclar #argyle stranger things #kali prasad #will beyers #mike wheeler #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #el hopper #eddie munson

[lavenderstobins]

canon list of stranger things characters

Disclaimer: in regards to canon, i'm going off the show canon. the stranger things play is canon to the show, so any details from that will be added in. all information is pulled from the show, the play, and the writers themselves. the books are canon-adjacent and therefore are listed separately, though Flight of Icarus is considered canon as it is written by one of the show writers.

the full list will be under the cut because, fair warning, it is long as hell. it's ordered alphabetically, not by importance of characters.

Main Characters

Argyle — Introduced in s4. Jonathan’s friend from school in Lenora. He works at Surfer Boy Pizza. According to himself, he has no other friends

Dustin Henderson — Introduced in s1. One of the party members

Eddie Munson — Introduced in s4. He was due to graduate in 1986. He died in the upside down in March 1986

El Hopper / “Eleven” — Introduced in s1. Formerly one of the children at the lab. She escaped in 1983

Erica Sinclair — Introduced in s2. Lucas’ younger sister. She’s ten in July 1985 and eleven in March 1986

Jim Hopper — Introduced in s1. Chief of police for Hawkins Police. El’s adoptive father

Jonathan Byers — Introduced in s1. Due to graduate in 1986

Joyce Byers (neé Maldonado) — Introduced in s1. Jonathan and Will’s mother. Works at Melvald’s until 1985

Lucas Sinclair — Introduced in s1. One of the party members

Max Mayfield — Introduced in s2. Moved to Hawkins in 1984. She’s in the same year as the party and becomes one of the party members

Mike Wheeler — Introduced in s1. One of the party members

Murray Bauman — Introduced in s2. Formerly an investigative journalist who was hired by the Hollands

Nancy Wheeler — Introduced in s1. Due to graduate in 1986

Robin Buckley — Introduced in s3 as Steve’s coworker at Scoops Ahoy. Due to graduate in 1986 

Steve Harrington — Introduced in s1. Graduated 1985

Will Byers — Introduced in s1. One of the party members

Parents

Al Munson — Eddie’s father. He’s mentioned in s4 and it’s implied he’s in jail or dead. Eddie seems to have a negative view of him

Charles Sinclair — Lucas and Erica’s father

Claudia Henderson — Dustin’s mother 

Karen Wheeler (neé Childress) — Nancy, Mike and Holly’s mother

Lonnie Byers — Jonathan and Will’s abusive father 

Miss/Mrs/Ms. Buckley — Robin’s mother. She reminds Robin of her flaws ‘daily’ according to Robin in s4

Mrs. Harrington — Steve’s mother. According to Steve in s3, she is “super well-respected”. She is said not to trust Steve’s father

Mr. Harrington — Steve’s father. According to Steve in s1, he’s a “grade A asshole” 

Mr. Mayfield — Max’s father. He’s mentioned in s2 and still lives in California according to Max

Neil Hargrove — Max’s former stepfather and Billy’s father. He left Hawkins after Billy died

Sue Sinclair (neé Anderson) — Lucas and Erica’s mother

Susan Hargrove — Max’s mother

Ted Wheeler — Nancy, Mike and Holly’s father

Teresa Ives (“Terry”) — El’s biological mother 

Wayne Munson — Eddie’s paternal uncle. He lives in the trailer park. He is Eddie's guardian

Relatives

Becky Ives — El’s maternal aunt

Darlene — Joyce’s aunt

Diane — Hopper’s ex-wife. She lives in New York with her husband Bill and their unnamed baby

“Granny” — Max’s grandmother. She wrote a letter for her in s4. It is unclear whether she’s her maternal or paternal grandmother

Holly Wheeler — Nancy and Mike’s younger sister. She’s three in November 1983 and six in March 1986

Jack — Lucas and Erica’s uncle. It’s not stated whether he’s their mother’s or father’s brother

Jack — Max’s uncle. She wrote a letter for him in s4. It is unclear whether he’s her mother’s or father’s brother

Joanna — Nancy, Mike and Holly’s cousin

“Nana” — Nancy, Mike and Holly’s grandmother. Prior to 1985 she had a fall. It is unclear whether she’s their paternal or maternal grandmother

Otis Harrington — Steve’s paternal grandfather. He’s mentioned in Steve’s essay in s1. It’s unclear whether he’s alive or dead

Shirley — El’s maternal great-aunt. Becky mentions her in s2

Hawkins Lab

Staff

Agent Harmon — Worked for Sam Owens as a bodyguard in 1986. He was killed protecting Jonathan, Mike and Will

Agent Wallace — Worked for Sam Owens as a bodyguard in 1986

Alec — Worker at the lab, presumably a guard

Andrew Barnright — Worked at the lab. Kali has information on him shown in s2

Anne — A scientist at the lab in 1986

Blackmon — One of the lab’s guards

Connie Frazier — Government agent tasked with protecting the lab. She was Benny Hammond’s killer and was later killed by El in 1983

Ellis — A doctor/scientist at the lab

Martin Brenner — Leading scientist at the lab

Miller — Chief military guard at the lab

Ray Carroll — Formerly orderly at the lab. He was the one to perform Terry Ives’ electroshock therapy in 1974. He has two daughters

Sam Owens — One of the lab’s main scientists. He replaces Brenner in s2

Selee — One of the lab’s guards

Shepard — One of the workers at the lab. Was killed in the upside down in November 1983 

Teddy — One of the lab’s guards

Thatcher — One of the lab’s guards

Tracey — A scientist at the lab in 1986

Subjects

Henry Creel / “One” / “Vecna” — Formerly a resident of Hawkins. After he killed his mother and sister, Brenner took an interest in him and made him his first test subject

“Two” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Three” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Four” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Five” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Six” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Seven” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Nine” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Ten” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Twelve” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Thirteen” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Fourteen” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Fifteen” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

“Sixteen” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979. His twin is Seventeen

“Seventeen” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979. His twin is Sixteen

“Eighteen” — A child at the lab. Was killed by Henry Creel in 1979

Hawkins Middle

Staff

Doris — Secretary at Hawkins Middle

Mr. Kowalski — Teacher at Hawkins Middle (mentioned by Karen Wheeler in s2)

Mr. Salerno — Teacher at Hawkins Middle (mentioned by Will and Max in s2)

Phyllis — Lunch lady at Hawkins Middle

Scott Clarke — Science teacher at Hawkins Middle

Students

Georgie — Presumably a student at Hawkins Middle. He’s close to turning 13 in June 1985

Greg McCorkle — Student at Hawkins Middle. He laughed and pointed out that Troy peed himself when El made Troy wet himself

James Dante — Student at Hawkins Middle. Troy’s best friend. A bully

Jennifer Hayes — Student at Hawkins Middle. She cried at Will’s funeral in s1 

Mandy — Student at Hawkins Middle. She’s in Mr. Clarke’s class with the party

Mindy Novak — Student at Hawkins Middle. She’s in Mr. Clarke’s class with the party. She’s shown to blow bubblegum

Stacey Albright — Student at Hawkins Middle. She’s in the same year as the party. She’s shown to be a mean girl

Tracy Turner — Student at Hawkins Middle. She’s in Mr. Clarke’s class with the party

Troy Walsh — Student at Hawkins Middle. The main bully shown. He’s shown to bully the party constantly

Hawkins High

Class of 1984

Dan Shelter — Former student at Hawkins High. Graduated in 1984. He was Vickie’s boyfriend until March 1986

Eddie Munson 

Class of 1985

Anna Jacobi — Former student at Hawkins High. Graduated in 1985. Was seen talking to Mark Lewinsky in s3 and shot down Steve

Billy Hargrove — Student at Hawkins High. Moved to Hawkins in 1984. Graduated in 1985 and was killed by the mind flayer the same year

Carol Perkins — Student at Hawkins High. Graduated 1985. Formerly one of Steve’s best friends

Eddie Munson (repeating the year)

Mark Lewinsky — Student at Hawkins High. Presumably graduated 1985. Was on the basketball team with Steve. Steve refers to him as a “meathead” and says that he never came off the bench

Nicole — Student at Hawkins High. One of Carol’s friends. Presumably graduated 1985

Tammy Thompson — Student at Hawkins High. Graduated 1985. She’s mentioned in s3 by Robin and shown in s4

Tina — Student at Hawkins High. One of Carol’s friends

Tommy Barrows — Former student at Hawkins High. Graduated 1985. He’s listed as missing at nineteen years old after the ‘earthquake’. Presumably was known as Tommy B

Tommy Hagan — Student at Hawkins High. Graduated 1985. He was formerly one of Steve’s best friends. Known as Tommy H

Steve Harrington

Vicki Carmichael — Student at Hawkins High. One of Carol’s friends

Class of 1986

Barbara Holland — Student at Hawkins High. Nancy’s best friend. Was due to graduate 1986. Died November 1983

Chrissy Cunningham — Student at Hawkins High. A cheerleader. Was due to graduate in 1986. Died March 1986

Eddie Munson (repeating the year a second time)

Fred Benson — Student at Hawkins High. Runs the school newspaper in 1986. He died in March 1986

Jason Carver — Student at Hawkins High. One of the basketball players in 1986. Was due to graduate in 1986. Died March 1986

Jeff — Student at Hawkins High. Due to graduate in 1986. Part of Hellfire Club

Jonathan Byers

Nancy Wheeler

Patrick McKinney — Student at Hawkins High. One of the basketball players in 1986. Was due to graduate in 1986. Died March 1986

Robin Buckley

Vickie — Student at Hawkins High. In band with Robin. Due to graduate in 1986

Other Students

Ally —  Student at Hawkins High. She’s in one of Nancy’s classes. She’s mentioned in s1 and s2

Amber — Student at Hawkins High during 1986. It is unknown what year she is in

Amy — Student at Hawkins High. One of Steve’s ex-girlfriends

Andy — Student at Hawkins High. One of the basketball players in 1986. Presumably due to graduate in 1986

Becky — Student at Hawkins High. One of Steve’s ex-girlfriends

Beth Wildfire — Presumably a student at Hawkins High. A goalie for (potentially) Hawkins High’s soccer team. According to Robin, her leg split open and the bone was visible after after girl accidentally kicked her during a game

Candace — Student at Hawkins High. One of the journalists on the Weekly Streak

Chase — Student at Hawkins High. One of the basketball players in 1986. Presumably due to graduate in 1986

Gareth — Student at Hawkins High. Part of Hellfire Club. Presumably due to graduate in 1987 (Eddie references him having “a year and a half” left)

Heather Holloway — Student at Hawkins High. Presumably was due to graduate in 1986 or graduated in 1985. She was Flayed and died in July 1985. She worked as a lifeguard at Hawkins Pool

Jack — Student at Hawkins High. A student who was presumably Flayed and died July 1985. He is cited to have died “in the mall fire”. He’s mentioned by Jason in s4

Jacob — Student at Hawkins High during 1986. He is a member of the basketball team. It is unknown what year he is in

Jed — Student at Hawkins High. A member of the basketball team

Josh — Student at Hawkins High. A friend of Jason’s who is also on the basketball team

Keith — Student at Hawkins High. Either graduated 1985 or is due to graduate in 1986 (assuming the former since he has hiring power at Family Video in October 1985). He’s shown to be friendly with Robin and dislike Steve

Kyle — Student at Hawkins High during 1986. It is unknown what year he is in

Laurie — Student at Hawkins High. One of Steve’s ex-girlfriends

Melissa — Student at Hawkins High. A student who was presumably Flayed and died July 1985. She is cited to have died “in the mall fire”. She’s mentioned by Jason in s4

Reed — Student at Hawkins High. Unknown what year he’s in. He shouts at Nancy that he can’t wait to see her movie in s1 after the cinema sign was graffitied

Ryan — A student at Hawkins High, one of Jason’s friends

Samantha Stone — Student at Hawkins High. Attended Tina’s party Halloween 1984

Stacey — Student at Hawkins High. A friend of Nancy’s 

Unnamed Freak — Student at Hawkins High. Part of Hellfire Club

Staff

Mrs. Click — History teacher at Hawkins High (mentioned by Robin in s3)

Mr. Higgins — Principal at Hawkins High

Kaminsky — Chemistry teacher at Hawkins High (mentioned by Nancy in s1)

Ms. Kelley — Guidance Counsellor at Hawkins High

Mr. Mundy — Math teacher at Hawkins High (mentioned by Carol and Tommy in s1)

Mrs. O’Donnell — Teacher at Hawkins High (mentioned by Eddie in s4)

Hawkins Residents

Aaron Walker — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. He’s on the whiteboard as someone who might know where Eddie is

Adam — Resident of Hawkins, a young adult. He becomes Flayed and dies July 1985

Barbara — Resident of Hawkins. Her husband Greg went missing after the ‘earthquake’

Benny Hammond — Owner of Benny’s Burgers. Was killed November 1983

Betsy Payne — Resident of Hawkins. Has a dog

Bev Mooney — Friend of two hunters

Beverley Moss — Television reporter in Hawkins

The Blackburns Family — The Wheelers’ neighbours. According to Lucas in 1983, they have a baby

Bob Newby — Worked at the Radio Shack in Hawkins. Died November 1984

Brenda — Resident of Hawkins. Possibly a graduate of Hawkins High. She went on a date with Steve in s4

Bruce Lowe — Former journalist for the Hawkins Post. Gets Flayed and dies in July 1985

Calvin Powell — Police officer for Hawkins Police

Candice — Mayor Kline’s secretary. He was having an affair with her in 1985

Carol — Resident of Hawkins. She visits Melvald’s in s3

Cath — A friend of Karen Wheeler. She talks on the phone with her in s2

Charles — Weatherman

The Crawleys Family — A family in Hawkins. They had supplies go missing in s3

Curtis — A boy at the pool in s3

The Christensens Family — Local farmers

Chuck Bailey — Reporter at the Hawkins Post

Dale — Frequented Benny’s Burgers. He is also a hunter. Henry is his hunting partner. Bev suspects them of going on “another binger” when they disappear. Died November 1983

David — Resident of Hawkins. He becomes Flayed and dies July 1985

Donald Melvald — Joyce’s former boss and owner of Melvald’s

Doris Driscoll (née Grant) — Resident of Hawkins. She died July 1985

Earl — Resident of Hawkins and a friend of Benny’s. He is also a friend of Henry and possibly Dale

Eleanor Gillespie — Resident of Hawkins. An owl once attacked her head mistaking her hair for a nest

Eric — Jonathan’s coworker in s1. It’s unclear where he works

Erica — Salvation worker who volunteers at the High School in March 1986

Eugene McCorkle — A local farmer. He’s Merrill’s neighbour. He’s married to Jenny and they have at least two sons or grandsons (one of them could possibly be Greg McCorkle?)

Florence — Secretary for Hawkins’ Police 

Gary — Does the autopsies for Roane County 

Gary — Helps Joyce Byers fix up her house (possibly the same Gary as above?)

Gary — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. He’s on the whiteboard as someone who might know where Eddie is. Could possibly be one of the Garys above

George Burness — Claimed to have jumped into the quarry while drunk and survived, though Hopper claims this can’t be true

Glenn Daniels — Police officer for Hawkins police. He’s first shown in s4

Greg — Resident who went missing after the ‘earthquake’. His wife is Barbara

Hannah — A child who lives in Hawkins. She was shown in s2 playing in Merrill’s pumpkin patch. Her sister is Poppy

Henry — Frequenter of Benny’s Burgers. He is also a hunter. Dale is his hunting partner. Bev suspects them of going on “another binger” when they disappear. Died November 1983

Henry — A resident of Hawkins who joins in a mob against Starcourt

Jack O’Dell — Local farmer

Janet Holloway — Wife of Tom Holloway and mother of Heather Holloway. Became Flayed and died July 1984

Janet Howard — Resident of Hawkins. Went missing at 27 years old after the ‘earthquake’

James — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. He’s on the whiteboard as someone who might know where Eddie is

Jeffrey — Works at Melvald’s. He’s Joyce’s coworker and covered her shift in s1

Jen Woo — Scott Clarke’s girlfriend

Jenny McCorkle — Eugene’s wife. They have at least two sons or two grandsons

Jill — One of Karen Wheeler’s friends

Joey Piper (?) — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. Dustin calls him to ask if he’s seen him

Johnny — A young boy seen at Hawkins pool in s3

Kevin Brown (?) — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. He’s on the whiteboard as someone who might know where Eddie is

Kim M. Chapman — A resident of Hawkins who went missing after the ‘earthquake’

Larry Kline — Mayor of Hawkins until 1985

Laura Cunningham — Chrissy Cunningham’s mother

Liz — One of Karen Wheeler’s friends

Lucy Labrock — A resident of Hawkins who participated in a beauty pageant

Marsha Holland — Barb’s mother

Marissa — Works at the library

Melissa — Salvation worker who volunteers at the High School in March 1986

Merrill Wright — A farmer who owned a pumpkin patch in s2

Mr. Holland — Barb’s father

Mrs. Walsh — Troy Walsh’s mother 

Pastor Charles — Did the service for Will’s funeral 

Parker — Salesman at Starcourt Mall

Patrick — Security guard for Hawkins Lab

Paul Cook — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. He’s on the whiteboard as someone who might know where Eddie is

Paul L — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. He’s on the whiteboard as someone who might know where Eddie is

Pete Freeling — Local farmer

Petey — Starcourt’s mall cop

Phil Callahan — Police officer for Hawkins Police

Phil Larson — Resident of Hawkins. He keeps calling the police to complain about kids stealing his garden gnomes

Phillip Cunningham — Chrissy Cunningham’s father

Poppy — A child who lives in Hawkins. She was shown in s2 playing in Merrill’s pumpkin patch. Her sister is Hannah

Richard Lipton (“Reefer Rick”) — Drug dealer in Hawkins

Rick Neary — Local farmer

Robert — Manager of Bradley's Big Buy

Sandra — One of Hopper’s one night stands

Steven Davis (?) — Possibly one of Eddie’s friends. He’s on the whiteboard as someone who might know where Eddie is

Susie — Resident in Hawkins. She’s a friend or relative of Tommy Barrows, who goes missing after the ‘earthquake’

Tina — A child who lives in Hawkins. She is one of Erica’s friends. She is mentioned in s3 and s4 

Toby — Photographer at Starcourt Mall

Tom Holloway — Worked at the Hawkins Post. Father of Heather Holloway. Became Flayed and died July 1984

Tommy Zahlten — Resident of Hawkins who went missing at age 29 after the ‘earthquake’

Unnamed Cunningham — Chrissy’s younger brother. His age and name are unknown

Victor Creel — Henry Creel’s father. He remains in Pennhurst after his wife and daughter were murdered and it was blamed on him

Winnie Kline — Wife of Mayor Kline

Zimmerman brothers — at least two, possibly more, kids who pick on Will (Joyce asks if it was them again when Bob tells her about Will being bullied in s2)

Indiana Residents

Ada Mathis — Relative who lost someone in the ‘earthquake’

Caitlin Schneiderhan — Reporter for the Indianapolis Gazette

David O’Bannon — Works for the Indiana state police. State trooper

Frank Sattler — Owner and operator of the Sattler Company

Helen Dubon — Listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

J. Parker — A woman listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

Julia Mathis — Listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

Kirsten Maher — Reporter for the Indianapolis Gazette

Maria Rose — Listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

Marcus Parker — Father of a person who went missing after the ‘earthquake’

Mike Davis — Listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

Molly — Listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

Patty — Receptionist for Roane County Coroner

Rick Alderman — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Conroy — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Joiner — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Kimbrough — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Maher — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Matteson — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Naranjo — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Pratt — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Sanchez — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Tobler — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Rick Zimmerman — Possibly a resident of Hawkins. He has an account with Family Video

Robert Davis — Listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

Sandy Sloane — Grief counsellor from the church in Jonesboro

Vernon Hampton — Listed as a missing person after the ‘earthquake’

Lenora Residents

Aloma — Police officer in Lenora

Angela — Student at Lenora Hills High School. She is in El and Will’s year. She bullies El

Carol Ergenbright — Resident of Lenora

Chad — Student at Lenora Hills High School. He is friends with Angela

Franco — Police officer in Lenora

Jake — Student at Lenora Hills High School. He is dating Angela

Kate — Student at Lenora Hills High School

Mrs. Gracey — History teacher at Lenora Hills High School

Paul — Student at Lenora Hills High School

Stacy — Student at Lenora Hills High School. She is friends with Angela

Utah Residents

Cornelius Bingham — Suzie’s younger brother

Eden Bingham — Suzie’s older sister

Mr. Bingham — Suzie’s father

Sterling Bingham — Suzie’s younger sister

Suzie Bingham — Dustin’s girlfriend

Tabitha Bingham — Suzie’s younger sister

Tanner Bingham — Suzie’s younger brother

Tatum Bingham — Suzie’s younger sister

Peter Bingham — Suzie’s younger brother

Unnamed Bingham — Suzie’s younger sister

Russians

Alexei — Russian scientist. He is killed July 1985

Dmitri Antonov (“Enzo”) — Formerly a guard at the soviet prison camp in 1986

Grigori — Soldier and hitman. He is killed by Hopper in 1985

Ivan — Guard at the soviet prison camp. He is killed by the demogorgon in 1986

Katinka — Yuri’s former lover

Melnikov — Warden at the soviet prison camp. He was killed by either demodogs or a demogorgon in 1986

Mikhail Antonov — Dmitri’s son

Stepanov — Major General in 1985

Oleg — Prisoner at the soviet prison camp. He is killed by the demogorgon in 1986

Ozerov — Colonel in 1985. He interrogates Steve and Robin underneath Starcourt

Yuri Ismaylov — Smuggler

Zharkov — Doctor working underneath Starcourt. He administered the drugs to Steve and Robin in s3. He is killed by Dustin in 1985

Kali’s Gang

Axel — A member of Kali’s gang

Dottie — A member of Kali’s gang. She is the newest member

Funshine — A member of Kali’s gang. He’s described as a softie by Kali

Kali Prasad / “Eight” — Formerly one of the children at the lab. She escaped sometime between 1975 and 1979

Mick — A member of Kali’s gang

Other

Alexis McMurry — Head psychiatrist at Pennhurst Asylum in 1959

Alice Gilbert — A girl who stood up Hopper in the ninth grade

Andrea Knoll — Reporter for the Journal Tribune

Anthony Hatch — Warden at Pennhurst Asylum 

April Kline — Reporter

Bill — Hopper’s ex-wife’s second husband

Cathy — It’s mentioned in s1 that Nancy wore Karen’s heels to her birthday. Unclear if she’s a friend or relative; it’s possible she’s the “Cath” Karen talks to in s2

Cathy Owens — Sam Owens’ wife

Chaz — A friend of the Surfer Boy Pizza Employee in Nevada

Chrissy Carpenter — Went to Hawkins High with Hopper. She slept with Hopper once

Darrel — Cashier at Oscar’s Gas & Go, the store Kali and El rob for supplies

Denise — Waitress at the Nevada diner that El and Owens visit

Hicks — A member of the US Army

Jack Sullivan — Lieutenant Colonel for the US Army

Jeremiah — A sixteen year old boy in Murray’s karate class

Lawrence Brantley — Professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame. Nancy and Robin pretend to be two of his students to get into Pennhurst

Megan Hamilton — Reporter for the Journal Tribune

Mr. Cooper — A teacher at Hawkins High when Hopper and Joyce were in school

Mrs. Hargrove — Billy’s mother. She is shown in flashbacks during s3 but not named

Ms. Ratliff — Hopper’s science teacher while he was in school

Peter Owens — Sam Owens’ son

Ricky — Cashier at 7/11 in s3

Todd — Guy at the 7/11 in s3. He has a car with the license plate “TODFTHER”

Deceased (characters that are dead prior to November 1983)

Alice Creel — Henry Creel’s sister. He killed her in March 1959. It’s stated that she was 15 when she died, though her actress was 11

Jack Driscoll — Doris Driscoll’s husband. He died in 1975

Sara Hopper — Hopper’s daughter. She died at age 7 in 1978

Virginia Creel — Henry Creel’s mother. He killed her in March 1959. She was only 36 when she died

Pets

Chester — The Byers’ dog. It is unknown what happened to him

Mews — The Hendersons’ cat until she was eaten by Dart in 1984 (deceased)

Tews — The Hendersons’ second cat

Yurtle — Dustin’s turtle

Canon to the Books

Suspicious Minds (to be updated)

Andrew Rich — Eleven’s biological father

Bill Ives — Eleven’s maternal grandfather 

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Captain LaVorgna — Hopper’s boss in New York

Leroy Washington — A member of Saint John’s organisation who goes to the police to help. He is Martha’s brother

Lisa Sargeson — A parent of a classmate of Sara’s. She works as a magician and psychiatrist

Jacob Hoeler — A special agent who is murdered by a serial killer

Janice McGann — A parent of a classmate of Sara’s. 

Martha — Leroy’s sister. A member of Saint John’s organisation who is trying to get her brother out

Rosario Delgado — Hopper’s partner in the NYPD

Saint John — A Vietnam vet turned serial killer

Special Agent Gallup — A special agent investigating 

The Palmer Family — A rich couple with twins named Susan and Bill. Their children are in Sara’s class

Runaway Max (to be updated)

Ben — Max’s friend

Eddie — Max’s friend 

Nate Walker — Max’s first best friend

Sam Mayfield — Max’s father 

Silas — Billy’s friend

Wayne — Billy’s friend

Rebel Robin

Charles — Hauser’s boyfriend

Craig Whitestone — Member of Hawkins High’s marching band. He’s shown to be a bully. He’s a junior in September 1983

Dashiell James Montague, Jr (“Dash”) — Someone Robin goes to school with and fellow member of band. He’s dating Kate 

Ellie Bledsoe — Milton’s younger sister

Jennifer Vaughn — Member of Hawkins High’s marching band. She plays the clarinet

Jennifer — Student at Hawkins High. She’s friends with Tammy Thompson

Jessica — Student at Hawkins High. She’s friends with Tammy Thompson

Jimmy Blythe — Student at Hawkins High

Kate — Robin’s best friend in school and fellow member of band

Keri — Worker at Hawkins Theater

Matthew Manes — A boy who spends most of his time at the roller rink. Robin once said she had a crush on him when she panicked after someone asked her to name her crush

Melissa Buckley — Robin’s mother 

Milton Bledsoe — Robin’s friend in school and fellow member of band. He has an older brother and a younger sister.

Minerva — Robin’s grandmother. It’s not stated whether it’s her father’s or mother’s mother

Miss Garvey — Teacher at Hawkins High

Miss Genovese — Band teacher at Hawkins High

Ned Wright — Robin’s classmate. He’s in Click’s class with her

Ned — Manager at Scoops Ahoy

Nicole Morrison — Member of Hawkins High’s marching band. She plays the clarinet

Richard Buckley — Robin’s father 

Roy — Student at Hawkins High. He’s a junior. He hits on Robin on the school bus

Ryan Miller — Member of Hawkins High’s marching band. He plays percussion

Sheena Rollins — Member of Hawkins High’s marching band

Tom Hauser — English teacher at Hawkins High 

Wendy DeWan — Member of Hawkins High’s marching band. She’s in the year above Robin. She plays the clarinet

Lucas on the Line

Anita Demario — Jay’s younger sister

Cason Walker — Dustin’s peer mentor

Charlie — A member of the basketball team. He plays point guard

Gunner Lane — Mike’s peer mentor 

Jermaine Demario (“Jay”) — Lucas’ peer mentor. An older student at Hawkins High and a member of the basketball team until he moves schools 

Lee Garroway — A freshman and a racist member of the basketball team

Mark — A member of the basketball team. He is able to stuff 104 skittles into his mouth. He is shown to be a bully

Mr. Lansdale — Lucas’ homeroom teacher 

Mr. Theo — Assistant coach of the Hawkins Tigers junior varsity team

Noah — A member of the basketball team

Flight of Icarus (to be updated)

Al Munson — Eddie’s father

Paige — TBD

#stranger things #fic reference #stranger things fic #stranger things writers #st #st4 #st3 #st2 #st1 #my posts #you would not believe how long i've been compiling this #well maybe you would. but it's taken a WHILE #i still need to read runaway max and suspicious minds so they have not been updated #and i'm nearly done with darkness on the edge of town so will go back through it once i am #anyway. hope this is helpful! #lesbianancy #sapphirerays