#I'm guessing Holly Mike or Will

[jonathanbyersphd]

ANYWAYS, it very much looks like there's a bike in the back of the car. I wonder whose it is 🤔

[teambyler]

The final shot of s4 centered on Mike and Will, foreshadowing s5

They could've made El the final shot of the season, but it ended on the whole group, with MIKE and WILL in the center of the frame:

It's fair to believe these final images (which have no dialogue) foreshadow season 5 and that Mike and Will's relationship is central to s5. They even breathe in sync. Mike and WIll "being a team" against Vecna was hinted at several times in s4.

The Duffers have said that Season 5 is Will-centered... If the new episode titles are legit, we now also know one of the Wheelers will "vanish" (I'm guessing Holly) in episode 2. Will's memories of his own kidnapping and his connection to Vecna can be key to rescuing whoever goes missing.

The Duffers have said s5 will return to s1 themes. Mike and Will's closeness was established from the very beginning, and was central to s1 and s2.

Mike and Will WILL team up somehow, just as Mike shyly asked them to be back in California. A Wheeler will likely go missing. Just as Jonathan and Nancy grew closer looking for Barb and Will together, Mike and Will will grow even closer than they already are.

P.S. Follow and read my blog! I have so much to say!

[stranger-theory]

OKAY GUYS.

from what ive noticed about the behind the scenes video, i'm gonna say some shit and you're gonna have to go along with it.

spoilers for st5 production !!

1. Dustin is 1000% getting beat up by the jocks. from what i remember, there was graffiti on Eddies tombstone which means the jocks are gonna be weird and write shit on his grave and then Dustin hops in to stop them, only for him to get some owies.

2. ZERO MILKVAN LMAO.

3. there's a weird scene with Nancy and Mike where they both look upset, Nancy because we can see her whole face but Mike has his eyebrows upturned, so. i'm not sure what it could be but she makes that face when she dissociates and thinks about something depressing so maybe they're talking about Holly's disappearance.

4. WE GOT WILL BYERS LETS FUCKING GOOOOO okay so he's falling from somewhere very high, it seems. i'm assuming he'd climbed the tree in an attempt to escape the demogorgan, only to be knocked off (frightened by lightning?). what if, when he falls, something weird happens before he hits the ground ???? like, powers-wise.

5. Holly is definitely the name in the episode titled "The Vanishing of ***** Wheeler", no way she isn't. she was literally in a room with flashing lights everywhere and the second clip was of her looking scared with some sort of dirty goo on the tips of her hair and her chest.

6. Nancy is actually in the candy striper outfit !! so i'm guessing she goes in the hospital to collect info on something, thats probably what they're going over in the weird basement looking room. maybe something on Max ?

7. Lucas, Dustin and Will seem to be surrounding Mike at the lunch table. Mike looks as if he's writing something down, possibly relating to the radio that's, for some reason, on the table. reminds me of the morse code scene in s2, just not sure how that'd tie in. (also Dustin looks bored in that scene ??)

8. William Byers is either getting Vecna visions or he's experiencing the same thing he was in s2 with the "shadow-walking". i also think he could be lying about it for the sake of keeping others from worrying, like in s2.

9. Hopper doesn't seem to be with others through the entire video, the only clip we get is from the Upside Down. El also doesn't seem to be with others so i'm assuming they're together ??

10. Joyce is veeeery similar in costume design to her s2 self so there's gonna be something similar in terms of plot. considering that both Mike and Will also have the same shoes from s2 but inverted, i'm assuming the dynamic between the three is going to be the same. protective Mike and Joyce.

thats all i have for now ! please share and fill me in on other cool stuff you guys have noticed !!

[coniangray]

NEW BIKE SCENE CONFIRMED THE TIMELINE (I think)

If you look closely, mike will and holy wear the exact same fits with the previous scenes they filmed, especially mike.

He wore this exact same outfit in the official duffers bts in his room, in the mileven roof/will field scene, the barn with robin and the school.

Will also wore this in the official bts, the barn and I think his scene with hopper in the field/him standing alone in the radio station.

My guess on the timeline is:

Day one:

Mike gets bullied at the school by Andy in the morning with Dustin, then Dustin visits Eddie in his grave and sth happens there (as we saw from the Eddie bts pics).

I also think will is staying over at the wheelers, that's why he's with holly and Mike, they're basically babysitting her and that's before she went missing and even before her vision with 70's Henry creel.

The bike scene might have happened after the barn.

I think the barn took place the same day as the school in the afternoon, and they took an overnight staying alert and safe(??) that's why they're wearing the same clothes still. St4 hawking hang wore the same thing 2 days in a row when max was cursed.

So school first, then grave scene, then mileven rooftop/will field scene, then barn, then bikes (the next day) and then holy goes missing.

The mansion with the files and the candy striper is set on another episode I think.

That's all for now, Also there's sth like a radio/walkman in front of Mike's bike so I think this scene is them trying to catch a signal of some sorts, considering theyre biking near a restricted area.

Also yes, Twitter, I know they film out of order I'm not that dumb Im just gathering scenes to connect to the timeline thanks.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

sorry to ask this stupid question but i couldn't stop thinking about Eleven's living situation in s5 as there will be a time jump of 2 years. Where do you think she is residing in 1987 and 88? Cali or Hawkins?

So far we know, Will is coming back to hawkins in s5 to stay with the wheelers. can we safely assume that Byers lived in Cali during 1987, 88? Hopper has returned to Hawkins in s4, so technically El doesn't have to live with the byers anymore?

It's not a stupid question, not by any measure. I'm afraid I don't have much of an answer for you, though.

We don't know a lot about a lot this season. We have a decent look at some scenes, but we lack the context to really make connections. Our best guess is that El is living in hiding, possibly at the radio station, during season 5. What happens after that is anyone's guess, really. There's some speculation that El doesn't survive, but I don't buy that because it'd be deeply depressing.

However, depending on whether or not she's able to live free of the fear of the government, she may have to fake her death in-universe. Something like this could explain the scene with Mike and Hopper in 1989. They know she's out there somewhere, but she isn't really able to contact them for a while. Maybe she's making a life for herself somewhere away from Hawkins, possibly with Kali (because it'd certainly be nice for her to have mattered for more than a single episode) or with her aunt.

As for Will, we don't really know that he's staying with the Wheelers. That's another assumption. I know there's the set photo of the table in the Wheeler house with extra chairs around it, but that's circumstantial evidence. It could mean there's more people living there, but it could also have other explanations, like they have a meeting there at some point and are crowded around the table. However, I do lean towards it being likely, though, because of the scene with Mike and Will with Holly. Will is going to school, so we know the Byers are not in hiding (which is odd since Sullivan knows El is linked to them). It'd be odd for him to be out with Mike and Holly unless he lives with them or relatively close.

I think it's important to remember that, regardless of what leaks we may have, it's still largely guesswork. Even accurate leaks are still little bits of information that lack context. Think back to the leak of the airport scene in season 4. People were led to believe it was some romantic scene between Mike and El where Will was rejected. That may have been how it looked from Will's perspective, but we, the audience, got to see how that fit into the greater story and how totally unromantic it really was. Let this info get you excited, but don't get too carried away with details.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Headcanon: Steve & little Holly Wheeler remain really close after Steve/Nancy break up. During an intense storm she calls Steve in tears while Nancy & Mike watch is shock. They didn't know she was still close to him.

"Hello?" Steve answered the phone on the third ring, hoping it was Robin letting him know she got home okay after band practice.

The storm came out of nowhere, and since everyone was still a bit on edge after Vecna, he needed to make sure everyone was alright.

"Stevie?" Holly Wheeler whispered on the other end of the line.

"Holly? Are you okay? Where's your mom?" Steve was suddenly even more worried that Holly was somehow alone at home during this storm.

They never left her alone, she was way too young, but if something happened-

"She's not home. Nancy's in her room. I'm scared."

Thank god. She just wanted to talk to him like they used to do during afternoon storms all the time.

"You're safe, Hol. Remember it's just some angry clouds. They must have had to wake up early today, huh?" he smiled to himself. "What about you? Did you get up early for school?"

"Yes and my teacher was late." He heard thunder on her end and hoped she would keep talking. "She said it was because her no good husband left with her keys."

Steve bit back a laugh.

"Oh yeah? I bet she was mad at him."

"She was so mad! And then she yelled at Rose two times cuz she kept getting out of line on the way to lunch!"

"Isn't Rose the one who always colors on other people's pictures in art?" Steve loved to hear about the 1st grade drama as much as possible.

"Yes, and then Ben always distracts the teacher for her so she can say mean stuff to everyone. She is so mean."

"It sounds like it."

"Holly, who are you talking to?" he heard Nancy's voice on the other end.

"It's Steve!"

"Steve? Did he call for me?"

"No, I called him."

"Steve? Did Holly call you?" Nancy's voice was on the other end now, and Holly could be heard arguing about wanting to talk to him more.

"Yeah. She calls sometimes when she's upset or scared. The storm must be freaking her out a lot," Steve said.

"Hey, I need the phone," Mike's voice could be heard in the distance. "Who are you even talking to?"

"It's Steve," Nancy replied.

"Our Steve?" Mike asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Apparently, Holly calls him when she's scared."

"Why?"

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Is it so hard to believe that Holly and I are storm buddies?" Steve asked.

"Yes!" Nancy and Mike said at the same time.

"Put Holly back on the phone," he said, slightly irritated now.

"I think the storm is going away," Holly said into the phone. "Do you have the teddy bear?"

"Of course I do. He always sits right next to my bed so if I get scared I can hold him. Do you have yours?" he asked.

"Yes, but he has a hole in his leg and mommy has to fix him."

"Okay, well I can hug mine extra tight for now so he knows you're safe."

"Okay! Bye Steve!"

"Bye Holly," he laughed.

"I don't understand," Nancy said just as he was about to hang up.

"What?"

"Why does she call you? We're right here."

"I guess it's just our thing. I dunno, Nance. But I'm gonna go. I'm waiting on Robin to call. You guys good?"

"Uh-huh."

"Great. Bye."

Steve hung up and smiled to himself. Holly Wheeler was probably, almost definitely, his favorite Wheeler.

[laquiet]

So... I forced my friend into watching Stranger Things (pt. 3)

Hey, I'm back! Just posting the other half of my friends reaction for s3. If you didn't see the other post, here's part 2

4. About Billy and the mindflayed)

"THIS BILLY COMES STRAIGH FROM HELL" "WHY DOESN'T HE DIE ALREADY?"

A few moments later, by the last episode:

"HE DIED?" "HE DIED😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭" "BILLY YOU DESERVED TO LIVE😭😭😭😭" "I KNOW I SAID THAT THEY HAD TO KILL YOU BUT YOU WERE ALREADY TURNING BACK TO NORMAL😭😭😭"

Furthermore, she thought the mindflayed people literally exploding into dead meat were gross.

5. She forgot Holly existed, and remembered that this season lol

When Holly noticed the trees were moving:

"Holly, the only one with coherent worries" "But really, I've never pictured Mike as an older brother. He has young sibling vibes" "Never mind I almost wrote Mike Byers instead of Mike Wheeler"

To that I replied, "Well, he really does spend more time at Will's house than his own🤡." Then she said that Mike's and Will's name is similar and that Mike Byers and Will Wheeler sounds better???? I really did not understand, but it was a funny moment.

6. She thought Hopper was alive since the very moment he "died"

I didn't have to say a word, she just saw it and thought "Hmm, guess he lived". The post credit scene just proved that for her.

"I'm gonna tell ya, now I think Hopper really didn't die"

7. Final thoughts about the season:

"Dude... First I got really mad with Mike for not genuinely apologizing to Will, I was sad that Billy really had to die, and very upset that Hopper died." "But I have this suspicion [that Hopper survived], but maybe it's just me reading into things that aren't there." "AND THEY [The Byers and El] MOVED😭😭😭😭" "And Mileven is back, right? That's sad news for me"

She loved s3, but criticized the fact that the writers didn't give Will more protagonism. In fact, she got incredulous. We discussed a lot about that, and we both agree that Will's traumas should get more addressed and he got really sidetracked after episode 3, being turned into a plot device only, it seemed.

She criticized that Mike didn't have much of a storyline besides his relationship with El (especially since his fight with will was forgotten)

She also tought El and Mike were both immature to have a healthy relationship, and got very annoyed everytime they kissed or talked lol

After all of that, we went straight into s4! So... stay tuned

You know what, I give up on making her wait. The poor girl really wants to see more about Stranger Things community here on Tumblr lol.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Spoilers on X: "A closer look at the new clip of #StrangerThings5! https://t.co/IApPyToeHH" / X

Couple of thoughts here:

1.) They've been placing a heavy emphasis on Holly having an important role in S5. I know it's been speculated she will be the Wheeler who vanishes (as the title for the second episode of S5 states), but I'm skeptical about her just being held captive and having to be rescued in the UD the same way Will was in S1. Considering Holly's photo is being paired with El, Will, and Vecna, it's likely she'll play a part in bringing Vecna down (and may even do something that leads to his death).

2.) How many horrific visions is Vecna planning to inflict on Will? 😟

3.) It's nice seeing the core 4 of the Party (Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin) back together in school, but that does raise some questions for me: Is the gate still open in Hawkins? If that's the case, how are they managing to still live there while attending school, especially after the end of S4 implied the Upside Down was going to infect Hawkins and cause it to decay? Is the military stationed at Hawkins High School and other areas of the town? How are other characters reacting to the disturbing changes around them?

4.) I'm assuming Jake Connelly's character is going to be the 10 year old bully that was discussed in previous interviews, and I'm guessing he'll either be targeting Holly or Erica with his nastiness. 😒 Gotta be honest, I'm not thrilled about the idea of yet another bully on the show, especially when we're in the final season and this is supposed to be a showdown between the main characters and Vecna/The Mind Flayer. I'll reserve judgment for when the season premieres, but I'm not enthusiastic about what they've revealed so far about this character.

5.) Yay for Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy working together in the same scene. I'm hoping we get that same "Monster Hunting Trio" dynamic from the S1 finale after they beat the Demogorgon the first time. Lord knows I've wanted that friendship between the three of them for a while.

[willel]

Points of interest (for me)

Really trying to figure out how the hell Will is just gonna be back in High School like it's no big deal. Does the government not care about the Byers or Mike who were obviously associated with El, anymore??? Much confusion. Like, I know Will needs to go to school but....???? The government is being incompetent again.

So it looks like they'll be exploring tunnels again. Makes sense. Smart to bring a ladder this time. But for what reason would they go tunnel exploring? Is it easier to get into the Upside Down via tunnel? Is something hidden in there? Or is it just another point of attack again? The government claimed they filled in all the holes but did they really?

Crazy stuff happening at the Wheeler home. Holly?'s room reminds me of Poltergeist. Minus the evil closet of glowing doom. Also, does her hair seem a bit wet? I wonder what she's so horrified by. A monster?

Team meeting in the woods. But major problem here. WHY would you be making plans in the woods. Maybe I'm overestimating the amount of danger they're in but going to such a secluded location with monsters potentially popping up seems unwise???

Then we have them on a different day and Will is having a daze and the others don't notice. 100% callback to the beginning of season 2 with Will walking right out of the arcade unnoticed. Since no one else seems to notice anything, then I'm guessing Truesight is indeed making a return?

I took this picture trying to figure out where Vecna is but I can't really tell. It is definitely a building because the floor is flat, right? From the looks of things, the floor isn't tiled and it doesn't look like wood. Looks like straight up just a flat floor. Either they'll fill it in later with CG or this is a place with a floor like that. Hm.... ohhhhh this place is kinda like that

At first I was thinking the school or the lab, but the school is too shiny and the lab is tiled. Could still be the school I guess.

I took this picture soley because it brought up memories of public school. I guess they'll be giving presentations on projectors. Maybe whatever plans they're coming up with.

Will falling down a tree. Or falling into the Upside Down. Either way sucks. If he does just fall out of a tree, one wonders why he climbed the tree. To hide from the Demogorgon? I guess we haven't seen them climb necessarily, and they don't seem particularly observant enough to look up.

She's fighting something, but I wonder what. I wonder if they'll be clashing with Vecna the entire time? Or maybe she's just fighting whatever new monsters pop up. Also questionably if she's in the Upside Down or a corrupted part of the right side up. But I'm guessing the Upside Down?

[wheelercurse]

st5 leaks discussion (from yesterday)

You know the video and the pictures of Mike and Hopper. For context, this scene is in the epilogue in front of a monument with the names of people who died during the battle. And it's Memorial Day, when they commemorate soldiers who gave their lives serving the army.

Mike looks devastated, so yes, he's mourning. At the end, he's going to lose someone again. To me, it's a bit unfair that he's the one getting the more bittersweet ending, more because he also had to deal with survivor's guilt and was very depressed during s2.

Now who could have died? My first guess it's El. I'm 50% sure that she's the one. Or maybe she didn't die, but she's gone to another dimension/timeline. And that's why Hopper isn't that sad because yes, it's a loss to him, but he learnt to let her go. I think it's more likely El because he's sharing this moment with Hopper, and it's Memorial Day, like it's about heroes giving their lives. And it appears that Hopper was also crying when he walked away.

My second guess is Karen. That death would hurt Mike a lot. And if it's graduation day, he probably felt her absence more, and he decided to walk alone, until Hopper found him. There were rumours that Karen was with the military, so maybe she got in the battle too.

My third guess is Nancy. If she died, she would definitely be fighting Vecna. But I highly doubt that Hopper would be the one who comfort him for that death. I think, he would share that scene with Jonathan, his mother, or Holly.

I have read theories that he loses his entire family, except probably Holly. To me, it's a bit extreme, but maybe he lost both of his parents. That I can see it happening. Conformity really killed them, uh?

Now, I don't know what's going to happen with byler. I hope they end up together, but if El is gone, I hope it doesn't feel like Will is his second option. The best-case scenario is that they reveal Mike's sexuality during 1987, and maybe they end up together until the epilogue. When time passes, and both are ready. The worst-case scenario is that Mike ends up alone and heartbroken without El, Will moves on from Mike and has a new love interest. For the way they wrote s4, it would be a really shitty ending.

[jonathanbyersphd]

🥳 Will Byers 53rd BDay ficlet 🥳

Will can hear his husband rummaging through the hallway closet as pulls his jacket on. He wonders what he could possibly be searching for. Both of their umbrellas are by the door, he already gave him the new Princess Peach game as a birthday present this morning and he’s already wearing his jacket. Will checks his watch again, they’ve got seven minutes before they miss the train. 

“Mike come on we're going to be late”  Will calls.

“I'm looking for betrayal at the house on the hill, have you seen it?” Mike yells back.

“You seriously think Nancy's going to play board games?” he laughs.

“Well, it is her favorite brother-in-law’s birthday,” Mike argues.

Will is about to defend Holly’s husband but there’s a crash from the hallway before he can. 

“Are you-”

“Found It”

Mike meets him in the foyer, wide grin spread on his face and a stack of board games in his hands. Will smiles in spite of himself.  

“Besides, Jonathan and Matty definitely will ” He declares before giving Will a quick kiss.

“I thought Matty couldn't make it?” Will asks. 

“No, Sammy can't. Midterms. Geez old man keep track of your kids” Mike teases, packing the games into a bag.

“Haha very funny”

“Don’t worry no matter how old you get I'll still love you” he promises with another kiss.

“Remind me again why they can't come to dinner here?” Will sighs, and he swears Mike’s smile fades for the briefest second. 

“When in the last twenty years have those two ever come to Brooklyn?” Mike complains with an eyeroll

“They used to for the kids birthdays” Will reminds

“And we were pushing our luck then, Babe” He contends. 

“I'm just saying we could stay in, get pizza, crush you in Mario Kart” Will shrugs checking his pocket for his keys one last time. 

“If that's really what you want I can text the group chat” Mike offers quietly. 

When he turns around, he can tell that Mike doesn’t love the idea and he tries not to feel too guilty about not wanting to go into Manhattan in the rain. 

“But Nancy already picked up your cake” Mike entices

Ok, so maybe he’s been thinking about a double chocolate all week but he’s sure they have the ingredients in the kitchen. 

“And Jonathan's making lasagna” Mike coaxes. 

And sure, no one can replicate Karen’s lasagna recipe like his brother can but pizza is fine. 

“Let me guess, Matt’s already there?”  Will questions hesitantly, not wanting the answer. 

“Yea, but he's spending the weekend. So that's not a big deal” Mike shrugs, and Will’s surprised that he’s coming around. 

“Jordan did fly in from L.A. though” Mike admits. 

“Just for my birthday???”

“It's a family thing you know how she is with family things and you're her favorite uncle” Mike grins.

“Bull” 

“Look, whatever you wanna do it’s fine. We just better decide before it starts pouring” Mike encourages. 

Will can tell he’s not telling the full truth. He’s not sure why their niece would fly in for such an unremarkable birthday. But, he would feel a little bad if she wasted the trip. Not to mention that changing the plans means Matt drove into Manhattan from Burlington for no reason. And as much as he wants to stay in he’d feel way too guilty about doing that to his kid. 

“Let’s go” he resigns. 

Half an hour, one horrible subway ride, and a short walk in the rain later they're standing on the porch in Greenwich Village and Mike is frantically texting. 

“Just ring the bell” Will admonishes right as the front door swings open. 

“Hey Buddy, happy birthday” Jonathan greets with a hug. Practically pulling them into the house.

They quickly take off their coats and shoes. 

“After you birthday boy” Mike insists cheekily and Will rolls his eyes but leads the way up the stairs. 

When they reach the kitchen, the lights are completely out and before he can say anything someone flips a switch illuminating the room. Noisemakers and shouts of ‘surprise’ fill the room. He barely registers that Sam is there before El excitedly pulls him into a hug and Dustin, Lucas and Max quickly follow suit. He tries to ignore the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Will beams with only a couple sniffles.

“We heard there was a party” Lucas jokes. 

Before Will can joke back about coming all the way from Chicago for some cake. Matty and Dylan start a spirited, if off-key, rendition of Happy Birthday with his fire-hazard of a cake in hand. 

“You going to be able to get all those” Jonathan teases from behind his camera as Will takes a deep breath to blow them out. 

Somehow, he gets all fifty-three candles in one go and Nancy swiftly takes the cake away to cut slices at the kitchen table with Jordan. Sammy crosses the room and gives him a tight hug. Will doesn’t even think to chastise him for not being at school.

“I can’t believe you did all this” Will smiles. 

“Yea well, it’s not everyday you turn fifty-three” Mike jokes as he places a birthday hat on Will’s head and hands another one to Sam. 

He chases down Matt to give him a matching one and Jonathan takes their picture. The four of them must look ridiculous but he’s so happy to be with their family he doesn’t care too much.For the tiniest second, Will worries that there’s no way he’s going to be able to match this surprise for Mike’s birthday. But Mike tenderly squeezes his shoulder and the feeling is gone just as quickly as it came. 

“What’d you wish for?” Mike asks once Jonathan finishes his photoshoot. 

“Nothing, I don’t need anything else, this is perfect. Thank you” Will admits quietly, trying not to get over-emotional. 

“It’s nothing really, just a couple phone calls” Mike shrugs. 

“I’m impressed you kept the secret” Will commends. 

“The things we do for love” he responds, dramatically. 

“I love you” Will responds leaning in for a kiss.

“But I’m still gonna crush you at Mario Kart” he taunts and Mike laughs.

[teambyler]

Stranger Things 5 speculation based on the episode titles and what we know from D&D

Vanishing of Holly Wheeler?

I already shared that I think Episode 2 is Holly Wheeler: "IF this information is accurate, I'm guessing the missing Wheeler is Holly. They have a new actress to play her. I think they're returning to s1 themes and the horror of a child being in danger is one thing they might get back to. The 1st episode would give them time to make her a character we care about. (And probably stabilize the situation at the end of s4.) It would also consume the entire Wheeler family into getting Holly back. Karen will be beside herself. Nancy will be tough and take charge. Will will have to unearth his memories of the Upside Down, and possibly use his connection, to help MIKE and NANCY get back their little sister. One possible road to BYLER is Will having to reexperience his trauma and possibly sacrifice himself to help his best friend."

Camazotz

I see a LOT of interest in episode 6 title "Escape from Camazotz"... I think for ANY speculation we HAVE to go to where our D&D nerds would go, which is the Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks in the 80s. Camazotz was published in Deities & Demigods for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1980). It is the "bat god," so we're probably going to see it tied to the demobats.

We learn from Deities & Demigods that the Aztec and Mayan gods have "inscrutable motives"... which is ON BRAND for the Cthulhu inspirations of Stranger Things. These gods come from a "parallel universe." Clerics "are the elite of the populace," and are able to cast "commune or gate spells" to connect the planes together. ("Will the Wise" has been the cleric of the party... perhaps he is a cleric?)

Also, these gods "unusual nature makes it impossible for them to travel on any planes but the ones that they have worshipers on." Maybe Vecna needed to have a host on the "Right Side Up", to take form here, which is very consistent with the s2 and s3 plotlines.

The clerics perform human sacrifices... maybe another theme in s5??

But perhaps JUST as important, the adventure D&D module Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan (1980) involved an ancient temple dedicated to Camazotz. Odds are that our heroes will be trying to escape from a "temple" within the Upside Down. According to the Wikipedia article about this adventure, it is "full of tricks and traps".

As a "tournament module," meaning for competition purposes, and it was EXPECTED that heroes died in it because it was so deadly. The goal "is to get out of the ruins before time runs out." The lower levels (where the heroes begin) have a poisonous gas that slowly kill them. Also it is very unstable, spells will cause a collapse. If El were caught in it, it might be dangerous to use her powers.

This adventure debuted the gibbering mouther, a very distinct D&D monster that is VERY reminiscent of the s3 Flayer and would be VERY on-theme for Stranger Things:

The Sorcerer

Also, Episode 5 is titled "The Sorcerer." Sorcerer was not a class yet in D&D in the late 1980s. (The idea that Sorcerers have innate arcane power versus Wizards who study magic, was not invented yet until 2000.) Sorcerer was one of the many titles that Magic Users had (next to Wizard). Sorcerers had less power than Wizards. They were 9th level, while Wizards were 11th level:

It is already established that El is "the Wizard." Maybe there's another person with powers in season 5 which are less developed? If so, the most logical choice would be Will. It's confirmed that this season will focus on him. Although he's a "cleric" in their D&D game, maaaaybe he finds out he has new abilities. There was a reason Vecna didn't kill in season 1, and who has had "truesight" since.

That's what I can find for now! There's a lot of interesting traps and puzzles, with illustrations, from the adventure. But it's hard to predict what else (if anything) they might borrow from it! The aspect of escaping, and the poison gas and the timer, are probably what we can most rely on!

P.S. I mainly blog about Byler, but I thought my D&D knowledge would be useful for this one. If interested, follow and read my blog! I have so much to say!

[dollywheeler]

October 15th, 1996

Dear diary,

Mrs. Benson said something strange yesterday. We were taking a short walk around the neighborhood - per her doctor’s orders to get her moving again - when we passed Mike and Will’s place. It was already dark out, so the house was lit up, the lights spilling out of the many windows and the skylights over the hall. There were thin curtains pulled over the windows for privacy - which was definitely a necessity in a house like this or we’d be able to follow everything going on inside like it’s a doll house. Even like this we’d probably be able to see silhouettes moving like shadow puppets if anyone were to pass the window.

We were just walking past when Mrs. Benson’s eyes caught onto the building as well. The start of the high school basketball season managed to pull attention away from the town’s “new” arrivals, and most people’s conversations have moved on from the return of Mike Wheeler and Will Byers, so it was a bit of a surprise when Mrs. Benson mentioned it again. Just a throw-away line about how time was changing or something. I'll never understand people's weird fascination with the concept of "two young men" - seriously people keep referring to them as such as if they haven't known their names since they were toddlers - moving in together. It's like they've never heard of the concept of sharing rent.

Mrs. Benson said something about Mrs. Chatham further up the street being quite upset about Mike and Will moving into the house - apparently she'd been close to the previous owners or something, said it was a "waste of a beautiful house". I was kind of zoning out as cheer practice had been brutal but it struck me as weird. I mean I get where Mrs. Chatham was coming from - I also think it would be a beautiful home for children to grow up in - but so is her house and she's been living there alone for the last fifteen years.

Anyway, Mrs. Benson tried asking me questions about Mike and Will again but I've been very dismissive whenever anyone asks. Partially because everyone's disproportionate level of intrigue is kind of freaky, but I guess I also just don't really feel comfortable talking about them yet because they expect me to be some kind of expert when I'm clearly not. I still barely know anything, and I already felt awkward enough explaining to Dylan why I barely know Mike.

Which is another reason I'm looking forward to Friday - I talked to Mike as planned and he agreed to learn Champagne Supernova. I wonder how much more information I can get out of Mike and Will without mom around - surely they'll talk more, maybe even share some juicier college stories. I did manage to get a dinner invitation for mom as well but she'll just be coming for dinner while I'll be going home with Mike and Will straight after school. That should be a big enough window to get some secrets out of them.

I can hear dad getting up so I'll have to go up to breakfast soon. Morning cheer practice is getting redundant now I can only practice the choreo. I might go on a run instead tomorrow. I really should focus on tumbling, but I also don't want to break my promise to Mike. Especially as he has a point - it is dangerous to do it on my own. I'll have to come up with a solution.

Love, Holly

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

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

@nightmareglitter

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Nancy walked through the door and was immediately pulled into her mother's arms. Wayne and Claudia were in the living room, saying their goodbyes and talking to the Sinclairs. She had hoped that they would be gone by the time they got back to her parents' house. She knew that Wayne was going to freak out about what Eddie had done for her. It seems odd that it was only this morning that they had gotten pulled into the Upside Down. It seemed much longer than that and now it looked like Tommy Hagan as well as his boyfriend had been pulled into all of this.

"Oh my God, your face," Karen sobbed.

"Mom, I'm fine. Steve has it worse," Nancy said, and Karen gasped before going over to Steve. "Mom, gently."

She smiled as Karen pulled Steve into a hug before hugging Eddie as well. Ted came over to Nancy and pulled her into a hug. He cradled the back of her head and kissed her hair.

"I'm fine, daddy," Nancy said.

"You may be fine, but I am not," Ted replied.

Suddenly, Holly bounded down the stairs with a bag and her doll in her arms.

"I'm ready to go, mommy," Holly said.

"What's happening?" Nancy asked.

"I'm going on a special trip with Aunt Claudia and Uncle Wayne," Holly said. "I love Uncle Wayne! He's funny!"

"He sure is," Eddie grinned.

"And I'll be taking Erica to Sue's parents," Charles said.

"That's bullshit, why does Lucas get to stay?" Erica asked.

"I can't drag him away from Max nor do I want to," Sue sighed. "I just need to know that one of my children is absolutely safe. It's bad enough that I have to worry about Steve and Lucas."

Nancy watched Erica study her mother for a moment before accepting the fact that her mother needed to depend on her to stay safe. Erica sighed.

"Alright, fine, but I'm going to complain the entire time," Erica said.

"I except nothing less," Sue said pinching her cheek and hugging her. "Thanks, baby, I know how hard you're trying to hide the fact that you're worried too. We're going to fight like hell to make sure we come back to you."

Erica hugged her mother tightly, sniffingly. She hugged everyone else before she went off with her father. Nancy had noticed that she had lingered a bit longer with Lucas and Max.

"You're both staying?" Nancy asked her parents.

"We argued about it and debated with ourselves, but we just can't leave you guys, especially with Mike somewhere out there," Karen said. "We trust Wayne and Claudia to look after Holly."

"May I ask why Tommy Hagan is here?" Ted asked.

"Jason and his crew got out of jail. They came after us at the hospital," Nancy replied. "They would have killed us if Tommy and Lily hadn't showed up in time. They had guns and they were ready to kill Eddie."

"Now, where did they get the guns from?" Ted asked.

"Probably from the War Zone," Eddie said. "Just outside of Hawkins. I've been there before."

"Let me guess, with Al?" Wayne asked, and Eddie looked guilty for a moment.

"Anyway, they saved our lives and Eddie's. Lily caught them up on the way over here," Nancy said. "I think they're still in the disbelief stage."

Walter was a man of few words, a shy man who saved his words for the people who were important to him. Tommy had said so many times in his phone calls and letters sent to the apartment. He was even more silent than Tommy had described, not even leaning to whisper in Tommy's ear. Tommy was just as silent as they both thought about what Lily had told them. To be honest, as much as it would have pissed her off before about people not believing them, Nancy realized now that it was a normal reaction when people heard shit like this. You really couldn't believe it until you saw it, and even then, your brain tries its very best to make shit up in order to protect you from the trauma.

"You okay, son?" Wayne asked Eddie.

"I'm fine, Uncle Wayne," Eddie said.

"Do you need me to - "

"No, you need to get Aunt Claudia and Holly out of here," Eddie said. "They need you more."

Wayne pulled Eddie into a tight hug before doing the same with Dustin and Steve. Claudia burst into tears before pulling Eddie into her own arms and giving him kisses before moving on to the others. Claudia hugged Nancy tightly.

"Keep them safe," Claudia said as she kissed her cheek. "And yourself too, dear."

"I promise," Nancy said.

"Bye, Nancy," Holly said.

Tearfully, Nancy scooped her little sister into her arms, wondering when or if she was ever going to see her again. Eddie and Steve thought the same thing, too, because they suddenly joined in on the hug. She eventually had to let her go, though, and set her back down.

"Stay safe," Nancy said tearfully.

"Don't worry, Nancy, I'll protect Uncle Wayne and Aunt Claudia," Holly said.

"We don't doubt that you will, darling," Wayne chuckled as he took her hand.

Claudia's eyes twinkled at the sight of them, and Nancy smiled. She was definitely picturing them having a little girl. Eddie smiled and rested his head on top of Nancy's as they watched them leave.

"I definitely feel better now that I know that they're in good hands," Eddie said.

Once they all left, Nancy took a mental headcount of everyone in the living room. Lily and Agent Stinson were leaning near the door. Tommy and his boyfriend were sitting on the fireplace. Robin was once again wedged between her parents, but she wasn't complaining this time. Ted had one arm wrapped around his wife as she stood behind the recliner that Dustin was sitting in. Sue was sitting on the other couch with her son, Max, and Susan. Fourteen. Add Nancy, Steve, and Eddie that made seventeen. Nancy moved to the middle of the room and cleared her throat. Everyone's attention was now on her.

"We have to go back to the Upside Down," Nancy said.

Like she thought they would, everyone exploded into anger and confusion. It was mostly the parents. Nancy rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and waited for them to calm down. She shared a pleading look with Steve. He walked over to her and stood by her side. He whistled loudly and clapped to get their attention. Everyone quieted down.

"Everyone should listen to what Nancy has to say before yelling," Steve said.

"Thank you, baby," Nancy said. "Look, I know we don't like it, but Vecna needs to be defeated before he gets to Max. This isn't just about her anymore. This is about the entire town, the world. There isn't a choice here if we all want to continue to live. He has to be stopped. I know right now we don't have the power, but we have to at least try, right? If we don't do everything that we can to stop him then there's a greater chance that he wins."

"Okay, but how would we even get one chance to stop him? He's going to see us coming," Robin said.

"Unless he doesn't see us coming," Dustin said.

"How would that happen?" Steve asked.

"Well, if he's like El then there's a chance that he has the same weakness, right? When El remote travels, she's in the same weakened state as Vecna," Dustin said. "We go after him then."

"How would we know when he does that?" Robert asked.

Max stood up, drawing everyone's attention. Susan looked at her daughter curiously.

"We draw him out," Max asked.

"And how would we do that?" Susan asked, guessing what Max was going to say next.

"We use me as bait," Max said.

"NO!" Susan yelled out and stood up.

"You don't get a say in my decision, mom. I'm sorry but you don't. No one does. This is my choice, and this is our only chance without El to save the world," Max said.

"It shouldn't be you," Susan said, tears welling in her eyes. "It should be me."

"None of this should be happening. This is going to work and when we do make it out of this, we're going to have plenty of time for you to make it up to me," Max said.

"I love you so much," Susan said and hugged her.

"I love you too," Max said.

"We're going to need a lot of weapons," Nancy said.

"Well, Eddie mentioned the War Zone," Ted sighed. "And we have plenty of vehicles."

"I let Wayne take my car, and he gave us the keys to his truck," Karen said.

"The War Zone it is," Nancy said, and her eyes widened as everyone stood up. "I guess everyone's going with."

The War Zone was exactly what Nancy expected it to look like, a perfect place for rednecks and survivalists. It was exactly what they need, and she hoped that since the jocks had already stopped there, that they wouldn't run into them again. They were piling things into the cart when Steve's eyes spotted something, and his eyes lit up. He grinned as he held up a bullet belt.

"I don't think I'm going to pull that off," Nancy said.

"No, for Eddie," Steve said. "They would look great on his hips."

"What's for me?" Eddie said as he walked away from Dustin and Lucas.

"This. I'd be so metal," Steve said.

"God, I love it when you talk metal to me," Eddie said. "Do it again."

"The first time you started playing Master of Puppets, I couldn't look away from your hands. The way you played. . .it was so hot. . .so metal," Steve said, biting his lip as they moved closer. "James Hetfield's got nothing on you."

"Woah, I was totally into it until you said that," Eddie said. "I've got nothing on James Hetfield."

"Well, it's a good thing that he said that. You guys do realize that this is the most conservative place in Indiana?" Nancy asked. "As hot as that was. Steve's right, that bullet belt is going to look totally hot on you."

"Like I'm your very own Eddie doll," he cooed at them. "I have to get this now."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Steve blushed.

"It's a must," Eddie grinned. "It's going to go great with my pink fuzzy pajama pants. Ooh, Steve!"

He grabbed a brown leather jacket and shared a look with Nancy.

"For you?" Steve asked.

"For you," Nancy and Eddie grinned.

"Alright," Steve said and pulled it on. "What do you think?"

"Oooh."

"Very hot," Nancy said.

Suddenly, Robin came up to them wearing a red beret. She plopped a matching one on Nancy's head.

"I got one to match with my sister," Robin said and bumped her hip with Nancy's.

"Are we playing dress up here? I thought we were getting weapons," Ted said as he passed them by.

"Dad!" Nancy exclaimed, but she was grinning.

"Busted," Eddie said, cackling.

"No, but he's right. We should focus," Nancy said.

She looked over to find Robin and Steve striking a pose with each other like they were models. They finished by standing back to back with their arms crossed. Eddie wolf whistled while Nancy giggled. Idiots. They continued with their original goal, Eddie leaning on the cart with Nancy's arm through his while Steve and Robin discussed their potential future in modeling.

"And here I thought he was going to reopen Otis's salon," Eddie said.

"He still is, and he could do both if he wanted to," Nancy said.

"That's true. You know, Jerry's talked about selling the music store one day. I mean not now, but one day, and I think if I started to really save up, then it could be mine one day," Eddie said.

"That's nice. Maybe I'll take over the Hawkins Post, make it more balanced," Nancy said.

"Me owning the music store, you owning the Hawkins Post, and Steve owning the salon. . .hell, I think we can work together to make this town a little less conservative. . .through the power of love!" Eddie grinned.

Suddenly, Steve popped his head in between them.

"Then, one day, we get an RV, pile up the kiddos, and take them anywhere. Maybe up the coast to California, and we can teach them how to surf," Steve said. "Kind of had that dream when I was little, I was hoping to share that with someone I loved someday."

"It sounds very nice," Nancy said.

"And very doable," Eddie said.

"God, I want that," Nancy said.

"Me too," Eddie said.

Once they bought the weapons, ammo, and gear, they packed it all up before heading back to her parents' house. They quickly got to work to plan and make the preparations that they would all need to head into the Upside Down. They gathered ammo, loaded guns, and made spears and shields. The spears and shield would be for Eddie, Dustin, and Agent Stinson. Steve would be wielding his bat as well as an axe. Robin and her parents would also carry a spear as well as handle the bag with the Molotov's. Ted had his own rifle and a machete. Tommy would be continuing to wield the bat and carrying some Molotov's. Walter also had a shield and a machete, but they also had several bottles of hairspray along with several lighters. Everyone was dressed in thick vests with hoods and hats to protect their faces as Nancy started going over the plan again.

"Okay. Phase one: we meet Lucas as the playground. He'll signal Max, Sue, and Susan when we're ready. Phase two: Max baits Vecna. He'll go after her which'll put him in his trance," Nancy said.

"Phase Three? Me, Eddie, Agent Stinson, Tommy, and Walter draw the bats away," Dustin said.

"Four," Robin said. "Ted, Karen, Steve, Lily, Nancy, my parents and I head into Vecna's newly bat-free lair, and . . . flambe."

"Nobody moves onto the next phase until we've all copied," Nancy said. "Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?"

"I don't know why you're looking at me, sweetheart," Eddie said. "You know me, I'm no hero."

"Your dream, remember?" Nancy said. "I think we're getting closer to it. I think it's here."

"I won't be a hero, I promise, I'll do everything that I can to get back to you as long as you do the same. The both of you," Eddie said taking her hand and Steve's. "If anyone's more likely to make the sacrificial play, it's you two. Isn't that right, General Nancy?"

"I can't believe my dad told you that nickname," Nancy groaned and glared at Ted.

"It's cute. You were his little general," Eddie grinned.

"Let's move out," Nancy said.

"Yes, sir!" Steve and Eddie saluted.

"Idiots," she said affectionately.

Nancy, Eddie, Robin, Steve, Dustin, and Robin's parents took Nancy's car. Steve let Susan, Sue, Lucas, and Max to take his car. Everyone else would be following Nancy to the Hendersons'. By the time that they had moved out, night had fallen which felt ominous to Nancy. Steve was in the seat next to her while Eddie sat in the back with Dustin while Robin was once again wedged between her parents. As much as Robin had complained about it, Nancy knew that Robin was really grateful for their presence. As they drove to Dustin's, Nancy couldn't help but think of Mike and Holly. She hoped they were safe. They were doing this for them. . .for all of them.

Here we stand

Worlds apart, hearts broken in two, two, two

Sleepless nights

Losing ground, I'm reaching for you, you, you

Chapter Twenty-Nine

[milevenstancyendgame]

Okay, I quickly wrote this, before the adrenaline from the new ST photos subsides.😁

First part of a short Stancy fic, completely based on s5 speculations around some hospital drama.🏥❤️‍🩹

Haven't decided on the rating of the whole thing yet.😏 But for this part, I guess it's K+. Just has some mention of blood/an injury, nothing graphic.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Nancy sighed, not really focusing on what she was doing (sorting files).

She had signed up as a candy striper after the first attacks on people by creatures from the Upside Down. They needed all the help they could get at the hospital.

But it wasn't like she could do anything really significant. She was aware of this, no matter how often some of the staff thanked her for volunteering (others were more of the Hawkins Post breed and treated her like a sub-human).

She stifled a yawn - getting up early was no problem for her, but it was undeniably a very dull morning. She didn't know how she was supposed to hold out until the early afternoon.

The sudden noise of an ambulance and slamming doors made her look up in surprise. Oh no.

There was a commotion at the emergency entry, so it was impossible to see what was going on, but no doubt it was another attack victim being brought in.

Her heart was racing and as always she longed to do something to help, but she knew from experience not to get in the way.

She was about to pick up the box of files and carry it to a different room, when she spotted a mess of dark blonde hair, and the distinctive rambling of Robin reached her ears.

"…. And I have no idea how many there were, or if it was only bats, might have been a demogo- I, I mean one of those larger things thrown into the mix as well!"

Nancy's stomach filled with ice. If Robin was here, then who…?

She got up abruptly, running over to the group of people, trying hard not to think…not Holly, not Mike…please…

But then one of the doctors moved aside and she saw him: Steve was lying there, unconscious, his shirt had been removed and was currently being used to be pressed against his side, soaked with blood.

She stopped dead at the sight.

"Nancy!" Robin had spotted her.

The sound of her name made her snap out of it - in an instant, she was at Robin's side, gripping Steve's shoulder protectively.

It was a completely instinctive action, no thoughts attached.

No one payed her much attention as she ran along to the emergency room, only when she followed inside, did one of the nurses stop her.

"I'm his-" She started to protest, outraged. But then she didn't know how to finish the sentence. "Friend," she finished lamely.

"Sorry dear, only family. You know the rules."

Robin put a hand on her shoulder as the doors flung shut in front of them.

An unbearable sense of powerlessness hit Nancy like a wave - she had to escape!

"What happened?"

"We were on patrol…" Robin looked around frantically to see if there was anyone in earshot. "You know, by the gate at the cemetery. And just before sunrise…it was like an explosion, Nance! Monsters everywhere, we couldn't get to the car fast enough and…and…"

She broke down, starting to sob uncontrollably.

Nancy rubbed her friend's back, a flashback of what she had seen in Vecna's vision back in '85 hijacking her mind. Monsters everywhere…

"Did anyone else…?"

"No…just Steve. Dustin was with us, he couldn't keep up, so Steve…he…"

Nancy's jaw clenched. She didn't need to hear the rest to know what had happened.

"Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. It's gotta be me. No complaints."

His words echoed in her head, reminding her of the last time he had been attacked by demobats.

"Where's Dustin?" She clung to the questions - anything to keep herself talking and away from thinking.

"He was a mess," Robin sniffed. "Must have reminded him of…you know…To be honest, I didn't give him much of a choice…thought it was better for him to stay and tell the others…" She shrugged. "He'll probably come bursting in on a bike any moment now."

Nancy never felt less like laughing. What else could she say?

"Okay, it's okay," she repeated mechanically to Robin, whose tears didn't seem to want to stop. She was glad, it gave her something to focus on, something to do.

She didn't know how much time passed like this, but suddenly the doors swung open again, startling both of them.

"It's okay," the nurse from earlier told them. "No vital organs hurt, just a lot of blood loss…it's stopped bleeding now. We'll transfer him to a room."

Robin looked like that was entirely too much information.

Nancy sighed a very different sigh than the one from earlier this morning. God, she would never complain about boredom ever again.

"He needs rest now." The nurse held her back again, as she made to rush to Steve's side.

Nancy narrowed her eyes, ready to argue, but then she changed her mind.

"Please, we just want to…" Robin started before Nancy interrupted her.

"She's right, Robin. He'll be okay."

Robin stared at her, incredulous.

"Is there anything you need, nurse Watkins?" Nancy asked sweetly.

"Not for the moment, dear. You can return to your chores." And with that, she was gone.

"I swear to god, Nancy-"

"Robin. Let me show you around and have a look at my work." She grabbed Robin's arm and dragged her over to the main desk, where her box with files still waited - as if her world had not been turned upside down.

Robin's face was a question mark, but she followed along, having learnt to trust Nancy's hunches and intuition.

Nancy sat down and started telling her friend all about the art of ordering files, seemingly not paying any attention to what was going on around her.

Although she was clearly impatient, Robin tried to play along, asking her nonsensical, dumb questions, waiting for god knew what.

Nurses came and went, picking things up and bringing them back. Robin paid no heed to it, but after one of them left, Nancy quickly grabbed a book, opened it, and closed it so quickly, that Robin felt dizzy from just watching her.

"Room 315," Nancy hissed between gritted teeth. Then she got up. "Come on, Robin - I need to deliver some flowers, would you help me?"

As they went to the flower shop, it dawned on Robin.

"Nancy, you're a genius! With a capital G!"

Nancy smiled, appreciating the compliment despite of the situation. They picked random bouquets and rushed back to the hospital as quickly as possible, without trying to look like they were in a hurry.

"315…315…" Robin muttered, as they went down the corridor. "Aha!"

They quickly stole into the small room, both stopping at the sight of Steve lying in bed, still unconscious.

There was entirely too much white for Nancy's liking. White bed, white hospital gown, white face. Lying in the morning light streaming in from the windows, he looked as pale as a ghost.

She willed herself to move forward, placing the flowers on the bedside. Before she could think twice, her hand was cupping his cheek gently.

"Steve Harrington, you idiot," she whispered. "You're going to get through this, do you hear me?"

He did not react, of course not. Still, she felt somehow disappointed. As if she really had expected her presence to work some sort of healing magic on him. She blushed, feeling presumptuous.

Robin had moved to the other side of the bed and took his hand.

"Dingus, you heard her. You'd better wake up soon."

She turned to Nancy. "Do you think we can bully him into waking up?"

Nancy gave her a weak smile before looking back down at Steve. She felt like the stitches that had held her heart together until now had become undone, one by one. She had been running away for so long, she had forgotten what it was like to stand still, to be present. But now there was no more escaping it. Her feelings could not be hidden away any more, they were swirling inside of her, all around her, like a swarm of butterflies.

Strangely, she did not feel afraid of them. The only fear that clenched her heart, was that it might be too late…

[harringtonstilinski]

Always The Babysitter - Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly

Author:@harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) (eventually) Word Count: 3,368 Warnings: lil’ bit of angst, lil’ bit of fluff, flashback Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! I'm sorry this is late! All is explained in A/N2. 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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I couldn’t tell you when I fell asleep, but what I could tell you was that I had woken up to a tapping sensation on my arm, my name being quietly called.

“Olivia, can you take me home now?” Nancy asked.

Sitting up, I stretched some and nodded my head. She had asked me where Barb was, but I didn’t have a clue, telling Nancy that she might’ve just walked home, at seeing me sleeping.

When I got home after taking Nancy home, I tried not to make any noise to wake my mom up, but I wasn’t anticipating her being up. So, when I saw her sitting in her chair with our cat, Mews, I jumped out of my skin. “Jesus, Mom. You scared me.”

“Livvie, where have you been?” she asked, petting the cat.

There’s no sense in lying. “I went to Steve’s.”

“I thought you went–”

“To Steve’s. Not the assembly.”

“Was Nancy there?”

Lie. “No. I dropped her off at the assembly before going alone. I’m sorry. I should’ve called.” I walked over to her, hearing her take a deep breath.

“Why do you smell like chlorine?” she asked.

“Steve pushed me in the pool,” I explained. “It’s late. Can I sleep? I swear, I’ll explain everything in the morning.”

“Are you two friends again?”

I sighed. “Not exactly.”

~~~

The next morning, Dustin asked that I follow him to the Wheeler house. I guess they had some explaining to do with El. When we got there, Mike launched into his explanation about how El knows Will is in what they’re calling the Upside Down. Dustin, Lucas and Mike all three explained to me that El took their D&D board, flipped it over to show the blackside, or bottom, of the board and put the Demogorgon character piece on it.

“So, Will is in the Upside Down, and he’s running or hiding from the Demogorgon?” I questioned.

“Yes,” El answered.

“We have a plan,” Mike said. “We tell our parents that we have AV club after school. That’ll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood.”

“You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will is?” Lucas asked.

“Just trust me on this,” Mike said, looking at Lucas. “Did you get the supplies?”

Lucas reached into his bag, pulling out different items and naming them off as he did. “Binoculars… from ‘Nam. Army knife… also from ‘Nam. Hammer, camouflage bandana… and the wrist rocket.”

“You’re gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?” Dustin asked.

“First of all, it’s a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon’s not real. It’s made up. But if there is something out there, I’m gonna shoot it in the eye… and blind it.”

“Dustin, what did you get?” Mike asked my brother.

He took his backpack and dumped out a bunch of snacks.

I gasped. “You little shit! You took my Pringles!” I grabbed the can from the table, opening the can to take a crisp out. Popping it into my mouth, I sighed happily.

“We got Nutty Bars–” Dustin started.

“Thank you,” I interrupted, grabbing the pack of Nutty Bars.

“Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Nilla Wafers, apple, banana and trail mix.”

“Seriously?” Lucas deadpanned.

“We need energy for our travels, for stamina.”

“And why do you need all these weapons anyway?” I asked, popping another crisp into my mouth.

“We have her,” Dustin added, gesturing towards El.

“She shut one door!” Lucas said.

“With her mind!” Dustin and I answered.

“Are you kidding me?” Dustin continued. “That’s insane!”

“Imagine all the other cool stuff she could do,” I smiled.

Dustin went over to the chair that was sitting beside the couch that El was leaning in. Pulling back a blanket to reveal a Millennium Falcon toy, he said, “I bet she can make this fly!” He picked it up, turning to face the preteen girl. Holding it out, he told her to concentrate before letting go of it, the toy falling straight to the floor. Picking it back up, he wanted to try again, but to no avail.

Running to pick up the toy, Mike told Dustin that El isn’t a dog before Mrs. Wheeler called for the boys, telling them it was time for school. Lucas, Dustin and I raced upstairs while Mike stayed down in the basement with El for a few more moments. When he came outside, we all got on our bikes and pedaled our way to school.

~~~

I was standing at my locker when I noticed Nancy walking up from the corner of my eye. When she reached her own locker, she opened it and went to put her things into it when Steve showed up out of seemingly nowhere, slamming her door the rest of the way open.

“Hey,” he said, smiling. Doing a double take, he looked back at me, smiling. “Hey, Liv.”

Nancy said her hello’s back, albeit with a semi-nervous tone to her voice. I looked at her confused as Steve asked, “Everything okay?” “Yeah!” she answered. “Yeah, totally. I just…” She looked off to the side, looking at everyone as she voiced, “I feel like everyone’s… staring at me.”

“Oh, I didn’t…” Steve said, looking back at me before looking back at Nance. “We didn’t tell anyone.”

“I don’t even know what happened,” I said, grabbing a book from my locker.

“I know,” Nancy said. “I know. Of course not. But what about, like, Tommy and Carol and them?”

“You’re being paranoid,” Steve said. 

Looking at Nancy from behind Steve, I said, “I’ll take care of those assholes if they did. Don’t worry about them.”

Nancy looked in between Steve and I for a few seconds before her eyes locked on Steve’s as she said, “I’m sorry.”

“No. No, it’s cute,” Steve said. “Hey. I had a good time.”

“Yeah,” Nance said. “Yeah, me too.”

Steve leaned in towards her and that’s when I checked out for a moment before feeling a couple of taps on my shoulder. I turned my head and watched as Steve walked off to his first class… which, coincidentally, was the same class that I had.

Three classes drug on before it was lunch, and I was hungry! I sat on Steve’s left and started to pick at my meal as Tommy was talking about something I wasn’t paying attention to, but just couldn’t help but listen to.

“That’s why science doesn’t make any damn sense to me,” he said. 

“No, I swear, look at this,” Carol said. “It’s totally frostbite.”

“Can’t be,” I said. “You’d have to be in the straight cold with no warmth whatsoever. It was a heated pool.”

She rolled her eyes at me, but I just smiled at her, knowing I was fully correct… maybe.

“Well, then, if it’s not frostbite, then what is it, oh smart one?” she asked.

“I don’t care what it is, it’s disgusting, get it off the table, we’re eating here,” Steve said.

I pushed my tray away, not having an appetite anymore before I noticed Steve pushed his tray closer to me. Even though we weren’t as close as we once were, it was nice that he still remembered certain things. Like, offering some of his lunch because my mom would forget to pack lunch for me or give me lunch money.

“Hey, Tommy,” Nancy said. “When you left, did you see Barb?”

“What?” he asked.

“Barbra,” Nance informed. “She’s not here today.”

“I seriously have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Don’t be an ass,” I said, agitated with him. “Did you see her leave or not?”

He gave me a death glare, but I held my own as he eyed Steve before replying, “No, she was gone when we left.”

“Probably couldn’t stand listening to all that moaning,” Carol said, her and Tommy faking sexual moans of Steve’s name.

I stood up and grabbed my stuff, saying, “Is there any serious situation that you two don’t reference sex to?” I walked away from the table, and out of the cafeteria, going straight for my locker. I opened it, angrily grabbing at a cigarette before a hand stopped me.

“When did you start smoking?” 

I sighed and closed my eyes. “Don’t you have your little minions to tend to?” I looked up at Steve, seeing concern written in his eyes. I sighed again, this time through my nose. “I’m fine. It’s just… hard hearing all that.”

He looked around, before leaning a little closer to me. “You don’t–”

“No, I remember,” I said, my eyes dancing between his own hazel orbs. Vividly. It was something I thought about all the time. I really wished I didn’t, but the memories from that night just wouldn’t stop coming back every time I closed my eyes. “I’ll see you after school, okay?”

I walked away from Steve, cigarette in hand. I went to his car and sat on the hood like I always did and lit the stick. I took a couple puffs, deciding that smoking wasn’t my thing. I guess I had sat out here for longer than I had anticipated because the next thing I knew, everyone was coming out of the school, laughter and chatter filling the air. 

I watched as Steve made his way towards me, leaning against the front end of his car and sighed.

“If you’re gonna sit on my car–”

“I have to ask first, I know,” I sighed. I messed with my pants leg for a moment, not wanting to ruin anything.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Steve said, “You don’t have to ask. Just… don’t scuff it.”

We locked eyes for a moment before we both started snickering. Nicole made her way towards us, nervously telling Steve something about Jonathan that put me on high alert. Steve asked me to come with them, so I did, sitting behind Steve on Jonathan’s trunk.

When the oldest Byers boy walked up his car, he looked at Steve, myself, the horndogs Tommy and Carol, and Nicole.

“What’s going on?” Jonathan asked, everyone but me moving towards him.

“Nicole here was telling us about your work,” Steve said. 

“We’ve heard great things,” Carol said.

“Yeah, sounds cool,” Tommy said.

Steve looked back at me, but I just shook my head and looked ahead, not liking where this was going. Turning back to Jonathan, he said, “We’d just love to take a look. Ya’know, as… connoisseurs of art.”

I scoffed and looked at my shoes, already knowing where this was headed. But how far was it heading? I couldn’t tell you that.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jonathan said, trying to get to his car.

Tommy quickly snatched his backpack from him, basically being a seventh grade bully. 

“Please, give me my bag,” Jonathan pleaded as Tommy tossed the bag to Steve.

Steve turned to face me, saying, “He’s totally trembling. He must really have something to hide.” I had to quickly move my arms out of the way as Steve put the bag on my lap, rummaging through it to find some black and white pictures. He moved to lean on the car so that I could see over his shoulder at the pictures.

What I saw shocked me to my core; all of us. Last night at Steve’s. I looked at Jonathan, who had an almost sad look to his face. I never thought of Jonathan as a creepy stalker. I guess it’s always the quiet ones.

“This isn’t creepy at all,” Carol said.

Jonathan looked me dead in the face and said, “I was looking for my brother.”

My heart softened a little at his words before Steve said, “No. No, this is called stalking.”

A few seconds later, Nancy showed up, asking, “What’s going on?”

“Here’s the starring lady,” Tommy said.

“Don’t you have a shower to go take or something?” I said, animosity to my tone.

“What?” Nancy asked.

“This creep was spying on us last night,” Carol informed. “He was probably gonna save this one for later.” She handed Nancy a photo that I quickly saw a glimpse of; Nancy with her back to the camera, taking off her shirt.

Tapping my knee, Steve said, “See, you can tell that he knows it was wrong, but… that’s the thing about perverts.” He moved closer to Jonathan, fixing his collar. “It’s hardwired into ‘em. Ya’know, they just can’t help themselves.” He ripped up the photo in his hands before tossing the pieces up in Jonathan’s face. “So, you just have to take away his toy.”

“Steve,” I muttered. “Don’t.”

“No, please, not the camera,” Jonathan begged.

Steve looked me in the eyes as Jonathan spoke. I didn’t want to, but the look in his eyes was pleading with me to play along. I knew Steve wasn’t like this; a bully. He was just putting on an act for Tommy and Carol.

I relented and gave him the camera as Tommy moved toward Jonathan to stop him from trying to get his camera from Steve.

“No, no, wait, wait… Tommy, Tommy,” Steve said, handing the camera out to the Byers boy. “Here ya go, man.” 

When Jonathan reached out for his camera, Steve dropped it, breaking it. I hopped off the car and shoved his arm back while exclaiming his name. We locked eyes for a moment before I could see the instant regret in his eyes.

“Come on, the game’s about to start.” Steve walked away, the other three following behind as Nancy and I stood in our spots before she bent down to help Jonathan. I started walking towards the group, wanting to get on my bike and ride home.

When I made it to Steve he put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. “I know you’re angry, but please stay.”

“Angry isn’t the word I’d use,” I said, quietly.

“What word–”

“Disappointed,” I said, looking him in the eyes. “This isn’t the Steve I know, the Steve I grew up with. Where’s that Steve? How do I get him back?” Our eyes danced around each other for a moment before he snapped back to his own version of reality, calling out Nancy’s name.

I rolled my eyes and walked inside, sitting in front of my locker.

~~~

“So, I told Mr. Mundy, the solution of ten plus y equals… blow me,” Carol explained.

“I guess you’re not doing well in math,” I said as Tommy laughed at her.

“If you did that, you’d be in detention right now,” Steve said.

“Saturday,” Carol said.

“I bet Mr. Mundy’s still a virgin,” Tommy voiced.

I was looking down at the paper in my lap when I quietly said, “You sure you’re not still a virgin?” Well, I thought I said it quietly when a pen was launched in my direction. I grabbed it from the ground and smiled. “Sweet. Mine was getting low on ink.”

Nancy walked in front of me, so I followed her with my eyes as Steve said, “Nance, where you going?” Making up a lie on the spot, she stammered, “I totally forgot. I told my mom I would, uhm… I would do something with her.”

Standing, Steve said, “What do you mean? The game’s about to start.”

Not turning back, she said, “I’m sorry.” Turning to face Tommy and Carol before facing me, Steve sighed and asked, “What the hell’s wrong with her?” I shrugged. “Dunno. Haven’t really talked to her much.”

“Maybe she freaked out when you all psycho on the psycho,” Tommy said, laughing.

“Ah, give me a break,” Steve said.

I scoffed, packing up my bag. Standing, I said, “Well, what the hell did you expect, dating Miss Perfect?”

We almost had a little bit of a standoff, Steve and I. But, before it could actually get to that point, I chuckled, looking away for a moment before I started to walk away. I turned back around, looking back at Steve. “Ya’know what? I’m done. When you find my best friend, drop me a line.”

~~~

I was on my way home when I heard sirens, and I immediately thought about Dustin. So, in my haste to try and find him, I started with covering the places I knew he’d probably be at, and when he wasn’t at the Wheeler’s, the Sinclair’s, or our house, I checked one more place; the Byers.

Jonathan wasn’t home, which I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I really wanted to apologize on Steve’s behalf for what he’d done to his camera. When I heard leaves ruffling to my left, I was high alert.

“Oh, my god,” I breathed. Running to my little brother, I gave him a hug, squeezing him. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“Where were you?” Mike asked. “I thought you were coming with us after school?”

“Sorry, something came up. Wait, why are you here?” I looked at all the kids, the last one I spotted being El.

“Here,” she said.

“Yeah, this is the Byers’ house,” I said, crossing my arms.

“Hiding.”

“No, no, this is where he lives,” Mike said. “He’s missing from here. Understand?”

“El,” I said, gaining the girl's attention. “Sweetie, what are you doing here?”

“She said he’s hid–” “Thank you, Michael,” I said, looking at him with wide eyes.

“I swear, if we walked all the way out here for nothing–” Dustin said.

“That’s exactly what we did!” Lucas exclaimed. “I told you she didn’t know what the hell she was talking about!” Pointing to Dustin and Lucas, I said, “Both of you can calm the hell down.” Looking back at El, I gently asked, “El, why did you bring them here?”

“Liv, don’t waste your time with her,” Lucas said. 

“What do you want to do then?” I asked. 

“Call the cops–”

“We’re not  calling the cops! I promised Hopper I’d keep you guys from going out last night. We can’t call them!”

“Hey, guys,” Dustin said. I looked behind me, faintly hearing the sirens.

Lucas was going on about something when Dustin yelled, “Guys!” before the cops and ambulances drove by. We all quickly got on our bikes and followed the cars to the quarry. The five of us watched as they turned a body over in the water, the clothes the same exact ones that Will was wearing three nights ago when he went missing.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I put my hand over my mouth. I grabbed Dustin, giving him the tightest hug. I didn’t know what I was going to say to Jonathan in the morning when this all got out.

Mike voiced his opinion on the body not being Will’s and that it couldn’t be until Lucas confirmed that it really was Will. El tried saying Mike’s name, but he freaked out on her, saying that she was supposed to help them find Will alive. In his heartbreak, Mike quickly got on his bike and went back home, leaving El behind.

I told Dustin and Lucas to make sure she got home safely before my little brother asked where I was going. I told him I needed to take care of something before I went home and to not wait up for me.

Setting my bike down at my destination, I knocked on the door and rang the doorbell before taking a moment to breathe. 

The doors opened, followed by a very confused voice saying my name. “What are you–?”

“They just found his body,” I cried.

“Whose body?” Steve asked.

“Will, the kid that’s missing. They found him in the quarry,” I sobbed. Before I could fall to my knees, Steve put his arms around me, guiding me inside his house. I didn’t say any information he didn’t already know, which was what everyone else knew.

He offered me some water and a blanket, but I just shook my head at him, wiping my tears away.

Steve understood and led me upstairs to his room, where we both laid together in his bed as I cried like I used to.

In this moment, I really felt like I had my best friend back, but only time will tell.steve harrington x olovia henderson

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

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A/N 2:  hi, friends! so, reason for the late upload is because my daughter needed to go to the doctors 'cause she was with her aunt, who said that she was having some drainage. turns out, she has strep. so, because of me having to do that, i never edited and uploaded this chapter. but, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

Additional Note: i know that some of y’all are waiting to see your requests, and i promise i’ll get to them. the writer’s block hit really bad with them. atb is the only thing i have motivation to write/post for at the moment.

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

Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe

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

~~~

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

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

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Posted on November 22, 2023