#So I gotta define Anon Steve every time I mention him

[anti-dazai-blog]

On the one hand- I’m. exhausted.

On the other hand- I am motivated by pure spite at this point.

*Anon Steve is the general name for all hate anons, although we all know that there’s only one (1) hate anon on Tumblr

[strangeswift]

Controversial opinion but I cannot take non-straight!Eddie / Steve / Nancy / Max / Lucas / El etc headcanons or theories seriously.

I get that ppl all have headcanons about the characters and it is also because they want to see themselves in these characters or like certain dynamics between the chaarcters. But for the love of me, I just cannot really like it. Fanfics are fun and all but there's just something that irks me about non-straight!Steve or Eddie headcanons. Because there is literally nothing that shows or suggests that these guys are actually non-straight, nor there is any actual romantic dynamic written between them. It is also annoying that they are put in the same place as ships like Byler that actually has canon evidence and is half-way canon already. It is also that the writers havent spent so much time on queercoding Will and Mike's characters but then they just..... forgot to actually queercode Nancy, Max, Lucas and El? I heavily dislike it when ppl say Nancy must be a lesbian bc she doesnt actually love Steve or Jonathan. I dislike it when Max must be bisexual because... uh... because what? Because she might have had a crush on El? People basing Lucas ''bisexuality'' on Lucas's ST book bc he described a fellow black kid bc he was happy that he found another black kid like himself.... just doesnt sit right with me. I dont like it when ppl say El is a lesbian bc 'she got stuck in the lab and called nancy and other females pretty too'.

Bruh not everyone is non-straight, ok? Some characters (actually most characters) are straight on this show and dont have that sort of characterization. I am sorry i just cannot take Stddie seriously even if the fic is written well

Hi anon! I believe you are conflating headcanons and theories.

Let's define our terms!

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "Headcanon refers to something that a fan imagines to be true about a character even though no information supporting that belief is spelled out in the text. Sometimes that involves filling in your own explanation for a character’s strange motivation, or projecting aspects onto a character that make them more relatable to you."

So headcanons aren't something to be "taken seriously" in the first place. They're just for fun. And if headcanons about characters being queer aren't fun for you, just don't engage with the content. Unfollow, block, filter, whatever you gotta do.

Now... Is this the part where I remind everyone that I DON'T LIKE ST3DDIE EITHER. (Obligatory link to my St3ddie post that I will CONTINUE TO LINK in every single one of my responses on this topic.) I agree that Steve being heterosexual in canon is important to his character, and I don't personally HC him as queer for that reason. People HCing Steve as queer isn't problematic though because HCs don't affect canon and they don't even need to be based in canon! Because they are for fun! I promoted the St3ddie script because I'm a huge fan of Ella's writing and I enjoyed it for that reason. And she doesn't ship St3ddie either! It wasn't meant to be taken so seriously. It was for fun.

Also.

Most people who HC the characters you mentioned as queer fully realize that they were not written as such and aren't trying to comvince you that they are. Personally? My sexuality HCs (except Mike, but that's more of a theory than a HC) are based mostly on vibes.

For example: Lucas is bi to me because one time I saw a tweet that said that Lucas had a little crush on Will when they were younger, and I thought that was cute. And it's fun! Based in canon? No. Cute? Yes!! I hadn't even heard about the section in his book, and obviously when I did, I recognized that it was not meant to imply that Lucas was attracted to that kid (and yes it also rubs me wrong when people misinterpret it as such, because it takes away from the real meaning.) But Lucas is bi to me because I think it's cute and fun, not because there's any canonical evidence. And I literally don't care. Because it's a headcanon.

Max is bi because she's cool, and straight people are not cool.

Nancy Wheeler is bi because I want her so bad.

El is a lesbian because that's how I personally choose to interpret some of her actions. Not because I believe the Duffers wrote her that way.

Anyway. Hope this helps.