#her telling brenner to go to hell?

[lucascsinclairs]

Stranger Things 4 Color Palette Meme: requested by @bestjoycestan​​

Joyce Byers + I See You

[teambyler]

Mike was saying "I love you" to Will

Most people see Mike's monologue and think of it as "proof" that he and El are an endgame couple, but it's actually one of the strongest hints of a Byler conclusion.

Because Mike was saying "I love you" to Will.

Sounds crazy? Of course! He was speaking directly to El, after all. What the hell am I talking about?

Some have focused on contradictions and other issues with what Mike says, including listing El's superpowers instead of the full person she wants to be loved for being. Plus he had to do it (and was pushed by Will), or else El and their friends in Hawkins might have died. It does seem like El sensed something off in what he said, which would explain why she hardly talked to him afterward. But I actually disagree about Mike's "I love you" being a total lie. In the official script it's written that it had a positive effect on El (although the way it was ultimately shot and edited made it more ambiguous). (I got this screencap from a TikTok video):

And so, in the van, Will DID make Mike love El. Mike MIGHT have wondered whether Will was talking about himself too, but one thing he was convinced of was that that El loved him because "he's the heart." Feeling like she loved him for who he was made him love her. I think it's more accurate to say that, while Mike's monologue may have had issues, he DID feel something genuine... BUT the logic of events leads more toward a BYLER conclusion than away from one.

The problem for Mike and El is that Mike was saying "I love you" to the idea of El that WILL put in his head:

Will said that El felt like a mistake, and that Mike made her feel like she was better for being different. She was terrified of losing him and so that's why she pushed him away.

So Mike came out of that conversation with new feelings for El: he thought that SHE needed HIM to love her, not because of "dumb luck," but because of his unique qualities. Who HE is helps her be a superhero.

But El's journey in Season 4 was to LEAVE Mike to "be a superhero." When she left a note for Mike, she tellingly signed it "From El." When she realized he couldn't say he loved her, she chose to let go of their romantic relationship. Her journey in Season 4 was about finding who she was independently from others in her life (most importantly her "papa" Dr. Brenner). El went through her own journey that REQUIRED separating from Mike.

By the time they reunite, she has grown. Instead of Mike coming up with the plan (like so many times before), EL came up with the piggyback plan. While she was piggybacking, Mike said "I love you" -- but having her self-image rely on how Mike sees her was something she was moving away from.

She had felt like a monster. What liberated her from feeling that was NOT Mike and not an elusive "normal life" (with a relationship) -- let alone something as token and symbolic as saying "I love you." She had to realize this on her own:

There were clues in Mike's monologue for her to pick up on that he wasn't fully telling the truth, first and foremost him saying that he "knew, in that moment, that I loved you." (He couldn't have, when he was openly scheming in s1 to get her sent away, possibly to a mental hospital, loud enough for her to hear.)

But Mike DID love El when he said "I love you." Mike saw someone who desperately needed him, someone whom MIKE was a hero to and not just the other away around.

That person he was thinking of, of course, was WILL.

It wasn't like it was news to Mike that El needed his love: El confronted him earlier in the season for not saying he loved her. We all saw that El's heartbreak didn't convince Mike that he loved El.

Ironically, it was WILL'S heartbreak, HIS emotions, and HIS words that did. And Mike felt something real this time, because it came from WILL.

Will's words affected Mike deeply. Deep down, Mike wants to be someone's hero. He's the leader; he's "the heart." When dealing with a superhero like El, he can admire and love her, sure... but does it make MIKE feel loved for who HE is? Does a romantic relationship with El COMPLETE him? Mike doesn't want to be a discount Lois Lane. He wants be loved because who HE is makes him THEIR hero, too.

Mike has always been bullied, misunderstood, and angry. He rambled just before Will's speech about being "some random nerd" and feeling like he didn't deserve El. He felt inadequate, and this affected him ("leader Mike" recedes when he's in a relationship with El, and comes forward when someone -- usually Will -- needs him). Will's point "You make them feel better because they're different" doesn't just describe El + Will; this is what Mike is looking for, too.

Being "some random nerd" is part of why Will loves him so much. Will's painting was the perfect gift; Will knows and understands his best friend better than anyone. The D&D theme was a tribute to Mike the nerd -- he sees everything he is, the "good" and the "bad" -- AND he sees the hero and the leader. WILL's love for WHO MIKE IS made him feel like he's a good person.

(Here's an angelwithnightmares video that shows this about Mike exactly)

Mike's journey in s4 was him rediscovering that he is a hero. And this required separating from El and hearing this from Will. Will said that he's the leader of the group: "You keep the party together." And earlier in the season he reminded Mike "you guys saved me" (with a proud "I did, didn't I" reaction from Mike that was super cute lol).

Will's love gave Mike the strength to be a hero again. Mike pretty much used Will's words in his monologue to El. Two scenes at the end of Season 4 foreshadowed "leader Mike" coming back; his speech to El, and his "We will" shoulder grab with Will. Whatever issues there were in his monologue, this was THE callback to "leader Mike" of s1 and s2. He didn't help El beat Vecna, but he helped them survive. Mike spoke of his genuine platonic love for El, while thinking it was romantic love. And it was WILL's romantic love that helped him be this hero, to say "I love you" to the person he thought made him feel that way, who as it turns out was WILL.

So we'll have a final season where there is this hugest of loose ends when it comes to Byler: Mike will somehow realize that Will in the van was describing himself and not El. Mike will realize that the first time he felt romantic love, was because of Will, and that Will more than anyone helps him be the hero he wants to be. (It's the perfect formula, writing-wise, to make a closeted boy confused about his romantic feelings!)

AND Mike will learn that Will sacrificed his own happiness for him and El. How does that NOT lead to Mike loving Will even more than he already does?

Finn Wolfhard himself said about the van scene:

How is he this clueless right now? What with the Will scene... I remember asking the Duffers, "Why would he not know all this?" And they were like, "Don't worry, kid, it'll pay off in the end."

I think it will.

-teambyler

[strangersteddierthings]

No Regrets - Part Three

This one got longer than I expected, so it's only about Spring Break. We return to the apocalypse next part.

Part One🦇 Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five🦇Part Six

"-eve?"

Waking up again is disorienting. His head aches like the beginning of a migraine. There was something he was thinking about but it's fading quickly. A conversation in a boathouse...? That's not right. The boathouse was empty. The police had beat them there.

"Steve?"

No. No conversation in a boathouse. But there was a phone call. He knows he remembers that. Joyce had called last night. Her and Murray sharing a phone between them as Steve- Oh! Right. Steve told them he knew about Hopper in Russia.

"You have to go, though. Hopper is alive and waiting. And there's a demogorgon. Demodogs, too. You have to kill them all. Any connection to the Upside Down left alive helps Vecna. It's like having a tether to here makes him stronger."

"I can't just abandon El," Joyce sounds conflicted, and Steve gets it. He does.

"You aren't. You're going to be giving her back her dad. She's got Jonathan and Will and Mike. Argyle, too, if he wants to be there. Just. Just get them on the road and back here as soon as you can. If they don't leave soon than Brenner will-"

"Brenner? What do you mean Brenner? He's dead. Right? He's supposed to be dead."

"Yeah, well, he's not. He- I don't know the full details, just. I was just given an overview because, y'know, other shit was going down. But he makes El relive a lot of traumatic shit from her past and yeah, it gets her back her powers, but she's just a kid. She's just a kid."

"Her abilities, they aren't gone?" It's Murray who asks.

"No. She's just traumatized, in a different way. It was... it was Jonathan who said this, actually, to me. I mean, he hasn't said it yet, and if everything goes the way I want, he won't need to say it ever, but that's- sorry, that's not important. He said he thinks El blocked her abilities because she lost Hopper. An internal block, you know? 'Cause she couldn't save him with them, so what was the point of having them?"

"And you think bringing Hopper back will free her of that block?" Murray asks.

Steve can't help it. He laughs. "Hell no. I think years of therapy might, but having her dad will help. There's no way it hurts, right? Also, uh, you're the parent here, Joyce, so I'll let you decide what to tell her, but the big, awful thing that Brenner made her relive? It was a massacre. At the lab, when she was there. Another guy, another number, killed a bunch of the people there. It was El who saved the remainder. She stopped him from killing anyone else by opening the first gate to the Upside Down. She tossed him in and closed it. She's not a monster. Oh, that part you have to tell her. She's not a monster."

"Steve!"

There's more to the phone call, Steve knows he knows that but there's yelling and it's distracting.

"Steve!!"

"What?" Steve snaps, both with his shout and back into himself. He's sitting at the picnic in Forest Hills. Everyone is looking at him with varying degrees of concern.

"You okay?" Robin asks, "we've been trying to get your attention for a while now."

"What? Yeah, sorry," Steve says, distracted, standing up and looking around. Eddie's trailer is right there, and Wayne's truck is parked in front. He knows Wayne. Knew Wayne? He's in charge of the gardens at home base. A real green thumb, not that you can tell by looking at the trailer now. "You think that with Fred's death, they'll stop suspecting Eddie?"

"What? We don't know that they suspect Eddie," Dustin is quick to say, "I know he didn't do it, and so do you so-"

"Yeah, I know! I do know that, but Chrissy died in his home and then he ran. Of course, he's a suspect. But he was in jail last night. So. They can't suspect him still, right?"

Nancy purses her lips, giving Steve a look he knows isn't good. "Well, it will depend on when they apprehended Eddie, which we don't even know they did. How do you know he was in jail last night?"

"Good point. I don't, not for sure. But Wayne might," Steve says as he starts walking away. He can hear everyone at the picnic table shouting for him and scrambling to follow. Steve picks up speed, dashing up the steps and pounding on the door before anyone catches up.

"Steve, what are you doing," Max hisses, because she's the fastest and therefore the closest.

"I just gotta-"

"Can I help you?" Wayne Munson greets, voice even. Steve watches as his eyes sweep the group, pausing on Nancy before coming back to Steve.

"Hopefully. Uh, I'm a friend of- well, no that's a lie. I don't want to lie to you. I'm not Eddie's friend, but I want to be, and Dustin here is, so we just wanted to know if you could tell us if Eddie's okay?" Steve says. "You already talked to Nancy yesterday, but she didn't know that we, like, knew him. Have you heard from Eddie?"

Wayne eyes him with suspicion, which is fair, "I ain't heard from him."

"Please," Steve says, because he's got to try one more time. Either Wayne doesn't know for real, or he's lying because he doesn't trust Steve. He's not sure he'll be able to tell which is which, but he has to ask again, "I swear that we just want to help Eddie. Whatever happened to Chrissy wasn't his fault, I know that. I just need. I need to know he's not- not out there, alone and scared. Please."

Wayne stares him down and Steve refuses to look away. Wayne's eyes flick away from him to the single police cruiser still stationed nearby, then back. "Get in here."

He doesn't need told twice. Wayne retreats into the trailer and Steve follows. Immediately his eyes jump to where the gate will form. Currently it just looks like water damage on the ceiling, but Steve knows. No gate yet, but it'll be there tomorrow. Probably fully formed by the time Vecna tries to take Max.

Robin, the last one in, shuts the door behind her gently.

"I told her yesterday that Eddie didn't do this," Wayne nods his head towards Nancy but he never takes his eyes off Steve. "Didn't stop them from arresting him."

"Thank God," Steve breaths out, which is the wrong thing to say, given how quickly Wayne's face morphs to anger, so he quickly adds, "shit, I mean, that means, he was in police custody when they found another victim last night, right? That'll prove he's innocent."

Wayne doesn't respond right away. Instead, he takes his time looking at each and every one of them, lingering on Nancy before settling on Max. "You live 'cross the way, don't ya?"

Max looks surprised to be recognized. "Yeah."

"Did you see anything?"

"I saw..." she trails off, brows furrowing as she thinks. She looks from Wayne to Steve. He doesn't know what she sees on his face, but he watches as she steels herself, a decidion made, before looking back to Wayne and saying, "What I saw is whatever I'll need to have seen to help Eddie."

"You'd lie to the police for Eddie?"

Max and Wayne have a silent conversation following the question, judging by their stare down and raising and following brow lines. When Max does speak, she says, "I've lied to police for worse people."

"Huh," is all Wayne says as he settles back against the counter behind him.

"Thank you," Steve says, even as his mind starts to calculate. They'll probably keep him the full 48 hours, since there isn't evidence enough to charge him. Right? There isn't really any evidence. Except, perhaps, what Eddie might have told them. Shit. Would Eddie say anything? "Can you let me know when they release him? Whatever happened, whatever he saw, probably freaked him out. I don't want him to feel alone. I mean, we don't."

Dustin is looking at him now like he's grown a second head but Wayne. Wayne is looking at him like he's made a realization. Drawn some unknown conclusion that he must approve of because he nods. "Sure, son."

"You got pen and paper? I'll write down my number."

The silence from his friends is deafening and does not bode well for Steve. He just knows they're going to bombard him as soon as they leave the trailer.

Which is exactly what happens. They wait until they're back by their cars before starting in, though.

"Steve, what the fuck was that?" Dustin says.

"How did you know he got arrested?" Max demands.

"Steve, you are acting so strange right now," Robin says, worry painted across her face.

"Explain," is all Nancy says, crossing her arms.

Should he? Does he even know what's happening? No. Not really. He's got memories of a future that's bleak and dark and terrible and he doesn't want it to come true. Are they even memories? Did those events even happen? He doesn't know for sure. All he does know if he wants to do everything in his power to prevent it from happening though. He doesn't want to have regrets about.... about something.

"We don't win," he says. "We don't win this one. Or, we didn't? We might now. Things are different this time."

"What?" Robin asks.

Steve ignores the question, giving instead more of the information he knows, "Hopper's alive. Joyce and Murray are on their way to Russia to save him."

"WHAT?" he's not sure who asked. Maybe all of them.

"And El is- I don't know. On her way, I hope. But she won't have her powers when she gets here. Or maybe she will? If she believes she's not a monster and really is the hero."

"Steve, you are not making any sense!"

"I know!" Steve shouts and drops into a squat. "I know! I'm not the- the figure it out guy, or the plans guy, or whatever. I'm just the guy who knows things he shouldn't, and I can't tell if it's because I actually lived it, or if I was just given knowledge about it somehow. I know the Upside Down has a red storm that never ends, more democreatures that just gorgons or dogs, and that Vecna slash Henry slash One is a goddamn monster who opens a giant hell gate and causes the apocalypse."

"Whoa, whoa," Dustin sooths, and when Steve looks up, Dustin's got both hands up and approaching like Steve's a wild animal. He kind of feels like one right now. "Slow down and explain."

There's a lot Steve could say. Should say. Steve is kind and soft, even in the face of the end of the world, but he's also learning that he's a little ruthless. Not heartless, but enough that he can see where they are, where they need to be, and how to get there in the easiest way possible. His eyes flick to Max. "Chrissy and Fred. They were both seeing the guidance counselor. You've seen them both there, right Max?"

"I- yeah. Yeah, I have."

"And Nancy, you've got a hunch, right? You need to go to the library to check it out?"

She narrows her eyes at him but nods.

"Okay. So, uh, let's use that as proof. You and Robin go check out your hunch, and I'll stick with Dustin and Max. Take Max to see Ms. Kelley and see if she'll tell Max anything that connects them?"

"You already know what we'll find, don't you?" Nancy asks, and Steve shrugs. "You're right. I won't believe you. Not without this proof. So, we'll go, Robin and me. And when we meet up, I expect you to tell me what we learned."

Max is completely silent the entire drive, an exact opposite of Dustin who shoots off so many questions in a row that Steve can barely remember the first by the time he's onto the next. Not that it would matter, because Dustin doesn't pause between any of his questions or comments to let Steve answer anyway.

Max launches herself from car almost as soon as Steve pulls up to the curb with a loudly groaned, "finally" before she slams the door and bounds across the street.

"Steve! Are you even listening to me!?" Dustin has finally lost steam or ran out of breath or something.

"Are you done yelling at me?" Steve retorts.

Dustin lets out a really big sigh then says, "For now. I just- Let's start with this. How do you know that Hopper's alive?"

"Joyce and Murray confirmed it when I talked to them on the phone. They're supposed to be getting El and crew heading back this way while they go to rescue him, but I don't really know how that's going."

Dustin squints at him. "I thought you could see the future now."

"No. I saw the future, so like, lived it or something. And it's like... You watch Back to the Future yet?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so like, the part where his family starts to vanish from the picture? Because he made his mom want to bang him-?"

"That is a disgusting oversimplification of the plotline, Steve."

"-it's like that. Except I want to change the events because we definitely end up in the bad timeline."

"Okay. Say I believe you. You said we don't win this time. Explain that."

Steve sighs. "Can that wait for like, everyone? Explain it all at once?"

"What made it so bad you have to alter the course of all of human existence?" Dustin demands.

"The Upside Down breaks through, man," Steve says, "Like, toxic air and no more sunlight or blue skies kinda bad. Full on, end of the world apocalypse type shit."

"Shit. We, like, lose lose," Dustin says in a small voice Steve doesn't think he's ever heard Dustin use before he huffs and falls out of view with a click and the sound of squeaking leather. Steve watches as Dustin reclines his seat back so he can stare up at the ceiling of the BMW.

"Yeah," Steve says before they fall into silence until Max sprints back, screaming for him to drive before she's even got the door closed behind her and certainly isn't wearing her seatbelt yet.

They all converge at the school, and Steve tells them what Nancy and Robin learned at the library, then Max puts together the thread that connected Chrissy and Fred, and he has to watch, again, as she accepts she's going to die. She even looks to him, as if he'll confirm that with a shake of his head or a nod.

He just blinks back at her until she looks away.

They want answers he isn't ready to give. Not until tomorrow, after Vecna tries to take Max. Given how today has gone, tomorrow shouldn't be much of a change. Nancy and Robin will still go the Pennhurst, and Steve will take Max everywhere she wants to go, but this time he'll be ready. It's not too late, so the little music store down from Melvald's will still be open. Hopefully they have Kate Bush handy. He'll make sure Lucas has a backup cassette player and-

"Wait. Lucas should be told. He should be here. Why isn't he..." Steve trails off, trying to remember why Lucas would be here. He went to party with the basketball team and- and what? There's something he's missing. Something changed. His head hurts and the white noise is back, and it hits him so suddenly he sways and stumbles backwards until he hits a wall.

"Steve!" Robin gasps his name and rushes to hold him up. Dustin is at his other side just as quick.

"I'm ok," Steve says with eyes closed. He can't explain it, but he's changed something. He knows he has. Lucas is with them tomorrow, he remembers that, and there's this feeling that he should be here now. That he should have shown up at the school, but the reason eludes him. Slips from his grasp like he's trying to hold water. "It's- there was something that was supposed to happen. Something that made Lucas find us here at the school. I remember that. I- I almost hit him with a lamp. But he's not here. He didn't- something's changed. Whatever happened before didn't happen again."

"What, like, you changed the past?" Dustin asks.

The laugh Steve lets out is manic, even to his own ears. "I don't know! I can't remember! It's there, the why, but I can't reach it. It's faded, man, like the picture. It's faded."

"Okay, I think it's time we get some rest," Nancy says. "Dustin, you'll radio Lucas tonight and fill him in. Tell him Steve or I will pick him up tomorrow morning to join us. Let's go everyone, before someone does show up."

Nancy takes Dustin and Max, and Robin sticks with Steve. She doesn't even question his detour to the music store, just helps him find the Kate Bush tape. Doesn't even raise an eyebrow when he buys two cassette players, five blank tapes, and a tape recorder.

"Who is the mix tape for?" Robin asks him only once they're at Steve's house and settled in for the night in front of the fancy stereo in Steve's living room. Robin's called her parents already and told them she was staying with a friend, and they had leftovers for dinner from.

"Just in case. Now, shh," Steve says, and once Robin has properly quieted, he pressed record on the tape recorder and play on the stereo. He's already found the track he wants, so it's just a matter of waiting the song out, pausing the tape recorder quickly, then rewinding the tape. He goes too far back, so his finger just hovers over the record button until Running Up That Hill comes back on, and he repeats the process. Over and over again, until the hour long tape is filled with nothing but one song.

Robin watches him do it in complete silence. She doesn't move or shuffle until after he's paused the recording, stilling again once he hits record. He knows she doesn't understand why, but also that she doesn't need to understand. He knows that she knows he'll explain as soon as he's able.

He's just afraid to say too much right now. He can remember tomorrow; the Pennhurst plan, how it is supposed to go based on what remembers Nancy and Robin saying. Max will bully him into driving her around, and they'll end up at Billy's grave. He'll be ready this time, he already knows the answers they're seeking but he doesn't want to risk too much.

He has a plan. And it'll work. It has too.

Because he can't remember what happens after. Patrick dies, and there's... water? A lake? But why is Patrick at a lake in the dark? He isn't, is the thing. It's like there are two memories overlapping in Steve's mind and he doesn't know which is real. Or if either of them are.

There's a memory of... of Eddie? Eddie talking about Patrick floating but there's also a memory of hearing it on the news, Patrick found dead in his room, murdered the same way as Chrissy and Fred with no sign of forced entry in his house. Both memories feel real, but Steve doesn't know, can't tell, which is.

Robin and he falls sleep wrapped around each other that night.

-

@i-less-than-three-you @nburkhardt @afewproblems @skepsiss @apomaro-mellow @eddie-munsons-lunchbox @sirsnacksalot @livelifeliketheresnotomorrow @sageclipse @schnukiputz @mbloggotdeletedsothisismybackup @lumoschildextra @juleswashere3 @yet-still-more-banched @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @yearningagain @starlight-archer @chaosgremlinmunson @aol19 @goodolefashionedloverboi @gutterflower77 @moomkin77 @wonderland-girl143-blog @krazyperson @sevenmerrymagpies

[georgiapeach30513]

Down On Your Knees

Summary: Pete Brenner was a man you hated. But he still has this annoying power over you. But you're not powerless...

Pairings: Pete Brenner X Reader

Rating: explicit

Warnings:  dark-ish, explicit language, explicit sexual content, boss/employee relationship, cheating, toy play, teasing, edging, degradation, objectification, "cockwaming", fingering, squirting, unprotected sex, PIV sex, creampie, cameras, cheating, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 1.8K

Pete Brenner Masterlist

“You can go now,” Mr. Brenner tells you flatly.  You stand there unblinking.  He promised.  He made so many promises, and now you were standing in his office, quaking.  

He sneers up at you over the file you handed to him, noting the closed door to his office.  Not locked.  It could never never be locked.  That was the rule, and you followed it.  “Mr. Brenner?” 

“That will be all,” he haughtily spits out, as you wiggle around.  “My wife is bringing some lunch by,” he gives you a domineering grin before returning to his paperwork, “You can go now.”

You hated him.  Hated how you could hear a chuckle before that familiar click sounds behind you, and you tremble.  He never made you wait this long.  It was like he was asking his wife to bring him lunch just so he could torture you.  He was the worst part of working here.  And yet the one reason you wouldn’t find somewhere else to go. 

Sitting down at your desk, you wipe the sweat that beads up around your hairline.  Taking a deep breath as you try to center yourself.  It was downright painful what he was doing to you.  You couldn’t think of anything more torturous at this moment.  Hell, you couldn't even think.

Mr. Brenner clears his throat, and you look back at his now opened door.  Lifting up a square rectangle as he clicks it again, and your head crashes to the desk.  “How about you call my wife, and tell her I’ll be ready in half an hour?” You mumble something, still unable to lift your head off the desk, “Excuse me?” 

“Yes, Mr. Brenner.  I’ll call her,” you get Rebecca on the phone, rolling your eyes at how cheerful she sounded.  Telling her that her husband was nearly finished when that stupid clicking rings in your ears, and all you hear is a buzzing sound.  

Squeezing your thighs together the best you knew how, your head crashes back down, “Are…are you okay?” She asks, and you gulp.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Inhale.  Exhale.  You hated him.  You loathed him.

“Y-y-yeah, just…just got hot.  So so hot,” you pant out, when a final click has you turning back to glare at your boss.  He knew how much you despised him.  His mouth turns up in a wicked grin before he winks at you.  

“Okay, tell him that I’ll be there,” rich people are something you didn’t understand.  Too many of the wives were married only for the benefits.  They knew that their husbands were despicable.  But as long as it wasn’t them, they really didn’t care.  They’d turn a blind eye to anything.

“Asshole,” you whisper under your breath, as he clicks that box again.  “I hate you.”

——

“Let’s see here,” Mr. Brenner walks around you.  Looking you up and down like you were his prey, and he was about to devour you.  Leaning in he takes a long sniff up your neck, “Don’t you smell like you had a rough day today.  Let me see,” you shake your head no, getting tired of this demeaning ritual.  Everyday.  You couldn’t leave without it.

“I said, to let me see, or I open this door, and I invite all of them in here to witness this.  Assume the position, and let me fucking see your filthy little cunt,” you gulp as you walk over to his desk, starting to remove your panties before he tsks you, “Let’s see just how wet you got for me today.”

He holds up that rectangle as a warning, as you settle back onto his desk.  Hiking up your pencil skirt before spreading your legs wide.  “Aww, you poor thing.  Your thighs are so sticky and slicked up.  So wet, you’re dripping down.  Been walking around with those soiled panties all day, huh?” 

“You didn’t let me have a lunch break,” he walks closer to you, rubbing over the bulges in your underwear.  He couldn’t know how uncomfortable it was to walk around like this.  Not just wet, but with two toys on you at all times.

Grabbing up a pair of scissors, he cuts off your panties, dropping the soiled silk and lace into his desk.  Sick bastard.  Finally that vibrator drops onto the floor, and you sigh in relief.  He pulls back your lips, giving your swollen clit a roll in between his finger and thumb, and your head tilts back to stare at the ceiling, whimpering.  

“You’re so mean,” you whine.  He doesn’t respond, just pulls out a hot pink dildo.  Sucking your juices off it as he stares at your throbbing pussy.  “I hate you.”

“She doesn’t,” he licks his lips, moaning at your tangy honey.  “You’ve never been stuffed full all day.  Look at her.  She needs to be filled with a real cock.  Needs to actually come.  You filthy slut, your legs are soaked, and that whore hole is spread wide and pulsing, and all for a chance for me to fuck that slutty little hole.  Is that why you flipped me off today?” 

“You wouldn’t let me come,” you start whining as he inserts two fingers.  Humming when squelching sounds become the loudest thing in the office.  He was a mother fucker.  

“But look at how needy you became for me.  You hear that?  It’s the most beautiful sound in the world.  You desperate little slut.  How bad do you want it?” Clenching your eyes closed, you shake your head no.

“You are such a liar.  Tell Mr. Brenner how bad you want me to fuck you.  How bad you want to come over my fat cock.  How bad do you want me to use you?  Tell me how you love being treated like a filthy slut with that door open.  Anyone could walk in, and see you getting that tight little pussy filled with my cock.  Tell me.  Go on, tell me, sweetheart.”

It was demeaning how he never said your name.  It was disgusting how he has you spread out, finger fucking you, and letting your arousal drip down to the floor below, while you tried to deny yourself an orgasm.  It’s what he wanted.  He wanted to break you down.  It’s what you get for moaning on the phone to his boss.  It was his sick twisted game.  

His fingers curl as he drives his hand in you, and you lean back on your elbows.  You wouldn’t say it.  He didn’t let you a lunch break.  Made you walk around soaked, and cockwarming silicone all day.  Little fucker.  He…he…fuuuck.  It is too much.  Your legs were already quivering as he hits your special spot over and over again.  

“Mr. Brenner!” 

“Shh,” he doesn’t slow.  Doesn’t stop.  Not even when your juices squirt all over his shirt.  Soaking him, as he laughs.  Evidence of how good he gave it to you.  Trying to close your legs, but he pushes them further apart.  “Tell me!”  

“I need you to fuck me, Mr. Brenner!” Jerking his hand out of you, he undoes his slacks, and releases his thick member.  He was THROBBING.  Angry with beads of precum dripping down his veiny girth.  He shoves himself into your used pussy, and fucks into you with a fervent need.

Ripping open your blouse, he tugs your breasts out of your bra, just so he can watch the swollen spheres bounce with every hard stab into you.  Menace.  Fucking asshole.  But damn if he didn’t make you feel good.  Giving your nipples a hard tweak, he then slaps your engorged tits.  “My pretty little slut.  I’m going to have you on your knees at the next meeting.  Right under the table with your pretty little mouth keeping my cock warm.  Letting you grind over my shoe, while I talk with the big boys.  Use you like the wet flesh you are.  You are my slut aren’t you?  You like being used?”

“Yes!” 

“Yes, what?”  

“Yes, sir,” you desperately cry as your belly starts to heat up.  You had been denied all day, but you were feeding his ego of making you come fast.  Could already feel him twitching inside of you.  It wasn’t him that made you come so fast.  It was his constant and unrelenting teasing.  All.  Fucking.  Day.  

“Yes, Mr. Brenner!” 

“That’s right!  You are mine to use!  And I will use you however I want!” 

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck,” you grit your teeth.  You hated him.  

“Yeah.  Gonna fill you up.  You think you’re going to be dripping me as you walk out of this office?  They already know,” you open your eyes, pouting up at him, “Yeah.  Say hey to the camera, you fucking slut,” he cackles, and you look behind him to see a camera pointed right at his desk.  Capturing all your salacious sins on film.

“Let them see how pretty you are when you come,” he slaps your clit, making you start to scream out his name.  Coming hard over his cock, and your walls clench down tight around him.  Squeezing every inch of his fat cock, until his warm seeds fills you up.  Your brows furrow, and you can’t help the satisfied smile that covers your face as your cunt milks him dry.

“Even my wife doesn’t get that part of me,” he pulls out of you, just as quickly as he pushed into you.  Never giving you a second glance as he tucks himself back in.  

“You can go home now,” he winks, walking out the office before you.  Fucking.  Asshole.  Dipshit.  

Straightening yourself up the best way you know how, despite missing some buttons on your blouse, you hobble out of his office.  His cream starts to seep out as you walk past his colleagues.  Whispers amongst them.  They’re not stupid.  They could see the evidence drip down your thighs.  Could see the heat in your cheeks, and even your nipples pressing hard against your bra.

“Next time you should have someone to clean you up,” Nick Fowler, another sleazy businessman says as you push the button for the elevator.  

“Shut up.”

“Oh, he doesn’t share?  Your secret is safe with all of us,” he leans over, wiping Pete’s spend off your leg.  Standing up tall, he pushes his finger past your lips.  “How do the two of you taste?  You know there’s only one reason he hired you, right?  You let him fuck you like his sexdoll, and keep your mouth shut.”

“Yeah, and I lie about being on birth control,” you give him a wink, stepping into the elevator.  “She may have the ring.  But I’ll have the kid,” you hold up your middle finger as the doors close.  They were all assholes.  And Pete Brenner was going to give you and your child a beautiful life.  Just to keep quiet.  It would be worth it.  Assholes.  They’ll get what they deserve.

Masterlist

Taglist: @tis-thedamn-season @marveloustaylortot @pono-pura-vida @sstan-hoe @missusbarnes-rogers @peaches1958 @seitmai @smile1318 @andydrysdalerogers @cjand10 @midnightramyeoncravings @kmc1989 @donutloverxo @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @bambamwolf87 @harrysthiccthighss 

[livwritesstuff]

Ooohhh ok I just read this and now I need to know the car convo please and thank you 👀

<3

For Steve, telling his oldest daughter what happened in Hawkins is…well, it’s weird. It’s definitely not easy either, but Steve had known going into it that it wouldn’t be. It’s ends up being weird because it’s not a story he tells very often (or ever, if he’s being honest), and he sort of has to decide in the moment which details to share and which not to because, ultimately, his trauma is not his daughter’s problem.

Moe doesn’t need to know that he was tortured just like she doesn’t need to know the specifics of how Eddie nearly died, so he mostly just tries to talk around those parts.

Also – Steve is a firm believer in not telling other people’s stories, but how intertwined or whatever it all is makes it real damn hard to stick to that, so he settles on the next best thing, which is being as objective as he possibly can be, and that’s weird in its own right.

He starts with the lab, with Brenner and MKUltra and he pulls in a little of El’s involvement (without bringing up the whole superpower thing, obviously) and how Will got taken into the Upside Down. He describes the Upside Down and demogorgons and how he’d gotten pulled into it all.

In retrospect, some of it is kind of funny, and Moe has an uncanny way of seeing an odd kind of humor in things, so she’s actually a pretty decent audience.

Moe: So you’re telling me that you spent the entire time thinking Nancy was cheating on you?

Moe: And you only found out what was actually happening when she pointed a revolver at your head?

Moe: Pop, that’s fucking hilarious.

(And it actually kind of is).

He tells her about Dustin’s ridiculous attachment to a demodog that ended up almost eating them. He tells her about the Mind Flayer and hive minds and Max driving his car and all kinds of close calls.

He talks about Starcourt Mall, about meeting Robin, about the elevator falling halfway to Hell. He talks about what was happening on the surface while he was stuck underground, about Nancy’s detective work and Joyce’s magnets, and he tells her about what happened after they all came together again.

Moe: So, like, nobody thought it was weird that mall security was Russian?

Moe: Even during the Cold War?

Moe: And nobody noticed them escaping after the mall blew up?

Moe: Are people okay?

By the time they’re pulling into their driveway, Steve has covered Vecna's role in everything. He leaves out Chrissy Cunningham, because that part of the story is for Eddie to tell if he’s willing, but he tells her about Lover’s Lake and the stolen RV and finally bringing it all crashing down once and for all.

Moe: Damn.

Moe: Those conspiracy theorists are way off.

Steve: Good.

[sogoodtoheritsvicious]

it’s tiiiiimeee

i haven’t watched this show in full in five years 😵‍💫but it’s october and i was gonna watch thee byeler episode aka 2x02 on halloween anyway so i thought i might as well rewatch the entire show and make it everyone’s problem

forgot about the jumpscare being right at the beginning

baby will <3

they were all BABIES and now they’re all grown and the damn final season still hasn’t premiered lmao

dustin was so adorable

“it was a seven.” “huh?” “the roll, it was a seven. the demogorgon, it got me.” the way will was incapable of lying to mike, GOD, i feel sick

fun fact: will’s adorable little “see you tomorrow!” is immediately what made him my favorite

“kiss your mom ‘night for me!” lmfao

forgot how damn good the jumpscares are

gonna need mike to see will with a gun at least once before this show is over

“damn,you look like hell, chief!” “oh, yeah? well, i looked better than your wife when i left her this morning.” HELP

“lonnie used to call him queer.” “is he?” FUCKING HELL, HOPPER 😭 i completely forgot about that scene lmfao

EL, MY BABY

benny was such a good man :( he didn’t deserve to die

that poor dog was so hated irl 😭

“you think we got a problem here?” my brother in christ, a boy is missing

“i’m the only one that cares about will!” mike loves will so much, i’m gonna cry

i completely forgot about hop’s daughter

mike sneaking out while steve’s sneaking in 😭 this show is also a comedy

winona ryder the actress that you are

chapter 2

maybe i’m going to find out in this ep i can’t remember if they ever investigate benny’s death or link it to everything else that was going on

“stop it, you’re freaking her out!” “she’s freaking ME out!” lucas was the only real one in the beginning

poor baby. el didn’t even know what privacy was before this moment.

“oh, you can speak!” she gets that a lot 😭

mike and el had so much potential as friends, FUCK the duffers for ruining them by making it romantic. now they don’t even seem like they like each other

i hope s5 focuses on more on will and lucas’ friendship

jonathan was such a good brother

brenner. always at the scene of the fucking crime.

mike naming his dino ‘rory’ because he roars ��

FUCK BRENNER ALL MY HOMIES HATE BRENNER

karen was such a good mom in the beginning

i hate lonnie with a passion, he’s an abusive piece of shit who should’ve been killed off

i don’t blame lucas at all for the way he was acting with el at first

“one kid goes missing, the other one runs wild? some real fine parenting right there.”

they kept pointing out so many similarities between will and el, i can’t believe they didn’t go anywhere with it

“can’t ask a corpse a question.” die. just die.

nancy: *losing her virginity*

barb: *losing her life*

chapter 3

“no one breaks in here.” yeah, they just break out

love jonathan but steve wasn’t exactly wrong about the pictures

joyce byers the mother that you are

mike wanted nothing to do with el once they found will’s “body” but we’re supposed to believe that he loved her the second he saw her in the woods.

chapter 4

i can’t believe they showed that mike has all of the drawings will has created and expected us to be normal about it

“screw his funeral!” “what?!” TEARS

jonathan loves joyce and will so much 🥺

steve was such an unbearable asshole

can we PLEASE talk about charlie being able to hold his own with winona in that scene about will’s body? we already know winona’s gonna blow it out of the water but he did just as well

completely forgot about mike doing el’s makeup this episode dkfkgjd

“where are you from, exactly?” “bad place.” 😭

that troy scene still sends

“the kid is dead. end of story.”

they put too much pressure on el. i hope when all this shit is over she’s able to just be a normal kid.

this show used to be so fucking good

i love how hop tries lying to the state trooper and when that doesn’t work he just knocks him the fuck out 😭

I FUCKING HATE LONNIE

i’m so glad they had jonathan realize that joyce was telling the truth about everything that was going on instead of just dragging it all out.

chapter 5

hate lonnie for taking advantage of joyce when she’s clearly in a vulnerable position

“wait until we tell will that jennifer hayes was crying at his funeral” lmao

all this season is showing me is how severely they’ve robbed us of joyce and will scenes in future episodes

“man, these aren’t real nilla wafers.” mr. clark must think they’re horrible friends, i’m crying. dustin is right, though, fake nilla wafers suck.

“it might even swallow us whole.” and that’s exactly what’s happening by the end of s4

“he’s wanted to go to nyu since he was six. years. old!” she should’ve killed lonnie right then & there

can’t prove it but jonathan fell in love with nancy the second she shot that can on her first try

jonathan clocked nancy’s ass BAD in the woods

forgot just how much lucas hated el this season

byeler and jancy have paralleled each other too many times for it to just mean nothing in the end.

chapter 6

the jumpscares in this show are top tier

what i love about this show is how it still has me holding my breath even though i already know what’s going to happen

“i don’t wanna be alone. do you?” “no.” i was gonna say he wouldn’t be alone cause joyce is there but i remembered he doesn’t wanna tell her til it’s all over

early jancy were so awkward, i love them <3

“i could have been killed!” “which is exactly why we need her. she’s a weapon!” but mike loves her at this point, right?

lucas loves will so much, it’s a shame we haven’t seen much more of their friendship

“you’re my best friend, too.” “okay :D” dustin looked so happy 😭

“what’s the weirdest part? me or the bear trap?” “you, definitely you.” pls

jonathan beating the shit out of steve was so satisfying

“only love makes you that crazy, sweetheart.” i’m not even gonna say anything. you all know.

we don’t give mike enough appreciation for being such a selfless person. he did everything he could to find will, he almost killed himself to protect dustin, he let el live in his basement without even knowing her, etc.

“she’s our friend and she’s crazy!” i love dustin with my whole heart

BABIES 🫶🏼

chapter 7

“if anyone asks where i am, i’ve left the country.” this season is really reminding me why mike was my favorite in the beginning

i wanna hug el so bad

“our son with a girl?” ted, to mike:

“a psychotic child broke his arm!” “a little girl, chief. a little one.” “that tone! do you hear that tone?” “honestly, i’m just trying to state a fact. it was a little girl.” this entire exchange is sending me so bad

“you couldn’t take jonathan byers.” get his ass!

it was such a great choice to have joyce be the first one to ever give el comfort because she’s such a soft, comforting person and i can’t think of anyone better

chapter 8

made it to the finale! gonna be honest, i didn’t think i’d get here in only two days but this show sucked me in the exact way it did the first time

“go to hell.” joyce is everything

waiting til this episode to give flashbacks on hop’s daughter was an excellent choice

steve just wanted to apologize to jonathan and now he’s an exasperated mother of seven. life comes at ya quick!!

choosing not to acknowledge that scene beyond this for the sake of my mental health

el is a badass but she shouldn’t have to be

brenner should’ve never made it to season 4

these kids acted their ASSES off in this show

GOD THIS JOYCE, HOPPER AND WILL SCENE

you’d think everything that went down would make nancy and karen care more about mike and pay attention to him but it doesn’t. mike deserves so much better.

will is in a hospital bed worrying about jonathan’s hand. I LOVE THIS KID.

byeler hug <3

they all really wanted to tell will about jennifer hayes crying 😭

“her name’s eleven.” “like the number?” he sounded baffled lmaooo

getting will back must’ve been so bittersweet for nancy

hop keeps throwing away lit cigarettes and all i keep thinking is that he’s gonna start a wildfire eventually

mike’s soft ‘see you, will’ 🥹

the camera!!

“your wife doesn’t have time to cook for me.” pls

the byers family 🫶🏼

my love for this show has officially been revived. rewatching this reminded me why i loved this show so much in the first place. the acting is amazing, especially from the kids, the writing was great, and the fucking jumpscares were incredible. i’m so excited to start season 2!!

[captainlunaxmen]

Be My Queen

Chapter 1

Eddie Munson x Reader x Steve Harrington

This is a repost since the old blog doesn't work anymore. 🥰

Chapter summary: When Vecna takes Nancy to show her his plan, he takes y/n as well to show her he already knows her or some version of her. For the gang, then it's time to come up with a good plan, and a trip to the War Zone is due.

Chapter warnings: spoiler season 4, blood, non-con touching, violence, Jason being an asshole.

What the hell is happening?

One minute, I hear Steve's panicked voice calling Nancy, and the next I'm in... a laboratory?

My friends and I finally got back from the UpsideDown after being stuck there, and now I'm trapped again... it's terrifying.

I look around, trying to calm down by taking a big deep breath. The walls are clean and white, just like a hospital. A shiver runs down my spine when I notice a girl walking out of a room with papers in her hands.

What the fuck?

She looks exactly like me... how?

I decide to follow her, seeing that I have no other option.

As I follow her... me... I see some other people, who look like doctors and nurses. Some of them are followed by kids. Shaved head, all of them.

I quickly take a closer look and notice they have a number tattooed on their arm.

Could it be where El lived?

Oh fuck. I'm in Hawkins' Lab. Why? Why is there a girl who looks exactly like me?

I keep following her around, but before I could follow her into a room I hear a voice calling my name.

I turn around finding a blonde man, looking directly at me.

"Yes?"

I turn around after my "clone" answered him. Her demeanour changes right away when her eyes spot the man. From calm, almost bored to nervous, on edge.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, love." the blonde man says with a sweet, yet intimidating tone.

"I... I was fixing some things... for today's tests." The girl tells him in a small voice.

As the man walks towards her, I notice the girl taking a small step back, but stops, almost holding back.

"You always work so hard. You should rest for a while" he's now in front of her and she doesn't look comfortable.

"I don't mind it, Henry, I'm not even tired," she says letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Take a break, c'mon. Ten minutes won't hurt anyone" the man named Henry insists, moving his hand to caress her arm so slightly.

"Maybe later. I have to drop off these files and check on the kids" she explains calmly.

"What about I check on the kids so we can have some... alone time?" He asks, inching closer and closer to the girl, who looks around the corridor to probably check if someone's coming.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she says, trying to remain calm "Brenner asked me to personally check on the kids."

Henry just looks at her, almost admiring her.

"Then give me a kiss so I can go on with my day without missing you too much"

He doesn't give her time to respond, his lips are already on hers, moving the hand that was caressing her arm to her hips holding her.

The girl's eyes are open, she doesn't exactly kiss him back, she just lets him and he doesn't seem to notice it.

"I'll see you later, love," he says after pulling away.

"Bye," she says and quickly walks into a room, I follow her just as quickly, however when I enter the room I find "me" attending to the same blonde man, Henry.

He looks bad, like he was beaten up or something, the girl's checking his head.

"Do you feel nauseous, dizzy, or..?" She asks.

"No.. just a little stunned" he answers, holding his head.

"That's good... at least a bit."

They stay silent for a moment, the girl looks at him with sorrow, I think, someone must've put this Henry through something really bad for her to feel sorry for a man she was quite intimidated by.

"I'm sorry, Henry," she says.

"Don't be." He replies looking up at her and grabbing her hand, the action makes her tense immediately, still he doesn't notice it, instead, he goes on "It was not your fault and you don't need to worry about me, angel, I'm gonna get us out of here."

"What?" She's confused.

"Eleven has a huge power. Her powers have the potential to become something great... she could help me build a new world. A world for us. Then we could finally be together" he explains and now the girl looks alarmed.

"What are you talking about?" She asks.

"Don't think about it, my love, I'll fix everything soon?" he tells her and kiss her hand.

What the hell is going on here?

I feel myself shaking, and breathing becomes hard so I turn around to get out of the room.

As I walk through the door I'm back in the corridor, but now the walls aren't white and clean... they're covered in blood.

I look around, on the ground laying with broken limbs and bleeding eyes there are the same people I saw walking earlier... the children too... all dead.

I feel myself getting sick when a scream catches my attention.

"Stop!" It's the girl again.

I run towards her voice and enter a wide room, a rainbow fantasy on the walls, lots of kids' toys on the floor... there's blood on them too, the children's. I see them laying on the ground blood all over them.

Fuck.

"Please, Henry, you need to stop" I turn to see the girl standing in front of a mad Henry.

He takes a step toward her and she takes a big step back. I don't think she cares anymore if he feels hurt by her actions or not.

"Why are you scared, my angel?" He asks, he doesn't realise she doesn't feel the same and he doesn't realise what he did wrong. It makes me sick.

"You... fuck... look at what you did! They're... they're kids.." she tells him in between sobs.

Suddenly he walks to her cupping her face in his hands, preventing her from moving away. She still tries though.

"Don't you understand? Don't you understand why I'm doing this?" He asks her, rather harshly.

"What's there to understand? You... you fucking kill them" she replies, voice breaking at the end.

Before he could answer her there was a noise coming from near the wall.

I look back seeing a boy standing up.

Henry's eyes darken as he notices him, he lets go of the girl and turns his attention to the boy.

"No, please... Henry... please" she tries to stop him, trying to stop his arm from slowly raising. "Please... fuck... don't!"

Henry nods towards the door and the girl flies across the room hitting the doors and Henry goes back to killing the boy.

He lifts him into the air and using his power he breaks his bones and his eyes.

The boy looked so young...

As soon as Henry killed the poor thing he looks for the girl, but she's nowhere to be seen.

She must've escaped while he was distracted.

I want to do just that so I run out of the room.

When I go to open the door I find myself face to face with Eddie's worried face.

"Oh, Jesus!" He lets out a sigh of relief.

"Fucking thank god" Steve exclaims.

"What... what happened?" I ask sitting up.

"We thought Vecna took you and Nancy," Dustin says from beside me so I look at him, caressing his arm to assure him I was okay.

I look at the others, all with worried faces. Nancy's beside Robin who got an arm around her reassuringly.

"Did he let you go too?" She asks and I nod "did he show you what he showed me?"

"I... I don't know"

-----------

We all moved to Max's trailer where Nancy started telling us about what Vecna showed her.

His plan of bringing a sort of army to Hawkins, to let the UpsideDown expand completely into our world through some gates.

They keep talking, but I can't pay attention, I hear them, but I can't listen.

I'm too focused on whatever the fuck he showed me.

"I was there" I suddenly say from my place on the ground, head in my head thinking.

"So was I. It was... so real I- " Nancy starts, but I interrupt her.

"No. Not that. I mean, I was there, at the lab. Or some copy of me, a clone or... I don't know." I take a deep breath "this... Vecna, one... Henry, he was, like, in love with this girl, or better, obsessed with her. Delusional. I saw... I saw him killing a little kid... the same way Eddie described... with no sign of regret or even sorrow."

"What... what if he just showed those things to scare you?" Steve suggests, evidently trying not to think of the worst.

"He didn't. I... I don't know what the hell was that, but I know it was very much real... and it's freaking me the fuck out, okay? I don't want to believe it, but... there's no denying it." I tell him. "For some reason, I, or another girl who looks exactly like me, was there and he feels like he found her again."

"Why doing all this just for... a girl though?" Robin asks "don't get me wrong, you're a wonderful girl, I'd gladly do that too. But why be so obsessed?"

"He needs a queen" Dustin answers her like it was obvious.

"Fuck..." I mutter hiding my head in my hands once again.

"Shit...Try 'em again. Try 'em again" Steve tells Max, who immediately goes to the phone.

We've been trying to contact El, Will and Mike, with no results.

"Anything?" Dustin asks.

"No. Rang a few times, then went to a busy signal." Max answers.

"Maybe you punched it wrong. Try again" Steve says.

"I didn't punch it in wrong" Max replies, rightly annoyed.

"Well, I don't know" Steve tries.

"I think she knows how to use a phone" Dustin defends Max, who's trying once again.

"I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong." Steve insists.

Max hangs up the phone again "same shit"

"How is that possible?" Lucas asks confused.

"I told you, Joyce has this telemarketer job. She's always on the phone. Mike won't stop whining about it." Dustin explains.

"That can't be three days straight busy, Dustin," I say.

"Yeah, something must be wrong" Max agrees with me.

"They're right. It can't be just a coincidence. It can't be" Nancy to agree."Whatever is happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it. But Vecna can't hurt them nor take Y/n. Not if he's dead. We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down."

"Whoa. No, no, no. What?" Steve complains.

"Nope." Eddie too shakes his head.

"She's right," I say standing next to Nancy. "I don't know about you, but I don't exactly like the idea of being some teen-killing monster's mistress or whatever. So we either kill the bastard or... we kill the bastard" I say matter-of-factly

"We barely made it out of there in one piece" Steve points out.

"Yeah. That's because we weren't prepared, Steve." I tell him. "We just need a plan"

"A good one. Then we'll go through the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him" Nancy supports me.

"Or he'll kill us" Steve replies, agitated "the only reason you survived is that he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."

"And for good reason" Robin finally speaks "we were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?" She asks.

"One" Dustin and Lucas choose.

"Vecna," says Erica.

"Henry," Nancy says.

"Piece of shit?" I suggest, noticing a nod from Eddie.

"Right. We've learned something new about Vecna/Henry/one... uh... piece of shit. He's a number like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin. But my... my point is, he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight."

"Then why fight fair?" Dustin asks, simply "you're right. He's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths and weaknesses" he explains.

Genius.

"Weaknesses?" Erica's quite confused now.

"There is one thing we can use," I say.

"Exactly, when El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state. I bet the same is true for Vecna" Dustin keeps talking.

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic" Lucas points out.

"Exactly. When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenceless." He declares.

"Defenseless? What about the army of bats?" Steve rhetorically asks, pointing at his injured neck.

"Right, true. We'll have to find a way past them. Distract them somehow." Dustin answers.

"And, uh, how do we do that, exactly?" Eddie asks, about to stand up.

"No idea" Dustin replies and Eddie sits back down defeated. "But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin"

"That sounds good in theory, but there is no pattern in Vecna's killings. I mean, at least not one that I can decipher." Robin notes. "We don't know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know who he's going to attack"

"We don't need another victim," I say, looking down.

"What are you talking about?" Nancy asks, worry clear in her voice.

"I can be the bait."

"No," Steve and Eddie say at the same time.

"I will" Max speaks up. "I can still feel him. I survived before I can do it again"

"No." I firmly say "we don't know if the music thing will work again. He will kill you if he gets another chance. But he will not kill me"

"We... we don't know that Y/n" Steve walks in front of me.

"Yes, we do! You didn't see what I saw. How he was with her. He looked at her like she was the reason the sun goes up every morning." I look him in the eyes, and my voice gets softer "he won't kill me, Steve"

"Are you sure about this?" Lucas asks.

"Positive," I say letting out a big sigh "just... please kill him"

"We need supplies" Nancy declares.

-----------

After stealing an RV we head to the War Zone that, according to Eddie, has everything we might need for killing things.

The plan is to buy weapons and then find an open space to get ready and be away from unwanted attention.

I sit in the back with Dustin while the others are scattered around and Steve's driving.

"Are you worried?" Dustin suddenly asks.

I look up at him, then I look around to avoid his worried stare and find Eddie's, instead. I smile at him, to let him know everything is alright.

"Scared shitless" I then say to Dustin.

"You don't have to do this. You can back down and we can think of a new plan together" Dustin tells me, he tries to both reassure me and make me change my mind.

"I know, I know. But the only other valid option is for Max to be the bait and, in all honesty, that scares me even more" As I speak I play with my fingers and when I sense someone's presence with us I look up seeing Eddie.

"Hi" he softly says.

"Hey" I reply.

"I'll leave you two" Dustin smiles at us and gets up to join Lucas and Max.

"You okay?" He asks and I softly laugh. "Stupid question, I know. I'm sorry"

"Nah, don't worry about it. You can ask all the stupid questions you want" I smile at him.

"I wish you wouldn't have to do this" he gently holds my hand.

"Me too. But better me than Max, or anyone else" I say laying my head on his shoulder, I always found comfort in this. We've been friends since I started driving the kids back and forth when they had Hellfire, so we got closer. Sometimes I feel like there's more, but whenever anything could happen he backs down so I'm never sure how he feels.

"It would be better to send Harrington. Maybe he could distract him with his hair, make good use of it for once" he jokes.

"Don't be mean," I say with a chuckle. He always knows how to cheer me up. "He might give him lessons on how to style it properly" I joke too.

I look at Steve driving.

Steve...

Steve, on the other hand, I met him when he and Nancy started dating, so of course he was always in the way. I didn't mind it honestly, he turned out to be not that much of a dick. Then he just got better, especially thanks to Dustin's friendship, but here things get complicated. When he worked at Scoops Ahoy with Robin he always flirted with me as I went to visit Robin during my breaks at the music store at Starcourt, at first I thought he was his way of joking. The moment I realised he wasn't joking I also realised I didn't mind it at all. I wanted him to flirt and I wanted to flirt back.

So... I realised I like, have some sort of feeling for two guys... at the same time.

Complicated.

"We're here" Steve announces parking the van in a secluded area to keep Eddie, Dustin and Lucas away from the people of Hawkins.

-----------

The store is huge.

"So much for avoiding angry hicks" Robin comments.

"Let's be... fast" Nancy suggests and we all agree.

Nancy and I go check out the shotguns they sell.

"How much?" Nancy asks the seller.

"$120.99, but I'll throw in 20 rounds of buckshot for ya," he tells us and I just nod at Nancy.

"Not bad," I whisper to her and she agrees.

While we keep looking Nancy hands me the weapon, but then I hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, can I see this real pretty .357, please?"

"Oh shit" I comment and Nancy quickly looks behind me and turns around just as quickly.

"You go. I got this" I tell her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, just try to warn the other to keep an eye out for his goons. They must be around here too" I nod and she walks away, but that must've caught Jason's eyes because he then speaks directly at me.

"Look at that... What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Oh you know" I start turning around to face him, "they say there's a killer on the loose... gotta be prepared."

"Aren't you the freak's bitch?" He harshly asks.

"It's really sad you can't recognise what a friend looks like" I mock him, keeping a serious expression.

I see his jaw clenching hard, my words hit the target. He relaxes his face and takes a breath and just looks at me, in a way that makes a shiver run down my spine.

"It's a real pity" he then says.

"Yeah, it is. It means you never had an actual friend in your life" I say with a fake pout on my face.

He just laughs humourless.

"No, babe. A real pity is how you ruined yourself by hanging out with the freak" he walks closer.

"Oh no... you think I ruined myself?" I ask with fake shock, then I just smile "thank god. If having good friends instead of assholes like you ruined me... glad to be ruined, sir"

"You were really pretty, you know. I mean, you kind of still are... I'd gladly help you find the right way back." He... flirts..?

Oh now I'm gonna get sick

"Wow... your girlfriend died not long ago and you're already harassing another girl... just wow." I laugh sarcastically "see? That's what makes Eddie so much better than you"

"What would your father say, uh? I don't think Hopper would be happy about it" he suddenly says.

Oh... he didn't just mention my father, did he?

Now it's my turn to clench my jaw, he notices and smiles proudly.

"You wash that fucking mouth before talking about my father because you. Know. Shit." I tell him, walking up to him.

"Want my advice?" He asks completely ignoring me.

"No"

"Shotguns are not good for much of anything past killing small birds," he tells me, eyes focused on mine "I mean, they got power, sure, but not much range. And that's just gonna force you into close-range combat, then someone can easily redirect it by grabbing that barrel, like this.."

He suddenly moves to grab the barrel, but I'm faster, stepping back and moving the shotgun out of his reach earning a surprised expression from him.

"Keep talking about shit you clearly know nothing about and I might just show you what my father would say" I warn him and walk away.

I go pay for the stuff I got and reunite with the others as we walk back to the van.

"Remind me, please, not to make you angry?" Robin tells me with a proud smirk.

"You could never"

"That was... I gotta say... quite hot" Steve tells me pleasantly surprised.

I just wink at him, and we all hurry to get in the vehicle and just rush off before anyone could see us.

We quickly rush into the RV.

"What happened?" Lucas immediately asks.

"We gotta go" Steve cuts him off.

"Your old friends are here" Erica informs her brother.

Steve starts the vehicle, immediately driving away as soon as the last of us get in.

I move to the back with Dustin and Lucas.

"So.." Dustin starts.

I look at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Yes?" I urge him on.

"When are you gonna talk to them?" He asks.

"To who?" Lucas asks, suddenly interested.

"Eddie and Steve" Dustin immediately answers and I roll my eyes "C'mon! It's clear as the day you feel something for them, the both of them and they feel the same."

"It's more complicated than you think, Dusty," I tell him softly.

"It's not." Lucas interjects "I mean, Eddie kept worrying about you the whole time you all were in there. I mean very worried. Very."

"Yeah. And you didn't see the look Steve had when you volunteered to bait Vecna" Dustin adds.

"Yeah... I told you. Complicated" I tell them to drop the subject, so I just lean my head back and try to think of something else.

I have no idea what will happen.

I keep thinking about how this is real. I was there. I saw myself there in that lab, with Vecna, Henry or whoever the fuck he is. How is that possible? Is it some kind of trap?

What scares me the most is that I have this feeling it's not a trap. It's all true.

[steviesbicrisis]

Stranger things rewatch thoughts

I’ve recently decided to do a rewatch since I don’t remember anything that happens before the scoops ahoy shorts™️ and all of my memories are covered in a thick layer of rainbows and unicorns thanks to Tumblr. I don’t know if anyone will be interested but I wrote down my thoughts while watching 😂 this is season 1:

Where is Steve? I miss Steve

EW STEVE GO AWAY EW

Honestly Mrs Wheeler isn’t half as bad as I remembered

Joyce best character ever I don’t make the rules

Mike your crush on will is showing, embarrassiiiing

Jonance looking cuuuute

But also Nancy this boi took pics of u naked how are u so chill about it

I’m remembering why I love hopper so much

YES SLASH THAT FAKE WILL

Nancy being scandalized by Jonathan taking a gun is cracking me up

Not Nancy crawling into a creepy ass portal in a tree like wtf dude who do you think you are? Alice in wonderland?

Steve I really hate your current friends, when are you going to ditch them and become fruity for our resident fav metalhead weirdo?

Me pulling out google translate to understand what the Russian are saying: am I Robin Buckley?

Wait a fucking minute, the Party’s bullies were just chilling in the woods, causally brought a knife with them and stumbled upon Mike and Dustin?? How in hell-

I swear to god I have no clue how Carol kept dating Tommy after he almost kissed Steve in front of her

I’m sorry Harrington but that ASS going up the ladder, wow

Hopper best dad ever 🥺

Will telling Mike he’s the one keeping them together meanwhile Dustin is literally the reason why they stayed together

Steve wanting to apologize is so cute, my poor heart

NANCY PUT THE GUN DOWN OMG

I’m sorry but there’s just no way Jonathan knew the lights were actually Joyce in the upside down, I call bs

Okay HOW DID BRENNER SURVIVE THAT??

I did not remember the Wheelers going to pick mike up at the school, what did they tell them? Did they give an explanation at all? Lmao

I cannot wait to see season 2 I need some answers

There are Christmas lights and the season ends with snow and Christmas, stranger things is a Christmas tv show #confirmed

Did Will just throw up Dustin’s future pet?

Here my thoughts on season 2!!

[erikiara80]

Stranger Things and Wayward Pines parallels

I started watching Wayward Pines after @chirpsythismorning made this post, and I'm sure other people have already talked about it. The Duffers co-produced that show and also wrote some episodes.

Here some of the parallels that intrigue me the most. There will be spoilers, of course.

Wayward Pines is set in 4028-4032. An ambitious scientist, David Pilcher, discovers that the human DNA is mutating, so he and his sister Pam come up with a plan to save humanity. Pilcher builds a town, abducts a few selected, puts them in cryo hibernation, and then they all sleep for centuries, while the world collapses and a process of evolution mutates the human race into Abbies (Abberations)

First thing I noticed: many characters say that they woke up in Wayward Pines after a car accident, including the main character, Ethan Burke, a Secret Service Agent who was investigating the disappearance of two federal agents.

This makes me think about my theory that everything changed after a car chase/accident in 1976, here and here. And here what I think happened to Will and El in that accident (TW: mention of drowning and suffocation)

Hell and "Paradise"

Pilcher tells Ethan the truth about their little town: "You didn't think Wayward Pines ran itself, did you?"

Owens: "You didn't think we were working out of a shed, did you?" (In Wayward Pines, they find a tunnel system under a shed)

There are some very interesting parallels between Pilcher and his sister, Nurse Pam, and Brenner and Terry. We'll see if there's some surprise about Terry, if she was really just a student, or there's something more.

I always thought that this photo hinted at something, a deeper connection between Mama and Papa. Like the two Bonsai Trees books in Terry's house and Brenner's bonsai in S4 seem to imply.

When Pam starts to have doubts about their project, David orders her to be put back into cryo-suspension.

Pam gives Theresa a key card to help her find answers. Henry gives El a key card, too.

CJ plays chess, like Henry and El. For centuries CJ was the custodian of all the frozen, sleeping people in the mountain. He would wake up periodically for a brief period of time, to make sure that systems were online and that the facility was well cared for, and then he would go back to sleep himself. Every time he wakes up, he plays chess and talks to his girlfriend, but she's not really there...

And then there is Jason Higgins, who definitely makes me think about Henry Creel. Jason is the "chosen one", the kid that was raised by the Pilcher siblings to become the leader of Wayward Pines and what is left of humanity. He always felt different, he wanted to explore new lands...

Henry becoming an explorer.

And then this. In The First Shadow there are creepy vibes between Henry and his mother, and in S3 Robin and Steve talk about Back to the future and Lorraine being attracted to her own son, Marty.

Jason is in a relationship with Kerry Campbell, but he doesn't know that she is actually his mother! This is possible because he was awakened from cryo-sleep and grew up, while Kerry kept sleeping. Also, Pilcher lied about his family. He wanted to adopt Jason, the son of a pregnant student, but when she lost the baby, Pilcher and his sister adopted Kerry's baby.

So, we also have something similar to the "babies switched at birth" thing that has been hinted a lot on Stranger Things. In the newspaper article in 1x08, Terry's story is Joyce's story, word by word, so...

I will make a post about Back to future and the possible meaning of Steve and Robin's dialogue about Lorraine being attracted to her son, and Steve not calling Fox's character Marty, but Alex P. Keaton, another character played by Fox. There's a lot to say!

Anyway, on Stranger Things, the characters have said that something's wrong (Nancy to Murray: "Your timeline is wrong", and Hopper in the play: "My timeline is off") So, IF they are stuck in a time loop and we're dealing with many timelines, there could be some big surprise, even something similar to the Jason-Kerry plot twist. Similar, not the same.

[strawberrybyers]

since it’s stranger things day, let’s take some time to reflect on a few facts

mike describes to will that meeting el was “simple dumb luck” but then when he’s encouraged by will to talk to el from the heart, he tells her meeting her was one of the best days of his life…??? when mike is in the van talking to will; he is speaking from the HEART. he is saying exactly what he feels also without saying it directly. go back and watch the van scene again. the tone and pace mike is speaking at shows this is something he’s been feeling for awhile and it bothers him.

just a little reminder that mike, lucas, and dustin were in the woods LOOKING FOR WILL! they stumbled upon el and when she gave an inkling that she knew something about will, mike wanted her to stay. he was quick to abandon her when they see will’s “body” get retrieved from the lake. mike is PISSED. he feels betrayed because he felt like el was his only hope to finding will, but instead there is no hope as he now believes will is dead. el had hope in mike as she felt like she could be a “normal” girl with him. she’s experiencing a type of kindness and care that she has never received before until mike reacts the way he does when they go to the lake. remember, el’s upbringing has been centered around transactional relationships. she has never just “received” kindness because someone felt like it. everybody has always had a goal when it came to el. it’s not that mike is a bad person or he did anything wrong for wanting el around to find will. i mean, hell, who wouldn���t want to keep someone around who has info on their missing best friend?? but just interesting when you think about this in the context of how mike and dr. brenner have been paralleled before. more apparent when they literally show a scene in season 4 of when mike asks el “what did you do?” and they follow up with a scene of papa asking the same thing. all i’m saying is—is that mike and el’s relationship didn’t start because of “love at first sight” like mike claims in his “love confession” to her. we literally see how their relationship came to be. just to rewatch season 1 and you’ll see it for yourself.

when will is missing, the only thing that is on mike’s mind is will. if someone mentions will, he defends him. he spends the entire fucking season looking for him and convincing everyone that he is NOT DEAD. in season 2, when el is “missing” from his life, yeah, he’s concerned, but once again HE IS FOCUSED ON WILL. where is he the entire time in season 2? oh yeah, that’s right by will’s side!! even after el walks through the door, his main goal is still helping will!! i’m not saying this to give some impression he doesn’t care about el because i think he does, but not on the same scale as will!

in season 3, mike and el break up. all it took was max to show el a friendship that is not transactional to realize “oh wait maybe i don’t need a boyfriend?”. mike and el’s breakup is actually pretty significant to both of their characters. watching how they both handle the breakup is a testament to what their characters are actually feeling. the breakup for el shows her yearn for independence once again. the breakup for mike shows that maybe he wasn’t in the relationship for the right reasons? shows how he ONCE AGAIN prioritizes will’s feelings?? el breaks up with him and he lays on the couch burping and farting, but him and will get into an argument and he’s in the rain looking for him?? i thought el was the “love of his life”?? why isn’t he after her in the rain?? HE JUST LOST HER AGAIN AFTER GETTING HER BACK AND HE SITS AT HOME??? in season 4, he explains his insecurity and fear of abandonment. he’s afraid she’ll realize he’s some “dumb nerd” and not want to be with him anymore… um, sorry to interrupt your very real feelings mike, but she kind of did that in season 3??? max tells her there’s more to life than stupid boys, then she walks up to you and says “i dump your ass” and walks away laughing… like the thing you’re worried about already happened and you stayed home?? but you LOSE will and you are up and out the door. in season 4, he TELLS will that he feels like he lost him. he hates losing will. he’ll always be right there to mend things with will because losing will brings a type of pain that he is afraid of and that was his motivation for his love confession. the day he met el maybe wasn’t the best day of his life because he met the “love of his life”, but maybe because he met her and she helped bring back THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE.

[aemiron-main]

The Two Heads of HNL: Richard and Martin As The Demogorgon

So, I think that Brenner is the Demogorgon. Specifically, I think that both Richard and Martin are each meant to represent one of the two heads of the Demogorgon in DND. Hell, Richard Brenner is even literally described as the head of the Narcotics Enforcement Division at HNL.

Keep in mind, the Demogorgon in ST is EXTREMELY different from the Demogorgon in DND. Like. Fundamentally different in almost every way.

Let’s go through some key DND Demogorgon lore that you need to know for this post, and I’ll explain why I think Richard and Martin are meant to represent the Demogorgon.

So, when we look at the Demogorgon from DND, there’s some key things to note:

There’s only one of them. The Demogorgon in DND is not a race of creatures, but instead, is A Guy. A demon, to be specific. And he’s not called “The Demogorgon” so much as he’s just called Demogorgon. Demogorgon is more of a name/title. It’d be like saying “The Steve”.

Demogorgon was the Prince of Demons and has a ton of other titles too, including the Deep Father (staring at Brenner being called “Papa” and literally being deep in the sense of working in the depths of HNL/the lower areas of HNL that we see during NINA), the King of the Deviants (staring at Brenner being a creep/a sexual “deviant”), Tanar’ri Prince and Lord of All that Swims in Darkness (staring at Brenner telling El about her getting lose in the darkness when she goes into the water in the NINA tank and El literally swimming in darkness)

Demogorgon is actually two guys- in one body. The Demogorgon has two heads, each with a distinct personality.

Demogorgon’s two heads are named Aeumal, and Hethradiah. Aeumal, the left head, is the more charismatic and calculating while Hethradiah, the right head, is more impulsive and feral. Each head views the other head as inferior and each believes the other incapable of outsmarting it.

Aameul, the more charismatic and calculating head/ personality, loved deception and wanted to break free from the other head. The more impulsive and feral head/personality, Hethradiah, loved destruction and did not want to be separated.

Demogorgon was a scientist who ran experiments with questionable ethics. The Demogorgon/grey skinned creature in ST gets more compared to a bloodthirsty violent alien creature, whereas Demogorgon in DND is an EXTREMELY intelligent scientist and spellcaster known for his experiments. This is JUST like Brenner- intelligent, cruel scientist who runs experiments with questionable ethics??? That’s Brenner.

Demogorgon conducted multiple experiments. He invented retrievers, ettins, khaastas, and he created the first ever Death Knight. He also invented a plague known as scalepox cloud, a series of clouds of disease mist.

And regarding the fact that the DND Demogorgon created the first ever Death Knight, I talked here about how Kas is namedropped in ST4, and El’s bloody has during NINA vs Kas The Bloody Handed and how Kas The Bloody Handed (the Kas who serves Vecna) was actually a false Kas- specifically, Kas the Bloody Handed was a Death Knight who believed himself to be the real Kas but was not.

And Demogorgon was responsible for the creation of Death Knights, and therefore responsible for the creation of Kas the Bloody Handed/the False Kas, which would track with a.) Brenner having “created” El/being responsible for her existence, and b.) possibly with Brenner having created Edward/being responsible for Edward’s existence, as both El and Henward seem to have Kas references surrounding them.

And regarding the DND Demogorgon inventing a mist/cloud plague, I’m staring DIRECTLY at the lab and the shadow particles and how cloudlike the particles are AND how frequently they’re compared to a virus/disease. Especially considering the parallels between the Russian prison and HNL, and the shadow particles trapped in the Russian prison that get released, I won’t be surprised if HNL/Brenner have released shadow particles before/are responsible for their creation, just like how Demogorgon created created the scalepox cloud.

Now that the DND Demogorgon lore and some of its connections to Richard and Martin is established, let’s dig further into the DND Demogorgon versus the ST Demogorgon.

So, if this grey creature-

-is SO different from the DND Demogorgon in almost every single way, then why does it get called a Demogorgon?

Well, the only reason why the kids call the grey-skinned creature a “Demogorgon” is because El uses the Demogorgon DND piece to represent whatever took Will and then the party sees the grey-skinned creature in the school in the S1 final ep, and assumes that it’s what took Will, and start calling it The Demogorgon as a result.

And Will confirms that the “Demogorgon” got him, but he doesn’t confirm that the grey-skinned creature is what he’s referring to/calling a Demogorgon. And it doesn’t make any sense for Will to call that creature a Demogorgon because he a.) wasn’t there when El used a Demogorgon figurine to represent whatever took Will and b.) the ST Demogorgon looks NOTHING like a DND Demogorgon.

Now, like I’ve talked about in another old post somewhere, Vecna does, physically, resemble the DND Demogorgon, with his tentacles vs Demogorgon’s tentacles, although Vecna is still lacking the two heads.

But if Vecna is what Will saw/what would make him think of a Demogorgon, then how can Richard and Martin each be a head of the Demogorgon?

Well, as James @henrysglock and Stav @heroesbyler and I have talked about, there’s evidence to indicate that one of the Brenners may have attempted to merge himself (much like the scientist in The Fly, which is on the S4 board multiple times), with one of the Henwards in one of the timelines (in pursuit of immortality via Henward’s regenerative healing), resulting in Vecna, and explaining all of the weird and constant Brenner-Vecna parallells, and explaining how both Vecna and the Brenners can represent the Demogorgon.

And also, even setting all of that aside, we need to keep in mind that Will himself seems to be referring to the party’s DND game, not to his vanishing, as the Demogorgon “got him”/killed his DND character due to his low roll.

Now, that is NOT me saying that this line doesn’t refer to Will’s vanishing at all- it totally does, the subtext is absolutely there. But what I AM saying is that Will likely isn’t actually saying that “the Demogorgon is what physically picked me up and took me,” and instead is referring to his character in DND.

So, if Will is just referring to his DND character and being taken by the Demogorgon in-game, then that still tracks completely with Will having been taken just by Richard and Martin without any Vecna involvement (with Richard and Martin being the Demogorgon), as Will isn’t actually directly telling us/the party anything about who actually kidnapped him, and instead, is talking about his DND game, and the subtext is there for the audience regarding Will’s actual kidnapping.

And, it’s not that the Duffers don’t understand DND lore- it’s that this is intentional.

The Demogorgon in ST looks nothing like a DND Demogorgon- it doesn’t even have two heads. It also doesn’t act like the DND Demogorgon- it’s not a spellcasting demon scientist with two separate heads and personalities. It’s not even close.

In fact, The ST Demogorgon is actually way way WAY more similar to a Doppelganger from DND, both in terms of appearance and behaviour.

Here’s a comparison of the ST Demogorgon vs the DND Doppelganger in terms of appearance:

And here’s some information about DND Doppelgangers and how they connect to the ST Demogorgon:

DND Doppelgangers are part of classic DND just like DND Demogorgon- so, while I do actually still think that analyzing more recent additions to DND is 100% valid, Doppelgangers in DND were around during the time period of ST/quite awhile before 1983.

Doppelgangers are shapeshifters, able to shapeshift into whoever they can see at the moment. Which, the ST Demogorgon being more closely inspired by a DND Doppelganger makes sense considering how similar the ST Demogorgon is to “The Thing”/the parallels the ST Demogorgon has to The Thing, and the parallels between “It” and the St Demogorgon/how frequently the ST Demogorgon is referred to as “It,” and also how much general shapeshifter imagery is associated with the ST Demogorgon.

Plus, there’s also the whole Vecnagorgon thing and the fact that we see two different Demogorgons in ST- one of them is a CGI Demogorgon that jumps around rapidly and is thinner, the other is a Demogorgon/the Vecnagorgon who is a.) played by a guy in a costume/suit b.) walks upright slowly on both legs c.) seems to regenerate its foot after getting its foot cut off in the trap at the Byers house and d.) grows strange, brief tumors when shot at the Byers house, something that the other Demogorgon does not do. So, this would all tie into some sort of weird shapeshifter stuff being afoot.

Doppelgangers are quick, vicious and violent, and corner their prey and then use brute force to throw them around- the exact same thing that the ST Demogorgon does.

Doppelgangers can replicate somebody’s clothes and personal items/gear too, which has some VERY interesting implications regarding Will standing in front of the “The Thing” poster in Mike’s basement constantly on the night he vanishes, and what I’ve talked about with two different Wills (Warm Will vs Cool Will) and also with the lab somehow replicating Will’s clothes for his dead body- if they had an exact Doppelganger-esque shapeshifted replica of Will who duplicated his clothes, though, and then they put those clothes onto the fake body… and if that Doppelganger-esuqe shapeshifted replica of Will was either Warm Will or Cool Will…. And if this same Doppelganger creature that replicated Will was was also the Vecnagorgon and was actually just something else replicating the appearance of a ST Demogorgon/the CGI Demogorgon/was replicating the one that isn’t the Vecnagorgon….. and if like I talked about here, the Brenner that we saw in S1 was very, VERY likely Richard Brenner, which leaves Martin Brenner free, and if Martin had some sort of shapeshifting abilities somehow… I’m not sure how it all fits togethers, but there’s SOMETHING HERE!!!

And so, while the ST Demogorgon is not similar to a DND Demogorgon, Richard and Martin are EXTREMELY similar to the DND Demogorgon. Sure, they’re both humans and not a twoheaded monkey demonbeast, but they’re both scientists constantly doing experiments with questionable ethics, just like Demogorgon, and Brenner seems to have this Jekyll and Hyde attitude, where he goes back and forth being openly cruel and uncaring versus being more charming- exactly like the two heads of Demogorgon in DND.

Which, Brenner being the Demogorgon/representing the Demogorgon would point to Richard and Martin being the ones who took Will, at least in one timeline, which tracks with the newspaper about Will’s vanishing from the end of S1 which states that Joyce claimed that Will was a subject at Hawkins Lab:

The former missing child Will Byers has been found after a week of searching. He is presently in stable condition in Hawkins General Hospital. Byers’ mother, Joyce Byers Alleges that Will was the subject of a secret government program run by the Hawkins National Laboratory. The allegation comes amidst a massive investigation into the hidden organization and its elaborate experimentation in perusal of mind control.

The abuse detailed in the first report includes prolonged psychological duress and psychological interrogation. This government sanctioned torture has sparked outrage amongst the American (NOT VISIBLE). In a statement issues yesterday, Ives mentioned her “disgust” (NOT VISIBLE) the organization, saying “our own American people are being treated like the (NOT VISIBLE) we should be directing our attention to the real targets, the Soviets, not our own daughters and sons.” Under legal advice, Brenner has issued no comment on- CUTS OFF

And this would all also align with what I talked about in this post forever ago, with how the hazmat suit figure (likely Brenner) is paralleled to the Demogorgon.

And again, Richard Brenner is described as literally being the head of the Narcotics Enforcement Division at HNL. This wording is not accidental, especially with the context of all of the similarities between Demogorgon and the Brenners- this wording is a reference to the heads of the Demogorgon, and Richard is literally one of the heads of HNL.

“The lab and its involved in government lead drug experimentation was first brought to the attention of the Post after documents naming Dr Richard Brenner, head of the Narcotic Enforcement Division from 1954-1971 came to light. These documents, although thoroughly coded, point to a secret organization involved in-“

It’s even worded to specifically put him as the head of the Narcotics Enforcement Division- meaning he’s not just put as the sole head of HNL as he’s just head of one specific division. Which is relevant because it leaves room for a second head, aka Martin. Martin and Richard are the two heads of HNL- and the two heads of the Demogorgon.

Which, this also puts them as the demon, considering that Demogorgon was a demon/the prince of demons.

Which, when we look at Victor and the Creel murders and the talk of a demon lurking in his home, it fits eerily well if we were to think of Brenner as the demon.

Take a look at this line, for example:

Who do we know that canonically takes children? BRENNER!!! And he’s specifically the guy who took Victor’s child/took Henry!!!! And he probably “took” Alice in the sense of being responsible for her death, especially since we never actually see Alice die, and people just assume that Henward killed her!

And this line:

Who do we know that takes pleasure in tormenting people and children?

Oh right, BRENNER!!! Brenner, the guy staring down with gross pleasure as he tortures a child:

And look at Henward during that SAME SCENE- he’s clearly disturbed and upset by 002’s torment:

Brenner, the guy smirking as he tortures Terry and shocks her:

Even Ray looks more upset/remorseful/as if he's questioning what he's doing, but Brenner just stands there smirking:

Brenner, the guy who watched without remorse as El cried about Brenner forcing her to kill a cat:

Brenner, the guy staring with a smile on his face while El stares back terrified:

Brenner, the guy standing here just WATCHING Henward get tortured, he doesn’t even have to be there, he’s not even there because he has to do the shocking because the other orderlies are doing it, he’s literally just there to watch and take pleasure in it:

Brenner canonically takes pleasure in tormenting people.

I’m working on some other big posts about this (and mentioned it in this post about the chessboard imagery in the Creel house, and in this post about Victor’s arrest) but I definitely think that HNL and Martin/Richard were surveying the Creels prior to the murders and messing with them and pushing them around like pieces on a chessboard.

This is also supported by the movie Cabin In The Woods, which is on the S4 board, and the cabin in question has DIRECT parallels to the Creel house, but is secretly being controlled and run by a government lab for the purpose of manipulating the people inside of it and making them act out/act violently/act out of character (like they were literally drugging them through the vents).

Long story short, to sum it all up, I think that:

1.) Richard and Martin are meant to represent the two heads of the DND Demogorgon.

2.) The Brenners, in one timeline at the very LEAST, were responsible for Will’s vanishing.

3.) The Brenners are the ones being paralleled to the demon in ST/that the demon imagery ties most closely to them and they were very, very likely messing with and surveying the Creel family prior to the murders.

4.) The ST “Demogorgon” is far more similar to a DND Doppelganger than it is to a DND Demogorgon.

5.) I'm not saying that Brenner is the grey-skinned monster creature. I'm saying that Richard and Martin Brenner, thematically and lore-wise, are FAR FAR FAR more similar to the DND Demogorgon than the ST Demogorgon/grey creature is, and that the creature in question is only called a Demogorgon in the show because El used the Demogorgon DND piece to represent whoever/whatever took Will- and then the boys see the grey creature and assume that it's what took Will.

[henrysglock]

"I Have Nightmares—" "That's Not A Sin." "Yeah, Except I'm Pretty Sure I Can Actually Make Them Come True."

Okay. This is about to get real shrimpy, because I'm relying on mid-quality video for mid quality pictures...so you guys just have to work with me.

I think this sequence is almost entirely fake:

As in...I straight up don't think those tentacles or this sequence ever existed IRL.

I'm getting the feeling that Henry IRL attacked Mr. Newby the same way he later attacks Brenner and Inmate 58361:

Eye-crushing, no breaking bones for 58361 (very similar to El's kill style), and then shot straight through the ceiling for Brenner. Same as Mr. Newby, but in two parts.

I'm actually fairly certain Henry's having a vision in the attic sequence.

We see this same red lighting appear just minutes before, when Patty's mother turns into a Vecna-fied version of herself to attack Henry...the same Vecna-type makeup Patty gets in Henry's vision of her back during the first DOTM rehearsal:

You can't see it from this angle, but Patty's mom has even got the clawed left hand and everything while she's forcing void-Henry to move in sync with her.

The next time we see Henry IRL, the lighting is back to normal and he's levitating on his own:

They close the curtains:

And when they come back up, he's bathed in red and strung up on the tentacles with Dimension X lightning in the background:

When the sequence ends, Henry in the void/on the stage floor drops to the ground in a heap, and "Henry" on the tentacles falls into a crouch:

But when we see IRL Henry next, the lighting is normal and he's picking himself up off the floor, just like void Henry:

Hell, Henry even tries to hide in the light of a "perfect" memory (Patty and him getting kicked out of Melvald's) when red-light Patty tells him, and I quote, "It's not real, it's a nightmare," (words Henry says to himself constantly) before going on to tell him it doesn't have to be a nightmare, he can make it a good dream.

And when he starts to lose his grip on that memory, Patty in the red light tells him "It's your dream, remember? Anything is possible". Smash cut to the weird "I love you" and Henry freeing himself from the monster (for the moment).

This all becomes especially shrimpresting when you consider that it was red-lighting Patty who told Henry she loves him, and who snapped at him that he had to say it back to fight off the monster.

However, when Henry IRL tries to catch normal-lighting Patty to tell her where to find her mother, she screams "let go of me!" at him while she runs away and leaves him to pick himself up off the attic floor:

Patty remains terrified of Henry right up until Mr. Newby begs her to save him.

That doesn't sound like someone who just confessed their love to Henry as a way to try and walk him back out of the darkness. It just doesn't.

It sounds like, maybe, Henry pulling on a different memory of Patty to try and save himself, or something along those lines. (Staring at Stav's post about the void being the alternate timeline, since he would be both in the void and in a vision...Henward are you trying to save each other..? Anyway, that's shrimping for a different post.) Namely, the memory I'm thinking of is the confession booth scene. Henry tells Patty that he's pretty sure he can make his nightmares come true, and she advises him it's his dream, so why not make it a good one next time?

Arguably, you could say that Patty's trying that same shtick again under wildly different circumstances/she put it all together and knows what he needs to do to break free.

But then...if she, while being actively attacked, is so willing to stand by Henry/help him to the point where she's confessing her love for him, then why does she run and leave him to put himself back together even though he's obviously in distress? Why is she so terrified of him, to the point where she doesn't dare tell Bob about what really happened in the attic for fear of Henry coming after her?

It doesn't add up.

So, tl;dr: I don't think Patty ever said "I love you" to Henry at all. I think that whole damn sequence was a nightmare vision.

I think the "I love you" was something else, whether it be Henry subconsciously "making it a good dream" to save himself, irl Patty, and Mr. Newby...or someone else who a) knows what to do/how to help Henry, and b) is, as Patty says, "Connected, whether [Henry] likes it or not".

As a side note for support: Even Joyce and Hopper display more care for Henry post-attic than Patty does. Now, Patty is well within her rights to be terrified of Henry and not want anything to do with him, don't get me wrong...But don't try to tell me Henry and Patty are "true love/love at first sight" when Joyce and Hopper are ready to go take down Victor in part because Henry's gone missing.

The Jopper conversation when Joyce is convincing Hopper to help her take down Victor goes, and I quote:

Joyce: What about Henry, hm? Any explanation about what happened to him? Why no one knows where he is, or why it's like he disappeared? Hopper: No one knows anything...or if they do, they're not talking.

Meanwhile, Patty is refusing to talk about what happened in the attic because she's terrified that Henry's listening, and that he'll come after her if she talks.

That's not convincing for "true love/love at first sight".

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

A/N: The first movie isn't real.

Summary: A platonic girls' night with Steve, Robin, and Nancy.

Girls' night. He was perfectly okay with it being called girls' night. Steve was actually excited about it. It would be the first time him and Nancy would be hanging out since they cleared the air. They sat down and actually talked about what happened between them. Nancy apologized for how she handled things between them. Steve tried to apologize for not being a better boyfriend, and Nancy had promptly hit him over the head with newspaper, telling him that he had been a damn good boyfriend. They talked about Barb, and they both decided that they had nothing to apologize for that night. It had been Dr. Brenner's for playing God. If it hadn't been for his experiment, then Barb would have lived. They were just normal teenagers that night, enjoying each other's company.

Newly single Nancy fucked him that night and it was like closing a book after it was left open to long. It was finished, and they could finally move forward to actually being friends. They had woken up the next morning, feeling better than they had in a long time. The sun had shone over both of them, and the birds sang loudly. Steve remembered looking at Nancy, and the feeling he had unknowingly held onto for so long was gone. In its place was closure. He's not sure why, but they had looked at each other and laughed. It was the last time they would sleep together, and when Steve would look back on this moment, he would look back on their relationship fondly. . .with no more regrets.

"Hello, ladies," Steve grinned when he opened the door.

"Well, this is familiar," Nancy said.

Nancy had picked up Robin on the way to Steve’s and they were now standing on his doorstep. Nancy's eyes sparkled with a little bit of sadness, something that would probably always be there, but over all, she looked pretty happy. Steve grinned.

"Ready to raise a little hell?" Steve asked, and Nancy laughed.

"Okay, the first rule of girls' night is no leaving Robin out of inside jokes," Robin said as she pushed herself inside, pulling Nancy along with her.

"Oh, is Robin speaking in the third person now?" Steve scoffed.

"Only for this moment, she is," Robin said. "Whoops, I accidentally spoke like Yoda."

"So, what's first on the agenda on our night of hell raising?" Nancy asked.

"Pizza and movie first. That's absolute. It has to be a stupid, mockable rom com. It has to be as cheesy as the pizza," Robin said.

"Then we spend some time picking it apart. We then put on a movie that we do like. You know, usual one that makes us cry," Steve said.

"Then after that, we do facials and paint each other's nails while we gossip. Don't worry, we only gossip about people we don't like," Robin said, and Nancy laughed. "We gossip about Keith a lot."

"Then the very last thing, we dance around in our socks, our sleep shirts and underwear. Tonight's song: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," Steve finished.

"How often do you guys do this?" Nancy asked.

"All of the time," Steve and Robin said together.

They all settled down to watch a movie that Robin picked out, the pizza boxes spread out on the coffee table. The movie they were watching was called Better to Have Loved, which turned out better than they had expected.

"With a title like that, I really thought that it was going to be super cheesy like the cover of the tape," Robin said. "But I really loved it. Kind of sad that Andy didn't end up with the love of his life. It was nice that he decided his friendship with Larry was more important. Although, they never explained how a jock and a metalhead became such close friends."

"Well, obviously, they got trapped in another dimension together," Steve said and they all laughed.

"You're so wrong, Robin," Nancy said. "Andy did end up with the love of his life."

"What? The movie ended like it started with Andy crawling into Larry's bed like they always do," Robin said and then paused. "Wait. . . are you implying that Andy and Larry are in love?"

"If the shoe fits," Nancy said.

"As a lesbian, I think that I would be able to sense it," Robin said.

"You didn't sense anything with me. I had to tell you that I'm bisexual," Steve said. "I don't know. I see it now. Yes, Andy is definitely in love with Eddie."

Robin and Nancy's head snapped together to look in his direction.

"The metalhead's name is Larry," Robin said slowly.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Steve said.

"No, dingus, you said Eddie," Robin said.

"Did I?" Steve asked, his voice squeaking.

"Oh my god! I knew it!" Nancy exclaimed.

"What? You knew nothing, Wheeler," Steve laughed. "You're pretty smart, but you don't know everything."

"You were definitely making eyes at Eddie in the Upside Down and every time I've come over for your little get togethers," Nancy said and then paused. "By the way, thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about yourselves."

"Oh, shit, we did just come out to her," Robin said and then giggled. "So, you're really cool with it?"

"Yeah!" Nancy said.

"Okay, let's do the facials, paint our nails, and gossip like the bitches that we are," Robin said. "Then we're going to make Margaritas and watch Pretty in Pink."

"Again, Robin? Seriously? This is because of her crush," Steve said rolling her eyes. "She looks like Molly Ringwald."

"She really does," Robin said, sighing dreamily. "Vickie Fisher."

"Oh, I talked to her a couple of times. She's cute. I can definitely see you guys together," Nancy said.

"Yeah, she broke up with her boyfriend for Robin," Steve said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You don't know that!" Robin shrieked.

"And you'll never know unless you take the risk," Steve said.

"Yeah, I'll tell Vickie the day that you admit that you are madly in love with Eddie!" Robin yelled at him. "By the way, how did I miss that?!"

"Because your gaydar sucks!" Steve exclaimed.

"Ah ha! You admit it!"

"I admit nothing!"

After Robin and Steve argued for a bit, they finally put on their face masks before doing their nails.

"Unfortunately, Keith has been absolutely boring lately so does anyone else have any gossip?" Robin asked.

"El broke up with Mike and Mike is mad at me because he thinks it's my fault," Nancy said.

"Why would he think that?" Steve asked.

"Well, It surprised me but El came to me for advice because she felt like she didn't want to be with Mike anymore because she couldn't handle a relationship right now," Nancy said. "I wouldn't blame her after everything she's been through. I told her that was normal and that if she didn't want to be with him, then she needed to be honest with him about why. Mike wasn't too pleased with me."

"The kid's a little shit but he's also experiencing his first heartbreak," Steve said. "He'll pull his head out of his ass and realize that you guys were both right."

"I always thought it was weird that El jumped into a relationship right after escaping a lab who kept her prisoner her entire life," Robin said. "So, I think it's going to be nice that she's going to finally focus on herself for once."

"You think?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah. Isn't that what you're doing?" Robin asked. "Platonic relationships are just as important as romantic. I wish more people understood that."

"You know, I'm really glad that you guys let me be a part of this," Nancy said. "You know, for the longest time I didn't really let myself get close to people, I mean really close even when I was with Jonathan and especially when I was with Steve. I didn't even let myself get close to Fred which I deeply regret now. I don't want to do that, to shield myself away from people just because they might die because that might happen whether or not I get close to anyone. I think it's going to be nice to have friends again."

Steve and Robin shared a soft smile over Nancy's head. They pulled her into a hug and started kissing her cheeks.

"It's going to be nice to have you as a friend, too, Nance," Robin said.

"I definitely think our new relationship holds a lot more meaning for both of us," Steve said. "I think we were always supposed to be friends."

"Yeah, we just needed to fuck a few times to be sure," Nancy giggled and Steve laughed.

"OH! You had to ruin it, Nance! You just had to go there!" Robin exclaimed. "The images are burned into my retina. Okay, another rule about this platonic girl's night out: no mentioning you two fucking! It's over, it's done with! Finite."

"She's very dramatic," Nancy said. "By the way, you seem to be very comfortable about calling it girls' night."

"I am perfectly comfortable with my masculinity and my femininity," Steve said. "No shame."

"It's one of the things that I love about him," Robin said fondly. "He lets me practice my makeup skills on him all the time and vice versa. Although, he's better at putting makeup on me and doing hair. Did I tell you that he's the one who cut my hair? He would make a good beautician. I keep telling him that, but he doesn't believe me."

"I can see it," Nancy said, smirking at Robin. "He's definitely good with his hands."

"OH! You did that on purpose!" Robin exclaimed. "Bad Nancy! Do I have to get the spray bottle?"

After their nails dried, they headed into the kitchen to make the Margaritas. After another argument, they watched Pretty in Pink where Robin openly fawned over Molly Ringwald. They drank a lot, causing Steve to reveal that he does in fact like Eddie.

"He's just so. . . just so. . . preeeetttty," Steve said as he hung upside down on the couch.

"Eh," Nancy said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Eh? EH?! Oh, I'm so glad that we're just bologna," Steve said with a snort and laughed. "Bologna? I meant platonic! I'm silly."

"I double dog dare you to tell Eddie that you want to have his babies!" Robin yelled.

"Only if you tell Vickie that you want to have hers!" Steve yelled.

"I don't want to have babies. I want to give her a bunch of dogs. She loves dogs," Robin sighed.

"Aren't you allergic?" Steve asked.

"I will do anything for her," she said. "Call Edward and I shall call Victoria! Oh, you have that speaker phone thingy. Put that on so we know that it's Eddie! Make the call! No traps!"

"This is fun. You guys are fun!" Nancy giggled.

Steve rolled off the couch and they all moved closer to the phone. He struggled to remember Eddie's phone number for a moment until he did, and he dialed the number gleefully, turning on the speaker phone.

"Hello?" Eddie's voice came out of the speaker.

"Eddie! Hi!" Steve giggled.

"Hey, Stevie. You sound a little drunk. How's girls' night going?" Eddie laughed.

"Oh, you know. . .finnnne," Steve said, biting his lip. "Could be better, though. Wish you were here."

"Yeah?" Eddie asked.

"No, Steve!" Nancy whined.

"Oh, is Nancy there?" Eddie asked.

"Yes! But don't worry. I say this to anyone in the universe who happens to be interested in Steve, we fucked out all the romance. Now, we're just bolognas," Nancy giggled.

"Bolognas?" Eddie asked in amusement.

"No, Eddie! It's platonic!" Nancy giggled. "Silly."

"Yes, silly me," he laughed. "What did you guys drink?"

"Ritas!" Steve screamed and spoked softly, "Teddy. There's something I need to tell you."

"You can tell me anything," Eddie said.

"Why don't you come over, big boy?" Steve asked, giggling. "Oh, wait, that's what you call me."

"No, Steve! No, boys allowed! Only platonic girls!" Robin shrieked.

"We can have this conversation when you're sober," Eddie said.

"You want to hear what I have to say?" Steve asked.

"Oh yeah," Eddie said.

"Wait, you supposed to tell Eddie, then I tell Vickie!" Robin whispered loudly to Steve. "What do I do now?"

"Tell her when you're sober, Buckley," Eddie said.

"Eddie! You're not supposed to be here!" Robin shrieked.

"I'm on the phone, Robin," Eddie said. "I should go now. Have fun, ladies."

"Bye, Eddie," Steve said and blew kisses at the phone.

"Aw, he blew kisses at the phone," Nancy giggled.

"I blew some back, big boy," Eddie said. "You better catch them before they get away."

"Robin! Quick! Catch them! They're floating away!" Steve exclaimed.

"Gone, gone, gone," Robin said, looking up at the ceiling. "Bye, bye, Eddie's kisses!"

"You didn't even try!"

After they hung up the phone with Eddie, they started to prepare to dance to Cyndi Lauper.

"I know that your mom said no but can we please wear them?" Robin asked. "Please?"

"Ugh, fine!" Steve grinned.

"Wear what?" Nancy asked.

Robin giggled and pulled Nancy up the stairs into Steve's parents' bedroom. She opened the door to their closet to reveal several fluffy, fur trimmed robes.

"Maggie loves walking around the house in these," Robin said with a grin.

"She's so dramatic, I love her," Steve grinned.

"Ooh, I want the blue one," Nancy said.

"I'll gladly take the pink one," Steve said.

"Green for me!" Robin exclaimed.

They wondered downstairs in their robes and started blasting the song.

"I don't know about this," Nancy said. "I feel kind of stupid."

"That's the whole point, Nance," Robin said. "That's why we're drunk. Turn off our brains so we can do the stupid thing!"

Steve grabbed Nancy's arms and started to help her dance. He moved her arms back and forth before she started to move by herself. She began to jump up and down, giggling as Robin leaped around them. Sometimes, it's okay to let loose every once in a while. It's okay to be career driven or not know what you want to do with your life yet, and it was okay to not even know who you are. Sometimes you know, sometimes you don't. It was alright to take a pause for a moment, to smell the roses, and to let your hair down.

Nancy had thought about that as she danced around the room with Steve and Robin, shaking her hips as she so. She could feel the guilt and the resentment she had placed on herself start to fade away, her shoulders relaxing as she moved around, and then it was her entire body relaxing completely. Life was whatever you wanted it to be, and no one could tell you how to live your life except you. Dancing it out wasn't the answer to all of her problems, but it certainly helped. It helped to have people to lean on as well because while they can't tell you what to do, they can help you figure it out. As she danced with Steve, she felt closer to him than she ever had before, and it really was better for both of them.

The next morning. . .

Eddie strolled into the Harrington house, eager to see the aftermath of last night and to have that conversation with Steve. He laughed when he walked into the living room. The three of them was spread out all across the floor and they were all wearing giant fluffy robes. Lipstick was smeared Steve's mouth and the words 'Mrs. Munson' was written on his forehead. Steve groaned and opened his eyes, blinking rapidly.

"Hey, Eddie," he said softly.

"Hey, big boy," Eddie said, grinning from ear to ear. "You ready for that talk?"

"Get it, you big slut," Robin said and Nancy giggled.

"I feel like there's something on my face," Steve frowned.

"You look absolutely beautiful," Eddie said causing Steve to blush and giggle.

"I love you," Steve said fondly. "Robin! Your turn!"

"Gah! I haven't prepared a speech," Robin said. "Nance, we've solidified our platonic friendship pretty well last night, can you do me a solid favor and write it for me?"

"No!"

"Damn!"

[roachemoji]

Stranger Things Season 4 Thread!!!!!!!! 04 01

theres NO realistic way in hell some kid was chucking that shit every damn day and making it !!!!!!!!! bro would have smacked someone in the fucking FACE by now!!!!!

starting off with a freak ass routine gotcha gotcha gotcha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

aGAGGLE OF BALD CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

its been. 4 minutes and im already so uncomfortable with how they hold the kids hands to lead them around lmao

Brenner cant draw for SHIT girl if that was me id tell him i dont know bc its fucking UGLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH. HES RIGHT.

GOD hes. i hate hate hate hate hate hate his fucking face it makes me so uncomfortable.

GIRL HELLO !!!!!!!!! DAMN LMAO

EXPLODES THEM EXPLODESTHEM EXPLODES THEM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the TONE shift from the last season is really getting to me girlie like that last one didnt feel REAL and this one feels VERY present. even with the rainbow visuals in the room?

OUGHH GOD HES SO UNCOMFORTABLE.

HIS EXPRESSIONS ARE SO ???? HIS GASP SEEING A DEAD KID??? IDK HOW TO PLACE IT.

damn girlie what did you do !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EL'S !!!! FUCKING AUTISM ACCENT? LOVE HER. LOVE HER.

ARGYLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GODIM SO EXCITED TO MEET HIM !!!!!

I CANT PUT INTO WORDSS HOW MUCH I LOVE THE TONE SHIFT AND THEM BEING OLDER AND EL'S LETTER TO MIKE BEING !!!! SO.

THEYRE ALL SO BIG NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KAREN LOOKS SO CUTE AND TED? KILLS HIM.

SUZZIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND DUSTIN <3333333 THEYRE SO CUTE

STEVE AND ROBIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PEOOPLE WHO LIKE BOOBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK ING STE VE. BI MEN AND THEIR LESBIAN BESTIES ???

MAX IS NOT BEATING THE TRANS MASC ALLEGATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT NOW NOT EVER NOT IN MY HEART

UCAS LOOK SO FU CKING GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! HIS HAIIRRRRRR

WHO TH FUCK IS THIS ARCHIE LOOKING WHITE MAN ?????

THEIR PANTS ARE TEAR AWAY ? I GUESS THOSE HAVE A FUCKING USE .... WHEN IT COMES TO SPORTS ? BUT STILL KAJDSHKJHADS IM FU CKING KAJHDKJAHSD. THEY DIDNT DIE SO WE WOULD LOOSE AT BASKETBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHUT UP

Lucas is making a good ass point butalso im so sorry he doesnt wanna be a loser nerd freak anymore :pensive:

the fu cCKING RUSSIANS LAKJSHDAKSJHDKJ HDAMN GIRLIE HOLY SHIT BE CAREFUL ? EW. EW? WHOSE THE LITTLE WHITE WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH ELL BABY YOU GOT THIS. YOU GOT THIS!!!! GO AUTISM GIRLIE!!!!!!!!

IM GONNA KILL. EVERYONE IN THAT ROOM. !! PLEASE LET HER JUST. OUGHHGH GODD. WILL TEARING UP TOO. FUCKING EXPLODE HER!!!!!! EXPLODE THAT FUCKING. BITCH HOLY SHIT ?

WILL IS.

MAX ?? QUEER WHATS WITH THE... GREEN SCRUNCHIE?? THAT THE OTHER GIRLIES HAVE

LUCAS approaching Max who... is the only one who is like ? LOUDLY suffering with shit after watching Billy die and be traumatized vs the core group not NOT being traumatized but handling it VERY DIFFERENTLY ? like they always "bounced back" and Max isn't

o h JESUS WHAT THE FUCK HELLO ?????? bro aksjdhkasjhakhkKJHDFKJSDHFKJH DAMN I WOULD NOT HAVE LEFT THAT BATHROOM HELLO WHAT THE FUCK

Eddie doesnt SOUND like i thought he would ???? AKDHAKDJH i forgot about the hanky code my mans wearing

dustiinnNNSFNKJKSJH DUSTIN. AKJSDH!!!!!! MIKE'S FACE.

Eddie's vibe is. AKHASKDJASHD like my ex boyfriend from highschool

MURRYYYY !!! MISSED HIM. LOVE HIM. RIP ALEXEI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she has nIPPLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ARGYLE AKSJHDKASJH!!!!!!!!!! MOPEY DICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NANCY LOOKS SO CUTE!!!

ARGYLE CALLING HIM A FUCKING GOOD BOY KJHSDKAHADSKJHADSKJH YELLING

im sorry literally N OON wants to play DnD you just have to find the gay people !!!!!!!!!!!!!! (40 years from now)

Out h ere being Mentally ill in da Woods as you do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what gay ass drugs are we selling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh hes DRAMATIC fucking theater kid. that man's NOT STRAIGHT !!!! and also defenitely has ADHD. chewing on his fucking HAIR !!! stimming i see u !!

EL BABY GIRL IM SO SORRY I WAN T TO EXPLODE THE WORLD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT TO KILL FOR HER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOY SHIT . MAKE THEM PISS THEIR PANTS GIRL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OO OoOOO H BABAKJSHD I FORGOT HER POW ERS ARENT ,,, WO RK ING,,, ABY IM,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, THIS IS FUCKING PAINFUL.

tHE focus not having been on Will the entire time except for a snippet here and there is REALLY NICE ACTUALLY likE!!! IDK BUT IT IS. TTHAT MANS FIGURING OUT HES QUEER TOO

MURRY JADKASLASKLJSADKJ !!!! MY MAN ABSOLUTEL LOSING HIS MIND

sTEVE IM AKSDJHS SORRY GIRLIE LMAOOOOOO fuc kinggGGGG TAMMMYYYYY AKSDJAKDHAKJSDHKAJSHD ROBINNN GIRLIEE IM SO FUCKING SORRRYY. JDKLKJDLKJFDSJLKDF I WA NNA FUCKING.

ERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BABY GIRL IS BACKKKK YEAHHHH FUCKING LOVE HER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND HER HAIIIRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANT WAIT FOR HER TO DESTROY EDDIE

DESTROY HIM DESTROY HIM DESTROY HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the fucking mountain dew cansssss his DM set up is so good

I JUST LOVE HOW DND IS USED AS FORESHADOWING BABEY !!!

Dusstin and Erica working together like THIS IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH. love u lady applejack <33333

FUCKING GET IT ERICA!!!! LUCAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASSSEEEEEEEEE

YYYEAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i thOUGHT he was tlking to like a lizard and not a guitar AKSJD

IS Chrissy just experiencing like a psychotic break ?? delusions??? I cant tell if its like. ACTUALLY happening to her or something to do with the UD ? Dissociative seizures????? DISSOCIATIVE SEIZURES AND THE UD ?????

FEEL LIKE ALL THE SPIDER VISUALS AND SHIT ARE IMPORTANT AND I JUST DONT KNOW HOW YET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH IS THIS VECNA ? SIR !! YOURE. WET :/

BRO HELLO WHAT

KING WHAT DOES THAT M EAN

ASDASKJHD KASHDKASJH SORRY TO EDDIE WHO THOUGH YEAHHH A FRIEND :3c

GIRL WAHT THE FUCK EXORCIST SHIT HOLY HSHKJASJK LSHAJKHAD HE RE YEB ALLS!!!!!!!!! BROOOO AKSJDHKASHDKASHD

yeah so season 3 was. liike. different and now ? we're back at it!!!! we're back at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALSRRIGH alright

ending with a half song again no lyrics inchresting

[lunamadhatter99]

Be my queen

Part 1

SteveHarrington x Hopper!femreader x EddieMunson

Here's the first chapter of my new series, this is gonna be shorter than the Eddie one I made.

Just to clarify some things: It says Hopper!reader, again, because it's my favourite, even though he adopted her she stayed in Hawkins instead of going with the Byers because she didn't feel like leaving high school right before her last year so Dustin offered to let her stay at his house (since she used to babysit him a lot) and... that's it. Sorry for the long premise.😂

Hope you'll like this first chapter, let me know what you think and if anyone wants to be tagged you can tell me her as well or send an ask. Love you!✨️

Chapter summary: when Vecna rakes Nancy to show her his plan, he takes Y/n as well to show her he already knows her, or some version of her. For the gang then it's time to come up with a good plan and a trip to the War Zone is due.

Chapter warning: ⚠️ season 4 spoiler ⚠️ blood, non-con touching, violence, Jason being an asshole.

Tag list:

@once-upon-an-imagine

@munsonology

@cutepumpkin4

@summerbrooksblog

@iheartmyguitars

@trickylittlewitch

@eddiesguitarskills

@justheretoreadleavemealone

What the hell is happening?

One minute I hear Steve's panic voice calling Nancy and the next I'm in... a laboratory?

My friends and I finally got back from the UpsideDown after being stuck there and now I'm trapped again... it's terrifying.

I look around trying to calm down by taking a big deep breath, the walls are clean and white, just like a hospital. A shiver runs down my spine when I notice a girl, walking out of a room with papers in her hands.

What the fuck?

She looks exactly like me... how?

I decide to follow her, seeing that I have no other option.

As I follow her... me... I see some other people, who look like doctors and nurses. Some of them are followed by kids. Shaved head, all of them.

I quickly take a closer look and notice they have a number tattooed on their arm.

Could it be where El lived?

Oh fuck. I'm in Hawkins' Lab. Why? Why is there a girl who looks exactly like me?

I keep following her around, but before I could follow her into a room I hear a voice calling my name.

I turn around finding a blonde man, looking directly at me.

"Yes?"

I turn around, after my "clone" answered him. Her demeanor changes right away when her eyes spot the man. From calm, almost bored to nervous, on edge.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, love." the blonde man says with a sweet, yet intimidating tone.

"I... I was fixing some things... for today's tests." The girl tells him in a small voice.

As the man walks towards her, I notice the girl taking a small step back, but stops, almost holding back.

"You always work so hard. You should rest for a while" he's now in front of her and she doesn't look comfortable.

"I don't mind it, Henry, I'm not even tired" she say letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Take a break, c'mon. Ten minutes won't hurt anyone" the man named Henry insists, moving his hand to caress her arm so slightly.

"Maybe later. I have to drop off these files and check on the kids" she explains calmly.

"What about I check on the kids so we can have some... alone time?" He asks, inching closer and closer to the girl, who looks around the corridor to probably check if someone's coming.

"I don't think it's a good idea" she says, trying to remain calm "Brenner asked me to personally check on the kids."

Henry just looks at her, almost admiring her.

"Then give me a kiss so I can go on with my day without missing you too much"

He doesn't give her time to respond, his lips are already on hers, moving the hand that was caressing her arm to her hips holding her.

The girl's eyes are open, she doesn't exactly kiss him back, she just lets him and he doesn't seem to notice it.

"I'll see you later, love" he says after pulling away.

"Bye" she says and quickly walks into a room, I follow her just as quickly, however when I enter the room I find "me" attending to the same blonde man, Henry.

He looks bad, like he was beaten up or something, the girl's checking his head.

"Do you feel nauseous, dizzy or..?" She asks.

"No.. just a little stunned" he answers, holding his head.

"That's good... at least a bit."

They stay silent for a moment, the girl looks at him with sorrow, I think, someone must've put this Henry through something really bad for her to feel sorry for a man she was quite intimidated by.

"I'm sorry, Henry" she says.

"Don't be." He replies looking up at her and grabbing her hand, the action makes her tense immediately, still he doesn't notice it, instead he goes on "It was not your fault and you don't need to worry about me, angel, I'm gonna get us out of here."

"What?" She's confused.

"Eleven has a huge power. Her powers have the potential to become something great... she could help me build a new world. A world for us. Then we could finally be together" he explains and now the girl looks alarmed.

"What are you talking about?" She asks.

"Don't think about it, my love, I'll fix everything soon" he tells her and kiss her hand.

What the hell is going on here?

I feel myself shaking, breathing becomes hard so I turn around to get out of the room.

As I walk through the door I'm back in the corridor, but now the walls aren't white and clean... they're covered in blood.

I look around, on the ground laying with broken limbs and bleeding eyes there are the same people I saw walking earlier... the children too... all dead.

I feel myself getting sick when a scream catches my attention.

"Stop!" It's the girl again.

I run towards her voice and enter a wide room, a rainbow fantasy on the walls, lots of kids toys on the floor... there's blood on them too, the children's. I see them laying in the ground blood all over them.

Fuck.

"Please, Henry, you need to stop" I turn to see the girl standing in front of a mad Henry.

He takes a step towards her and she takes a big step back. I don't think she cares anymore if he feels hurt by her actions or not.

"Why are you scared, my angel?" He asks, he doesn't realise she doesn't feel the same and he definitely doesn't realise what he did wrong, apparently. It makes me sick.

"You... fuck... look at what you did! They're... they're kids.." she tells him in between sobs.

Suddenly he walks to her cupping her face in his hands, preventing her from moving away. She still tries though.

"Don't you understand? Don't you understand why I'm doing this?" He asks her, rather harshly.

"What's there to understand? You... you fucking kill them" she replies, voice breaking at the end.

Before he could answer her there's a noise coming from near the wall.

I look back seeing a boy standing up.

Henry's eyes darken as he notices him, he lets go of the girl and turn his attention to the boy.

"No, please... Henry... please" she tries to stop him, tries to stop his arm slowly raising. "Please... fuck... don't!"

Henry nods towards the door and the girl flies across the room hitting the doors and Henry goes back at killing the boy.

He lifts him into the air and using his power he breaks his bones and his eyes.

The boy looked so young...

As soon as Henry killed the poor thing he looks for the girl, but she's nowhere to be seen.

She must've escaped while he was distracted.

I want to do just that so I run out of the room.

When I go to open the door I find myself face to face with Eddie's own worried face.

"Oh shit!" He lets out a sigh of relief.

"Fucking thank god" Steve exclaims from beside him.

I must've fallen on the ground since I'm laying on Eddie's trailer floor.

"What... what happened?" I ask sitting up.

"We thought Vecna took you and Nancy" Dustin says from beside me so I look at him, caressing his arm to assure him I was okay.

I look at the others, all with worried faces. Nancy's beside Robin who got an arm around her reassuringly.

"Did he let you go too?" She asks and I nod "did he show you what he showed me?"

"I... I don't know"

-----------

We all moved to Max's trailer where Nancy started telling us about what Vecna showed her.

His plan of bringing a sort of army to Hawkins, to let the UpsideDown expand completely into our world through some gates.

They keep talking, but I can't really pay attention, I hear them, but I can't listen.

I'm too focused on whatever the fuck he showed me.

"I was there" I suddenly say from my place on the ground, head in my head thinking.

"So was I. It was... so real I- " Nancy starts, but I interrupt her.

"No. Not that. I mean, I was there, at the lab. Or some copy of me, a clone or... I don't know." I take a deep breath "this... Vecna, one.. Henry, he was, like, in love with this girl, or better, obsessed with her. Delusional. I saw... I saw him killing a little kid... the same way Eddie described... with no sign of regret or even sorrow."

"What... what if he just showed those things to scare you?" Steve suggests, evidently trying not to think of the worst.

"He didn't. I... I don't know what the hell was that, but I know it was very much real... and it's freaking me the fuck out, okay? I myself don't want to believe it, but... there's no denying it." I tell him. "For some reason I, or another girl who looks exactly like me, was there and he feels like he found her again."

"Why doing all this just for... a girl though?" Robin asks "don't get me wrong, you're a wonderful girl, I'd gladly do that too. But why be so obsessed?"

"He needs a queen" Dustin answers her, like it was obvious.

"Fuck..." I mutter hiding my head in my hands once again.

"Shit...Try 'em again. Try 'em again" Steve tells Max, who immediately goes to the phone.

We've been trying to contact El, Will and Mike, with no results.

"Anything?" Dustin asks.

"No. Rang a few times, then went to busy signal." Max answers.

"Maybe you punched it wrong. Try again" Steve says.

"I didn't punch it in wrong" Max replies, rightly annoyed.

"Well, I don't know" Steve tries.

"I think she knows how to use a phone" Dustin defends Max, who's trying once again.

"I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong." Steve insists.

Max hangs up the phone again "same shit"

"How is that possible?" Lucas asks confused.

"I told you, Joyce has this telemarketer job. She's always on the phone. Mike won't stop whining about it." Dustin explains.

"That can't be three days straight busy, Dustin" I say.

"Yeah, something must be wrong" Max agrees with me.

"They're right. It can't be just a coincidence. It can't be" Nancy too agrees."Whatever is happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it. But Vecna can't hurt them nor take Y/n. Not if he's dead. We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down."

"Whoa. No, no, no. What?" Steve complains.

"Nope." Eddie too shakes his head.

"She's right" I say standing next to Nancy. "I don't know about you, but I don't exactly like the idea of being some teen-killing monster's mistress or whatever. So we either kill the bastard or... we kill the bastard" I say matter-of-factly

"We barely made it out of there in one piece" Steve points out.

"Yeah. That's because we weren't prepared, Steve." I tell him. "We just need a plan"

"A good one. Then we'll go through the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him" Nancy supports me.

"Or he'll kill us" Steve replies, agitated "the only reason you survived is because he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."

"And for good reason" Robin finally speaks "we were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?" She asks.

"One" Dustin and Lucas choose.

"Vecna" says Erica.

"Henry" Nancy says, as a matter of fact.

"Piece of shit?" I suggest, noticing a nod from Eddie.

"Right. We've learned something new about Vecna/Henry/one... uh... piece of shit. He's a number like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin. But my.. my point is, he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight."

"Then why fight fair?" Dustin asks, simply "you're right. He's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths and weaknesses" he explains.

Genius.

"Weaknesses?" Erica's quite confused now.

"There is one thing we can use." I say.

"Exactly, when El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state. I bet the same is true for Vecna" Dustin keeps talking.

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic" Lucas points out.

"Exactly. When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless." He declares.

"Defenseless? What about the army of bats?" Steve rhetorically asks, pointing at his injured neck.

"Right, true. We'll have to find a way past them. Distract them somehow." Dustin answers.

"And, uh, how do we do that, exactly?" Eddie asks, about to standing up.

"No idea" Dustin replies and Eddie sits back down defeated. "But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin"

"That a sounds good in theory, but there is no pattern in Vecna's killings. I mean, at least not one that I can decipher." Robin notes. "We don't know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know who he's going to attack"

"We don't need another victim" I say, looking down.

"What are you talking about?" Nancy asks, worry clear in her voice.

"I can be the bait."

"No" Steve and Eddie says at the same time.

"I will" Max speaks up. "I can still feel him. I survived before I can do it again"

"No." I firmly say "we don't know if the music thing will work again. He will kill you, if he gets another chance. But he will not kill me"

"We... we don't know that, Y/n" Steve walks in front of me.

"Yes, we do! You didn't see what I saw. How he was with her. He looked at her like she was the reason the sun goes up every morning." I look him in the eyes, my voice gets softer "he won't kill me, Steve"

"Are you sure about this?" Lucas asks.

"Positive" I say letting out a big sigh "just... please kill him"

"We need supplies" Nancy declares.

-----------

After stealing an RVs we head to the War Zone that, according to Eddie, has everything we might need for killing things.

The plan is to buy weapons and then find an open space to get ready and be away from unwanted attention.

I sit in the back with Dustin while the others are scattered around and Steve's driving.

"Are you worried?" Dustin suddenly asks.

I look up at him, then I look around to avoid his worried stare and find Eddie's, instead. I smile at him, to let him know everything is alright.

"Scared shitless" I then say to Dustin.

"You don't have to do this. You can back down and we can think of a new plan together" Dustin tells me, he tries to both reassure me and make me change my mind.

"I know, I know. But the only other valid option is for Max to be the bait and, in all honesty, that scares me even more" As I speak I play with my fingers I sense someone's presence with us so I look up seeing Eddie.

"Hi" he softly says.

"Hey" I reply.

"I'll leave you two" Dustin smiles at us and gets up to join Lucas and Max.

"You okay?" He asks and I softly laugh. "Stupid question, I know. I'm sorry"

"Nah, don't worry about it. You can ask all the stupid question you want" I smile at him.

"I really wish you wouldn't have to do this" he gently holds my hand.

"Me too. But better me than Max, or anyone else" I say laying my head on his shoulder, I always found comfort in this. We've been friends since I started driving the kids back and forth when they had Hellfire, so we got closer. Sometimes I feel like there's more, but whenever anything could happen he backs down so I'm never sure how he feels.

"Actually it would be better to send Harrington. Maybe he could distract him with his hair, make a good use out of it for once" he jokes.

"Don't be mean." I say with a chuckle. He always knows how to cheer me up. "He might give him lessons on how to style it properly" I joke too.

I look at Steve driving.

Steve...

Steve, on the other hand, I met him when he and Nancy started dating, so of course he was always in the way. I didn't mind it honestly, he turned out to be not that much of a dick. Then he just got better, especially thanks to Dustin's friendship, but here's the things get complicated. When he worked at Scoops Ahoy with Robin he always flirted with me as I went to visit Robin during my breaks at the music store at Starcourt, at first I thought he was his way of joking. The moment I realised he wasn't joking I also realised I didn't mind it at all. I wanted him to flirt and I wanted to flirt back.

So... I realised I like, have some sort of feelings for two guys... at the same time.

Complicated.

"We're here" Steve announces parking the van in a secluded area to keep Eddie, Dustin and Lucas away from the people of Hawkins.

-----------

The store is huge.

"So much for avoiding angry hicks" Robin comments.

"Let's be... fast" Nancy suggests and we all agree.

Nancy and I go check out of the shotguns they sells.

"How much?" Nancy asks the seller.

"$120.99, but I'll throw in 20 rounds of buckshot for ya" he tells us and I just nod at Nancy.

"Not bad." I whisper to her and she agrees.

While we keep looking Nancy hands me the weapon, but then I hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, can I see this real pretty .357, please?"

"Oh shit" I comment and Nancy quickly looks behind me and turn around just as quickly.

"You go. I got this" I tell her.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, just try warn the other to keep an eye out for his goons. They must be around here too" I nod and she walks away, but that must've caught Jason's eyes because he then speaks directly at me.

"Look at that... What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Oh you know" I start turning around to face him "they say there's a killer on the loose... gotta be prepared."

"Aren't you the freak's bitch?" He harshly asks.

"It's really sad you can't recognise what a friend looks like" I mock him, keeping a serious expression.

I see his jaw clenching hard, my words hit the target apparently. He relaxes his face and takes a breath and just looks at me, in a way that makes a shiver run down my spine.

"It's a real pity" he then says.

"Yeah, it is. It means you never had an actual friend in your life" I say with a fake pout on my face.

He just laughs humourless.

"No, babe. A real pity is how you ruined yourself by hanging out with the freak" he walks closer.

"Oh no... you think I ruined myself?" I ask with fake shock, then I just smile "thank god. If having good friends instead of assholes like you ruined me... glad to be ruined, sir"

"You were really pretty, you know. I mean, you kind of still are... I'd gladly help you find the right way back." He... flirts..?

Oh now I'm gonna get sick

"Wow... your girlfriend died not long ago and you're already harassing another girl... just wow." I laugh sarcastically "see? That's what makes Eddie so much better than you"

"What would your father say, uh? I don't think Hopper would be happy about it" he suddenly says.

Oh... he didn't just mention my father, did he?

Now it's my turn to clench my jaw, he notices and smiles proudly.

"You wash that fucking mouth before talking about my father, because you. Know. Shit." I tell him, walking up to him.

"Want my advice?" He asks completely ignoring me.

"No"

"Shotguns are not good for much of anything past killing small birds" he tells me, eyes focused on mine "I mean, they got power, sure, but not much range. And that's just gonna force you into close-range combat, then someone can easily redirect it by grabbing that barrel, like this.."

He suddenly moves to grab the barrel, but I'm faster, stepping back and moving the shotgun out of his reach earning a surprised expression from him.

"Keep talking about shit you clearly know nothing about and I might just show you what my father would say" I warn him and walk away.

I go pay for the stuff I got and reunite with the other as we walk back to the van.

"Remind me, please, not to make you angry?" Robin tells me with a proud smirk.

"You could never"

"That was... I gotta say... quite hot" Steve tells me pleasantly surprised.

I just wink at him, and we all hurry to get on the vehicle and just rush off before anyone could see us.

We quickly rush into the RV.

"What happened?" Lucas immediately asks.

"We gotta go" Steve cuts him off.

"Your old friend are here" Erica informs her brother.

Steve starts the vehicle, immediately driving away as soon as the last of us gets in.

I move on the back with Dustin and Lucas.

"So.." Dustin starts.

I look at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Yes?" I urge him on.

"When are you gonna talk to them?" He asks.

"To who?" Lucas asks, suddenly interested.

"Eddie and Steve" Dustin immediately answers and I roll my eyes "C'mon! It's clear as the day you feel something for them, the both of them and they feel the same."

"It's more complicated than you think, Dusty" I tell him softly.

"It's really not." Lucas interjects "I mean, Eddie kept worrying about you the whole time you all were in there. I mean very worried. Very."

"Yeah. And you didn't see the look Steve had when you volunteered to bait Vecna" Dustin adds.

"Yeah... I told you. Complicated" I tell them to drop the subject, so I just lean my head back and try to think of something else.

I have no idea what will happen.

I keep thinking about how this is real. I was there. I saw myself there in that lab, with Vecna, Henry or whoever the fuck he is. How is that possible? Is it some kind of trap?

What scares me the most is that I have this feeling it's not a trap, it's all true.

[wheelxr]

I’m sorry, but if you think Henry Creel was ‘born evil’ or something to that effect, I honestly have no idea what show you watched.

Every single interaction leading up to that massacre demonstrates how much Henry cares about people. He genuinely is trying to help Eleven strengthen her powers, is nearly brought to tears when Two is punished in front of him, risks his well-being to help Eleven again despite having just gotten tortured for it, and even chastises Two when he makes fun of Eleven.

There’s no way in hell anyone can tell me he was planning on Eleven removing Soteria — and he only even told her about it to empathize with her, to show her that he’s been a prisoner, too — and he had every intention of sending her off through that tunnel alone.

Where is the evil in that? Please, for the love of god, go ahead and point it out to me. Tell me how a boy — now a man — who has been tortured and treated as nothing more than a lab rat for his entire life (starting with his own parents, namely his mother) isn’t one of the most empathetic human beings to exist because despite all of that, HE STILL CARES.

He doesn’t have to care. He gets nothing from chastising Two, or helping Eleven. If she hadn’t removed the chip, which was clearly his original plan, he’d have been left there and was ready and willing to accept punishment for it.

Yeah, he massacred the lab. But, in truth, how exactly would him and Eleven have been free if Brenner’s subjects and the lab still persevered? They’d have escaped, sure, but escaped to what? Living with looking over their shoulder? He didn’t want that for her — and he didn’t want her to see him so angry and doing what he thought was necessary, either. The look on his face when Eleven finds him after Two is so defeated — like the one person he was trying to help saw him as nothing more than what Brenner was always trying to make him out to be.

Christ almighty, I have a lot of feelings. And this isn’t even an all-inclusive list, because goddamn I could write a novel. Henry Creel deserved better, and the world fucking failed him.

@creelsclocks please save our boy…