#i want to at least do lumax too and maybe a byler one but i don't want it to just be st ships yk

[soniclion92]

I'll try to draw other stuff in between but i wanna do one of those "are we soulmates in every universe" videos with some of the ships i like

[the-case-book-of-fanfiction]

Rain-Soaked Kisses

Ship: Steve Harrington x fem!Mayfield!reader

Summary: Steve hates storms but loves the rain—just another oxymoron of his life, like the secret the kids are trying so very hard to dig up.

Word Count: 6,582 words

Warnings: fluff!!!, sappy & romantic Steve, scheming Dustin & Max, healthy Mayfield sibling relationship, Billy mention, lumax sprinkles, secret relationship, friends to lovers, byler sprinkles, jancy sprinkles

Note: Told in part from the perspective of the kids! Written because it's storming where I am, and I love this weather so much.

☟ Continue below the fold ☟

"Who could he possibly be dating? There's not a girl in Hawkins that wants to go out with him!"

"Well, clearly one of them does!"

Dustin sighed, taking in Max's exclamation. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Steve had stopped complaining about bad dates and girls who left quickly; Robin reported he'd completely stopped talking about Leah and Heidi and Helen and the five other girls he'd been on-and-off again with; he walked around with a dopey, happy smile on his face all the time; and he was less and less reliable for rides, instead going on dates with a girl who's name he always pretended to forget.

As impossible as the idea seemed, Dustin had to admit it was a logical conclusion.

But who?

"Robin?" Max suggested.

Dustin shook his head. "Impossible. Steve steadfastedly refuses to date her. It's not Nancy again, is it?"

"Nope—saw her with Jonathan yesterday." Max huffed a sigh. "Maybe we have to...think outside the box more?"

"Who's outside the box? Who hasn't he already tried to date and failed miserably at dating?" Dustin demanded.

Max was silent for a moment too long. Then she said, "Alright, I don't know. I can't think of anyone who would actually go out with him."

"Exactly, neither can I," Dustin said. "We've got to watch him. We need to know who this is."

~❊~

But tracking Steve and his mystery girl down was much, much harder than either Dustin or Max had anticipated.

Without Steve driving them around, getting around town took twice as long as it needed, either in the attempts to find someone to drive them or in walking themselves everywhere. Nancy was either busy or with Jonathan most of the time, which ruled out Jonathan as well, and Robin still didn't have her license.

During yet another slow afternoon of trying and failing to put together the pieces of where Steve was going and with who, the phone rang. Dustin and Max both looked up quickly, scrambling over furniture and Dustin's new cat to beat each other to the phone.

Dustin got to it first. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dustin? It's Robin."

"Yeah, I know it's you, Robin, I can recognize your voice."

"Now's your chance."

"What?"

"Steve just left work—he said he's going on a date. Now's your chance to go find out who he's going out with!"

"Oh, shit!" Dustin turned to Max. "Steve's going on a—"

"I heard," she said. "Does she know where he's going?"

"Where's he going, Robin, did he say?"

"A restaurant, and he changed into a really nice outfit before he left here. And by nice, I mean really nice. Like fanciest restaurant in town kind of nice. Whoever this girl is, he really wants to impress her. And he's obsessed with her, too, he's been smiling all day from excitement."

Dustin scoffed. "And you didn't call us before he left?! Now we have to find out where he's going and how to get there!"

"Well, it's not like I could call you talk about him in front of him! Besides, we do know where he's going. What's the fanciest restaurant in town?"

"Enzo's," Dustin realized. "That's where he's taking her."

"I can guarantee it. If you go to Enzo's, he's going to be there. I'd go myself, but Steve and I'll both get fired if at least one of us isn't at the store right now."

"Thanks, Robin!"

"Good luck, guys!"

Dustin turned around to give Max the details, but she cut him off. "I heard. Enzo's."

"All we have to do is catch them in the middle of their date, and we know exactly who Steve's dating," Dustin said with a grin. "Easy!"

"Yeah, easy," Max snarked. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Dustin paused before he sighed. "Start calling everyone we know with a car, I guess."

Max rolled her eyes. "Like that'll ever work. Nobody's been willing to drive us around so far!"

"Can't hurt to try," Dustin insisted.

"No, Dustin, we'll be wasting time! We should just start walking now!"

But Dustin was already dialing the number to the Wheelers' house. It was answered by Mrs. Wheeler.

"Hello, Karen Wheeler speaking!"

"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler, could I talk to—"

"MIKE!" Dustin flinched at the volume from the other end. Max cringed, hearing the shout from where she stood. "Dustin's on the phone!"

A few seconds later, Dustin heard Mike's voice. "Yeah?"

"Is Nancy there?"

Dustin could see Mike's frown. "What do you want Nancy for?"

"Mike, I don't have time for this—"

"What. For? If this is Keith trying to get a date with her again, I swear that I'll—"

"Oh my God, Mike, no! Steve's going on a date and we need to catch him to figure out who he's going out with! We need Nancy to drive us there."

"Dustin, do you realize how idiotic that sounds? Nancy's not gonna drive you to go spy on her ex and his new girlfriend!" Mike hung up without another word.

Groaning, Dustin tried to call again, but he was met only with the dial tone.

Max rolled her eyes. "I told you it wouldn't work."

"I'm calling the Byers," Dustin grumbled. He dialed the number, but when Joyce picked up, she was talking to someone else in the house and by the time Dustin had gotten out "Is Jonathan there?" he heard the click of the receiver being put back.

"Try my sister," Max said.

Dustin dialed the number to Max's trailer, but no one answered. He shook his head.

"She's probably out running," Max sighed.

"Another run? Isn't that all she does now?" Dustin asked with a frown.

Max shrugged. "She says it helps her...deal with things."

Dustin sensed a can of worms—the kind that most people would avoid, the kind that Max clearly wanted to talk about anyway. So he asked it, when most people wouldn't. "Things?"

Max nodded slowly. "Yeah. You know...the Upside Down, Eddie..." She hesitated. "Billy."

Dustin glanced down at his feet. There was blood associated with all of those memories. He knew they plagued all of them, those who'd survived Vecna and his creatures, and he knew that they all had different ways of coping. Dustin's was research, Max's was music, yours was running.

"She's more like him than she wants to admit," Max said. "At least, she is with the running. Billy, he...he used to exercise to distract himself. She runs."

"Is that a bad thing?" Dustin asked.

"No, it's just... She needs someone in her corner is all. And I don't...I don't think that person is me anymore."

Dustin's heart squeezed in his chest. "Max..."

She shook off his concern. "Come on—we'd better start walking, or we're never going to make it to Enzo's on time!"

~❊~

It started to rain halfway through their walk to Enzo's.

The storm didn't start gently. There was no warning before it started to pour, no flash of lightning or boom of thunder. Just a steady downpour, hard and fast and painful against the skin.

Dustin and Max hid from the weather as much as they could, ducking under store awnings and hiding under outdoor umbrellas as they came across them.

After getting turned around at least twice, they spotted the restaurant's glowing sign. They ran toward it, stopping at the bay windows peering in. They scanned the tables inside. From the parking lot behind them, there was laughter and the slamming of car doors.

"Do you see them?" Dustin hissed. He looked at every face he saw, overanalyzing the back of every head that looked like it might be Steve.

"Are we sure they're still there?" Max said. "It's been, what, almost an hour and a half? Who eats for that long?"

Dustin shrugged. "Enzo's is a fancy place, they've got designated courses and shit. They could still be there."

A car engine revved. "Are you sure?" Max took Dustin by the shoulders and spun him around. "Is it just me, or does that look like—"

"Steve's car!" Dustin hissed. "Shit!"

They raced after it in the rain, Dustin catching sight of Steve through the driver's side window, his hair perfect and a huge grin on his face.

"Is he wearing a suit jacket?" Max asked.

"Did you see who was in the passenger's seat?" Dustin demanded.

Max didn't answer, still staring after the car, her face fixed into confusion.

"Max?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I...I couldn't tell who it was."

Dustin groaned. "Shit! That was our one chance!"

"We'll get another one," Max snapped. "He's been going on dates a lot, right? Robin said so, and he's always gone because he's been on a date. He'll go on another one with her soon."

Dustin sighed. "Good point. Now we just have to wait. Come on—we should call Robin."

~❊~

Max walked home in the rain by herself, hearing her mother fuss that she would get a cold if she kept walking around in the rain without a jacket, but not caring. Louder than her mother's voice was El's: friends don't lie.

Should Max have told Dustin what—who—she saw in Steve's car? Or the fact that she'd seen them going into Steve's burgundy BMW in the parking lot while he'd been focused on the store?

No.

Yes?

It was too late now. Besides, was she absolutely sure of who she'd seen?

Well, yes, she knew you better than anyone. You'd been by her side her entire life. There were pictures hanging in the trailer of Mom in the hospital bed after she'd given birth to Max, but it was you who was holding her, sitting in the plastic chair next to the bed.

The lights of the trailer were on when Max reached it, but only your car was in the driveway.

She pushed the door open. "Hey, I'm home!"

You poked your head out of the door to your bedroom. Your hair was just as drenched and stringy as her own. "Max! There you are, I was worried— Why are you soaking wet?"

"I walked home," she said, shrugging.

You hurried out of your room. "Come on, we need to get you out of those clothes. Mom will kill us both if she finds out we've both been out in the rain in the wrong kind of clothes."

"Where were you?" Max asked as you brought her into the bathroom.

You glanced up at her but didn't meet her eyes. "You couldn't get a ride home?" You left her in the bathroom, running into her room to grab her some dry clothes.

"No—Steve's the only one who will drive us anywhere, and he's unavailable most of the time."

Guilt flashed over your face. Max narrowed her eyes, watching you closely. You didn't seem to notice. "We'll tell Mom we took showers if she gets back before our hair dries." You paused. "You could have called me, you know."

"I did," she said. "You didn't answer."

Your face fell. "Max, I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"Are you dating Steve?"

The question stopped you in your tracks. "Max, I..."

"Are you?"

You sighed, wiping a a hand over your face. You sighed. "Yeah."

Max sighed. "Hand me a towel, please." You did so silently, taking one of your own to towel-dry your hair. "Why didn't you tell me?"

You shrugged. "At first, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I mean... I knew I liked Steve, but his track record with girls hasn't been good lately, and I..." You sighed. "I wanted reassurance he wouldn't be gone after a week."

"And after that?"

You groaned, putting your head in your hands. "This is...gonna sound stupid, but... Steve has been everything for you guys. For you, for Dustin, for El, everybody. He's saved you countless times, I watched him stand up to our brother to protect us, even though Billy beat him bloody for it. I didn't...I didn't want to feel like I was taking him away from you all, but I also...kind of wanted him to myself sometimes. And he seemed to want time alone for the two of us, too, so..." You looked up at Max. "And I didn't...want you to feel like I was taking away from you. After Billy..." Your voice caught in your throat.

There it was again. The silence that surrounded death.

"Died," Max whispered. "After he died."

You nodded. "After he died, I know Steve kind of...stepped up for you. I didn't want you to feel like he cared less about you just because I was in the picture now." You laughed shakily. "I know that kind of, uh, backfired. I'm sorry to keep him away from you guys for so long."

Max shook her head. "Stop apologizing for wanting someone that's yours." She breathed out a laugh. "I was just telling Dustin that you needed someone in your corner. I should have known it would be Steve. I mean, he's always been there for the rest of us, why wouldn't he be there for you?"

You looked over at Max. "Just how mad is Dustin that I'm dating Steve?"

"He doesn't know," Max said. "We've been trying to figure out who Steve's mystery girl is for months. He won't tell anybody, so Dustin wanted to try and see if we could figure it out ourselves." She glanced at you. "We saw you guys last night. At Enzo's. Or rather, I saw you. Dustin was too busy trying to peer inside the restaurant to even notice Steve's car."

You made a face. "How can you not notice Steve's car? It's a burgundy BMW for Christ's sake."

"I know!" Max giggled.

You laughed with her for a minute. The lightness in her voice—it had been a while since you'd heard her laugh like that.

After a moment, you said, "So...nobody else knows that it's me Steve is dating?"

Max shook her head. "Not even Robin."

You whistled. "I'm surprised Steve's capable of keeping a secret from her. It's gotta be killing him, I just know it." You giggled. "However...we could have some fun with this."

Max raised her eyebrows.

"If Dustin wants to know who's Steve's dating, he can keep digging as much as he wants." You grinned. "That's gotta be amusing, surely?"

~❊~

The storm that had swept in over a week ago had lasted the whole week, turning Hawkins into a mud patch and its roads into rivers. It let up briefly, leaving behind perfect spring days, only to return with a vengeance the next week—randomly on a Thursday afternoon.

Thursdays had become movie nights at Steve's house, and Dustin had concocted a plan to trick Steve into telling him who he was dating.

Max knew it wasn't gonna work. She had been present when you told Steve about Dustin's snooping and the both of you had decided to continue yanking Dustin's chain. Steve had seemed more excited about it than even you had.

While Steve set up his house for the group of rambunctious teenagers for movie night, Dustin explained his plan to Max in whispers.

"So, I'm going to try talking about Suzie for the first few hours," Dustin started, watching Steve like a hawk while he moved about in the kitchen, making popcorn for the group. "Get him thinking about his own relationship, you know? And then you know how he gets—" He cut himself off abruptly when Steve came into the living room with bowls of popcorn, setting them on the coffee table.

"Any idea when your sister's supposed to be here, Max?" Steve asked. "I thought she was driving you."

Max shook her head. "She said she'd come after she got out of work, but I don't remember when her shift ended."

Steve nodded. He disappeared up the stairs in the next moment.

"You know how he gets when it gets late into the movie and its dark and he's focused?" Dustin continued, picking up immediately.

Max frowned. "Like when he's so focused on something you can ask him a question and he'll either go 'huh?' and make you repeat it or he'll just answer without thinking?"

"Exactly like that," Dustin said. "That's when I'm—"

Steve returned with a stack of blankets. "How many of us are there, again? Twelve?"

"Thirteen," Dustin and Max both said.

Steve tossed the blankets onto the couch. "Go grab five more. Up the stairs, closet on the left."

They went up the stairs, Dustin whispering again before they'd even reached the landing. "I'm gonna ask him who he's going out with when he's like that."

Max rolled her eyes. "You don't know that'll work. He could say 'huh?' and make you repeat the question, like I just said."

Dustin shrugged. "Then I'll ask him something different, wait a little bit longer, and then ask again. He can't do that the whole night. Can he?"

"How should I know?" Max picked up the blankets and started back downstairs. Steve was whistling in the kitchen. "This whole plan is so stupid, Dustin. It's hardly a plan!"

"Do you have a better idea?" he hissed.

Max stayed silent. Of course she had better ideas, but those might make Steve actually tell Dustin.

"That's what I thought," Dustin said, clearly on the wrong path. "We'll stick with my plan." He glanced at Steve's back in the kitchen. "Unless your sister knows who he's dating? They're pretty much best friends now, right?"

Max nodded. "Blame Robin for that," she said, praying her poker face held. "I don't think she knows. I can't see Steve telling her if he hasn't told Robin."

"Fair point," Dustin decided. "Even more reason to rely on my plan."

She rolled her eyes. "Your plan is just going to annoy him until he kicks you out of his house."

"He likes me too much," Dustin said, with confidence Max wasn't sure he should possess—not about this, at least.

When they reached the first floor again, Steve was pacing around the living room, double checking he had everything set up. Max had to admit she liked the set up he had for movie night: the coffee table was set up with bowls of popcorn and a drink tray, there was a cooler next to filled with water bottles and soda cans, he had dragged every pillow in the house to the couch and floor, a fluffy winter comforter spread out on the carpet to make the floor more comfortable, and an egregious number of bagged snacks in a wicker basket.

"I think we're all set, guys," Steve said, surveying the room with his hands on his hips.

As if cued by Steve's motherly behavior, the rain outside grew louder, falling fast against the AC unit in the window. Steve winced.

"Looks like we're going to have to have the volume up high to hear the movie over the storm," he said.

"What are we watching?" Dustin asked.

Steve shrugged. "I dunno. We've got a couple choices in that cabinet over there, plus the stuff Robin's bringing. I think Nance had a movie she wanted to suggest, too, but I can't remember what it was..." His eye caught on the stack of blankets, leaning down to count them.

Dustin dug through the movie cabinet. "Come on, Steve, what are these movies? Why are they all romantic comedies?"

"Because they're my mom's favorite, dipshit," Steve said with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

"There's nothing of value here!"

"Well, I'm not watching Star Wars again, so—"

"It was Star Trek last week!"

"Even worse." Steve looked up at Max and waved her over. She glanced at Dustin, but he was too busy judging Mrs. Harrington's taste in rom-coms to notice her get up.

"Would it be too obvious if I gave your sister my blanket? I miscounted and we're short one."

Max bit back a laugh. "I think Nancy might notice, Robin would definitely notice, but Dustin's still a little too oblivious for that."

Steve huffed a sigh. "Can't have one of them letting it slip. Alright, fine, I'll use mine and give her a different one." He glanced at his watch. "Her shift ended almost an hour ago, she should be here any minute."

Max frowned. "Why do you know her work schedule better than I do?"

He shrugged. "In case she needs a ride to or from work. Can't leave her stranded if her car breaks down again."

A knock sounded at the door. Steve grinned at Max, both of them knowing you had arrived. He rushed to the door, slowing down only when he was within Dustin's sightline again.

You were hugging your arms when he opened the door, your hair wet and stringy, your clothes soaked through. "What took you so long, Stevie?!" you demanded, hurrying through the door. Max pointed to Dustin before you could kiss Steve's cheek.

"Jesus, you're soaked," Steve said, taking in your more than damp appearance. "Did you walk here?"

"No," you said, pointing out the still-open door to your car. "It's just raining hard enough that I got drenched on the run from my car to your door."

Steve slammed the door shut before more water could get inside. "Uh, okay, come on, I think I've got something for you to change into."

You blinked at him, gaze flicking briefly to Dustin. "Oh, no, that's alright, I'll just—"

"I'm not letting you stay uncomfortable and catch a cold in these clothes," Steve insisted. You nodded, all too ready to curl up in one of Steve's sweaters. "Come on—you two, we'll only be a minute. Answer the door if anyone else comes while we're gone."

Steve ushered you upstairs. Max waited a few minutes before telling Dustin she'd be right back, using the bathroom as her excuse, wanting to keep an eye on the two of you and stop you from any funny business. She followed the damp footprints you'd left behind, slipping into the bathroom across from Steve's room and peering around the door. She smiled at what she saw.

You had ditched your wet pants and shirt and were pulling on a pair of Steve's jeans. Steve had his back turned as he dug through his dresser.

"Um...do you need a different bra? I'm pretty sure you left one here last time..." Steve glanced back at you and smiled. "God, you look cute."

You looked up at him, cheeks pink. "You're just saying that because I'm half-naked in your bedroom and the clothes I'm wearing are yours."

Steve shook his head, still smiling. "I'm sayin' it 'cause you're cute." He walked over to you, sweater in hand, and kissed your nose. "You are beautiful, Miss Mayfield." He brushed your wet hair out of your face. "Arms up, honey."

You lifted your arms for him and he tugged his sweater over your head. He pulled you to his chest as soon as it was on, holding you like it was the last time he ever would. Max watched your hand go into his hair, pulling a soft sigh from him.

"Kiss me, Stevie," you whispered, coaxing his head toward your own with your hand.

Eyes closed, Steve obeyed, kissing you softly, chastely. Max heard the movie-perfect sound of your lips parting before you tugged him back down for a second kiss, deeper than the first.

"I love you," he whispered.

"And I love you," you said back. The two of you smiled at each other, sickeningly sweet, and Max wondered if the look on your face was the same one on hers whenever she was with Lucas.

Steve adjusted his sweater on your body one more time. "We should get back downstairs," he said. "Dustin might get suspicious."

You fell back into his arms for another hug. "Okay."

Steve took your hand and slowly lead you out of his bedroom, though he seemed just as reluctant as you to have to let go and pretend to just be friends. "Your sister thought it would be too much to give you my blanket during the movie, but I think I like having you in my clothes more."

You smiled. "If it's anything scary, I'll jump a lot and cling to you and we can blame it on the movie."

Steve grinned. "Let's hope Robin brings a good scary movie, and that Eddie wins the vote tonight, then."

Max shut the door before you could see it was open, making sure it closed quietly, quickly flushed the toilet, and turned on the sink and made a show of opening the door to see the two of you. She glanced pointedly at your hands.

"I thought we were still making Dustin guess," she said.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He brought your joined hands to his mouth and kissed the back of your hand before letting you go. "Alright, I'm done now."

The three of you headed back downstairs, Max at the lead and you just behind. Max knew Steve had let you go down the stairs first just so he could watch you prance around in his clothes and run his gaze over you again, but she'd give him a pass, just this once. You did look rather at home in his clothes.

Max watched you while you made yourself at home in your usual spot, in the middle cushion on the Harringtons' couch. In fact, she realized, you looked more like yourself, the happiest you'd been, since Billy had died—maybe even since you'd left California.

Credit where credit was due, Max would have to thank Steve somehow (without it seeming like she was thanking him for bringing you back).

"You want anything?" Steve asked you, tossing you one of the blankets. He set his down on the cushion next to you, then the blanket Robin had claimed on your other side.

"I'm all set," you promised. "Anyone else here yet, Dusty?"

Dustin rolled over onto his back from the place on the floor he'd claimed as his several months back, which he said was the best place to watch the movie from, but Max knew was his spot because it was still close enough to Steve, too. The middle, which was hers, was definitely a better view than Dustin's righthand side.

"Not yet," he said. "Hi."

You smiled. "Hi. Find a good movie?"

"No," Dustin said. "Steve's taste sucks."

Steve narrowed his eyes, picking up a piece of popcorn and throwing it at him. "For the last time, it's my mom's rom-com collection!"

~❊~

Max lay in her spot between Lucas and Dustin, Erica on the other side of Lucas, only half-paying attention to the movie while she braided El's hair, Will and Mike snuggling on the opposite side of Dustin. Max was sure Dustin felt singled out, being boarded by two couples, plus Nancy and Jonathan sharing a blanket and a lounge chair just behind him. Eddie had curled himself up on the chair on Steve's opposite side, covering himself in his blanket to protect himself from the blow of the AC unit.

Robin had managed to snag a new release that had just arrived at Family Video—Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, a movie that had only been out for a few months in the theaters. The kids on the floor had propped themselves up on their elbows, drinks and half-eaten bowls of popcorn in front of them.

Every so often, Max faked a yawn to duck her head back to glance at her sister and Steve. Robin was stretched out across both your laps, and the two of you had leaned together to share both of your blankets after Steve had muttered something about the AC being too cold, only for the others to shout for him not to touch it.

And judging from the way you and Steve occasionally exchanged a look, Max guessed you were holding hands beneath the blanket.

Max turned her attention back to the movie, lifting a small handful of popcorn to her mouth. Not so subtly, Lucas fake-stretched and laid his arm over her shoulders. Giggling quietly, Max snuggled into his side. She heard your amused hum behind from behind her, followed by a small chuckle of Steve's.

As it had the entire movie, thunder crashed outside. While the rain had lightened up enough not to be distracting, the flash of lightning visible through the curtains and the boom of thunder had been frequent and often made the room's occupants jump in fear.

Another boom of thunder announced the power flickering.

Dustin looked back at Steve. "Uh, Steve?"

"We've got a generator," Steve said, but he had sat up straighter and had pulled away from you, his face uneasy.

With the next flicker of lightning and crash of thunder, the power went out.

The group of thirteen sat in the pitch-black room in silence. Lightning illuminated faces briefly, showing Max that Robin had sat up, and that you, Steve, and Eddie were all on your feet.

"There are candles in the study," Steve said, breaking the silence. His voice was wavering, and Max remembered you saying something about cutting a date short due to the storm earlier that week. Was Steve...afraid of storms?

"I'll get them," you said.

"Matches in the drawer next to the sink and lanterns in the sunroom storage cabinet," he continued. "Eds, come on, let's go see if we can get the power back to the fridge and a few lights, yeah?"

"After you," Eddie said and followed Steve out the front door. The pattering rain grew louder as the door opened, revealing a world in grey scale, but still lighter than the inside of the house.

Dustin sat up. "Candles? Why not just use flashlights?"

"Steve only has two flashlights," Robin said. "Working ones, at least. But candles? The Harringtons have plenty of those."

Max followed you around the house, lighting the lanterns as you found them and helping you carry the candles back to the living room.

With the room now illuminated by flickering flame, it was easy to see the worry on people's faces.

"Do you think the whole town's out?" Mike asked.

"No, it can't be," Nancy said, but she didn't sound sure.

Will wriggled out from under his blanket. The look he exchanged with Jonathan was concerned.

"Everybody keep calm," you said, setting a lantern down on the floor at the center of the group. "Steve and Eddie will get the generator running in no time."

Silence fell, still and eerie. You sat beside Max and Lucas, and Max laid her head in your lap, trying to smile up at you. It only took a look for her to know you were lost in your head, in memories of the night Billy went AWOL and had been controlled by the Mind Flayer.

Max took your hand in hers. "It's okay," she promised.

"Mmm," you hummed, but your gaze was fixed on the door; you wouldn't relax until you saw Steve walk back in, unscathed.

The AC kicked back on. A few lights flickered to life and the low hum of the refrigerator filled the room.

Relief filled the room with the sound of an audible sigh. Moments later, the door opened and a waterlogged Steve and Eddie stepped back in.

"Did it work?" Steve asked. Then he heard the AC. "Alright, good." He looked around. "Turn the lights back off—the candles will do until power really comes back."

"Steve, you're drenched," Nancy said, "you're going to catch—"

"A cold, I know," he sighed, glancing over at you. You fought a smile. "Sorry about movie night, guys."

Dustin shrugged. "It was only a matter of time before we lost power. The size of the storm—"

"Oh, shut up, nerd," Erica said, rolling her eyes.

Dustin leaned around Lucas. "Do I need to remind you of the vents?" he hissed.

Erica narrowed her eyes at him.

"Children, children," Eddie admonished with a shit-eating grin that said he knew his chiding was only going to rile them up more.

"Eds," Steve warned, opening the curtains to look outside.

Eleven craned her neck to peer outside. In a small voice, she asked, "Can...can we dance in the rain?"

Nancy hesitated, then said, "I'm not sure that's the best idea, the weather isn't exactly kind at the moment."

Steve looked back outside again. "It's not raining too heavily right now."

El wrung her hands. "Joyce says it's...fun and romantic to dance in the rain."

Robin leaned forward, gasping. "You've never danced in the rain before?"

El shook her head. "Only biked in it."

"We have to go dance in the rain!" Robin insisted, jumping to her feet and pulling Eleven up with her. "It's a...a...a cognitive milestone!"

"I don't think that's the right phrase, Robin," you laughed, but you were also getting up. "Still, I think it's a good idea. Good way to pass the time until the power comes back."

"Come on, Nancy," Jonathan said softly. "Let her have fun. Mom's right. It's fun in the rain."

You took one of Robin's hands and one of Steve's and dragged them into the rain. Robin created a chain by grabbing El, who grabbed Max, who grabbed Lucas. The small group raced out into the street, running through puddles and spinning through the falling rain.

Dustin appeared at Max's side, his hair matted to his face. "It's like the time they were drugged by the Russians," he said, staring at Steve and Robin, the latter of whom was trying to taste the rain.

Max did a doubletake. "When they were what?"

"Don't ask," Erica suggested.

Laughter filled the air as the group danced around each other, twirling each other and splashing through the current of water at the side of the road. Steve tripped through puddles with Robin; Jonathan convinced Nancy to dance in the driveway; Will and Mike splashed each other in the puddles.

"May I have this dance?" Lucas asked, holding his hand out to Max and trying his best to look gentlemanly, which was ruined by the water running into his eyes and making him squint.

"You dork," Max laughed, but she took his hand anyway and let him pull her close, guiding her in a slow dance through the rain. She rested her head on his shoulder and watched as you went over to Steve and Robin.

Steve stopped his fooling around, watching you approach with a dopey, lovesick smile. He held out his hands to you and you took them; he twirled you in the rain, catching you and pulling you close before you could fall in the wet road.

"Careful there," he laughed. Even with his hair plastered to his head, his clothes heavy and hanging off him, you were still looking at him like he was the most beautiful creature you'd ever seen.

Max watched the time slow around the pair of you. She knew you were both completely oblivious, cut off from the company around you, even from Robin's stare as she took in the way the two of you gazed at each other.

Steve swayed you, getting himself lost in your eyes. He cupped your face with one hand, running his thumb over your cheekbone.

Lost in your bubble, neither of you noticed that the others had all stopped to watch, unable to speak and break the spell—not even Dustin, whose mouth hung agape.

You were lost in Steve, Max could tell. Close enough to the pair of you now, she could see you drinking in every detail: the water droplets hanging off Steve's hair and eyelashes, the amazed curve of his open mouth, the gentle swipe of his thumb, the lovestruck look in his eyes, his rosy cheeks so stark against his otherwise pale, cold, and wet skin, the reassuring hold of his arm around your waist.

Max knew what Steve was going to do before it happened, before even you had caught up. He bent his head, slotting your lips together.

Like some magic, divine will, the rain fell a little faster, distant thunder boomed, and lightning splintered through the sky, lighting up the clouds above you and Steve, a dramatic backdrop to a kiss so similar to a first kiss.

Robin whooped first. You and Steve smiled into each other, but neither pulled away, and Max realized you had been aware of your audience the entire time; but keeping it a secret hadn't been worth skipping out on a spectacular rain-soaked kiss.

Mixed in with the cheering was Dustin's incredulous cries of "What?! Max, did you know?!" that she pointedly ignored.

Steve swayed you while the kiss continued, embarrassingly long but adorably sweet. When it finally broke, Steve pressed his forehead against yours.

"I love you," he said, loud enough to be heard over the storm. (Robin shrieked.)

"I love you, too," you giggled. (Robin shrieked louder.)

Steve pushed your wet hair behind your ear and kissed your forehead, then shoved his hand through his own hair to get it out of his face.

"Not what you were expecting, huh, Henderson?" he said with a cheeky grin.

Dustin looked flabbergasted. "How did you know I was— MAX!"

You and Steve burst into a fit of giggles. You snuggled into his chest.

"How is that comfortable? I'm soaked!" Steve asked you.

"Yeah, but it's you," you said. A soft, sweet smile pulled at his lips, barely distracting you from his quiet moan of relief. He squeezed you tight.

"You're going to need to borrow more of my clothes," he said.

You grinned up at him. "I'll happily live in your clothes, Stevie."

A few feet away, Mike sneezed violently.

"Alright, back inside," Steve decided. "That's enough rain for today. I don't need you all getting sick and still needing me to drive you everywhere."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Are you actually gonna drive us again?"

"If you give my girl the front seat and behave when she's in the car with us," Steve said. "Inside, come on. Go, shoo."

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, watching the others flee to the safety of his house, then following them in with you. You kissed his cheek as you walked. Max hung back with Lucas, wanting to know what you said about the sudden rain kiss.

"You are perfect, Steve Harrington," you whispered. His cheeks darkened.

"Says you," he said, nuzzling his nose into your hair. "Hey, um... You wanna stay the night?"

"Gotta take Max home," you said. "But...I can come back?"

"I...I'd like that," Steve said. Max wondered if he'd ever been this shy with a girl before.

"Me too," you whispered. Steve squeezed your hip.

Dustin rolled his eyes from the doorway. "Get a room," he groaned.

"Oh, shut up," Max teased. "You're just annoyed you couldn't figure it out!"

Dustin scowled. "You knew! You knew and you were hiding it from me!"

Max shrugged, fighting a giggle.

Steve passed out towels with a warning not to let them get close to an open flame. Halfway through his warning, the power flickered back on—and so did the movie.

The group cheered, but Max watched you and Steve sneak upstairs and come down a few minutes later in dry clothes, hand in hand. She smiled before shaking her head and turning back to the ending of the movie.

And if—no, when—Steve asked her for advice on how to propose to you, Max was going to tell him to do it in the rain.

☞ ❊ ☜

Stranger Things // Steve Harrington

Taglist: {comment and let me know if you'd like to be added to the S.H. taglist!} @ohatropa@nix-rose@live-the-fangirl-life

[ladyfromaspookyforest]

Lumax vs Milevn

One thing that I absolutely love about contrasting Lumax and Milevn is that they followed such similar paths up to a point at which they diverge. And that point of divergence is EVERYTHING.

For starters, Lucas and Mike start off as each others' love interests biggest haters. They try to shut El and Max out of the party respectively.

Next, Lucas and Mike are the only ones who treat Max and El with full respect and acceptance right off the bat. They develop a closer bond than the others, Max and El confiding in Lucas in Mike more than they do the others.

This one's obvious...

And then we get into the absolute ridiculousness of season 3. The girls break up with their boyfriends, laugh about it, the boys bemoan. It's all humor. It's the epitome of youth. Teenage drama.

Sidebar: I hated both of these ships when I first watched this show. I could not get over the ick factor I felt watching children kissing. I kept being like EVERYONE STOP! YOU'RE TOO YOUNG FOR THIS! Am I really meant to LIKE this??? IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE ROMANTIC???

*cough* Anyway, that was my first impression. So the fact that I am a hardcore Lumax shipper now really demonstrates just how phenomenally that story was told in season four. Bringing us to the divergence.

Breaking up versus staying together. I'm not even going to talk about El lying to Mike for six months in this post. This is just about the breakup.

Breaking up Max and Lucas for real (as opposed to how she used to break up with him every so often for the fun of it) while simultaneously entering these characters into high school allowed them to evolve separately from one another and confront more adult struggles. Max distances from her friends as a consequence of trauma and Lucas distances in an attempt to fit in. The conversation between Lucas and Mike

shows how much Mike is taking for granted. Lucas's desire to belong is due to his experiences with bullying and we have canonically seen that for Lucas, this was rooted in racism. Maybe he joined the basketball team because he's just good at basketball, but I think it's worth mentioning that he joined a team with at least three other black boys on it. I'm not going to write a whole article about Lucas's struggles with racism here, but my point is that what Lucas went through with Billy probably had some lasting effects on him just like it did on Max.

So both characters struggled with finding out what they wanted and who really mattered in season 4 and ultimately, this led them back to one another.

On the other end, we have Milkdud doing the exact opposite. Lumax is physically near one another but broken up. Mildew is physically apart but still together. They struggled alone and pretended things were the same between them, not allowing themselves the opportunity to reassess.

THIS STEP WAS NECESSARY. Maybe that's just opinion, but they are not the same people in season 4 as they were in season 2, especially since a lot of the trauma of season 3 has forced them to mature quicker than they otherwise would have.

These relationships parallel one another in seasons 1/2 to demonstrate how boy-meets-girl might play out. How a crush can evolve into a friend and into a relationship. Then in season 3, they parallel to show how shallow the relationships BOTH are at this stage. How inconsequential young romance is in the grand scheme of things. And they diverge in season 4 to show us that trying to continue on as though you are still the same people in the same relationship as you were when you were kids is not going to grow your relationship into a healthy and mature one.

Personally I think Mike is gay, but IF HE'S NOT, Mike and El could have strengthened their relationship had they allowed themselves distance from one another. I didn't ship Byler yet when season 4 came out. Had Milelevator been executed differently, I fully believe I could have shipped them. Lumax is proof of that. The fact that I don't is a consequence of the INTENTIONAL differences between the ways these two relationships were written.

[antisociallilbrat]

We're Not In Hawkins Anymore

So there was a reason why I had the 'Who would win in a fight' poll with Vecna and It- It won by the way. And the reason is because I have this mega It and St crossover that I've been thinking about for a while.

So in this Au, there's a time jump of five years after season four. There's been a war in Hawkins and St crew have been fighting Vecna during this. The only thing they've accomplished though is that Henry's control, his destruction, has been contained to Hawkins.

That is until Henry almost kills Will, but after almost he does, he gives El one last chance to join him. In exchange he would leave her friends and family alone. She takes his offer, feeling as if she is too weak to beat him.

El joins him, against everyone's wishes, feeling like this is the only way to keep everyone safe. El and Henry set out on the country, opening gates and releasing monsters from the Upside Down. Henry either kills everyone or 'flays' them into being mindless zombies for him, building his empire.

Edit: There's more under the cut, holy shit I have a problem with long text posts.

Everything is going according to his plan. The military is no match against him and whole cities, states, fall under his control. Then he gets to Derry. The place were It was supposed to be in It's long rest.

It woke up when It felt Vecna trying to invade Derry, and Vecna, sensing It, sensing the Deadlights, made him stop in his tracks. More out of curiosity then fear.

But you see It kinda has a problem with Henry killing everyone or flaying them. Don't get me wrong, It is a completely evil being but It is an evil being who needs to consume people to survive. In a word, It has a problem with Vecna killing It's livestock.

It and Vecna are kinda at war with each other but it's a little bit more complicated than that. This fic would have a lot of chapters from their perspectives. Really delve into what Henry would think of a being like the Deadlights and what It would think of essentially a human with so much power.

Anyways, Derry ends up not being affected by Vecna's reign of terror, at least not yet, and here comes the Loser's Club. They know It is awake and they know it's because of what's going on outside of Derry. Kinda got some moral dilemmas going on in the group because of this. Derry is safe but it's because of It's doing and there's the fact they find out they didn't kill It in the first battle. Also Bev's aunt moved back to Derry after everything started happening.

Back to the Hawkins crew, they find out that for some reason Vecna hasn't been able to invade this small town in the middle of nowhere Maine. Maybe El finds a way to get a message to them. She doesn't know why Henry hasn't invaded and she doesn't know why he keeps spending so much time at the border of Derry but she thinks the answer to kill Vecna is there. She doesn't know it's a trillions of years old space alien that eats children that keeps Vecna at bay.

The St crew sets out for Derry. They run into the Losers Club, who tells them about It. More chaos ensues.

This fic would include things like psychic mind battles between fearsome monsters, blind Max recovering from season four, Vecna terrifying the shit out of Stan, Mike W and Richie fighting, and ships!

The It ships would be Reddie, Stenbrough, and Benvery, and then for St it would be Mileven (in the beginning) and Lumax, those would eventually turn into Byler and Elumax. And Dustin H and Mike H.

For the people that know my blog, Yes I know these are the popular ships, and while I love niche ships, for this fic I would try to keep relatively in canon (as much as a crossover can be in canon) and these ships are either canon or the most likely to be canon if the writers weren't cowards.

I just have so many thoughts on this crossover and maybe I will write it one day. The reason I’m posting this now is because honestly I just want to talk about it. The idea has been in my head for a while.

[meredithdoesfandoms]

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PARTY WILL BE LIKE AS GROWN ADULTS?? I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW YOUR HEAD CANONS!!!

THIS IS SO BROAD GAHHHHH

byler- yall know im an absolute sucker for the Writer Mike™️ and Artist Will™️ hc. they definitely leave hawkins ASAP and go to university together. they always wanted to live in a bigger city, both because of the art scene, and because larger cities are usually more queer friendly. the problem is that will absolutely hates the cold, but also doesnt want to go back to california, or live in the south. basically he’s just a picky little bitch. honestly fuck it, ik the winters are cold but lets stick em in new york. mike gets him through the winter, and they keep their tiny little shoebox apartment at like 80F. (thats a good bit warmer than room temperature for those of u who dont use Freedom Units™️)

dustin- goes to UI and gets his masters. he works in like communications engineering for a while (is that like a thing? like he engineers different radio waves and forms of communication.) he then moves to indianapolis and becomes ur insanely cool high school science teacher. his coworkers think he’s fuckin weird, but the students LOVE him. I THINK HE AND SUZIE ARE LIKE HELLA ENDGAME. they live together and have a bunch of weird ass pets, and like 2 kids MAX. hes just suburban and happy :)

lumax- california lumax. i always imagined lucas working a pretty standard 9-5. not because hes a dull character, but he grew up in a stable home, and after everything max has been through, he wants her to feel secure and happy, like he did before everything went to shit. i have no fucking idea what max would do. lowkey i always hc her as being crazy good with kids, OH MY GOD WHAT IF SHE IS LIKE A PEDIATRIC TRAUMA COUNSELOR. im fucking genius that is so max. NO BETTER YET SHES A SOCIAL WORKER. because the system fucked her over, and nobody ever listened to her, so she advocates for children the way she wished someone did for her as a kid. this is canon because i say so fuck you. lumax doesnt plan to have kids, max has witnessed too many tragedies involving children, and cannot handle having her own. but they foster teenagers every once and while. then they foster one girl who’s a bit younger than normal, maybe 8. and then they accidentally fall in LOVE with this kid and fuck it, we’re adopting her she’s one of us now. and theyre a little family and its cute and max teaches her how to surf :))

el- this always interests me because i dont know what her life could even look like? depending on s5 outcomes things could look like 10 different ways. ik she isnt a strong student, so i like to think she goes to community college to see what she likes, because shes never really had a chance to explore that. i hope she finds something that makes her happy i fucking love this bitch. i saw an hc where she worked at the library in hawkins, so maybe she does that while she does community college classes. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YALL THINK SHE WOULD STUDY I CAN SEE LIKE 10 DIFFERENT THINGS. eventually she moves to california, to the same city as lumax. lumax’s kid calls her aunt jane, and they have dinners together and are happy because they all deserve the world ok.

the party remains intact to an extent. byler lives together, lumax lives together, and el lives in the same city as lumax. everyone reunites for the holidays, when will brings mike with him, and el brings lumax with her when they go home for Hopper- Byers christmas. dustin typically makes an effort to stop by while he is in town visiting his mother. even tho theyre in different cities, el and will talk on the phones every damn day. usually once, sometimes like 5 times daily. mike and el talk about once or twice a week, and byler talks to lumax about every other day. dustin creates a little bit more distance, but he makes an effort to call each person for at least an hour a week. there’s a lot of love between all of them :)

[erectionsandtea]

Skipping class/playing hooky headcanons!

Ships:

Lumax - these cuties skip class to go make out under the bleachers (idk why I see them doing that, I just do). that is, until they remember today is the day something special is happening, something they wouldn’t be able to do unless they skip class. (ex. special one-time screening of a movie, add a second scoop free of charge at the ice cream parlor, a parade or festival or something that takes up the whole block)

Byler - a while back, our boys found a secret room somewhere in the school, and they skip a boring/terrible class to go to this room that they have declared officially their own (if Mr. Clarke didn’t disapprove of cutting, he would just lend them a room) and just hang out. Mike would write and Will would draw pictures to go along with the writings bc they are totally going to release a comic book one day (based on their DnD adventures)

Elmax - they arrive at school, only to hang back behind everybody else, walking really slow, and when the halls are deserted, they turn around and go back out (because it’s more exciting when you have to sneak around). El is like “why do we ditch?” and Max is like “because we can, duh.” and then they just go wherever and do whatever they want, real spontaneous. excessive amounts of hand-holding and/or linked arms (just a lot of touching, okay)

Duzie - they just skip school altogether to literally go exploring in the woods (bc Hawkins is somehow surrounded by woods apparently). they find a cool lizard and Dustin totally wants to catch it, but he doesn’t have a free container, so they have to empty one of their food containers. then they go to the library to find books about lizards and do research on what to feed it and how to keep it content until they can show it to Mr. Clarke (they will release the lizard after)

Mileven - they wait until it’s the time that all the adults will be at work, and then they bike back home (her on the back, just like they used to). the house is empty so they get free rein to do whatever they want. this includes, but is not limited to: watching movies/tv, embarrassing karaoke, and not-always successful cooking experiments (at least one with waffles). they need to go to the store though to buy more chocolate bc they don’t have enough and El loves chocolate. they end up buying too much stuff, seriously like Mike’s whole allowance is gone lol. also just lying together, cuddling, occasionally talking about something, but mostly just enjoying the moment.

Friendships:

Will/El - they totally play hooky to sneak into a movie. something pg-13, or R if they’re feeling especially daring. if Steve and Robin still worked at the movie theater, he’d disapprove like the good mother he is, but she would let them in the back way AND sneak them free movie snacks (bc you know Robin totally did things like this when she was in school)

Mike/Max - they do something “rebellious”. not actually rebellious, but like Max heard about Mike graffitiing the bathroom stall that one time, and is like “so rebellious.” and Mike is like “like you’ve ever done anything that badass.” and she’s like “watch me, bitch.” and so they end up...idk, loitering or something. going to a store and taking literally every free sample. maybe sneaking into some “off limits” room in the school. you know. rebels.

Max/Dustin - arcade, obvsly. constantly competing. every time one of them gets a high score, the other will race over and immediately try to top it. at the end of the day, there are no arcade games left with anyone other than her or him in the ‘top players/high scores’ list.

BONUS:

Dustin takes the whole party to some abandoned place that he swears is haunted (that’s what he heard, anyway). hear me out, Dustin is smart, yes, but I totally don’t peg him as a skeptic, that’s Lucas. it’s like-

“who even told you this place is haunted?”

“jeremy, from math class”

“you’re dragging us all to this potentially dangerous place on jeremy’s word??”

“I’m telling you, he totally saw something”

“he totally didnt’! because ghosts. don’t. exist.”

“look, I’m not saying for sure that they exist, but you have to admit there’s some weird shit that can’t be explained”

“that doesn’t mean it’s a ghost!”

meawhile, Max just leans over to Will and is like “this is still better than school” and Will is like “yeah” and then “hey, are we going or what?”

(I’ll put the rest of this in its own post :) )

~

send any ideas or requests to  my askbox, or feel free to add your own on this post! let me know if you want to be tagged in the headcanons.

[ronance4everbrainrot]

So I'm bored again.

I was gonna make more post about other fandom I'm in but now imma just do

Stranger Things

(but you can ask me if you wanna know if I'm in a fandom and my opinion.. On mostly ships.. Because I'm not that good with character studies)

(also if you want my opinion on a character (from Stranger things or from (if I make another post of) another fandom then you can also asked)

So Imma only do ship rn

My number one ship/OTP is Ronance

I'm not good with words so imma just let it stand there

I don't hate Steddie, but the fact that it's in the Ronance Tag is making me not like that ship, it's cute and all, but stop main tagging Ronance or other ships if it's only background or smth

Ronance has my brain but Elmax has my heart... With ronance together tho...

Lumax is adorable and I like it

Elumax is also adorable and it's the most acceptable Poly couple in my opinion but I don't really like poly shops, but well if it's only gay I like it, if it's two guy/one girl or two girls/one guy, I don't really like that

Jopper (FINALLY) is canon now! And I'm very happy. That's my Fav straight ship 👍 I got nothing more to say

The bylers...

So straight byler (Jancy) is okay, it's definitely better then stancy and I hated all the stancy moments in this season, but I actually thought jancy was gonna be okay with the way they talked about each other when they were talking to Fred/Argyle, but I'd rather have Nancy be Single.. (or better yet, with Robin😊👍)

Gay Byler (Original Byler ig) is cute and all, Mike deserved Will in season 1 and 2 but season 3 and 4 Mike doesn't deserve Will and will definitely deserves better but if he wants to be with Mike, then let him get together with Mike 🙌

Lesbian Byler (✨Karen and Joyce✨) I just love wlw ships and Karen deserves better and I also just recently discovered this ship... I'm disappointed in myself lol (jopper all the way tho too)

So um.. I never really cared for Dustin and Suzie, it's cute and all, and I really love Suzie! And I also really love Dustin! So 👍

I do ship henclair and the only reason being because they were the only people left of the party if elmax and Byler were dating, but I do genuinely also like the ship. I honestly think it's my Fav mlm ship because it's not that popular? Or idk if it's popular.. But ye.. And Lucas and Dustin are sweethearts so 👍👍

Will x Lucas is cute, I also just discovered it and Lucas would be a good boyfriend so I have no problem with that ship

Sometimes I'm confused as to why people don't ship ronance lol, but I'm just soo obsessed with it that I thought everyone like it 😪😂, but well I don't really like Robin x Vickie, I mean maybe (probably/hopefully) Vickie gets more screentime and has a different personality than Robin in season 5, because rn they are too similar for me. I mean she clearly (I think) also has a crush on Robin and I don't want to erase anything by not shipping a 'Canon' (not yet ig) wlw ship because I ship Robin with another girl (I read something like that once, with erasing representation because of shipping her with another girl (Nancy) idk if it's true but so far they are not together anyway).. Honestly idk if anything that I just said makes sense lol

Anyway, moving to another Robin ship, which I actually like lol, is.. Well I wanted to say Melissa (the girl from the volunteer food stand thingy) because the ✨CHEMISTRY!✨ (I honestly, genuinely, really thought, Robin was gonna end up with her and I would have accepted it and even liked it, because after that scene with Robin seeing Vickie with her boyfriend, I thought that was done)

But now I remember another Robin ship which is cute and it's ✨Buckingham✨ (Chrissy x Robin), honestly they never interacted and I think they'd have more chemistry than Robin and Vickie (they do have chemistry in the end tho but I feel like that they have the least chemistry out of every Robin ship)

And btw no Vickie Slander, I love her and she's cute and I ship her with Chrissy because we need more wlw ships... Also I ship Chrissy with Tammy because of a fanart I've seen, I also headcanon Chrissy as a Lesbian now because of that and also eddie and Chrissy are cute but I like them being platonic Soulmates more (like Robin and Steve)

All the other mlm ships i haven't mentioned, i either don't care, or don't like them, or am to lazy too mention them, if you wanna know my opinion, you can ask me!

If you disagree with anything I said, that's fine and idc, just don't hate on my opinions...sorry that I hated on stancy to all the stancy shippers tho ig?

Also sorry if I tagged anything wrong and some stuff is not tag because I'm lazy 👍

[willthecleric]

I need:

Byler

Byler kiss

Lumax

Mike with gay crissis (or just crissis bcs of Will)

Will safes Mike

Will with powers (I wanna so much fire or elect)

And Byler

Mike cryingg

Mike talking with Robin about Will

Will talking with El about Mike

Coming out Mike & Will

I forgot about byler

Mike run to Cali and Karen looking for him

Will begin best bro for his step sister

Sara back

Alexie is alive (just bcs he is not on "B" pls someone had to save his life ans idc about that russian man shoot him)

Byler scenes

Will controled by Vecna

El became byler shipper

Jancy breakup (srry but byler/mileven can be happen only after breakup)

Mike apologize Will

Byler scene only with them

Will is hero but only Mike can to help him with controling powers

Did I forgot something?

A L E X I E I - I - N E E D - H I M

Mike is confused bcs of Will and project of Alan T

Erica calling Will & Mike nerds in love

Lucas with saving others again

Hopper like: first my daughter, now my son, DAM MIKE

Byler making comics together

Mike want to play DnD with Will

EL SISTERS

Mike trying to draw something

More Alexiei-

Argyle as a byler shipper

I wanna see Vickie

I miss flicker lights too

Something with Chernobyl (ya know year)

Suziee (pls dont be dark character)

Ted? Your kids dying all time when you go to help them?

What about you and ur followers? What do u wanna see in season 4 of Stranger Things?

Oh yes! I definitely agree with a number of yours.

What I want from S4:

-lots of Byler content

-Mike confessing to Will (or to someone about Will)

-M**even finally ending and El coming to support Byler

-Mike coming out

-Will coming out would be nice too

-the pairings that I don’t see becoming endgame all ending

-Will’s powers finally being confirmed

-Will being at the lab

-part of me wants to see Will turn more evil (maybe not EVIL but you know… at least darker Will)

-for Smalltown Boy to play as Mike goes to Cali (or at like any point as it’s a Mike anthem)

-more quality Byers and Wheeler moments

-Karen to finally know what has been going on for the last few years

The list goes on though those are the ones that immediately come to mind.

[kaypeace21]

Are you actually one of those people who think that "they are right about everything" and that you are "100% sure that every single one of your theories is going to be canon" or do you just make theories/analysis and HOPE they might happen 🤔 bcs i think a lot of ppl are convinced you are "entitled" and hate on you for it ://

I don’t think every theory I have will be correct. But it's not merely based on what i "hope" for, either. Its based on the text within the show. I literally already answered this EXACT SAME question like... a year ago where i LITERALLY said in BOLD FONT . 

But do I (personally)  believe Will has powers. And that byler is endgame. Yes. You don’t have to. I could be wrong- i just think at the moment it's what makes the most sense (to me). You don’t have to believe it, though. I also think a lot of the established pairings- mileven, lumax, jancy, and jopper aren’t endgame based on the evidence in the show. But, I could only be partially right/wrong and some make it- who knows.  The show isn’t over yet- we all have to wait and see. I write theories- cause I’M NOT AFRAID TO BE WRONG.

I do theories based on what I think may happen based on where I believe the evidence leads (not what I hope for) -otherwise it’s not a theory! What you hope for-is just a head canon. Maybe cause I’m in stem- I don’t believe in working backwards from any conclusion and calling it a ‘theory’. I’ve already talked about this too in multiple posts cause people get angry assuming I do. I have theories about s4-5,  some of which I don’t even want, that I think will happen. It has little to do with what I hope for! 

But , these people just hate on me cause I have theories that aren’t conventional.” No one ever gets hate for being overly confident jopper/mileven/jancy is endgame. Bylers don’t go around telling milevens “you should write MAYBE mileven is endgame since the show is not over yet “ on every mileven post talking about mileven being endgame. But some milevens get angry if we don’t insert the word “maybe” in every pro byler post. The double standard is annoying. We have the right to our opinion and so do you. Maybe just stop policing what everyone says . I’ve made it clear they’re theories. Am I’m confident in some of them- yeah. And? I’m not saying you have to be! I usually state “i think xyz will happen” or “maybe this will occur” . But, at the end of the day, who cares what I think- at least I enjoy analyzing the show on a deeper level than most. Everyone is entitled to analyzing a show and coming to their own conclusions . Why don’t they write 20+ paragraph analyses about what they think the show is symbolizing (using textual evidence)- before s**ting on my DID psych/narrative theory they never even bothered to read before disagreeing and saying it’s “nonsense” and i’m “delusional”and “need psychiatric help”. If they think they can do soooo much better why don’t they write theories? Or do analyses? Instead of just complaining/insulting all the st people who do 😂

Like...It’s just funny . That st non-theorists will make fun of st theorists - when they themselves contribute literally nothing to the fandom except insulting others for their theories/scene analyses. Like... all they do for the fandom is complain about others in the fandom. And try to thought-police others. But they act so high and mighty for -what? Not analyzing a show? And taking everything at the superficial level? Something that takes literally no effort to do? It takes more effort & courage to make bold theories about a show(and be wrong) vs just doing nothing. I write theories- cause I’M NOT AFRAID TO BE WRONG. Plus, no one thinks it’s cool or edgy to make fun of others’ hobbies .😂

I don’t think every theory I’ll have will necessarily end up being right (that’s just statistics) - they didn’t give us movies before s3 (like they’re doing for s4) but I thought murray was a Russian spy after s2 cause he had a Russian gas mask in his house in s2. And in s3 he wasn’t a spy but just knew Russian. I thought based on s2 foreshadowing on Halloween -Hopper would die in s3- but even in s3 when I saw him ‘die’ I thought it was likely he’d come back. So again partially correct. I thought maybe the byers would move to Chicago cause of how many times it’s referenced in movies/in the show in relation to the byers- but they prob just gave the Chicago ref to Kali . Before s3 I thought Mike was bi-now I think he’s just gay and comp het (we won’t know that answer until the show is done).I don’t think it’s possible to be right about every theory! Especially because I’ll be writing a whole post about what I think s4-5 will entail (which will have a lot of theories/details that could be slightly off /wrong). I’ve purposely postponed writing it so I could watch as many st films as possible- cause my theories evolve /change with every new film I watched. I literally addressed this all ...a year ago. 2 Pics from post I first linked😂

————-

———-

Regardless, of what I say... these people make stuff up to try and cancel me/hate me over.They’ve already tried like 4 times to cancel me over various lies they made up about me. This is just cause of stupid ship wars, more than anything , sadly . So no , I’m not going to be dictated to and change my blog for people who hate me and 90% of the time don’t actually read my work (and claim they read , I said “insert random lie here”) anyways. You can’t cater to everyone-that’s life . They can just ignore/block me. I don’t cross tag my posts. They’re not my audience . Not that hard. I’m a theorist- I believe I can be wrong. Whether you love or hate me -you don’t have to believe all my theories. End of discussion XD

Update: As @strangertheory ironically and truthfully said in response to this post “if you have a theory that is STRANGE in the stranger things fandom- expect a lot of hate mail.”

Can’t be closer to the truth honestly. That’s a warning to anyone new planning to start theorizing about st. You have to toughen up and deal with hate/bullying in the st fandom when you don’t agree with the majority -that’s just how it works, sadly😂

[lesbianrobin]

have u done an analysis on endgame st ships? a penny for ur thoughts

i have not!! i would like two pennies please. my thoughts are not actually worth that much but i think i deserve them anyway. i’m gonna talk about some stuff that may seem unrelated or only loosely related to the question but i prommy it’s relevant <3 warning this ended up being like a thousand words somehow idk how that happened but i’m putting it under a cut bc i’m nice like that.

so! something that’s kinda unique/interesting to me about stranger things is how all of their ships are so clearly telegraphed and quickly developed. there’s a sense of... impatience, for lack of a better word. on the surface, it appears to be largely an effect of the cinematic style of the show; there’s very little room for questioning who someone’s gonna end up with or for slowly developing a relationship over time when you only get eight episodes every like. twoish years. AND you have about a dozen main characters AND evil government forces AND monsters from another dimension. it’s a lot to juggle!

stranger things has a lot to accomplish in a pretty short amount of time. the timeline of a single season usually spans no more than a week (excluding flashbacks/end-of-season timeskips), and well... nobody wants the important stuff to happen offscreen! i’ll use the stoncy love triangle as an example: jancy was originally intended to get together at the end of s1 after steve’s death, but since they decided to let steve redeem himself and survive, there was just no time to separate stancy and get jancy together without it seeming wayyy too abrupt. since jancy was always their plan, they didn’t want to leave nancy with steve, but they knew they couldn’t just have that boyfriend swap occur offscreen... which is why s2 Had to have a stancy breakup plot in order for the writers to accomplish their goal of getting jancy together.

the main characters in stranger things tend to maintain homeostasis between seasons, their circumstances and relationships rarely changing any more than the audience might have just assumed they would anyway (like lucas and max dancing together + sharing a kiss at the end of s2 and officially dating by the start of s3). steve and nancy are dating at the end of s1, so they must still be dating at the start of s2, and thus we must break them up DURING s2. joyce and hopper are friends with some deeply buried feelings in s2, so they’re friends with Less Buried feelings that must become apparent during s3. excluding the stancy situation (for reasons which i think are obvious but i will talk more about later), momentum is always forwards. mileven, lumax, and jancy argue, but they come back together, presumably more mature and stronger than before. 

all of this is to say that stranger things has thus far been rather dedicated to their starting ships. there isn’t much misdirection; mike’s crush on el is obvious from the start, nancy and jonathan share charged moments even while she is with steve in the beginning, lucas shows interest in max immediately and shares more significant interactions with her than the other boys from early on in s2, and the deep loyalty and care between joyce and hop is always apparent. steve and robin (initially intended to be together romantically) hold hands quite early in s3 and dustin asks steve about whether he likes her. 

the point? stranger things doesn’t dick around when it comes to love! they handle their ships with remarkable efficiency. in each season, it tends to be pretty obvious from the start who’s going to end up with who, and heading into the show’s fourth season, almost everybody is paired off: mike and el, max and lucas, joyce and hop, nancy and jonathan. which leaves us asking... are all of them going to last until the end?

we’ve only had one true breakup on the show so far, and as i’ve said before, the stancy breakup is an anomaly as it was essentially “righting a wrong,” allowing jonathan and nancy to get together as they were intended to do from the start. the only other romantic relationship to end on the show was between joyce and bob, and well... we all know why that ended, and it started/ended within the confines of a single season. 

stranger things tends to treat each season as an extended film, right? they draw inspiration from classic 80′s films, and each subsequent season after s1 is treated as a sequel (they are Literally referred to as stranger things 2 and stranger things 3). when they introduce tension in a season, they’re inclined to resolve that tension by the season’s end so that people leave satisfied, while also providing a plot hook for the next “sequel” for audiences to theorize about. this hook is always part of the grander plot, not a will-they-won’t-they tease or something else of the sort. remember, they could have broken up steve and nancy in s2 and waited to get jancy together in s3, but they didn’t! they wanted to go ahead and resolve the tension! 

while there are narrative and practical incentives that i’ve covered for this impatience/efficiency/[insert better word i can’t think of here], i also think it kinda reveals something about the writers of the show. to some degree, they genuinely care about and want their ships to be together! we’ve watched them introduce new characters just to kill them off a couple of times now, and i think it’s fair to say that the writers might be a bit too attached to the mains to consider killing any of them off (at least prior to the series finale). maybe... this reluctance to kill their darlings extends to ships.

romance isn’t the primary draw of the show, but an indulgence, something that there may not always be time for but that the writers continue to prioritize as much as they can because they enjoy it, or feel that it is important to the overall product. if we accept this idea, that the inclusion of and focus on so many romantic relationships in stranger things is (to some degree) indicative of the writers’ own desires, then it might inform our speculation regarding endgame ships.

i’m not here to like... really actually assert that i know what’ll be endgame, because i don’t really know jack shit. however, i do think that the writers are pretty invested in all of the current canon st ships (and yes, i am including jopper in that, as their romantic development was explicit in s3). i also think that the writers like catering to fans, leaning into popular jokes (steve “the hair” harrington) and devoting more and more time to the ships fans obsess over (particularly mileven). 

with this all in mind... i really think that most if not all of the current canon ships will be endgame. 

i think that barring any extreme circumstances (i.e. a character Actually dying instead of just fake dying) jopper will be endgame. they’re the only ones that the writers have had the restraint to actually do a slow burn with, and i really can’t see them devoting so much to developing their dynamic just to say it was all for nothing in the end. 

i’m less confident on the others. there are some signs in canon that the remaining couples have some serious problems and may not last, but these issues are often dismissed, played for comedy or brushed over within the text itself, and many of the details within the text contradicting this dismissal are often so small that it’s unclear whether they’re intentional or not. while breaking up mileven might make perfect sense for a fan who reads into subtext and pays attention to unusual acting choices and subtle parallels, it would be a pretty risky move on the surface level. allowing these ships to remain canon for awhile and garner large fanbases only to break them up later would require both a willingness to actively contradict the desires of their audience as well as a certain degree of restraint in their romantic storytelling, which runs counter to the impression i personally have of the st writers (this is, of course, my own personal opinion).

there’s a good chance that at least one of the current canon ships will break up by the end, if only because i think that it would be a little boring if every relationship stayed the same for almost the entirety of the show’s run, and the stranger writers like to keep things new and exciting. perhaps long distance will kill jancy or mileven, or lucas and max will go off again and never come back on, but either way i wouldn’t be surprised if we got a breakup in s4. even with that, though, i think it’s somewhat likely that a current couple may break up in s4 and get back together for the series finale, just for the sake of a little suspense. overall, though, i feel like our current canon ships are going to be more or less the same at the end of the show.

that’s about it. i suppose i didn’t really... answer the question you asked skdndsdkjc i feel like you probably just wanted to know like if i’m a byler endgame truther (which i am not but i could happily be proven wrong). thank you for asking, though! i hope this made at least a little bit of sense.

[slccplessnights]

This blog is still kinda new so this might not show up, but... I’m really in the mood for some 1x1 rps (preferably on discord), if anyone’s interested! I’m a full time student so I get a little busy for replies sometimes, but I am always on for hcs, plotting and all that fun stuff! Gonna add all the info down below because I have a tendency to ramble so I’m sorry it’s a lot lmao.

general info about me: 

I’m 23, so I’d prefer my partners to be at least 18+. GMT+5 timezone, but almost always online and replying on discord because insomnia lmao. 

As mentioned above, I am a full time student and have classes mon - fri with my busy days mostly being tuesdays and wednesdays. 

I write all pairings m/m, f/f, m/f, nb, etc. My personal preference is m/m or m/f. 

I’m pretty open with the kinds of plots I do, let me know and we can talk! I’m a sucker for cliche tropes. Good with nsfw content, darker themes and smut, but the last bit isn’t the most important thing for me so if you’d rather not i’m 100% good with that too. 

Only faceclaims I won’t write with are deceased fcs, underaged, or ones with abuse, racist, etc histories. 

things I really want to do: 

lets start with fandom pairings: 

Buddie from 9-1-1. I love them so much, friends to lovers trope??? THE BEST. and who doesn’t love hot firefighters? I’m down for literally anything with them, canon, aus, etc. just gimme. I can play either of ‘em but my preference lies with playing Buck. 

Reddie from IT. Another pairing I love with all my heart, I’d be down for any au with these two as well. All the tropes, all the aus, fix-it timeline? Lets go. I play Richie, but I could try my hand at Eddie. 

Justin/anyone (OCs included) from 13 Reasons Why. I just love Justin Foley so much, and I wanna rp him against someone, please? I’d give you anything you want lmao. 

other fandoms include: Teen Wolf, GoT, Stranger Things (Byler, Lumax, Elmax, Stancy mostly, possibly Mileven or Jancy), The 100 (I play Murphy).

non fandom plot ideas: 

alright, so like one specifically for m/m would be frat bros. They sneak around and hook up and it’s all “no homo lol” until they realize that it’s actually very “yes homo” and no matter what they say that it’s just sex, deep down they know it’s not and it leads to complications and frustrations, even jealousy mayhaps? bad explanation but we can talk and i can explain my thoughts better lmao. Could have joined the frat together in freshman year and are best friends that start hooking up, or one muse could be a pledge or new initiate, the other is a slightly older member. for the latter I wouldn’t mind playing either muse. 

this one’s for f/m and I’d prefer the f, but could def do m too! The idea here is that f was never in a serious relationship because she was always busy and focused on her goals, but she started dating m and he understood her priorities and supported her. they had a good, strong relationship and before either of them knew it they’d been together for 2-3 years and that made f panic because she felt trapped even though she loves him and ends up sabotaging their relationship and sleeping with someone else. She tells him and he breaks up with her but they’re both still very much in love and maybe trying to work through it as friends? But can they remain just friends? lets find out! he may also be trying to make her jealous but that’s neither here nor there. 

an idea for f/f. One’s a popular cheerleader and the other’s a little nerdy and unpopular. They’re either best friends that grew up together and both harbor secret feelings for each other but never acted on it, or they’re even already dating and we have the cutest relationship where they’re just in love and so fucking soft. Or they could hate each other’s guts but there’s always this sexual tension under that both are refusing to admit until it spills over and a heated argument leads to another kind of passion. 

m/m, f/f, m/f, m/nb, f/nb, nb/nb, any. And they were roommates!! They’re pretty good friends and roommates, but there’s always been a spark of something. Neither acted on it, but they’re also super domestic and get mistaken as a couple by people that don’t know them at parties or friends’ get togethers. Always side by side at those occasions, getting each other drinks. Muse A gets tired and walks over to Muse B who’s having a conversation with someone else, just tugs on their sleeve and Muse B knows it’s time to go home, excusing themself from the conversation to grab their coats and go home. Just super cute domestic stuff, it starts platonic but grows to more. Lets throw some jealousy in there if one time Muse B doesn’t wanna leave and decides to stay and flirt with the person they’re with so jealousy and angst! 

m/m. where muse A, closeted and in denial, calls a phone sex line on a dare expecting to talk to a girl but gets muse B instead, a shockingly sultry-voiced dude who just laughs at the mistake and keeps on flirting with muse A until he gives in and lets muse B talk him into one of the best orgasms he’s ever had — and after that he can’t seem to stop calling back, be it for sex talks or regular talks, eventually getting weirdly close with a guy he’s never seen and who’s never seen him, but who already might know him just a little bit better than most of the people who are actually in his life do. ( I got this from @softhvnds but the blog doesn’t exist anymore so i can’t credit them! ) 

f/m, m/m, m/nb. This one’s probably like a politician’s adult child (maybe a college student, etc) and their surly bodyguard, because I just love that cliche okay? The politician’s kid is kinda spoiled and maybe kind of a wild child, always partying and sneaking away, and the bodyguard always has to track them down and drag them back or go with them and make sure they don’t get too messy. just anything and everything about that lol. 

m/m, f/f. They’re kids of super rich rival business/magazine owners, politicians, etc, idk something like that. Basically just enemies, feuding families and they’re always trash talking each other every time they see each other as well. both spoiled and used to getting their own ways, probably go to school/college together and share a lot of classes, get paired up and hate every moment. See each other at social events too, always bicker, but maybe one day the bickering and arguing leads to a heated make out sessions and now they’re sneaking around to hook up and they totally don’t like each other, it’s JUST sex, nothing more, nope not at all. They’re both lying to themselves about that. 

[clericbyers]

(1/2) idk if it’s stupid but i get rlly sad when i think about byler not becoming canon but i don’t wanna get my hopes up. media’s disappointed me so many times w lgbt rep, queerbaiting but not coming to fruition, having the token gay character (ik robin is confirmed but she was just introduced and i’m worried will is gonna get that treatment too where he’s left single or paired up with some random), etc and it hurts to see a pairing w genuine chemistry have a chance but it not be seen through

(2/2) esp w how toxic mileven was this season having them end up together just hurts me for the sake of both of them. in 1-2 i was okay w them ending up together (kinda like how i am w lumax now - i prefer elmax but they’re cute together and it doesn’t bother me) and in s1 i didn’t even ship any of them; i thought mileven was kind of out of left field and thought el maybe just needed some space but now it’s like,, so much worse. at the v least i can’t see them as endgame w a clear conscience :(

I don’t think you should ever think it’s stupid that you feel sad about an lgbt couple not becoming canon ; it’s rare af, and, like you said, media is a constant disappointment when it comes to lgbt rep. representation isn’t just acknowledging we (as in the lgbt community) exist, that is literally. acknowledgement. Representation is doing more, it is turning that acknowledgement into action, into treating lgbt characters (and real life people!) as you would anyone else. representing the community in a way that reflects the real world, which is that: lgbt couples / people are no different than any hetero couple / person outside of who they love. and for some reason in media, that difference (not even how that difference is expressed but the literal. dictionary definition difference.) is seen as something ‘overtly and unnecessarily sexual’ to display and is always sidelined, baited, or turned into a trope. It’s tiring and annoying and needs to stop.

That being said, I understand the frustration with byler especially given they are a pairing with genuine chemistry and love (platonic and/or romantic, but platonic is definitely there without a doubt) for each other. The show built up two seasons worth of care and commitment between Mike and Will, along with the years of commitment and friendship they have before the show even begins. It’s the foundations for a healthy and loving relationship, having that trust and dedication and devotion. Seeing a friendship/relationship like that between two boy get tossed aside for a hetero relationship that is almost the exact opposite in terms of trust at least, is annoying as hell. I too was rooting for Mike and El, albeit not at their current ages and definitely only after El has found her place in the world, which then irritated me a lot more about ST3 (but their whole incompatibility might be purposeful who knows; it depends on what’s in store next season). I didn’t particularly actively ship any of the characters really until a while after ST2, everything was just cute and fun to watch play out but now they are older and growing up and these relationships are way more serious now even if they are still kids. It’s that make or break it stage, you know? But yeah, I also can’t see Mike and El together unless many things change between them in the meantime, mostly on Mike’s end of the deal but El, too, was selfish and lying and being possessive so...they both just need time apart.

Still, I understand you about not wanting to get your hopes up! I try my hardest too not to believe in the reality of it though I do like to think about it anyway because it’s just...it’s perfect. And by perfect I don’t mean they aren’t without flaws, no, ST3 has shown us how jealousy and neglect affected Mike and Will’s relationship, but the way they dealt with it, the way Mike took responsibility for his actions and ran after Will and searched for him at Castle Byers, the fact that he knew to go to Castle Byers after Will’s house is so telling about how much he cares about Will and knows him, too. It’s perfect in the way that it feels like it’s supposed to happen, like you know there’s genuine affection here and yes, there are arguments and strifes, but they still come back together in the end. Three months later after that damaging argument, Will and Mike are flirting and smiling, and Mike is blushing--there’s something happening. Three months later after the break up, El and Mike are awkward and Mike’s shutting himself down and lying still. Intended or not, there’s a parallel here that shouldn’t be ignored and it points a very specific light on byler, one tinted with romantic inclinations. Besides, it’s hard not to get attached when their friendship/love is one of the most real things in the show.

[edwardshundredyearoldspunk]

okay so I finished vol 2 of stranger things (damn that ninth episode was just too fucking long oh my god they really needed to trim it) and I'm feeling. . . feelings.

1) I'm not surprised Eddie died, although I am crushed and cried a lot at his death and the scene where Dustin tells his uncle about his death. it's really the only death out of the "there for a season" characters that I genuinely wish the writers hadn't gone through with. something about the way he died, with his name smeared so entirely, really gets to me. I knew tho, from the cute scene he had with Dustin that he had just signed his death sentence. even so I wasn't emotionally ready for it to happen when it did.

2) I was surprised they killed max and although I did not at all want her to die, I do think it was a bit of a copout to bring her back from the dead. apparently el is a necromancer now? love that for her. but really it just reinstates my belief that the duffer brothers have no narrative guts to kill an actual main character off

3) very happy for robin and her soon to be girlfriend. that molly ringwald.wanmabe is absolutely into her and I for one an happy us sapphics get this win at least

4) I literally did not care at all about the russia plot, I'm sorry but it's true. I legitimately was very tempted to fast forward any time the russia plot came onscreen. sooo boring

5) that being said I kinda. . .didn't care about the plot at all? is that mean? like I genuinely thought these two (much too long) episodes were actually kind of boring and just the comedown from episode 7 which is maybe not a great thing considering they were so hyped by netflix

6) I think I finally figured out why, even though I don't think byler is happening, it is much more compelling to me as a viewer than mileven. I love eleven but I think the problem lies in the writing. for mileven to work for me, it should have gone the route of lumax, a sort of innocent romance. they're fucking kids y'know. why does it have to be this world shattering love-of-my-life kinda thing? I feel like the duffers really wanted to sell the fact that mileven are soulmates and their love transcends and endures or whatever, but c'mon. they were fucking 12 when they met. why couldn't they just have a sweet kids romance? meanwhile mike is looking at will like that and people are expected to not read into it?

7) my final point. does anyone feel a little let down that apparently the main villian was just. . .some guy? like, the cosmic horror of the mind flayer was much scarier as a villian to me than vecna because it seemed other, it felt like if it had motivations they weren't the kind that humans could understand, and that terrified me. meanwhile vecna is just some guy y'know?

idk, those are my thoughts and that's not even mentioning the whole Steve and Nancy thing, which I don't even want to acknowledge with brain power right now. ugh.