#if steve wont adress his trauma we will!

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Okay so I need steve and wayne to bond or so help me!!

Okay so I cant remember if its cannon but I definitely see Wayne Munson as ex military, so hes definitely seen some shit before he took in eddie.

Now seeing as hes seen some shit, hes become hyper aware of picking up the signs of ptsd from having witnessed many people (as well as most likely himself) suffer from it. Meaning the moment he properly meets steve, he knows that this boy has gone through something incredibly traumatic. He also picks it up in alot of the other kids who hang around eddie, but its obvious that steve is hiding that whatever happened was effecting him so much.

And wayne so badly wants to reach out to this kid and help him, but he doesnt know what steve had gone through (he briefly remembers the kid was involved with helping save people from the StarCourt fire and is pretty sure it must be part of it.)

Now pare this with wayne, steve robin and eddie all getting kidnapped (either by the Russians again or some of bernners men) and they get separated into 2 groups. Wayne and Steve, and Robin and Eddie.

Wayne, as he trys to offer comfort to the teen, (the man swearing he would do anything in his could before he watches his kids get hurt!! Hes an old man but he can still take a punch!!!) Only for steve who's still chained to his side of the cell to start laughing!?

Like this is the type of laughing that sounds hysterical, that cant quite believe hes in the same situation AGAIN now with his boyfriend and bestfriend trapped god knows where and HEs trapped with his bfs uncle.

And wayne is just floored because, what's the point of keeping everything a secret now?? So steve is just sitting there laughing with this far away look in his eyes as he explains getting tortured by the Russians, and how it's honestly pathetic because he did know stuff about what they were doing that they didnt understand, but they just kept asking who he worked for, not what he knows. So he was just beaten and beaten to the point that one more severe head trauma like that would no doubt make him brain dead at this point!?

And as he keeps rambling and rambling, even mentioning how his parents didnt care since he was already such a disappointment, and Wayne's heart is just slowly breaking because no one was there for this boy! From the sounds of it he refused to tell everything to his bestfriend who experienced it with him (not that robin told him she heard everything that happened, she wanted to respect his dignity and let him tell her), but she couldnt truly be there for him if he didnt let her. Hell he even kept the full of it from eddie!! But now Steve's trapped in a cell again, and it doesnt matter that hes in here with his partners parental figure, because Steve's already excepted that he was probably going to die here and at least someone should know before that happens!!

Thankfully hopper and joyce (along with the cavalry and a super powered teen, everyone gets out with minor injuries) and wayne is just like Steve your my son now, your gunna move in with me and eddie in our new government appointed pre payed for house, and I'm going to make sure me and my nephew treat you with all the care you deserve!!

(Of course eddies all for this, he would love steve no matter what!!!!!)

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I want to add for starters! even before they got sucked into the upside down where (I would say he probably got a minor concussion or at least some kinda whiplash after being pulled through and dragged, bc there is no way his head didnt hit the ground a couple times!! Plus a comment mention how he got one as a baby so like hes going on at least 6 in my book!!) The kids got caught by the cops that, honestly, wouldnt of happened with him there!

But like seriously op this is just FACTS!!! Steve would feel so guilty for not being there for the kids + eddie (honestly considering what happened to the groups out side of Hawkins, bets are he would also feel guilt for that too) (like finding out el got dragged back to the lab by Brenner, while the cali group were basically on the run from the government while trying to find her? No doubt he wishes he could of been there to idk stop el from getting bullied to the point she gets arrested, or help jonathan keep the kids + argyle safe and sane since they couldnt contact anyone!?)

(ALSO no way steve wouldnt feel so damn guilty that Hopper was taken by the Russians, Hop who only really just started having time with his daughter, Hop who was a strong leader who always knew how to help when things got rough, Hop who steve could have switched places with if he had stayed in the base or hadnt gotten caught in the first place! Hopper and Joyce, the two closest things to parental figures (even if they barely interact) having to fight their way out of the Russian prison, when they shouldnt of had to even be there in the first place, if steve hadnt let him and the kids get caught that night!!) (You can't tell me Steve wouldnt probably think things would have gone better if it was him who was taken not Hopper)

**would this also be a good point to mention that steve is often paralleled with hop with the whole fighting monsters (and people) thing, only steve has usually succeeded in faceing all these creatures first, plus didnt have a flamethrower and a sword so like?? Good for him?**

Steve, where the only person to ever voice that he was a good person, dies because he wasnt there?? That max dies because he wasnt there?? That all the kids got hurt because he. wasnt. There!?!?

Honestly (and ik I've posted about it before but that's bc honestly I feel like it would be the perfect way to do his character arch (just like Max's)) Steve should get vecna'd.

Because not only would we get a full in depth view on the mental (hell even the physical) tole everything in the last 4 years has taken on him, aswell as getting to see extra bits (like more on his home life) and how he sees himself as a person!

We would then get to see how everyone else would react to steve not being there to silently help! I want everyone panicking because Steve is suddenly floating, no one even realising he was cursed because even when he tried to tell them they would brush him off, or 'tell him to tell them later if it was really that important!'

And since at this point steve is so worn down for no one ever seeming to need him he just keeps quiet until it's too late... he would already be in the trance before anyone could realise he not there!

Whether he lives or dies the point will have been made. Vecna was able to notice how extremely important Steve was to the Party, before the Party noticed how extremely important he was to the Party! (For just a lil bit of angst it would be fun for them to shown/ realise how all of them would have been killed if it wasnt for steve bc literally he has saved probably all of their lives at least once whether that be directlyor indirectly!!)

And for a final kick of the hurt, when max wakes up, the three people she should, most realistically, ask for straight away, is lucas, el, and steve.

And with the way things are growing in the show? I honestly dont know if he will even be alive for that point.

To add on here at the end, steve IS smart, just not conventionally, hes probably the most emotionally smart person besides Joyce and Murray!!

But almost definitely, steve is WISE! Which is alot more than the rest of the party!! Literally if this was dnd, everyone else has the 'intelligents' bit maxed out, or at least heading that way (dustin and nancy...) but steve, instead of putting it all into the smarts, put it into the wisdom!

He doesnt need facts to know things. Instead he uses his experiences, and gained knowledge from living!! He didnt need a compass to tell him where skull rock was, because he knew the way for going their before, it was something he had already learned and made a fair judgement in himself that the compass was wrong as hes experience showed differently!

When he noticed the music in the back of the recording, he used the knowledge he had already gained from his surroundings, to discover that realistically, the transmission must have been coming from close by!

Hell even with his fight with Billy! It's clear from how he went into the Interaction, that it was never ment to turn into a fight, from experience he knew he couldnt beat billy, however, he could destract and stall him. When the fight did start, the goal was obviously not to win, it was to keep the incoming threat away from the kids!! You can see this I'm how steve purposely directed billy away from them, keeping himself in between!

EVEN THE BOAT SCENE!! Steve knew he had to be the one to check out the gate, because he was the one with the highest swimming abilities, he was the best suited for the role because of his experience!!

And no one (not even nancy or dustin!!) Even thought of that, but he did, because he had the wisdom to think of who was the most knowledgeable for the actions!!

He didnt need intelligence for any of that!! But his actions time and time again prove hes wise and has enough understanding of the situation to make sensible decisions in split seconds because hes SMART!!!

(Honestly it's this trait he shares with will, that I believe both of them have a trouble fitting in with their groups because their logic works so differently to everyone else around them!!)

I'm so sorry this is so long but steve means so much to me as a character and he deserves to be recognized as a smart amazing character who is shown time and time again that he is capable of growing and bettering himself without asking in return!!

sometimes you spend two hours out of your tuesday talking about the persistence of the "steve harrington is an idiot" narrative which is basically the most consistent thru-line in the entire show

sometimes you are watching stranger things 4 and eddie munson calls steve harrington "a pretty good dude" and "oh no," you think "is this the first positive thing anyone's said to him this season?" and then, even worse, "oh god, is this the first time in the show that someone directly tells steve that he's a good person?"

and then you write a lot of words about it

like. let's take a journey.

season 1: nancy doing her little "you are an idiot steve harrington" bit, which as been talked about, but also the fact that tommy and carol are constantly making fun of him for liking nancy, almost in a "aww he doesn't know that he's pathetic" kind of way. barb thinks he's an idiot. jonathan thinks he's an idiot. we know what happened when the duffers wrote him, he was supposed to be an idiot. nancy thought he was using her for sex, and she wanted to rebel! she didn't want to date him even though steve was just so clearly fucking besotted. even the kids thought he was trouble!

on top of that: we know that his parents are never home, that they think it's pathetic that he lost his fight with jonathan (probably just threw money at the situation honestly). we know he's popular, but decidedly not well-liked.

BUT. he's like. a good guy. he apologizes to jonathan for the shit he said. he would apologize to nancy later but he knew he fucked up with jonathan. called jonathan a queer, a freak, said shit about his family, he knew it was over the line and he wanted to fix it. he ran when he saw the monster but he came back inside to save them anyway. nancy gets back together with him. he buys jonathan a new camera and has nancy give it to him as a gift because he knows jonathan wouldn't take it from him. he is smart!

concussion tracker: 1

season 2: he writes his college admissions essay, but nancy doesn't think it's good, no one thinks it's good. he knows it's not good. he's visibly nervous about it, knows his parents are going to be disappointed if he doesn't get to college. there's no more "you are an idiot steve harrington" but a wider acknowledgement that he is Not Smart. he doesn't make the Right Decisions. not to his parents, not to nancy, not by listening to the government and not talking about barb, not by being worried about his family because the government will take everything away from him.

he's a fool in love. he doesn't even realize that nancy doesn't love him. she challenges him when he says so, too, calls him crazy for it, but he's right. he heard her say it to his face and he almost lets her pretend it never happened because he loves her so much.

he's not popular anymore, either, not in his senior year, not without tommy and carol, not with billy around. he can't even keep his girlfriend, that one everyone told him was a red flag, the one that is way smarter than him, way too good for him, he's only really making her worse and she thinks so too. steve, you're so stupid for thinking everything is okay when it's bullshit! when it's obviously bullshit, everything was and you clearly didn't care and everyone knew this was all smoke and mirrors except for you.

he's still good, though, still a good guy. he gives dustin bad (but well-meaning) advice. and the thing is that he doesn't even realize that it's bad advice. it always worked for him! harrington you idiot! naive. girls don't care if you like them, youre pretty! don't you know that's why?

still, he's good! he goes to nancy's place to ask for her back and to apologize even though he knows he didnt do shit wrong. he unquestioningly takes dustin where he needs to go, protects them all from billy even though he can't fight: really, very stupid of him to try. he loses and is literally passed out for a good chunk of time but the kids are okay! he can't see or hear but he knows that if he doesn't chaperone them into the upside down that they'll probably die so he gets up and does it.

he sends nancy to go be with jonathan because "i'm a pretty shitty boyfriend, but i'm not a half-bad babysitter" (and he says this literally knowing he didn't do anything wrong. he really believes he's a pretty shitty boyfriend. he's gotta be, he's too stupid for her, not good enough, couldn't make her happy, didn't let her be right in the way that she needed to be and that just must be a universal truth). it's supposed to be humbling when he takes dustin to the snow ball, now that he's the babysitter guy, he's finally been humbled! thank god! he had such a big ego before!

concussion tracker: 2

season 3: he didn't get into college (probably because he never ended up editing that college admissions essay) (probably also because he's had two serious head injuries) and he's really fallen from grace, now. girls don't even want anything to do with him, partly because he didn't get into college, partially because he's convinced he has no game. he's insecure about it, too, because even dustin has a girlfriend from his smart nerd camp and his advice from last year didn't turn out to be any good. and not to mention what is dad thinks about him.

and steve just. doesn't hesitate for a second to help dustin with the russian spy thing without even knowing it had anything to do with the upside down. like this was no longer life and death, dustin is just his friend and he likes him. and he still helped him even when he was struggling with translation, and he was the only reason they found out it they were operating from the mall, even though everyone else thought it was stupid that he was so focused on the song.

and then he gets tortured, and manages (for the most part) to protect everyone else, takes a fucking massive beating for it, only mentions a single name when he's drugged.

and this part is extremely important to me as a robin buckley defender to the death, she straight up tells steve all about how awful he was, how big of a dick he was in mrs. click's class. and he agrees! he knows! it's hit him that the person he was in high school was this miserable asshole who didn't care about anyone else even though we've only seen a version of steve that tries and cares. nobody remembers all that. not even steve. and later he confesses to her and is straight up waxing poetic about how much fun she is and how much he likes spending time with her and how great it is to be her friend. and yeah, he likes her, he has eyes and a brain. and she shuts him down and it takes about five seconds for his brain to recalibrate.

he's good. doesn't even take a full 1986 minute to feel sorry for himself, to feel stupid for barking up the wrong tree again. doesn't take a full aids epidemic world minute to be on her side. no shit this is the guy who called jonathan a queer and immediately went to apologize. he's used to it. he's used to being wrong and he's used to transforming his love into something platonic.

he doesn't hesitate to run his car directly into billy's or back in the direction of the mind flayer. he's unafraid. he's brave. no one calls him brave to his face but they all think it.

and then right at the end, he's trying to get a new job at the movie store, where he almost doesn't get hired because he's too stupid to know anything about movies and-- isn't it funny that he walks into that cardboard cutout that was right in front of him? there goes steve harrington. the bumbling idiot.

concussion tracker: at least 4 (he got his shit rocked by the russians at least twice)

season 4: this is where it gets good. it's where it gets interesting. by which i mean it gets awful and i hate it. it's where i want to rip my hair out of my head and eat it.

spoiler alert: ive only watched volume 2 once and im currently rewatching volume 1 (which actually sparked this rant obviously), so it's going to be a bit brief talking abt v2 compared to v1

just in the very first episode, we get: steve getting negged by his date about how he was bad at basketball, steve talking about how he wants a real relationship with someone who gives a shit about him instead of just... using him for sex, steve being vocally jealous about dustin's other older male friend, steve being the only one who saw lucas win the game (other than nancy who has like never spoken to lucas) and no one acknowledging it. he's like in an accumulative like five minutes of this episode probably.

in the next few episodes, we get a lot of dustin (bless him) straight up calling steve an idiot for

suggesting they contact the police on account of all of the horrible things theyve gotten involved with and the murder that just happened

not knowing how a compass works

being careful in rick's shed in case someone tries to kill them

not knowing how walkie talkies work

not knowing where the walkie talkies are?

then there's nancy who sticks him with the kids because he isn't smart enough to pretend to know things about psychology, they need a certain type of student, says that they're not even kids anymore, that it'll be easy, as if he's only capable of the easy tasks. meanwhile the kids are constantly fighting him because they're smart and know each other well and honestly do not want to be babysat. meanwhile instinct tells steve that max is in trouble and he's right and they still fight him on it.

there's the way robin dustin and eddie tell steve how he needs nancy back (even though he's like respecting her relationship with the guy that She Left Him For) (even though she told him directly and explicitly two years ago that she was never in love with him and that their relationship was bullshit) (even though last summer he told robin all about how he would probably always love her but he knows they wouldn't work again and he's ready to move on)

and like. nobody makes long speeches about what a great guy they think steve harrington is. they all figure: he must already know. only cares about his appearance and getting girls. didn't even bother going to college. probably will skate by on his parents' money. he was popular and a dick and he's kind of an airhead. but who cares, man? it's just steve harrington.

this is the worst for me, man, is when he thanks eddie in the upside down for saving his life, and eddie immediately deflects, and steve has no shit whatsoever to say. he goes up to eddie away from the girls and starts a conversation with a guy that he was convinced was a murderer, a guy he called a freak until they saw each other (eddie: hunt the freak, right?), and starts the conversation to be like: hey! thank you! those girls know how much they mean to me but you don't and i want you to know.

eddie's like "dustin told me you were a badass and i didnt believe him but he was right" and steve is genuinely like. thrown off. dustin doesn't tell him this stuff! he thinks steve is indestructible. and then the good part: "i guess i couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. rich parents, popular, chicks love him, not a douche?"

because people always stop before they get to that part! steve has rich parents (who cut him off and are never shown because they're never home), steve is popular (or, he was back in high school but we already went over that fall from grace), chicks love him (except they historically absolutely resolutely do not, not the way he wants to be loved by them, not nancy or robin or the girl he takes to the basketball game.) -- but not a douche? when i say this might be the only genuinely nice thing said to steve about his own character in the entire show i'm really struggling to find evidence otherwise. it's honestly nicer than 95% of the shit ever said about steve, to his face or anyone else.

really, the only thing steve is good for, the only thing he has acknowledged himself for being good at, the only thing other people have openly acknowledged he was good at: babysitting

which makes the end of the season hurt all that much more, doesn't it?

he's never been allowed to hang out with the older kids. not since season 1 (even though nancy and jonathan would have 100% died if he hadn't come back). and he loves those kids. he's good at being there for them. he's stood up directly from more than one serious brain injury and immediately did the right thing by them, for them, sacrificed himself for them, only really complained about it in season 4 because at that point it becomes personal, not circumstantial. he's not asked by the kids to help, he's asked by the older people who don't think he can handle any more than them.

i'll say this, too, because it hurts my feelings and idk where else to put it: when max is running up that hill, she calls for dustin and lucas. over and over again. when eddie calls the party over the walkie, he asks for dustin and nancy. steve is always there but no one asks for him. he's going to be there. he's going to instrumental in helping them. but they do not ask for him when theyre scared or in trouble. nobody does and he comes back every single time. he's always there to hear their desperation but he knows he's not who they want!

and i feel like the steve harrington that they want us to think existed would have a snarky comment every time: "i'm here too, you know" but he doesn't. something tells me he doesn't expect to be wanted.

it's just something i noticed.

and then volume 2 hits. they have this big plan. for once, he goes with the big kids. him and his two girls. he trusts eddie and dustin to keep each other safe. he lets max and lucas keep each other safe. he does this even though he always always makes sure they are safe first before saving himself. always. (getting the kids out of the upside down, getting the kids out of the rapidly closing russian elevator, ushering them out, actively putting himself in danger, using his body as a shield. he walks into battle every single time expecting to sacrifice himself for these kids. and this time he goes with robin and nancy to fight the big bad, leaves the smaller things to the kids who desperately want him to stop babysitting them. he figures: max and lucas can handle it themselves, they told me time and time again. dustin and eddie are close and they understand each other in a way i dont get to understand dustin, they can handle it themselves.

steve harrington, you bumbling idiot, listen to them for once! they're smarter than you, anyway, you really hold them back.

and then what? eddie dies, right there in dustin's arms. eddie who is the only person who has actually genuinely told steve that he's a good person that he likes spending time with. even though he told them both not to be a hero. because he knew he wouldnt be able to save them this one time. and dustin had to watch.

and then what? max dies and then lives and then gets put in a coma. he wasn't there like he was in the graveyard. he was the only reason they realized soon enough back then and this time he wasn't there to save her from vecna.

and then what? lucas and erica are nearly killed by jason and the other basketball goons, genuinely violently hate-crimed. and like. steve was wildly popular. he fell from grace but you know jason probably respected him in some weird jock way, would probably listen to steve as like a fucking white guy. and steve can throw a punch

before the got in the fight he and robin were like: i think we're going to lose

and i know steve feels like: i stepped away from my post. the only thing i was good at, the only thing anyone respected me for. i set up this plan and it got people killed. i was tired of being the babysitter and! now! look!

concussion tracker: still probably at least 4 but also i'd like to mention that he gets strangled literally twice this season for like a significant amount of time which is decidedly bad for your brain

tldr: steve harrington, fiercely loyal, canonically neglected, chronically self-sacrificial, disliked at some point by every single character on the show, constantly underestimated, openly self-conscious about his intelligence (both before and after sustaining several severe brain injuries) and how other people perceive him and if people like him and want him around, has given everything for the entire party and he needs to get something back in season 5.

he needs someone other than nancy to tell him he's a good person and a good force in their lives. he needs his final story arc to not be about his romance with nancy (they both need this). he needs dustin to open up to him about eddie's death. he needs someone to trust him with something other than their physical safety. he has never once turned someone away.

and, because he's my blorbo and i want to see him suffer, just a little bit, i want the show to acknowledge how badly he would take the blame for eddie and max and lucas specifically. it is the one time he was not there, it was the one time they lost. he's my steve harrington and i get to project my massive guilt complex onto him as much as i damn well please. and then i want someone to tell him how good he is. for the love of fucking god.

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"JEEEZZZ EDDIE IM OKAY! ITS NOT LIKE ITS THE FIRST TIME IVE GOTTEN THE SHIT BEATEN OUTTA ME!!"

"NO ITS NOT OKAY STEVE! FIGHTING MONSTERS, GETTING BEAT BY PEOPLE LIKE BILLY AND GETTING TORTURED BY RUSSIAN FUCKING SOLDIERS SHOULDNT BE A RECURRING LIFE EVENT!! So please, STOP NEARLY DYING ALL THE TIME!?!?"

*Wayne, who just walked into the kitchen for a coffee, when the party start barreling into his home with eddies boyfriend incredibly injured and the two shouting at the other about how injured steve really is (which is pretty injured steve) (including hopper and jon who are carrying steve) looking increasingly exasperated like 😀*

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I'm in the middle of writing a stranger things fic wip with robin getting vecnad and honestly? I forgot how fun it is to write angst lol

Robin faces being disowned by most of her homophobic family, vecna using her dad (the only one who stuck by her and still love her) to cause more harm

Steve having his "I CANT FUCKING LOSE HER" moment (frantically searching for her favourite song only to realise their mixtape is at her house)

Her favourite song is "I'm still standing" by elton John btw

Nancy yelling at him saying "we get it your girlfriend might die but your not the only one who cares about her!?" To which steve loses HIS SHIT bc nancy stop being bullshit that's his platonic soulmate and he loves her more than any romantic fling he could have had in the past bc robin was the first person to except him and ask if he was okay!!!!

Robin then having to face the Russians again, only this time forced to watch steve getting tortured (finally understanding why he wouldnt fully tell her what happened) plus watching/ seeing dustin and erica hurt and blaming her for what happened at starcourt!

She (like steve) blames herself for letting them get involved, she hates that her decoding a secret message for fun led to someone she now loves getting hurt

Everyone is not sure if they are more scared of robin dying in this moment, or steve, who the party is pretty sure has finally cracked when in his last attempt to find a song that means something to robin

Starts singing total eclipse of the heart like a muppet

Oh btw all 4 chapters (maybe more I'm still planning lol) are named after different lyrics from the song

Robin saves herself time by hiding in the memory of her and steve making thier mixtape (Steve's coming out moment/ Robin's dad being AMAZING)

I love Robin's dad in this hes a pretty cool bi king who just loves his two gay children (steve is his son, steve had no choice in the suprise adoption bit prefers him much more over his real dad)

VECNA (the bitch) tells robin as shes escaping that if she doesnt join him, she knows who will be next (yep you stevie boy ;))

Of course robin still escapes, but not without being utterly terrified for her bestfriend, not even sure how to tell him (or the others tbh) that vecna probably wont be targeting max this time, instead choosing to take out their hardest hitter

Que steve and robin having a VERY emotional hug (if they weren't co dependent before, they definitely are now)

Everyone else is just there in stunned silence bc gods damn it that was the most stressful 15 minutes of their lives and it got resolved BY STEVE SINGING BONNIE TYLERS "total eclipse of the heart" LIKE FRICKIN MISS PIGGY

Possibly gunna write a sequel involving steve and him getting vecna'd, (I have so many angsty ideas for this too (plus a bit of steddie)

and a prequel about the whole "mixtape" scene and stuff involving robin and steve being beautiful codependent queens being gay with a king that is Robin's dad helping them learn what love means where I project my 80s music taste onto my favourite characters (obviously that would include other characters but this is all based on platonic stobin so they're only guests lol)

Anywayyyyy this was longer than planned but maybe if other people like this idea it will actually get me to finish it (tho I still dont know how long that would be since I just started my new college course)

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You know what? More steve getting vecnad let's go!

I want steve to be vecnad and I want him to be tired of everything that has happened in his life. From everything that started after 83, from being neglected and hated by his parents, from having only had shitty toxic freinds most of his life, for falling in love so easy only to have the people he loves and trys to care for call it all, them, him bullshit, to have risked his life multiple times to save his kids only for them to look over or down play his achievements and injuries!!

I want steve to be so so tired of trying, never having a chance for a rest because he's constantly waiting for the next thing to go wrong. And Vecna? Vecna is the first person to offer him that rest. Vecna turns to steve and offers him a break, telling him that if he joined him, he wouldnt ever have to feel tired again.

That this exhausting existence he is forced to live wouldnt have to hurt him anymore. He wouldnt need to worry about helping others, wouldnt need to fear he wasnt enough, wouldnt have to continue being the one getting beaten up year after year after year only to be overlooked by the people see called friends, the people he saw as family. That steve could finally be given Peace.

I want steve to consider it.

I want steve to want it so so bad.

It's not like he could escape any way, theres no music playing, his friends didnt even know his favourite song, and vecna tells him that. That they cant even bother to find it, let alone remember it!

Steve knows it's not true, it CAN'T be! His friends would be fighting for him, they had too... Wouldnt they? But Vecna sounds so real, and hes just so tired, tired of fighting, of running. He just wants peace...

"You promise?" His voice is barely a whisper, hes terrified, but the offer sounds too good to be true.

"Of course." Vecnas face twisted into what one could only believe to be the closest thing to a sincere but sinister smile.

Steve stared at vecna, trying to read the monsters eyes for any hint of a lie, while tears steamed down his cheeks. He nods the best he can around the vine that has pinned him by his neck against the wall. He was so tired.

Vecna grinned, his slimy hand moving towards Steve's face, a elongated coming up to stroke the tears from his cheek,"Dont cry steve, it's time for yo-"

"STEVE!"

his words are cut off by a scream, and the sudden unmistakable sound of the opening to "every body wants to rule the world" playing faintly around them.

El looks as exhausted as steve felt, blood dripping down her chin, as she made her way to vecna a second time. She knew what she was doing this time however, and she was going to save Steve. There was a portal behind her, not big, but big enough to see the whole party gathered around Steve's body.

Hopper was standing directly below, arms braced ready to catch steve when her fell. Joyce was holding into will and Jonathan as they were knelt by a kiddy pool with el floating in it. Max along with dustin held desperately onto her Walkman. Lucas and erica was holding onto Robin who was shaking, she was on the ground like her legs had given out on her. Eddie, Nancy and Argyle were not there, but with how mike was frantically yelling into his walkie talkie, steve had a guess at where they were/ going.

Everyone was crying, even hopper-

And they were trying to save him!?

"Steve you need to fight! Please- do not give up!!" El was crying, she had seen vecna take max, she wasnt going to watch that happen again. Not to steve, he cared about them too much to go out this way, especially when they hadn't shown him how much they appreciated him yet.

"So- tired. I'm so tired El, I cant" Steve sounded so broken, El had never seen him like this before, not even as she faced him memories to find him here. He was always so strong for them, but now he was barely holding on and vecnas had was right over his face-

His arm snapped

"YOU CAN! Please Steve!! We cant lose you, you make sure we are all okay! You look after us! You make us happy! You would alway bring me icecream on fridays after you work, or call me and will to tell us new movies!" She was crying hard, as she used her powers to send vecna flying backwards before running to where steve had fallen to the floor.

They didnt have long, steve needed to run now before vecna could get up, but he was still so tired. He looked up at El, the girl looked so scared, she had almost watched him die for christ's sake!? "El, I'm so-"

She silenced him as she pulled him up and holding onto him tight, god she was still so young. Her gaze was hard as she glared as vecna who was fully standing now. She let Steve go as she raised her left arm towards the monster... "no need for sorry steve." Her words left no room for argument, "we love you so we came to save you."

Steve wanted to weep, it had been to long since someone had to him they loved him and ment it. And sure, he was still, tired, still longed for rest. But he realised that he couldn't just give up now. Finally, people were fighting for him, and he was going to make sure he kept fighting so they didnt loose.

So he ran, not looking back as he hears the monster and el scream- the familiar words of his favourite song pushing him forwards as he held onto his mangled arm. Sliding and dodging rocks as they fell from the sky, getting closer and closer to the portal. He could see his freinds, all so terrified on the other side.

Things were not going to be easy, that was for certain. But life wasnt ment to be easy, and not for the first time after he asked vecna if what he was offering was true, he realised just how much he wanted to live right as he jumped through the portal. Because he really did want to live.

[ima-ghost-art]

As much as I like the concept of ronance, I honestly couldnt see robin being comfortable it happening. Robin knows shes crushing on Nancy, she knew the moment she realised that nancy is different than priss she thought she was. But robin also knows what happened between Nancy and Steve.

You cannot tell me that after the bathroom scene in s2, steve doesnt get uncomfortable with the word bullshit. Whenever he hears it, it reminds him of when someone he loved called him and everything he was trying to do for her, bullshit. Then blamed him when she was sober saying all she remembered was Steve getting mad at her because she kept drinking which didnt happen, he didnt even get mad until he left the bathroom. And Nancy never apologized for this, not once. Not for calling him bullshit, not for emotionally cheating, not for blaming him when he was just trying to help.

Even if both steve and nancy have moved past their relationship and become freinds, you cant tell me that he is still a bit fucked up from that night. That he cant hear bullshit the same again because everything he does, apparently to nancy, is bullshit. And if the roles were reversed and nancy was a man saying what she did to a woman, it would get people pissed!! But since Steve's a man and Nancy's a woman I think it's way to overlooked when it comes to their relationship.

Then when Steve meets Robin, they become best friends, platonic soulmates even. So there is no way, Robin hasn't listened through steve telling her about his relationship with nancy and what happened because of the upside down. Hasnt accidentally, called him bullshit and watch him wince, the same way he gets when someone asked who do you work for, and notice how hes actually pretty fucked up he is from that. Having to be the one to try and convince Steve to address his trauma, because she can see how badly hes affected even if he denies it's there!!

So the moment, Robin realises, she is falling for Nancy. You cannot tell me, that she doesnt hate it. You cant tell me that she hates the fact shes falling for the girl who fucked up her best friend. She may be cool, and an amazing monster fighting, smartass. But she also hurt steve, and steve is Robin's person. So even if Nancy reciprocated her feeling, I dont feel Robin would want to go forward with the he best freinds ex. (Vickie definitely likes her back anyway so let's have them please they are so cute)

Now dont get me wrong, I love nancy as a character, and her inability to admit shes wrong is an interesting character trait that I think adds to her character well. But I just dont think she should stay in a relationship, or move to robin because shes been in a relationship constantly from the beginning of the show, and I believe she should take a break and work on herself, like steve has done.

Anyway this is my rant, goodnight

[ima-ghost-art]

b, n, + w for the ask game!

OKAY!!

B- ima go with my current fav ship from my og fandom that, as much as I hate it, I still love it which is voltron. Technically no one themselves convinced me, but I saw the relationship in a fic by one of my favourite authors at the time that I liked, so ima count it (I'm usually the one convincing others with random rare pairs so) i was given Lance x Matt and utterly fell inlove. Like before hand I wouldn't have pared them but now i just want matt to marry lance to officially make him pidge's older brother!!!

N- 3 things I wish I saw more/in in stranger things is (1) kali, I really wanna see more of els sister tbh and I also really want to learn more about her escape and how she did that!!

(2) please please please can we adress Steve's truama!?!? My boy was thrown into this mess and managed to take down a demigorgan without even knowing what it was, got emotionally cheated on most of his relationship with nancy, was nearly killed by demodogs, then billy, then by the demodogs again in s2 all bc he wanted to protect these reckless kids (I dont even think he ever got an actual apology from nancy for the bullshit she put him through either) GOT TORTURED AND DRUGGED BY RUSSIAN SOLDIERS IN S3 no to mention the guilt he must feel for dragging robin into this mess aswell as putting the kids in danger, then watching billy die in front of max??? Then in s4 he has to watch max (someone he sees as his lil sister at this point) fighting this monster on her own with such a limited time left, then got literally dragged into the upside down, STRANGLED, PARTIALLY EATEN ALIVE, then after getting out, have to go back before he was even fully healed from the first time then the vines STRANGLED him AGAIN!?!?!?? Only to after severely hurting vecna, come back to Dustin (basically his little brother) holding the (potential bc I dont believehes actually dead) corps of eddie, his new friend he was definitely crushing on. Eddie who has apparently died the same way he was attacked before. LIKE THERE IS NO WAY STEVE IS OKAY AFTER ANY OF THIS?? YET SOMEHOW ITS STILL PLAYED AS A JOKE???? (I am very passionate on getting these characters therapy bro they've been through so much)

(3) let this fruit salad of a show be gay, we all know it is so just let it be gay!! Give steve his metal head bf!! let robin and vickie be cute band gfs!! Let byler be a thing and let them be happy!! Let max have both her gf and her bf el and Lucas!! Let us have our stoner bfs Jonathan and argyle!!! Let us have single queen nancy who knows shes bi but also knows she doesn't need to constantly be in a relationship!!!!!

(Bonus 4 bc I need to have wayne and eddie interact, they care so much for eachother and we were robbed of having them reunited)

And finally

W- (besides all the sex or die, sex pollen, and everything else that involves questionable consent) I have the most irrational hatred for time loops!! Idk what it is but even if it's the only completed, checks every other box for my dream fic, if it has a time loop? Fuck nope just no. I would rather read the fic from 2016 thats incomplete. I just despise it and I really have no clue why, no fandom would make me want to read that trope!?!?

Anyway hope you enjoyed this lol