#jonathan vs erica

[sealingknight]

no more "le*ks", only increasingly chaotic hyper-specefic or vauge predictions for next season

[ladykailitha]

Do You Know What Shovels Dig? Graves Part 6

And this is it. The last part of a short little idea that kept me up all night that turned into this beautiful story that is one of my favorite stories I’ve written.

WIP Wednesday allowed me to finish this up for you before I went to bed. I got a job that I will be starting on Monday which will slow my writing down some, but I will still try to keep up on the stories I have. I love writing these stories for you guys and wish I could make it my job. But alas, capitalism.

Also this is for all the people that wished to see what the Corroded Coffin boys would say and for all the people that wanted to have Erica actually apologize. I was like “if you guys can get her to apologize, great, because I couldn’t!” But then I realized that there was someone who could get her to apologize. Robin. So here you go.

Thanks to that anon for the barbecue idea. That’s here too.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

*

After Max, Lucas, and Erica had gone, Steve sat with Eddie, El, and the Byers boys.

“I think all in all,” Eddie began, “those were some pretty good apologies.”

The other three nodded.

Steve sighed. “It doesn’t change the fact that it took an actual honest to god intervention to get them realize they were wrong.”

“No it doesn’t,” El said. “Which is why I told them that they’ve been grounded from Steve for two weeks.”

“Uh...” Eddie said, “what now?”

“It means,” Will explained. “That if they want to hang out with him they have to do on his terms, not theirs. No begging for rides, no stopping by for food and then bailing, and just no taking advantage of Steve.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks, guys. I mean it. It was nice knowing that there were people that weren’t going to threaten me and took this whole seriously.” He gave Jonathan’s knee a squeeze. “I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t stopped by. But I’m really glad you did.”

Jonathan squeezed his shoulder in response. “Me, too. I hope they learned their lesson.”

“That is the hope,” Will said.

Steve scratched his cheek. “Why don’t we have barbecue at your guys’s place after the two weeks and see how they fair?”

Will brightened. “I like that idea. That way if they are still having problems we can talk to them about it.”

“Do you think your mom will go for it?” Eddie asked.

Jonathan grinned. “Hell yeah, she would. She’s been wanting to show off her new house to everyone for awhile now.”

El grinned too. “We have a plan, then!”

*

Steve was pleased to see that the Party actually started to make actual changes in how they treated him.

Lucas invited him out to play basketball at the rec center and biked himself there. Steve offered him a ride home after, which he happily took as they were both sweating afterwards.

Dustin made sure that Steve knew he was joking when he was making comments. And Steve made sure to snark right back unless it really bothered him and then they would talk about it.

Robin and he had a longer talk about the gay vs bisexual thing. She admitted that she had been wrong to assume that because Steve was bisexual that it would be Eddie getting his heartbroken and not Steve. She had some ingrained biases that she had to get over and was really sorry she didn’t have his back when he needed her to.

There were a lot of little changes but the final major change came a couple days after the intervention when Jeff, Gareth, and Brian all walked into Family Video together to properly apologize to Steve.

“Hey, Buckley,” Jeff said, “can you give us some space?”

Robin straightened her spine and wiggled her shoulders. “Steve has had apology monitors to ensure that it’s an actual apology, and as Eddie or Will or Jonathan aren’t here, it’s going to have to be me.”

Steve laughed and shook his head. “Apparently there are certain people who think I’m too nice,” he explained to the other boys, “and let people get away things that I shouldn’t so they took it upon themselves to be my guard dogs to make sure it’s an actual apology.”

“Have they met you?” Gareth asked, incredulous. “You’re the original bitch.”

Steve laughed again. “Who let Tommy and Carol walk all over me. I tend to roll over for friends.”

They blinked and then nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” Brian said. “That tracks.”

Steve just smiled. “So how can I help you fine gentleman today? May I interest you our latest releases?”

That got a couple chuckles out of them.

“No, man,” Jeff said, “we’re here to talk about the whole shovel talk shit.”

Steve leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “You do know I don’t fault you guys for that, right? You guys are Eddie’s best friends. I didn’t really fault Wayne, either. But the execution of that one...” he winced when Robin gasped. “Poor choice of words, sorry.”

“What he do?” Jeff asked.

“Borrowed Chief Hopper’s shotgun and cleaned while we talked,” Steve said with a grimace.

“That ain’t right...” Brian said, shaking his head.

Gareth looked at Jeff and then back to Steve. “Yeah, but here’s the thing about our shovel talk...”

“It wasn’t necessary,” Jeff finished for him. “We’ve had time to get to know you before you and Eddie started dating. We knew that you two would do anything for each other even without being a couple.”

Brian nodded. “It’s just...something we thought best friends did. The whole ‘break his heart, we’ll break your knees’ kind of thing.”

Robin looked down at her feet and cleared her throat.

Jeff sighed dramatically. “Please tell me she wasn’t one of the ones that gave you the shovel talk. Because that’s messed up, man.”

Steve looked over at her and then back up to Jeff. “Yeah, she knows.”

“By the way,” Gareth said, waving his hands, “Eddie doesn’t know we’re here. So I don’t want thinking this is a forced apology or anything.”

Steve raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Brian cleared his throat. “I mean he did threaten to kill off our characters if we were mean to you, but he didn’t tell us to apologize or anything.”

Steve laughed. “That sounds more like the Eddie we all know and love.”

“But we would have come anyway,” Jeff said. “Because our shovel talk added to a heaping pile of bullshit that you didn’t need. And definitely didn’t deserve.”

“So this is us saying we’re sorry that everyone you knew decided that you were going to break Eddie’s heart,” Gareth said. “And that we made you feel like you weren’t worthy of dating Eddie. Because you are, man. Like seriously the only guy Eddie’s brought around that we actually want to be friends with.”

“Hell yeah,” Brian said. “You’re so cool and you love to take care everyone. We’d want you to stick around because we like you, too.”

Steve’s eyes blurred and he cleared his throat. “Thanks, guys. It means a lot to hear you say that.”

They all came up and gave Steve a hug, blocking him from outside viewers so he could cry. Once they were sure he was going to be okay, they let him go.

They said their goodbyes and walked out, leaving behind a stunned Robin and grateful Steve.

*

Just before the barbecue started Robin brought over Erica to Steve by holding her ear.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Erica was yelling as she was half dragged over to him.

Robin sat her down and said, “I learned that this little hobgoblin didn’t properly apologize for her shovel talk. And Eddie let her get away with it.”

“God, what’s your problem?” Erica huffed up at Robin. “They understood. Why can’t you?”

Robin grinned. “Green ooze, little girl. Green ooze.”

Erica’s jaw snapped shut. If Sherlock Holmes had his phrase for humbling him when he got too proud, this was Erica’s. She was going to drink it before it turned out to be acid. Like literal acid.

She turned to Steve. “Shovel talks aren’t right and no one should be giving anyone shovel talks because it’s a pointless exercise in latent hostility. So I’m sorry I contributed to an archaic practice used by bullies and abusers. I won’t do it ever again.”

Erica looked up at Robin, who gave her the thumbs up. Erica hopped up and ran off to play.

Steve blinked up at Robin in shock. “Like how the hell did you manage that?”

Robin just batted her eyelashes and said nothing, walking away with a whistle on her lips and a swagger in her step.

Eddie came up to him in shock. “Did I just witness an actual apology from Lady Applejack?”

Steve nodded mutely.

“I think I’m more afraid of Robin, now,” Eddie muttered and Steve could only agree.

*

Eddie was starting to see a trend. One that made him laugh the third time it happened.

The first, though? Claudia Henderson.

“Eddie!” she greeted warmly. “I haven’t seen you around much. How have you been?”

Eddie smiled at her. Even before the Upside Down, Claudia was one Eddie’s favorite people. She was bright and happy and loved her wacky son with all her heart. Something that Eddie could absolutely get behind. “I’ve just been busy. But name the date, and I’ll be there.”

She smiled back. “That’s sweet, dear. You know you have an open invitation. But why don’t you and your uncle come over for Sunday dinner. Steve has already said yes for himself.”

“Sounds great, Mrs Henderson,” Eddie agreed.

“How are you and Steve?” she asked gently. “Dusty was telling me that Steve hadn’t been doing well lately.”

“We’re good,” Eddie said bobbing his head. “Things got a little rough a couple weeks back, but we’re on firmer ground now.”

She patted his cheek. “You really need to be taking better care of that boy. He looks tough on the outside, but he needs someone who can take care of him, yeah?”

Eddie smiled. “Of course. Taking extra good care of our Stevie is my number one priority.”

She nodded and went to go make sure Dusty was eating enough.

The next one was Karen Wheeler of all people. Ted was suspiciously but expectedly absent. She came up to Eddie and introduced herself.

“You must be Eddie!” she said with smile that reminded him of that Dustin Hoffman film.

“Oh hello,” he replied a little confused.

“Nancy has told me all about you,” Karen said with that same smile. “She’s always going on about how Steve finally found the person he was meant to be with and what a great person you are.”

Eddie smiled back. “Nancy’s a great girl.”

She sighed a little, her smile turning into something a little more genuine. “I miss having Steve over. Jonathan is great boy for my Nance, but Steve sparkled where Jonathan only shines.”

“I won’t argue with you on that one,” Eddie said. “But then Jonathan isn’t my type.”

She swatted at him playfully. “All I’m trying to say if that Steve is a good boy and deserves only the best. So you’ll take good care of him, won’t you?” It was sweet and sincere, but a hint of steel. And suddenly Eddie knew where Nancy got her backbone of steel from.

“Always,” Eddie promised, hand over heart.

“See that you do,” Karen said and wandered off to compare brownie recipes with Joyce.

The third was a squirrelly looking balding guy with thick glasses and far too knowing stare. He had come with Chief Hopper and had spent most of the night watching Eddie. He had asked Nancy who he was and she said his name was Murray Bauman and he was a conspiracy theorist. Which really didn’t clear anything up for him, but this rag-tag group of rebels and fighters were all a little weird.

He wandered over to Eddie and looked him up and down. He said in a clear voice, “I have seen things you wouldn’t believe, I’ve done things that would make your hair curl on end,” he stopped for a moment, “make it curlier and I know where the bodies are hidden. If you hurt Steve, you’ll be the next one.”

“Murray!” Hopper yelled. “What the hell was that? Why would you say that?”

Murray blinked at Hopper and then tilted his head. “Because we love Steve?” He says long and slow like he’s talking to a stupid person.

Eddie burst out laughing.

“No, no,” he said between giggles. “It’s fine Hopper. It’s all fine!”

Murray looked him over again and then nodded. “Yes, you’ll do.” And then he wandered off back into the house as if he had done what he had come to do.

A few minutes later Steve came up and sat next to Eddie. “I’m sorry, I don’t even know what that was.”

Eddie giggled and bumped their shoulders together. “It’s fine, sweetheart. It’s actually kinda adorable.”

Steve frowned. “What is?”

“That it’s the moms plus Murray here,” Eddie said jerking his chin in the direction Murray had wandered off to, “that are the most protective of you. Both Mrs Wheeler and Henderson have told me under no certain terms am I allowed to hurt you and that I’m supposed to take care of you.”

Steve blinked and searched the crowd for Claudia first. She spotted him looking at her and she waved at him. Steve smiled and waved back. Then he searched for Karen. She didn’t look at him directly, but merely winked and went back to talking to Wayne about something he couldn’t quite hear.

“Oh.”

“But don’t you worry, darlin’,” Eddie purred. “I’m gonna take very good care of you.”

Steve kissed him, slow and deep. “And I will always take care of you, Eds.”

“Perfect.”

It really was.

*** 

Tag List: @justforthedead89 @zerokrox-blog @ihavekidneys @didntwant2come @thelittleclare @liorereshkigal @estrellami-1 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @telidina @stevesbipanic @paintsplatteredandimperfect @a-little-unsteddie @jonesn4coffee  @resident-gay-bitch @obliosworld @croatoan-like-its-hot @evix-syne666 @emly03 @wonderland-girl143-blog @bookworm0690 @mysticcrownshipper @i-must-potato  @pnk-lemonades 

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Please bear with me this is a bit long and, quoting nance, a shot in the dark.

Portals and sexuality: what do they have to say?

This post is inspired by @givehimthemedicine's portals & vaginal imagery: Nancy as El's foil and csa in Hawkins Lab analysis, definitely read that before this

Basically it talks about the portals as vagina symbolism (which is not a new theory) and what exactly does this mean, specially for Nancy and El's characters. Now, portals exist as a way to get to the upside down, however one thing can mean several things in media, which makes it fun.

When reading their post I thought perhaps portals symbolising vaginas were a Nancy thing, a Nancy thing than has been conveniently used to hint/symbolise some things for El as well.

I mean, Nancy is the only character who's sex life is plot relevant and important. We have a whole scene of her losing her virginity, of barb dying during it and Nancy being traumatised, of the cops asking her about it and her angrily confessing it to her mom, her being called a slut, her sleeping with Jonathan in s2... No character's sex life has been such in the front, but that's cause hers is relevant to the plot.

And since part of the analysis focused on her, I just thought it was a nancy thing. Until they talked about Steve + robin (+ eddie) going through the gates in S4. Steve I could get, since he was also once involved in Nancy's sex life, in an important moment as well (her first ever sexual experience with a partner, and barbs death), just like they also talk about Jonathan and vaginal symbolism in the portals, related to nance. But robin? What does she have to do with it?

They wrote: "a lesbian and self-professing nonbeliever in a higher power, exclaims "oh, thank God! that was fun!" upon passing through. I'll just. ok. / she never looked afraid, but she did have a little trepidation in being the first to climb through, saying "guess I'm the guinea pig". interesting line to give to Robin, who could also be called a guinea pig in the sense of figuring out how to date girls in a conservative small town."

And I thought huh maybe the portals can show Nancy's (and El's) relationship with their sexuality and characters’ sexual attraction towards women (or, if they are women and attracted to men, their own relationships with their sexuality / puberty etc)

And then I thought: funny to think mike is the only character to not have went through one to go to the upside down, even tho he's super principal and has known about the supernatural plot far longer than robin or eddie.

But like, what if.

Before I start,

I focus a bit more on the gate at Eddie’s trailer because I feel like it’s one of the most obvious examples of vaginal imagery. I mean, when the teens find the gate while in the upside down, the gate is closed by some kind of membrane (reminding me of the way El sees the gate at the beginning of s2).

(The gate in Eddie’s trailer as seen by Nancy, Steve, Eddie, and Robin while in the upside down vs the gate in the school as seen by El while in the upside down)

To open the gate / the membrane, they have to poke the gate with a stick until they break it. Um, yeah.

And when the kids (Dustin, Lucas, Max, Erica) opened the gate with the stick, the first to approach and the only ones the camera pans to show the reaction of, are Nancy and Steve. Nancy and Steve who slept together in s1, Nancy who lost her virginity to Steve. You get it.

(Steve looking amazed vs Nancy not looking very impressed)

Also

Interesting to mention the older teens have interacted with gates or downright went through them faster than the party. What do I mean? Jonathan saw a gate and Nancy went through the same gate in s1. The party hadn’t even seen a gate until the end of s1, when el killed (?) the demogorgon. Meanwhile Robin appeared and saw a gate all the same season, and Eddie appeared and went through a gate all the same season, while we have Michael here since s1, not even seeing one.

However, by s5 all of the party will already have interacted with gates (Mike included) and in s5 they will be the same age as the teens were in s1. Something something if portals / gates are sexual imagery something something growing up and puberty (as seen in s3 which is the season where they start to interact with gates, most of them. S3 which is extremely focused in growing up and puberty). In s2 they go to the tunnels but that’s not the upside down that’s still part of Hawkins. However it’s a step further, shows they are growing up, maturing, just a bit.

Now yes,

Dustin

Dustin saw a gate for the first time I think in s3 ep 5, the Russian gate at starcourt and his reaction is pretty average, just surprise like “I can’t believe the Russians have got a gate” which is a pretty understandable reaction.

As I mentioned before, the gate in Eddie’s trailer had some kind of membrane that had to be broken with a stick. Guess who was the one holding the stick. Dustin.

Idk if you can see it well in that screenshot, but it was him.

Dustin was basically twice on the upside down, although to me it all just counts as one time. Once in s4 with Eddie, then he climbed out, and then he went again to try to rescue him. Nothing interesting or remarkable to say about his reactions, no disgust, neither excitement, as if going through gates is normal to him, something he has done before. Well, he does seem like a bit surprised but probably because it’s something new. He gets over it quickly enough tho. I mean, I get that given the situation and everything happening he wouldn’t be worrying about the gate (he has bigger things to worry about) but going officially for the first time to the upside down after hearing the horror stories still must shake you up. But I think they didn’t add more trepidation because we as an audience already are familiar with the gates and the upside down, so why waste time?

@frogfacee said “but dustin interacts w them most, being the only party member to intentionally- and on screen- go through one” as a reply to my post where I asked about the party going through gates on screen. When I read that I knew I had to write this post because you cannot tell me that “mr heterosexual” dustin henderson going through gates the most out of all the party (and poking a gate with a stick) while mike “repressed homosexual” wheeler hasn’t even seen one doesn’t mean anything. Specially because as much as I love Dustin, Mike is the one most connected to the supernatural plot (obviously, aside from Will) out of Lucas, Dustin and him.

Something interesting about Dustin tho, he’s straight. Very heterosexual. All headcanons aside, the show tells us over and over he likes women. He had a tiny crush in Max, now he’s dating Suzie, he asked a girl out to dance at snowball, he wanted to impress girls, he talks with Steve about girls and dating, etc etc. Out of all the party, I think he’s the one who’s attraction to women has been reminded to us the most. I know people talk about Lucas (attracted to women) and Mike (gay) as narrative foils for sexuality (Lucas being how a normal heterosexual man acts regarding women and his gf vs whatever Mike has going on), but the “straightest” out of the party is Dustin. By a mile. That boy likes girls, and the duffers want you to know that. Is it surprising in any way that gates don’t seem weird, or disgusting, or confusing, or scary to him? Than he just sees one and despite the original shock says “guess that’s what I’m doing”?

Lucas

Lucas hasn’t gone to the upside down, but he sees gates twice. First at Eddie’s trailer, and then at the end of s4, after max “dies” and a gate opens.

The one in Eddie’s trailer doesn’t give us much. The one at the end of the season, tho. After max “dies”. That gate that cut Jason in half and that merges with the other gates right in front of the library.

But the thing is, he doesn’t care.

He’s holding Max, crying because he thinks she’s dead, a gate opens and his concern is grabbing max and pull her to safety, away from the gate. He seems mostly a bit scared of the way Jason is cut in half but doesn’t really do anything, it’s not his priority, Max is. There is a shot of Lucas’ face looking scared but he’s not looking at the gate, he’s looking at Jason’s torn body. I would be scared at that too.

Max and Lucas broke up offscreen before s4, and in s4 we have Lucas reaching out to max and being worried cause she’s not herself. However not once does he ask if she wants to get together again or anything like that. Instead he worries because “it’s like you’re not even there, like you’re a ghost or something”. Something is wrong with Max, she’s not telling him or anyone what it is and Lucas is worried. She changed completely after Billy’s death, became a shell of herself and stopped hanging out with them, began isolating herself. So Lucas worries, and asks, Max is his priority. Not their relationship, he doesn’t get closer to her to try and get together, but to see if she’s okay, what is going on.

Then they find out about Vecna and the priority becomes trying to save Max, stop Vecna from killing her. Lucas doesn’t even think about getting back together with Max despite still being in love with her because that’s just not important right now, not when Max’s life is at risk. He worries about her, tries to save her and help her, not because then when it’s all over they might get together again, she might date him again if he saves her, but because he loves her and he doesn’t want her to die. If someone told Lucas that she would decide she doesn’t ever want to see him again after they saved her from Vecna, he would still have helped her.

He pulls Max away from the gates to keep her safe, he pushes any romantic and/or sexual feelings he might have away because Max is the priority, Max is in danger, her life is in danger.

Max (& Erica)

Nothing much. They have interacted with gates, even if just a little. Still more than Mike. They are there, in Eddie’s trailer, and saw how Dustin helped open the gate and the teens went through it.

Erica also saw the s3 russian gate, along with Dustin, Steve, and Robin. She seemed a bit scared but didn’t remain like that for long.

And Max was present when the gate opened after she “died” but well.

I take this as Max and Erica being a teenage and a preteen girl (Max is 15, Erica is 11), growing up and coming into their sexuality and this not scaring them much, just seeing it as something normal (which it is). Probably because this coming into their sexuality means 1- their own body growing and changing which they don’t seem to have any reason to be scared of (different to el, see the tagged post at the beginning), and 2- the development of their sexuality (which so far is attraction to men. Regardless of hc’s, Max is attracted to guys, she dated Lucas, she looked at a shirtless Steve with binoculars, she also talked about how Ralph Macchio from karate kid was “so hot”. With Erica, given that she’s 11, we don’t see this many “proof” but her journey could simply be physical).

Barb (& Will)

(TW: mention of undetailed SA)

So like, I read one of the many posts talking about stranger things and sa, and something that caught my eye cause I hadn’t seen it before, is than Barb also has sa coding. I mean we all have seen the pool scene being contrasted with Nancy sleeping with Steve and we all know how queercoded Barb is. This isn’t anything new, so many people have talked about the scenes being together but yet so different to show the differences between Steve and Nancy (heterosexual sex) vs Barb (lesbian). Something something upside down as metaphor for homophobia etc we know it. However so many people talk about Will’s sa coding, and this person also talked about Barb’s. The difference between Steve and Nancy (consensual sex) vs Barb (unconsensual).

It’s interesting to see that Will, gay, has only interacted with portals unwillingly, unconsensually. With this, then Will’s sa coding gets bigger. This could also be queer coding (which has been present since s1). One thing can symbolize several at the same time. Now, I’m not saying Will got sa by a woman, just that since s1 we can see than he would not have sexual relationships with a woman, unless forced. But I don’t think that’s what that means. It’s certainly possible, but I think it’s about sa.

Barb is queercoded. Very. Like, seriously. Super queercoded for how little screen time she has. And yet her interactions with portals are negative, are unconsensual. It’s very different to Robin’s “that was fun”. Well, in a small town in the 1980s during the aids crisis, lesbian sexuality would be repressed and seen as wrong and disgusting. We have robin for contrast, who accepted her sexuality and sure, things aren’t great, but she talks about it openly with Steve (not only her crushes but also how Julie christy is “bonkers hot” in doctor zhivago, aka, expressing sexual attraction for women out loud) and her experience with portals so far has been positive. Barb, probably repressed, who we also have seen hurting herself (cutting her hand) while conforming (trying to drink beer the way Steve’s friends were) (eddie’s voice: “forced conformity, that’s what’s killing the kids”).

However Robin went through the portal on her own, while Barb was dragged. Just like Will. It’s possible the portals as sexual imagery here represent sexual assault for both Will and Barb, and I think that’s what the duffers were going with. We have seen it for Will, all of s2, other seasons as well but specially s2, but with Barb, since she died, we didn’t get to see the effects. Barb also has some similarities with Henry and El, and well, we all know the *theories regarding Brenner and the lab… ( @henrysglock and @heroesbyler have good posts on it and you can also see it in the og post)

*tbh I wouldn’t even say theories I think it’s just there but in the background.

And finally,

Mike

Oh Mike

Mike is the main reason for this post. This was actually intended as a “proof Mike is gay” post but it escalated

The thing than is odd about Mike and the upside down, is his lack of interactions with it. I don’t think he ever even seen a portal.

But, he knows about the upside down. He helps the party discover stuff and he was the first one (aside from Will) to get a connection with it out of them (he was the one to find El, and to find out El knew Will).

Mike is very close to Will, they’re all friends but we see since s1 their relationship is different. Whether you believe in byler or not, we see it in s1 and s2, there’s a different between Dustin & Mike and Will & Mike. Mike is very close with Will, helping him through his episodes etc in a way that Lucas and Dustin don’t, he’s at the hospital, he discovers Will is the spy, etc etc. Mike is also dating El who, obviously, is super connected to the upside down and gates. So it would make sense for mike to interact with gates or even go to the upside down. Yet he doesn’t.

However I think there’s something to say about how Mike is the only one out of the party (aside from Dustin) to not be disgusted by dart. That means something, I don’t know what, though, but something (perhaps the manifestation theory? x x x)

So we have Mike, one of the main characters if not the main character, who is connected to the supernatural plot and who helps the development of said plot (he meets el, el stays at his house, he discovers stuff) not interact with the upside down at all (no, the tunnels are not part of the upside down, guys), while also being an incredibly queercoded character who has not shown any attraction towards women. (“Oh, but, but, but he’s dating El!”, true, that’s something I can’t deny, in canon, regardless of what I believe, they are dating. But aside from el, has mike shown attraction towards any other girl, or just women as a whole, ever? See here)

I think you can see where I’m getting at. Mike, repressed and gay, has not interacted with portals (vaginal imagery) in the whole show. Wonder why.

If this is true then it's genius, cause it shows something is wrong in a subtle way. I mean, in a show about an alternative dimension, where side characters that appeared one season (eddie) have travelled to said dimension, and side characters than haven't been here since the start (robin) travelled to said dimension, and side characters than have known about the supernatural plot since the start (nancy, steve, jonathan, hopper, etc) travelled to said dimension (or at least, interacted with the gates), and main characters (dustin, lucas, max, el) travelled to said dimension (or at least, interacted with the gates), and that started with a main character being kidnapped to said dimension in the first ep (will), and yet, they have main character Mike Wheeler, super connected to the supernatural plot (always the first to figure out stuff, close relationship with el and will), supposed "heart" of the party and "main" member of the group (hes literally the DM), tbh probably the main character, be the only one not being shown even interacting with a gate at all??? Yeah something isn't right. I noticed this so much time ago and found it incredibly weird.

Now, they are definitely going to the upside down and Mike will go through a portal in s5, so my theory probably won't hold up (unless he acts like, super disgusted when doing it of smth) but I found it interesting.

[stranger-fanfiction-n-things]

CHAPTER 4: THE BODY

This is an Original Character fanfiction. All Stranger Things characters and content are owned by Netflix and The Duffer Brothers.

a/n: Enjoy!

Warnings: Officer Callahan tbh.

Word Count: 2062

Masterlist

PART I || PART II

Thursday, November 10, 1983 - HAWKINS HIGH 

“Now, the three main reasons for The Civil War were one, disagreements over slavery, two, state vs. federal rights…” 

I stare outside the window watching the trees ripple in the wind, drowning out the history lesson. It’s been hard to concentrate and I can’t think about how heavy yesterday was. From finding Barb’s car, the thing with no face in Steve’s backyard, running to Lucas in the front yard after finding out about Will. The events following after Mom and Erica found Lucas and I on the front lawn feels like a fever dream. I remember being led to the front door, Erica calling out to Dad, Dad questioning Mom about what happened. I don’t know how or who took a shower first, but I know Mom was talking to me but I couldn’t hear anything. 

The shock of something happening to Barb and the police finding Will in the Quarry didn’t sink in until I lay in bed. I couldn’t stop crying. I woke up this morning squished between Lucas and Erica. Lucas lying almost horizontal and practically hanging off my bed while Erica snuggles into my back like a baby koala basking in my body heat. It’s been a few years since Erica and Lucas slept in my bed and I’m sure Mom has taken multiple photos of us all sleeping together. She loves taking photos and videos of us. 

The news of Will spread across the entire town like wildfire. Whispers of fear, concern and condolences echo in the hallways. I don’t see Jonathan which makes sense considering. I saw Nancy this morning in first period. Neither of us talk, both too wrapped up in our own thoughts to say anything. Mom dropped me and Erica at school this morning. Lucas stayed home. He hasn’t said much since last night and the family has given him space to grieve. For all of us to grieve. We knew Will too. 

“Diana Sinclair?” 

I blink out of my stupor, perking up in my seat. Principal Higgins stands at the door looking at me. 

“Y-yes?” 

“If you’ll come with me, please.” 

Everyone’s eyes are on me and I quickly stand up avoiding their stare as I pack up my books. Principal Higgins escorts me down the hall and I wonder what’s happening. I am led to his office. Janice, the secretary is scribbling on yellow legal pad, her plum-coloured outfit matching her eggplant-coloured nails. She smiles at me, magnified eyeballs warm and kind. 

“Hello, dear,” she greets. 

“Hi, Janice.” 

Principal Higgins nods his head respectfully in greeting and guides me to his office where two officers stand. My eyes widen in alarm and I linger outside the office not wanting to go inside. The two officers look at me through the window and I feel my knees tremble. I don’t know what to expect. I mean who does when it comes to being escorted out of class to speak to police officers. I immediately fear the worse. Barb. Principal Higgins opens his office door. 

“Officer Powell, Callahan. This is Diana Sinclair.” Officer Powell and Callahan peer out the door. Principal Higgins looks behind him and notices I’m not behind and smiles patiently. “It’s okay, Miss Sinclair, you’re not in trouble. Officer Powell and Officer Callahan just want to ask you a few questions.” My heart races. That doesn’t make me feel any better.

I wave half-heartedly with a closed lip smile. “H-Hello.” 

“Good Morning.” 

“Hi.” 

They answer at the same time. 

I don’t move from my spot in the middle of the office and the officers don’t move from where they stand. The whole encounter is awkward and I really want to run back to class and forget this ever happened. I shift side to side on my feet, playing with a loose thread on my skirt wondering what we’re waiting for. If they wanted to ask me questions, wouldn’t Principal Higgins have ushered me into his office to talk? Everyone was just standing here like they were waiting for something or someone. My ears immediately perk up when I hear soft clacking of heels walk into the office and I turn my head to see who it could be. My eyes widen and my jaw drops. Mom stands by the entrance wearing a sleek black trench coat with small kitten heels. Her hair is styled in a nice bob and looks freshly done, meaning she just got back from the salon. Principal Higgins walks past me to greet her, shaking her hand firmly and mom smiles her classic southern belle smile at him. 

My heart is beating so loud, I can hear it in my ears. I clutch my pendant tightly in my hands fearing I may pass out from overstimulation. Principal Higgins nods to the officers and they walk out his office excusing themselves past me. I blink realizing I’m still standing in the middle of the room like a deer stuck in headlights. The men walk out the door while Mom lingers waiting for me. She extends her arm and on instinct I walk towards her in a trance. Mom wraps her arm around my shoulder and without a word, we walk out the office.  

Principal Higgins brought us to the cafeteria. It was empty, but I know the lunch ladies were in the kitchen preparing the food for lunch. He leaves us to parade the hallways and Mom and I are sitting across Officer Powell and Callahan. They introduce themselves to Mom and tell us both, that they are here to talk to me about Barb. It turns out Mr. and Mrs. Holland went to the station this morning to file a missing person report and told them mine and Nancy’s name as the last people who saw her. I guess they are going to talk to Nancy next which meant, Mrs. Wheeler was going to come to the school too. I wish I could’ve warned Nancy about what was happening, but I can’t. I tell the officers what happened Tuesday night. 

“So, after this argument—” Officer Powell continued. 

“It wasn’t an argument,” I correct, shaking my head. “It was a…disagreement.” I’ve been talking to Officer Powell and Officer Callahan for the past fifteen minutes answering their questions. Mom sits quietly beside me, listening intently to the conversation. 

“Okay.” Officer Powell said. “After the disagreement, what happened?” 

“I walked home.” 

“You walked all the way home in the middle of the night.” It wasn’t a question. Officer Powell and Officer Callahan both looked skeptical about the thought. It takes almost two hours or more to walk uptown.

“Well, no. I-I got a ride.” 

I can feel Mom looking at me now. At the Wheelers with Barb’s parents, I didn’t get the chance to answer Mrs. Wheeler’s question before Mike stormed inside the house. To be honest, I was hoping I would never have to. Part of me wants to keep Eddie a secret. Not because I was embarrassed of him, the complete opposite. He seemingly was the only good in my life right now and I don’t want it all to be too good to be true. Officer Powell and Officer Callahan glanced at each other, my answer perking newfound interest in my story. 

“From who?” 

“His name is Eddie.” 

“Eddie what?” Officer Powell asks, writing in his notepad. 

“I’m not sure,” I respond, frowning. It never occurred to ask him his full name. The specifics didn’t matter. “He goes to this school and he was on his way home…” I don’t want to say Eddie was on his way from work because he is technically working illegally at a bar downtown and I don’t want to get him in trouble. “He saw me walking past Benny’s Burgers and offered to drive me home.” 

“She must be talking about Munson.” Officer Callahan said to Officer Powell. “Wayne’s nephew.” 

Officer Powell made a face. “Al’s kid?” He shakes his head. 

My eyes dart back and forth between the officers. I may have been born and raised in Hawkins but it didn’t mean I knew everyone in town. Mom and Dad moved to Hawkins from Virginia and we were one of the few families in our neighbourhood who didn’t have grandparents who grew up knowing each other. We didn’t come from generations and generations of Hawkins natives. We are the first in our family to uproot here. 

“You seem like a nice girl, Diana.” Officer Callahan says. “I would keep my distance from Eddie Munson.” 

I frown. “Why?” 

“With a father like Al Munson, take my word for it. He’s trouble.”  

My frown deepens and I clench my hands into tight fists. I don’t like how they’re talking about Eddie especially when the information provided doesn’t have anything to do with what matters. Barb’s disappearance. 

“I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation to be having with my daughter when her best friend is missing.” Mom reminded, her tone hard. 

“Eddie has been nothing but kind to me.” I counter, nostrils flaring. “He drove me all the way across town to make sure I got home safe. That’s more than anybody here has ever done for me.” 

“Do you have any more questions for my daughter about her whereabouts?” Mom asks in her parental voice.

Officer Callahan sits back in his chair while Officer Powell cleared his throat. 

“What happened yesterday?” he asked. 

“Nancy and I went back to Steve’s house to look for Barb and on the way, we saw her car parked in the exact same spot we left it the night before.” 

“When you went back, what did you see?” 

“I don’t know how to explain it, but it was huge, like some sort of animal or something, but,” I pause, licking my bottom lip. “It didn’t have a face.” 

Judgement shoots across Officer Powell’s face. “An animal with no face.” 

“I know it sounds ridiculous but that’s what I saw.” I swallow down the lump forming in my throat and touch my gold pendant on my chest. “I think it took Barb.” 

“We checked the house and there were no signs of any animals.” 

“Did you check the woods?” 

“Check the woods for an animal?” Officer Callahan deadpans. I don’t respond, fixing my chin up. It wasn’t the brightest question to ask, but it was still valid in my opinion. 

“There was no car either.” Officer Powell adds. 

I sit up straight, eyes darting to his. “What? Where did it go?” 

“That’s what we’d like to know, Diana.” He responds, patiently. 

“Nancy and I saw Barb’s car yesterday. I swear to you.” 

“Here’s what we think. We figure that Barb came back last night and then took off somewhere. Has she ever talked to you about running away?” 

I shake my head. “No. Barb wouldn’t do that.” 

“Maybe she was upset, like you, about the fact that Nancy was spending time with Steve.” Officer Callahan surmises. 

I squint at him and his ridiculous deduction. Barb wasn’t like that. I wasn’t like that. Barb and I may have had our worries about Nancy’s relationship with Steve but it wasn’t because of her. It was because of him. 

“I wasn’t upset about that.” I protest. 

“Jealous, perhaps?” 

The subtle tilt of his head conveyed an air of disdainful curiousity as if he were assessing me from a lofty perch. The laugh that comes out my lips is uncharacteristic. The tinge of bitterness and condescension charges the air. I can feel my Mom’s disapproving stare. My manners were unbecoming, I know. But for Officer Callahan to insinuate I am jealous of my best friend for spending time with a boy she likes is comical and proves he clearly wasn’t listening to anything I was saying. There was no motive for Barb to randomly disappear. There was nothing. The only thing that I know is that she is missing and something bad happened to her. 

“No one was jealous of Nancy,” I shoot back, trying to be mindful of my tone. “Not me. Not Barb. No one. I don’t care about Steve. I care about Barb and she’s missing.” 

The officers both watch me slightly taken aback by my firmness. Mom shifts in her seat waiting. Officer Powell closes his notepad, clicking his pen. 

“That’s all the questions we have for you Diana.” 

NEXT -> PART II

[booksandpaperss]

my (probably too optimistic) hopes and dreams for ST season 5

a genuine exploration and explanation of what exactly has been going on with Mike these past 2 seasons. we can guess and analyze but it needs to be confirmed made clear and done well or so help me god-

Will interacts with multiple characters. any characters I'm not picky at this point PLEASE (I'd say main character Will too but that's a given atp)

Will gets to yell at Mike

Will and Mike finally get that hug

Will looses his shit over something One does. idc how or what but it happens and my boy gets to scream

I'd put reveal of Will's time in the UD and Will with powers here but those are also givens (at least they better be lol)

actual OG party scenes

el and Lucas bonding

el has to make a choice between being everyone's savior again and staying to help max and she chooses max

Lucas gets more screen time and development and his trauma is actually explored

free Nancy from being confined to the love triangle drama and explore her guilt with barb thru her friendship with robin

Robin's character gets fleshed out more

Robin and Vickie kiss on the mouth. but that it's not the sole end goal of robin's arc

byler jancy team up

rain fight gets explicitly brought up through dialogue (preferably in a byler fight)

here is where I'd put painting get's brought up but that is definitely a given

Joyce actually interacting with her kids

return of season 1 and 2 Joyce

whatever they do with max's character it better be done well (this includes her waking up at some point and surviving bc it would be dumb as hell to almost kill her twice only to then actually kill her)

hopper does not go back to being a cop

mike fights a creature with a sword

Whatever is going on with time fuckery gets explained in a way that's not rushed or lazy

Whatever Owens' deal is and what he was doing with Brenner gets explained

free Steve from romance unless it's ambiguous homerotic tension with Jonathan that doesn't get addressed but its. there

Give Erica Sinclair the development and plot significance that she deserves

Argyle is there and he's vibing and he doesn't die and he lives a happy life afterwards, also he teams up with the other older teens

she probably won't but. kali content. please I want her back and I wanna know how she ties into everything

What I think definitely will happen

genuine Mike character explanation (also byler endgame is included in this)

will gets to yell at mike

mike and will get to hug

will gets to loose his shit

Will with powers and how they tie into the UD

OG party scenes

el and Lucas bonding

el choosing max over playing the part of superhero

robin and vickie kiss

rain fight gets brought up w painting

Joyce interacts with her kids

max lives

mike fights w sword

time fuckery gets addressed

Owens' deal gets addressed

also known as my ideal season 5 vs the exact amount of confidence I actually have in the duffers and what I think they care abt. it’s not nothing but it’s not a whole bunch either💀💀

[ronancecore]

Pov: Roach creature in upside-down

tags: comedy, for fun only, just a scenario, not canon, warning might trigger your phobia in insects.

Dustin: do you think roach creature exist in upside down?

Mike, Max, Lucas turn their heads on Dustin their face looks interested on his question. The others continuing what they are doing. Robin playing chess with Steve while munching a sandwich that Mrs. Wheeler made, while listening to Dustin's question, Nancy talking on Jonathan in phone line, Erica and Eleven Watching TV.

Max: It would be gross if we killed it, imagine the smell. Lucas chuckled.

Lucas: Smells like fart of Erica, Erica throw a pillow on her brother's face.

Mike frown his forehead.

Mike: I might puke right now, stop it's disgusting!. Mike give an 'ew' look, Eleven teasing smiling at him.

Robin stop munching food and starts to talk.

Robin: I don't think I can handle if there's a roach would exist in upside down. It's scary to think that there's a huge army clone of roach lurking here at hawkins. It's 10x more scarier than spiders, demogorgons or other odd creatures meant to exist. I swear you all pee the shit out of your pants, if you face that kind of creature.

They all chuckled except Dustin, he just staring at Robin and thinking. Steve laughing so hard his right hand tapping on table and left hand on his stomach.

Erica nodded on Robin statement.

Erica: I'm more scared of giant worms

Dustin: Sand worms are

Max: Thank God flies, spiders, worms and roach are small they all look scary in microscope

Nancy ended her call and joined them. Eleven just staring at the whole group observing the conversation.

Nancy: Is this kind a war of insects vs humans?

Robin: I'm not ready for that nance

Steve chuckled on their conversation, Robin glared at him.

Robin: What's funny dingus?

Steve: I can't believe you are too afraid with that little creature, Robin. Steve trying not to laugh. He even covered his mouth with his palm.

Robin: Of course, they think that they are butterflies. Just smackin' right on your face. But it's more funnier when it goes to your stupid hair. Robin mutter with annoyed tone.

They all laughing at the two, Nancy just shakes her head and roll her eyes.

Steve: Woahhh, Not fair! Buckley.

Eleven: Actually, there's a roach. Robin just sigh with the possibility of encountering a huge roach, her worst nightmare will come true.

[hawkinsmodeloff]

Alright, here are the lineups for Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3 with what dates the polls go up!

ROUND 1

Erica Sinclair vs Eden Bingham - May 10

Mike Wheeler vs Robin Buckley - May 10

Henry Creel vs Susan Hargrove - May 11

Ted Wheeler vs Lucas Sinclair - May 11

Jonathan Byers vs Suzie Bingham - May 12

Argyle vs Steve Harrington - May 12

Will Byers vs Gareth - May 13

Starcourt Jazzercize Guy vs Will’s Dragon - May 13

Crop Top Ken vs Jake from Lenora - May 14

Vecna vs Nancy Wheeler - May 14

Lenora Dream Girl vs Joyce Byers - May 15

Max Mayfield vs Heather Holloway - May 15

El Hopper vs The Mind Flayer - May 16

Dustin Henderson vs Barb Holland - May 16

Karen Wheeler vs Marsha Holland - May 17

Patrick McKinney vs Vickie - May 17

Snow Ball Girl vs Dart the Demodog - May 18

Angela vs Kali Prasad - May 18

ROUND 2

-> Wildcard Redemption brought back Argyle and Suzie.

2.1 Max Mayfield vs Kali Prasad - May 26

2.2 Crop Top Ken vs Joyce Byers - May 26

2.3 Snow Ball Girl vs Jazzercize Guy - May 27

2.4 Erica Sinclair vs Will Byers - May 27

2.5 Lucas Sinclair vs Vickie - May 28

2.6 Steve Harrington vs Robin Buckley - May 28

2.7 Nancy Wheeler vs El Hopper - May 29

2.8 Karen Wheeler vs Suzie Bingham - May 29

2.9 Dustin Henderson vs Argyle - May 30

2.10 Jonathan Byers vs Henry Creel - May 30

ROUND 3

-> Wildcard Redemption brought back Lucas and Jonathan.

3.1 Lucas Sinclair vs Karen Wheeler - June 7

3.2 Steve Harrington vs El Hopper - June 7

3.3 Henry Creel vs Dustin Henderson - June 8

3.4 Joyce Byers vs Max Mayfield - June 8

3.5 Erica Sinclair vs Snow Ball Girl - June 9

3.6 Jonathan Byers vs Vickie - June 9

ROUND 4

-> Runner-Up Redemption brought back Joyce and Lucas.

4.1 Henry Creel vs Max Mayfield - June 18

4.2 Erica Sinclair vs Vickie - June 18

4.3 Karen Wheeler vs Steve Harrington - June 19

4.4 Joyce Byers vs Lucas Sinclair - June 19

-

Who’s the Prettiest Character in Stranger Things?

Make sure to vote and reblog so your favorite gets seen!

[thefourchimes]

the potential of gravity falls and stranger things together...

for the stranger weirder au, imagine the chaos of the group that is the party+co and the mystery crew

from the kids to the teens to the adults, all the groupings just have the potential to be so much

imagine.

here be the some thoughts for them because yes:

star twins immediately vibe with the party <3

more girls' night!!

more dnd campaigns!!

dustin and dipper smart cap buddies

party drifting apart fuels the fear and conflict even more in dipper and mabel vs the future

will and dipper "knows the feeling of being possessed" buddies

mabel and max being essentially taken hostage by the big bads AND are put through illusions bullshit

el would be persuaded by mabel to use her powers for arcade games

dipper would be fascinated and mabel would be in awe of el's powers

el learns so much of the world through the star twins as well <33

lots more competition with arcade games in general with the kids

the kids riding their bikes together!!

still unsure about gideon in general but imagine erica putting him in his place

will hangs around in the shack a lot because jonathan works there, and he's really fascinated by the attractions in the mystery shack

dustin would likely get attached to ford

post redemption pacifica will deck angela in the face <3

max, argyle, and the star twins talking about cali related things with the rest being unable to relate

soos loves hanging out with all his dudes

soos, max, and dustin knowing what it feels like without a father

the teens learn that college isn't the end all be all from the stan twins

jonathan and soos talk a lot as coworkers—and the latter is always able to help the former relax

steve gets a crush on wendy—this is gonna be a deja vu moment for him considering yknow

nancy and stan talk about guilt of past and stupid mistakes

nancy is taught and given advice on how to do illegal things and get away with it (plus gun usage) by stan

robin and wendy bonding over being queer in small towns in unspecified time of late 20th century

robbie gets punched and slightly beat up by one of the st teens (likely nancy or steve) for picking on the kids

robin and robbie is gonna be confusing when said aloud and they both hate it

argyle and soos besties heck yes

joyce and stan having an understanding with one another about protecting their loved ones no matter what

joyce mayhaps putting ford in his place since his head is still up his ass for a while ASHFIUASHf

joyce is always nice to mcgucket and tries to talk to him, but it's a hit or a miss at times

hopper is tired of seeing stan's face (usually to try and arrest him)

also when it gets to that point, hopper and stan have a silent rivalry for being jonathan's father figure (but they work together to beat lonnie up)

once they can kind of put their disagreements aside, stan teaches hopper how to bond with the kids

hopper is also tired of trying to wrangle mcgucket

hopper doesn't know what to think of ford, especially with the fact that stan had so easily slipped in and pretended to be the man for years

murray and stan making deals mayhaps??

mcgucket murray duo omg HAFSUIHAISF

murray's suspicious of ford the first time he meets him ("kgb? government??")

and that's only a few of what our little grp who's building this au has discovered and explored omg 😭

if you wanna know more...don't be shy, go and ask away AHSFUIAHSF 👀

tagging @sunflowersand-bees @itsanotheridiot because they helped me compile and add more in this list, ty guys <3

along with @laurienotteddy @lovefrom-theother-side @willelfanpage @she-wont-miss who are always sending me their thoughts and/or watching me go insane in that thread

[doriandrifting]

what's on your s5 wishlist? the silly, goofy things!!!

Argyle and Robin interactions, just because I feel like they could create comedy gold.

Murray vs. Byler (Younger Sibling Edition)

Erica and Murray facing off again

El having an Edwina moment—

Vicki/Robin having more dorky, nervous interactions. Them just like fully solving something by rambling amongst themselves, and no one else in the room can even follow it.

Dustin’s reaction to finding out Robin has a girlfriend. Just the “Oh my god! Is that why you two never—” And Steve’s self-satisfied, “—Jeez. Do you have to be told everything?”

Jonathan and Steve realizing they actually get on well now, but being kinda freaked out by it at first and that being a whole bit—them just side eying each other every time they agree.

More of Joyce being flirty with Hopper and him being totally oblivious like in Russia when he just started talking about how excited for food he was LMAO

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things "Creature Feature" and "Summer Special" Reviews

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things reviews, and let me know what your thoughts/theories are about the show or the upcoming season! :)

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things "The Game Master" and "Erica's Quest"

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Synopsis for Creature Feature: While moving to California, Will, Jonathan, and El make a stop in Denver, Colorado to enjoy a night out at a Drive-In Theater. However, El's visit takes a turn for the worst when certain elements begin triggering PTSD flashbacks......

Synopsis for Summer Special: Join Officers Powell and Callahan during the events of season 3 as they patrol the streets of Hawkins and begin to encounter the Flayed.....

Observations:

Because these comics are short, I am covering both of them in this review. Unlike "Erica's Quest" and "The Game Master," which at least shared the theme of Erica and Mike being isolated and using their love of D&D to reconnect with people, these two short stories don't have much in common other than taking place in the same universe. Because of that, I will be talking about each of their stories separately. This will conclude my reviews of the comics and graphic novels for the time being. When the full versions of Tales from Hawkins, the Stranger Things x TMNT Crossover, and The Voyage are released (which likely won't be until January 2024 at the earliest), I will review them. Until then, I will move on to the tie-in books, beginning with Stranger Things Suspicious Minds.

Let's begin.

Creature Feature:

Out of the two of these, this short comic is the one I like the best. It's an interquel between seasons 3 and 4 that came out on Free Comic Book Day, three weeks before season 4 premiered. As noted in the synopsis, it focuses on an evening that Will, Jonathan, and El have in Denver, Colorado at a Drive-In Theater featuring horror movies. At this point, they're still in the process of moving to Lenora, and the story takes place sometime in October 1985 before Halloween.

The premise of the characters at a Drive-In Theater is fun, and it's nice getting a story exploring the sibling dynamic between El, Will, and Jonathan as El integrates into the Byers family. While we did get scenes like this in season 4, they often felt brief and far in-between. It doesn't help that circumstances like Angela's constant bullying, El ending up in trouble with the law for smashing the brat's face in (not that I blame her for doing so), the three way conflict between Mike, El, and Will at the beginning, and everything to do with Vecna constantly overshadowed attempts to go into more details about El's developing relationship with the Byers. We did get a brief montage with El narrating in her letters to Mike about how she and the Byers are doing, but it isn't as in-depth as it could have been. So any story that explores El, Will, Joyce, and Jonathan together as a family is one I'd be happy to see more of.

There's an interesting parallel between Will's love for the horror movies and atmosphere at the Drive-In vs El's fear of it. Will's enthusiasm for horror movies and Halloween is pretty similar to Max's, with Max even admitting in Runaway Max that she's watched scary movies since she was a kid and Michael Myers from the Halloween series is the one that frightens her the most. Just like there's a psychological component for how Max processes horror movies (especially growing up with an abusive step-dad and step-brother who made her life a living hell), the same goes for Will. When Jonathan asks Will how he can still enjoy horror movies after everything that's happened to him, Will explains it as such:

That is relatable in so many ways. Some of the stuff I've experienced in my life has desensitized me to certain horror/slasher movies, like Saw or Friday The 13th or the Halloween series, to the point the over-the-top blood and gore doesn't elicit a reaction for me. I'm more likely to have fun watching these movies than be scared by them. It's movies, TV shows, and other media that deal with triggering subjects like anxiety, depression, gaslighting, mental illness, rape, and so on that tends to get under my skin.

And considering what El has been through for most of her life, it's also understandable why she has the reaction she does at the Drive-In. Everything from the purple flashing lights to the monster-themed costumes to the loud noises and unfamiliar setting cause her to have a PTSD attack.

It doesn't help that some bullies see what's happening to El and decide to harass her for it.

You know the jackasses on Reddit, Twitter/X, Tumblr, or other social media platforms who mock people for being triggered, accuse people struggling with trauma of wanting to be victims, and are awful to others because they can get away with it? That's who these bullies remind me of. They are the predecessors to Angela, her friends, and the loathsome crowd from Rink-O-Mania who humiliated El. Despite only being in the comic briefly, I despise them.

Thankfully, Will and Jonathan come to her aid, and Jonathan gets a nice big brother moment in telling the bullies to fuck off:

I wish we'd get more scenes on the show of Jonathan getting aggressive with bullies or any other threats to his family.

Getting back to El, there's another reason she's upset: She's in a vulnerable position of having lost her powers at this point, and doesn't know how to deal with it. She's also worried about the threat of the Upside Down returning, which it unfortunately does in season 4. How many times can you face the same horrors over again without feeling like you're losing pieces of yourself and that it's all out of your control?

Except El isn't alone in her fight, no matter how bleak it seems. As Jonathan points out, she still has the support of her friends and family, and all of them will be there for her. They love her regardless of whether or not she has powers. That's a truly beautiful thing to have.

As I've noted before in other reviews (especially Dungeons and Dragons), the final fight between Vecna's forces won't just have El dealing with it all by herself. It's always been a team effort from everyone since season 1, and I do not see that dynamic changing in season 5 without the Duffer Brothers betraying the core themes of friendship and family on the show. Whether or not El will be the one delivering the killing blow to Vecna remains to be seen though.

Overall, I'd recommend this for a read.

Summer Special:

Remember back in my review of The Bully when I talked about how the graphic novel followed the events of season 2 through the eyes of Troy and James? That's pretty much the same formula the Summer Special uses. This time, it takes place in season 3, and it follows Officers Callahan and Powell in the week leading up to the 4th of July.

Like most of the fandom, I never cared for Callahan and Powell. I don't hate them to the extent I hate characters like Billy or Angela, but I still find them obnoxious, and have never been impressed with the "lazy bumbling cop" stereotypes they seem to embody. Unfortunately, this short comic doesn't do much to change that.

The best summary of the plot is that it basically runs on one joke: Callahan and Powell are present during key moments in season 3 (i.e. Billy getting possessed by the Mind Flayer, Doris Driscoll and the other Flayed at Brimborn Steelworks, Alexei's death at the carnival, the Battle of Starcourt, etc), and just when it looks like the two of them might actually find out about the Upside Down and figure out everything that's been going on............they don't. They either miss stuff, dismiss it on sight, or get distracted by trivial crap in their pursuit of trying to be "good cops." It's a joke repeated through-out the comic, and it's one that gets old real fast.

I didn't find this joke funny the first time they did it, and every other time after that made it more annoying.

The comic contains some glaring continuity errors. For example, when Powell and Callahan find Billy's car at Brimborn Steelworks the night he's possessed by the Mind Flayer, the date is July 1st in the comic. However, on the show, the actual date was the evening of June 29th, the same night Billy was set to hook up with Karen.

On top of that, the comic illustrates Billy leaving the steelwork factory different from how he did on the show. Here, he's depicted as quietly sneaking out when Powell and Callahan come to investigate:

But on the show, he is literally running for his life in a panic the moment he gets free of the Mind Flayer, desperately to escape it and not caring about how much of a ruckus he made leaving. If we're taking this comic as canon (which I am not because of all its inconsistencies), it's hard to believe Powell and Callahan wouldn't have heard Billy going back to his car.

There's also other contradictory dates: Doris Driscoll (the old lady Nancy and Jonathan visit in S3 who's later possessed by the Mind Flayer) is established on the show as being taken to the hospital on July 1st. However, the comic depicts this happening on July 2nd. This also apparently happened the same night a possessed Driscoll abducted Powell and took him to the Steelworks factory where the Mind Flayer was, which makes it even more confusing. It also creates a big plot-hole for why the other Flayed never came after Powell later despite Powell witnessing a bunch of them at the factory in the process of attacking his car.

The only moment I semi-liked in this comic was this scene reaffirming how much of a sleazy womanizing piece-of-shit Billy is, and how other people in-universe see him like this as well:

Other than that, and some decent artwork per usual, this comic felt rushed and not well put together as it should have been.

As much as I don't care for Callahan and Powell as characters, I wouldn't mind a comic centered on them provided there was an actual point for it. If they're going to focus on side characters, then actually develop them in a way that's meaningful instead of constantly playing them for laughs. There's an entire story they could have been explored when Powell became the new Chief of Police in Hawkins after Hopper's supposed death in season 3, and how he was forced to adjust to the position and take on new responsibilities. That would have been far more interesting than what they did here. This just came off like a waste.

As you can probably tell, I'm not recommending this comic. The good news is it's not particularly pricey (I got it for $1.99 on Kindle), so if you do want to check it out for yourselves and make your own judgments, there's no harm in doing so. But there are better comics you could spend time and money on.

[stevie-petey]

okie here is my chapter 8 thoughts dump this is so long i'm SORRY

the way you write action is crazy good. like i was reading the whole first part as if i’d never seen it coming like i haven’t watched the episode a million times. 

murray x bug banter is kind of everything LOL the dynamic is so hilarious & same for erica. i can totally see bug and erica getting way closer of a dynamic next season (hopefully because i love that girl fr🤞🏼)

the way i'm crying at the hopper x bug farewell… like obviously i knew it was coming but… wow. i love how your cancer sun 100% influences your writing because miss bug is a cancer if i’ve ever seen one. like girl just feels emotions so deeply AND SHE’S SO ME FOR THAT

STEVE HAND ON THIGH WHILE DRIVING ENTHUSIAST that got me so good i was melting u have no idea i think him doing that to me would heal me a bit

i just love the robin x bug x steve dynamic SOSOSOSO MUCH!!! i literally cannot wait for more of it in season 4 because it’s just so excellent. i can’t wait for the first season 4 chapter when all 3 of them have had months to establish their friendships/relationships so that when we see them in the first chapter back we’ll see a glimpse of their new stasis (until everything inevitably goes to shit again)

STEVE BEE VS JON’S HONEY I’MMMMMMM that got me so good i was giggling kicking my feet

I’M SO GLAD YOU WROTE BUG SINGING ALONG TO NEVER ENDING STORY because that would have LITERALLY been me in that sitch like come awn guys the world is literally ending a monster is chasing us lets have a moment where we just sing and pretend everything is happy PLEASE ugh and i also just KNOW steve was sitting there with the goofiest love sick smile admiring miss bug AS HE SHOULD because he is just enamored by any and everything she does

the billy scene is truly one of the most well-written things i’ve ever read. the way you write guilt but also grief going hand in hand is so beautifully painful. jonathan and steve both comforting her got me so emotional because they both know her so well to know she is going to carry the guilt of this so heavily and it makes me so :((((((( oh god and the double whammy with hopper right after billy was like a knife to the heart (in the best way) like by this point i was fully in tears. this whole sequence of billy’s death has me WORRIED tho bc of eddie’s fate in s4. i know they probably won’t be the best of friends right off the bat, for good reason, however seeing dustin have to go through the trauma somewhat similar and somewhat not to what bug just went through with billy is going to tear me UP inside. miss bug is in empath and it truly worries me how she will internalize eddie’s death/dustin’s grief. though i am glad steve will be there to comfort both of them (hoping steve and bug stay together PLEASE LET THEM STAY TOGETHER) 

i’m so glad mrs. waters is doing well i love that woman and want to protect her with my LIFE✋🏼

THE CHARM BRACELET omg bug needed this so bad. i literally can’t say anything else about that scene because truly it had me at a loss for words. SPEECHLESS TRULY

this whole ending fucked me UP ! i’m so sad we only got a small glimpse of el x bug x max because i love the sisterly dynamic they all have :((( though i am so extremely excited to see max & bug’s friendship shape because of the ~trauma bond~.

i am so curious to see how and if jon stays in contact with bug. i’m wondering if it’s going to be a situation where bug and jonathan actually do stay in touch while he shuts nancy out causing tension, or if poor jon shuts everyone out including bug. i also wonder what bug’s emotions will be when jon doesn’t come and visit hawkins during s4. GAH i just have so many thoughts surrounding s4 and i’m so excited to see how you write it!! i have absolutely no doubts in my mind that you’re going to make it absolutely perfect, whichever direction you chose to take it. you have a crazy awesome gift and i know whatever you write will have me in shambles in the best way ok that's all sorry for rambling luv u have a good nite bestie

xoxo, s <3

okay first im SO happy u love how i write action because it genuinely makes me want to die every time. i always feel so awkward and stilted writing it so its a relief you think otherwise <333

and the murray banter truly wasnt planned like bug just naturally hated the mans. it was perfect. and her goodbye with hopper :((( and ur so right bug IS 10000% a cancer baby like me, its why i made her bday july 3rd because it just felt so right. shes the most cancer cancer to ever cancer lmao

steve and jon fighting over honey and bee had me GIGGLIN it was a throwaway line but i simply had to add it. they would fight over it and it felt right. even while bickering, they still shared a soft smile when bug started singing because thats their girl !!!

the billy scene </3 it hurt. he isnt my favorite character, i dont agree that he had a "redemption" arc per say, but i truly do pity his character. he never had a chance to become good. i think we all deserve to at least have the chance to choose good. billys choice was stripped away from him, so bug understanding this makes it all the more painful.

as for how billy will affect bug season 4 and eddie being introduced ,,, oh just u WAIT !!! and we'll see more max and bug in season 4, theyre gonna go through some wild rides together lmao

[aemiron-main]

Stay strong… do not think about baby patty trick or treating alone (if she was even allowed to go at ALL considering mr newby’s religious stuff & patty’s el parallels vs el not being allowed to go in s2) vs bob being told to take patty trick or treating the way jonathan was told to take will vs bob storming off the way mike does from will/the way bob gets bitchy in tfs sometimes vs patty having a will parallel moment re: the older boys bullying will vs walter bullying patty… do NOT think about el’s home made ghost costume & patty’s el parallels vs patty’s erica parallels & erica’s american flag cloak in s4 vs 10 year old patty with a little DIY wonder woman costume made from a cut up american flag she stole from the school or from home (which mr newby would undoubtedly be pissed about) (and see: vintage wonder woman’s blue american flag star skirt):

And also.. do NOT think about patty knowing that wonder woman’s mom made her costume for her while patty sits there making her costume alone…

Don’t think about how patty’s dream vision in TFS had her in a Fancy wonder woman costume… don’t think about walter making fun of patty’s home-made wonder woman costume vs patty dreaming about having a Perfect, fancy wonder woman costume….

[piastrinorris]

wip week!

now that cheerscoops week is over + done with, and while i'm officially in between jobs, while i wait for my new start date seems like the ideal time to start catching up with some old wips!

(in the time it has taken me to write this whole thing out, both @stargyles and @roykentt have tagged me in posts to prompt wip finishing so thank you besties <3)

feel free to either simply ask me more about a fic idea, or you can tell me to write any number of (additional) sentences or paragraphs you'd like to see from me from a project! after the poll is over, however many votes i get on each fic is how many paragraphs i'll write. (and i won't skimp out by using loads of single lines of dialogue, lol)

key for the poll emojis: 🔢 = multi-chapter ; 🔥 = contains smut ; ↔️ = has extra conditions that could be crowdsourced if you'd like to be involved in the process

fic synopses under the cut to help you decide!

Shippy fics:

cheerscoops celebrity au - fic starts off with both steve and chrissy being on a talk show together. host mentions that they're from the same town, they vamp about that for a bit. AMAZING chemistry between them. EVERYONE wants to get them on their show/at their event together for the press of it all. and they know it's there. so they have fun with it. they really wanna act on it but their agents love the will-they-won't-they dynamic too much so refuse to let them

cheerscoops vacation au - both chrissy and steve are in separate groups on the same cruise (one bit that's up for choice is idk whether to make them strangers or if they're all from hawkins). steve has organised the trip for eddie + the corroded coffin boys (another choice - does eddie know of/want jonathan there too? if he does, argyle would also tag along). chrissy is on the trip w her cheer girls and jason, who she conviinced the squad to let come on holiday w them. however, as soon as the cruise liner sets sail, jason tells chrissy he wants to "find himself" before college, and dumps her. she + her girls end up gravitating towards steve + his boys

photocheer - jonathan x chrissy, in case that wasn't obvious, lol. no upside down au, meaning nancy + steve never broke up and jonathan never had to be confronted about his photography so he's still a major outcast. he gets paired up with chrissy for the year in a school subject - which reminds him of the only time he ever enjoyed a party, when he'd bumped into her at tina's halloween party their junior year and she'd insisted she'd change him from being "a guy who hates parties". he still pines after nancy, and chrissy tries to help, but he gets real defensive, and so does she, which he finds strange, usually people just leave him alone. a bit of grumpy x sunshine, a bunch of angst. the choice bit is idk whether they have a tender heart to heart at the peak of the angst or if they explode into a moment of fiery passion lmao

edancy dm vs dm - it's not that max doesn't want to play dnd when lucas asks her to join hellfire, she just doesn't want to be the only girl, especially being one of the youngest members. she airs her grievances out to nancy, who tells her that she used to dm for mike n the boys once upon a time, if enough girls want to join, she'd happily write a campaign for them. cue erica, robin, vickie (maybe barb + chrissy too? maybe another everybody lives au?) all joining this campaign. word gets around to eddie, who's a little upset that the girls didn't feel comfortable around hellfire, but also very, very intrigued about how total priss, nancy wheeler leads a campaign. they eventually conglomerate into one big oneshot in which both eddie and nancy control the narrative, trying to outdo each other so that their respective party comes out victorious

camp hawk - a big ol' project i'm working on that's going to take forever anyway lol. summer camp au, you know the drill

stargyle coworkers, stongyle relationship - we all know it, we all love it, the idea that stobin have to survive to work Every Single Job together. however, in this case, robin has to leave steve alone for a bit. her hippie ass parents have gone and accidentally joined a cult and she has to get them out of it. the temp agency they work for has steve listed as Not To Work Alone and so they assign him their newest recruit from california. argyle moved to hawkins bc his (boyfriend/roommate-crush, idk if they're established or just pining atp) jonathan wanted to move home. argyle tells jonathan all about his new coworker and how great this guy is and jonathan's horrified to see that it's his own queer awakening, steve harrington. he was hoping there'd be some avoiding him

Reader insert fics:

ralph x pirate - little rich boy ralphie watches you, a pirate, pillage the town he's staying in on holiday, falls in love with you instantly and stows away on your ship. ofc usually that's a one-way ticket to the plank, but you take pity on him. you think you can have some fun with him

leonard fix-it - instead of meeting those godawful sisters that ruin his life, lenny meets you, a teacher's apprentice, and slowly starts to realise the feelings he and jacky have for each other aren't actual love, they've just convinced each other they have to be bc they've given up everything to live this life just to realise they don't really want it long-term. he realises this as he starts to genuinely fall in love with you

older!tom fic #1 - something i've played about with for a really long time, lol. way before the current older!tom brainrot. you and tom had a summer fling in your late teens, never really kept in touch but never forgot each other. you have an Important Business Lunch with an Important Client for work and both you and tom are thrilled to see each other again. sparks very much reignite, uglies very much bump, etc etc

older!tom series #2 - put as #2 in the sense that this is different from ^that older!tom. basically just a series of series, telling this specific timeline of tom's. (if you want to request more on this, feel free to tell me what stage of the timeline you wanna see the most, too!)

[strangerthingspolls]

Stranger Things: The Eras Tournament

Hello and welcome (finally!) to the Stranger Things Eras Tournament!

This is a tournament based on a series of polls I did a few months ago, wherein I asked you to choose your favorite “era” /season for each of the main characters in Stranger Things. When that was over, several people said they’d enjoy it if I pitted the winners against one another in an epic battle to determine the one true fave, so here we are!

Now, this tournament has fifteen contestants - all 15 characters are those who have been “main characters” for at least two seasons.

Note that I am basing this mainly on my own, possibly faulty definition of a main character - so if a fave of yours didn’t make the cut, I’m sorry! Hopefully I’ll be doing more tournaments after this one if all goes well, and your faves should get spots in those tournaments.

Without further ado, here’s the bracket for the first round of polls! Polls will last for 1 week each; Round 1 polls will be posted over the course of this coming weekend (5/20-5/21).

Round one polls:

1. S1 Joyce Byers VS S2 Jim Hopper

2. S3 El Hopper VS S2 Mike Wheeler

3. S2 Dustin Henderson VS S2 Will Byers

4. S2 Jonathan Byers VS S3 Billy Hargrove

5. S3 Robin Buckley VS S3 Murray Bauman

6. S3 Erica Sinclair VS S3 Max Mayfield

7. S4 Lucas Sinclair VS S3 Steve Harrington

As there are an odd number of contestants, S3 Nancy Wheeler will face the winner of Round 1 Poll 1 in Round 2 Poll 1.

Propaganda is encouraged; character hate/bashing is discouraged!

Please focus on supporting the characters you love, rather than trashing those you don’t ❤️

Remember, it’s only a tv show - so please, for my sake, try not to get too messy in the tags. It’s a big fandom with thousands of different active members - you will not always agree with everybody, and that’s okay!

Happy voting :-)

[kurokoros]

I like Robin in canon, specifically season 3. (I am not huge fan of her in season 4 and for some reason the airiness of the actress's voice just bugs me) But I found her character interesting in season 3.

And then I came to fandom. Specifically, her and Steve's relationship as portrayed in fandom. People see them as codependent and really close and I struggle to wrap my head around that. Do I see them as close friends? Yes. But I see them more as me and my friend, where they're good friends and talk almost every day but aren't codependent on each other. And it's also the superiority with their favorite pairing of characters being platonic, if that makes sense. Like they see Platonic Stobin as the best ship for Steve and I hate it when people do it in general, like when they say that Jancy is the best ship or Stancy or Steddie. Like yes, some would make more sense canonically but sometimes people don't like ships for various reasons. But with Platonic Stobin, it feels like they are untouchable because they are a platonic relationship vs all the romantic ones.

I definitely agree with most of this!

ngl I was doomed to dislike Robin from the start. I don't like any of the main characters or major secondary characters introduced post-S2. S3 is my least favorite season of the series, and both Robin and Erica were involved in the plotline I think had the most bullshit premise, so I'm just painfully indifferent to both of them lmao So, yeah, I never cared for Robin. And it really rubbed me the wrong way that they had Robin rant about how much of an asshole Steve was after he woke up from being beaten unconscious like wtf???

(listen if we needed Russian soldiers in S3, I would have adored new deputy!steve and Hopper having a run in with a small group of soldiers or something. That would have been more interesting than a full scale invasion under the mall but I'm not going to get into how shit that plot point is)

I'm also kind of meh about MH as an actress. It just kind of seems like she tends to play herself, from what little I've seen. There's not much range to her performances imo

Fandom definitely ruined Steve and Robin as friends for me though. I hate the "codependency" angle. I don't see the whole "platonic soulmates" thing. They're just normal friends who went through something traumatic together. And they weren't even really friends when that happened. The show kind of makes it seem like they'd been coworkers forever, but Dustin congratulated Steve on getting the job at Scoops after he came back from camp, so Steve and Robin had only been working together for like... a month. At most. And it doesn't seem like they hang out outside of work in S3. Their friendship really is nonexistent in S3 outside of Steve saying he's laughed more in the last month than in a long time (even though all they have is teasing but vaguely-antagonistic banter)???

The whole "platonic ship is inherently better than a romantic one" argument is also one I don't care for. Like... Steve has already had platonic relationships. In S1 he was friends with Tommy and Carol and the show never implies that Steve is only friends with Carol because he wants to fuck her, if the point of Stobin was to be "boys and girls can just be friends!" He has platonic friendships with the kids that could have been developed more. We could have had more interactions between Steve and Jonathan. Or Steve and Hopper. Or they could have kept Tommy and Carol around and actually developed that friendship.

Neither platonic nor romantic relationships are inherently better than the other. All that matters if is how that relationship is nourished on screen, and I simply do not find Stobin to be as deep as the show and fandom want me to believe.

(Like, unpopular opinion I guess, but I wish they had introduced a new love interest for Steve at some point that wasn't a surprise bait and switch. I would have rather seen Steve move on from Nancy completely, than put up with whatever the hell the Duffers were doing in S4.)

I don't know where I was going with this, but yeah, I simply do not care for Robin or platonic soulmates stobin

[fastcardotmp3]

It’s always about 🐻 anything you love in particular about this au vs your other series?

more bear talk!!! feeling soooo normal about it!!!

I think the biggest difference is that usually when I'm writing a fic I choose one or two main relationship dynamics to let lead the thing and really deep dive into those with a focused lens (which I still very much love don't get me wrong), but with this one, although Nancy is definitely the guiding force behind this story, there are also SO MANY dynamics I'm getting to play around with and I'm having a BLAST

Yesterday I wrote a very fun Steve & Robin bonding moment, today I'm writing a Jonathan & Nancy heart-to-heart, tomorrow I'll probably be starting a new part and get to write some Steve & Eddie, I have plans for Lucas and Max goodness and a future Erica spotlight moment and just!! FAMBLY.

getting to write all their personal experiences while having it all ultimately exist in tandem with each other is such a fun new structure to take on and I'm so excited to post more of this so thanks for letting me ramble about it🥹

✨read part 1✨

✨talk to me about my wips✨