#one post of mike or will or robin or vickie or mike AND will and robin AND vickie can send byler tumblr into flames

[demadogs]

“robin talks to mike about him being gay-” “lucas talks to-” “vickie talks-”

NO! you guys are all wrong. no one talks to him. mike just accidentally sees robin and vickie kissing and laughing and he has an out of body experience when he realizes that people like him can be happy and find love and that is enough to push him to talk to will.

[apocalyptic-byler]

ross duffer… the chaos you can cause this month

[greenfiend]

The Significance of Lover’s Lake and Byler (Theory) Part 2

Sequel to this post

(Warning: mentions of sex and drugs)

Okay so first of all, if you haven’t seen my previous post on my theory involving Lovers Lake and Byler, please read it first. I go over my theory and predictions for Byler and the heart shaped lake. This is a secondary post to it, outlining some VERY interesting details involving the owner of the lakeside house, the lakeside house itself, and all the romantic and sexual elements present. I’m saving the best for last here.

Let’s start with the owner of the lakeside house.

Reefer Rick

So I recently made a silly post arguing that the most queer coded character in Stranger Things is not Mike nor Will (nor Robin, Henry, Eddie etc), and I stand by this statement. The most queer coded character is: Reefer Rick. Now, I know we never see the guy, but literally all the information we have on him is either queer coding or drug references.

Synonyms of his name are literally f*g Dick, with a shared last name with the famous tea company founder who so happens to have been a homosexual: Lipton.

We know he doesn’t have a family, thus he’s a single man who occasionally has his buddy/fellow dealer Eddie stay over. Hm, not very heterosexual of him.

Then we have his movie list.

Now, as many of us know, the movie “Fast Times” is used within Stranger Things as a way to gage if someone is attracted to women or not. We have Steve, Dustin, Lucas, and Vickie all confirmed to have enjoyed this movie… specifically for that shot at 53 minutes and 5 seconds. Sure, Reefer Rick rented the film, but why is it the only movie he rented that was returned on time? For context, he’s the only character who had films listed as “late” returns. So, he obviously enjoyed Cheech & Chong a lot more. Two guys doing drugs is more interesting to him than a sexy lady. Okay, noted.

Now, how is he perceived by the people of Hawkins?

Oooof. Okay. He’s not well liked it seems. He apparently is causing some fear and anger amongst the Hawkins residents. Kind of similar of a reaction these people would have towards an openly gay man during the 1980s.

Also I have to include @/conflictofthemind ‘s excellent point that injectable drug use and unprotected sex (specifically between two men) were both commonly associated with HIV/AIDS… a major epidemic during the 80s and a major subtextual theme within the show.

Now, where’s this guy live while outside of jail?

I don’t blame the guy for “hiding” when the town is not too fond of him. Of course he is a drug dealer so there’s that as well. But interesting they used the word “hide”, which has been associated with queerness within the show already (plus this line was said by Robin (featured in the middle of the shot!!!) who is queer herself).

(Both of these screenshots are from 1x02 interestingly enough.)

Wouldn’t it make sense for these two “hiders” to hide out in “a perfect place to hide” together? Seeking refuge in a fellow gay man’s secluded house?

I will say it’s also worth noting that he does not have any women featured on the walls within his house. Also, he has a phallic shaped bong (we’ll get back to that soon).

Phew okay so that’s Reefer Rick. Are you still with me? Hopefully I didn’t bore any of you with this. I promise you this all leads back to Byler.

So, moving on to his house.

So as @/therainscene kindly pointed out, this poster with the smiley face can be related to rave culture and ecstasy in the 1980s. So a drug reference, in a drug dealer’s house… shocker I know. But I gotta say, ecstasy is also a term often related to sex. I also have to add this little tidbit from one of our favourite directors of Stranger Things, Shawn Levy. Keep in mind, he knows what’ll happen in the next season… and he’s directing episodes after 3 and 4…

Interesting word choice, no?

So, back to the symbolism within (and near) the house.

Let’s talk about the phallic symbolism that appears in pairs in these shots. It’s a choice, isn’t it? With two males in each shot. We know the Duffers love details and foreshadowing… I doubt it’s a coincidence. Also, anyone else notice that phone in the background? Just had to mention it, since our boys are frequently associated with phones and calls.

Then, of course, I gotta bring back this shot.

The bed. Blue meets yellow. You know it! We all heard it a thousand times by now. Let’s look at what else is in the shot. A closed closet. Another reference to our boys. To the right, you’ll see a toilet paper roll. Now, if you have a brother, you might see the same thing in his room. Sure it can be used as a tissue for your nose but let’s just say there’s usually another use for it. I’ll call it “self love”. So, basically, another sexual reference.

To sum up this house: lake/water, drugs, and ecstasy/smiley face. Now, let’s go back to a scene featuring our boys with all these elements in the background.

Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

I must also point out the “Paris” poster in the background. City of love, anyone? Plus the fireworks. They’re really trying to tell us something here.

Also, @/foodiewithdahoodie pointed out how Paris specifically was one of the first places to decriminalize sodomy.

You know, I also wouldn’t rule out every aspect of Murray’s prediction here.

Shout out to the Hylers out there!

Perhaps after a lot of stressful days of fighting interdimentional demons, these boys want to wind down and de-stress in their hiding spot. I can see Reefer Rick as a fellow Nintendo player, leaving his console behind, as well as his weed, for our boys to use. I also wouldn't be surprised if Eddie left a few of his beers behind. I mean… Murray has a pretty good track record for predictions. This would also really double down on the message that Mike and Will “aren’t kids anymore.”

Also, wouldn’t it be fun to look back at Murray’s predictions and realize that they’ve all come to be?

Okay, now let’s finally get to the romance elements!

First thing I want to start with is this shot:

So… they had to show us a mailbox, didn’t they? With that name “Lipton” which as I mentioned in my previous post… is associated with Thomas Lipton who had a lover named William Love.

1 point for #lettergate

And…

“Hope Our Love Lives/Lasts And Never Dies”

WWII solders used the acronym H.O.L.L.A.N.D. to convey a love message in a letter. The whole love letters association with Mike and Will never end, do they?

2 points for #lettergate!

As for the “2121”, I think it’s possible that it’s referencing multiple things… number references are tricky like that in my opinion. But I will say that @/thestrangestthing89 brought up the fact that “2121” could be a reference to “Twin Flames” which is yet another reference to romance.

Continuing on with the romance…

Let’s return back to the scene where Reefer Rick is first mentioned. After Max mentioned him, we are cut to Steve talking about a movie.

A movie filled with action and romance, you say?

So… Doctor Zhivago.

Basically a tale of two people in love during a difficult time (Russian Revolution) being separated, with other people, then finally reunited. Not completely unlike our boys. Notice how the “adult” sign is noticeable in the background. Not kids anymore.

He mentions action, which I’m sure there will be some of as well at the famous lake.

Okay enough with the silly details, let’s stop and look at the bigger picture.

Our beloved lake. Look how gorgeous it truly is. Plus the fact that it’s a literal heart? You can’t get more “on the nose” than that.

Now, who else is known as a heart? (Tough question I know…)

This boy is, without a doubt, narratively tied to the lake. He is “the heart”… he is THE LAKE (symbolically).

Thank you to @/everaster for bringing attention to the fact that after Mike was pushed to deliver that monologue to El by Will, Max “died”, then the gates opened WIDE. One of those gates, as we know, is located within Lover’s Lake… known was “watergate” (term coined by Dustin).

So, as of now in this story… Lover’s Lake is literally broken in two. A broken heart in need of mending.

Who better to accomplish that task than the boy who has known him for a decade and loves him completely and selflessly?

💌📬❤️‍🩹

Hope you enjoyed these posts as much as I enjoyed making them! It’s honestly so much fun looking for evidence and finding such interesting stuff. Some of it may be reaching, and that’s okay because it’s all in good fun! That’s what fandoms are all about.

The level of attention to detail in this show never ceases to amaze me! There’s so much depth and clues to look for and play around with. I hope to have sparked some inspiration and creativity for some people! 💛💙💚

As always, would love to know your thoughts!

[ladykailitha]

Icarus Part 25

Damn. I actually hate seeing that number up there. Because that means it's done. Eight months, twenty-five chapters, 52895 words, and one hell of a ride.

I'll start posting the sequel on Tuesday, and will post Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays until it's done. I hope to get it done before October's end. But that's not looking likely at the moment.

But once it's done, I will post the epilogue. This was actually written first and was a way for me to flesh out the band members. Then I just wanted to dive right in to writing the full story. A link to the original idea here.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24

~

The rest of the American tour while it had its ups and downs was pretty much was uneventful. When Steve got back to Cali, he got some actual therapy from someone Gareth’s therapist, Dr. Sam Owens recommended to him. To not only deal with the abandonment issues left by his parents and Nancy but to help deal with the sudden onslaught of fame.

It was going well.

It was the therapist that had strongly recommended going on the vacation with his two best friends. That really helped put his life in perspective.

They were out celebrating Gareth’s one year of being sober and everyone had been invited. Jeff, Brian, and Eddie, of course. Even Vickie made it out. Dustin, Will, Mike, Max, Lucas, Ellie, Hopper, Robin, all the members of The Fallen, sans persona. Gareth had really become friends with all of them, yes even Steve. Gareth and Shane became really close. It was nice to see.

“Cheers!” Jeff said holding up their glasses of sparkling apple cider that they had all brought to share.

“Cheers!” the rest of them cried, clinking their glasses together.

They had rented out a nice surf and turf restaurant for the occasion and everyone was catching up. The owner was a friend of Jonathan’s, Argyle Rivera. He had gotten his start with a pizza food truck and it just exploded.

“So what did you and Mike decide to do?” Steve asked when there was a lull in the conversation. “I know you two weren’t sure the last time I was in Hawkins.”

Mike and Will shared a bashful look before Mike said, “I wrote a children’s book and Will illustrated it. We sent it out to a couple of different publishers so we’re just waiting to hear back.”

“That’s amazing!” Dustin cried. “You guys are going to be awesome.”

“Yeah,” Will said brightly. “I finally convinced Jonathan into going in to photography at the local community collage and he’s doing really well.”

“Nancy is going to school, too,” Mike said quietly, knowing how most of the group felt about his sister.

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? What is the once great Nancy Wheeler going to be studying?”

Mike perked up a little that someone had taken a interest in what he said. “She’s actually going into journalism. Especially to be a war corespondent. After everything rightfully fell apart after the incident with The Fallen and Corroded Coffin, she took a hard look at her life and decided she hated the person she had become. So she’s been in therapy and has gotten into her dream school of Emerson.”

“That’s good,” Steve said quietly. Robin gave his a hand gentle squeeze and he returned it with a grateful smile.

“What are doing next, Ellie?” Brian asked. “Designing more epic costumes for the rich and famous? I saw that dress you designed for Lupita Nyong’o for the premier of her new movie. That was a gorgeous shade of purple.”

Ellie’s face dimpled in the force of her wide, happy smile. “Something like that. I’m just glad the dress turned out so well. I’ll be heading back to New York, to stay this time. I got a job at a fashion house that I’m really excited for.”

“What about you and Dusty?” Lucas asked, tilting his head. “I thought things were going great.”

Both Dustin and Ellie share a blushing smile.

“We’re still together,” Dustin replied. “I’ll be in Boston and she’ll be in New York. We’ll going to try and make it work.”

Max nodded. “Long distance can suck, but if the other person is worth it you can make it work.” She nudged Lucas’s shoulder and he grinned back.

“So you didn’t get traded to Lakers like you wanted?” Gareth asked Lucas.

He shook his head. “Maybe next year. But in the mean time, Max has a couple interviews at Tony Hawk’s video game company as a mo-cap performer for the female characters in his games.”

Everyone oohed and ahhed and congratulated her.

“I don’t have the job yet,” she muttered, but happily soaked up the attention anyway.

Dustin turned to Steve and Robin. “When are you two going to do something with your lives?”

Eddie winced and Steve and Robin didn’t even have to glance at each other to be suddenly on the same wavelength of doom.

If this was an anime you would have have seen the dark waves behind their heads.

“We make good money doing what we do,” Robin said darkly. “Yeah, it’s a bit jack of all trades, but it’s fun. We’re never stuck doing the same thing. We get travel all over the world. We get to meet famous people and all the perks of fame with the drawbacks of having our privacy invaded on the regular.”

“Jack of all trades, but master of none,” Dustin said to be pedantic. “Don’t you guys want to do something specific, like a teacher or a doctor?”

Robin snorted. “No.”

Chrissy hand covered hers, and Robin gave her a squeeze back. She was fine, just annoyed.

“Yeah,” Steve said. “And I don’t why being a jack of all trades is bad thing. Focusing on one thing is great for the people who can do it, but I love the different jobs. Roadie one tour, PA another, then EMT the next. It’s great.”

Dustin frowned, stabbing his plate with his fork.

“My therapist says people are like plants,” Gareth said, “some people are trees and they grow up slowly. Some are bamboo and in the right environment shoot up super fast. But some people are like periwinkle and grow out sideways. Robin and Steve are like that. It’s still growth, just not the growth you want them to have.”

“I guess,” he huffed. He looked up at Steve. “Are you happy doing what you do?”

Steve and Eddie shared a glance. “Yes, for all its faults, I am very happy.”

He nodded and they went back to celebrating Gareth’s year of sobriety. But under the cover of the loud celebration and raucous laughter, Vickie and Simon chatted quietly to themselves.

~

Steve and Eddie lay on the bed in Eddie’s mansion curled up together after sex.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked Steve when he had curled up under his chin and held on tight.

“We were out celebrating,” he murmured, “and I couldn’t even tell them we were in a relationship.”

“Most of the people there already knew, babe,” Eddie murmured. But when Steve didn’t say anything it clicked. “You wanted to tell the kids. Especially after the bomb Mike dropped about Nancy moving on.”

Steve nodded.

Eddie scooted down the bed to look Steve in the eye. “Whatever you do or don’t tell them is entirely up to you I don’t care either way.”

“You don’t care that we’ll never get to go on dates or be seen holding hands or kissing?” Steve asked seriously.

Eddie shook his head. “Do you want to know why?”

“I guess,” Steve said with a half shrug.

“Because when I first got into the music business,” Eddie murmured, “I slept with anyone who would give a passing fancy.”

Steve looked up at him in confusion. “But I thought you already had a crush on me then?”

“I did,” Eddie confirmed. “But here’s the thing, sweetheart, do you know who’s partners get torn apart the most in celebrity relationships?”

Steve shook his head.

“Those with non-famous partners,” Eddie said. “If your partner is anything other than a C or B list celebrity when you’re an A-list, you get called out for ‘slumming it’ and their partners get called all sorts of nasty names, but especially ‘gold digger’. Which is the last thing I wanted for you.”

“Is that why you were okay with being with after you found out I was secretly famous?”

Eddie rose up and tackled Steve into the pillows. “You listen close, Steve Harrington. That was absolutely not why. I didn’t even show up with the flowers intending on confessing anything other than knowing your secret. It was like I suddenly saw all the facets of the diamond I’d been admiring for years and realizing any reason I had to not put myself forward were stupid.”

Steve blinked up at him in awe. “Oh.”

“Yeah, baby, ‘oh’,” Eddie huffed. “Continuing to protect you from the shame and humiliation of the slings and arrows of the media is my mission in life, okay? And if you ever decide to come out, either as bisexual as Steve or as Steve as Abbadon, I will be there for you. One hundred percent.”

Steve’s eyes welled up and he nodded. “Okay.” His lips quivered. “I love you so much. I just want you to be happy.”

Eddie kissed him fiercely. “I know you do and you make me very happy. The Fallen, Abbadon, being closeted? All that? That’s just a part of you that I love.” He bounced onto the bed. “In fact...”

He grabbed his phone and started going through it. “Eureka!” He turned the phone around to a paint of a night, shielding a maiden from the sun and a large crowd of people. This is us, babe. I am the knight and you are my maiden. I won’t get tired, or upset that you need protecting.”

Steve blushed. He sat up and pulled up his knees to his chest. “When we first started coming up with names for us, we didn’t originally all have the same letter.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Wait, really?”

Steve shook his head. “Spence was just Death. Shane was always Astraeus. Simon was struggling with finding a name that fit.”

“And did you have your name picked out?” Eddie asked gently, knowing where this was going.

He pursed his lips and nodded. “I didn’t think we’d make it this far. I really thought we would have crashed and burned by now.” He closed his eyes and hung his head. “Part of the myth with Icarus and the wax wings that people forget was that he was flying all over the place. That if he flied straight and true like his father suggested, he would have survived. But he flew too close to the seas as well as the sun.”

Steve sighed and then looked over at Eddie. “And that’s what I thought I was doing with the band. Flying too low with the fact that we were preps wanting to break into the metal scene and then flying too high with the personas and masks. I was going to not only wreck my life but the lives of people I cared about.”

He let out a low shuddering breath. “That maybe I should have listened to my father. To go to college, to get a degree in business, to fly straight.”

“So what changed your mind?” Eddie asked. “Other than Shane wanting everyone to have all the same letter as a middle finger to everyone trying to guess your identities, I guess.”

Steve let out a watery chuckle. “Shane reminded me of the beginning of Icarus’s story. That he had grown up in the labyrinth, never seeing the sky. How could his father had not seen that of course Icarus was going to play the second they were out? That, yes they were fleeing for their lives, but this was the first time his son had seen the sun, felt the breeze on his face and touched the waves on the sea.”

“But if Daedalus had played with Icarus instead of yelling at him, his father would have been able to keep him from getting too close to the things that would have harmed him,” Steve finished. “That he would have been there to catch his son when he began to fall.”

“So what was the lesson?” Eddie prompted.

“I wasn’t Icarus,” Steve said. “I was always free, I might have fallen from grace according to my parents, but that like God in the Christian story, they were cruel and cast me out because what they wanted for me wasn’t what I wanted.”

Eddie smiled. “So you became Abbadon instead. The one that fell but God still relied on to destroy the wicked. The opposite of Steve Harrington. The boy that rose up like a phoenix from the ashes to be better than his parents dreamed.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Icarus was the first to fall mythos wise, but Abbadon was the one people fear coming back.”

Eddie pulled him close. “Well, you’re my angel, now. Fallen or not, I’m not giving you up for anything.”

Steve kissed him softly. “I’m putting a lot of trust you, Munson. Don’t fuck this up.”

Eddie laughed and kissed him fiercely. Then he proceeded to show Steve all the ways loved him.

Steve knew he might always have doubts and fears, but now he had the support system he always needed.

It was more than past time to fly and in Eddie’s arms there was no limit to how high he could go now.

And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

~

Tag List: CLOSED

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @blondie1006

4- @yikes-a-bee @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten

5- @genderless-spoon @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

6- @disrespectedgoatman @eyehartart @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95

7- @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars

8- @ravenfrog @w1ll0wtr33 @child-of-cthulhu @kultiras @dreamercec

9- @machete-inventory-manager @useless-nb-bisexual @stripey82 @dotdot-wierdlife @kal-ology

10- @sadisticaltarts @urkadop @chameleonhair @clockworkballerina @garden-of-gay

[will80sbyers]

ST5 possible timeline

Let's see what I remember that's actually confirmed from pictures and other stuff

Ep. 1 (100% confirmed) :

We know that Will has a nightmare/flashback of the UD

Linda Hamilton has some scenes

Steve and Jonathan do whatever they are doing in the pre-vis with that thing that becomes green instead of red

Steve and robin are together inside the radio station eating snacks (?) from the pic. Ross posted of day 1

Robin, Will, El, Nancy and Joyce are in a scene together

Ep.2 (100% confirmed) :

We know for sure Karen is in the episode and probably at the Hawkins Memorial Hospital

Lights at the hospital flicker like the Demogorgon is there or vecna etc

Either ep. 1 , ep. 2 or ep. 3...

but in the same time frame:

Morning:

Mike is at his house in his room thinking about something

Dustin and Mike get in a fight at school with the jocks friends of Jason - Dustin's shirt gets ripped

Steve, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan and Murray are taking stuff from the supermarket and they steal a truck with food in it

Steve and Jonathan (?) make the antenna on Steve's car

Someone is studying radio stuff at school (?)

Evening:

Dustin goes to Eddie's grave to talk to him after this because he has the shirt like that

Mike goes to El to talk on the roof of the radio station

Something with action happens, they get attacked, Joyce and Hopper are both at the radio station and probably Will is there too

El is fighting with somebody and the tie she has breaks - she has the same outfit on from the radio station

Robin goes to the Hawkins memorial hospital and Vickie is there too

Night:

Unless it's a vision - Will is at the radio station under the antenna at night ( he's probably the one that gets attacked because he's on the tower opposite from where Mike and El are sitting and talking...)

El is near the UD vines with the same outfit and blood on her nose... Maybe she's in the upside down but I'm not sure because the vines could be invading Hawkins

Not clear yet to me in which episodes these things happen but probably all either before ep. 4 or in ep.4 :

Vecna vision or nightmare of Will at school in the field with the bike

Possible vision: someone is in the woods with the red light and near Castle Byers with the vines all around

Little Will & grown up Will are inside Castle Byers in the upside down, probably a flashback or vision/nightmare

Someone in the woods gets attacked by someone with powers and gets thrown into the air

Nancy is inside the bunker at the radio station dressed how she's dressed when she's with the others taking the food from the truck

Hopper and others are at the old dumpster probably to train and learn how to fight

Someone gets hurt at a leg when they are inside the Hawkins memorial hospital

Karen takes a bubble bath and drinks wine (ep. 1 ?)

Something is being filmed at the Wheeler's house

Will looks cool with his jacket and haircut, he's inside the radio station and Jonathan is there too... Jonathan seems dressed like he was dressed when he was at the radio station with Murray, Nancy and Robin and Steve near the truck of the supermarket so this could be in the first episodes ? Will is dressed with his green shirt and the undershirt so differently from when he's at the mansion and also from when he's at the farm (in which he has the same shirt with the stripes-> ep. 4 prob)

Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin are at the farm and do the hand group thing

Robin, Will and Mike are at a farm together (the farm scenes are probably ep. 3 or 4)

El and Will (same stripes outfit from the radio station tower and the farm without the jacket) are at the mansion with the pool, Will looks sick and El has a scene screaming

Joyce and Hopper arrive with the blue van and maybe they make a pole in the street fall down by speeding with the car

Police or government are involved in the mansion scenes

Jonathan and Nancy are there at the mansion too, Steve's car is there with the antenna so maybe they drive it there (?)

Lucas is with Max at the hospital and makes her listen to music (?)

Will and Robin have some type of interaction, both of them and Mike are at the farm in ep.4 and a child named Derek (?) is there too

Karen gets badly hurt and goes to the hospital

Mike gets hurt but not seriously and Will goes to the hospital

Holly gets kidnapped by Vecna

Mike has scenes with Ted Wheeler

Either ep. 2, 3 or 5 (not clear to me but I've been told they were filming those but also idk for sure)

The characters are attacked by something at the radio station, there's an action scene where Will (or someone else) screams to Steve (or someone else) to RUN !!!

Mike and Robin help some children in the tunnels (?)

Henry and Holly are in the mindscape together at his house living in a fantasy where also other children are involved and they have scenes inside the house and in the park in front of it

There's a scene of Steve's car driving in the Upside down near a cemetery

Scenes at the white church that's probably in the upside down because it has the vines

Notes: The mansion seems to be a simple house of rich people

Ep. 4 (100% confirmed) :

Dustin, Nancy, Jonathan and Someone else we don't know fall in the Upside Down from the farm with a car that has the antenna in the middle

Mansion = orange

Farm = green

Probably the same episode because of the outfit

That's it... I for sure forgot something but I'll add later when I have time to review all the leaks we got!

[love-byers]

one way directors send you a message in a scene is the positioning. most of you already know this. here's some examples

here, robin is coming between what is supposed to be vickie and her boyfriend's moment.

will is coming between what is supposed to be mike and el's moments.

steve is coming between what is supposed to be jonathan and nancy's moment.

all of those examples made me think about this.

all the shots of will between mike and el, but here they put el between mike and will.

it makes me think that this is supposed to be mike and will's moment, and el is coming between them. they're communicating, thinking about each other, focused on each other. we know this is true because we see will watching mike and later mike admits he'd been watching will the whole day.

i just posted about how i think mike is taking digs at will here, mentioning their friends and glancing at will when he says 'friends'. trying to be nonchalant and passive aggressive at the same time.

and they quite literally glance at each other right before that

look at how synchronized their heads are. there's NO way that was a coincidence and not a direction

plus the dialogue makes no sense

el: First, el Rodeo for burritos.

mike: *glances at will* Wa- *looks away* really? Burritos for breakfast?

wa?? wa????? wa what????? mike?????? hello what are you even saying bro 😭

this is supposed to be mike and will's moment. but mike is being a dick, will has lost his confidence, and poor sweet el has no idea.

[conflictofthemind]

Not only do Robin and Will (and Mike!) have scenes together, they have a plot where the three of them visit Castle Byers in the Upside Down and here's all of the proof:

I originally posted this on twitter a month ago, which got a lot of backlash as well as prompting a certain someone to lie directly to my face about it. Now that I've been vindicated so much in the last few days, I want to share this mini-theory that I'm mostly convinced of at this point.

1.Let us go over the filming timeline: February 15th (left), Robin and Will at the McCorkle farm. Take note of the outfit that Robin is wearing here. February 20th (right), fans stumble on an Upside Down Castle Byers set in the woods.

February 22 (left), a pap reveals they were filming at this location the past week, and likes a comment saying one of the figures in the red picture was of Noah/Will.

March 1st (right), Ross Duffer posts what is (possibly) weeks 7-8 of filming, including a picture of Castle Byers in the Upside Down with the prominent American flag.

March 13 (but not really), we get a hidden shot from Episode 4. Oh, and an iPad in the corner that says this was actually February 13 - the same week they were filming with Maya/Noah/Finn at the farm.

Oh, but zoom in. Enhance image. What is that? It's the unknown!

A flag.... the body of a person with a dark coat and a white t-shirt.... possibly in the mirror view of a car or some kind of framing device. Now what did they film in the same week(s) that looks like this? Just Castle Byers and Robin.

2. Aaaaand then we get a little bit into Lovers Lake gate (literally).

The official version of the map, that could still be incorrect tbf, has Lover's Lake placed near the farms on the outskirts of town. There is also a fan-made map referenced from the actual show, which is different but still places Lover's Lake next to some farms and specifically Eugene McCorkle's farm.

Then we have this classic BTS photo from Ross of (possibly lol) Weeks 5-6 which would include the week of February 13 and 16th where we know they were filming at the farm.

What this all means, I won't speculate on too much, but I am fairly sure we are getting a mission with Robin/Will/Mike as they venture into the Upside Down (maybe Mike drives them himself) through a rift that has strategically opened near the farm because of it's position near the Lovers Lake gate. I think it's possible that they are investigating Will's memories, and trying to induce them to come back. The opening scene as we all know happens at Castle Byers. Will wants to go for his own self-development and discovery, Mike tags along because that's his boyfriend bestie, and Robin tags along after developing a soft spot for Will and to get a glimpse at how the two interact.

3. Where are the others at (why only them three)? Also in episode 4, we have Nancy, Jon, Dustin and (probably since it's his car) Steve as a group all travelling from the McCorkle farm into the Upside Down. Perhaps they split off into their own missions, or something goes awry and this is the reconnaissance team sent in to find RoWillMike.

The one thing I do have extra confirmation of is that Millie has not been involved in any of the farm scenes, even the ones filmed in April. There is no way El is involved in this plot. Millie was also on a filming break during most of February.

The others all likely have a plotline together (Lucas/Erica/Joyce/Hopper/El). Vickie couullldd be there though?

Fin.

[smalltownrobin]

I think I've reached the truest state of delusion

So Maya posted this video on her instagram with no audio but it looks an awful lot like she's rehearsing lines and seems to be acting kinda Robin-like

But what I've just noticed is important is that she's using a dental floss

Which happens to be what appears to be the exact same dental floss that was included in one of the last bts photo dumps

The photo of the pack of floss was included in the photo dump that came after THIS content of Maya and Joe on set possibly outside the radio station

(it was literally in the same post as the Steve photo)

Now we know that we've seen Robin taking care of her dental hygiene before (oh I sound so crazy please stick with me), which was before the pep rally when she was fretting over her appearance for Vickie

So theoretically IF that video is in fact her rehearsing for a s5 scene, there's a strong chance it could have been filmed around the time of those stobin bts dumps, and Robin is having another ramble to Steve about seeing Vickie while she's making herself desirable presentable

It would also make sense because THIS FIT with the leather jacket and the belt and the fucking blue hair bow (which she pointedly seems to change into before Steve changes out of his first outfit) really looks like she's dressing to impress

BUT WAIT I'M NOT DONE YET

So let's say Robin really is dressing up and scrubbing up because she's going to meet up with Vickie. WHY then does she end up running round town going to barns with Erica Sinclair and shady labs with Mike Wheeler?? Or whatever tf she's doing with Will?? No Vickie in sight as far as we know??

Well let me remind you of this leak we got back in february (coincidentally the same day we got the pics of rovickie filming at the hospital but that's not really relevant)

So obviously this may not be true, but it's plausible from what we know about Robin's anxiety

Now this could also be incorrect, but at the beginning of the video, it looks like she could be saying "like the dream I'm having [floss] you never know"

Something we know about Vecna is that he can give people vivid nightmares, as he gave them to Max and his other victims in s4, so it's entirely possible he could continue to taunt everyone via nightmares

So Robin possibly having recurring dreams while also being paranoid about Vickie's safety, to her knowing she's meeting up with Vickie and getting ready to see her while rambling to Steve about said dreams, only for her to seemingly NOT end up meeting Vickie and going on side quests instead?

Yeah I'm fucking terrified rn

[bylrlve]

Warning! Exciting Byler Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5!

- collection of pics by @will80sbyers

There’s a scene of Mike, Will, and Holly riding bikes through downtown Hawkins - likely early in the season, as Mike is wearing the same outfit as at the school, and when he talks with El.

The events we know happen in episode 2 are Holly vanishing, and a major incident happening at the hospital where Mike is present with Nancy and likely Karen - it may be that Holly goes missing here, and Karen gets attacked by the Demogorgan. It seems likely that the rooftop scene with Mike and El also occurs in this episode, and something major occurs in the field by the station literally right after their talk. Will was spotted filming at the radio station on the roof at night, as well. The official BTS pic of Will is also of him in this outfit, and it’s of him holding a pair of Walkman headphones at the radio station so… M*leven cannot escape that boy lmao.

We know that after the major incident at the hospital occurs, an incident that causes several injuries including Mike (allegedly), Will shows up, crying and blaming himself. El does not show up, but there are strongly supported rumours that Jonathan, Nancy, Robin, and Vickie are also there.

Same outfit as:

It seems likely that the boys are either bringing Holly to and from school, and that those school scenes take place in episode 2 as well - Mike’s outfit is the same.

Now! Byler implications.. and boy, are they juicy. First, this post by @conflictofthemind, on the highly exciting A Wrinkle in Tine parallels, is a must-read for sure.

Will being with the Wheelers as they either go on a school run, or on some other mission, suggests that either Will is just a part and parcel of the daily routine for Mike despite not living with him, or… he IS living with him. The Byers have no set living location, remember - and while the other Byers are living at the radio station, this is a very strange arrangement if Mike is going out of his way JUST to meet up with Will. He’s also literally neighbours with Lucas, and thus could easily ride with him AND ERICA to school. There was also a picture released by Ross of the Wheeler kitchen with one extra chair at the table - Ted, Karen, Nancy, Mike, Holly, and…?

It is also not escaping my notice that it’s Will who seems to continually be with Mike - not El. Will at the hospital with him (and other couples), Will with Mike as they escort Holly around…

What I personally suspect is being set up is Mike and Will bonding over Holly going missing, or whatever exactly happens. I figured that would happen with Mike turning to Will after the fact as the only alive frame of reference for such a situation, but they’re going even further in setting it up, with Will apparently bonding with Holly and getting along well with her. Angst, bonding, ‘I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine’… and where is m*leven in all of this? Where, exactly, is El being there for Mike? Exactly.

The potential for s1 Jancy parallels here are RIPE - this time with Mike as Jonathan, and Will as Nancy (in a way). The potential, also, for showing Mike and Will in a both domestic (escorting a child around) and power couple (Mike trusting Will implicitly and without question, trusting him enough to keep Holly safe with him as they cycle through militarised and overrun Hawkins)…

One thing’s for sure… they’re following through on the many promises of Byler as a team made in s4…

I think we should be a team…

Friends.

Best friends.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Right Place in Time

Summary: What if Steve was in the woods with Chrissy and Eddie buying weed for his headache?

Chapter one

Chapter two

Once Steve went home and smoked a little weed, he felt a lot better, especially when the headache started to fade away, but he was still upset with Eddie. He started driving back to the school once the weed wore off, and when he pulled up, he waited until all of the members of Hellfire started entering the drama room. They arrived early before a whole lot of people even started showing up for the game. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Mike, Erica, and Dustin enter the drama room last. Steve climbed out of the car and started striding towards the drama room when he got assaulted by Robin.

"Oh, thank God, you're here early," Robin said. "Wait, why are you here early?"

"Eddie! He talked Mike and Dustin into replacing Lucas instead of supporting him. From what I just saw, they replaced him with Erica! His sister!" Steve said.

"Well, that's fucked up. Can't they just post pone?" Robin asked.

"They called what Lucas did joining the dark side! It's fucking basketball," Steve said.

"It sounds like they're acting exactly like how bullies treated them. That's not cool," Robin frowned. "Are you going to kick Eddie's ass?"

"I hope not," a voice said from behind Steve.

They turned to find Chrissy standing there. Steve smiled at her and then frowned. He hated having to tell her that he was going to have to cancel the date. She had been so excited.

"Chrissy - ,"

"It sounds like Eddie's being a total dick. We should fix that - shouldn't we?" Chrissy asked.

"I mean, yeah, but why? You barely know him," Steve said.

"I have a feeling about him," Chrissy said softly and took his hand. "I want this to happen."

"Yeah, okay, me too," Steve blushed. "It's just Lucas, Mike, and Dustin have always been friends. They're kids who I babysit, and I just feel protective over them. So, they come first."

"That's sweet, and I totally understand," Chrissy said smiling and dropped his hand. "Let's go!"

Steve smiled, watching her run ahead of them.

"You're going to tell me what that was about, buddy?" Robin asked.

"It's nothing," he blushed. "What did you need me for?"

"Oh! My lip gloss. I left it in your car. I'll be next to Vickie, remember?" Robin asked.

"You play the trumpet," Steve said with narrowed eyes.

"And?" Robin asked.

"Here," Steve said, putting his keys into her hand. "I'm going to go after Chrissy."

Steve hurried to catch up with Chrissy and found her waiting by the drama room door.

"I figured you'd want to do the storming in. They're your kids. I'm only the girl trying to date their mom," Chrissy grinned and slapped him on the back. "Go get them, champ."

Steve smiled briefly before glaring at the door seriously. He rolled his shoulders and stormed through the doors, slamming them open. He was relieved to hear a few startled screams. Steve walked into the room to find Eddie sitting on the throne. He snorted. Right. And he was the arrogant one? Eddie grinned at first until he noticed Steve’s pissed off look. Steve placed his hands on his hips.

"What the hell are you shitheads doing here? Why the hell are you not at the game supporting your best friend?" Steve asked.

"Because Eddie's been planning this for a while," Mike said. "Besides, it's not like Lucas is going to be playing."

"You don't know that. Tonight could be the night that they put him in," Steve said. "And I'm sorry, but I think I missed the part where Eddie's been your best friend since you were babies. Oh, wait, no, that's Lucas."

"Lucas knows how important D&D is to us," Mike scoffed.

"Really? Because it wasn't so important when it was Will wanting to play, and you spent all summer ignoring him. After everything Will went through, he gets snubbed by his friends?" Steve said. "Yeah, that's right. Jonathan told me."

"How is this any of your business?" A guy with really good hair said.

"Maybe because these shitheads mean a lot to me. Wait, I don't need to justify myself to you. Who even are you?" Steve asked.

"Big surprise, King Steve doesn't know someone below him," Good Hair scoffed.

"I'm sorry, but do you know everyone's name in the entire school?" Steve asked.

"Well, no," he frowned.

"So, why is it up to the preppy people to know them all?" He asked, and the man opened his mouth before closing it again.

"The man's got a point," a man with pretty eyes said. "Name's Jeff. That's Gareth. The other one over there is Frank."

"Under different circumstances, I would say it's nice to meet you, but . . .I'm kind of in the middle of yelling," Steve replied and Jeff nodded.

"Steve, it's just a basketball game," Dustin said.

"That's right. It's just a basketball game. It's neither good nor evil. A few jocks pissed on your game, and you decided to make the assumptions that all jocks are bad," Steve said and cast his eyes at Eddie. "Kind of like how people made assumptions about you. Well, right now, you have the ability to show them that nerds and jocks don't have to be enemies. You have the ability to post pone it. Lucas doesn't. Right now, he's scared out of his mind that he's going to lose his friends over the fact that he wanted to branch out and try something new. He wanted to be different, and you judged him for that the way that everyone judged you. He's a scared kid, Eddie, and he's trying to find his place in this world. You're in the position where you can make him feel like he can have both, and you're pushing him away. It's one night. One fucking night."

The entire room was silent, and Eddie, as well as the others, had the decency to look ashamed. He cleared his throat, his voice thick with emotion.

"Does this mean we're not going to be hanging out?" Eddie asked softly.

"Man, that's up to you," Steve said, looking at him sadly. "Do you hate me for being a jock?"

Eddie looked down at his lap. He looked so vulnerable in that moment that Steve wanted to comfort him, but he figured that might take away from what he just did. Dustin pushed his seat back, looking properly shamed.

"You're right, Steve. We should go to the game," Dustin said. "It's one night."

"Yeah," Mike said and stood up.

Erica sighed and rolled her eyes before following the other two out the door. She did look guilty, though. Steve followed them, smiling when he saw Chrissy waiting for them. She clearly heard the whole thing. He went to say something when he heard Eddie's voice.

"Well, gentlemen, it looks like we're going to the game after all," Eddie said.

Steve grinned and started walking off towards the gym, the kids walking ahead of them.

"I just want you to know that I thought that was the hottest thing I ever seen," Chrissy said as she put her arm through his.

"Yeah?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," she giggled.

"Chrissy, right?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Are you guys dating?" Dustin asked.

"I'm trying to date him," she said.

"Ooh, he's making you work for it, huh?" Dustin asked.

"Hey, shithead, until you properly make it up to Lucas, you don't get to tease us," Steve said and Chrissy giggled.

"You're such a good mom," she said.

"Stop calling me that," Steve blushed. Smiling.

"Why? When you have such good childbearing hips," Chrissy teased.

Erica snorted, and Steve gave her a look.

"What? She's funny. Just the facts," Erica said.

It was still pretty early when they walked into the gym. There were a few people sitting in the sands. The band has yet to even come in. Chrissy hugged Steve and parted ways with him. Steve guided the kids up the bleachers and made them sit near them, leaving a space open for Eddie. It was quiet for a while until he heard the sound of Dustin sniffling.

"I didn't mean to hurt Lucas, I just - " Dustin said.

"I know," Steve said softly.

"It's just that we think Eddie is so cool like you are that we got excited over the fact that he likes D&D, and it was just nice to have somewhere safe to go to," Dustin said.

"You think I'm on the same level of coolness as Eddie?" Steve asked.

"Well, yeah," Mike scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Well, okay, but you know, if you think someone is being asshole to your friend, you can tell them off even if they are also your friend," Steve said.

"Yeah, okay," Dustin said, wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry for disappointing you, Steve."

"Aww, buddy, come here," Steve said.

Steve and Dustin hugged tightly and quickly. Dustin was soon sitting next to Mike again. Steve looked at Mike questioningly.

"I'm not going to cry," Mike scoffed.

"You're being an asshole, Mike," Dustin quipped. "Cry, damn it."

He smiled when he saw Eddie walk into the gym. He looked sheepish, his hands in his pocket. It was very cute. Eddie nodded at Mike and Dustin, indicating that he wanted them to go down. They looked at Steve.

"Go," he said softly.

Mike, Dustin, and Erica walked down towards Eddie, who led them out of the gym. A moment later, Eddie came back with the kids and the rest of Hellfire in tow. The kids sat back down, leaving an open space for Eddie. He stood nervously by Steve, hands in his pockets while the rest of Hellfire sat in bleacher above them.

"Is this seat taken?" Eddie asked, pointing to the spot beside him.

"Yes," Steve replied.

"Oh," Eddie said softly.

"By you, idiot," he said and pulled him down into the seat.

"I had them apologize to Lucas, and then I apologized to Lucas. I mean, you were right. About everything. I was a goddamn bully. I would totally get it if you thought less of me and didn't want to go out with me," Eddie said.

"If anything, I think more of you. You owned up to your mistakes, you apologized. . . ," Steve said and leaned close to whisper to him. "That is so incredibly sexy of you."

"Sexy?! Me!" Eddie whispered and Steve nodded.

Steve moved closer until his lips were nearly touching Eddie's ear.

"If you hurt one of our kids ever again, I will take out my bat and beat you with it," he whispered.

"Hot," Eddie choked on his saliva and shook his head. "But yeah, I got the message."

Steve laughed and pulled back. He looked down at the court below, and his eyes landed on Chrissy, who was looking at him curiously. Steve grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Her smile was so wide that she was showing nearly all of her teeth. She blew him a kiss. Eddie's hand flew out in front of Steve’s face like he was catching the kiss and made a show of placing it on his own cheek. Chrissy giggled.

"Hey, that was my kiss, jackass," Steve scowled.

"Was it? Too bad," Eddie said.

Steve and Eddie talked until the gym started to fill up with people. The band members filled their seats, and then Tammy Thompson came out to sing. Steve whispered to Eddie about Tammy sounding like a Muppet and he giggled in agreement. Soon, the game began. Eddie struggled to catch up at first, but once Steve started using D&D terms to help him out, he quickly understood. Eddie watched eagerly when they put Lucas in, and when Lucas made the winning shot, he cheered louder than anyone. Eddie pulled Steve into a tight hug.

"Thank you for making sure that I didn't miss this," Eddie whispered in Steve's ear.

Chapter three

[ronancecats]

My opinions on EVERY romantic stranger things ship (at least the ones I could think of, if I missed a ship you care about let me know and ill tell you what i think)

And of course, these are my OPINIONS and aren't that serious 🙏🙏 you can ship whatever the hell you want as long as it's not illegal.

I love making posts like these and sharing my opinions so please keep it respectful even if I don't like your ship, thank you :)

Mileven (Mike x Eleven): solid 8/10. I think they're cute in the 1st season and they have their moments, but their chemistry is definitely feeling more forced recently and I just don't see them working out.

Byler (Will x Mike): definitely a 10/10, it just makes sense. Byler proof is so thick and it's so obvious to anyone who actually cares to look. I'm not a hardcore shipper or anything but they're happening.

Willel (Will x Eleven): get this shit out of here bro, -10/10. Like Will is gay and they're practically siblings 😭

Wheelson (Dustin x Mike): there's nothing wrong with this ship, I just don't see it and I haven't seen enough content to base my opinion off of that so 0/10.

Wheelclair (Mike x Lucas): again, just don't see it and haven't seen enough content. So 0/10, however, I feel like their dynamic could be cute in both a romantic and platonic sense.

Byclair (Will x Lucas): I don't see it ever happening but oh my lord y'all the fan art and content for them is so cute so they get a solid 3/10 purely for the cuteness.

Byson (Will x Dustin): I've never seen any content for this. Like at all. I don't think anyone ships this. 0/10 only because I haven't seen anything to make me want to ship this.

Henclair (Lucas x Dustin): y'all... they're so cute. Here me out, the fics, the fan art, the dynamics, it's amazing. They get a 5/10.

Lumax (Lucas x Max): 10/10, angel babies, would die for them. I need them to have a happy ending and if they don't, I won't have a happy ending

Elmax (Eleven x Max): they're so stinking cute, 9/10. As much as I love lumax, I think the dynamics of this ship and just the thought of it is perfection.

Madwheeler (Max x Mike): eh...no. 0/10. They are like the same person and would kill each other in any other scenario. However, platonically? Yes please!

Henfield (Max x Dustin): 4/10. They have potential but they both have such better ships.

Duzie (Dustin x Suzie): 9/10. I am a SUCKER for nerd x nerd ships and I need them to have at least one scene together. Just one. Like please duffers, I need to see them just once.

Jancy (Jonathan x Nancy): 1000/10 YES YES YES YES. MY BABIES, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. PLEASE DUFFERS, MAKE UP ALL THAT FUCKERY IN S4 AND GIVE THEM A HAPPY ENDING!!

Stancy aka Stanky (Steve x Nancy): -10/10. I hate this ship so much. Nancy "I don't think my parents ever loved each other. My mom was younger and my dad was older with a cushy job and made good money. So they got married and bought a house at the end of a cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family" Wheeler would EVER settle down with 6 kids. Ever. There was 0 reason to bring back the love triangle. Let Steve move on and let Nancy be happy, Jesus 😭

Ronance (Nancy x Robin): 100/10. There's a reason this page is called ronancecats. I love them so much and even though they will never happen, it's fun to think about. Every piece of ronance fan art is gorgeous and the fics are everything to me. Plus, Natalia is like the president of the ronance shipping club. "All hail Natalia Dyer," we all say in unison.

Rockie/Rovickie (Robin x Vickie): 6/10. They're cute but they literally made Vickie an exact carbon copy of Robin and it's boring. I really hope they build on Vickie's character next season because they are boring and lack depth.

Stobin (Steve x Robin): absolutely not. Get out. -100000000/10. Robin. Is. A. Lesbian. She. Likes. Boobies. Not. Greasy. Men. They. Are. Platonic. Soulmates.

Steddie (Steve x Eddie): 4/10. Their fan art is cool and the dynamic I like, but I just can't get past it. I don't like them all that much.

Harringgrove (Steve x Billy): no thank you, no toxic ships here. 0/10.

Stonathan (Jonathan x Steve): hell yes. 9/10. I'm not even sure why but they are just perfect in my mind. The dynamics are there and the fan art is perfection, plus I just think the idea of them fighting over Nancy but then turning to each other is kinda cute.

Jargyle (Jonathan x Argyle) 8/10. I don't think about them much but whenever I do I love it. They're idiots but two idiots that are better together idk about y'all.

Neddie (Nancy x Eddie): Eddie can NOT handle all that (but I can) 0/10.

Reddie (Robin x Eddie): 0/10. Both these bitches are gay so get out.

Hellcheer (Eddie x Chrissy): gives me the ick. I'm not ever sure why but they do and all their scenes just feel like there's no romantic undertones, at least to me. So 2/10.

Buckingham (Chrissy x Robin): this is what I'm talking about. A popular cheerleader having an existential crisis when she realizes she's a lesbian and not only that but realizes she's in love with the social outcast? Hell yes. 9/10. Give it to me.

Bancy (Nancy x Barb): 6/10. They are tragic.

Jopper (Joyce x Hopper): 10/10. My parents fr, they raised me. Everything about them makes me happy and I love them.

Boyce (Bob x Joyce): 7/10. Cuties and it's so obvious Bob cared about her and the kids. Jopper will forever be better but I can't ignore their cuteness.

Jaren (Joyce x Karen): okay y'all, hear me out...8/10. I love the idea of this so much and every single fic I've read is so well written and incredible. Lesbian Karen Wheeler truthers unite.

Murlexi (Murray x Alexi) 7/10. I like the idea of them and I will support any content I see of them even though I'm not a hardcore shipper.

Murray x Joyce (what are they called?): 0/10. Nope, nope, nope on a rope.

Okay, anyway y'all those are my opinions on a bunch of stranger things ships that I've seen. Please be respectful even if you don't agree, these are literally opinions about a FICTIONAL show and FICTIONAL relationships with FICTIONAL characters and aren't that deep.

[lavenderstobins]

Here’s a masterlist of all the Stranger Things fics I’ve posted! Mostly Robin/Nancy and Steve & Robin 💜

Last updated: 09/11/24 | AO3 | Twitter | ☕️ Ko-Fi

🪻Highlights

➤ love will tear us apart Steve & Robin | T | 12k Robin gets Vecna'd. ➤ leave the speaker on and stay Steve & Robin | T | 8.6k | stobin month 2023 Steve and Robin meet in 1984 instead. ➤ through the years we all will be together (if the fates allow) Steve & Robin | T | 19.6k Steve and Robin work on Christmas. Everyone brings a little bit of Christmas to them.

🌿 Multichapter Fics

➤ you're out of touch, i'm out of time Steve & Robin, Robin/Nancy, Steve/Eddie | T | 12/12 | 75.5k Steve and Nancy travel back in time to 1983 and try to fix things.

➤ in the web that is my own, i begin again (WIP) Steve & Robin | T | 6/11 | 32.5k | Spider-Man AU Steve struggles to balance his superhero identity with his regular life.

➤ one more or one less (WIP) Steve & Robin | T | 1/? | 2.5k After Starcourt, Steve realises that Robin's missing.

➤ holding my last breath (WIP) Nancy/Robin | M | 1/12 | 3.6k | Scream AU There's a killer targeting teenagers in Hawkins. After the killer takes the life of one of Nancy's friends, she'll stop at nothing to get justice.

➤ chasing visions of our futures (WIP) Stevie/Eddie, Stevie & Robin, Robin/Nancy | T | 2/7 | 4k Stevie's dead set on nudging Robin and Nancy together. She's not expecting to realise her feelings for Eddie along the way.

➤ separation brings us awfully close Robin/Chrissy, Robin/Nancy, Chrissy/Nancy, Chrissy & Eddie | T | 3/3 | 9.8k Chrissy learns the hard way that Spider-Woman can’t save everyone.

➤ you’re someone (who knows someone i once knew) (WIP) T | 1/3 | 4.4k Steve Harrington dies. Decades later, Dustin Henderson resurrects him. This is not that story. That story’s already been told. No, this is about what comes after.

🍊 Oneshots

➤ you got light in your eyes Steve & Robin | T | 7.2k | Sequel to Out of Touch Steve can't stop thinking about what Mr. Hauser had told him about Robin.

➤ the pleasure, the privilege is mine Steve & Robin | T | 7.6k Robin won’t let Steve go alone. Not even at the end of the world.

➤ share the same space for a minute or two Robin/Nancy | G | 2.4k Nancy isn’t yet sure what to do with herself now that the world isn’t ending. Robin helps.

➤ the future's unwritten, the past is a corridor Nancy & Eddie, Steve & Robin, Robin/Nancy, Steve/Eddie | T | 26.3k Robin and Nancy have just moved into their new house with their son, next door to Steve, Eddie and their daughter.

➤ guess i'm a coward (i just want to feel alright) Steve/Eddie, Eddie & everyone | T | 7.2k When the bats attack, Eddie sticks to the plan, and he runs, and he lives. He thinks, maybe, that he’ll hate himself forever for it.

➤ cracks in your ceiling Robin/Nancy | T | 9.9k Nancy has a movie night with friends, invents a new disease, and quite possibly has her life ruined by Sigourney Weaver.

➤ in war, in peace, in death Steve/Eddie, Steve & Robin, Robin/Nancy | T | 7.8k Steve realises Robin's alive, trapped in the Fade. (A Dragon Age AU)

➤ now i've found a real love  Robin/Nancy, Nancy & Mike | T | 8.7k Nancy Wheeler deserves a good Christmas. In fact, they all do.

➤ used to be you but now it's you and me Steve & Robin | T | 2.4k | twin stars stobin zine contribution It's only natural to cry on your birthday.

➤ 'cause i'm gonna be free and i'm gonna be fine Steve & Robin | T | 7.5k Two decades after the Upside Down closes for good, Steve's daughter goes viral on TikTok, and things quickly escalate from there.

➤ this dream isn't feeling sweet Lucas & Robin, Robin/Vickie | T | 13.1k Lucas finds himself struggling at the post-championship game party.

➤ there’s joy not far from here (i know there is) Steve & Robin, Steve & Robin & the Party | T | 3.7k Steve, Robin and the party have an important discussion about homophobia.

➤ HOW TO SURVIVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: A GUIDE BY DUSTIN HENDERSON Dustin & everyone | G | 2.5k Dustin's guide to the apocalypse.

➤ this is how we'll dance Steve & Robin & Eddie, minor Robin/Carol, Steve & Dustin | T | 1.8k Prom night 1985 from Robin, Eddie and Steve's perspectives.

➤ hold onto hope if you got it Wayne & Eddie, Wayne & Everyone | G | 2k When the trailer park is destroyed, Wayne loses his mug collection of twenty years. Eddie decides this is unacceptable and must be rectified.

➤ you will surely be the death of me  Steve & Robin, Steve & Robin & the Party | G | 4.4k When Eddie plans to go out of town, Robin and Steve finally agree to play a D&D campaign, on the following conditions: 1) it’s one session, and 2) Robin’s the DM.

➤ life among the dead  Nancy & Robin & Steve, Robin/Nancy | T | 1.3k A Pushing Daisies AU in which Nancy can resurrect the dead.

➤ tonight i'll dream while i’m in bed Robin & Steve, minor Robin/Nancy | G | 4.1k Steve and Robin met, once, long before Scoops Ahoy and Starcourt Mall.

➤ sing me to sleep Robin & Steve & Nancy | T | 1.5k Nancy goes searching for Robin in the Upside Down after Steve dies.

➤ caught up in the motion Robin/Nancy, Robin & Steve, Robin & the Party | T | 3.2k Robin accidentally wears Nancy's Emerson t-shirt to work. Problem is, nobody apart from Steve knows that they're dating.

➤ kiss and (don't) tell Steve/Eddie, Eddie & the Party | T | 1.8k Eddie has a hickey. The party try to figure out who gave it to him.

🩵 Josieverse

➤ bright as the morning sun Steve & Robin & Josie | G | 1.4k | stobin month 2024 A slice-of-life oneshot revolving around Robin, Steve and Josie.

➤ here's to my future (here's to my yesterday) Steve & Robin & Eddie | T | 3.3k Robin’s three months pregnant and still only two people know. They’ve been invited to Dustin’s Halloween party, though. She can keep it a secret. Probably.

➤ all for freedom and for pleasure Steve & Josie & Eddie | G | 0.8k Eddie discovers that Robin’s daughter has learnt how to blackmail people.

➤ what you fear the most Steve & Robin & Josie | G | 1k Steve comes home to find Robin and her daughter Josie seemingly trapped.

➤ somebody that you used to know Robin/Valerie, Steve & Robin | M | 1.9k Before Josie was born—before everything changed—Robin had had something with Valerie. Nothing serious, nothing labelled, but it mattered all the same.

➤ when you touch the stars, hold my hand Steve & Robin & Josie | T | 3.3k Josie is confused about why she doesn’t have a dad.

🌹 Smut fics

➤ if this feeling flows both ways Robin/Nancy | E | 9.1k Nancy accidentally receives a sext from Robin and can’t stop thinking about it.

➤ i’d suffer hell if you’d tell me Robin/Nancy | E | 8.8k It’s been a while since Nancy’s had time alone with Robin. She intends to make the most of it.

🌸 Rarepairs

➤ every time it rains Steve/Kali | G | 1.6k Kali wouldn't class herself as someone fond of walks, but she is fond of Steve.

➤ neck full of mockingbirds (WIP) Robin/Carol | E | 9/? | 7.5k Carol and Robin, from start to end.

➤ i wanna be adored Nancy/Eden | G | 1.9k Nancy's lonely. Eden's there.

[queenie-ofthe-void]

Immortal Vampire Eddie Munson (bittersweet)

Inspired by a Steddie post by @steviewashere where Eddie is an immortal vampire and Steve is just a normal regular guy. This pushed me out of my writer's block so THANK YOU!!

Find the hurt/no comfort version of this fic here!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve's there to help Eddie through every death, starting with Wayne and ending with El. Each one is as hard as the last. Every funeral, Eddie notices just a few more wrinkles on Steve's face: crows feet and laugh lines, the furrow between his eyebrows.

But as he continues on, and his loved ones leave him, he's always reminded he's not alone. Over the years, the Party's gotten bigger. Dustin and Suzie alone had 5 kids, plus Mike and El's twin girls, Nancy and Jonathan's son, Will and Gareth are working on another adoption. Eddie's family has grown larger than he could've imagined. He's going to have nieces and nephews through generations.

Their watchful protector, their Gandalf. But it still won't be Steve.

The Party are celebrating Robin's 38th birthday when Vickie pulls Eddie into the kitchen where Robin and Steve are waiting. They hand Eddie a printout. He doesn't know what he's looking at.

He understands what a sonogram is, but why is Steve the one giving it to him? Why is Robin crying? They're hugging him and everyone's crying except Eddie because he won't let himself believe what they're desperately trying to explain.

Steve knows he can't be with Eddie forever. He's always wanted to be a father, and who could ever be a better mother to his children than his soulmate. They had the doctor's appointment months ago. Vickie was practically bursting at the seams to tell Eddie, but the three decided to wait just to make sure. 

It hits him like a train.

Steve and Robin are having a baby. Steve and Robin and Vickie and... and a baby.

Because now it won't just be descendants of The Party. It'll be Birdie and Steve. His Stevie and their child and grandchildren and great grandchildren. The man he loves has given him the gift of life, his own piece of immortality. Now he'll never be alone, living through the ages surrounded by love.

[ladykailitha]

The Eddie Munson Guide to Dating an Oblivious Jock Part 1

When I reached 1000 followers I put up a poll for what people wanted me to do to celebrate and the top two options (separated by less than one percent) were between doing nothing and just continue to do my regularly scheduled posting and doing a fun little one shot. Which I told people to put their suggestion in the comments. The only one to actually do that was @artiststarme who requested a pining Eddie and an oblivious Steve. I got half of that LOL! I have an actively wooing Eddie and an oblivious Steve. So I hope you like it anyway.

There is no set posting schedule on this one. I will be putting it out when possible as it’s still a WIP.

Summary: After Vecna Max is having trouble convincing Lucas to date her again so she turns to the one member of the party who is dating a jock: Eddie Munson. He breaks down his tips for dating an oblivious jock. Bold = the guide. Italicized = their conversation. Standard = examples Eddie is giving Max for each step.

*

The Eddie Munson Guide to Dating an Oblivious Jock

Foreword:

Eddie Munson had the best functioning gaydar in all of Hawkins. Perhaps even the surrounding areas. He hadn’t been wrong yet. Mainly because it only used it on actual teenagers and they weren’t as good as hiding it as they thought they were.

So far he had clocked Robin Buckley, Vickie Lawrence, Will Byers, Mike Wheeler, Tommy Hagen, and few others around their school. But his absolute favorite was Steve Harrington.

Now, some of them were bisexual instead of gay, but the radar worked all the same. Mike, Vickie, and Steve to be precise. Although he was pretty sure Hagen was feeding Harrington a line about it not being gay unless their dicks touch or whatever and passing off his crush on King Steve as just being bros or some shit.

He honestly felt sorry for Carol Perkins because she most certainly was straight and her boyfriend and his best friend were not.

Eddie thought about telling her, but then he remembered she was a bitch and just didn’t.

Now, King Steve was a bitch too. He wasn’t going to deny that. But that was what attracted Eddie to him the first place. His bitchy little remarks, his snide comments, his lip curling sneer.

He was pissed when Nancy tried to stomp it out while they were dating. He didn’t think she succeeded. At least not all the way if the little glances Steve gave him during his famous lunchroom rants were any indication.

And then the world came crashing down around Steve and Eddie got see a whole new side of Harrington that he hadn’t seen before. Steve would still sneer at Eddie’s rants, laugh at Eddie’s attempts to wound him, but there was something else.

He began flinching at loud noises. He went from the top of most of his classes to barely skating by. He started wearing sunglasses all the time. He would turn to his right side when people talked.

That’s when the start of Eddie’s crush happened. This deposed king, was quieter, rougher around the edges, but also the same time gentler, too.

Steve graduated and Eddie did not. It lessened their interactions a great deal, but when Eddie found that Steve was working at the mall in the most ridiculous outfit. It wasn’t even cute, but fuck did it do a number on Eddie’s libido. His attraction turned into full on lust.

And then they ended up saving the world together. And Steve full on saved his life. That’s when Eddie knew he was trouble. That’s when he fell in love with Steve. Head over heels.

That’s when he knew he was going to need a game plan to woo this bastard. This beautiful, sassy, completely oblivious bastard.

*

Step One: Determine if you are their flavor of partner.

There is nothing worse than assuming a guy might into dating you and then for him not be. Now, everyone Eddie had pegged as gay or bisexual had been correct, but there was always that chance. That first time he was wrong.

And considering that they had become friends after all that, Eddie had be sure.

“I’m just saying that Luke was prettier in the first one,” Eddie defended. He was harassing his favorite Family Video employee, Steve Harrington.

“Come on,” Steve argued back. “That’s not fair. The actor got into a really bad accident between the first and second one. But I would say he looked best in the third one with the teddy bears.”

“They’re called Ewoks,” Eddie moaned. “They aren’t teddy bears.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Besides everyone knows that Han Solo is the hottest guy in the Star Wars trilogy.”

Eddie slammed both hands on the counter making Robin and Steve both jump. “You take that back. This Lando Calrissian slander and I won’t have it!”

Steve laughed.

“Since when did you have an opinion on hot guys anyway?” Robin asked from the candy display in front of the counter, where she was restocking the Reese’s Pieces.

Steve frowned. “Since always?” Eddie and Robin both raised an eyebrow at him. “Me and Carol and Tommy would rate the guys in every movie we saw. Doesn’t everybody do that?”

Robin raised the other eyebrow. “No. I certainly don’t. But I’m gay, so guys just don’t do it for me.”

Steve turned to Eddie. “So what’s your excuse then?”

Eddie grinned. “Because I’m gay and guys do do it for me?”

Steve blinked. “But I like boobies, too. Unless there’s a thing for both?”

Eddie grinned. Gotcha! “Sure there is, beautiful. It’s called being bisexual. Freddie Mercury from Queen and David Bowie are both bisexual.”

Steve frowned. “Is that what Vickie is?” he asked Robin. “Does she like both, too?”

Robin blinked. “Oh. I mean, yeah. I hadn’t thought of that. Yeah, I mean she could like both.”

Steve bumped her with his hip. “There you go. Now ask her out already!”

He laughed and ducked when she threw a packet of Reese’s Pieces at his head.

He bent to pick them up, but they were a little abused and a corner was torn. “Shit.”

Steve held it up so they could see.

Robin grimaced. “Oops!”

“I’ll buy it,” Eddie said. “That way you guys won’t get into trouble.”

Steve smiled wide. “You’d do that?”

“Sure thing, princess,” Eddie said returning the smile. He paid for it and then bid them goodbye.

As he walked out the door he heard Robin say, “I thought he hated Reese’s Pieces.”

Eddie laughed.

Max laughed. “That one’s easy. Being straight has its privileges. I know Lucas is straight, so I have that one in the bag.”

Eddie grinned. “It certainly makes it easier, that’s for sure.”

She laughed even harder.

“Now do you want to hear the rest of these or not?” Eddie growled.

Max waved her hand. “Yeah, yeah. Go on. I’m the one that asked for this.”

*

Step Two: Find Common Interests

On the surface, you couldn’t find two people more fundamentally opposed than Steve and Eddie. Rich, prep, jock, alt rock, pretty boy. Poor, metalhead, nerd, did I mention metalhead?

In the Venn diagram of life it should be two completely separate circles. But there were overlaps. Their taste in movies for a start. Steve Harrington loves horror movies.

“Hold up,” Max interrupted. “There is no way in hell that Steve can even stand horror movies. Have you met the guy?”

“I am dating him,” Eddie said with a laugh. “I would certainly hope so.”

“He really likes horror movies?” she asked incredulously.

“He thinks they’re great date movies,” Eddie said with a grin. “It’s great for cuddling.”

“Ew, gross!” Max said with a sneer.

“Don’t knock until you try it kid.”

*

They were all at Steve’s for movie night and they were having a hard time choosing a film that they could all agree on.

“We aren’t watching Gremlins!” Robin protested. “They’re too creepy.”

Jonathan threw his arms in the air. “That’s the point. They’re supposed to be creepy.”

Nancy wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like it either. I don’t think I saw more than five minutes of it when Steve took me.”

Steve laughed. “That was rather the point of taking you.”

You could almost hear the record scratch the universe made when every head in that room turned to Steve.

Steve smirked. “What? The point of taking any date to a horror film is to get cuddles when it scares them.”

“Ooh...” Jonathan said. “That makes sense. I never pegged you for a horror guy, but you were always on top of when they came out in theaters.”

“Hey,” Steve said, “I do enjoy them for their own merit. And I always pre-screen them so I know it won’t be too gory or too scary. Because giving the date nightmares is the last thing I want.”

Eddie ran his tongue over his teeth. “You like horror movies? You’ll pardon my skepticism, but like what?”

Steve hummed for a moment and then scratched his cheek. He snapped his fingers. “Damn it, I’m really bad at movie names. Just give me a minute.”

He ran up to his room and brought down about four or five VHS tapes.

“Let’s see,” he said absently. “Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street...The Dead Zone. That one is really good. Went right out and read the book after that one. And Poltergeist.”

Eddie made grabby hands for the tapes and Steve handed them over. Eddie looked them over.

“Got some pretty good taste here, Harrington,” he said after a moment. “But why aren’t they down here with the rest of the tapes?”

Steve blushed. “My mom said I had to keep them in my room so her friends didn’t think she liked that trash.”

Robin’s eyes went wide. “I don’t like horror either, but to call it trash is a bit harsh.”

Steve shrugged. “Not all horror is created equal. Like the one about the dog in the Antarctic killing people? No thanks.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide. “You’ve seen The Thing?”

“Is that what it’s called?” Eddie nodded. “Yeah. It was too gross even for me.”

Eddie licked his lips. “Did you know it was a remake from the 1951 classic, The Thing from Another Planet?”

Steve’s eyes lit up. “Really? Maybe I’ll like that one better.”

Eddie grinned. “My Uncle Wayne owns it. Why don’t you come over on your next day off, and we can watch together without these heathens.”

Steve laughed as Nancy and Robin squawked indignantly. Jonathan just shook his head.

“Sound like you’ve got a deal, Munson,” he said with a grin.

They ended up watching Pretty in Pink again, because Nancy and Robin strong-armed the boys into agreeing.

“And he still didn’t get you were flirting with him?” Max asked.

“Nope!” Eddie cackled. “But remember we are dealing with oblivious jockus. They aren’t known for picking up on subtle clues.”

Max laughed. “Fair Enough. What’s next?”

My permanent tag list (curated with those that have requested to be on said list and those that have interacted with each of my stories (reblogging and/or commenting on every part): @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666 @artiststarme

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

If I missed anyone let me know and if you want to be put on the tag list for this specific story let me know that as well. Just remember FOR MY TAG LISTS THE HARD AND FAST LIMIT IS 50. I CAN’T DO MORE THAN THAT!

[will80sbyers]

STRANGER THINGS 5 PRODUCTION MASTERPOST

part 002:

February 7 / 2024

The Stranger Things channel on ig posts pictures at the Hawkins memorial hospital : 1 / 2 / 3

February 9 / 2024

A video from the actress that plays Vickie in st5

Bts pictures of Vickie

Bts picture of Robin at the hospital inside room 110, Vickie has scenes at the hospital too

February 15 / 2024

It seems there are some scenes inside a barn at the farm (Robin, Mike and Will are there) / 2

FIRST LOOK AT WILL IN COSTUME !!!!!!!!!! and Robin my beloved + Mike is also there (Finn is taking the picture)

February 16 / 2024

BTS pics of Ross weeks 5-6 - FIRST LOOK AT NANCY!! lovers lake picture, El with the radio station outfit filming some action scene where Hopper's bracelet breaks, a home made tank for El to use with her powers? a drawing of a black shape/arrow?

February 17 / 2024

Bts pics of the vines inside Hawkins lab

Erica and Joyce are filming together

February 19 / 2024

FIRST LOOK AT HOPPER'S BEARD?

February 20 / 2024

It seems they are filming something that involves Castle Byers: 1 / 2

February 22 / 2024

New bts pictures from the radio station and the woods, with a stunt rehearsal of someone being thrown away / 2 / 3

Bts: scene with RED light where maybe Will is involved? / 2

Bts of the vines (video etc): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

February 28 / 2024

The Stranger Things channel on ig posts this thing on how to make a remote radio head RRH

Some ideas on what it could mean / 2

Steve & Jonathan are involved

March 1 / 2024

New bts pics from Ross of Weeks 7-8 - FIRST LOOK AT LUCAS AND MAX ON SET!!! It seems the date could be the 12 of november 1987 (or 2 of november 1989… it's not clear, both are a Thursday) A picture of Castle Byers in the UD etc

FIRST VIDEO OF MAX AND LUCAS ON SET BTS

March 4 / 2024

Pictures of the Wheeler's home posted by the ST channel on ig… there will be a scene at the Wheelers where they brainstorm stuff about Vecna? or have breakfast/ a meal together?…and someone is eating doritos? (Mike?): 1 / 2 / 3

March 8 / 2024

Mr. Clarke is back on set? the actor posted this

March 13 / 2024

New bts picture of them filming a scene in ep. 4 (the date of filming in the lower right angle of the picture seems to be around feb. 10-13 ) initially I thought it could be a rink o mania vision but I now think it's in Mike's basement: 1 / 2 / 3

VIDEO OF MILLIE (EL) on set making a coffee dressed as El, she has the same costume of the radio station scenes and blood on her nose, indicating an action scene

March 15 / 2024

Ross posts new pictures of weeks 9-10, FIRST LOOK AT HOPPER! + random background details

Picture of the kids in the Party hands posted by Ross 😭❤️❤️❤️

The full picture of Hopper

March 21 / 2024

New pictures from the set they seem to be shooting scenes with the military

March 22 / 2024

Ross posts the FIRST LOOK AT WILL BYERS!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SON💞 ( in one of the pictures he seems to be inside the radio station bunker because of a suitcase being there and also radio equipment around, the other picture is at Castle Byers with a new actor playing Young Will so it could be a flashback or a vision or something like that!! ) Jonathan is in that scene too

March 27 / 2024

They start filming at a mansion that's situated at the Smoke and Rise country club in Atlanta. Eleven was there and has a scene screaming so there's some action going on, Will was also seen there later on and he looks like he has make up on like he's experiencing the effect of possessions or not feeling well. Nancy was seen there dressed with something that resembles a candy stripers costume of a volunteer nurse, Steve's car was parked outside with the radio station van and there's an antenna over Steve's car... (my theory now is that in the pre vis something makes the antenna go down into the car for the pressure, like something hitting the car from outside that breaks it)

Still at the mansion we have two stand-in actors that have been seen, one of them seems to be called Derek and he could be either a new character or using a fake name (he kinda looks like Jonathan) and there's also this audition for a kid called Derek...

Pictures of the mansion and the decorations, a dragon, butterflies etc... 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

A look of the entire house, old pictures from Google street

April 2 / 2024

My speculation from the video of the wardrobe of s5, Max could be wearing this jacket at some point during the season

April 3 / 2024

There's the neighbourhood watch at Hawkins

April 4 / 2024

Pictures from the Instagram channel, Karen is having a bubble bath, more flashbacks from the rainbow room and Hawkins massacre and something is being filmed inside the Wheeler's house

April 6 / 2024

Eddie's actor says he knows if Eddie is coming back but he's not gonna say it...

April 7 / 2024

Not sure about this but it could be a new decoration around the mansion

April 9 / 2024

Some new pictures from the filming at the mansion and it seems Joyce and Hopper are there in that scene too, parked outside... There's also a video and the lights make it look like maybe the police is involved!

Millie posted a new old picture of her in character with the vines of the upside down in the background

to be continued...

part 001 / part 003

[pinkeoni]

During his emotionally charged speech in the van, Will says one particularly potent line.

"When you're different... You feel like... a mistake."

This line is highlighted visually by the camera shifting positions to outside of the van, a shot that is only used one other time to punctuate the end of the scene. This line holds extra weight and the show wants you to know it.

I already made an analysis on the word mistake and what that means for Will, but I want to look at the word different, which feels emphasized in the delivery of the line as well.

"When you're [pause for effect] different..."

It's popular headcanon among st fandom that "everyone in Hawkins is gay!" which sometimes bleeds from into their belief of real canon. Sexuality headcanon lists suddenly are seen with an air of truth to them, and a number of fanon queer ships are accompanied with evidence of their supposed endgame status.

I realize that this is kind of a... weird post to make. I'm not really making this to tell people to stop doing something, this is more of just a rattling off of some opinions I've had for awhile.

I do wanna start off with the obligatory: Do whatever the hell you want. I'm not here to stop you from doing something or tell you that you are wrong for thinking that a character is gay or for shipping something. You are allowed to ship whoever you want, think whatever you want about any character, any ship I don't like I have filtered. But I'm also allowed to not like these ships, or disagree with how others view certain characters. Just as others are allowed to have and express their opinion, I'm also allowed to have and state my opinions on the opinion website.

I think the important thing regarding Will being different is the fact that he is different. As my good friend @karenchildress once put it, if everyone were queer, it would cheapen the message the show is trying to give. Sure, the show displays a variety of ways of being different, but being gay is, among other things Will has been through re: being taken into the Upside Down, is Will's way of being different in Hawkins.

And of course Robin is gay as well, and while there is some crossover, the lived experiences of a gay man is different from that of a lesbian woman, which the show does touch on. Will's story is part of an extended AIDS metaphor, and Robin struggles to gain the attention of women in a world that seems to revolve around the attention of men.

It might be nice to have a moment between Will and Robin, although that alone won't solve Will's problem, i.e. his belief that being different makes him a mistake. Cause that's the thing: the resolution is that being different is a good thing.

If everyone character were queer, this would cheapen the message. Suddenly the resolution isn't that being different is a good thing, but that he isn't different after all.

So then, are queer stories meant to have only token characters?

I think it depends on the type of story, and what it's trying to say. Heartstopper has an eclectic queer cast, but it's also a show that embraces finding community and other people like you. Sex Education has a variety of different sexual identities, but it's also a show that aims to explore a lot of different perspectives.

And there are also queer stories where the queer character's disposition, and their struggle because of that, is a big part of the story. I believe this is what this show is trying to do— highlight Will's difference and how that pertains to his personal struggle and the resolution of that.

One argument that I hear against Will with powers is the idea that making him more different would be bad for his character, because he hates being different. But the thing is, Will is going to learn that his differences are a good thing, which may include any possible powers.

Of course Will isn't the only one with powers, and he also isn't the only gay one. El, Henry, and Kali all have powers, and Robin, Vickie, and Mike (and maybe Henry? I haven't seen TFS myself so I'm not commenting on that) are all gay. So while he's not alone, these things are still a rarity. It's not a case of a headcanon list with mostly everyone gay and some token straights.

"Characters are not straight by default."

This sentiment isn't unique to the st fandom and also didn't originate within this fandom, but it is something that I hear often. And it's... not really true, although it kind of depends on the piece of media we are talking about. It might be easy to say this about a show made in the 2020's, although this same sentiment is hard to state about, well, most shows made before the 2020s. And even then, it depends on what the show is going for.

People being not straight by default is a true statement in real life. You shouldn't assume a sexuality for anyone, gay, straight or what have you. But characters are made by people, and people have different biases on how these characters should be written. Calling the Duffers "two straight men" would go against what I just said, although I don't think that the show was written with everyone being gay in mind. Aside from the 4 (maybe 5) I listed, the other characters are not written to be queer. They just aren't.

All of the queer characters have arcs that feature their queerness. Will's queerness has been mentioned since season one. Robin's romance becomes part of her plot in season 4, and Vickie is introduced as her love interest. Romance has always been an important facet of Mike's story since season one, and his failure in a straight romance is highlighted in seasons three and four. Chekhov's painting of season 4 seems to solidify a gay Mike.

Elmax and Ronance as endgame options not only have no lead up but are also mean spirited towards Lucas and Vickie. Elmax gets together, breaking up Lumax, which has been built up since season two, and Lucas is supposed to be okay with this because????? Ronance get's together, effectively writing off a queer character that the show had introduced, and she can't even fulfill the reason she exists in the first place? Rockie is not the most well developed relationship out there, but it's the one that the show has decided to go for. Maybe Ronance could work, in an alternate universe where the show actually wrote that in.

For those that argue that both Max and Nancy are queer I simply... disagree. And you can disagree with me too, we'll both just agree to disagree. I'm not against headcanons, which are usually harmless, but also usually driven by the desires of the headcanon-er and less so the canon of the show. Which again, is fine, but it's also these headcanons which are being used to drive an argument for actual show canon. Usually the argument for any character being queer that wasn't already listed in canon rests solely on vibes, not any concrete evidence that may suggest actual attraction to the same sex.

More substantial evidence usually comes when someone applies a queer lens to a certain character, but an interpretation can be different from authorial intent. And sometimes, the viewer may be so focused on the metaphorical, that they fail to see the literal.

I do think that you could easily apply a queer lens to El's story. Her story is about, in her words, "not belonging," in society, having to remain in hiding, and deviating from feminine norms. I can easily see how you can derive a queer message from this, but all of the traits listed above are a result of her having powers and being raised in a lab, not being attracted to the same sex. Metaphor alone cannot prove that she likes girls.

Going back to Nancy, Nancy's romantic options are between Jonathan and Steve, although the show seems to make it clear that it's going with Jonathan in the end, what with Jancy holding hands at the end of season 4. Steve get's brought up in conversation between the two, alluding two some unresolved tension that's likely to be brought up in season 5, and Robin is... at the high school with Vickie. That is the end of the season establishing the arcs and romances for the final season.

"Gay people didn't exist in the 80's."

That's an argument on the opposite end of things that just isn't true, although I've also heard the counter for this argument, that gay people did in fact exist in the 80's, as evidence that everyone is gay. I'm not really here to argue whether or not gay people existed in the 80's (they did) I'm just here to argue what I think the canon of the show is presenting.

That being said, the show taking place in the 80's is still significant. It may not be a hyperrealistic depiction of the 80's, but the show does seem to understand the idea that at that time, it was very difficult for gay people come out and to start relationships. It's the reason that Robin can't just go up to Vickie and ask her out, and it's the reason that Will can't just say that the painting is from him. It's the reason why Mike hasn't quite yet left his relationship with El and accepted himself. It's the reason why Rockie has to discreetly flirt through peanut butter sandwiches. A character who hasn't had queerness built into their plot, or a relationship that has no buildup, isn't suddenly going to become canon in the last season.

I was talking about this once with a friend who used the show Only Murders in the Building as an example. In the shows second season, Selena Gomez's character is revealed to be bisexual and dates a character that Cara Delevingne plays for most of the season. The show doesn't build up to her character being bisexual, she doesn't come out as such, the other characters don't make a big deal out of it, she just is. So why can this show do something like that but Stranger Things can't?

Well, Only Murders is a show that takes place in present day, and is a light-hearted comedy (albeit with murder). A character suddenly being bisexual with no set up makes sense for the tone that the show has established and when it takes place. Stranger Things takes place in the 80's and establishes within it's first season and maintains it throughout that gay people get killed and are seen as social pariahs.

It's not that I don't understand where the desire to have more characters be queer comes from, especially characters that people already like and relate to. I don't think it's harmful to think that these characters are queer, I'm making an argument purely with regard to authorial intent and the actual outcome of the show. Again, feel free to disagree with me and continue to do whatever you want, these are just some thoughts that I have had on my mind for a while and wanted to put out.