#steve gets vecna’d so that’s fun

[helloitisiafellowgay]

another part of my Steve gets Vecna’d AU, where i provide very little context lmaoo sorry

i’ve been working on this for OVER A YEAR and still have a few scenes to finish 😭 my draft rn is almost 19k so I’ll hopefully get it out before like November at this rate :)

vague context: this is the night before The Big Fight TM and people like JUST found out that steves possessed and eddie is cleaning steve’s demobat wounds

other post

——————

“Do you—“ the drug dealer looks conflicted, debating whether to poke at a neglected bruise. “Why didn’t anyone notice?”

There’s a knot in his throat, a tightening of his larynx. “What do you mean?”

”That you were hallucinating? Having nightmares?” Before, Eddie wouldn’t meet his gaze. Now, he won’t let Steve look away, slowly regaining his certainty, his intensity. “Why was I the only one to even consider anything was wrong? You’re not that great of an actor— you aren’t, don’t look at me like that— and they’ve known you so much longer than I have.”

And isn’t that the question he’d been shoving out of his own mind since the beginning of this whole mess? That small seed of doubt, pushing forward and flourishing now that someone else had stopped to water it.

He knows, he knows— they don’t care about him as much as he cares about them. Sees it in the way the kids dismiss him as soon as they arrive at their destination, only call on him when they want something; the way he gives it every single time regardless.

Each girl in his bed, driving him like a crash-test car; the excuse to leave, the cold sheets in the morning. A freezing bathroom at a party, the echo of bullshit refracting off the cold tile.

The crack of ceramic against his skull, the fist in his sternum, the stifling ash in his lungs in a buried tunnel. Interrogation tactics, missing fingernails, drugged out of his mind; flesh monster, the loss of the one male adult he could actually depend on.

And before it all, the steel door, the silhouette, the—

No.

No, Steve knows that he is, at his core, what he has always been: unloveable.

After the reactivity, the intentional cruelty of his youth, he expects nothing other than a warning label.

Danger: do not interact. Prone to violence.

Steve is his father’s son, after all. They share the same ruthless ferocity, the same scarred knuckles.

He has spent so long convincing the world that anything can be turned into a weapon, and he started with his hands; if he squints long enough, blood pools itself into the crevices of his palms, fingernails curving into sharp edges and the remnants of whiskey bottles.

A product of his environment, no doubt; the weight of his family name, absent parents, superficial friends.

King Steve with a hollow crown, sat in his pristine castle with everything a teen could ask for except anyone to make him feel worth following. Like something other than a cheap toy, a pretty face, a chore to be put off until a more convenient time.

It’s fact of his life, something he felt no reason to doubt when people keep proving it to him, over and over and over.

He’s useful— for rides to the arcade, for a place to hangout when everywhere else has been vetoed, to wield a baseball bat studded with nails, the last line of defense, the one who can be counted on to take the hit— but not their friend. Not wanted, not valuable, and certainly not lovable.

So how can he possibly justify this unwavering loyalty, his propensity to follow them around like a stray dog waiting on table scraps? Why he keeps coming back, offering every part of himself when none of them would do the same for him?

Steve shrugs. “They all have their own shit going on, they can’t help it. I didn’t want to make things complicated.”

The drug dealer frowns, already shaking his head in disagreement. “That’s not— not good enough. They’re not too busy, they just don’t…”

Care.

They just don’t care.

Steve catches the moment that the other boy sees the bundle of scars peeking just over the hem of his boxers. Tears his own focus away from those small, circular burns; old enough to be suspicious, obvious enough that even a ten-year-old could come to the correct conclusion about their origin without much effort.

A kid with cigarette burns— not common, but definitely not rare.

A rich kid with cigarette burns? That just doesn’t happen.

“Doesn’t Vecna go after people with trauma? It’s not like Steve—”

His stomach roils, a distant nausea working its way up his esophagus. The younger teen holds his breath and waits, but Eddie doesn’t ask, just furrows his brow and grazes over the puckered skin with a single, calloused thumb.

Steve shivers, bites his lip, fights the urge to dislodge the soft touch and flee the room. He doesn’t.

Eddie goes back to taping the raw edges of his wounds closed.

A sick, twisted heat takes root in his stomach; invasive and insatiable, it chokes out his heart until it has nowhere left to go except up into his throat, and flourishes in the abandoned cavity left behind.

“Do you think when he chose me… do you think he knew?” Steve’s a conglomeration of dull apathy and the underlying static of panic; he feels like he’s back under the water, suspended in time and trying desperately not to drown. “That I wouldn’t say anything? Wouldn’t want to tell them, you, about… That… that they don’t…?”

The musician pulls out a roll of gauze, presses one end to his rib cage with more care than anyone has shown him in a long time.

“I think that you hide so much from everyone, more than anyone thinks that you do. And I think that, to someone like him, it’s easy to mistake that for shame.”

Oh.

“And what if I am?” Steve clenches his jaw, flattens his lips to disguise their infernal trembling. “Ashamed… of being known? Afraid that people will hate what they find, if I were to let people in— share those parts of myself?”

The last of the sunset dissipates from the sky, leaves the world outside of the window cast in a deep indigo.

A murmur, almost subconsciously, from his healer: “Isn’t everyone?”

He is some sort of wretched thing— must be, to warrant this raw, gnawing ache in his core. The withering, the erosion at the fringes of his being, exposing the live-wire at the heart of him.

Pressure, as the dressing is applied to his wounds. The light brush of skin against skin.

“You aren’t an inconvenience, you know.” Eddie wraps the last of the bandage around his abdomen, secures it in place. “You are allowed to ask for help. And other people want to help, if you let them.”

The babysitter hums, a non-answer, omitted confirmation. Can do little else, lest he wilt under the force of this personification of a star.

“I might not know why none of the kids said anything, but...“ Off to the side, the discarded towel is depositing water on the floor. When Eddie reaches for it, there’s a damp patch on his jeans that the babysitter stares at while his hands are taken, dabbed at with damp cotton. “Robin, Nancy, and I literally followed you into hell. You’re not taking anything from us that we wouldn’t freely give.”

The older boy’s gaze is wild, reverent. From where he is crouched in front of Steve, it must look like he’s kneeling before a monarch, a King.

What a resolute act of devotion: tending to the wounds of a martyr, washing the blood from each finger as if every millimeter of exposed skin is something worth defending.

Steve doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve such absolution; this exoneration from all of the sin coating his fingers and dripping from his teeth. He is nothing more than a child devouring overripe berries in another family’s garden, filling his vacant stomach with sweet crimson nectar that he will never be able to justify aching for.

He is no deity, no patron saint or messiah. He’s barely a king. ”I’m not worth—“

He has never been religious— or, at least definitely not after the monsters came into the picture. But he knew then, knows now— there is no heavenly father, no almighty God, that could give him back that purity, that holy golden ichor.

Whenever Steve had plead to this creator, prayed for help while pinned to the ground under the malicious intent of another— there was no response. Just the echo of his faith, his questions, being tossed back at him, neglected and unanswered.

”You’re worth everything, Steve Harrington.” Eddie’s intensity, his conviction, makes Steve’s heart lurch somewhere in his chest. “There is nothing you could ask from us that you haven’t deserved a hundred times over.”

The cloth, damp and abrasive against his palms, collects strawberry residue within its woven fibers.

His crown must be less hollow than he thought.

There is no god that can restore his virtue, slip the innocence back into his pockets, baptize him in the light of unconditional love— but Eddie… Eddie is just a man.

Just a man, who wiped each of his fingers clean; dressed his wounds with such gentle hands. Just a man, who kissed each bruise, each old scar, without the intent to hurt.

Just a man who held him, who pulled him back when his whole body was on the edge of a precipice.

Who answered his questions without judgement— without stripping him of his divinity, casting him down from the heavenly throne and into the sulphuric pits of eternal damnation.

Just this boy, who looks at him like he is worth more here, in this moment, than he ever would be nailed to a cross.

What god has ever done that for him?

[thatoneguyonetime]

i’ve decided i need the fic where steve joins the dnd campaign instead of erica during the championship game/final battle. does that one exist already? do i need to commission my partner (who i am currently dragging into the eddie munson fandom kicking and screaming) to get back into writing fic for this? do i need to start honing my currently nonexistent writing skills (with my very limited dnd knowledge)?

[glisten-inthedark]

Mmmmm loving this Vecna’d train we’ve got going lmao

I like the idea that everyone is worried about Will getting Vecna’d.. that he’s got headphones and a Walkman with him at all times and Joyce and the rest of the party think “well of course Will is a target, he’s been a target before and he’s gone through so much crap, we have to be ultra uber cautious with him”

And then, of course, Lucas is on Vecna watch because of Max and Steve’s got a close eye on Dustin because of Eddie

Cue nearly everyone forgetting about Mike and not considering him at all

Maybe Mike contributes to this by dismissing it if Nancy brings it up, like, her asking where his Walkman is, him saying he doesn’t have it with him or forgot it, her scolding him for this, and he offhandedly says something to the tune of “it’s not like I have any skeletons in my closet y’know?” or “none of my shit is as bad as what Lucas is going through right now, or Dustin. I’ll be fine.” or he says he hasn’t gotten around to making a mixtape yet, he’s been too busy with x, y, z

Nancy tells him he needs to get on that, maybe even suggests he asks Will to make him one, and he gets a bit flustered and she’s a little like 👀

And Will also expresses concern and does make him a mixtape, but maybe he doesn’t get a chance to give it to Mike before Mike gets Vecna’d, so it’s a risk to play it for Mike because what’s Mike’s favorite song? Does Will know? Does Mike even know?

Two options on that:

1. yes Will does know his favorite song, he’s the only one who does, and he scrambles to find the mixtape, runs back and puts in a Walkman and slams the headphones on Mike with no hesitation, with a confidence that shocks everyone else

2. it’s Should I Stay or Should I Go, because that’s the song Mike heard Will singing to himself in the Upside Down that confirmed he was still alive, so it’s a comforting song to him now because it reminds him that Will survived and gives him hope that everything will be okay. And that song playing for Mike while he’s getting Vecna’d would be in a way him hearing Will calling out to him. ‘Cause that’s the song Will sang. This is Will now, reaching out to him, trying to pull him out.

The 2nd one would be a super fun moment for the viewers to go OH?? Double points if Mike hears the song and whispers, “Will?”

Hi! How are you doing?

I absolutely see this happening tbh. Everyone would assume Will is the next obvious target, especially considering his connection with Vecna.

Now, you are a freaking genius with the Should I Stay, Should I Go part, can you freaking imagine? Mike's favorite song being the song that kept Will alive?! Imagine how fucking beautiful that would be?

One question for you though since this is your idea: How would Will know about the song?

Thanks for the ask and I hope you have a great day! You're more than welcome to send asks whenever you want (:

[heyitspersephone]

Thinking about stranger things again now that the strikes are over and how, narratively, it would be way, WAY cooler to have Mike get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5

It’s just something about the way Mike’s trauma is never addressed or handled in any way?? Like, he hugs his mom twice and then when he was depressed in season 2 and 4 nobody did anything (his parents scolded him for his behavior in s2 ig but that’s not support). His best friend went missing leaving from his house, he watched his body get pulled from the quarry, watched El (in his eyes) kill herself stopping the demogorgon, watched Will be possessed, saw Bob die, was in Star Court when everything went down, saw Billy die, had his best friend move away, was SHOT AT (and really too few people talk about the shooting in Cali bc omg??), buried a body, and watched the apocalypse start. And that’s just off the top of my head.

(And yes I’m aware that the other characters (especially Will) are traumatized too but I will get to my point in a second just hold on)

The plot is geared towards this idea that Will and Henry have to have some big face off (and they should, in my opinion, but I don’t think it should be in a possession, or at least not the the Vecna kind of possession, yk?) but that makes it all the better, writing wise, to have mike be the one in danger. Will was helpless and hiding in s1, I think Will should get his big strong moments in s5 where he gets to be the hero of the story.

It would just be a lot more fun to work with Mike being Vecna’d than Will, because what are we going to bring up with Will’s visions? His dad? His sexuality? The events of s1 from his perspective? It would be cool to see, for sure, but we already know most of that. Mike, on the other hand, has a number of untapped things, like jumping off the quarry, why he’s so hesitant to tell El he loves her, how someone who was smart and kind enough to take El in in s1 and come up with the spy and sauna plans in s2 and s3 could turn into the oblivious asshole that he was in s3 and s4 (he needs therapy, ik, I still love his character but I want to explore the reasons he went from his s2 characterization to his s3 one)

It would be a very interesting parallel, I think, to explore Mike’s thought processes in this way, especially with all of Mike’s repression business (bc whether you ship byler or milkvan he is repressing his feelings HARD. Like, beyond his inability to say I love you there’s the fact that he doesn’t bring up the apparent many times he called pre-s4 during the Rink O Mania fight?? That literally would’ve absolved him of guilt in that argument since he WAS reaching out to Will the whole time? Hellooooo????).

Anyways, this all brings me to my main point: Vecna targets isolation as much as he targets trauma and guilt. The whole party was traumatized by the events in s1, s2, and s3, but Max was the one targeted. Plus, Henry went for Fred, Chrissy, and Patrick (I think his name was Patrick) instead of going for the perceivably easy targets that the mcs would make (ik narratively that would’ve made it more boring but shhh), so why Max and those three specifically? They were isolated. Lucas and Erica have each other, Dustin goes to Steve and Robin, Will and El have each other and Jonathan and Joyce, Nancy probably goes to Jonathan, and who does Mike go to?

No one. And don’t say Nancy because if those two have heart to hearts then I’m the next coming of Christ. Max separated herself from the Party in the aftermath of her grief and guilt over Billy, and it feels quite obvious that Mike was doing the same (like I said, he has repression issues). So Mike is traumatized, alone, and guilty (be it Will getting taken from Mike’s house, losing El in front of him multiple times, the many deaths he has witnessed, or the internalized homophobia angle), which makes him more of a target than Will, in my opinion (or at least an easier one, especially given his tendency to put himself on the line during fights (quarry, most of s2, s3 mindflayer fight), which would set him up on the suicidal ideation path)

Furthermore, as I’ve seen a few other people point out (and I can’t find the posts but one of them had eight screenshots of the various moments), Mike is always the one getting in the way, so it would be a strategic move for Henry to target him to get him out of the picture. Mike was the one that found El and got her involved in saving Will s1, he was the one who came up with the spy plan and called out the ambush in s2, he was the one to monologue Will out of his possession s2, he was the one with the sauna plan for Billy in s3, he was the one trying to help El get the strength to fight s4 (even if the monologue sucked ass it’s the intention that counts). As much as people like to hate on Mike, he is in the leader position most of the time when the party is grouped up (barring his mental health struggles slowing that down beginning of s3 and throughout s4, but he’s still capable of it). He’s the idea man, and he’s the one whose character’s foundations were built on the desire to keep his friends safe, so it would be a very fun plot line to watch him be the one targeted in s5. Like Will said, as lovestruck and cheesy as he was, Mike is the heart of the party when he’s on his A-game, so Henry should 100% be trying to keep him in the issues he’s been struggling with.

Obviously, Will and El are the Targets with a capital T for Henry since they’re the ones that got away or whatever, but I think Mike is a weakness of Will’s (and El’s tbh but also I think they need to have separate character arcs and I don’t exactly ship milkvan) that should be exploited.

TL;DR: Mike should get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5 because it would make sense in lore and be a very cool way to resolve his character arc

[munsonfamilyband]

Random fun thoughts:

Steve with his bat, beating up monsters, while wearing a pretty skirt i love that for him

Eddie having to do the Dad Thing where kids grab their legs and just walk with them, but his kids are teens and so he takes like 3 steps before they drag him to the ground

Erica and Dustin are besties and he taught her dnd

We get lots of robin and Steve codependency but what about Nancy and Eddie??? Steve jokes that they could topple a government in a day and then has to quickly say he’s joking because they both look too excited at the idea

Because they all have codependency issues, they have weekly movie nights with everyone (except for Hop and Joyce) and it usually ends in cuddle piles; Robin is wrapped around Steve’s back like a koala, Steve is laying mostly on top of Eddie and holding hands with Nancy who is on the other side of him, Argyle Jonathan and Nancy are all spooning each other, Dustin is hugging Steve’s legs, Mike is doing the same with Nancy, Lucas is laying across both of them perpendicular and everyone else is using him as a pillow, except for Erica who wormed her way in between him and the ground

Eddie grew up eating a lot of casseroles and pasta dishes, and Steve is horrified by their appearances and even more so when he likes the taste (Eddie would cook shit like goulash and beef stroganoff because it can be made in big batches to last a long time)

Steve is an avid ABBA fan and no one can convince me otherwise

Robin is Steve’s wingman and when he mentions that he likes a boy, she instantly knows that it’s Eddie and takes it upon herself to help him. The most successful plot she ever had was getting Steve to agree on a horror movie for movie night (Steve just seems like the kind of guy who can be super brave but fucking hates horror movies), because it meant he could cuddle up to Eddie for the whole thing

Robin and Eddie find out about Barb over the summer when the kids keep pestering Steve about swimming in his pool with them. When they ask him why he won’t get in with them, Steve explains what happened to Barb and so Robin and Eddie hold his hands as he slowly get into his pool for the first time since 1983

I love the idea of Steve having dyslexia, and then after Billy and especially after the Russians, losing his hearing at least partially

(((My favorite idea for Steve has head trauma is that he gets vecna’d and doesn’t even realize until he starts seeing things because migraines and bloody noses are his norm)))

Eddie Munson is the most ADHD character I have ever seen on television and I stand by that, I also think Robin has ADHD and/or autism which is very sexy of her

[salamandergoo]

do you have any steve centric fanfic recs?

Oh BOY do I!!! This is a quick scan of my bookmarks and ao3 history, but believe me, I’ll probably be reblogging this to add more!! If I haven’t already made it completely obvious, I LOVE Steve and I love whump and hurt/comfort so so much.

If You Could Only Hold Me Tight by @mochiiminni is such a good read and I love Steve’s horror when he’s looking at his own wounds after showering. Robin crying for him and his eventual tears really pack a punch!

they cut me to ribbons and told me to drive by @mythandbullshit is a wonderful exploration of compounded trauma throughout Steve’s life and how he internalizes it until he’s not processing it, just shoving it down because “other people have it worse”. Eddie helping Steve down from a panic attack always wrenches my heart :)

exeunt ; enter stage by @stardustcoral is a “Steve gets Vecna’d” fic that made me cry at work. I adore the way he was having trouble distinguishing what was real and what was a Vecna Vision™️, which really gave some insight to how he was doing Not That Great. The addition of some solid Steve & Mike (their agenda according to the tags lol) was so wonderful because they’re such an under-explored duo, I love to see anything that deepens their dynamic.

there’s a room where the light won’t find you by @intranel ROCKS!!! I don’t want to give too much away, but Steve with powers who doesn’t remember he has powers? Chills, literal chills.

Holiday in… Handcuffs? by @hornedqueenofhell is just some Hallmark type beat fun. This is the kind of miscommunication I adore in a fic lmao.

This list barely scratches the surface of incredible fics I’ve read, but it’s a good start! A lot of these writers have other amazing works that are def worth checking out ❤️

[heavencasteel420]

A few steps that would’ve made S4 better:

Remove Eddie and have Joseph Quinn play a nearly identical character in a fun, spooky Fear Street knockoff.

Give Steve most of Eddie’s plot. He almost hooks up with sweet Chrissy, sees her Vecna’d before his eyes, goes on the run, and incurs the wrath and suspicion of the already on-edge townsfolk (who have decided that their former golden boy turned aimless video store clerk must have gotten deep into drugs and the occult). He’s started playing D&D with the kids over the past year and, although it’s just a fun activity he does out of boredom/affection for Dustin, it gets twisted into something more sinister. Most of us the teens and the kids band together to help him out and manage to keep him safe from the mob; however, he’s still arrested at the end of the season and sitting in the county jail. He’s not gonna die because I thought it was stupid when it happened to Eddie. I think we should also get to meet his parents (I vote that they’re a cheesy blowhard salesman type and an absurdly uptight WASP lady, both of whom care for him but are clueless and unhelpful).

Let Jonathan come to Hawkins for spring break and be an absolute wreck about leaving his family, especially after they stop answering the phone a few episodes in. His college dilemma should be simpler and clearer (he did get into a school he wants to go to, with or near Nancy, but he’s decided he can’t go and has made up his mind that she’ll dump him once he tells her, which he does two or three episodes in); that way we can get into the meat of their conflict without wasting time on miscommunication or trying to figure out exactly what Jonathan’s position is. They’re both more thoughtful and understanding of each other than in their S3 fight, but that doesn’t make the problems go away, and she’s still mostly rightfully pissed off at him. His presence allows more interaction among the four main teens: Nancy and Steve hash out the past (he’s no longer in love with her but he’s gratified that she cares fiercely about him as a friend), Jonathan and Steve find some common ground, Nancy and Robin make friends, and actually I think Robin and Jonathan could have some interesting interactions). Jonathan, unfortunately, gets partially Vecna’d when Vecna can no longer get to Max. El and Will (who has discovered that he has more than trace amounts of powers) try to save him from afar but aren’t fully successful, and he ends the season in a coma.

Give Joyce Jonathan’s spot on the Cali Crew. She receives no foreign communiqués re: Hopper, but she’s been having weird dreams that hint he’s alive. She knows that there’s something going on with all her kids, but they’re all avoidant teenagers who won’t tell her shit anymore and she has a lot going on with her job/household worries. So she’s blindsided by El’s arrest, the weird vibes amongst her younger kids and Mike, the revelation that her oldest has walked into his fourth consecutive annual Hawkins Hell Week, the recruitment of El back into lab shit, a shootout in her own damn house, and Will’s struggles with his sexuality/burdensome emerging psychic powers. Argyle is also there, and they scoop up Murray along the way. It also turns out that the lab is offering El the recovery of not-dead Hopper in exchange for her cooperation, so Joyce still has her reunion with him.

Have Hopper be in the custody of the lab, not the Russians. They sold him or whatever. He can have a lab-captive friend instead of a Russian friend, and we can get another angle on the lab mythology.

Let Will and El be spooky psychic pseudo-twins already.

This wouldn’t be all I’d change (most notably, Dustin needs something to do, and I would tweak Lucas/Nancy/Max’s stories), but I think this would’ve been great.

[the-teddy-bear-butch]

dare i ask about your wips??

YES OMG

I’ll just talk about the ones I have actually opened in Docs because I have so many I haven’t even started (like,,, 30 at least)

I do have. The next chapter of run away started. It is my nemesis. Nancy’s getting Vecna’d.

I have mentioned the drunk miscommunication fic before. It’s called “take me where the music ain’t too loud” and it’s based off of Wish You Were Sober by Conan Gray. The gals go to a party, get drunk, kiss, and then both freak out because they think it’s not reciprocated. I think it’s almost done, thank GOD. Run away is my nemesis. This is my ARCH ENEMY.

Obviously the road trip fic is in the works 👀 chapter 3 is at a slow start, nothing new I haven’t mentioned with this one.

“there in the garden” aka the beauty and the beast au chapter two is about halfway done. Been chatting with Marielle and I’ve worked out some REALLY fun background lore regarding Nancy’s vampirism and the iconic beauty and the beast rose.

Self indulgent country girl fic number 1 where Robin meets Nancy at a rodeo. Robin rides broncos, Nancy is a barrel racer. Steve and Robin make a bet over her can get her number first. Featuring banter and rivals to lovers, and it’s called “you’re the rock in my roll, you’re good for my soul”.

Self indulgent country girl fic number 2 where Robin and Nancy are alone at the Wheeler household studying (and both in denial of their feelings) when oh no a tornado warning happens and they’re forced to take shelter and oh no it’s chilly and they huddle together to stay warm and oh no they kinda want to kiss each other—currently untitled.

“you always said how you loved dogs”, you remember that ask you sent me forever ago when I asked people for angst prompts? Something something werewolf Robin loses control and Nancy… Well, you probably remember your own prompt. :)))

“you’re the edge of the cliff that i’m hangin’ on” is a New Year’s Eve continuation of “you could call me babe for the weekend”/the Christmas fic! This is a gift fic as well, and I’m very excited about it. It’s mostly more vomit inducing fluff, with a bit of Robin angst. This one is in the editing phase and depending how quickly I can get it beta’d, may get published tonight? 👀

I’m. Entertaining a Ghostbusters au. I haven’t actually started it. But. Thoughts being thunk.

[monsterhunting]

i am bored and this seems fun so WIP game let’s go !!

Rules: Post the names of all your works in your WIP folder. Let people send you asks based on those titles and any that especially intrigues them, and then respond to them. Lastly, tag as many people as WIPs you have.

gotg:

anyway, don’t be a stranger

stamora new girl au

starmora soulmate goose

stoncy:

everybody hates lonnie

ghost files cinematic universe pt 2

three i love you’s

didn’t know they were dating

everybody wonders what it would be like to love you

kidfic

a guide to navigating love triangles in the midst of apocalypse

steve gets vecna’d

stonathan:

exes sharing a spotify acct

steve gets drunk

tatbilb au

ghost fic

hockey au

stancy:

eras tour au

[ryan-waddell11]

IVE BEEN DYING TO TALK ABOUT THIS.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, MIKE SHOULD’VE DIED. This is in no way meant to be a dig at Finn Wolfhard, he’s an incredible talent and he gets WAY too much hate!! I just think storywise it would’ve made more sense!!

HEAR ME OUT:

we all know Will says Mike is the heart of the group, now I know everyone was making fun of that comment, but it actually makes sense and what I’m about to explain!! Mike is the ONLY character connected to every single group on a specific level.

Let’s start with the fruity four:

Steve: this is one of Steve’s children, and he is insanely close with Dustin, who we all know is Steve’s favorite. He is also the little brother of Nancy, the girl he can’t get over.

Robin: Robin is well aware of this dynamic with Steve and the kids, and by association Robin would be upset, but I do think she would be the member of the free, for that would probably be the least affected just because she doesn’t seem to have that bond with any of the kids except maybe Dustin because he is so close to Steve.

Nancy: that is her little brother, and even if she would admit it or not, we all know, Nancy would not recover from the death of her little brother. She still blames herself so much for the death of Barb and she would crumble if he died.

Eddie: although Eddie was newer this season we saw how he connected with the members in the hellfire club. He felt the need to kind of be a little protective over them and Mike was 100% a part of that, and it would’ve affected Eddie.

California Teens:

Argyle: also, a new character, the season I think he would’ve been sad if he died, but Argyle didn’t know him enough, but I think he would’ve felt horrible for the buyers more than anything.

Jonathan: he knows that Mike is Will’s best friend in the entire world and he knows what Mike did to find Will and to help Will in the first two seasons. Jonathan is not stupid and he sees the way his brother looks it Mike. Not only would it crush Jonathan to see Will so sad it would crush Jonathan to see Nancy sad, and for Jonathan to lose someone that he’s grown up with would hurt him too. Mike, is like another brother to him.

The Party:

Will: he has stated that Mike is his best friend in this group, and we can tell their dynamic is incredibly deep. Mike, in my opinion, always seem to be the one in the first two seasons, willing to rip up boards and burn down houses to try and find Will and help him even when he was possessed in the second season. Will would not be able to cope with the death of Mike and I think this could’ve led to a really interesting villain arc for him.

Lucas: not only has Lucas growing up with Mike and he knows how Mike is as a friend. He was also a member of the hellfire club, and again he’s growing up with him. That’s a childhood best friend, and it would be crushing to lose that. 

Dustin: very similar to Lucas, Dustin would be affected, probably the exact same way, because that is one of their childhood friends and it’s not easy to lose a friend that you’ve known for years.

Max: these two had difficulties, but Mike came around and they do have a decent relationship. I don’t think it’s explored as much as it easily could be, but I see the potential for them to be good friends, but she would’ve been just sad because she wanted him to accept her into the party, and when he finally did that was a good moment for her 

Eleven: this one is pretty obvious. This is her first person ever. He was the one that befriended her. He was her first love, and he means so much to her. This whole season was about her struggling because she lost her powers I would have loved to have seen her just flip a switch (similar to how she did during the Nina project when she was angry and made the guards fly away from her), and gain her powers back, because that emotion of anger and sadness triggered the resurrection of her powers. She would 100% be devastated, but she would be even more angry if he was Vecna’d.

Adults:

Hopper: Hopper, after getting back from Russia would have been heartbroken for El, that is his kid and when your kid hurts, you hurt.

Joyce: I also think Joyce would have a really hard time with it because of how close Will and Mike are. Mike helped her early on try to find Will and, like I said before tried to help him and he was possessed and he has always been like an extra sibling to the buyers kids. His death would’ve devastated her. 

Karen: this one is self-explanatory this is his mother she would absolutely be devastated. No question about it. 

By killing Mike, his death would’ve been so interconnected to every single group and person in that group that it just would’ve made for a kick ass season five redemption arc/villain arc that we could’ve gotten from several characters. It would’ve been interesting to see so many of the characters, struggle, and be so weak, because they physically don’t know what to do because they lost someone so crucial to them. Especially because that’s what Vecna feeds on and by weakening that bond with everyone, it makes them an easier target. Plus if they went with Will being a villain, it would’ve been so brilliantly executed, but because that’s not what they did, they have me groveling and making theories and trying to not sound delusional into having Eddie come back.

Absolutely no hunting down. I kinda feel like someone from the main group should have died and Eddie was the sacrificial lamb so they could live. And I’m mad about it.

Yup, I got nothing to add.

[crackedmultifandom]

oh oh oh, what if eddie gets vecna’d but he doesn’t have a favourite song. like, the party all write their favourite song on a piece of paper with their names and pass it around. so everyone has a “copy”. just in case, but eddie doesn’t have a favourite song. everyday, there’s a new “favourite” song so he doesn’t write anything down, because he can’t chose.

he just says that he will think about a song that comes close to being his favourite, vecna hasn’t been around for months (even if they’re all still on the edge waiting for him to attack) and so, eddie (and everyone else) kind of forget about it. and then, eddie starts having nightmares, his nose starts bleeding and he keeps hearing that clock. he knows. has heard from max how it starts and has seen how it ends.

he doesn’t tell anyone because finally, after a few months, they’re all smiling again. max is awake, robin has been on a few dates with nancy, the kids are having fun playing d&d again. he can’t tell them.

one saturday afternoon, everyone’s in steve’s living room, playing or watching an intense game of d&d after listening to a (very metal) performance from eddie on his guitar. eddie has fun and for a moment he forgets about vecna. but then he hears the clock. and suddenly he’s back in his childhood home, his dad standing in front of him.

outside, everyone’s yelling at eddie to wake up, panicking because eddie didn’t write down a song. dustin and steve are crying, shaking eddie. begging him to wake up. nancy sees the guitar, takes a deep breath and goes for it. every since eddie’s metal concert in the UD, she has been learning Master Of Puppets on her long forgotten guitar, tucked away in the basement. without telling anyone, she wanted to surprise them (mainly robin and eddie).

no one notices nancy at first, but then she plays the first few seconds of the songs and everyone turns silent as eddie starts levitating. eddie hears someone playing his guitar. at first he’s confused. who’s playing? but then he remembers how nancy told him that she thought his performance in the UD was really cool, and that she also plays guitar. she just didn’t do it for a long time due to being busy with school and, well monsters.

something in eddie feels warm. nancy wheeler is playing his song for him. this special song that somehow connects them. nancy wheeler’s trying to save him. just when he was about to give up she comes and rescues him. eddie fights and runs and nancy plays with tears in her eyes. she can’t lose another friend, not again.

finally, after what feels like a eternity, eddie opens his eyes and falls to the floor. everyone’s around him instantly but his eyes look for nancy. nancy who sets his guitar down slowly. nancy who has tears running down her cheeks. nancy who collapses in eddie’s lap and hugs him. “that was very metal of you wheeler” nancy giggles trough her tears and everyone’s kind of confused but no one asks. because nancy saved her (their) friend (maybe even best friend) and that’s all that matters in that moment.

[ynscrazylife]

Robin Buckley Prompts

Requested by: @gayestfeels26

Request: “Can you do #62, #59, #51, and #43 for Robin Buckley or Chrissy Cunningham please? Thanks! I love your writing btw!”

Prompts

#43: “You have no idea how much I want you right now.”

“You have no idea how much I want you right now,” Robin would say as she’s watching you stack movie tapes, helping out her and Steve at Family Video.

You turn around and pause, making a face. “I’m doing your work,” you remind her, smiling.

“And you look very cute doing it,” Robin says. She’s gotten better at flirting.

You roll your eyes, but abandon the stack. “Then I’m all yours,” you say, walking over to her. You wrap your arms around her neck and lean in to kiss her and she wraps her arms around your waist, gladly accepting the kiss.

#51: “You make me feel alive.”

“You know what, you make me feel alive,” you say as you watch Robin sing along to one of Eddie’s tapes that you two had stolen. After raiding them to find music when Nancy was getting Vecna’d, Robin had sneakily slipped a few into her pocket when he wasn’t looking.

Robin was hardly singing in the right key (she was so off that it was painful, not that Y/N had brought it up). She also wasn’t exactly on beat. But, she was smiling so widely. She was happy. She was having fun. And god, seeing her like this made Y/N feel like this was the answer to life. This perfect, blissful image of Robin. Her only wish was that she had a camera to capture it forever.

#59: “Is this okay?”

“Is this okay?” Your wedding planner (aka Nancy, who had volunteered to plan yours and Robin’s wedding for you) asks as she leads the two of you into the wedding venue she found. Hawkins isn’t known for housing beautiful places, but Nancy did good with this one.

As you and Robin follow her, your eyes widen in amazement. She leads you into a beautiful garden, adorned with bouquets of flowers and splashing colors of streamers all over the place.

“Oh, wow,” you whisper.

“This is almost as pretty as Y/N,” Robin says.

You look at her over your shoulder and kiss her.

“I can’t wait to get married to you,” you tell her.

Nancy continues her walk, giving you two a moment.

Robin stands behind you and wraps her arms around your waist. “Right back at you,” she says.

#62: “Do you have a ride home?”

“Do you have a ride home?” Robin asks. It’s the night after you all went into the Upside Down to face Vecna and you all had reunited at Max’s house. You had been sitting by yourself at the window, needing a break, when your good friend (and crush) approached you.

You turn to look at her, smiling. Robin always makes you smile. “I don’t,” you answer.

“I can take you,” Robin offers.

You start to nod, and then you glance away, grinning. “You don’t have a license,” you reminded her.

Robin lets out a dramatic sigh. “Fine, Steve will take us,” she says. She offers you her hand.

You happily accept it, walking with her to the brunette’s car where he’s waiting. You slide into the backseat, expecting Robin to take the passenger’s seat. She surprises you by sliding in next to you.

“What, no passenger’s seat?” Steve asks.

“Sorry, I favor her,” Robin quips.

“Ouch,” Steve remarks, starting the engine.

You grin, looking at Robin. She smiles back and whispers: “Can I, uh, kiss you?”

“Please,” you say, before kissing her.

Steve makes a face in the rear view mirror, but he lets you two have it. His ship has sailed.

[losergaymothman]

Steve + Eddie (mainly Steve) headcanons!!!

Eddie is the type of autistic to get really frustrated when overstimulated + to often snap at ppl. he feels guilty at about it afterwards.

Steve is the type of autistic to just get up + leave when overstimulated. He usually makes a decent enough excuse about needing to go to the bathroom or some shit and then bolts.

Steve has RSD + is v insecure about his place in the party + how his intelligence is precieved. When a party member makes an off-handed remark about him being dumb, it actually really, really affects him but he usually doesn’t say anything about it.

Eddie understands why steve asks so many questions + why he often needs clarification on simple things. Most of the party doesn’t understand this, however, and often makes fun of steve for it. Eddie is v different from the rest of the party and always answers Steve’s questions w/o mocking him. Eddie (excluding robin) is the only person that doesn’t make Steve feel like an idiot.

Steve is the type of person to have the self perception to KNOW he’s autistic and has adhd and is bisexual, but not actually know what it is. He just thinks it’s some quirky Steve-thing. “Yeah, I have a harder time being social with people and had really bad grades bc school didn’t make sense to me, but that’s because I’m stupid, isn’t it?” No, Steve, it isn’t because you’re stupid. “I thought we all thought about dating men?” No, steve, straight men don’t want to date men.

Steve’s parents never really gave enough shit about him to try to diagnose anything about him. They thought it was a waste of their time, so he never actually got any accommodations for his neurodivergencies/learning disabilities.

The collective of eddie, robin and Dustin give him actual names for his neurodivergencies + sexuality. It’s a big deal, obviously, but it wasn’t super hard for him to accept. I mean, he had already accepted it a long time ago. He just didn’t know what it was. This was the timeline: “straight men think about dudes romantically” -> “oh, they don’t? I guess I’m bisexual” -> “I’m gonna go ask out Eddie”. The time between those events were between a day or two, to a couple hours. You can decide.

Even though steve wasn’t super phased by himself being neurodivergent + queer, it took A LOT of effort to accept the fact that he was disabled. With all that head trauma? Some point in between Billy smashing his head in and the Russians, Steve ended up developing epilepsy + is hard of hearing in one ear.

Steve actually doesn’t realise he’s epileptic for a while. He knows something is wrong, bc sometimes he’s doing something and then everything turns off and then suddenly he’s back and time has passed, but he doesn’t actually know what happened. A common trope in Steve has epilepsy fics, is Steve having absent seizures where it looks very similar to someone being venca’d, and I really like that so!! It isn’t until not too long after the events of Vecna that he ends up seizing in front of one of the party members and they freak the fuck out bc “oh my fucking god, Steve’s being vecna’d! What the fuck do we do?”. Once they force him to go to the doctors, he’s diagnosed with epilepsy. The thing he struggles with most is the fact that he thinks that his epilepsy makes him weaker (as he bases his worth on how much he can provide for the party). Him being unable to drive for a while doesn’t make it any easier, as a big portion of what he does for the stranger things kids is drive them around places.

Eddie, Nancy and Jonathan start helping out with the driving, tho, and even robin starts learning how to drive (with the help of Steve). She swears up and down that it’s only for emergencies, and Steve takes her for her word. She was a nervous wreck during their lessons.

Not only was Steve hesitant to accept his disabilities, but it also took a long time for him to accept his transness. This can apply to any type of trans headcanons you have for him. Personally, I think he’d be a really cool enby/trans fem lad. Any trans masc headcanons are totally cool too!! I just think enby/trans fem works really well with his character, as a huge part of how Steve is characterized is through his privilege + him becoming a better person, so him knowing he was trans since a young age + still being cool + popular doesn’t make as much sense as it was THE EIGHTIES. If he was transfem or enby, though, he’d realize after his big chunk of character development through season 1-2 and start realizing + accepting it from season 3 onward (it’s a long process). Steve really struggles with internalised transphobia though. Like, accepting he was bi? Easy. Accepting he was trans? Nope, nu uh. Not gonna happen. He often tries to convince himself that he’s making it up (as all of us envies do). The party is really accepting and supportive tho!! They make the whole experience 10x easier and are constantly making Steve feel really seen and validated in the best ways ever, especially the younger kids. It has made Steve cry on many occasions. Many occasions. Steve has spent most of his life lonely and desperately wishing for someone to love him the way he wants them to, and so after all the shit he’s went through? All the failed relationships and desperation to feel a sliver of reciprocated unconditional love? These shit heads end up run into his life and filling all the empty cavities in his chest that he didn’t even know where empty and he just feels so warm and happy all the time. Like, sure he knew that the party appreciated his presence and that robin loved him (they were platonic soulmates with a capital P after all), it’s just that he kind of thought that after a bit—if he revealed too much of him and what makes steve, steve—they maybe kinda not wanna be around him anymore. I mean, it’s happened before so it wasn’t so presumptuous of him to think that the pattern would repeat itself, okay? But then it didn’t , and steve was vulnerable in front of the party—his family—in a way he’d never been before because he didn’t think he was allowed to be and then he came out as trans!! And they were so fucking supportive of him!! They hugged him and they thought it was cool and they immediately asked him questions about what would make him the most comfortable and he just!! Fucking!! Holy shit!! He’s been waiting his whole entire 20ish years of life to find people who would genuinely like him for him and who wouldn’t get mad if he wasn’t able to sit still all the time or if he would look into peoples eyes too much or if he had to get them to talk predominantly on one side of him or!! If he actually wasn’t totally, completely a boy!! And he just!! They love him. They love him. And it’s in a way that his parents or his old friends never have and never will bc fuck them! His friends love him and they don’t care that he’s trans. Of fucking course he is going to cry.

Though lots of people think that hopper would be Steve’s step-in father, I personally think that the two are more of a kinda awkward, we-know-eachother-because-of-the-upside-down, type relationship. They don’t really talk that often, but they do have this mutual respect for each other + defend each other when the time calls. Wayne Munson on the other? He’s so entirely not like Steve’s father but so like Steve’s father that Steve has this urge to act likes Steve’s actual father would expects him to act, but towards Wayne. For example, Wayne is someone who commands respect. Not in the way Steve’s father commands respect by often using harsh words and demeaning comments, but rather with a mutual agreement of “if u treat me nice, I treat u nice”. Steve can tell that Wayne and his fathers demeanours are different. He knows. He’s not as stupid as others think he is. It’s just that Wayne and his father are so similar, (plus, Wayne honestly kind of scares Steve a bit) that sometimes when Steve is talking to him, it’s second nature for Steve to automatically straighten his posture, confirm that he is making the right amount of eye contact that wouldn’t get him reprimanded and start to slip “sir”‘s and “mr”‘s into sentences. Wayne notices this (of course) and tries his best to make Steve as most comfortable with him and in is home as possible. He raised Eddie, for god’s sake, who also came from a bad home and is as autistic as can be. He is quite good at showing Steve that he can trust him.

[ronancediaries]

I need more of robin getting embarrassed and nervous and talking a lot in front of nancy. I need nancy to wonder why she’s so interested on the inner workings of robin’s brain. I need them to go on more side adventures together and wonder why they’re having so much fun. I need it to be robin’s mission to get steve and nancy back together, only to realize that she actually has a crush on nancy. I want nancy to be partly vecna’d and for robin to save her using the tapes she looked at in nancy’s room that she “randomly” memorized. I need ronance so badly

[stitched-mouth]

I’m creating a Stranger Things OC that you can rp or interact with on this blog! Ask her anything!

Full name: Marceline “Marcy” Patel

Age: 15.

DOB: 1st February 1971.

Physical Description

Marcy’s biological parents are Indian and English. So she has quite dark skin and hazel eyes.

She likes to wear Henna on her hands to keep show of her unexplored Indian roots (she doesn’t remember either of her parents).

Her hair is straight black and shoulder length, and she has curtain like bangs.

Marcy dresses like a typical teenagers from the 80s. Colourful makeup and outfits, long socks with trainers, lots of hot pink etc…

I imagine cartoon/comic Ms Marvel when picturing her.

Background

Marcy spent most of her life in the foster care system until she was adopted by Argly’s parents in 1983.

After being adopted she moved from Massachusetts to California to live with her new family when she was 12.

Personality

Marcy is quite quiet but she’s not shy at all. She can be loud when she needs to be. And she had no problem calling out something wrong, or when Angela is bullying El.

She has a lot of emotional scars from being in the foster care system so long. She suffers from abandonment issues and anxiety attacks.

Marcy has a front of confidence and no fucks given attitude. But deep down, she cares a lot and can be quite emotional.

Traits: Sassy, Quiet and Loyal.

Friendship/ Relationships

Marcy and Arglye: They were close immediately. They get along very well and do refer to each other as brother and sister.

Marcy and El: Marcy immediately found herself drawn to El and Will when they first joined her class. El was open and they became friends quickly.

El has told Marcy minor things about the situation in Hawkins but has never gone into detail. Marcy knows that they share a similar childhood history (El grew up in the lab and Marcy grew up in the system).

Marcy knows a lot about Hopper and Mike from El; she thinks Hopper was amazing and a real hero and although she has not met Mike she is very excited to meet him in the spring break.

Marcy and Will: They aren’t quite friends yet. Marcy has tried and is still trying very hard to start a friendship with Will but she has not been successful yet. Will is naturally very distant from Marcy as he doesn’t make friends easily.

Will likes Marcy and is very happy that El has made a friend, but he’s just a bit introverted which is why the two having clicked yet.

Marcy and Angela: Since Marcy moved to California, she’s had a love hate relationship with Angela. Marcy and Angela are enemies by default due to Angela’s extreme bullying, but the two are still very drawn to and attracted to each other.

They have a enemies to lover’s troupe.

Fun Facts About Marcy

- Her favourite colour is green.

- She has Indian and English roots.

- She often smokes weed with her brother.

- If she was in Hawkins, Eddie and Steve would definitely adopt her.

- She loves D&D.

- If she ever gets Vecna’d, her favourite song is ‘I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight’.

- She is the biggest Arglye and Eden shipper ever.

- She is a bisexual female and her pronouns are she/her.

[roanofarcc]

Yes I also need that! A Steve who is guilty would be amazing especially since he did say ‘yes’ to the whole plan. While you can’t really fault him as they couldn’t come up with anything better and the people who they were trying to desperately get in touch with, just wouldn’t answer them. So like maybe the only thing they could have done was wait but at the same time: they have no idea how long they would have to wait and if vecna would get tired and just pick another victim. Or if he would get more powerful during that time frame. I also really want an emotional talk with Steve and Dustin. And even Steve and Lucas. They just seem like they should all have an emotional talk after they were the ones who were with max and would feel guilty the most. Also Erica and Steve should have one on one time. Like I know they want to go back to season 1 dynamics but at the same time these dynamics make sense in exploring them as Lucas, Dustin, Steve, and Erica along with El (but the others don’t know that yet sooo) were the ones to witness a lot of what vecna did to max. Like I know the others helped and knew max was in danger but they were the ones to see it up close. Lucas, Steve, and Dustin witnessed the first time she was truly vecna’d. Then Lucas, Erica, and El saw the last time she was vecna’d when she died for a whole minute. And Lucas had to hold Max’s body while Erica tried to get to her brother and saw max lying dead in his arms. Which like I’m genuinely curious on when they filled Erica in on what was happening to max. Cuz she knew about the whole ud and vecna but like I don’t remember them actually telling her that max almost died and was the most vulnerable of the group.

Literally the whole ‘can you read,’ and ‘can you host?’ is the most iconic one! I also love them just singing the chicken noodle soup song! Gaten’s so funny he’s just like ‘damn we’re not an any key,’. I also love how they just do the most random stuff ever on set to try and annoy each other but in a loving best friend way. They always seem like the best of friends! And like whenever they have the fun interviews I’m just like ‘I want to be besties with you guys.’ They just seem so sweet!

Also putting this in one lol. And omg I hope you’re able to get out of your hometown cuz like you don’t seem happy but uhh correct me if I’m wrong cuz I don’t wanna assume soo. And I don’t think you’re projecting that much about it. These characters have legit got bullied so many times and almost died from their bullies. In season 1 mike legit was forced to jump off of a cliff cuz of their bullies. And in season 2 Lucas especially was at risk of getting killed cuz of billy. Also the other racism that he had to go through. And Steve legit almost got murdered also. So like I def feel like they would have this hatred toward their hometown and cuz no one actually does anything about it. Like they couldn’t exactly arrest Troy and that other kid cuz they could make a whole big scene about the breaking of the arm which they did. And Billy’s situation was complicated cuz he could tell people that max had a nailed bat and could actually get all of them arrested/isolated even more. Also like I wonder how it affected them seeing/interacting with their hometown. Like Dustin says that no one was nice to them coming to high school and I just want to know if it ever crossed their minds about beating them up and winning cuz they’ve fought more dangerous shit before. Like how Nancy could just use her gun to scare the bullies and how Lucas could use his wrist rocket aim to scare the living crap out of everyone. And them taking the nailed bat and just doing what max did to billy. Like they have the monsters of the ud, the government, and their peers who bully them breathing down their necks at all times. And I wanna know if it ever crossed their minds to scream the damn fucking truth about everything cuz of how pissed they are that they have to go through the pain time and time again. And they just want an ounce of friendship from anyone but end up getting treated even worse. Also I wish it affected their friendship with the hellfire club and Eddie. Like idk there was so much more to be explored there. Did they ever get jealous that the hellfire people didn’t have to go through that level of trauma? Did they resent the others for having such a deep connection to dnd when they have a very complicated past with it? Did they ever resent the hellfire club for seeing signs that they could be traumatized but never actually asking or taking the time to wonder what happened? Do they ever feel immediate guilt after that cuz they want to tell but can’t? Also like the whole thing is way more complicated when you’re faced with the fact that the gov will come after them for telling anyone or more people will just be even more traumatized/dead or that people would legit send them to pennhurst/a ward for even trying to speak about the truth. Anyways I think about this very much as you can tell lol cuz I wish it would be explored more

ugh I need steve and lucas interactions. they both have so much heart and both clearly care a hell of a lot about max. let them have meaningful, emotional interactions!! same with dustin. I obviously want steve and dustin to go back to season 2 era because I really love them in that season specifically. but I also really want dustin and lucas to bond a lot through their all of the bullshit they’ve been through, since they’ve been through it since the start together. overall I want everyone to just feel their feelings lol

yeah I think that they definitely have a really complicated relationship with hawkins. the hatred of their hometown and it holding everyone they love inside of it so they want to protect it and all that shit. it’s pretty clear that they feel alienated but I think they could have really dig deeper into that, especially with the kids and how that transition to high school made it even harder. like I said we get to see some of that, but I expected more clear not bullying per day but like their peers have to view them all oddly in some way or another. like max with billy and starcourt, them all being involved in the mall “fire” , even all the way back to wills disappearance. like people in a small town don’t forget anything and they like to talk and gossip. it doesn’t make a lot of sense for some gossip to get blown out of proportion, you know?