#to know he isn't going to lose mike or anyone else because of something he can't even bring himself to say out loud yet

[steddieas-shegoes]

Request: Steve being a hidden nerd in certain ways (ei: sports, camping, outdoor stuff like camping & vegetation/botony, bugs, animals & shit) the kids losing their collective mind as Steve tells them about it. Maybe on a camping trip or something???? I especially want Hop to be impressed.

This is maybe my first request that didn't have some kind of romantic relationship Steddie. They do have a little flirty moment, but beyond that, I liked the idea of just everyone loving Steve and being so intrigued by his knowledge of all of this random nature stuff. Also, no research was done here. Like, zero. I don't know what is true and what isn't so assume none of it is. This is fiction based on fiction and we're here for a good time. I've never been to Yosemite, but it is on the list for me and Liam to go! - Mickala ❤️

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

No one expected Steve to actually want to go camping. Sure, he wanted an RV, wanted to go to National Parks and see mountains and lakes and rivers, but they assumed he’d just want to stay in the RV.

They hadn’t expected him to bring tents.

They hadn’t expected him to suggest sleeping in the tents.

“But…we have an RV,” Mike said, suddenly no longer interested in their trip to Yosemite.

“To travel in. But we won’t all comfortably sleep in it. It’s made for five people at most.”

And that was that. The only people sleeping in the RV were Hopper and Joyce and Max and El, and everyone else was sleeping in tents.

The entire drive there was filled with arguments over music, arguing over who got to sit where, and Steve’s “fun facts” about the land they would be staying on.

He had apparently done quite a bit of research, or he had been hiding a whole wealth of knowledge from everyone.

His fun facts were actually interesting, and everyone quickly tuned in when he started telling them about how the mountains could be dated because of the type and color of the rocks, and how much of the sequoias had been destroyed over the last couple of decades and what they were doing to preserve what was left.

When they arrived, everyone stared in wonder at the meadow in front of them, the mountains as the backdrop to a beautiful sunset.

It would still be light for close to two hours, so they didn’t rush to set up the tents. They went on a short walk along the road they took to the campsite, Steve pointing out different types of plants and birds as they went.

Everyone was in awe of his information, but no one was as surprised as Hopper.

“Where did you learn all this?” he asked on the way back to the campsite as the kids raced each other ahead.

“I went to camp once when I was seven and then I was obsessed with nature. My parents wouldn’t let me go back to camp, but they let me get books and movies about plants and animals. In high school, I took geology and almost had a perfect grade. I just like this stuff,” Steve shrugged.

“So you only went to camp once? Is this your way of going to camp?” Hopper asked casually.

He didn’t usually ask questions that didn’t tell him something he absolutely needed to know.

“I guess. And to spend time with everyone. I like when we can all be together without hell surrounding us, ya know?” Steve admitted.

Hopper’s hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed in silent agreement.

Putting the tents up had been relatively easy, especially when Steve managed to show them a trick he taught himself when he was young and wanted to set up a tent in his backyard but never had anyone there to help him.

No one commented on how sad it was, but Steve realized it after he said it.

As everyone got their sleeping bags and lamps set up in their tents, Steve found a large rock along the edge of the creek in the meadow and sat on it, watching as the sun finally sank behind the mountains.

“Hey,” a voice startled Steve.

He relaxed when he turned to see that it was Eddie.

“Hey.”

“Mind if I sit with you for a minute? Kids are being a bit too much right now.”

“Go ahead,” Steve gestured to the spot next to him. “Not exactly a comfy seat, but the view can’t be beat.”

“Oh, so you’re rhyming now?” Eddie teased as he nudged Steve’s shoulder.

“Not on purpose,” Steve laughed. “It’s pretty great out here, though.”

“Yeah it is. You did good, Stevie.”

Steve looked over to see Eddie already smiling fondly at him.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And, for what it’s worth, I think it’s pretty fucking cool that you love nature so much. Nature isn’t really a good friend of mine, but it’s pretty nice to hear about it from you.”

“I’ll make an explorer out of you yet, Eds.”

Eddie looked at him with a look he hadn’t seen on anyone before, at least not towards him.

“Maybe you will, Stevie.”

Eddie only sat there for another minute before excusing himself to check that none of the kids touched his brand new acoustic guitar.

Steve sat there until it was completely dark around him, watching the land in front of him shift ever so slightly as the breeze picked up and the cicadas started their nightly song.

Robin sat down next to him, rested her head against his shoulder and sat with him in silence for a few minutes.

“It’s good to be out here. I don’t think Max ever expected to see mountains like this. She keeps asking when she can climb them,” Robin whispered.

“She does remember her legs aren’t at 100% yet still, right?” Steve asked.

“I think she’s willing to give it a go anyway. What’s the point of being here and surviving everything if you can’t even try?”

Steve nodded.

“Wanna come tell us more about the trail we’re taking tomorrow?”

“You guys wanna hear about it now?”

“Yeah. We like that you’re passionate about it.”

Steve felt his cheeks heat up at the words.

“Okay then. If you guys don’t mind. There’s supposed to be a specific type of rabbit who burrows along this specific trail during the summer and they can grow to be nearly two feet long.”

“That sounds terrifying. Come tell everyone about it,” Robin said as she got up and offered him a hand.

He took it and made his way back to the group.

Everyone listened to him talk about their plan for tomorrow, not interrupting when he got sidetracking talking about the type of trees they would see and what kind of flowers tended to bloom during this particular time of year.

When Steve and Eddie slipped into their tent an hour or so later, they could have stayed in their respective sleeping bags.

But Steve was still too eager to talk about things, so Eddie sidled up next to him in his sleeping bag and held his hand while he talked for another hour about the waterfall they’d be seeing and the type of fish that would most likely be in the river.

[blue-blue-blooms]

When Love Isn't Enough

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Part 1

1.6k words

Summary: Steve can feel you pulling away. You haven't been yourself in a while, becoming more and more withdrawn. It doesn't help that there's an evil wizard on the loose and you meet the checklist for the perfect prey.

Warnings: Some angst. Talks of depression, loneliness, and suicidal ideation.

"Y/N hasn't been herself lately. And, I don't know, she's been pulling away recently. Not physically. More, like, she's there but she isn't. She's in the room with me and she's pretending to listen, but I can tell she's thinking about something else. And it isn't like she's bored or, like, daydreaming, she just seems...distant. She keeps saying she's fine, but I know that she's not. I mean, she thinks I haven't noticed, but she doesn't eat much anymore. She barely sleeps and she claims it's because of school, or work, or whatever excuse she has...Robin, are you listening to me?" Steve rambles, one hand on the steering wheel and the other running through his hair in frustration, as he drives Robin to the pep rally. 

"Yes, yes, I'm listening!" Robin exclaims, desperately trying to keep her hand steady as she applies her mascara. 

"Really? What'd I just say then?" Steve asks.

"Something about how obsessed you are with Y/N and the smell of her hair," Robin guesses, immediately backtracking as she sees the look on Steve's face, "I'm sorry! But there's always so much going on in your love life. I can't fully grasp the labyrinthine complexity that is your and Y/N's relationship!"

"It's not that complex, I'm worried about her!" Steve says, "Like just today, she calls me and says not to drive her and Dustin to school because they're biking. She doesn't even own a bike!"

Robin stops applying her makeup for a second and looks over. Realizing the severity of Steve's emotions, she lets out a little sigh and gives him a gentle nudge with her hand. 

"I'm worried about her, too" She confesses, "I don't think she's mentioned this to anyone so please don't bring it up with her, but her grades have been slipping. A lot."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I've seen her at the counsellor’s office" Robin admits.

"Ms. Kelley?"

Robin nods. 

"Well...Why didn't she say anything to me?" Steve asks, his face falling as he tries to come up with reasons as to why you aren't opening up. 

"I...I don't know. She hasn't been speaking to me, either. We sit together during lunch, but she barely talks to me. I just talk at her, and she just sits in silence," Robin replies, "Have you tried bringing this up with her?"

Steve pauses for a bit then says, "No...I didn't wanna push her. It just feels like...like she's teetering on the edge these days, and if I say the wrong thing, she'll run."

♡♡♡

Most days start like this: you wake up gasping for breath, one hand on your chest and the other stifling your sobs. Another nightmare. Sometimes it's about the Russians, sometimes it's about finding a Demogorgon eating your cat, sometimes it's about Billy and the Mind Flayer, sometimes it's about losing Hopper, but every time it hurts just as bad. You wish you hadn't gone to Mike Wheeler's that day to check up on Dustin. You wish you hadn't found out about Eleven or the lab or the Upside Down. But everything in your life is so deeply intertwined that you would have found out one way or another. It's beyond you how everyone else in Hawkins has remained so oblivious. 

Even though you wish you could rewind and take back every moment that led you to where you are now, you know in your heart that you wouldn't. If it wasn't for all the shit you had to go through, you wouldn't have the people you have now. You wouldn't have ever befriended Nancy Wheeler. You would've never met Robin Buckley. You and Dustin would never have grown as close as you are now. You wouldn't have the golden-dusted, happy memories that you made last summer with Max and El. You never would've learned how to play DnD with Will. And you never would have fallen in love. 

You never saw Steve coming. Well, you did see him coming that day when you and Dustin were at the Wheelers looking for everyone. He had roses in his hands, and he was mumbling to himself. For a second, you thought he'd caved into the insanity of what he'd gone through and lost his mind. 

"Are you talking to yourself?" you'd asked loudly, making him quickly turn around, "Do you need help?"

"What? No! I was just-" he'd stuttered, "What're you two doing here? Actually, who are you?" The last question was directed at you. 

"Who am I? The bitch that sat behind you in English for two years. I've been lending you pencils for months. Are you serious-" you'd snapped at him, a little offended at him for not recognizing you. 

"We don't have time for this!" Dustin yelled, interrupting you, as he took your hand and dragged you to Steve's car. 

You always laugh a little when you remember that particular memory. It wasn't the first time you two had met (maybe for Steve) but it was the first time you'd both become aware of each other. And it was like something had clicked into place because now that you both knew each other, you couldn't drift away. Suddenly Steve was everywhere. The summer after El's bitchin new makeover and the whole debacle that was closing the gate to the Upside Down, you and Steve spent every day together. He'd started working at Starcourt and you worked at the Kiosk across from him, which meant you saw each othera lot. Soon, those days of eating free ice cream in the back turned into shy glances, nervous laughter, and stolen kisses. You were his and he was yours. It was almost perfect. Almost. 

Because even with all this love, joy, and friendship, you can't forget that you're rotten to your core. That there is something deeply wrong with you, something gory and disgusting that's been eating you alive. You don't know how to tell Steve that he doesn't know. If he knew you, he'd leave you. You're so broken inside that it's almost comical. Every day starts and ends with a nightmare. Then the headaches. Sometimes the nosebleeds. Always the loud voices in your head reaffirming the beliefs you have of yourself. You're not good enough. Never have been. You're a fraud. Always have been. You don't know what's worse, when you can't breathe or when there's too much oxygen. 

You call Steve and tell him you don't need a ride. Then you make Dustin bike to school, and you wait for your mother to leave for work before climbing back into bed. These days, it was getting harder and harder to do the mundane, everyday tasks. You couldn't get out of bed. You couldn't take a shower. Everything required willpower that you just didn't have.

God, I'm so pathetic. 

You've nearly fallen back asleep when you hear a knock on your door. You ignore it, hoping whoever it is goes away. The knocking continues, growing louder and louder. You let out a curse and hop out of your bed, begrudgingly going to the front door. You open the door and find Steve standing outside. 

"I knew it!" He exclaims, "Why aren't you in school?"

You don't have the energy for this. You just want him to leave. 

"I'm sick," you lie, adding a half-assed cough, "You should be at work."

"If you were sick then why didn't you just say that when you called this morning?" Steve enquired, folding his arms across his chest, and raising an eyebrow. 

"I got sick after" you shrug, "How'd you know I wasn't in school."

"Dustin, he called about some DnD shit and mentioned you weren't in when I asked why you couldn't play," Steve explains, his eyes scanning your face, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," you say.

"No, you're not" Steve replies, coming in through the door and making his way into your room. You silently follow and fall back into bed. 

"Baby, what's going on?" Steve asks softly, getting into bed behind you and laying down.

"Just a headache," you mumble, "I'm fine."

You feel him padding his fingers through your hair and you find yourself lulling back to sleep. But before you can, you hear him start to speak again.

"Not just today, Y/N. What's going on with you? You haven't been yourself lately."

You don't know how to answer this. How do you articulate the absolute mess that is your mind? How do you tell him that you feel like you're on the verge of going insane? How do you tell him that all you feel is agonizing despair and the only reason you're alive is because you're too much of a coward to die?

"I just...haven't been feeling well," you say, "Just haven't been doing so well."

"How can I help? Can I do anything?" Steve asks, holding you close as he brushes the hair out of your face and lays a soft, lingering kiss on your forehead.

"I don't think anyone can fix it," you reply, turning to face him.

The sun peeks through your blinds and you can just about make out his face in the dark. You lean over and softly kiss him. He's everything that you're not but you're too selfish to let go.

"I just wish you'd speak to me, tell me what's going on in your head. I just feel locked out, baby." Steve whispers.

The only response you can manage to give is a mumbled sorry. But there's so much more you'd like to say. Sorry that you're stuck with me, you deserve better. Sorry that I'm like this. Sorry that I'm this broken, this wretched. Sorry that I've fooled you into thinking I'm better than I am. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

You close your eyes and lay your head on his chest. In the darkness of your room, you pray that this moment lasts forever. But as another nightmare sinks its claws into you, you're not sure if you'll make it out alive.

[pinkeoni]

El's Superhero/Monster Dichotomy

El's monster conflict starts in season one, when she blames herself for the gate opening and for Will's disappearance.

This conflict seems to be "resolved" when she kills the actual monster, the demogorgon, making herself a hero and not a monster. This is even suggested earlier by Mike, who innocently tells El that she isn't the monster because she saved him.

Although this "resolve" is actually quite tragic. She proves herself to be a hero which does offer a conclusion to this conflict within this season, but she sacrifices everything for this.

This conflict comes back in full for El in season four. She no longer has her powers, and she's in a new environment where she's alienated and bullied. On top of everything, her boyfriend can't even say "I love you" to her. It's not a stretch to say that she feels monstrous.

This is only reaffirmed for El after her incident with Angela. Now, obviously this wasn't a good thing for her to do, but El also completely disregards all of the pain that Angela made her feel, perceiving herself as this violent monster who attacks innocent girls unprovoked. We know this is what she's thinking when she says as much to the cops.

I don’t think El wanted to kill Angela, which is why she says “I don’t know,” but she’s unsure because she’s unable to trust her own judgement. At this point she sees herself as a killing machine, so she must have wanted to kill Angela, even if that goes against her true reasoning.

Now, of course we the audience know that El isn't the monster, and everyone close to her knows this as well. But what matters isn't how others perceive her, it matters how El perceives herself.

Her argument with Mike doesn't absolve any of her feelings either, which is of no fault to either Mike nor El. El was too in her head and it wasn't something anyone could talk her out of, and she also wasn't aware of Mike's own internal conflict which was informing all of his responses. Mike can't say "I love you" to El because of his own issues, but to El, he can't say "I love you" because she is an unlovable monster.

Mike really means well when he says "You're a superhero," but it makes things much worse in El's mind. Instead, it creates an unreasonable expectation—

El believes that if she can't save the world, then she must be a monster. She doesn't allow herself to be neither— a human being.

NINA doesn't do much to alleviate El's dichotomous thinking, if anything it only encourages it. She only shifts the monster label on to someone else, that being Papa, and since she wasn't responsible for the massacre like she, and even the audience was led to initially believe, she's able to cleanly reclaim her superhero status. She was the one who defeated the perpetrator, in a moment that visually echoes the end of season one. She's the hero again!

She marches into her battle with Henry with a new sense of high confidence. And she loses.

This isn't El's fault, but she blames herself for Max's condition anyway. Will points out that Max wouldn't even be alive if not for El, but it doesn't matter for her.

To El, getting her powers back doesn't make her a superhero. And if she's not a superhero, well, then she must be the one who destroyed the world.

The resolve of El's conflict wasn't to get her powers back, she just believed that it would fix her problems. But the core conflict is still there— her black and white way of thinking.

So what does this mean moving forward?

Ironically, I think that El can actually learn something from Henry:

I don't think that El's arc in the coming season is going to be about becoming the hero again, but rather unlearning this train of thought. The world isn't made of monsters and superheroes, the world is made up of human beings who all make choices, her being one of them. She isn't responsible for the decisions of others, and it isn't her responsibility to take care of the mess that others create. She's a brave girl who decided to use her powers to try and save her friends, and her failure doesn't make her guilty for the fallout.

I wouldn't be surprised if El pushes herself to be the superhero who saves the world once again, although, the show has already revealed to us what happens when she does— it destroys her.

[prettypinkporkchop]

Can I request Paul or Quil, whichever you prefer x reader, where reader has a manic episode and just Linda disappears of the face of the earth for like HOURS and everyone is stressing because they just cannot find this bitch only for her to pull up to there house at like 2am in like a post manic daze where they're just confused and don't know what happened or how they got there

Quil Atear x Fem Reader

WARNINGS: Mentions of bpd, bipolar, mania, depression

You have been staring at the ceiling. Your brain is itching to do something. You dont want to be around anyone, but you need to do something. You check the time. 4:00 A.M. You push the blankets off of you. You walk out of your house, leaving your phone behind. You giggle to yourself and then shut the front door behind you, running off. Finding somewhere to go.

Quil:

"When you two wake up, come to my place." Sam orders me while the pack goes our separate ways after patrolling. I nod my head and run toward my house. Well, OUR house.

As I reach the door, I notice I can't feel her. There's a pit in my stomach. I open the door and walk around. "Baby, I'm home." I look in every room.

Once I reach the bedroom, I check her daily medication organizer. Every tab is full. Today is Thursday. I pull out her bottles and pour them out, counting quickly.

She hasn't taken them in two weeks. My heart sinks. Why would she lie to me about taking them? I have to keep up with these numbers because she's done this before, but she never ran off like this.

I run out of the house and call Sam.

"Hello?"

"Please, get the guys out here. Y/n." Is all I could spit out.

Your pov:

You sigh in content as you fall onto the ground of the cliff. You lay your head back over it, your hair falling down, not even close to the water underneath. You keep your body on the rock. You close your eyes and debate about jumping.

You decide not to and then stand back up. As you stand back up, you smell something. You follow the smell and see a group of young adults at a fire. "Who are you?" A blonde boy asks. You sit next to two girls. One with glasses and the other one giving you a snobby look. "Rain." You come up with a fake name. (Sorry if you're Rain. Come up with like... pinky doo?) They look at each other in confusion. "I'm Eric! That's Mike." The other guy says while pointing to the blonde guy that asked your name. "Jess." The snobby girl says. "Angela!" The other girl smiles. "Sorry to intrude! I didn't mean to. I was just walking around enjoying the scenery. It's a calm day." You try to make it seem casual. Mike raises an eyebrow. "It's... always a calm down here." Jess awkwardly chuckles, looking around at her friends.

Quils pov:

Oh my god. I fall on my knees and start crying, holding onto her jacket that lays in the damp grass. Is she gone? She can't be. I'd feel it.

Jared comes up behind me and hugs me. "It's okay. She's not gone." The other guys follow suit, holding me as I break down. "C'mon, Quil. We've got to go." Sam says with compassion. Once we all stand up, he grabs my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "We are going to find her."

Your pov:

They all start laughing at your joke as you talk about a fake scenario that never happened. "Yeah! And when the Uber driver looked up at me through the mirror, he said, 'Clean that up'." Everyone bursts into laughter.

Suddenly, you got tired of the company and wanted to leave and do something else. "Okay! Bout to bop out. Gotta head home." You stand up. They all say bye and you walk away.

The breeze hits you, and you see your fingers turning white. The cold isn't bothering you at this state of mind, but you know Quil would kill you if you ended up losing limbs. We'll, sucks that you lost your jacket somewhere.

You keep running around and suddenly see train tracks. This peaked your interest, and you laid down on the tracks. You closed your eyes and relaxed. You hear in the distance a train is coming. You can feel the vibration underneath you. You sit up and stare ahead of you, waiting for the last second to jump. You start laughing at how good you feel.

The train gets closer.

Closer.

The light is so bright it's nearly blinding you. You raise your arms up and scream as if you're on a rollar coaster. The train blows its horn, and you quickly roll off to the side. Barely 30 seconds go by, and the train blasts through. Your hair blows everywhere, and you're smiling. You sit there until the train leaves.

They always said the rails were burning hot when a train rolls through. You put your hand on the rusty, brown metal rail, and you leave your hand there. You soak in the feeling of the burn. You close your eyes, and you imagine your hand sitting in a fire without your skin melting off. You take your hand off and look. Red, bloody, skin peeling, some black spots.

Quils pov:

1 a.m. At Emily's.

We all sit in the living room. I hear Rachel yawn for the fifth time. "You can go to sleep, love. Don't worry." Paul whispers to her. She shakes her head. I keep my elbows rested on my knees, hands together, and on my chin. Emily walks in with sodas and cake. She sits down next to Sam. "You can't feel anything bad?" Embry asks, suggesting do I feel her soul has left. I shake my head no. I don't. But what if she is, and I just refuse to allow it to hit me. "Maybe we should call Renesmee. Maybe Alice could help us." Jared suggests. "Anything. God. Anything." I start crying.

Suddenly, the door bursts open. There stands my imprint. She has a smile on her face. She looks disheveled. I quickly jump up and go to her. "Where the fuck were you?!" I scream and look all over her for any sign of injury. I look at her hands and see one is burnt. "Fuck!" I yell. She's still smiling in space. "I had a good day. Did you?" She asks me without... asking me. She's not here with me. I turn back to see everyone looking at us with confused faces. "I'm taking her home. Thank you guys. Love you." I walk out while pulling her.

"I made friends!" She giggles. I stay silent.

Next morning YOUR POV:

You wake up with my hand on fire. You see it bandaged up. Your head is pounding. You sit up and see Quil sitting up with his knees up and elbows wrapped around so his hands are holding each other. He looks upset. "Baby?" You whisper. He slowly looks over at you. "Do you remember anything?" He asks. You do a little bit. You nod your head and look down. "I counted your medicines." He says. Your heart aches. You forget to take them but you tell Quil that you do. "Why would you lie to me?" He asks, his voice shaky. You felt tremendous guilt that almost had you puking. "I just keep forgetting, and I am sorry for lying." You sniffle. You look beside you and see sleeping pills and tea. That's how you knocked out.

Quil moves, grabbing your bottles and handing them to you. You stare at them. "Now." He demands. "I'll have an alarm set for every day at the same time." You respond. You open the bottles and pour the amount in your hand. "This is really embarrassing." You sigh while taking the pills. "There's nothing embarrassing about taking medication, y/n." His tone is more aggressive. "I know, I know. I meant telling the pack. They all must think I'm crazy now." You start to cry. He pulls you into his chest. He kisses the top of your head. "You're family. They will never think that. They will always have your back." He whispers to you and runs his fingertips along your arm. "I love you." He places more kisses on your head. "I love you, too."

[longtallglasses]

if in s5 Mike and Will have to hide from something in the upside down or hide in a closet, this is the energy I'd like to see, from my blair witch fic, hands over mouths to keep quiet the whole shebang.

“Well, we’ll try, won’t we? I’m not losing you again, Will.”

Will raises his head to look at him, nervous to ask, “You’re not scared of me?” his voice oh so small.

Mike shakes his head like he’s disgusted with the words coming out. “No, I could never be scared of you. Need I repeat you just carried me through the woods, in the dark, on your own. You're my hero.” Mike says adamantly.

Will sighs, he wishes he could feel the words Mike is saying. Mike doesn’t know though, he didn’t see the delight on his face when he ripped open that bunny’s guts, he doesn’t know that there’s evil dormant in his body.

“I think you should be scared of me,” he says.

Mike almost looks like he's gonna get angry, but then he takes Will's hands in his, and his eyes go impossibly soft, “I meant what I said, Will. You’re perfect. To me you’re- you’re everything… I- I love you so much.”

Will stills at his words. His hands still in Mike's. He stops shaking and looks up. Mike’s looking at him like he’s worried he said the wrong thing. But, no, he said the most absolute right thing.

He’s going to ask. He’s going to ask what he means, say more. When they hear the unmistakable crunch of footsteps.

They both lock eyes, widening in dawning fear.

“Wh-” Mike starts, but Will quickly shoves his hand over his mouth. He drags him to the ground, maybe it will make them smaller, more easily hidden. Laying facing each other, Will indicates silence. Mike nods, he brings his own hand up to cover Will’s mouth.

The feet stalk around the tent. The two of them don’t break eye contact, like they’re having a competition for it. Will wants to remind Mike it’s not real.

Mike closes his eyes for just an instant, “Mm!” Will hums through his hand. Mike pushes Will’s hand aside, “I thought you said be quiet?” he mouths the words. “Yeah, but I need to see your eyes, don’t look away.”

More crunching, and then the giggles come, and Will wants to scream. Of course they’ve come, of course they found them.

“It’s not real, remember?” Mike says.

Every sound feels torturous, like they’re taunting him, goading him, wanting him to crack, wanting him to fall apart. He knows it and it’s working.

“Hey,” Mike says, he didn’t realize he had looked away. “Don’t look away. Nothing else is real. Just look at me, nothing else is real.”

Will looks at him pleading, make it stop. Make everything go away please.

Maybe he said that out loud he doesn’t know, because then Mike is pulling his face in so close their noses are touching. Their eyes transfixed on only one possible focal point.

“Nothing else is real,” Mike repeats, “just us. Don’t look away, cus nothing else is real.”

Will nods as much as he can, “Nothing else is real.”

"Everything outside of the tent isn't real, just me and you, don't look away."

"Don't look away," Will repeats. They stare into each others eyes until everything falls away. It really is just them. He's never looked at anyone so intensely. The brown of Mike's eyes seem to grow larger and larger, he thinks it really is the only thing that's real in the world.

“We’re the only thing that’s real right now, nothing else exists.” Mike whispers right against his lips.

And something in those words unleashes a dam. A dam so painstakingly built, but full of so many holes. He watches the water rush right over them as Mike connects their lips.

[bylertruther]

hot take: you know that "lovingly tending to your love interest's wounds and bandaging them up while telling them to be more careful next time with lovey dovey eyes" trope? well. stop saying that will is the one doing the tending. he isn't.

this is will in the face of danger, blood, and stress:

meanwhile, mike ...

housed, clothed, fed, and tried to lift the spirits a girl he'd just met in the middle of the woods + immediately wanted to see lucas's head to check if he was okay after eleven threw him against the rock

spent all of season two holding will, tending to him, fetching and finding him whenever he wandered off, asking him if he was okay whenever he so much as breathed differently, watching him like a hawk, motioning him to move back when dart was moving, standing in front of will to protect him from dart, dropping to his side asap when he fell during the burn, (possibly) reaching for his ankle when will was in the hospital bed, and he immediately helped max up and asked her if she was okay when she fell

held onto el the entire time that she was injured, stayed strong even when that shit was way too McFucking NASTY as everyone else was cringing, applied pressure to her wound and did what he was told easily once someone that knew first aid told him

held will back from going after jonathan during the shootout, put his arm over will, and let will cling to him all the while despite the fact that he was defenseless and in just as much danger, too, and calmly (compared to jonathan and a certain scared hamster) continued to apply constant pressure to the agent's bullet wounds as he bled to death all over them, purposely went to stand by will's side in the hospital room after will looked back at him, and put his hand on will's shoulder to offer comfort when will told him about vecna being alive

one of mike's best, most popular and lovable traits is how attentive and caring he is. obviously they'd both tend to each other and no one is saying they would just let each other die lmao, but if anyone is more likely to throw googoo gaga major heart eyes at someone while tending to them and doing everything they can to protect, save, and help them and make sure that they're okay because they don't want to lose them... if anyone is more likely to say something like "please be more careful next time", which curiously sounds within the realm of "i feel like i lost you"...

canonically, it's mike.

put some respect on his name, please.

[fastcardotmp3]

actually you know what--

Nancy, who loses faith that anyone will be willing to listen to her messy parts, her grieving parts, her angry and sad and human parts after Steve.

Nancy who is hurt by the way Steve's coping mechanisms manifest, who has one of the two people she's allowed to talk about Barb with during that first vital year of mourning just taken away from her because he can't handle facing it head on in the way she needs to.

Nancy who has spent and continues spending her life not being heard, whether it was about Barb going missing or the fight for justice once they know she's dead or the goddamn rats in Mrs. Driscoll's basement and knows what it's like to hurt in complicated ways without having anyone around willing to understand and listen.

Nancy who gets it, when Max Mayfield's name starts showing up in Mike's stories less as the girl who can kick all of their asses at Dig Dug or the girl who brings fun to even the most boring of Indiana days and more as she stayed home again this time.

Because grief is weird and grief will swallow you whole and grief will have you blocking out all the good in your life and hiding from anything that might make you feel guilty for keeping going or, Nancy expects in Max's case, being glad they can't hurt you anymore.

There's a teenage girl hurting on the other side of town, and Nancy doesn't know her beyond a handful of peripheral meetings, but she knows her like no one else probably does.

Death is a mutual friend, after all, so when Nancy starts showing up at Forest Hills, starts bringing food when she realizes Susan isn't always on top of grocery shopping, starts sitting with Max and the dog next door as they giggle and feed it scraps through the fence, starts trading music recommendations because apparently Nancy has missed a lot of pop culture in all her preoccupation inside her head the past few years--

Well, when they start finding each other in the middle of it all, there is something that snaps, clicks, settles.

They can talk about the tangled bits and they can also not talk about it while fully understanding it is always there, that mutual friend, sitting beside them and watching them live.

They can be wailing funeral singers. They can be people.

Because for maybe the first time in both of their lives they're being heard for their hurt.

Because maybe grieving doesn't always have to be a solitary affair.

[melishade]

In the timeline of the war.How is the relationship between Eren with optimus and bumblebee.

Previous Episode of the War Timeline

Look, it's not just Optimus and Bumblebee I have to focus on. I have to focus on all the humans and Autobots.

I also discussed this a bit with @justawannabearchaeologist and @echoblaze5

So Eren's already having a weird day. Colossal Titan reappears, he gets eaten by a titan before turning into one, he has to be the one to save humanity,...and then these colorful titans that can change their appearance at will are killing the other titans in Trost. Fast forward to after the courtroom scene where Eren is now being examined by Ratchet, who's scanning him. Erwin, Levi, and Mike are already weirded out by Ratchet's tools, but Hanji's just elated. Ratchet then explains that by all accounts, Eren appears to be a normal human being. Nothing comes up that would suggest otherwise. Hanji thinks that there might be something different if Eren uses his power and asks him to do so, but Mike quickly grabs them and tells them to calm down. Erwin asks if Jack, Miko, and Raf might know anything about it, but judging by Miko's buzzing excitement, he assumes their in the dark too.

Ratchet then explains that this isn't normal by human or Cybertronian standards. Humans can't transform into titans and Cybertronians have never been known to have the ability of regeneration. Transformation is a fundamental part of Cybertronian biology, so to not be able to would be considered the outlier. Both sides are in uncharted territory as a of this moment, and Eren doesn't like that there's this much attention on him.

Now after everything is settled, Eren tries his best to avoid the Autobots, but considering his situation, it's practically impossible. Even though the Autobots are not completely trusted, and have to rely on Jack, Miko, and Raf to be mediators, they are more trusted than Eren since there's the risk of Eren turning into a titan and going berserk trying to kill and eat everyone compared to the titans with actual combat experience. But while the Survey Corps definitely approach him with caution, the Autobots...not so much. The humans, particularly Miko, were excited to get to know Eren and ask him about his powers. Every time Ratchet runs a test, he makes sure to ask Eren to tell him if it's too much so that he can some, and quickly restrains Hanji if they try to go overboard. Eren can't really understand Bumblebee, but he's usually kind enough to help him out wherever he can. Bulkhead helps encourage Eren if something does go wrong. Arcee is usually pretty reserved, but she will go out of her way to ask how his day was. She doesn't really like the fact that Eren's kind of being treated like a prisoner. He's Jack's age. That just doesn't seem right.

However, there is one issue: Eren tries to pull Jack, Miko, and Raf away from the Autobots if he thinks something is wrong or they're about to get hurt. Because he likes them. They're nice, and he doesn't want them to get hurt. First time he does it is with Raf, and he kind of just picks him up and walks away. Second time, he's pushing Jack into the castle. Third time is in titan form with Miko.

Miko: You're lucky you can turn into a Kaiju or else I'd sock you right in the nose.

And the Autobots and kids have to confront Eren about it and explain that he needs to stop. They get the mistrust, but you could very easily just spy on them like Captain Levi does. Cuts to Levi drinking tea through a window looking down at them. Like they don't eat humans and the humans are responsible. Eren apologizes for the way he's been acting. He just doesn't want anyone getting hurt, especially after what happened to his friends in Trost...and losing his home...and losing his mom. And suddenly, the Autobots are dealing with an Eren that's crying. And they all feel really bad, because he's someone with too much responsibility and too much loss for someone his age. Optimus definitely feels it because he's certain that Eren didn't ask for this power. And that it was thrusted upon him. Optimus is the one who kneels down in titan form and tells him that his emotions are valid, and that he was sorry for his loss, and that they would do everything in their power to help Eren regain his home and his freedom. Eren is quite touched, and Jack, Miko, and Raf hug him.

So a few things:

-Eren really gets along with Jack, Miko, and Raf. One of the few things that help break the ice between them is the fact that they had a sleepover essentially. Since Eren is ordered to remain in the basement to prevent a titan transformation from killing everyone, the human trio end up sneaking down there late at night and find that he's still awake. Eren wants them to go up so they don't get into trouble, but they don't want him to be alone like this. Raf still has his backpack, so he ends up sharing his last snacks with the remaining. And it's a specific item from Earth, a few granola bars. Jack and Miko lament the food they're gonna miss while they're here, but Eren just gobbles his granola bar down because it's so good. Eren asks if this food is available all the time on Earth, and the humans tell Eren stories about what Earth is like. Levi listens in because he saw the humans sneak down to the basement and he can't help but think that Earth sounds nice.

-The Autobots end up teaching Eren how to fight, and they offer him, which Eren is nervous about, but the teens encourage him and Erwin thinks it would be beneficial. First day of training he gets his ass handed to him many times. Miko gets that on video.

-Bumblebee offers to teach Eren Cybertronian Sign Language, which is quite tricky since Eren can't understand Bee and it's a different language. But the Autobots manage to help translate a few phrases over so that Eren can learn the sign behind it. Raf also helps with a few phrases in American Sign Language since he thought that learning for Bee at some point would be useful. Definitely helps with Eren communicating in titan form.

-Also, final note, nothing to do with Eren, it has to deal with Hanji. Hanji in the War Timeline will go by they/them because they are introduced to the concept through Jack, Miko, and Raf. In Attack on Prime, when I started the actual anime in 2013, Hanji was referred to as she/her and I just stuck with it for the story. And it will be that way for some time. I will ultimately make Hanji non-binary in AOP, I just have to make it flow.

[munsonsduchess]

The Prince

summary: eddie is awake but there has been no sign of prince steve since, concern increases for the prince's safety w/c: 1,70 warnings: mentions of eddie's injuries, mentions of blood, swearing, mentions of someone being held against their will (non sexual) a/n: welcome to chapter three of shadow of the moon, now also on ao3 we're getting into the nitty gritty a little bit now since i had a bit of a breakthrough where this story was concerned earlier in the week and i'm excited to get into it with you all

if you like this please reblog so others can find it and enjoy as well, sharing is caring folks!

divider by @firefly-graphics

(moodboard by me)

A few days after Eddie had woken you'd been inundated with visitors. It seemed the Prince had been trying to hold back the horde of young adults who wanted to see their friend now he was no longer in a healing slumber. 

Nancy and Robin had come along to 'supervise' but you suspected that they were really just there to stop Dustin and Mike from causing any more harm to Eddie, 

"What happened?" 

"Did you see the guy?"

"Does Steve know who it was?"

"Is he going to kick their ass?" 

Eddie didn't seem daunted at all by the barrage of questions thrown his way and answered them with ease. No he didn't see who it was, he doesn't know what Steve knows, let's be honest Steve is more likely to get his ass kicked than anyone else. 

The last statement brought laughter flowing freely from the children and even from Nancy and Robin, apparently the Prince had a reputation for losing fights. 

You hadn't seen the Prince since Eddie had woken and you suspected he was finding it hard to leave the grounds of the castle after the stunt at the river, no doubt the young men had been more than eager to tell anyone who'd listen about their chivalrous Prince since word had even reached you by now about how the Prince had 'saved' a young woman by the river but thankfully your name had been omitted, you didn't think the people of Hawkins would be so eager to praise the Prince for his actions if they knew you were involved.

Nancy seemed to catch you deep in thought and had come to sit beside you at your work table, 

"Steve told us what happened, I didn't think Jason Carver would have been the type" 

"I don't think he had the same idea as his friends" you  answered honestly, "he seemed to have a different agenda" 

Nancy hummed in thought. Perhaps she knew something and the incident at the river was only adding fuel to a fire she'd already suspected was burning,

"He's a great follower of the Royal Advisor, Henry, practically idolises him" Nancy spoke carefully, sounding her thoughts out, "Steve has never trusted Henry. There's something about him that just doesn't sit right"

"I've never known a Prince to trust someone with their father's ear" you said, "they're too concerned with what that person might be saying about them and how it would affect their right to the throne" 

"Steve isn't like that. He doesn't care about being King"

It was true you hadn't got that impression from the Prince from the interactions you'd had with him but he was still just that. A prince. You'd really rather not get embroiled in the dramas of Royalty. 

It turned out that Eddie was a terrible patient when he was awake, as you found out when you attempted to change his bandages,

"Ow! That hurts!" 

"If you'd stop flinching it wouldn't hurt!" you snapped back, you'd been trying to change his bandages for the last ten minutes and it was increasingly difficult and your temper was getting the best of you,

"I'm flinching because I was mauled and your bedside manner is terrible! What kind of healer are you anyway?" 

"I think you'll find I am not a healer, Master Edward. I peddle charms and potions but  your friends were desperate when they brought you to my doorstep so I offered my help" 

"Sure as a favour for the Prince" Eddie scoffed, "should have just brought me home"

"Oh yes I'm sure that would have worked out so well" you retorted, "you would have bled out if I had not been here to help"

"Ow!" Eddie was unable to think of a witty comeback when you'd touched the washcloth to one of the larger wounds on his side and he flinched away again,

"If you do not sit still and let me clean your wounds and rebandage them they will become infected and then you will be worse off than you are now, and I don't much feel like explaining to your friends how I let you get that way because you were a fussy child who refused to sit still!" 

Eddie merely pouted and did his best not  to wince the next time you pressed the washcloth to his wounds. Finally you were able to clean and redress Eddie's wounds and he lay back on your bed having been unable to get up and move around quite yet. 

You were still sleeping on your mound of blankets by the hearth and while it wasn't the most comfortable place you were sure the Prince would arrange for his friend to be moved to better lodgings now that he was awake, it was only a matter of time you supposed until you were left to your solitude again. 

The only thing was that neither you nor anyone else apparently had seen or heard from  the prince in more than a week, which was troubling Robin most of all,

"We're best friends, he's never not found some way to contact me" she'd  come by in a frantic state to see if there was anything you could do to try and reach the Prince, "I don't want to think about what might have happened to him" 

"I can try and divine something" you'd told her, "but there is no way to know for certain what is happening" 

You'd brought your cards to the table and had Robin hold them for a while to absorb her energies and her concern for her friend before handing them back. Placing the cards  out in front of you immediately began to show an unfavourable scenario, 

"What? What do they say?" 

"It would seem your prince is being held somewhere, i'm unsure where, he is being held under the instructions of a powerful man, guarded so he cannot leave, this powerful man is angry with the prince for something, he will not harm the prince but he is incredibly angry" 

Robin slammed her hands on the table and stood up in a flash, 

"You heard all that right?" she addressed Eddie as she spoke who you hadn't even realised was awake, "you know what that means"

"Yeah, his old man" Eddie agreed, "probably found out about Steve helping me, you know what happened last time" 

"I'm going to get Nancy" Robin announced as she stormed out of your cottage angrier than you'd ever seen her,

"Well, that's certainly the most emotional reaction to a reading I've had in a while" you sighed picking your cards back up, "I don't know why you're all so eager to involve yourself in the daily lives and drama of your Royals but I commend you for your loyalty" 

"It's not like that" Eddie bit out, "Steve's a good guy" 

"So I'm told. I'm certain it's a welcome change to have a kind ruler waiting in the wings"

"You don't get it" Eddie said, shaking his head, "Steve is different, why do you think he brought me here?" 

"Because I was the closest and I doubt any doctor could have helped you as I did" 

"Because the doctor in the castle would have just let me die!" he all but yelled, "people in town don't give a fuck about me and they'd be happy if I was gone, but not Steve. He dragged my ass here because he trusted you, he knew you'd help. Because he's a good person" 

You were stunned for a moment. You'd simply assumed the Prince endeared people to him by not being as iron fisted as his father clearly was. However the loyalty you'd seen from those who called him friend was different than anything you'd ever seen before where Royalty was concerned. 

Still, you couldn't afford to become attached to anyone in this town no matter how endearing they seemed. Your life was a solitary one, you were simply biding your time until the fine people of Hawkins decided they'd had enough of a witch living in their town. 

It was always the same. No matter where you went. You couldn't count on doing one favour to change the very nature of people. 

Including Princes. 

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added): @babyrunsforfanfic @novelnovella @pillow-titties @yappydoo @filthy-gorgeous-library @likedovesinthewnd @insertcoolnameherethanks

[kedreeva]

Hello! Sry if you got this message twice now but my internet connection is super whack and I think the first one didn't get through so here we go again: I think it's basically cannon Eddie doesn't get chicks but if he did, do you think he'd be a player/rake or would he be the type looking for love and a relationship? I think he'd still be the type true love but I'd like to hear your take on it :D

Also, in addition: Do you think Steve's little nuggets speech was romantic? Cuz I always took it as sad testament to how lonely he grew up since we know his parents are rather absent and with six lil nuggets he wouldn't be lonely again (but since I ship Jancy I'm not sure whether that's how it was intended or whether I'm biased. I'll live if Jancy doesn't stay cannon though so this is no bait or stuff, only asking for your honest take on it cuz I love your takes :D)

Your other ask DID go through but I like this one better because I will get to talk about more things.

So first of all......... honestly I think Eddie would be completely useless in a situation where he had to woo someone if the result actually mattered to him. We never see this in canon. The closest we come is his early scene with Dustin and Mike, and we only later learn that Dustin's opinion of him matters to Eddie- and even then, that opinion isn't romantic, that opinion is how cool Dustin thinks Eddie is. Completely different ballgame. His band friends? They sold him out to Jason and co basically immediately. They were just having band practice nonchalantly without him while he was literally wanted for possibly the most brutal public murder this town has ever seen. Eddie never mentions them. He certainly doesn't flee to them for safety.

The scene with Chrissy, while adorable and I love it, has no risk of personal investment for Eddie. If she rejects him or accepts him carries no risk of breaking his heart because he barely knows her. The same thing goes for anyone else he could possibly be involved with (yes, including Steve). He literally doesn't know any of them except Dustin, and Lucas once Lucas joins in and again, he's only interested in impressing them for seeming cool, not for romance. He's able to be big and flashy and lean in too close or play a fool because the outcome does not (cannot, at that point) matter.

And I choose to believe that when faced with actual potential consequences to his actions (ie he actually cares about someone and if he messes up he could lose them) that he would not be smooth at all.

Which is all to say that I think there's a chance he would peacock it up as if he could be a rake, trip and fall face first in love, and actually be a complete fool about it because love actually does matter a lot to him. He doesn't know why he cares about Dustin's opinion, but I do- because he tripped face first into adopting a child and loves him now, and this absolutely useless fool realizes what that means and one (1) second later goes and gets killed about it. He cannot be left alone with an emotion, he's just not responsible enough.

-----

As for the OTHER part. well. I should watch it again but in all honesty.... I think it was face value. People are gonna take it however they want to take it, but personally, I think it was Steve... being vulnerable, wearing his heart on his sleeve. I think he just nearly got eaten alive, they just stole a vehicle, they're kind of planning on going back into the UpsideDown to fight a very, very powerful and bad monster where they might get eaten by bats again. There's a better than good chance he doesn't survive a second encounter.

He's telling Nancy "none of this is how I imagined my life would go, I wanted something so much happier. i wanted a family." and later "I thought I might have been able to have those things with you. I wanted it to be you." I think the writers probably intended it to be romantic. I don't know that I buy it, personally, only because like... I like to think Steve knows Nancy better than to think she wants anything remotely resembling a nuclear family.

So, do I think it was romantic? I think it's supposed to be read as romantic. Do I read it as romantic? maybe sideways. I read it as a boy who thinks he's probably not gonna make it, maybe neither of them will, wanting to let a girl know he'd dreamed of being happy with her, once upon a time. It hits the same chord inside me as the saddest lines poem: "I loved her and, sometimes, she loved me too." It's a very Steve and Nancy poem.

[ur-not-reddie]

Save Me A Spark

"I don't know what to do," Will sighs as he sits on Johnathan's bed, noticing the aroma of weed, but doesn't mention it.

"What do you mean?" Jonathan sits next to Will, his full attention on his little brother.

"Mike..." is all Will can manage to say, pausing. "It's hard to say how I feel because it's just... wrong? Not right."

"It's not wrong," Jonathan says softly, knowing exactly what's on Will's mind. "How you feel isn't wrong. Feelings are never wrong. Just because some feelings are different doesn't mean they're wrong or bad." he flashes a tender smile.

"Maybe this one is wrong and bad..." Will sighs softly, defeated.

"Look at me," Jonathan rests his hand on Will's shoulder. "I know how you feel about Mike, I see it. The way you look at him, I've never seen you look at anyone that way before. Feeling happy and in love is never wrong."

Will nods his head, letting out another sigh. He's not sure what to say, he's fighting his own feelings and it's exhausting. It's incredibly lonely. Does anyone else feel like this?

The two sit there in silence; it's comfortable. He just needs to be around someone non-judgmental, clear his head a bit. But even talking didn't seem to help. Will he feel like this forever?

There's a knock on the door, Will's heart instantly sinking into his stomach. He stands to his feet, making his way to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it.

"Hey!" Will gives a welcoming smile, swinging the door open for Mike to enter.

"Hey," Mike greets him back, duffel bag in his hand with a wide grin.

"Shall we go to my room? I have something to show you." Will bounces on his heels in an exhilarated manner.

"Okay," Mike's grin never leaves his face as he leads the way to Will's room. He knows this house like his own. The two enter, Mike making himself comfortable in the chair that sits in front of Will's desk. "What is it you want to show me?"

Will rummages through his bedside drawer and pulls out a few drawings he's been working on. He unfolds them carefully and hands them to Mike, Mike's eyes glistening in awe.

"I can't believe you actually drew these," Mike half-whispers as he scans the art. Will bites his lip, cheeks starting to burn red, his stomach flipping. "I've always loved your drawings. I looked at them a lot when you were in the Upside Down. California too..."

That's it. Will can't hide it. A smile bursting onto his face. He breathes out slowly, trying to ease his exciting anxiety. Any time Mike compliments him, he feels like he can melt into the floor.

"You can keep them," Will tries to steady his rapid, racing heart.

"What? No! They're yours." Mike gives a confused expression.

"It's okay. Keep them. I kind of made them for you anyway..." Will admits sheepishly.

*

Mike sees Will's lips move, but the words are not processing through to him. He needs to do it. He has to do it. He'll never have as much courage as he has now. That's when Mike leans in and plants his lips onto Will's.

"W-what did you do that for?" Will asks, frozen and stunned with wide eyes as Mike pulls away. Did that really happen?

"Because I lost you... again..." Mike sighs. "Once in the Upside Down and the other when you left to California. I can't do it all over again. What if I lose you for good? And then I'd never get to say it..."

Will is unsure of what to say. Mike's words, his actions. It all feels like a dream. For once, for Will, reality is better than his dreams.

"Say what?" Will's cheeks are tinted dark red, he can't help it. Mike falls silent as Will waits eagerly for his response.

"That- that I like you." Mike bites his lip, shifting his eyes down to his lap, heart nearly drumming out of his chest. "Love you, actually... I realized it the first day you went missing. Losing you made me lose myself." Mike pauses. "Crazy together, right?" he gives a weak smile.

"Yeah, crazy together." Will grins back, meaning it just like the first time. "But, what about El?" Will breathessoftly.

"I like her, I do. But not in the way that I thought. I'll always care for her, she's my friend and we wouldn't be alive without her. But you, you're..."

Will knows what Mike is trying to say, but instead, he connects their lips in another tender kiss.

-

part 1

[brionysea]

looking back on the activation of my Mike Wheeler Era, it's interesting because it all started with the curse symptoms after i watched season 4 - any character showing them is Important, somehow, and mike had nosebleeds and headaches and everything so it's like, hm, okay, his trauma is important. but then, like the scene of lucas wondering about his basketball friend, or nancy wondering about the first two victims, i thought: why? why him? why's he important?

and then, of course, there's the queercoding. because i noticed byler during season 4 too. i'm oblivious to romance and chemistry most of the time because who cares, but that flirting was Blatant, especially in will's bedroom and in the van scene. so there's mike acting weird and being implicitly important, and there's byler becoming Undeniable to the point that even my aroace self who doesn't care for shipping can see it and get excited because Queer Rep, so it's like, queer mike, then? is that the Secret? is that the Reason?

and it probably is, to some extent - with all the allegories going on here - but it still didn't feel like Enough. it was an unsatisfying answer. incomplete. and mike kind of goes on the same journey in season 4 where he keeps questioning what's wrong with him, why he's been acting so different and ruining things all the time. and he asks will, because he trusts will, and will says "you're just worried about el" - the Straight Mike answer - and then will says "maybe you're just queer and in the closet and stressed out about it" - the Queer Mike answer - and both things are true, because mike does care for el, and at the same time mike is queer and in the closet and stressed out about it, but that's not the answer. they're both meant to imply that whatever's wrong with mike isn't important, that it has nothing to do with the plot, but considering how long it's been going on and his track record of The Things He Notices being Important, that seems like a massive misdirect

mike keeps talking about what's wrong with him after both of those scenes, and will finally gives a response that feels less fake and placating when it becomes clear that mike's kind of... being concerning, on the "will to live" front. calling himself useless, etc. and will says that if it seems like he's lying to mike or keeping secrets from him, it's because he's scared of losing him, which implies that whatever the Answer is, it's being kept secret - secret from mike, hidden from the audience, Not Explicitly Laid Out - because knowing it would harm mike, somehow. will thinks the best course of action is keeping the secret, because that would reduce the risk to mike's life. and queer mike is real, and it's becoming increasingly more bold the closer to the big finale the show gets so that netflix can't axe them for having gay people without getting the chance to wrap things up, but queer mike wouldn't need to be hidden from mike. it doesn't make any sense, logistically or allegorically, as The Big Secret. his own queerness wouldn't be a secret from him, no matter what it's represented as in relation to the upside down. so it's something else

and all this led me to the mike theories i like so much, which do feel satisfying, because they're narratively significant and interesting and enough of a puzzle that it's believable mike would have such a hard time figuring them out, that they would be dragged out this long and be such a big deal. because being queer isn't, not really, even within the time period and location. queer people just exist, same as anyone else, no matter how much queerphobes don't want us to, and it's been clear from the beginning that mike is of the same mind. so these elements of mike's character are the story part of queer stories, not just "plot twist! he's queer!"

[crumbleclub]

Anyway informing you that 1. Ur posts are so incredible and good and they're a treasure to see i prommy, and 2. Ur ficlet for dream theory revamp au is taking up rental space in my head. Having silly thoughts about Evan just acting completely dead after he learns the truth about henry. He doesn't play anymore. Doesn't talk. He can't even work up the energy to be Super Nice To Mike So He Doesn't Want To Die Again like he's been doing for all the time Mike has been back. Mike definitely notices, but whether he feels comfortable/capable enough of confronting Evan about it is up in the air. Oooo, or, or maybe Evan leans even *further* into the Be Super Nice To Mike So He Doesn't Want To Die thing bc he's lost Henry and Mike is the only thing Evan has left

AWWW POOR BB

From my perspective (since it's ur au lol):

Mike would be so weirded out by seeing his brother stop playing and talking, but I doubt he'd know what to say. He wouldn't guess that it was about Henry, and, since it wasn't immediately after his attempt, he wouldn't associate those things together, either. He might wonder if something else happened that he didn't know about– William being rougher with Evan since Mike was still healing physically, maybe, or some unrelated problem his anxiety could conjure up– and one thing my Michael will always be is nosy. Like, this is a situation where it's actually somewhat helpful– one should look into it if their little brother shows a clear trauma response, obviously– but he's nosy in every other situation, too.

Rather than ask what's up like a normal person, he'd probably start paying way more attention to Evan (and William, and everyone else Evan interacts with)'s behavior to figure it out. He might try to ask in very roundabout ways if he couldn't find anything elsewhere, but he'd try not to let it look like concern for Evan.

(That's not a conscious decision, or even related to his abuse of Evan or any resentment he might still hold; it's a completely unrelated conditioned response that mostly relates back to the whole incident with William using a dog as a lure and getting pissed when Mike tries to interrupt.)

The first response, Evan losing the will to be extra nice, could be percieved by Mike as either an extension of the trauma response Evan seems to be having that he can't figure out the cause of– which would drive him to investigate further– or as things starting to go back to normal, where Evan has a justified fear of his brother and they don't really talk much.

It would make him sad, though, which he wouldn't be expecting. He might have to examine either the fact that he does need some affection in his life to feel okay– which is typical– or the fact that he might, shocker, actually want to have a decent relationship with his little brother. Both of these things would be a pretty arduous process for him; he's emotionally immature, even for as young as he is, and this sort of thing isn't something he's had any guidance on. He would probably throw himself into something else whilst processing that on the back burner.

The second one– being even nicer– would be more surprising to him, because he's really just not seen that level of nice before? If Evan got too clingy, Mike wouldn't be able to hide his annoyance, and he might snap from time to time, even though he's had half a wake up call at this point about his own behavior– near death experiences make people reevaluate shit a lot, but he's not like. Magically well-adjusted– and doesn't have the energy to be all that terrible at the moment. That being said– even though Mike is really needing a mentor more for this than his little brother's kindness– this is one of the most vulnerable places he's ever been, and, if anyone were to ever successfully find a shortcut to breaking through Mike's defenses by the sheer force of being nice, this would be one of the easier times to try it.

On the bright side, Mike does not struggle with leaning on one person too much, so Evan wouldn't get stuck in a therapist role or anything. Probably the worst case scenario for his response to the second one would be having Mike start to answer any questions candidly, and receiving a bleaker view of the world in response.

[andiwriteordie]

asking abt the sad wheeler sibling thing

i am in the business of ruining everyone's (especially nic's @messrsbyler) day with sad wheeler sibling ideas so here is my pitch for a book 4 scene

(on a side note. i need to like. probably explain this more in terms of my thoughts on themes in the books but that's another ask for later lol. in my brain this series goes something like

Book 1: Water

Book 2: Earth

Book 3: Fire

Book 4: Air)

so, we're to book 4 now, and we're near the beginning of the plot that occurs in this book. henry returns to hawkins, and long and short of it, somehow, el/will/mike end up fighting him, somewhere separated enough to where the others can't help (or the others are preoccupied by spirit attacks. don't ask me the how all this happened/what the set up is yet bc i have Not One Clue lol).

el is obviously the primary one fighting henry, while will and mike are there trying to help keep spirits from her, and one way or another, el gets up getting injured and knocked unconscious by henry. so now, will, who is still trying to figure out his own connection to the spirit world and the abilities that this connection gives him, is forced to fight henry. it becomes very, very clear though that henry is far too powerful since he manages to toss will aside—though not injuring him as badly as el gets injured, just knocking him out for a few moments.

and henry turns to mike and begins attacking him, which i talk about more here. will is partially conscious but unable to get up because he's still out of it, so he's watching in horror as henry does to mike what he did to max (and what he did to will, a couple years ago). with all three of them now rendered useless or close to dead, henry leaves, to do what? no clue, i'll figure it out later or maybe nic will!

after seeing mike fall back to the ground, will manages to crawl over to him, and he quickly realizes mike isn't breathing, so he desperately starts trying to save mike. i think about this scene as a parallel of sorts to the lucas trying to save max scene, except while lucas was only able to keep max's heart beating, will is only able to help mike breathe but not restart his heart. he's crying, begging mike to hold on, and screaming for anyone to come help him.

nancy's the first to find them, and will, panicked and breathless and crying, begs her to come help—because nancy can bend lightning. she can restart mike's heart and help save him. will needs her to help him save mike. he needs nancy.

but this is nancy, and god, i hope everyone knows that i love nancy wheeler with my whole heart and also that i love gray areas. because nancy sees that el is unconscious too, sees a pool of blood around the avatar, and it's her first instinct not to go to mike but to go to el.

and nancy quickly realizes el's heart has stopped, el isn't breathing, and they're about to lose el too. they're about to lose the avatar—the only person who can beat henry.

if they lose el, it's game over. henry will take over the world long before the next avatar comes along, and he'll always be one step ahead of them. his deep connection to the spirits will help him find the next avatar long before anyone else does. they cannot lose el.

and nancy knows this.

so even though her little brother is there, pale and lifeless and only breathing because of will's airbending, nancy makes the hard call. how is it always her being forced into these situations? how is nancy always having to choose between duty/the bigger picture/what will matter most in the long run and the people she loves and cares about? and sure. nancy has never been that close to mike. they've struggled their whole lives to get along, and their firebending has always been a point of contention—the unfortunate result of their parents' expectations and inability to show either of them genuine love.

but this is still her little brother. and nancy wants to scream, because this isn't fair, but there's no doubt in her mind what she needs to do. el comes first. restart el's heart. ignore will's screaming and begging for her to help mike. block out the sight of mike's body, limp in will's arms. just focus. do what has to be done.

nancy chooses el, but really, nancy chooses the avatar. nancy chooses the world.

(but will chooses mike.

every. single. time.)

[fanfic-chaos]

Outsider POV Steddie Fics

Some of my favourite Outsider Pov fic recs because I love outside POV fics with my whole heart

you were warm when everything was cold  by @lesbianrobin (5k words)

There’s something about watching Steve and Eddie that makes his chest ache, just a little bit. Something that feels like it’s just out of reach, like if he could just jump an inch higher he could grasp it and know what it is, have a name for it, figure out what feels like it’s missing with Max. He never felt like something was missing with Max before. She was perfect. She is perfect! Like, sure, not actually perfect, because nobody’s actually perfect, but she’s perfect for him just like he hopes he’s perfect for her, and they’re perfect together.

Maybe Lucas is overcompensating.

sir stephen strider finds his suzie @lesbianrobin​ (5k words)

Dustin watches Eddie's face as everyone else giggles. He's retained his typical intimidating smirk for much of this encounter, but as Steve stumbles through his fictional seduction, Eddie's eyes soften. His smirk slowly turns to a small grin.

“Didn't Wizard Romeo and Juliet both die?” he asks, in that same low, grumbly voice he always loves to use for big scary bad guys. The effect is jarring.

“Well, yes, but… they loved each other first,” Steve says, oddly sincere. “I think love is worth the risk. Wouldn't you agree? And then, uh, I'm gonna take off my helmet and, like—” Steve tosses his hair, shaking it out dramatically and running a hand through it afterward to fix any wayward strands.

"Ew,” Mike says.

Nancy presses a hand over her mouth, but it does nothing to hide her smile. Usually, this is the point where Eddie would make them all roll initiative. Dustin has his D20 ready. But Eddie smiles. Eddie fucking smiles, and not in that maniacal way he does before siccing something horrific on them, he fucking beams, and says, "You're gonna scrape your neck on his mace doing that, just so you know."

The Joke  by Simply_Layla (12k words)

*please read TWs before reading

"Steve Harrington never says no to anyone."

When he first heard someone say it, he thought maybe it was just a weird way for people to say that Steve was too nice, which made sense to Lucas. Despite the fact he used to be a huge public facing douchebag, Steve was nice. Almost painfully so. Sure he called them shitheads sometimes and argued with them like he was their mom, but he was always there when they needed him and always saving them from the end of the world at the expense of his own physical safety. Steve Harrington was nice, and Lucas thought it was cool that other people were realizing that. But the more he heard that sentence, the more it felt like that wasn’t what anyone was implying. The more he heard it, the more it kind of made Lucas’ skin itch.

Or, the one where Lucas realizes maybe the basketball team isn't where he should be trying to fit in.

When There's Still So Many Things To Say Unsaid by BlackUnicorn (13k words)

 When they found the dead body of a cheerleader in their trailer and all of Hawkins started a manhunt for Eddie, Wayne did not have a single doubt in his heart that Eddie was innocent because, at the end of day, Eddie was a good kid, damnit. And then Eddie disappeared over spring break, and when he came back, he was changed. He tried to hide it, sure, the same wicked smile still gracing his face, the same restless energy still filling his eyes and his heart, but Wayne could see it in the quiet moments and the way he was almost never sober anymore, and he realised that his best wasn't good enough anymore and he was losing his nephew.

 And then Steve fucking Harrington knocked on the door of their new trailer.

Or: Steve and Eddie's relationship as seen through the eyes of their family.

you are going to die in your best friend’s arms. (but he won’t let you leave like that) by oaseas (23k words)

Dustin sucks in a sharp breath, claps his hands together in his lap, and says as straightforwardly as possible, “I’m going back in time.”

Steve doesn’t say anything. His mouth opens and closes like a goldfish. Then, he says, “What, like, right now?”

Dustin wakes up in Max’s trailer the day of Eddie’s death. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times? Three times is a pattern.

Or: Dustin Henderson is unstuck in time.

Plus every fic after the first one in this series: sweet leaf by      alchemystique

  Bonus: not Steddie but still Stranger things outsider POV   

You can put it all on me, you can laugh and you can bleed by  steveharringtoned   (9k words)

Phil Callahan has made a large variety of strange arrests in his time working as a cop for Hawkins, Indiana. Daylight skinny-dippers; a small group of old ladies who’d attempted to rob the corner shop with their umbrellas, a guy who’d stolen a total of eighteen gnomes from his suburban neighborhood.

But pulling over Max Mayfield driving her brother’s Camaro at the ripe age of thirteen was pretty insane. Sure, kids will be kids and kids will be crazy. Until Steve Harrington crawled out of the backseat, clutched his knees and horror-movie hurled blood all over his boots and shit got crazier.

That took it from a minor concern to oh, fuck. Callahan has to take this kid to a hospital.

[bylertruther]

random thought, but i feel like putting all of the blame on karen for the fact tht mike doesn't open up to her is a little ...................... (insert vague hand motion here bc i can't think of a fitting, not-childish eloquent word) ????

yes she's the parent and yes she does have to make the effort to create an environment where he feels welcome to share and talk to her, but karen cannot force mike to open up. mike doesn't respond well to his parents being overbearing and honestly he doesn't react well to ANYONE coming at him head-on no matter how close they are to him.

mike needs to come to people on his own terms when he's ready and collected himself. and karen knows that! she literally says that to ted when ted offers to go talk to him in s1 because they know will's death and disappearance is hard on him. and no i don't think they should've taken away his toys aka doled out a punishment when mike wasn't cooperating in s2, because that's simply Not how you handle such a situation, but they did it because they thought well if us being "soft" isn't working then maybe us putting our foot down will get through to him. it's not like they did it bc they thought to themselves "lmao fuck that guy 🖕".

and even though mike doesn't seek support through verbal means like nancy does, he does seek comfort from her through physical affection! and karen does give it to him! whenever he feels like he's lost will, he goes to her and breaks down in her arms and she drops everything to go hold him.

the point is that when mike does go to her, she's there. they all care about and love each other in that family, including ted. karen and ted are not plot-involved parents like joyce and hopper are, and we're not going to get a deep dive into any of the other families unless it's relevant to the plot. ... as we've literally already seen before?

and ted is the way he is because he's written as the kind of father that spends all day at work to provide for his family and gets home and just wants to watch tv and eat dinner and go to sleep and repeat that ad nauseam for the rest of his life bc tht's just what you do and you only have so much energy (smth smth silly little play). i'm not saying he's father of the year and no one should ever comment on his involvement with his kids, but... that's just his role to play in this story.

he's clueless abt the crazy shit that goes down in hawkins the same way that everyone else is clueless abt it but that doesn't make him a bad guy lol. there's purposeful juxtaposition of him chillin' watching the news cover everything up while joyce and hopper and the kids are out there losing their minds almost dying fighting monsters saving the world etc etc. it's supposed to be comical. he lives here and he has no idea what's really happening, unlike us and the central characters of the show.

not every family has to look or act like the byers or sinclair family to be Good. you can try your best to get someone to talk to you, but they're not going to do it if they don't want to. mike is a hothead that doesn't often share or even totally understand what he's feeling, and if he does, he rarely opens up all the way. he still keeps certain things to himself and only reveals just enough to achieve his goals. it's mainly when he's apologizing over something big that he manages to be open, and that isn't even something that happens often or outside of a situation that necessitates it.

and the whole "not knowing exactly where your kids are, but knowing they're with their friends somewhere and that they'll be home later tonight" isn't a sign of abuse or that they don't care. that's what life was like before the technology that we have now, and that level of freedom was the POINT. it's a big part of WHY the duffers chose the eighties. such a story wouldn't work with our current technology. that isn't even an experience exclusive to those that are 30+ or whatever. i'm in my twenties and i remember my childhood being like that.

like. i don't think it's as black and white of an issue as some people suggest. the wheelers haven't been perfect parents, but they're not malicious and they do love their children, even if they clearly don't always understand them. saying that karen and ted don't care about or love their children and that they're on the same level of neglect as lonnie is just... i mean. what?