#you know Will and El were changing places in Mikes life here

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 48

ao3 link| part 1 . . . part 45, part 46, part 47

Everyone forms a circle in Steve’s living room. Sitting crossed legged on the floor, waiting. Some people are missing, El wanted to stay with her dad, and Jonathan’s still avoiding Nancy at all costs. There’s a walkie in the center of the circle, open to the same channel. If El needed them, she could listen.

Steve, Robin, and Nancy are talking in the kitchen. Probably getting a little bit drunk. Coping in a way that they won’t let the rest of them. Trying to be the strong ones, when they don’t have to. Tonight’s going to be rough for all of them, they could break just once without consequence.

It’s almost time, Dustin goes to get them.

“Nance,” he hears Robin say, “he won’t come. He’s still pissed at you.”

“And me,” Steve adds.

A glass gets placed hard on the counter. “I don’t care. Before all of this, he was my friend.” He hears their steps move toward the front door and the rustle of keys. “We were there for each other when this started, we’re going to be there for each other as it ends.”

“But if he doesn’t want to talk to you,” Steve tries to reason.

“I don’t care.” There’s a slight waiver to Nancy’s voice. Dustin’s not sure he’s ever seen her cry over this. Seen any of them cry over this. “I don’t know how I can get through this without him, and I’m not going to find out.”

Dustin walks to the hall as the front door opens. Jonathan’s behind it, looking like he was in the middle of a debate with himself. He doesn’t look good. Eyes red rimmed and drooping. Clothes rumpled and looked like they were a few days old.

“Hey,” he says with a hollow voice.

“Hi,” Nancy responds.

He clears his throat. “I’m still pissed at you, but—” he trails off.

“I know.”

The clock on the wall ticks five minutes till nine. “Guys,” Dustin calls down the hall. “It’s almost time.”

Steve’s head nods, solemn. “Let’s go.”

Eddie’s there when they return to the living room, sitting on the floor. “Kids said I could join,” he says to Steve. Something unreadable in his eyes. “Is that ok?”

“Course it is,” Steve says as he sits next to Eddie. Closer than Dustin was expecting.

The circle closes and they join hands. Tangible proof that everyone is still here. Dustin is between Robin and Erica, with Steve just on the other side of Robin. Right there. Alive.

Right on cue, the fireworks start.

Dustin squeezes his eyes shut with the first boom. Sparks visualize in his mind. Red arms of flesh swinging at him. He takes the fireworks and throws it. They win, but at what cost.

Erica tightens her grip on his hand. He squeezes back to show her he’s alive.

“Steve,” Robin whispers.

“Still alive,” he responds. Voice wet.

Dustin feels her shift closer to him.

He forces his eyes open, forces the visions to stop. Those of the group who have their eyes open meet his gaze. All of them in a state of fear or grief. They are all in this together. The fireworks continue to boom.

Nancy keeps looking over to Mike to make sure he’s there. Before nodding at each of them, counting heads. Jonathan’s legs are pulled up to his chest. Will keeps flinching his one arm, ready to feel the eeriness creep at his neck. Lucas moved his arm around Erica’s shoulders, holding her close.

He looks at all of them and knows that he isn’t alone. He isn’t alone in his pain, or his wishing things could be different. As Mike and Nancy look at each other again, he knows they spend so much time wishing the other wasn’t a part of this. As Max can’t hold in her cries anymore, he knows that Lucas wishes he never told her about the upside down that day.

As Steve mutters out a quiet, “I work at Scoops,” Dustin wishes he never dragged him into this.

But the past can’t change. It’s already been written. Dustin can hope and wish and pray that things played out differently. He can blame himself for the rest of his life, but it won’t change anything. Because their paths would have always converged in the same way. Always leading them here.

The radio crackles in the center of the circle, El’s voice comes through. “Almost over.”

He knows that he’ll always probably blame himself. That he will always wish that things were different. That he’ll wish the nightmares were normal ones about his teeth falling out in class or forgetting he had a test. He’ll wish that time was different, that his life never had to change like this. But maybe he can make peace with the fact that it will never change.

Maybe he can make peace that these people don’t blame him for this. They’ll wish the same as him, that they never got involved, but it was inevitable. That night when Will went missing, it changed the paths for everyone in this room. Choices were made that can’t be taken back, and they’ll regret some of them for the rest of their lives.

But, with each other, they can move forward from this as one and finally heal. The last fight has been fought. Been won. As the time moves forward, so can they. Together.

“Brace yourselves,” Dustin whispers, knowing what the big finale is like. They all wait for it to end.

He used to love fireworks. Would beg his mom to bring him to the fair every year just so he could see him. And when he was old enough, he would bike there with the party and just stand there in awe. The perfect mix of science, his greatest love, making art in the sky.

As the last boom of the night rings through the air, Dustin hopes he can enjoy it again someday. He promises himself that one day, he will.

No one moves for a few minutes after they end. Sitting still to calm the beatings of their hearts. They made it through.

Almost in synchrony, they all start to move. Standing up, wiping the tears from their eyes. Returning to normal. Finding themselves again.

“Steve?” Eddie asks softly after Steve doesn’t move. Sitting there rigid.

He nods. “I’m ok.” He straightens his back, revealing the wet trail of tears down his cheeks. “You ready?” he asks Robin.

“Yeah.”

She gets up first, holding out her hand for him. They go in two different directions. Robin getting a bag from the hallway, while Steve grabs a bottle of alcohol from the cabinet and a box of matches.

Dustin follows them as they go outside. “What are you guys doing?”

Steve places the bottle of alcohol, what looks like expensive tequila, next to the fire pit. “After that night, we made a pact. A year from then, we burn our uniforms.”

“To prove that we made it out,” Robin continues, her voice sounding dry. “To prove that we never have to go back.”

She hands Steve the bag and he dumps the uniforms into the fire pit. The blood and sweat soaked uniforms ready to be set ablaze.

Steve unscrews the tequila and pours it over them, wasting more than he probably should.

“You want to do the honors,” he asks Robin, handing her the box of matches.

She takes it with shaky hands, striking the match and tossing it into the pit. The fire starts instantly.

Robin sobs as she falls into Steve. His cries are silent as he wraps her in a hug. Holding each other as they watch the outfit from the worst night of their lives burn to ash. Dustin walks back inside, letting them have this moment to themselves.

Eddie is watching from the sliding doors. “What are they burning?”

“Their Scoops uniforms, they were wearing them when it all went down.”

Nancy walks up to the door. “I never knew what happened to them that night, every time I try to ask, they avoid answering it.”

She looks at Dustin for answers he doesn’t even know the whole of. “I think they were tortured. When we went into that bunker, we got separated. They held the door closed so me and Erica could escape into the vent. After we rescued them, Steve’s face was beaten up and they were tied to chairs, and drugged. I never got any confirmation, but I knew.”

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie breathes out. Still staring out the glass. His arms held close to his chest.

“Do you remember their faces when we went into that vent,” Erica asks from behind them. “They were scared, but they still chose to save us.”

Dustin turns, seeing the group that had formed behind him. All watching the fire outside. He nods. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”

“There are so many things from that night that I won’t forget,” Max speaks up.

“There are so many things from the last four years that I won’t forget,” Mike adds.

Will reaches to grab his hand. “Yeah.”

“We should go back to the living room,” Nancy says. “So we’re not just staring at them.”

Eddie is the last to leave the room, still staring at them through the door.

“He’s been acting weird all week," he explains as Dustin hangs back. “I knew it had to be something bad, I just didn’t imagine that.”

“No one wants to imagine half the things that we’ve been through.”

“Yeah, guess so.”

They rejoin the group in the living room. Jonathan grabs his keys and fills his car with the people who want to go home. Him and Nancy talking before he leaves. She hangs around, making sure everyone left is taken care of.

Eddie just sits on the couch, looking out of place. But he’s waiting for something, Dustin can tell.

“Hey,” Mike nudges Dustin’s shoulder. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re going over to my house for the night. Just in case you didn’t want to go home.”

Dustin thinks about it. He was going to see if he could stay the night here. Be close to Steve. But he might be ok. And by not being here, Steve could worry about just himself for a night. Not Dustin as well.

“Yeah,” he says. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Eventually, Steve and Robin come back inside. Robin nods at Nancy before climbing the stairs up to Steve’s room. Steve and Eddie share a look when they pass. He stops and places a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, pulling him into a hug, before following Robin up the stairs.

Before Eddie can get to his room, Dustin stops him. “I’m going over to Mike’s, call me if anything happens.”

Eddie nods. “I got them, don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

Nancy waits by the door. Mike, Lucas, and Dustin follow her out to the car. They drive to the house is quiet. Everyone is still reeling from tonight.

Jonathan’s car is parked out on the street when they get there. Will, Max, and Erica coming out with their bags.

“You could stay too, you know,” Nancy says to Jonathan. “No one should be alone tonight.”

“I thought about it, but I think it’s better if I go home.”

Nancy nods, accepting.

“See you around, Nance,” he says before getting back in his car.

“You could stay in the basement with us,” Mike offers, “if you need to.”

Nancy nods again, blinking away the tears in her eyes. Following them inside.

The basement floor is covered in blankets and pillows. Everyone finding a spot to lie down comfortably. Dustin stares at the ceiling, waiting for the tired fall of his eyes. So he can wake up tomorrow and feel better. Feel less like pure dread.

Slowly, he can hear the people around him start to fall asleep. Tomorrow will be better than today, he repeats in his mind. Peaceful sleep taking over.

the notes you guys left on my last post literally made my day, you have no idea. hugs for all of you.

tag list (closed): @the-they-who-nerded, @insteviewetrust, @croatoan-like-its-hot, @jettestar,

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@papergrenade, @waelkyring, @sweetheartprincess28, @katouasobj, @astercomoasflores

[wheelercurse]

So sick that sequence where El “died” and Mike was screaming her name, and then the next scene is Will without pulse but then Hopper brought him back to life and Joyce hugged Will tightly, and the next scene is Karen hugging Mike who was crying because of everything that happened and because he just lost El.

[stevie-petey]

stug stug stug pleaseee i would LOVE to see something where bug is comforting steve maybe he had a fight w his dad or j in general. i’m so excited for season 4! but obvi take your time j know that we’re all very excited bc we just know that you will blow us away with your writing!!

really missin happy steve and bug so im writin this <33

enjoy !

"i dont think it looks that bad."

"youre a terrible liar, y/n."

"im not lying!" but the way your voice pitches gives it all away, and steve knows it.

"im ruined." he drops his head into your lap, burying his face in the flesh of your thigh. partially because hes mourning the loss of his hair, but mostly because he adores your thighs and revels in them whenever he can.

steve is in mourning. he can be as selfish as he wants when it comes to your thighs. its his god given right as your boyfriend.

knowing what hes doing, you shove steves face away from your thighs, though not unkindly. youre still shy around him, his touch against your bare skin foreign after only a month of dating. steve is gentle and patient with you, he understands that youve never really been in a relationship before, so he takes his time with you.

secretly, you adore how gentle he is. how cautiously he skims his fingers over your waist or how softly he breathes against your neck. it makes everything easier, lighter, for you. to be loved so tenderly without any falsehood behind it.

lost in your honey warmth of love for steve, your fingers tangle through his hair. that is, whats left of it. steves chest faces you, the hem of his shirt has lifted slightly during his complaining. soft skin spills out from underneath, revealing a plush tummy. with a mind of their own, your eyes draw down the lines of his abdomen. a low hum stirs in your own stomach.

"are you seriously checking me out right now?" steve taps your nose with his finger, snapping you out of your daze. "i mean, here i am, the love of your life, mourning the loss of beautiful hair that was taken from us too soon, and youre drooling over me."

you flick his forehead, he scrunches his face, and its familiar and lovely. "i wasnt drooling, i just wasnt listening to your dramatic despair."

steve gasps, hand over his chest. "my hair was murdered!"

"honey, only like, two inches were cut off."

well, more like three, but you wont tell him that.

somehow one of the kids, almost certainly mike, left their chewed up gum on the counter top of family video when they visited earlier today. they came in like a storm, turning the place upside down before you, robin, or steve could even stop them. apparently dustin had wanted a new movie, will was bored, lucas wanted max to go outside, and el forced mike to join because shes never seen a movie store before.

the wreckage they left behind for such simple reasons for even entering the store in the first place had astounded you.

then, because steve is always perpetually suffering the consequences of the partys actions the most, had dropped his head down onto the counter top in exhaustion as soon as they left.

right in the same spot the gum had been left.

never before have you ever seen steve crumble to the floor quite so suddenly. it was comical, really. the way he shrieked in horror while you and robin watched, neither having any idea what had just happened.

which leads you to now: consoling steve as you comb through his newly cut hair.

"what, are you implying two inches isnt a huge amount of length?" steve raises an eyebrow at you, teasing, and you blush furiously. sparing you, he doesnt point it out and instead changes the topic. "i hate those little heathens, i really do."

"how do we know one of them is the gum culprit?"

"because theyre cursed little shitheads who always mar my appearance one way or another." then, as an afterthought, steve adds, "plus that wheeler kid has a weird obsession with watermelon gum."

again you try to defend the kids, even though you know it was most definitely mike. sure, he shouldnt have left his gum on the counter, but it was funny. "and how do we know it was watermelon gum?"

"i could smell it when robin was cutting all my hair off, angel."

"and yet youre as handsome as ever!" you press a purposely messy kiss atop of steves head, blowing slightly into his face and making a dramatic kissing sound when you pull away. anything to distract him from realizing it was all mikes fault.

gotta protect the little shithead somehow.

steve shrieks, reminiscent of the shriek from earlier, and shoves you away as he wipes at his face. "ew!"

"how dare you wipe my kiss away, steve harrington."

"you spit on me!"

"lovingly."

steve rolls onto his stomach and throws himself onto you. now its your turn to shriek as he throws his weight on top of you, tackling you onto his bed. luckily his parents arent home, otherwise theyd have some very horrified questions.

"steve!" you land with a soft thud on his pillows, and he smiles up from above you. hes all proud, his cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and his eyes shine with adoration for you.

hes beautiful. you cant believe hes yours.

"youre supposed to be comforting me, angel!" steve presses himself down even more, rendering you unable to move and wiggle away from him. you squeal when his hands find your sides, fingers digging into your skin as he tickles you. "i mean, im wounded here!"

you squeal with laughter as his hands attack you, mercilessly, yet gentle nonetheless. "s-steve! stop!"

"not until you apologize to my hair."

"your hair?" more laughter rips from your chest, ribs aching.

"mhm, tell my hair that its still handsome. his feelings are hurt." steve buries his nose into your neck, causing you to giggle even more, and the sound encases his body and reminds him of everything good and lovely.

you try to pull away, but steve has you pinned. "youre-ah! youre such an-an idiot!"

"that doesnt sound like an apology, y/n."

finally giving up, you force out an apology in between breaths of laughter. "i-im sorry! your-your hair is handsome!"

steves fingers leave your sides, but he pulls you deep into his chest and collapses upon you. he nuzzles into your neck, wraps his hands around you, tries to meld the two of you into one. "much better," he mumbles into your skin.

"your hair really is handsome, you know." you draw circles into steves back, breath slowly returning to normal. fingers finding his hair once more, you play with the strands and massage his head with your nails. "youre handsome. two inches lost or not.”

"really?" steve lifts his face, looks down at you, preening at your words with an unusual shyness.

you bring your hands to his face, holding it with all the love you have for him. "the handsomest."

lips find lips, and soon the two of you get lost in each other as you inevitably always do.

[gayofthefae]

I just realized the absolute weight of El saying "maybe he's right" when Mike told her about Hopper.

That was a reveal. And it meant nothing to her. There is even a romantic trope of the situation they were in and they refused to do it. They could have drawn it out and had El find out at the end (although that would have antagonized Hopper) and that be the big romantic moment, but instead, she finds out in episode 4.

In season 3 episode 2, El breaks up with Mike because he avoided her then lied about it and she didn't know why. In season 3 episode 4, he tells her that the reason was because he didn't want Hopper to break them up...

And she didn't care. She didn't care! Like AT. ALL. Barely even acknowledged it. Then she said that since hanging out with Max, she had realized that him doing that was not the only issue in their relationship so solving that one doesn't solve anything and she was happy to stay single.

Uh.....DAMN. THEY LITERALLY DID THAT. If he had said what he said before she went to Max and that had somehow been the order, I think she would have taken him back. But instead, and instead of having a single conflict and solution, they used that conflict as an OPPORTUNITY, a starting point to jump off of for the next one. They wrapped it all up with that conversation in the first half of the season.

From there, the conflict was Mike telling El he loved her, something that was not the source of their breakup and therefore should not solve it, and El didn't really have a conflict pertaining to him as she was not seeking to initiate anything. Once he genuinely apologized, they got on good terms again and she was more willing to communicate with him about trusting her and allowing her to be independent now that Max had helped her realize that she wanted that.

But at the end of the day....they could have done a romantic angsty plot and didn't. Because that isn't what their arcs are. Instead, they said "yes, the breakup was for made up reasons, but once she was fully informed, she chose to stay broken up because although the original reason for the breakup was a miscommunication, she noticed that she had been happier since breaking up and that was more important."

I will never shut up about how season 3 grew on me as their friendship season and how, in connection to that, they made up about halfway through the season during the m&m scene (which was very downplayed ftr) and remained broken up for 3-4 more episodes.

Mike was trying to tell her he loved her but that was not the source of the breakup so it should not have solved it. Even if it had, he didn't anyways. And if it would have solved it, then why didn't she get back together with him immediately upon knowing? Or at least after a couple of days of him not being able to say it. You might all die again, especially you, there is at least some urgency to the situation. Why not make sure to get back together right before the big battle like Lum@x did in season 4?

And I will always remember the analysis about how her romantic moments with Mike coincide with her grieving Hopper. Here are the facts:

After finding out that the reason for their breakup was a miscommunication, she chose to stay broken up for other reasons she had since come to realize.

After making up and getting to a good place platonically, she did not initiate getting back together and neither did he.

After hearing him say he loved her, she did not initiate getting back together.

When he didn't work up the courage on his own, she did not bring it up to him in order to get back together

After her father died and she was moving across the country, big, jarring changes happening in her life, she initiated getting back together.

She had many an opportunity she did not take, initially directly denying the chance, but even after that seeming content with either getting back together if he initiated it or not if he didn't. That was always my interpretation from my first watch, that formulaically they probably would but she seemed content with either.

When introduced the option, she broke up with him. When given the full information and direct opportunity, she chose not to get back together with him for other, more credible reasons. After making up, when given indirect opportunity, she did not initiate getting back together with him.

tldr: They could have made a thing of it. They could have drawn it out. They could have made it big and romantic - like I thought they were going to when they introduced it in episode 1 as if it were the primary conflict. But they didn't. They said "yes, she broke up with him for faulty reasons, but that was just so she could realize how much she loves being single."

[lucassinclaer-archive]

smth so soothing in post s2 divergence where the party comes slowly closer, actually integrates el in a meaningful way.

where they show up at the cabin for game nights and it's a risk but hopper can’t actually find it in him to shut it down.

where mike finds el and will with their heads together already and is kind of confused but also sees that they sort of fit together - in that strange way where they just seem to get each other on the most primal of levels. will's already accompanied by jonathan most of the time so it's not that difficult to convince hopper to let them take el to the byers house sometimes so she gets out without being out in the open. jonathan and will roll their eyes at hopper's music selection and try to figure out the type of stuff el would like. she has different taste most of the time but jonathan can’t really be a snob about it because there’s this specific type of happiness that crosses el's face when she listens to her favorite songs.

where max is hesitant to reach out to el beyond a group setting bc they got off to a bad start, but something shifts when she sees the frustrated lines drawn over el's english homework and she faux-casually asks "hey, do you need any help with this?" and mike's been doing his best to help her out but he doesn't wanna do schoolwork all the time so el accepts and max turns out to be a really fun and patient tutor until most of the time they veer off topic immediately and just start being friends the organic way. the first friend el has made outside of mortal danger.

dustin turns up at the cabin unannounced so often, it drives hopper up the wall but dustin doesn’t even seem to notice, just leaves open the door to el's room the entire time while he chatters about all the gossip at school that el doesn’t really understand but still greedily absorbs. he's always talking about the future when she can go places with them and for the first time it doesn't make el feel like she's caged in now, but that there are plans she belongsin. that she's thought of.

mike, like all of them, is working through some stuff but he's always there to remind her that he never gave up hope she was still out there. that above all else he's happy she's still here. he's adamant about it whenever it comes up, the wordsmith who knows how to reassure her when he thinks to do it.

lucas is more of a planner where visits are concerned. el always knows when he'll be coming by, sometimes he brings max along once her and el are more comfortable with each other. he's always been the anchor of the real world that el didn’t belong in, but now that they have time and he knows her - really knows her - he slowly, slowly makes her feel like she can be tied to life like that, too. never makes her feel bad about not catching up in an instant anymore, but never makes her into the "weirdo" again either, just adjusts, tweaks his approach slightly.

i don’t think we ever needed to be shown any of this on screen, but there is a vibe that only changing things from season 2 onward can capture bc they were never picked up.

[mostlylurkinbarelypostin]

El’s Letter, Mike’s Mental Health, and Murray’s Ominous Comments:

It’s really no wonder Mike felt like he had to be someone else when he went to Lenora. El’s letter sends the message that her and the Byers are absolutely flourishing in California. All of her issues seem to be resolving and she’s having a great time now. And it’s not just El. Will sounds like he’s also doing great, apparently painting for a girl that he likes. From his perspective, El and Will are doing better without him, and here he is, still in the same place. Things aren’t even getting better for him, they’re getting worse.

According to El’s letter, she’s twice as happy now, she’s adapting, she isn’t missing Hawkins as much, everyone at school is nice to her, her grades are getting better, and she’s made lots of friends.

We’re shown that Mike, in contrast, is having the exact opposite experience. He is becoming more unhappy, he hates high school, he’s not adapting, his grades are suffering, no one is nice to him, he’s not getting used to life without Will and El, and he feels likes he’s losing the few friends that he still has.

A line that always kinda gets me is when El narrates from her letter “You were right, it just takes time,” in reference to adapting. It makes you wonder, when he told her “It just takes time,” was he trying to convince himself of the same thing? And then when he read the response, was he happy for her but also wondering why he can’t do the same? Why can’t things get better for him? Why can’t he adapt?

“I hate high school” might seem like a kind of melodramatic teenagery throw away line but it really reflects how much Mike is struggling in his new environment and how he, unlike El, is not adapting. Of course El wasn’t adapting either, but Mike thought she had.

I feel like that would have been a really difficult letter to read considering he’s very obviously struggling to begin with and now he’s finding out that his girlfriend is doing great without him and his best friend of a decade, who he’s been lost without, has seemingly moved on. In his head it was likely confirmation of what he probably already feared. While he’s been sitting in his basement, surrounded by Will’s art that still covers the walls, Will has been busy moving on, making art for someone else. And not just any someone, a girl that he likes.

It makes sense then why Mike is visibly upset for the rest of the day and why he reacts so strongly to seeing Lucas on the basketball team. There’s literal tears in his eyes when he sees how happy Lucas is with them, and it makes sense. He had already felt left behind by El and Will and now Lucas is slipping through his fingers too. He’s being left behind again. And of course he doesn’t want anyone to see how awful he’s doing or think poorly of him, so when he gets to California he pretends. He tries to hide behind a facade, but he can’t keep hiding when he learns that El lied to him and Will, from his perspective, seems to want nothing to do with him. He’s hurt, and he responds by lashing out at Will. Just like Max, Mike lashes out at others when he’s hurting. He did the same thing to Lucas when he found out that he was skipping Hellfire for the basketball game. He pushed back at Lucas until he insinuated that being “nerds and freaks” was something that they shouldn’t be. He wants them to change. Mike can’t change why he’s been put in that category though. It obviously strikes a nerve with him. After that comment, Mike’s posture changes and he doesn’t say another word for the rest of the conversation. He very visibly deflates and gives up, which is SO unlike Mike.

After that conversation, Mike is essentially back to where he was in 1983 after his failed reconciliation with Lucas. He’s once again operating under the belief that he has lost Will and El and has just lost Lucas too. He thinks he only has Dustin left. At this point in 1983, he was standing on the edge of the quarry and about to step off. While we know that Mike isn’t in a great place mentally, I think he was closer to the edge before he left for California than anyone knew. As many people have pointed out, there’s clear signs that at least Will is noticing his mental deterioration. He sees that Mike’s not eating, he hears Mike talking badly about himself, he sees the anxiety. He also notices when Nancy makes a comment about Mike’s room being unkept. Will is noticing all this.

Mike is obviously now a prime target for Henry given his emotional vulnerability. The ground work has been laid for his mental health to finally be addressed next season.

One of Murray’s comments leads me to believe that the cliff scene in particular will be revisited.

When Joyce can’t get ahold of the kids before the ransom exchange in Alaska, Murray says:

“There are certain things that one can be late to in life. A dentist appointment. A one-year-old’s birthday party, because who cares? That little idiot’s not gonna remember it.”

The thing is though, Mike couldn’t be late to the dentist in 1983. Troy was counting down to when the “dentist’s office” opened, and being late would have led to Dustin being harmed. Mike, who is always late, showed up on time that day and stepped off the cliff. It can’t be a coincidence then that Murray mentions a dentist appointment when the most infamous “dentist appointment” we know of led to Mike almost dying.

What makes Murray’s comments even more suspicious is how the dentist appointment is compared to a 1-year-olds birthday party. Remember that the context for the Murray and Joyce scene was that she couldn’t get through to her house in Lenora. The call wouldn’t go through. This is especially interesting considering all the hints that suggest that Mike was trying to call Will while he was in California. They even made it something that they have to circle back to by having Mike not reveal this to Will when he accuses him of not calling during their fight at Rink-O-Mania. It wouldn’t make sense for him not to tell Will UNLESS they’re planning on addressing it again later. They have to reveal the reason behind Mike keeping his calls a secret.

Given that Mike is represented by the dentist appointment comment, it makes sense that Will is then the birthday party part. Just like with Mike, it can’t be a coincidence that Murray makes a comment about a birthday party given all the weirdness surrounding Will’s birthday. It’s even more suspicious that Murray talks about the child “remembering,” given that it seems like the memory of Will’s birthday is missing for some.

I have no idea what direction they’re gonna take with Will’s birthday, but I do think that it will be an important plot point next season and will somehow be connected to Mike’s actions at the quarry in S1. I think there might be some parallel to the cliff scene, but instead of Troy threatening Dustin, it will likely be Henry threatening Will. I think that Mike will be self-sacrificial as always and try to save him. A lot of people expect Mike to almost die and I could see this being when that happens. Murray’s comments are just way too specific to not be foreshadowing. It would also make logical sense given all the work they’ve put in to hint at Mike’s deteriorating mental health.

[itsvaleriesucka]

the day of your luck - chapter one

pairing: criminal!joel miller x fem!reader chapter one summary: after your release from dade-county prison, you've implemented some changes into your life. you finally meet your new "friendly" neighbor.

chapter one warnings: language, indications of argument

word count: 4k

a/n: the reader does speak spanish by the way. i provided an english translation in case anyone needs it. to those reading, i hope you all enjoy! (: feel free to let me know if there are any mistakes or warnings i missed out on.

spanish to english translation: ⋆ "Quieres algo más?" → "Do you want something else?" ⋆ "El cheque, por favor." → "The check, please." ⋆ "Quiero pedir algo para llevar." → "I want to order something to go."

prelude ⋆ chapter two ⋆ series masterlist

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

It was a typical sunny day here in Miami. The blazing heat shimmered the pavement, the grandeur of art deco buildings shined by sun rays. The refreshing scent of sand and sun tan lotion combined fills the air as you skate along the sidewalks of South Beach. The cool wind, a gentle breeze coming off the waters blows through your luscious hair as well as causing the palm trees to sway. 

Your ears were too occupied to listen to the surrounding of people and cars passing by. A perfect mute from the real world. Your Walkman clipped against the side of your hips while your ears filled with Bill Withers’ Lovely Day. 

You held two leashes that wrapped against your wrists, one on your right and the other on your left. They kept up with your quick pace from your favorite pair of quads. And by they— the dogs. 

Dog walking.

A side gig you managed to hustle to make some extra cash for your pocket.

What better way to spend some time outside and see the real life around you. Literally. You tend to stick at home in your own solitude the majority of the time binge watching old films, eating Chinese take out, reading Vogue magazines of the latest fashion trends, and keeping track of your CD collections.

It’s been six months since your release from Dade-County prison and you barely know anybody. You’ve always been a lone gal just wandering around on a day to day basis. You weren’t the type to win a popularity contest either. You would prefer to keep a low profile anyways. 

After what had happened that led you behind bars, you can’t fathom into trusting anyone. You’ve learned from your mistakes and learning from your mistakes will take you far. At least that’s what you remembered your correctional social worker telling you. 

Alright fine. 

You only know certain locals. Around three or four but that’s about it. 

Ever since your release, you've implemented changes in your life that have made you become a better version of yourself. Sure, you still got some kleptomania urgencies but you learned to walk away. If you want it, just save the money and come back for it. If it’s still there, it was meant to be. 

Pushing your left foot backwards, the toe stopper from your skate quads scraps along the pavement, slowing you down until you come to a full complete stop. The dogs got the memo and stood beside you. All you can hear them is pant for breath. 

There was an empty bench nearby a shaded area for you to sit and rest for a moment. You removed your backpack and placed it upon your lap to dig inside for your water bottle. You took a couple of sips before pouring the rest near the dog's muzzles.

They’re both Golden Retrievers. Mike and Basil. Brother and sister who are always side by side with each other. Hence why you’re walking them both together because the owner said they cannot walk alone, they refuse to. 

That’s very cute. You scratched them both behind their ears and boy, did their tail wagged. 

“Are you two hungry?” 

Ears perked up with slight head tilts. 

“Yeah?” You smiled. “Let’s go eat.” 

You began to remove your quads, tying both the shoelaces together into a perfect knot. You reached into your backpack and pulled out your comfortable white chucks and slipped them on. White chucks compliments every single outfit. 

You wore nothing but high-waisted blue denim shorts with cute patches that adorned right on your rear. You managed to find the patches during your thrifting adventures. A white cropped tank with your favorite band displayed. 

There was a group of male runners heading your way. All of them were shirtless. The lotion smeared on them enhances their robust chests. Their muscular definition was a sight to witness. The moment you got yourself up, you began to tie your shoelaces together. Right foot on the bench while the other foot on the ground. Soon switching. 

Your purple plastic hoop earrings swayed against every moment you made. Your skin, sun kissed by the sun itself, radiates with the glow of your sunscreen lotion with a hint of sweat. Each man laid eyes upon you. Upon every exposed skin shown. Upon your thighs down to your legs that goes on forever.

Nothing but flirtatious whistles and sweet nicknames came out from them. Your expression kept stern, you glanced the other way to distract yourself through your Ray-Bans.

Anyone who was anyone could be seen in these iconic pair of sunglasses. You loved them, they were your favorite staple piece you own. 

You weren’t going to lie, those men were fine as hell. But it was a major turn off that they only cat called and whistled out to you. If at least one of them came up to tell you how stunning you are, you maybe would’ve given in and tell him your thanks. 

Maybe.

Like you’ve remembered, trust issues. 

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 

You sat down in a corner Cuban bakery café. One of your favorite places to go and grab a quick bite. Those homemade croquetas and pastelitos were to die for. If this is something you had to eat for the rest of your life, it’s this. 

When you were first released from prison, the first thing you had asked your correctional social worker to do was take you to this bakery. Just by being here and eating always brings back a lot of memories from your past.

Mike and Basil drank and ate in their complimentary food and water bowl provided by the lovely staff. You always ate inside but since they aren’t allowed, only outside seating is provided. It’s a gorgeous day so you might as well take advantage and enjoy what’s around you. 

While dipping your pastelitos into your coffee, your eyes scanned a couple of advertisements displayed on a newspaper you managed to get on your way over here. Beautiful apartment complexes displayed right before you. You envisioned yourself in a luxury living lifestyle, way up high in those condos, sitting down on your balcony looking out into the seaside view every single morning. 

Your mind began to wander off into a setting you aren’t allowed to even think about. Already thinking of ways to obtain easy money to picture yourself amongst the rich. You glanced away and folded the newspaper, sliding it away, releasing a defeated sigh. 

Stop. You absolutely cannot go back. 

“Quieres algo más?” The kind waitress came by to check up on you. 

“El cheque, por favor.” 

Growing up as a little girl around the Latin culture and community of Miami, you’ve learned to speak, write, and understand Spanish. I mean, if you’re going to live here, you at least have to understand the basics to get by. 

The waitress smiles and picks the empty plates from the table to go get your check. 

An idea came across your mind. You suddenly call out to your waitress and she halts before stepping inside.

“Quiero pedir algo para llevar.” You smiled as did your waitress. 

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You already dropped off the dogs at the time their owner wanted to be back, earning yourself ten bucks. Not bad. Sundays are typically the slowest day since everybody is out having fun on their day off or staying at home to spend some time with family. 

Starting tomorrow, things should pick up. 

Aside from dog walking, you managed to find a job working for a gentleman who runs the town’s music shop on Lincoln Road. Only Fridays and Saturdays. The pay was surprisingly well. 

The apartment complex you lived in wasn’t bad nor one of a kind. It was a place to sleep, eat, and shower. A place where you’re able to destress and listen to your favorite music playing from a small silver boom box you owned. You’re thankful your correctional social worker helped you find a place to stay. Rent was affordable with what you’re able to make weekly so you can’t really complain. 

You pulled out a set of keys, one key was to open the main gate of your apartment complex. You can see a few of your neighbors out on their balcony. Some were talking, drinking, or smoking. There was a kid playing ball with another kid on the grass. 

Opening the door, you wanted to check your mailbox. You always did on Sunday’s just to see what arrived. The second key was specifically your mailbox door, shared with four others that lived on the same floor as you. 

You grabbed each letter and newspaper and searched through each and every one of them to find your name but to no avail. 

Although there seems to be a new name that appeared. Looks like there’s a new neighbor. You tossed all the letters and slips back inside the tiny slot and locked the door.

This apartment building only has four floors. The elevator on your right still isn’t working since the same signage has been displayed for over a month now. It depends on your mood, you often take the elevator if you’re out grocery shopping or if you were too lazy to take the stairs to the third floor. 

Having the elevator unavailable meant good exercise for you anyways. Your quads hung over your right shoulder, you held them tightly while walking up the steps. You can listen to certain neighbors having a conversation, some in Spanish, some in English. There was a pesky dog on the second floor that always barks whenever he or she seems to hear someone or probably wants to bark just because. 

As you reach the third floor you can hear commotion going on, an argument. You hear a familiar voice. 

It’s your neighbor, Delaney, who so happens to be caught fighting her boyfriend, as always. 

“I didn’t fuckin’ had the dinner ready on time because I was out workin’ all night!” Yep. That’s her alright. Her typical Jersey accent all spiced up. Where she’s from, it’s obvious. She wanted to get away from the cold weather. She was sick and tired of snowy days and having to shovel away ice from her driveway so she moved all the way from New Jersey and landed here in Miami. Nothing but hot and sunny weather all day, everyday. 

She worked late nights at a place called Club Pink Pussycat, Miami’s first and finest strip club that offered nudity since day one. 

“When I get back, that goddamn casserole better be done! I work my ass off all day and I come home and there’s nothing?!” Her boyfriend stormed out through the door and slammed it shut behind him. He slips a cigarette in between his lips to have a smoke. Your eyes met with his. 

“Fuck outta my way.” He grumbled and walked down the stairs past you. He’s lucky to have been gone before you said anything. God. You despised that man. 

Delaney opened the door, she’s covered in nothing but her fancy satin pink robe. Her hair was voluminous and styled. Teased and permed to perfection. Her large golden hoops shined with the rest of her jewelry worn. Red lips stained the tipping paper of her cigarette that’s being held in between her index and middle finger. Her pink press on flicks at her cigarette tip, allowing the ashes to fall onto the ground. 

Her expression softens from the familiarity of your face the moment her eyes laid upon you. 

“Oh, hi sweetie. I’m sorry ‘bout that...” Her voice is soft.

“Why do you let that asshole treat you the way he does?”

It’s true. You always wondered why and there has to be a reason. No man should ever downgrade a woman the way he does, ever. If it were you, he would’ve left a long time ago. In the end, it is not your relationship to get yourself involved like that. 

“Oh ya know…he’s the baby daddy of my little boy. It’s hard sometimes.” Delaney pinches the end of her cigarette in between her plump lips to inhale some smoke. Hands gesturing towards you to come inside before she exhaled. 

“Come in, come! I’ve baked some sugar cookies. I saved some for you since I thought you might want a bite.” 

You stepped inside her place as she shut the door behind you. The layout of her place was the complete opposite of yours. Especially her decor. This woman sure loves the color pink since everything displayed, from her kitchen to her living room, was decorated in pink. She’s like the modern day Barbie. 

“Sorry ‘bout the place bein’ a mess. Had to work one of those late nights. My regular surprised me and it was a whole party in there. You should come and visit sometime!” She rubs the tip of her cigarette against an ashtray. 

“Sure.” You nodded but only because you were being polite. Those places weren’t your forte anyways. There’s absolutely nothing for you to find in there. It’s a place where sugar daddies come and spend their endless cash by just a shake of your ass. Drugs were the main hot spot. It was a safe haven to do anything illegal, really.

Her baby was in his crib playing with toys. He happily squealed the moment he saw you. Oh, he definitely recognized you. You believed that babies can sense your aura within you. At least that’s what your mother has told you.

Walking over to the crib, you leaned over to tickle the side of his neck and he giggled. Your smile was foolishly wide at his playful gesture. Delaney was busy grabbing her cookie jar and noticed you playing with her son. She smiled. 

“He’s such an angel. I love him to pieces!” She waves at her son and made funny faces. He giggles again. 

“He is adorable.” You mentioned and leaned away as you walked over to sit in a chair Delaney pulls for you at the kitchen counter. 

“You want somethin’ to drink? I got water, Cherry Coke, juice, milk, you name it all.”

“A Cherry Coke sounds perfect, please.” 

Milk and cookies are actually the perfect combination. But a Cherry Coke? You can’t refuse an offer like that. You aren’t much of a soda type of gal, but when it comes to Cherry Coke, you simply cannot resist. 

“The casserole is almost done if you wanna take some with you.” Delaney hands you a plate of her homemade sugar cookies and a cold can of Cherry Coke.

“That’s real kind of you. I appreciate it.” The click of the can opening surrounds the place. The moment the metal pops, that’s where the sizzling sounds of the bubbles begin to fizz. You didn’t hesitate to take a drink, tilting your head back. The carbonation from the sweet drink coats and burns your throat. Your eyes watered when taking your last sip. A small gasp escaping from you.

So refreshing. So satisfying. 

��Have you met the new neighbor yet?” Delaney asks. She’s definitely talking about the name you have seen from a letter when you opened the mailbox not too long ago. 

“You know I don’t talk to anyone besides you and the landlord.” You swapped a smile into a smirk, chewing on a cookie. 

It’s crazy how you know so much about Delaney yet, she knows very little about you. I mean, she can practically tell her entire life story to strangers. She just loves engaging in conversations to the nicest folks she’d meet. But you? You’re insanely private. She doesn’t even know you’ve been released from prison. She doesn’t know about your past indulgence of robberies. 

Thankfully, she has her limits. 

“He’s such a handsome fella. Very quiet too. He lives just down at the end of the hallway.”

Such emphasis on the word handsome. That explains much. It’s no wonder you haven’t seen any movement, he’s quiet. You weren’t as phased or excited to learn more about him. You rarely try to meet new people, specifically neighbors. Delaney was the only exception since she’s been the first to actually introduce herself unlike the others.

Ding! “Oh!” Delaney squeals with such excitement. “The casserole is finished. Lemme put that in a paper plate for you before this moron gets here.”  

Delaney. She’s such a handful and honestly, you appreciate how real she can be. 

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

You and Delaney exchanged hugs and farewells. You walked down from her door, stopping right in front of yours, using your third key to open the lock and turning the knob to open and enter your own place. Shutting the door behind you, you tossed your keys into a ceramic bowl that’s on a table next to you. 

You untied your shoelaces and kicked your white chucks off, setting them right besides the door along with your quads. You removed your backpack and tossed it right on the couch as you walked towards your kitchen holding your plastic plate.

As mentioned, the place is the total opposite of Delaney’s. You tend to stick with a chic yet quaint style. Cool tones were your favorite choice of color palettes, especially purple. Any shade of purple draws your attention. 

You placed the casserole and the plastic bag with pastelitos inside your fridge. You wanted to keep it there for later since right now, you needed to take a shower and attend some chores. It’s only half past five so you have plenty of time before the sun disappears completely. 

You entered your room, your safe haven. Everything was just the perfect mix of purple. Just the way you like it.

You have a massive CD collection you adored. Some you have stolen and others were given to you by the owner of the music shop you worked for. Hell, you even purchased some from time to time since he gives you a good discount. It’s a win-win for all.

At the corner of your room, besides your dresser, were dirty clothes piled up in the corner of your room, inside a plastic ivory basket. 

It’s definitely laundry day and you needed everything to be washed and cleaned for the new week tomorrow. 

But first, shower time. It’s what you absolutely need.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Having your comfortable loungewear is possibly the best feeling in the entire world. Your hair was picked up with a vibrant scrunchie. You wore your favorite pair of fuzzy slippers that matched your outfit. 

Locking the door behind you, you carried the basket with one hand while the other hand tucked inside your pocket, holding onto your keys and a couple of quarters.

It’s already nine and the night came out and played. If it wasn’t for your dog walking gig, you would’ve just stayed home all day playing your Atari. Just a typical lazy Sunday for you.

The fourth and final key was the door to open the laundry room that was located on the first floor. You take a peek through the window on the door and to your disadvantage, there was already someone inside. 

Shit. 

He already noticed so you couldn’t turn around and disappear like you wanted to so it’s too late. He paid you no attention as you walked inside. 

You gathered your dirty clothes on top of an empty washer machine. You wished there was music playing or something because the awkward silence between you and the man was mad. At least there’s the sound of his dryer starting. 

Thank god. He’s just beginning to dry his clothes because that means he was leaving. And he did. He left you all alone. 

You usually come around this time to wash and dry your clothes because everybody’s inside their homes all locked up and in bed. Oh, you know the tactics. 

You inserted three quarters into the slot tray of the washer machine to then proceed and dump all of your dirty clothes inside. You poured some of the liquid detergent into another slot where it’s supposed to be poured into.

Once you had everything settled, you closed the lid and pushed the tray to dump the quarters into a metal box. There was a green light, ready to be used. You pushed the button and heard the click of the lid and the water starting to pour. 

It’s going to be around thirty minutes before everything finishes so you can dry. In the meantime, you start heading back to eat Delaney’s casserole. 

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Boy, you were stuffed with that casserole. You aren’t one to ever eat casserole but you hoped there’s nothing better than the one you just devoured. 

Thirty minutes already passed and it's time for you to head downstairs again to place your damp clothes into the dryer.

As you opened the door to your apartment and shut it right behind you while locking it, you heard footsteps approaching. Your immediate reaction was to turn and look at the source of the sound. You swore if it was Delaney’s boyfriend you were going to have a word with him but no. It wasn’t. 

It was the same man from the laundry room. Your eyes instantly looked away from his stare and towards the laundry basket he held his clean clothes in. 

Your eyes bounced back and he was still staring at you. Why does he look good in this lighting? It’s just the hallway lights illuminating the passageway. That well put stoic expression deemed his appearance unapproachable. 

That unkempt tousled salt and pepper hair definitely gives away his age group. Along with white patches that run down his jawline. You’re probably guessing early fifties. Definitely old enough to be your uncle. 

Those denim jeans compliments his physique along with his baby blue polo t-shirt neatly tucked inside all pressed against his chest, holding everything together with a black belt. 

You perhaps needed to check your vitals because there’s no way you’re now just thinking about all sorts of compliments to this complete random stranger you’ve never—

Wait a minute. It clicks inside of you. 

It’s him. 

Your new neighbor. 

Standing in front of your door, being a quiet weirdo, isn’t going to make him disappear. You slip your keys inside your pocket with your empty laundry basket in the other hand. You stared down to the ground as you walked. Nothing but sounds of footsteps, keys, and quarters jangle altogether.

Stop. 

Be confident. 

Your eyes adverts from the ground as you look forward, paying no attention to the stranger. Another thought came rushing in your mind. You softly inhaled and exhaled at the idea. 

You can’t always hide and be a grouch all the time. Quoting on what your correctional social worker had explained to you, the past doesn’t define who you are. We are all bound to make mistakes and those mistakes can lead us to the right path. 

The moment you passed your new neighbor, you decided to open your mouth.

“Have a goodnight!” You smiled at the stranger.

Biggest fucking mistake you could have possibly made. Your smile flipped itself completely upside, transforming into a frown from the way he ignored you.

His brows furrowed as he took one last look at you and your silly little gesture without saying anything in return. His eyes scan your figure completely unamused. He walked towards the end of the hallway to the door on his left and disappeared. 

The moment he disappeared you can hear him slam his door shut. You turned around with brows still trying to pierce together. Oh you were livid. You were livid because you were trying to actually be kind when someone just decides to ignore your entire existence. 

You were ashamed of yourself because you’ve always been quiet and for once you decided to open your pretty mouth to actually say something nice. 

“Fuck you too then.” You scoffed and looked away, still shocked trying to process exactly what happened. You knew damn well he heard you. If he dared return to the laundry room, you’re more than happy to slam your empty basket right across his stupid face. 

What was his stupid name on that letter again? 

Joel Miller.

A name that was going to stick with you for the remainder of your night.

[calicheer-cove]

Select Clientele - Billy Hargrove x Chrissy Cunningham

Summary: Chrissy has her eyes on Billy. Billy has his eyes on Chrissy. He decides to have a little talk with her. What will be her decision?

Author’s Note: The pool flirting scene, but make it Calicheer. Also let me know if you want a part two.

Summertime in the small town of Hawkins meant something different for everyone. For El and Max, this meant sleepovers and playing around with her powers to spy on the boys. For Dustin this meant computer camp to learn and build with the latest in tech ware. For Will, he was hoping for D&D, while Lucas and Mike wondered if their girlfriends were mad at them. As for the older ones, summer internships and jobs to save up for future endeavors. Billy was more than happy to work as a lifeguard if it meant being out of the house. Chrissy, against her mother’s narrow mindedness, worked at the GAP.

Training alongside her friends was a nice change of pace instead of attending bible camp, again. Utilizing her people skills, practicing money management, and keeping the place in tip top shape made the time roll by. Even on days when only a small handful of customers came over, she was happy to be there. Aside from store discounts, she also had the benefit of stopping by Scoops Ahoy! to meet up with Steve and Robin during her lunch breaks. Harrington went on about his failed love life, while Buckley and her rightfully poked fun at him. Dustin was surprised to see Cunningham, feeling apprehensive at first. In time he was able to see that she was actually a nice person. Chrissy thought of him like a second little brother.

Aside from the mall, the community pool was also another big hot spot. The place to be for fun in the sun, much to the boredom of the juniors and seniors working as lifeguards. They did their training and work of course, their faces indicated that they would rather be anywhere than here. Billy was no different, still at least he was able to earn a little extra money and work on his tan. Billy was not ashamed of how he looked, he took pride in his appearance. A number of the mothers clearly took interest. He offered them a charming smile as he passed by, his face dropping immediately once he turned his back on them. He loved the attention of course, but there was only one set of eyes that Billy wanted on him. Eyes as blue as the ocean beneath the Santa Monica pier in July.

Nancy took in the warmth of the bright sun on her skin. Robin preferred to stay under the umbrella with Vickie, worried that the 50 spf wouldn’t be enough for her; despite her reassurances. Dustin was engaged in a battle of chicken, keeping himself steady on Steve’s shoulders. Making his best attempt to push Will off of Jonathan’s shoulders. Lucas and Mike were showing off in front of Max and El, the two girls focusing on each other rather than their idiot boyfriends. Erica and her friends were more than prepared to make fun of the older Sinclair sibling and his friend.

Chrissy’s nose was firmly in a copy of some trashy romance novel that Heather loaned her. A pretty predictable story, but one that she enjoyed nonetheless. In a small, shanty sea town, a faithful woman of god (who so happens to be a widow) crosses paths with a sexy pirate. He steals her, they go sailing, have sex, and that’s it. The words were enticing, the same could be said for the cover art as well. Muscular man with a tan, long flowing locks of golden, curly hair, eyes as blue as the sea, and he’s wearing a shirt that showed off more cleavage than the lady.

“So how are you liking it so far?” Heather asked, passing over a can of Tab to her.

“It’s good. Captain James is wooing Prudence in his quarters,” Chrissy answered back, eyes going back to the page.

“Ooh, you’re gonna love the next chapter. It’s so hot,” Heather purred, sliding a stick of gum into her mouth.

Chrissy wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of romantic smut, but her curiosity was definitely piqued in freshman year. During a slumber party, Heather shared her mother’s private reading collection and the girls all had a good laugh. Chrissy wasn’t sure what the flowery language meant, but she giggled as well. In sophomore year, she would find a private corner at the public library to read those stories; that is until Heather would offer one to get, in exchange for a little tutoring. As they studied for an upcoming science test, Heather noticed how distracted Chrissy appeared during a session. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Cunningham was crushing on Hargrove as he walked by. Heather, in good fun and genuine curiosity, had questions. Chrissy was easy to read: Cheeks glowing, heart thumping, and scowl that wouldn’t scare a rabbit. Heather swore to tell no one and she kept that promise.

Chrissy peaked over her heart shaped sunglasses at the tanned Adonis. She had an inkling that he was looking at her, despite wearing his aviators. She figured that maybe she wouldn’t register on his love radar, boy was she wrong. Billy wasn’t a stranger to certain members on the cheer team, little flings in between after school practice were commonplace. To his surprise, all she did was offer him a friendly greeting and nothing more. He sat behind her in geometry, staring at the gentle slope of her neck. The curled loop of her ponytail looked so pretty, often accessorized with a scrunchie or a bow. Her perfume smelled expensive, costing more than a six pack, a box of Camels, and gas combined. In the cafeteria their eyes met briefly before she went off with her friends. One of Hargrove’s fellow goons made the fatal mistake of jokingly stating that Billy had a crush on Chrissy. A threat and swift punch to the shoulder was enough to shut him up. Wounded pride aside, it was true; Billy did find her fascinating.

Getting paired up in class for a history project led to conversations, allowing for them to talk; even if it was surface level. They began to converse in the hallway and after school as well. People began to talk, Billy didn’t give a shit, but Chrissy did. He wasn’t sure why, but a part of his mind ordered him to keep her safe. If someone made an inappropriate remark at her, Billy was the first to know. If he noticed that she wasn’t in class, he would ask around. Max kept her distance between her step brother and the cheerleader. She figured it was going to be nothing more than another quick relationship that she would end up having to hear from her bedroom, again. Yet he seemed different around her. The last thing Max could do was bring it up. Still, she found it a little amusing that El didn’t understand what Mayfield meant by “happy screams” and why Chrissy wasn’t making any.

“Chrissy? Hello, earth to Chrissy?” Heather stated as she waved her hand in front of her friend’s face.

“Huh? What?”

She chuckled, “You were totally staring at Billy.”

“I was not,” Chrissy hissed back, her blush betraying her.

“Aww, look at you, you’re blushing.”

She crossed her arms, “No! I- I- I’m sunburned.”

Heather leaned back in her chair, expensive sunglasses perfectly perched upon her nose, “Uh-huh sure, whatever you say. I mean, it’s not like he’s been staring at you since you came in or anything.”

Was he? Chrissy wanted to check, but she didn’t want to be so obvious. She placed her own glasses back up, eyes lingering back to the beautiful man. Solar spectacles on, face on the residents having their fun. No one would ever know about the ocean eyes gazing at the strawberry blonde.

Chrissy inhaled slowly and made her way over to the pool. Fake it til you make it as the old saying goes. For Chrissy, her confidence always shined through whenever she cheered. Her feet and legs gracefully strolled over to the water. His eyes kept his sight on her, his mind taking in each and every step that she took. She dawned a two colored one piece swimsuit, purple and white adorned the fabric. She wondered if it was too revealing due to the revealing neckline and how the suit hugged her rear. Heather and Nancy insisted that she looked amazing, Vickie loved the colors, and Robin was speechless before giving her a compliment (well more of a ramble, but Chrissy still thanked her).

The water felt so welcoming along her skin, allowing her to feel so comfortable and so free. She always loved the water, be it rain, lakes, and whenever she took a bath. As a child, she used to pretend that she was a mermaid swimming far, far away into the endless depths. No more responsibilities, no more worries, and no more stress. She could be her own person with a strong, shining tail and locks as long as a kelp forest. If only this mermaid knew just how much the lonely sailor watched her. Billy slowly removed his sunglasses, admiring the incredible form and movement. Chrissy took to the water like a bird to the air, with ease and strength. Her vibrant eye makeup never washed away, strawberry blonde locks darkened to a warm amber hue. She was radiant, lively, and enchanting.

His job was to focus on everybody at the community pool, yet he simply could not look away. He could hear music playing loudly in his eardrums. The booming of drums, the slick plucking of a bass, the melodic riffing of a guitar, and the amorous lyrics from the vocalist all came together. In his eyes, Chrissy moved in slow motion to the tune of Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded.” As much as he loved Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, her presence was no longer lingering in his mind. Chrissy was the one to break the surface of the pool’s water, strutting towards him in a red hot bikini. Manicured fingers carefully unclipping her top from the front to reveal her small and pretty breasts. His whistle seductively brushed along his upper lip and tongue, blowing out a loud tweet. The loudness of reality returned, but he kept his eyes on her. Chrissy used the ladder and was pleased to see him walking over.

“Looking good out there, Chrissy,” Billy stated, unable to keep back his smile.

She couldn’t resist smiling as well, “Thank you.”

He offered her a towel, their hands touched for a moment, “Perfect form.”

She felt the pleasant spark, eyes drifting along his sculpted body before she met his eyes, “Well… your form is amazing.”

Oh god, did she really say that to him? She really said that to him. His smile grew, letting out a mischievous chuckle.

She felt the little twinge of embarrassment, “I’m sorry. I’ve seen you… teaching lessons. Swimming lessons.”

Chrissy looked away briefly, asking for the concrete below her to melt beneath her feet. Maybe getting buried in a rock solid hole would be less painful than this. Yet he was still here, more than ready to engage. She hoped that perhaps he could smooth out the wince inducing matter.

Billy’s toothy grin dropped from humorous to a heart palpitating smirk, “You know, I could uh… I could teach you, if you like.”

Did she hear that right? Or did she imagine those words? He fluttered his long, lovely eyelashes when he spoke. Chrissy stood there with her mouth slightly agape.

“Oh?”

He continued, grin still evident, “I know all the styles. Freestyle.” He took a step closer, his expression neutral; enjoying the way she obediently nodded her head and clutched her towel. “Butterfly.”

Chrissy could hear her heart racing many miles a second. Her brain begged her not to say something stupid again. She could feel her body heat rising. She swore that she could also sense the warm sensation of his body as well, despite the short distance between them. Chrissy was so lost in his eyes that she didn’t notice the fresh stick of gum that he unwrapped and fished from his pocket. Gazing at the thick fingers gently holding the treat beneath his lips.

There it was, that smile, that gorgeously handsome smile, “Breaststroke.”

Chrissy did not blink, fingers loosening up as the air from her lungs momentarily vanished. The sound of her towel plummeting to the hard surface brought her back. She bent down to grab it, finding herself looking at Billy’s face when he helped her; his hand brushing hers once again.

“You okay?” He asked, sounding a little concerned and a bit smug.

She wrapped the towel around her waist, trying to hide her shyness with a friendly disposition, “I didn’t think you- I didn’t think you taught other age groups.”

Billy smacked his lips while he chewed, his breath minty fresh, “Well I offer more uh… advanced lessons to select clientele.”

He looked her directly in her gleaming eyes, he could see her demeanor change. Any time they spoke, even if it was just for a few minutes, Chrissy noticed how she felt a little light headed. Being in such close proximity made her lower half pulsate, a feeling that would continue to plague her long after they spoke.

His voice became as soft as the wind, Pacific blue eyes drilling into her soul, “Come to think of it, there is a good pool out at a Motel 6 on Cornwallis. It’s very quiet. You know, very private. Shall we say tonight? Eight o’clock?”

Chrissy’s brain reminded her to breathe, her ears focusing on the sound of his deep, gentle tone amidst the noise of summer fun. She could feel her head nodding, having to stop herself when she gave him a sympathetic smile, “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

He sounded heartbroken, it was all an act of course, one that made her laugh, “Can’t what? Have fun? Chrissy Cunningham.”

She felt so weird in this unusual predicament, yet she couldn’t help but enjoy this extra attention that he was giving her. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Billy to flirt with others, but she couldn’t imagine herself being with him romantically; and yet her mind did wander to that possibility.

Chrissy ran her nails through her soaked locks, doing her best to calm down her racing heart beat, letting out another chuckle, “No. I… I… I just, uh… I don't think I need any lessons.”

How strange. Her voice sounded different. Breathy and just a little seductive. Billy liked that, he really liked it.

He was closer to her, truly towering over Chrissy, “Oh, you see, I think you do. I just don’t think that you’ve had the right teacher.”

She gulped, this was really happening, “I, uh-”

The smug bastard showed off his best smirk, his voice was like caramel, rich and smooth, “It will be the workout of your life.”

Chrissy wondered if it was possible for a human heart to thrust back and forth through one’s chest the way a cartoon character’s heart does. His wolfish demeanor should have disgusted her, but she couldn’t lie to herself, she was enjoying this. Yet she could sense the judgemental eyes of everyone around her. As if she were bare before all of Hawkins, a sensation that haunted her in life and in her dreams.

Chrissy gasped when she felt Heather’s grasp on her arm, “Hey Billy, don’t you have some cougars to flirt with?”

He rolled his eyes, “Speaking of cougars, how’s your mom doing?”

Heather scowled at him, “You’re such a prick.”

“Well, I’d like to stay and chat, but I have a job to do. See you later, Chrissy,” Billy stated before heading back to his station.

Chrissy covered herself with the towel, “Thanks Heather.”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded, “Yes, I’m fine. Just um… I don’t know… kinda weird right now.”

[theyaregayyourhonor]

Gates, portals, birth and rebirth

Aka: Yes, Will and El are twins from birth (also I'm pretty sure Vecna cherry-picked our cast from different timelines)

Ever since I saw El's vision of her birth I've been having trouble with it and I couldn't figure it out for the life of me until I saw this image again:

I have to be a bit vulgar but my first thought was that it looked a whole lot like a vagina. Which made me think about how we have in the first and second season three people enter and exit the UD and the whole thing about birth/rebirth

So I was bugged by this idea until it started to fall into place.

So firstly I have to establish something

Portals: they are opened from the UD by Demogorgons and they are closing up just fine, not leving behind cracks =natural birth

Gates: they are opened from the RSU by humans and if they close up they leave behind cracks but if they don't they can spread and fester =c section

That's when I stopped because if I'm correct than El's rebirth or escape from the UD is fishy.

According to everything we know she was born with an emergency c section do to complications around her birth, so why did she exit the UD through a portal and not a gate? You can argue that than portals are equalling c sections, but portals are created from inside of the UD or womb, by something that is part of it. Portals are natural, gates aren't.

If gates were natural they wouldn't leave behind cracks or scarring, but they do and they are created by an outside force instead an inside.

But I have more proof.

Nancy Wheeler

I know this one come out of nowhere but we actually see our first birth/rebirth thanks to our girl. In her case it's more metaphorical and it's ends when she is back in the RSU and I also believe that is it here more, to show how a natural birth/rebirth should look like in contrast with the other two.

So Nancy Wheeler decided to climb into the tree portal left by a demogorgon, she wanders in, spends a little time there than she sees the demogorgon, she is the first one to move, she indicates the escape as she is frightened by the beast, that's when the demogorgon sees her and starts chasing her until she gets to the portal, she yells for Jonathan who is waiting for her on the other side and helps her out of the UD into the RSU and the portal closes.

If we traslate it into the birth/rebirth metaphor.

We have Karen and Ted Wheeler deciding to have a kid (Nancy willingly went inside) the baby spends nine month in the womb (Nancy spends the amount of time that she is not stuck here, but still sees the place and the demogorgon) than the water breaks (Nancy starts to leave) and the mother's body helps her (demogorgon start to chase her) the baby is born with the help of others and there are people waiting for her arrival (Jonathan)

Also real birth is fucking traumatazing so good job on that one too Duffers

Now like I said with Nancy its more metaphorical, like she saw hell and that made her change as a person.

But that's just makes El's whole ordeal more confusing. First El is draggeg into the UD by a Demogorgon that she demateralized with her powers.

Than in s2 we have El calling out to Mike as she wanders the UD, but there is no Demogorgon (aka help from the mothers body) as she tries to get out, but in the end she escapes through a portal, like Nancy.

I'm going to circle back in a minute

William Byers

So in season one we have Will being kidnapped, that is the first episode and the whole catalysts of the show. Now like with El, Will is dragged into the UD involuntary by a demogorgon, he spends most of the first season there and in the end he is saved by Hopper and Joyce who are bringing him out through the gate in the laboratory.

So we have two kids, whom are in the first season established to be look alikes, so much so that they could've be confused to one an other. They are both dragged into the UD by a demogorgon and they are trapped there, El enters the place on her own through a portal but Will is stuck and has to be carried out through a gate.

Demogorgons

Something that I've been stuck on is the whole thing about El and Will being dragged into the womb by something that is from the womb and I might be crazy but I think Will and El are tube babies.

In that case we would have a mother and a father desparate for a baby but it's just not coming together. That's when they hear about a doctor who could help. Doctor Brenner takes from the mother and father and the zygotes are made than they are put in the womb of the mother in hope that at least one stuck. They got lucky there is two zygotes that now growing and it all seems fine.

But they don't know something.

The demogorgons are under Vecna's control that he achived with the MF, demogorgons are our zygotes and they are infected with 001 powers (not DNA, Brenner has been trying to recreate him for a time now so he does a science thing that ends with artificial powers or something like that) via Brenner.

El openes the Mothergate which is the reason why Vecna can reach Will, the Demogorgon can open portals thanks to the gate being open and the Demo going through it.

Now El we know after being in the UD comes out premature, she was supposed to stay as the UD wasn't reacting to her escape, the body of the mother wasn't helping with the birth, El still struggles out in the natural way.

On the other hand Will is stuck in the UD, he can't born in the natural way, that's when the emergency c section is in motion, El coming prematurely (probably thanks to Brenner messing with the pregnancy and the zygotes) coused problemes with the other baby, Will. That's when the s section happened.

El opening up the mothergate=El borns early

Will stuck in the UD thanks El opening the mothergate=emergency c section because of the complications

Both times the person responsible is Brenner. Brenner is the one manipulating the pregnancy and the one making El going into the in between place.

Enter season 2

First I thought that I was crazy, than I remembered what happens next season with the characters.

So Will is in the hospital for a while, than he is brought home by his mother who is fussing over him and being protective and she is so scared for him and for good reason. Will is not fully okay, the whole ordeal left it's mark on him. He is sick, can't sleep well and he just can't seem to get any better.

In season 2 he still has the connection to the UD and he also gets possessed by the MF, which is what happened to him. Having Vecna's power and Brenner manipulating the pregnancy and the birth left their effects on him and his life.

While El after birth ends up in the hands of a random man, she doesn't know, who locks her up, has a bunch of rules she has to follow and becomes her Papa/father. Of course Hop is not Brenner, but still there are the parallels and that is what happened to El. After she was born, she was kidnapped by Brenner who locked her up, abused her and get her to call her Papa.

The big difference is that Hopper is acting that way because he already lost a daughter, he doesn't want to loose El, and it is dangerous for her outside. But he grows and learns and fails and apologies for his mistakes, he actually becames her father. I'm mean he is her father so I hoped he would grew into his role.

Vecna is cherry-picking

There is this gate called Twelvegate, according to that Will is twelve and the twin brother of El, and I saw it plausible especially with how I think Stranger Things is really built up.

I think Hopper and El from the same timeline, which follows.

Hopper and Joyce are married, they are struggling to have kids so they end up getting the help of a doctor, Brenner, he manipulates the pregnancy and the birth, El is born premature but strong, Will is stuck. Hopper demands the doctors to help Will, in the mean time El disappears (she is taken away by commands of Brenner by a nurse maybe Terry?). Brenner does the emergency c section, Will comes out dead so they have to revive him, something that they claim didn't work.

Hopper lost both El and Will, Joyce and him and up breaking up, meanwhile Will and El are raised in the laboratory as Eleven and Twelve.

Vecna picks out this Hopper and El, putting them in his little game he created with time travel and stolen powers. He messes with Hops memories thus Sara is created. She is the fuson of El and Will. A little girl who died in cancer, she wasn't breathing and they couldn't bring her back. Sara is Will and El on that fucked up day he lost two child at once.

El is from this timeline too, she and Will were trapped by Brenner but unlike Will she survived the massacre in 1979. That is why El recognises Will in season 1, because she knows him, they grew up together.

I also think that season 1 El and season 2 El are not the same person, that's why we never learn how she knew Will. Either that or when she was in UD Vecna started messing with her memories and Will and Twelve became two separate person.

I'm also trying to figure out if Jonathan would be from a timeline where Joyce and Lonnie get together and he is their son, or if he is from a reality where Hopper and Joyce got lucky. Like Jonathan literally being a miracle to them.

I'm also curious if you think the whole this is a patched together timeline from others thing true (or just like to entertain the idea) what do you think, who is from what timeline?

[thestrangestthing89]

I think people get so blinded by their obsession with Steve that they completely miss the point of his character arch. He doesn't know what he wants. He has no idea what he is doing with his life, which is fine he's like 19 or something, but it's the entire reason he acts the way he does. We see him talking to Robin in the car in the beginning of the season and he saying how he keeps going on these random dates that are meaningless and only ever about sex and he's not sure that's what he wants. Which leads to his fixation with Nancy. He clearly has an idealized version of her that doesn't match reality because they dated for a year and he didn't know she would never want 6 kids. (The main theme of "forced conformity being a bad thing comes into play here. Conformity is a familiar thing so it's comforting. It's a lot scarier to figure things out on your own and do your own thing, so he fantasizes about what he's "supposed to".) Nancy was very much not into that idea and even called it a nightmare. The way she says his name when they are in the upside-down is the same "let him down easy" tone that El uses with Mike in the pizza place. I would argue that even Steve doesn't like the idea of 6 kids considering how much he complains about having to babysit. He doesn't like getting stuck with the younger kids. He made that very clear this season every time he ditched them or tried to pawn them off on someone else. To be clear - I don't mean that he doesn't like the younger kids. I think he just wants to stay in a peer/friend role rather than one with more responsibility. This probably has a lot to do with all the dangerous situations that they are in and him not wanting to be responsible if something bad happens to one of them - especially after what happened to him and Robin in season 3. Getting drugged and beaten and then needing a 13/14 year old and a 10 year old to rescue you and take care of you has to leave you wanting to not get into those situations around them again. As for Nancy's behavior this season - her vaguely flirting with him like twice doesn't mean anything. Her checking him out doesn't mean anything - Max did too and she's not going to be in a relationship with him. It's also made clear that every girl in town likes him. It's superficial. Nancy was lonely because she didn't know where she stood with Jonathan and the second he comes back to town she doesn't even glance back at Steve. The only time he got brought up again later was Jonathan mentioning him and she responded with the same thing everyone else says about Steve lately - she's surprised he handled things well. It's not a romantic comment. Eddie and Robin have both said this recently too.

(I'm also pretty sure Nancy wasn't jealous of Robin when they were in the library. I don't think her impatience with her had anything to do with Steve. Nancy hasn't had a girl friend since Barb died and hasn't gotten close to anyone female since then. She wanted to go to the library alone. I think she was uncomfortable at first. Especially since when Robin mentions she isn't with Steve and they are just friends Nancy's attitude towards her doesn't immediately change. She still irritated with her the entire scene after when they are researching. Her attitude only changes when she realizes Robin is right and was helpful.) I would honesty be surprised if there are any scenes just with Nancy and Steve next season. The way Robin was was patting his back when Nancy was happy to see Jonathan made it clear he understood he was rejected. They don't need to talk about anything. What would they even talk about? Nothing really happened with them. I can see Steve talking about it with Robin but I don't think Nancy was as affected by their interactions and he was. I think Steve is following a similar arch to El where they find independence and figure out what they like and want. Steve doesn't deserve a girlfriend or Nancy just because he waited long enough. She isn't a prize for good behavior. Him figuring out what he's doing with his life is a win for him. Also just the end shot - they could have easily had Steve and Robin at the cabin helping out and ended with Nancy and Steve next to each other hinting at a future relationship but they didn't.

[tooloudamind]

Okay so I’m not the only Byler who is now in the clutches of Good Omens, and I’ve seen cases for Will as the Aziraphale and Mike as the Crowley equivalent in a hypothetical Good Omens Byler AU. But really, the possibility of the vice versa is what grabbed me by the throat and refused to let go. Will is the last person you’d expect to be turned a demon in a Good Omens AU, but he also has the biggest association (besides El) in canon with the Upside Down (The show honest-to-goodness started with him being dragged off to Hell the Upside Down.) And obviously, Will and Mike translated through this lens are not going to be expies of Crowley and Aziraphale— but we don’t quite get canon Will and Mike either. Since the Good Omens universe is not overtly queerphobic, I also had to draw on other ideas for why Will may have been considered different (but obviously, the gayness is still there lmao)

And so, have this: a Byler x Good Omens Angel!Mike/Demon!Will AU character study. Complete with footnotes.

Also, did I take one look at Mike’s full name being Michael and run away with the Archangel associations? Yes.

Dramatis Personae

WILL, reluctant Demon, known to his compatriots as Maldonado.

On his bitterest days, he can't help but think that perhaps he was made to Fall.

MIKE, short for Michael, an Angel who is just trying to do his best.

He was more shaken by Will’s Fall than he’d like to admit.

1.

If anybody (usually Mike [1], who for some reason never tires of the question despite the fact that the answer never changes) asks Will how he had ended up in Hell in the first place, Will usually just shrugs and gives a non-committal grunt. Anyone who didn’t know Will very well (which were most people other than Mike, really) would take that nonchalant exterior at face value, and assume Will hadn’t Fallen so much as Sauntered Vaguely Downwards. But Will had indeed thrashed and screamed quite an embarrassing amount, really, when he’d first been dragged to Hell— something that he doesn’t care for the other demons to remember.

For even after all these years as a demon, Will fears that there is still something all too soft about him, too corruptible— he keeps it deeply, safely hidden, but he knows there is a part of his being, the inmost core of him, that would turn to putty in the hands of the right person. He chooses to hang out with Michael, disgraced Archangel [2] that he is, and isn’t that enough proof for anyone who’s looking? He doesn’t quite know why he was ever thrown out of Heaven, but he’s learnt since then that supernatural entities such as himself— whether occult or ethereal— aren’t supposed to be quite so… attached. It’s funny, he thinks, how angels are supposed to be practically made of love— yet Will has always been enough of a bleeding-heart that it was too much even for the angels. It’s not like he fits in any better with the demons, for that. (Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.)

It’s despite this, or perhaps because of it, that no matter how many humans may describe Will as “a bit of a soft touch”, Will has made sure that his fellow demons themselves don’t pay too much attention to him for any of the wrong reasons. He likes being stationed on Earth, the life that he has made here for himself being something he couldn’t have even dreamt of in those darkest first days as a demon [3]— and he’s not, at any cost, going to let anyone take that away from him. And Will may be a mere tool of Hell like any other demon, but he can’t afford to lose any more of himself than he already has. So, whenever Will goes about his Hellish business, observers (in the rare cases that there have been any) often note a young man who exudes a detached, but fierce competency— which, in Hell, is functionally equivalent to an aura of quiet danger. The other demons don’t quite understand his methods, but his work is respected enough by those who do matter. No one really looks close enough to see that constant roiling simmer of internal conflict that he keeps tightly wound, just under his skin, and so much the better for that. [4]

He is never again going to risk being accused of caring too much.

And so, over the years and centuries, the demon who calls himself William Maldonado has gotten very good at hiding.

2.

Mike would never admit this to anyone, not even to Will himself, but he still remembers the angel that Will used to be— specifically, the angel he had met before the Beginning, illuminating the various forms and shapes of things that were to populate the Earth, painting color into very existence. [5]

It hadn’t been supposed to be anything special, no more than a regular check-in. But Michael hardly ever visited upon the angels who did this sort of work, and he most certainly hadn’t expected to happen across an angel such as this— one that had thrown himself into his work with all the fervor of the very young, and was in fact so engrossed that he had failed to even notice Michael until, very awkwardly, Michael had to prod at the angel’s shoulder. And then, when the angel had turned to face Michael after startling just the tiniest bit, Michael suddenly found himself struck by the sheer dazzling grace that radiated off the angel in waves— the way he looked Michael up and down without restraint, one corner of his mouth quirked upwards in a guileless half-open smile. It was usual to feel the warmth of love in the presence of one’s brethren— but Michael felt it so intensely, and so strangely, in this angel’s presence that he didn’t quite know what to make of it.

You have done some fine work here, Michael had said. The detail does such justice to Upstairs’ conception of it all.

Whereupon the other angel had grinned with obvious pride, a brilliant red flooding into his cheeks— Michael hadn’t known it was possible for an angel to blush— and then started vigorously explaining all the little intricacies of the work he’d done, all the efforts he’d put in here and there. And as Michael listened, he couldn’t help but be entranced by how obviously devoted the angel was to his craft— the expressiveness of his voice like lilting music to Michael’s ears— but still, there was a growing uneasiness in Michael’s heart of hearts. The emotion that sparked in this angel’s eyes was unquestionably love for the miracle of Creation, as all angels are enjoined to partake in, but there was something so unchaste about it… Like he weren’t a mere tool of Creation, but almost as if— as if he were claiming this small part of the Creation as his own. The artist’s heart, realized Michael, that’s what beats within this angel. Which was problematic, considering human artists, or even humans hadn’t been created yet— and angels did not have human hearts, anyway.

It was quite unconscious on the angel’s part, Michael was sure— he must have been alone with his work for so long that perhaps he had forgotten some of his angelic ways. But Michael felt duty-bound, now, to give this angel at least a nudge in the right direction. So he told the angel about the Almighty’s Great Plan, and how the Earth was not meant to last forever— and watched as the angel’s face fell, disappointment writ plain as day on his countenance. And the Archangel Michael noticed how this angel wore his heart so on his sleeve, and he trembled. And he wondered, if perhaps he had made the wrong call… [6]

But for now, the young angel has stars in his eyes that have been dimmed only slightly by Michael’s information, and he is bright and shining in a way that none of the other angels can ever match, and for a moment Mike does not stop to check the blasphemy that rises, unbidden, in his thoughts.

——

1) Will calls Michael “Mike” in human company, and Mike has a secret soft spot for the nickname no matter how much he outwardly protests it.

2) Mike was indeed the Archangel Michael. He got demoted to Principality after the Great War because he was seen to sympathize with a Rebel angel (no points for guessing who that is)

3) Mike, in his human life, does run a regular D&D campaign as DM. Will is a constant presence, and given D&D’s reputation, likes to tease Mike that he is in fact spreading Satanic influence on Earth.

4) There is, of course, one exception to this. There is always one exception, and Will has very mixed feelings about Mike being the only living creature who can always see through him.

5) Will had a bowl cut during his time in Heaven. One of the few perks of him being a demon is that he gets to wear his hair cooler. Although, he probably still wears a lot of (dark-colored) plaid to offset the coolness factor.

6) In no universe can it be said that it wasn’t Mike’s fault for Will (F)alling.

[klancecuredmydepression]

There's something I've been wanting to talk to you both about - and I know this is a difficult conversation. But I care about you both very much. And I know you care about each other very much and that's why it's important that we set these boundaries moving forward so we can build an environment, where we ALL feel comfortable, trusted and open to sharing our feelings. Feelings. Jesus. The truth is, for so long, I'd forgotten what those even were. I've been stuck in one place - in a cave, you might say. A deep dark cave. And then, I left some Eggos out in the woods and you came into my life and... for the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again. I started to feel happy. But lately, I guess I've been feeling... distant from you. Like you're pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games every night, making triple-decker Eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, watching westerns together before we doze off. But I know you're getting older, growing, changing. And I guess... if i'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change. So I think maybe that's why I came here, to try to maybe... stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were. But I know that's naive. It's just... not how life works. It's moving. Always moving whether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's sad and sometimes it's surprising. Happy. So you know what? Keep on growing up, kid. Don't let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from 'em, and when life hurts you - because it will - remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you're out of that cave. But, please, if you don't mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches.

Look, I know I usually post things about Klance, Voltron, and Warriors and other random stuff, but I couldn’t help but post this. I was rewatching Stranger Things (yes, this confirms the theory y’all have been speculating on Insta. I am obsessed with ST.), and I this scene alone where Hopper wrote that letter for El and Mike, it hurt to see how upset El looked when she was staring at Joyce after the fire in the mall. They have a deep bond, and I hope to see that they have their happy ending in S5. But, I posted this because it is great life advice, for people any age. That change is a good thing, and sometimes it’s a bad thing. In the end, no matter whether we want change or not, we can’t reverse the clock. We simply just have to move on and let go of the past to make way for the present, because change will be with us forever, no matter what we say, and we do to try and prevent it.

I know many of you reading this may not have read this far, but if you’re reading this, remember this: You’re awesome, and don’t try to change yourself because of someone or something. Live your life and cherish it, because life is only so short. Remember to be childish, happy, sad, angry, you name it, because it’s important to express yourself and let all of this emotions out. Remember to love yourself. And if you don’t, that’s alright. Because I love you, and I’m sure plenty of others do.

That’s all I have for you right now. Have a nice day/evening/night/morning.

[wayward-sherlock]

hi guys its me. im feeling,,,kinda terrible rn so here’s some angst i wrote a little while ago! 

Something was wrong.

Will knew Mike too well to believe his yeah guys, I’ll be fine! that had sounded far too flat to be reassuring. 

He knew Mike had been struggling; it hadn’t been hard to see, not when he was with El, not when Nancy made that offhand comment about his room while they were cleaning Hopper’s cabin. 

And yeah, maybe…maybe Mike had changed. Will didn’t doubt that. Change was inevitable, especially with them, between them, and…and that was something that Will had learned to deal with a long, long time ago.

But something about Mike’s volunteering didn’t seem right.

“You weren’t seeing the counselor though, were you, Mike?” Dustin asked, tying a bandana around his head to keep his curls from falling into his face. 

Will looked at Mike, expecting a scoff, but he hesitated, hand reaching up to nervously comb through his hair. It had gotten longer in the past couple of weeks - the lack of barbers in Hawkins had ensured that - and was getting curlier, almost. His fingers got caught halfway through. “Well,” he started, then shook his head. “I would never, I’m not—“

“There’s nothing wrong with it, Mike,” Lucas said gently, putting a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Max was going to her, before—“

“I’m not depressed! I’m fine,” Mike said, too loudly, and Will could feel his eyes widen against his will. Mike took a deep breath before he continued. “I’ll just make him want me, and then when he’s vulnerable, you guys can kill him.”

“We all know how well that worked last time,” Erica pointed out, eyebrows lifted at Mike. Lucas looked down at his hands, and Will ached for him.

He couldn’t imagine losing someone he loved. Holding them in his arms as they pleaded for their life. Watching as the light drained from their eyes.

He wasn’t going to lose anyone else. No one was. Will would make sure of that.

Mike’s lips turned down. “Yeah, well, it’s different this time.” He reached for a bandana, and he wrapped it around his face, covering and protecting his mouth from the spores that still made Will’s lungs ache, all these years later. “We have El, and we have Will.” He brushed his hair back out of his eyes, and Will’s fingers itched to fix it, to put it up, to let his fingertips graze over Mike’s forehead. 

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do, Mike,” Will said quietly, fingers twitching slightly at his side. 

Mike looked to him, and something shone in his eyes that Will couldn’t place. He put a soft hand on Will’s shoulder. “You’re gonna be there, and you’re gonna make sure that I don’t get taken.”

“Okay,” Will said. His voice sounded small, even to his own ears, but he didn’t care, because Mike was depending on him. They all were. 

***

Will didn’t know why they were at the quarry. 

He’d just followed Mike—like he always did—and they’d ended up…here.

Mike set his bike down carefully, and Will watched him curiously. Mike shuffled forward, towards the edge, and— “Mike.”

He turned to Will. His thin body was backlit by the unsettling red lighting from the Upside Down, and it made Mike look ill. Will swung a leg over his bike. “Mike.”

“This is where you died, Will,” Mike said quietly, so softly Will had to take a step forward to hear him. “They found your body here, they—“

“But I didn’t die, Mike,” Will interrupted. He could feel his bravery cracking, like the lightning in the sky above them. “I’m here, I’m here.”

“I know,” Mike said, looking away as his voice seemed to shatter. “I know, but god, it looked so real. It was…it was you.”

Will vaguely remembered hearing about it. The government had made an exact replica of…of him, his body, and had left it in the cold water below them. To cover up that he had actually been taken. 

“And I couldn’t—“ Mike turned all the way away from Will, curls cascading against his back like a waterfall. “I couldn’t live without you. So I—fuck, One! Come on! Don’t make me say it!”

Mike was yelling now, and it echoed through the eerily desolate landscape around them. Will took a step back, more out of surprise than anything, and he looked around frantically. “Mike—“

“You’ve been in my head, you fucker! You know I jumped because I couldn’t live without him! You know I did! And you know about the letters and the thoughts and the things I can’t bear to say to him! You know everything!” Mike’s screams were hurting Will’s ears, and he covered them with his hands. Will watched in terror as Mike spun to face him, hands on his head, eyes crazed. “Come out and take me! Please! I’m ready to go! Let me out of here!”

“Mike!” Will screamed, pointing behind Mike, and he turned around just in time to see Vecna walking at him, hand raised. Mike fell to the ground, like a puppet with cut strings, and Will tried to run towards him, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t—

“Will.” 

His voice was everywhere. Will bent over at the waist, mouth open in a silent scream, ears covered with his hands, like his flesh would do anything to stop the terrors of his mind. 

“I’ve waited so long for you,” Vecna said, walking past unconscious Mike, whose pale, pale face was twisted into a sick grin, and Will wanted to vomit. “You’ve finally come back to me.”

“No,” Will sobbed, shaking his head. “You’re not real, you’re not real, you’re not—“

“Oh, but I am, Will,” he said, running a finger under Will’s jaw. Suddenly, some vines were snapping out of the underbrush, wet tendrils digging into his skin as they gripped Will’s limbs and lifted him into the air. “I’m more real than anything you’ve ever seen.”

A vine gripped Will’s throat, and he choked out another sob before Vecna was in his face, warm breath puffing over Will’s skin. “You’ve always been lied to, Will.” He pointed at where Mike lay on the ground, limbs askew like he had fallen, or jumped from somewhere very high, oh god— “Maybe it was all your fault, this whole time. For being different.” 

He spat the word like venom, and Will recoiled hard enough for the vines holding him in the air to tighten their grip to hold him upright. 

“You’re the reason he’s dead,” Vecna hissed, lifting Mike with a hand. “You made him love you, so much that he couldn’t live without you. Does this look like something good to you, Will?”

Mike was thrown at Will’s feet like he weighed nothing, and Will screamed, agony becoming so unbearable that his chest felt like it was collapsing. 

“That’s what I thought.” Vecna nodded to himself, then motioned to the apocalyptic hell around him. “If you come with me, we can be good.” 

Will shook his head as tears pricked his eyes. The vines around his neck tightened. 

“We could be heroes, Will.”

[allthingsfangirl101]

TOS Chapter 12: Sibling Reunion

Masterlist

"Are you sure about this?" Dustin asked, looking around the hill.

"This is kinda close to Hopper's Cabin," Lucas noted.

"It's going to be fine," Alice said. Steve looked at her, knowing that Alice wasn't as confident as she was acting. "We need a place where he's attacked. Somewhere he's familiar with."

"Isn't that a little. . . dangerous?" Robin asked. Alice looked at her from over her shoulder and sent her a smirk.

"Not for long," she shrugged.

Alice turned around. She started forming smoke and pushed it in front of Hopper's house.

"What are you doing?" Dustin asked.

"Building a barrier," she explained. "If we get behind it, Hen. . . Vecna won't be able to sense us."

"That's really smart," Steve chuckled.

"I'm not going to let anything happen," Alice said, dropping her voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Will act weirdly. Alice looked over and saw him slowly reach up and touch the back of his neck.

"He's here," Alice whispered.

"What?" Steve panicked.

Everyone ducked when the sound of something breaking echoed off the trees. Alice looked up, searching for her brother.

"Alice," Steve said slowly. "We should probably go."

"Everyone behind the barrier," Alice said. "Now!"

And just like that, the group ran behind the barrier that Alice created.

"Wait," Johnathan gasped. They looked up and saw Will frozen.

"Will!"

"Will! What are you doing?!"

"Stay here," Alice said.

"Alice, wait," Steve said as he grabbed her wrists, keeping her from crossing the barrier she just set up. He pulled her in closer and lowered his voice.

"Please don't do this," he whispered.

"If I don't," Alice said under her breath, "he'll kill Will."

"Alice, please. Think this through," he begged. "Are you ready for your brother to find out you're alive?"

Her breath got caught in her throat. Steve's question made Alice doubt herself.

"I don't have a choice," Alice finally whispered.

"Alice. . ."

"I can't let him hurt Will," she cut him off. "Not more than he already has."

"Alice, please."

"He's hurt you all long enough."

Alice pulled her wrist out of Steve's hand and slowly stepped backward through the barrier. She turned around, gathering as much of her strength as she could. The others stood in awe as she calmly walked toward Vecna.

"What is she. . ."

They watched as some light purple smoke started forming around her, snaking up her body to her right hand. She formed the smoke into a ball and slowly brought her hand up. One second, she was holding the ball of smoke. The next, she blew it toward Vecna.

"Holy shit," Dustin gasped.

In a second, their surroundings changed. Outside their protective circle, was the Creel house. There were two Alices now. Her normal self that the group was introduced to and her younger self-the age where Henry killed her.

Alice wasn't the only one who changed. Vecna turned back into Henry. El recognized him instantly and took a scared step back. Mike instantly reached out for her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into his arms.

"Henry?" Little Alice asked. "Will you come play with me?"

"What?" Henry stuttered.

"The playset across from our house is really cool! It looks like a castle, Henry! A baby castle across from the Creel Castle! Come on. You promised you'd come play with me."

"I can't," Henry said slowly.

"Please?" Little Alice begged.

"Alice. . ."

"You don't mean this."

"What are you. . ."

"You don't mean all the bad things you've done," Little Alice said, her eyes filling with tears. "I know who you are, Big Brother. You promised. . . You promised to protect me."

"But the world is full of. . ."

"Why did you do this?" Little Alice cried. "You didn't have to kill us. We were happy! We moved into our gorgeous castle."

"Stop," he said shakily.

"Daddy was finally getting better from the war," Little Alice continued. "Mommy was happy. We were going to start school and make new friends. Life was finally getting better! But you had to go and ruin it."

"Alice, I told you to stop."

"I love you, Big Brother," Little Alice said, her voice breaking. "You can still fix this."

"Fix it?" Henry scoffed.

"Yes. You can turn this around, Henry. Please," she pleaded. "Come home."

"You're not really here," he said shakily.

"Yes," Little Alice sighed. Alice reached forward and put her hand on Little Alice's shoulder. In the blink of an eye, Little Alice disappeared.

"I am," Alice said.

"How. . ."

"Dr. Brenner didn't just save you, Henry," Alice confessed. "After that night, he brought you to the lab here. He took me to one in California."

"What are you talking about?" Henry scoffed.

"He's a scientist," Alice said, her anger towards Brenner combining with her anger toward Henry. "The only thing he cares about is proving his hypothesis, Henry. He wanted to experiment on siblings in two different ways to see which one worked better."

"Better?" Henry challenged. He took a step toward her but she didn't move.

"You think he was mean and cruel to you," Alice continued to point out. "But think about it, Henry. He was sweet and kind and. . . fatherly to those other kids, right?"

"Well. . ."

"He was kind to them, Henry," she added. "He was that way with you but you refused to see it."

"You think you're better?"

"That's not what I said," Alice sighed. "Besides, no one wins this. Our childhoods were taken from us, Henry. Brenner ruined our lives. I mean, look at El. She has a family and friends. She's happy. We should've been happy."

"He gave her. . ."

"Nothing!" She yelled, cutting him off. "He destroyed her! The only thing that saved her was Hawkins."

"I got her out!"

"You played her! You tricked her into freeing you. But luckily, she found a father, friends, a life! She's happy. And I am not about to let you take that away from her. Not the way you took it from me."

"Grow up!" He scoffed. "I did what I had to do."

"You killed Momma! You tore Daddy away from us! You ruined everything!"

"I am creating a better world!"

"For you!" Alice yelled, tears coming to her eyes. "Everything you've ever done has been for you! I was your baby sister and you always pushed me aside."

"I wanted a better world," he laughed.

"All I wanted was my big brother."

"Alice. . ."

"You have taken enough from them, Henry," Alice threatened. "I will not let it happen again."

"What do you think?!" Henry scoffed, his anger finally snapping. "That they are going to welcome you into their little family?! Don't be gullible, Little Sister."

"You don't know them," Alice started to defend them. "They're innocent. They've done nothing to deserve what you're. . ."

Dustin had to hold Steve back when Henry grabbed Alice's neck. She clawed at his wrist as he lifted her off her feet.

"It's adorable," he sighed. "You truly think he has the ability to love you."

Steve's breath got stuck in his throat, but he tried to cover it. Henry laughed as he finally let Alice go. She fell to her knees, gasping and coughing for air.

"You really think that he can bring you back into this world and create a normal life with you? Oh, little sis."

Alice couldn't help but look over at the group, her eyes filled with tears as she locked eyes with Steve. He shook his head, trying to silently tell her that Henry is wrong. But it was of no use.

She took a deep breath before turning back to her brother. She slowly stood up, trying to get her breathing back under control.

"You don't know," Alice said as confidently as she could. "My life isn't over."

"Are you sure?"

Alice gasped when she felt the sharp pain in her side. She looked down to see the wound bleeding. When she looked back up, Henry had turned back into Vecna.

"Henry," she gasped in pain.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Little Sis," he smirked. "Don't mess with your big brother."

[scheodingers-muppet]

okay it’s taylor time: evermore edition. some are shorter cause I kept hitting the character limit

willow: steddie, from eddie’s pov. "Rough on the surface, but you cut through like a knife" and how they both almost instantly got along. "The more that you say, the less I know" and realizing this idea of "King Steve" Eddie had was completely wrong. "Wherever you stray, I follow" "Life was a willow, and it bent right to your wind" Steve "rich kid" Harrington. "Like you were a trophy or a champion ring" our favorite jock. "Show me the places where the others gave you scars" Imagine Steve and Eddie going on walks in the woods together after season 4 and Steve telling Eddie all the past stories. "Every bait-and-switch was a work of art" and Steve's way of flirting is to act uninterested.

champagne problems: Stancy, from Nancy's pov. I know I say every breakup song is Stancy, but c'mon. Let's be real here. Replace the proposal with the Halloween fight and champagne with punch and it's literally season 2. "I dropped your hand while dancing, left you out there standing crestfallen on the landing" "Your heart was glass, I dropped it" "You had a speech, you're speechless" "This dorm was once a madhouse. I made a joke 'Well, it's made for me'" paired with "She could have made such a lovely bride. What a shame she's fucked in the head" and the fact Nancy was dealing with her trauma during season 2 and was likely feeling very mentally unwell due to that. I also think Nancy feels a lot of anger and fears that she's "crazy" in the sense of what to do with said anger.

gold rush: Steve thinking about King Steve. Steve sees himself as separate to King Steve, I think. Like King Steve was a character that he was playing, feeling like a fraud. He hates it, but everyone loved him. "Everybody wants you, but I don't like a gold rush." "What was it be like to grow up that beautiful? With your hair falling into place like dominoes?" "I call you out on your contrarian shit" and Steve actively showing he's no longer that person, showing he's changed. "Had never seen a love as pure as it, and then it fades into the gray of my day-old tea" and Steve blaming his King Steve side for what happened with Nancy.

'tis the damn season: Jancy, from Jonathan's pov. I want them to get in a huge fight in season 5. Imagine Jonathan comes home for the holidays and tries to win her back. "The road not taken looks real good now" "It always leads to you in my hometown" "I escaped it too, remember how you watched me leave." "You could call me babe for the weekend" "Sleep in half the day, just for old times' sake" and them almost being late to work season 3 cause they would sleep in. "Wonder about the only soul who can tell which smiles I'm faking"

tolerate it: El and Mike. I'm ignoring the age gap part of this song because (luckily) it doesn't match anyone in the show, however, the rest DOES match this situation. "I sit and watch you" and El observing everything in season 1. "if it's all in my head, tell me now. Tell me I've got it wrong somehow. I know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it." and the season 4 fight. "While you were out building worlds, where was I?" You can't convince me season 4 Mike wouldn't blow off El for Hellfire if she didn't move. "Where's the man who'd throw blankets over my barbed wire?" and how Mike was so insistent she wouldn't hurt them in season 1. "Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life." "Drawing hearts by the byline"

no body, no crime: Karen and Joyce. I think they were best friends before everything with the Upside Down happened, through Will and Mike. I could see this being about Lonnie or Ted. I'm choosing to pretend this song is just about cheating and not the husband murdering his wife here. But I think Karen is deeply unhinged and we just never get to see it. I need to see her go crazy. I also wouldn't put it past either of them to murder the others husband if he cheated.

happiness: Nancy about Barb. "They'll be happiness after you, but there was happiness because of you." Honestly, this entire chorus. Even after the monsters and the terror and being haunted by what happened, Nancy has fought her way to some kind of happiness. "I hope she'll be a beautiful fool who takes my spot next to you" about saying goodbye to the girl she used to be and letting go of that version of her. "You haven't met the new me yet." "There is happiness in our history. Across our great divide, there is a glorious sunrise dappled with the flickers of light." Happiness in their memories and the divide being life and death. The lights being the Christmas lights.

dorothea: Robin and Steve!!! Platonic, of course. But like, if Robin goes out of town for college : ( "Making a lark of the misery" I just know they'd be so sad without each other. "This place is the same as it ever was, but you don't like it that way" "It's never too late to come back to my side...And if you're ever tired of being known for who you know, you know you'll always know me" "Skipping the prom, just to piss off your mom" They definitely just had a movie night during Robin's prom.

coney island: Lumax. "If this is the long haul, how'd we get here so soon?" They both want it to last forever. "Did I close my wrist around something delicate? Did I shatter you?" Max worried about her trauma bringing down the group, Lucas worried to even tell Max about the Upside Down so she wouldn't get hurt, only to hold her as she was possibly dying. "Sorry for not making you my centerfold" They're both dealing with a lot; albeit, various degrees of seriousness. But they haven't gotten to be there for each other. "I pushed you to the edge but you were too polite to leave me" Max things she's too much for a relationship. "Do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?" I see Max casted as a rogue if she ever played DnD. "Sorry for not winning you an arcade ring" "Did I paint you bluest skies the darkest grey?" "The sight that flashed before me was your face" and Max seeing the dance to help her break away from Vecna.

ivy: Jopper. "I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bone in a faith-forgotten land" reuniting due to the Upside Down. "I just sit here and wait, grieving for the living" Joyce immediately went for it, the moment she thought he could be alive. "My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand" Russia, also Joyce is definitely anemic. "I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland" Joyce has tried to move on from Hopper multiple times. "The fatal flaw that makes you long to be magnificently cursed" and Hopper thinking he's the curse.

cowboy like me: Steddie. "Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear" "Hustling for the good life" Steve is the constant sports to get into a good school, Eddie is selling drugs to get some more money. "The ladies lunching have their stories about...before I locked it down" "Your boots beneath my bed"

long story short: Ronance. "I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me" and the Upside Down. Nancy picked school, Robin picked staying in the closet. "Clung to the nearest lips, long story short, it was the wrong guy" "I always felt I must look better in the rear view" I think Robin has lost a lot of close friends that was closer to situationships. "We live in peace, but if someone comes as us... I'm ready" Nancy. "No more keeping score" and Nancy being jealous in season 4.

marjorie: Dustin about Eddie. I'm sorry. "All your...backlogged dreams and how you left them all to me"

closure: Byler. "Staying friends would iron it out so nice" "The sea you put between you and me"

evermore: Max. "I've been down since July" "Writing letters addressed to the fire" "Can't remember what I used to fight for" "I rewind the tape, but all it does is pause"

[givehimthemedicine]

I think we've had "pretty?" all wrong

You know how it's annoying that Eleven is written to randomly care about her attractiveness to Mike as a kid straight out of the lab? I just found a new way of looking at this where it makes so much more sense and doesn't suck.

All the prettys that ever get talked about:

El touches the picture of Nancy and says "pretty".

Mike tells El she looks "pretty. good. pretty good." and she looks in the mirror and repeats it, evidently reveling in the sensation of being deemed attractive by a boy.

Later, missing the wig that had enabled Mike to consider her attractive, she asks him "still pretty?" and he's like "yeah, really pretty!" and she seems relieved.

El piggybacks Billy's memories, sees his mom on the beach, and reports to the rest of the gang that she's a babe.

Pinned down by flayed Billy intent on feeding her to the meat monster, El's thoughts return to how pretty his mom was, and she tells him so, and this somehow saves the world.

But the one I overlooked, because it really doesn't fit with the others in that she isn't referring to a person, is when El runs away to her mother's house. 12 years too late, she enters the nursery room meant to be hers, reaches into her crib and pulls out a teddy bear and says, in a sad little whisper, "pretty."

This is the one that decodes all the others.

Eleven has a poor grasp of language and has been using this word in her own way. Visual attractiveness is a mere pinch of salt in her recipe for "pretty," where the key flavors are good. comfort. happy. safe. normal. soft. home. loved.

That soft happy teddy bear is something that should have belonged to El and comforted her as a little child beginning a normal life. Immediate previous dialogue for context:

Becky: [ Your mother] always believed that you'd come home one day. El: Home? Becky: Yeah, home. El, picking up the teddy bear: Pretty.

The Nancy "pretty" being the first one establishes that it's El's word, not one she got from Mike.

Nancy's prettiness represents normalcy and happiness to El, the kind she worries will never be hers. There were also family portraits including Mrs. Wheeler (who El could've been drawn to as a friendly mother figure) and toddler Holly (who El could've been drawn to as a reminder of her past self) yet she made a beeline for Nancy. This makes me think El's interest in Nancy relates to her hopes for her own future.

Not long after that is the scene where she seeks out Nancy's bedroom and looks with tragic reverence upon the soft comfortable space and belongings of a normal girl, and what it might look like to be loved. I can't think anything is going through her mind except that this is the future that's been denied to her, and wondering if she can or will ever have something like it.

Billy's mom is conventionally pretty, but El is really describing her vibe as warm, involved, happy, loving. I can hear the delivery of "I think she's looking at me" as a bit wistful, as El would like to have a happy nurturing motherlady to look at her that way. (She does know her own mom at this point, but she's catatonic or whatever so they can never really have an interaction like this)

Billy doesn't not kill everybody because El complimented his mom.

El: She was pretty. She was really pretty. And you were happy. (and then she touches his face and it's presumably the only genuinely compassionate touch he's felt in years and he deactivates)

It's right there in the dialogue that El gets through to him by painting a picture of his happiest memory. But I always thought "pretty" seemed like an annoyingly shallow thing to place so much emphasis on here, until I thought about pretty in this context. Pretty + happy are a single concept to both El and Billy.

Billy, to a lesser extent, also had normal childhood stolen from him. Due to his abuse and abandonment he shares El's longing for a mother, safety, warmth and love, and "pretty" spoke to him in a similar way. Watch his face, he's clearly changed before she even adds the happy part. "Pretty" is Billy's Running Up That Hill - it isn't a magic incantation that makes the monster drop dead, but it does give him a moment of clarity that he can use to fight.

So now let's look at those classics again. Although I've always found it endearing on a "lol, linguistically stunted child misunderstands slang" level, I suddenly see a lot more in it.

"You look pretty good." He's talking about her looks.

"Pretty. Good." She's talking about her worth.

Made-over-El stands in the mirror and thinks, here is a normal-looking girl, she is pretty and good, Mike said so. In the wig and dress, she understands herself to be someone else entirely. Mike, who has only recently named her "El, short for Eleven", reinforces this by re-naming her Eleanor while she's dressed like this, even though the name Elle would not have raised Mr. Clark's eyebrows for any reason.

Later when she's on the lam in the woods, she looks at her reflection in the water with and without the wig, and screams at herself because it hurts that the real her isn't "Pretty. Good."

So when she calls back to this, she still doesn't really care if Mike thinks she's attractive, because she only ever thought he meant her definition of "pretty" in the first place.

She's not asking am I good-looking with no hair? She's asking, me, too? the real me? do I belong with nice loved happy soft? and when he gives an enthusiastic yes, look at the little look she gives herself in the mirror. It's not f yeah, a boy finds me desirable. It's maybe there is hope for me.

And the next thing out of Mike's mouth is "I'm happy you're home."

Season 4 gave us one more sneaky one:

El: I am twice as happy now. You are right. It just takes time. I think I have finally adapted. At first I missed all the spring flowers, but now I find it pretty here too.

At this point, El has the life that that hopeful little girl in the mirror dreamed of: normalcy, a home, a mom, a family, a boyfriend, long hair, her own bedroom full of her own stuff and important little mementos like Nancy's. And the gnawing truth is, it still isn't making her happy. But this was the dream, so she's just trying to fake it til she makes it. Pretty here is not just about Hawkins vs Lenora scenery but the sense of home, wholeness and happiness that she's trying to fool both Mike and herself into believing she feels in her new life.

Here they are in order for your evaluation. thank you for your time