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starkstruck27 · 1 year

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Okay wait, but I've got another idea: a Gravity Falls AU. Recently I've been rewatching the show, and I think it has a lot of similarities to ST, so I've been thinking...

Robin and Steve are twins (fraternal, with Robin being two minutes older, and I'm thinking they're, like, 16 or 17 in this AU) and they're sent by their parents to stay with their crazy uncle Hopper over the summer. They live in Chicago, but Uncle Hopper lives in the sleepy little town of Hawkins, and is kind of a mystery. He owns a tourist trap called the Oddity Emporium, and even though he's kind of a stingy, crotchety older guy, he loves them, and the Emporium is where they live.

Robin and Steve move into the bedroom in the attic, and as soon as they get settled, they start to notice some oddities outside of the museum. First, Robin swears she sees a fairy flying around when they're exploring the woods, then Steve is convinced that one of the statues in the town square is in a different position when he comes out of the supermarket, but they have no proof. They try to chalk it up to their uncle's place just messing with their heads, but then, they're exploring the woods one day, and Steve trips and falls into a ditch.

Robin immediately climbs down to check on her brother, and he's fine, but he hit his head on something and they decide to check it out. It turns out to be a chest buried at the bottom of the ditch, and when they finally pry the ancient lock open, they find a book inside.

Steve isn't impressed at first. It's a weird book, what's so special about it? But Robin cracks it open and they start to read, both amazed by what they find. It's some kind of journal, apparently the third in a set, that has a mysterious unknown author, and it details all of the weird creatures and supernatural goings-on that make Hawkins so weird.

At first they don't want to tell anyone about it, not even Uncle Hopper. They don't know why the book was buried, but it seems like there was a reason, right? Maybe it's a government conspiracy or something. But they study it together, trying to figure out who in the crazy little town might have something to do with writing it.

They become friends with Eddie, another guy a little older than them who works at the Oddity Emporium as a handyman/cashier/whatever else is needed of him, and his friends, Gareth, Rich and Jeff. They're the cool kids in Hawkins, rowdy teenagers who just always seem to have the best hangout spots (including a secret ladder that leads to the roof of the Emporium) and the most fun of anyone else in the town. They also befriend some local kids who come with them on adventures, Dustin, Will, Lucas, Erica and Mike. They're all younger than Robin and Steve, but they're pretty cool, and they're more accustomed to the weirdness that plagues the town, so they're pretty awesome to have around.

There's also Mrs. Byers, who runs the diner in town, and her other son Jonathan, who is kind of friends with Eddie and his gang. Jonathan is also Will's older brother, so he and his girlfriend Nancy often tag along on adventures. And of course there's El, the psychic girl who is the centerpiece of the other tourist attraction in town, the Hut of Hypnotism. Her dad and Uncle Hopper have been in a war for best tourist attraction for years, but because El made real friends and doesn't like using her powers (which no one knows how she got) just for him to make money, Hopper often comes out on top. There's the local cops, Powell and Callahan, who are not great at their jobs, but perfect for comedic relief, and finally, the local kook, another hermit who lives in a shack in the woods named Old Man Murray.

Robin and Steve get to know the people of the town pretty quickly, and they find them all pretty amusing for the most part. Even Old Man Murray has his good points. But there's one person that they meet a few weeks into their stay that they simply cannot stand. Billy Hargrove, the rich asshole who's great great grandfather apparently founded the town.

Billy seems just as awful as his parents, who live in the mansion atop the hill with him and his sister, but they kind of have to put up with him, because his little sister is friends with the other kids they're friends with, and he's told to keep an eye on her. But he's still a jerk, snarky and always acting like he's better than everyone else because his family is rich, and he loves to be the center of attention. But as the summer continues and they battle more and more weird monsters, Steve and Robin start to think that he's not so bad.

Especially Steve. Sure, they had a rough start, but after fighting a horde of Goblins, uncovering an ancient tomb with a mummified Native American Chief inside, and working together to capture a vampire that's haunting the old wing of the Hargrove mansion, they've kind of bonded whether they like it or not.

It's about halfway through the summer when things start to get really weird. Firstly, Steve and Robin had to time travel over and over again to make sure the timeline stayed correct and so Steve would still get to keep the pet goat he'd won at the county fair. It was a whole thing. Then, they find out that El's dad, in order to try and get a leg up on Hopper and try and destroy his business, had the second of the three journals, and they had to fight not only the man himself to get it from him, but also some kind of dream demon that went by the name Henry Creel and seemed to enjoy toying with them. They didn't defeat the demon, but he told them that he'd leave them alone until they became important, so they tried to forget about him. And finally, they tell Uncle Hopper about the books, which he laughs off and says is fake, but that some of the things in it would make great attractions at the Emporium. Robin and Steve know the truth, though, and still use the journals to their advantage every time they need to.

Finally, the summer is two thirds done, and Steve and Robin have three major problems: One, they're still no closer to finding the author of the journals. Two, Henry is back, and he's hinting at something big coming soon. Three, Steve has developed a huge, embarrassing, inexplicable crush on Billy Hargrove.

When Robin first finds out about that third one, she groans and tries to remind Steve that all summer Billy was a jerk to him and that they have bigger problems to worry about. But Steve tries to tell her that Billy is changed, he's not really as big a jerk as everyone says and he knows it sounds crazy, but he's pretty sure Billy likes him back. Robin rolls her eyes at first and just tries to focus on their other mission, finding out who wrote the journals, but she can't do it by herself. Every time she tries, Henry appears in her dreams and throws her off course, and it's getting annoying and, quite frankly, terrifying. But eventually Steve returns to help her and they find out that the answer lies much closer to home than they'd realized.

They're walking around the Emporium one day when Robin drops something and it rolls under the porch. She and Steve crawl under to get it, but their combined weight causes a bit of the ground to collapse and they fall into a basement they didn't know was under the Emporium. They're confused, because it doesn't look like the kind of place that Uncle Hopper would have under his house, almost like a bunker of sorts. But the real surprise is when they find not only the journals that they showed Hopper and he never gave back, but the first one, too. He had it all that time.

They're obviously pissed, so they grab the books and find the way upstairs, using an elevator that leads them to a staircase that opens up into the (thankfully empty) gift shop of the Emporium behind the vending machine. They find their uncle and demand an explanation, and he finally tells them the truth.

His daughter was an incredibly intelligent girl. She was always looking for adventures and documenting her findings in the very books they were holding in their hands. This was all before they were born, so they never met their cousin Sara, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Hopper told them that she got in too deep with her mystery hunting, and she encountered Henry Creel long before they did. Only, she made a deal with him, a bad one, and she ended up dead.

Hopper says that the official story that ran in the newspapers was that she had brain cancer, and an aneurysm is what took the young girl away so suddenly. But Hopper knew the truth. Something in those books had killed his little girl, and he didn't know if it was still out there, but he hoped that if he could hide the books well enough, no one would be able to use them to go looking for it. He kept only one for himself, just wanting to hold onto some little piece of her, because it was her greatest passion, and it was all he had left.

After he tells the twins the story, they tell him that they've encountered the same demon, and that it wasn't even their fault, but that they've beat him before. Hopper is amazed, and asks how they did it, but they say they aren't exactly sure, they just knew they didn't give up until he surrendered.

Hopper is still amazed, but he tells them that if they ever encounter the demon again, they're not to engage with him, because he's smart, and he has no qualms about killing for his own gain. He also tells them that he doesn't want them going around looking for any other weird creatures or anything, because if they get caught in some kind of trouble, he doesn't know how to help them and he doesn't want them getting hurt. They say they won't, but they both know they're lying.

Especially when, two days later, Henry comes back, and he says that it's time. He visits them in a dream they end up sharing, and says he's got big plans coming, so he's gonna give them some advice. He tells Robin that she thinks too much, and she should learn to clear her head. Then he tells Steve to keep his friends close, his family closer, and his enemies closest. Then he disappears, and the twins wake up together, scared and confused. But they know that whatever Henry is planning, it's up to them to stop it.

It's a week before they're set to go back home that it happens. They're not sure how, but some sort of rift in the fabric of the universe allows Henry's hellscape of a dimension to leak into theirs, and even more horrifying creatures than the ones they've already seen that summer (and that's saying something, considering they've encountered shapeshifters and bears with multiple heads) start infesting Hawkins and walking around like they own the place. Robin and Steve are both terrified, but they know they have to help fix it, so they start trying to figure out how.

They know it's going to be different than the first time they fought him. That time, they were I the mindscape, where whatever they could imagine would happen, and they could conjure weapons and such. But this time, they're in reality, and they have to rely on their wits and whatever they can scrounge up around them to fight with. They don't know how, but they know they've got to do it.

Finally, they're almost ready to confront the dream demon and fight him with their friends, but before they can get close enough for even one swing at him, he stops them, and starts to monologue, as villains do. He says that it's cute that they thought there was strength in numbers, and he says that that's not how he plays the game. He reminds them of the advice he gave them, and says they're going to need it if they want to save their friends, who he has levitating off the ground by now, all of them frozen and looking terrified. He says that they're going to play a game, and their friends are taken away, flying off to somewhere else in the labyrinth of a palace Henry's built for himself. He tells them that he put one of their friends in each different room of the place, and that they're going to have to go through one room at a time to attempt to save them. Each room will get more and more difficult, and they'll each take a wing of the palace to go through, they can't do it together. They'll get three tries to answer each riddle, and if they can't, then their friend in that room will die an agonizing death. Robin and Steve are terrified, but they stand their ground, and say that they'll do it.

Henry is all too delighted, and tells them that if they manage to do it and get all their friends out alive, then he'll allow them a chance to try and beat him. He's clearly doubting their abilities, and entirely too amused for their liking, but they know it's their only choice, so they accept. And as such, the games begin.

They each get seven rooms. The riddles for Robin start easy, but the answers are so simple that she begins to overthink them, and it almost costs her her second room. But she remembers the advice Henry gave her, and she knows the stakes. She also knows that he never gave them a time limit, so until she's sure she's got the answer, she doesn't even chance it. She saves Mrs. Byers first, then Jonathan, Mike, El, and Erica. The second to last room is occupied by Eddie, and it's one of the simplest riddles, but Robin almost loses again because of the overthinking. She is down to her final try when she finally gets it and saves him, and is finally sent on to her last room, which contains her uncle Hopper. She is timed on that one, but even under the pressure, she's noticed a pattern to all the riddles, they all have something to do with fire, so she figures it out by process of elimination, and saves her uncle.

Meanwhile, Steve is faring a little differently. He doesn't just get riddles with simple answers like his sister, his riddles all have something to do with the person he's trying to save. Something that he would only know if he knew them well. He figures out that this is what Henry meant by "keep your friends close", and once he figures that out, it's pretty much a cakewalk. He saves Nancy, then Murray, then Lucas, Will, Max and Dustin. Finally, he gets to the last room, and he finds Billy inside. This is the hardest room for him, and even though he's not timed, he only gets one chance to get this one right. He thinks about all the other riddles, all of them having to do with either some fear the person had or some kind of thing that could be used against them somehow. And this riddle is one that hardly makes any sense, where the others were mostly pretty simple. Steve tries to break it down bit by bit, like his math teacher taught him to do when they were doing a tough problem, and he finally figures it out. It's asking for the one thing that would make Billy surrender anything for. Steve gives his answer, and it's correct.

After that, Billy drops back to the floor, and the two of them, as well as Robin, Hopper, and everybody else, are teleported back in front of Henry, who is only slightly ticked off that Robin and Steve have figured it all out. But, he plays fair, and tells them that they can take their shot at him. Robin and Steve can't do any kind of sibling communication between their minds, but they did make up a secret language when they were kids, so throughout the battle, they're able to communicate without Henry understanding what they're saying or planning. They talk about the riddles, how all of Robin's had something to do with fire and how Steve's all had something to do with how to gain the upper hand on each of the people he'd saved. It only takes them a second to figure out that Henry was testing them that whole time, because it wasn't just about them being able to save their friends.

It was about seeing if they were smart enough to figure out what his weakness was.

Ultimately, Henry's cockiness led to his own downfall, because as soon as they figured out that fire was his weakness, they found a way to light the sucker up. It hadn't been easy, and they didn't escape unscathed, but once Henry went down, so did all of his minions.

They didn't remember much after that, both of them being too tired and too worried about their friends and the rest of the townsfolk to worry about what happened then, but from what they can guess, Henry died and all of his demons were sucked back into the portal they came out of, and the town was restored to its former glory. There were still weird creatures all around, and it took them a while to repair some of the damage done to buildings and such, but for the most part, Hawkins just went back to being Hawkins.

Soon enough, it was their last day in town, and as they packed up their things and tried to prepare themselves to say goodbye to their friends, they got to talking about Henry and his game again. Robin tells him about how she almost messed up and lost twice, and he comforts her and tells her that she didn't, so it didn't matter, and even if she had messed up, it wouldn't have been on her, it would've been on Henry. She says she knows, but it's still hard, and then she asks him what his hardest riddle was. Steve tells her about the final riddle, how he only got one shot to get it right, and how twisted up the words were so that he almost wasn't able to figure it out. Eventually though, he found out that it was asking for Billy's one weakness, and at this point, Robin interrupts with a scoff and asks how he managed to figure that out.

And now, Steve finally comes clean with her, telling her that after the whole vampire fiasco earlier in the summer, he and Billy started seeing each other. He says that all summer, he'd been wanting to find a nice girl or guy to have a summer romance with, and he finally found it in Billy, and it was around then that he started to get more involved with her and the journal stuff before the shit hit the fan, because he finally had something. He says that he told Billy about Henry once and how he always tries to figure out your weakness to exploit it (in their case, it was the people they cared about) and he says that Billy told him his only weakness would be him and Max. He'd laughed it off as a joke at the time, but he couldn't have been more relieved about it when it finally came down to that stupid riddle. And he's glad he's telling Robin now, because it felt weird to lie to her all that time and now he doesn't have to any more. And Robin is happy for him, really. After all his failed summer romances that she had to bear witness to, she's glad he found someone that made him happy. Even if it was Billy Hargrove.

Finally, their conversation ends, and they have to start getting ready to say goodbye to everybody. They head out to the bus stop that's gonna take them home and everyone is there waiting for them. The kids are all hugging them over and over and practically sobbing as they make them promise to write, the young adults are all hugging them and telling them they had so much fun over the summer and they better come back next year, and the adults are loading them down with snacks for the trip and making sure they've got everything packed. Uncle Hopper even makes sure that Steve's pet goat that he won at the fair is cleared to go home with them (their parents don't know yet and he may have had to threaten the bus driver, but it's for his nephew, so who cares).

And then finally it comes time for them to board the bus. Robin is crying and refusing to let go of Uncle Hopper, the two of them forming a bond over the summer that she says better not be broken by the time they come back next summer. And Steve is emotional, too, over Hopper and everybody else there. But the person that makes him cry the most is Billy. He makes him promise to call all the time, and invites him to come stay with them in Chicago sometime and says that he'll be back to visit as soon as he can manage. Billy promises that all that will happen, and then, just before Steve has to board the bus, he hands him a little present wrapped up in tissue paper. Steve is about to open it, but Billy stops him, and says with a blush pinker than the bubblegum Robin is chewing that he should wait to open it until the next time he misses Hawkins.

That time comes on the bus ride home, after Robin falls asleep next to him and everybody in Hawkins is miles away. It's a scrapbook that Billy must've put together himself, with an entire page dedicated to everybody important and all kinds of pictures from throughout the summer, even before they got together. He got everybody to sign it, and the very last page is just a letter telling him he'll miss him and he's already looking forward to next summer.

Steve can't help the dopey smile on his face as he gets off the bus and immediately runs to a payphone to tell Billy how much he loves it and how many plans he's already making for next year.

#steve would so be mabel #and robin is definitely closer to dipper #i think this would just be fun #also hopper as their grunkle stan and joyce as lazy susan just makes sense lol #eddie is a mix of soos and wendy but is definitely more like wendy #and murray as old man mcgucket is just so funny to me #billy as pacifica also just works #and powell and callahan as blubs and durland is already pretty much canon #el as the good version of gideon is also amazing #and the kids all kind of being like the candy and grenda for them #jonathan and nancy would be like those random characters that show up every once in a while like tyler cutebiker or toby determined #i just think this is neat and i probably put way too much though into it lmao #gravity falls #billy hargrove #steve harrington #robin buckley #eddie munson #max mayfield #jim hopper #joyce byers #will byers #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eleven #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #murray bauman #harringrove

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cauliflower-mac-and-cheese · 2 years

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someone: who's your favorite character in stranger things?

me: oh, definitely [insert character here.]

2 days later...

someone else: who's your favorite character in stranger things?

me: I think [insert different character here.]

the someone from two days ago: wait a minute-

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indigobackfire · 2 years

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But I wanna say the good things cause I need to keep my blood pressure in check

So big spoilers in the tags

#first. Max is so brave. I love love love her. she fought and fought.#and I hope she wins #Dustin is still my favorite and the wag he was willing to fight to save Eddie #he's so smart and kind #I can't wait for him to have his reunion with Susie 🥺💕#this is the ship I living for #two nerds being nerds in love #Third. Joyce? with that electric thing????#amazing woman who deserves a fucking rest and be with her gentle giant #Fourth. Lucas? LUCAS DESERVES THE WORLD. I gonna throw hands if Max doesn't live.#I'm afraid she'll be blinded by the curse but she's still able to have a happy life with her friends #i hope she doesn't have to live through the world ending and wakes up when everything is already solved #like imagine having both your arms and legs broken + blinded. gives me absolute shivers #Will talking with Jonathan. not fully satisfying but a start #I did think they were doing Jonathan dirty. It was nice to see him talking to Nancy #i love Steve - who doesn't - but I don't want him with Nancy. he can be perfectly happy with someone else #i'm happy for Robin. she didn't do much these eps so yeah #and El 💕 she's gone through so much and there's still so much #they better keep her blood iron in check cause it's getting worse #and I cried so much in Max's scene like #Sadie and Caleb better get a raise #uh and Erica! Just 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 10 out of 10 powerful magical girl. I want more of her #And if Murray dies next season 🔪🔪🔪 😡😡😡#he's quirky and sarcastic and useful. just the character these shows loooove to kill #how they'll end the (basically) Apocalypse idk #but I hyper super excited to see #stranger things

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lunar-years · 2 years

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Rewatching the Jonathan & Hopper season one scenes just knowing in my bones that we’re never going to get another scene between the two of them…I’m sick

#stranger things #Jonathan byers #Jim Hopper #at this point they have me praying we get a single jonathan & JOYCE scene before this show ends #so much wasted potential #anyway. season one is so good. episode four is amazing. Nancy Wheeler everyone!!!

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ataliagold · 1 month

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Sip The Sunlight From Your Eyes

For @astrangersummer week 2 prompt 'afternoon nap'. Title from Not Yet/Love Run (Reprise) by The Amazing Devil.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: G

W/C: 705

Tags: Post Series 4 Volume 2, Everyone Lives, Established Eddie/Steve, Summer, Backyard BBQ, Afternoon Naps, Steve has Insomnia, Fluff

Summary: The whole gang has gathered at Steve's place for a summer BBQ. Part way through, Eddie realizes Steve is missing, and finds him fast asleep in the midday sun.

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“Where does Steve keep his cups, hon?” Joyce was asking Eddie.

“Ah…they’re in the cupboard next to the fridge. On the right,” Eddie answered.

“Thanks, I had a look around for Steve to ask him but I couldn’t see him anywhere?”

Eddie frowned. He did a quick scan of the backyard, searching for his boyfriend. Robin, Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle were sprawled over the loungers by the pool. Hopper was at the grill, chatting away to Wayne and flipping patties. The kids were spread out in the grass, chatting intently about something, Max’s wheelchair parked up in the sun with El sitting close by.

But no Steve.

Eddie tried to think back to the last time he’d seen Steve this afternoon. He’d been there while Dustin had asked to use the pool, trying to mask the small wave of discomfort that had crossed his face at the request before nodding and waving the kid off towards it.

Dustin had been none the wiser, but Eddie was an expert at reading Steve Harrington by now. He knew the boy still hated that pool and got nervous whenever anyone was in it.

He’d been there when Max had arrived, pushing the girl to her requested spot and toeing on the brakes on the chair, holding a bag of candy out of the reach of the other kids and offering her first pick.

He’d been there to welcome Wayne in, to sheepishly accept the brief hug Wayne gave him, not yet accustomed to open affection from paternal figures in his life.

But then Eddie had lost track, had gotten stuck in a heated debate with Mike and Erica about their last campaign, and Steve had slipped out of his view.

“I’ll go take a look,” Eddie told Joyce.

She smiled and headed off in the direction of the kitchen. Eddie followed her inside but angled for the stairs, heading up towards Steve’s bedroom. He had a feeling that was where Steve would be, hoped he wasn’t coming down with yet another migraine…

He gently opened the door.

The sun was streaming in through the window and landing on the bed where Steve was sprawled out on his stomach, eyes closed and his lips slightly parted in sleep.

Eddie paused in the doorway. Just to take in the sight of his boyfriend, just to breathe for a moment because Steve Harrington was beautiful and till his dying day he’d never understand why Steve had chosen him.

But he had, and Eddie loved him.

Quietly, he approached the bed, one hand landing softly on the small of Steve’s back. The boy shifted under his touch, his eyebrows crinkling a little and a sigh leaving his lips.

“Hey, Stevie,” Eddie murmured. “You ok?”

“Mmm. Tired.”

“No migraine?”

“No.”

And that was good, at least. But Eddie knew Steve still wasn’t sleeping well at night, even months after the gates had closed for good and Vecna had been destroyed.

“Do you want to sleep for a little bit, sweetheart? I can wrap this up early, send everyone home after lunch.”

Steve frowned slightly and shook his head. “They’re having fun. Can hear them.”

Eddie listened for a moment, the sounds of the kids shrieking and laughing drifting in through the window with the warm breeze.

“S’nice,” Steve mumbled. “Sorry, I just came up to get some shorts for Dustin to swim in, he forgot his again. Didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s alright, Stevie. I’ll grab the shorts, you stay here and rest.” Eddie leaned over and kissed Steve’s cheek.

“Was meant to help Hopper with the food,” Steve said, voice still thick with sleep.

“I’m sure he’ll survive, baby. Wayne’s with him anyway, I’ve already heard the two of them debating over how long to leave the patties before flipping them. They’re fine.”

“Mmm.” Steve was half-asleep again already, but he leaned into Eddie’s hand when he gently brushed his fingers across his cheek.

“Sleep well, Stevie.”

“Eds?”

“Hmm?”

“Kiss me?”

Eddie smiled, leant over and kissed him, gentle and slow, his boyfriend’s lips warm from the sun.

“Save me a burger,” Steve mumbled into his mouth, and then his breathing evened out, and just like that he was asleep again.

___

#stranger things #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve harrington/eddie munson #a stranger summer

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strawberryspence · 1 year

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happy birthday, @stevesbipanic! i am glad you were born, you amazing human being. I hope you get to drink the coldest, most delicious, bougiest milo you can have. ILY broccoli! 💛

Steve has never had a birthday cake. He doesn't count the first six cakes his parents had for him, because he's pretty sure it was only for appearances.

He remembers his seventh birthday. How badly he wanted to have a Flintstones themed birthday party, and how his parents called it tacky. Instead, Steve had a lavish tea party with all of their investor friends. He remembers hating it.

After that, there's— nothing. There were Nannies or Babysitters that tried to make him feel better by bringing him to Benny's and he's thankful for that. But there's always that heart wrenching rip in his system when he sees a child. Surrounded by family, singing happy birthday as they wait to blow on a cake.

And the thing is if Steve never gets to have that, it’s okay. It’s really, really, really, okay. That also means he’ll do his best to give all the kids the best birthdays they can have, so they can never feel what he felt. If El wants a day just full of craft making? Sure. Dustin wants to visit this damn planetarium in Indianapolis? Okay. Mike wants to dress him like him for an entire day? Alright.

Steve is happy that way, until Eddie Munson comes crashing into his life with a broken bottle. And okay, maybe it’s not a great idea to lie in the biggest and probably the most important relationship he has right now, but he’s not going to tell Eddie his little sad secret.

What he forgot to account for is the fact that his boyfriend is the biggest snoop to ever exist.

“Wha— What’s this?” Steve stammers as he enters his house. It’s almost always dark when he comes home, the house dull and empty.

Tonight, it’s different. After having his birthday dinner with Robin, Steve drives them back to his house so they can have movie night. Supposedly.

Instead, Eddie’s standing behind the long wooden dining table that never gets used, with 20 different cupcakes, all lit with a candle. There’s food and banners and balloons with streamers.

Robin pushes him forward with a smile, “So…” Eddie walks towards him, “I found some of your childhood pictures.”

“Oh.” Steve breathes out.

“Look, maybe I am wrong. Maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe your parents just weren’t the kind of people that liked taking pictures and having to develop them. Maybe someday, you’ll tell me why you only have one childhood photo album or why there’s no pictures of your birthday parties past the age of six.”

Eddie says, hands nervously twisting around his hair, “But, on the off chance that I am right,” He shakes his head in disbelief, “On the off chance that you haven’t had a birthday cake or a birthday wish in 14 years, I got you 20 birthday cupcakes.”

Steve can barely hold himself anymore, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, “Why 20?”

Eddie smiles at him, and his eyes sparkle at Steve like he hung the damn moon and stars, like he fucking created the whole universe, “One for every year my favorite person has been alive.”

Steve chokes down a half sob, half whine as he slaps a hand on his mouth.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Eddie whispers as he wraps Steve in a comforting hug. They stay like that for a minute before Eddie says, “I am so happy you were born. There’s a few more people that are happy, they’re all hiding in the kitchen right now.”

“What?” Steve pulls back, hastily wiping his tears.

“The kids are all here. Nance, Jonathan, and Argyle.” Eddie tenderly wipes a stray tear off his cheek, “Even Wayne, Hop, Joyce, and Mrs. Henderson is here.”

Steve’s not sure if he wants to know, but he still asks, “Why?”

Eddie visibly softens, but before he can answer Robin answers for him, “Because we all love you, Dingus.”

“So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to sit behind the cupcakes and they’re going to come out from where they’ve been eavesdropping.” Steve laughs when Eddie emphasizes the word, and there’s a clatter in the kitchen followed by whispering, “They’re going to act normal. And we’re going to sing you a song. Okay?”

Steve smiles, nodding, “Okay.”

“Okay.” Eddie says as he runs to the kitchen and as Robin ushers him to sit in front of the cupcakes. She forces a birthday hat on his hair, and he doesn’t even argue.

They all come out from the kitchen, all smiling and wearing ridiculous birthday hats. Even Hop and Wayne are wearing them and it might actually be the funniest thing he’s ever seen. The kids have blow horns that fill the silent house with joyous sounds.

They sing him a birthday song. It’s loud and it doesn’t exactly sound good. Dustin’s trying a new other pitch and Lucas has never been a good singer. Max is drumming on the table and El has a small tambourine. Mike and Will are trying to do some kind of duet in their own little bubble. But it’s the most beautiful, harmonious sound to Steve.

And as they all urged him to make a wish, Steve is struck with awe and disbelief, a feeling of realization sparking in his veins. Steve’s got everything he’s ever wanted right in front of him. He just wants all of them to be safe and sound.

He smiles at his family, as he lets his eyelid flutter shut.

And for the first time, Steve makes a birthday wish.

Edit:

Steve smiles, happy and content, as everyone chitchats around him.

"Hey, Eds?" Steve calls out for his boyfriend who's busy stuffing his face with bread rolls.

"Yeam?" Eddie replies, still chewing on the bread.

"Can I have a Flintstone themed birthday next year?"

Eddie swallows his bread with water, before turning to Steve with a smile so bright it could blind him. He moves closer to give his temple a light kiss.

"You got it, sweetheart. I'll be Fred, you'll be Wilma. It will be perfect."

#tw child trauma #tw child neglect #happy birthday b! ofc i got you angst for your birthday. are you even surprised??????#i hate the harringtons sorry #hope you enjoyed this #steve goes on and has 70 more wonderful birthdays #with his husband and family #steddie #steve harrington x eddie munson angst #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie headcanons #steddie ficlet #dae writes #daeheadcanons

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space-invading-pigeon · 2 years

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Steve makes lunches for everyone, but he's one of those people who has a theme for every single lunch.

Dustin gets cute little sandwiches that have been carefully made to look like computers, cookies shaped like walkie talkies, and juice bottles that are decorated with the scientific equations.

Max gets grilled cheese cut into skateboards, a fruit salad packed into a little California-shaped box, a snack cake that has a cute little cake Steve decorated to look like that game in the arcade she refuses to let anyone beat her high score in, and she always gets a little note telling her she's amazing and "please don't beat anyone up today."

Will gets lasagna carefully cut to look like a dragon, charcuterie, and cookies that are shaped like lightning bolts. Steve used to include a drink, but then Jonathan mentioned that Will's favorite thing is chocolate milk so now he just packs some money to buy it cold from the lunchroom; he's the only member of the Party that gets a lunch AND lunch money.

Mike refuses to let Steve pack his lunch, but he doesn't complain when Steve packs him snacks for the day. Steve always packs his favorites, labels them with the name "Paladin Shithead," and sometimes hides some small candies in Mike's backpack.

Lucas gets two lunchboxes, but only because Steve is overprotective. There were times in high school where Steve passed out after practice because no one ever thought to offer him a snack, and Lucas was the most active BEFORE he joined the team. All of his food is curated to be sure he's getting as much energy as possible without making him sluggish and bloated. If Steve makes them look like jerseys, basketballs, tennis shoes, and baskets, that's no one's business but Lucas's.

Robin gets a lot of food that's been made to look musical, like ice cream, or, her favorite, like ears. She thinks it's hilarious that her little comment in Starcourt about her ears being geniuses stuck with Steve, especially now that she knows how difficult it is for Steve to remember anything (his concussions have not been kind to him).

Nancy and Jonathan both get simple lunches, everything looks normal, but their desserts are always decorated with guns and a heart with N+J in the center. Steve never really figured out how to act around the two of them when there isn't a crisis, but he loves both of them and keeps them well-fed until they go off to college.

Joyce gets a lunch delivered every morning, packed with healthy foods and labelled "For my real mom." It makes her tear up every single day, and she usually repays Steve by sending home the lunchbox full of copies of Byers family recipes, "for my darling son." They don't mention it to anyone else, but Steve makes sure to try each and every recipe even though he adds them to his own recipe box anyway.

Hopper gets a lunch full of little police stars, and his sandwich is shaped like himself, mustache and all. The first time Steve did this, he left the lunch on Hop's desk at the station with a note that just says "To Dad," because Hop has called Steve his son almost exclusively since 1984. The sentiment makes him go all misty-eyed, and because one of his deputies dared to mention it, the entire station knows not to bring up Hop's son as any sort of joke again.

Eleven's lunches are full of sweet foods. Honey ham, candied nuts, any new dessert recipes that Steve wants to try, they all go in her box. She gets normal, healthy food too, but she'll only eat it because Steve makes them look like waffles. (She likes being able to eat anything, post-Lab, but Steve dotes on her like she's the baby sister he never got to have) Her favorite thing, though, is the notes he packs for her, telling her that she is always going to be his hero and he's proud of her for pushing through school.

Eddie claims he gets the best lunch: hand delivered by Steve every day, full of hearty food to both help him heal up and put on some weight (Steve was appalled when he realized he could count almost all of Eddie's ribs, because of course Eddie is hypoglycemic). His desserts are always bat-shaped, both the animal and Steve's signature weapon, and Steve usually leaves a post-it note with nothing but a heart in the box. Eddie has collected every single one, he keeps them in a drawer.

Erica's lunch looks like she has a personal chef, each one with her initials on the entree. She boasts to anyone who is in earshot that her babysitter made it for her, and that he's the best cook in the whole state; as a result Steve's been signed up for every bake sale, auction, and school dance at the middle and high school.

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things headcanons #the party #dustin henderson #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #will byers #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #mike wheeler #eleven #chief hopper #joyce byers #erica sinclair #chef steve

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fantasticallyfruity4 · 1 year

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Famous Eddie decides to start a podcast. The music career rlly slowed down, the guys are all living comfortably on 30 years of roaring success these days to only play festivals for fun and tour if they feel like it. (Jeff even started acting. Who would have guessed it).

This little podcast of his is pretty all over the place. He doesn’t even market it as anything, just him and his family & friends talking shit.

Of corse it’s his and Steve’s podcast. Because they do everything together.

Dustin is a very very regular guest. Probably 9/10th of every episode. He’s fucking Dustin you know? And oh my god are the three of them fucking hilarious.

The rest of the party often makes appearances.

Max and Dustin screaming at each other about the exact details of what song was playing at a hopper-byers family Chanukah part the first time will and Mike kissed, lunging across the table about it while el just has the most wide eyed slacked jawed smile in the corner and Eddie is laughing his heart out, clinging to Steve’s shoulder just mumbling “babe, babe, babe this is- this isn’t happening” while Steve grins and is like “you two have not grown up since I met you in ‘85. You’re fucking unreal”

(It was hounds of love, by the way. Max was right. And she knows this because Kate Bush is the best song writer and singer ever, Dustin. The viewers don’t have to know why Steve’s face dropped for a moment before he agreed vehement. They (El) called Will while on air to ask, and he needed about two minutes to stop laughing before he said “yeah it was hounds of love, duh. That was the year Max got us all hooked on Kate Bush, don’t tell me you somehow forgot that Dustin” “buddy thousands of dollars of therapy and I still can’t forget it”)

There was a few episodes of a hellfire club reunited D&D game, which is of corse also wildly hilarious because it’s this super famous rock band and then Mike and Dustin and Lucas and Will who are just some guys- while the girls™ + Jonathan, Steve and argyle spectate and commentate.

They tried ASMR once. Just Steve and Eddie. It was a disaster.

They got high with Argyle and Jonathan on one episode and that was just… fascinating conversation.

Robins frequent appearances are just so pure and amazing because Steve never laughs as much as he does with ‘Robbie’. She knows exactly how to wind him up.

They’ve played the most volatile game of Uno with Robin and Nancy and Jonathan and Argyle.

They had a little Christmas special with Wayne and Hopper and Joyce. The parents edition. It was very very sweet.

I have so many ideas for this.

They literally talk about anything and everything and do the dumbest shit on mic and camera.

#steddie #future steddie #I want them to live the longest happiest healthiest lives

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weird-an · 1 year

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Hopper has braced for a lot of things when Billy moved in.

For the shouting matches, for doors slamming shut, for El quoting movies back at him he certainly didn't approve her to watch, for Billy vanishing for a few days, for Billy staying in his room.

But that?

A fucking drama taking place in his living room.

"If you didn't want me to go to Nancy's party, you just could have said something!" Steve Harrington puts his hands in his hips like he's an annoyed parent. Coming to think of, Arthur Harrington used to stand like this in High School.

"It's not that," Billy yells back. "It's just... she asks you and you... jump. Every time."

Amazing. They don't even realize Jim has just come home. He lingers in the doorway, not sure what to do.

"That's not true," Steve shouts. "And you're just jealous!"

Does Billy like Nancy? Jim didn't get that impression from the few times he saw him interacting with her. He always sticks to Steve, more or less tolerating the presence of others. It's almost like...

"Fine," Billy screams, face flushed. "I'm jealous of that bitch! Maybe if I'd put on a dress and bang Jonathan Byers, you'd finally choose me over her."

Oh. Jesus. Jim wants to hide behind the curtains Joyce insisted he really needs in the living room. They might come in handy now.

"You need to speak to me Billy." Steve rubs his face. "And don't call her that, just because you're angry with me. If you don't say what bothers you, I can't change anything. I would have stayed or you could have come with me."

Billy stares at his feet. "I... I know. It's just..." He tugs at his ear ring. "It's hard."

Yeah. Jim knows that Billy has troubles voicing his feelings and needs.

"Just tell me next time," Steve says. "You're way more important than Nancy."

Billy's face turns red.

"I promise I won't fuck Jonathan," he mumbles.

Steve laughs. It doesn't sounds mad. "I'd like to see you in a dress though."

God. Jim wants to disappear. But he can't, because this is his living room.

"Uhm," Hopper clears his throat. "Sorry to interrupt your... lovers quarrel, but I really need a beer now."

"You.. for how long..." Billy gapes at him. Steve turns red from head to toe.

"Too long," Jim says, shaking his head. "Do you guys want a beer as well?"

Steve nods.

"I don't know what you heard, but we're.. not..."

"Not banging Jonathan, I got that." Jim rolls his eyes and gets three beers out of the fridge.

#the struggles i put jim through lol #i love exhaust hopper with harringrove #harringrove #petty bitches in love #billy x steve #harringrove ficlet #jim hopper #hopper & harringrove

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thestrangestthing89 · 1 year

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This is going to be ranty and I've touched on this subject before. So if you're a Steve worshipper look away. For the record, I love his character but I cannot stand the constant mischaracterization of him. It turns him into a joke. He's not a mom and the comparison is frankly sexist not to mention shows how much people are willing to overlook with regard to his character. Joyce does triple the amount of work and is an actual mom, so if you want to praise someone for being a mom look to the real one. Instead she gets practically ignored by the fandom. Steve does the bare minimum compared to a lot of people and gets worshipped, and the result of this is that people end up turning him into a 1 dimensional version of himself. He has flaws and it's important to acknowledge them. He's far more interesting and relatable this way. Without doing that he gets turned into a god-like figure who is infallible. But the worst of this is the constant erasure of Jonathan. I keep seeing posts saying that Steve would be such an amazing mentor to Will and how wonderful their relationship will be next season. Be for fucking real. They don't have a relationship and never will and Will doesn't need him. Not to mention the fact that Steve isn't a mentor. He is a peer. And only to Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Erica who are the only kids who are shown to have any kind of relationship with him. And honestly Dustin is the only one that isn't superficial. It's especially notable in the case of Mike that they never developed a relationship. It shows that not only are Mike and Nancy not that close, but her ex-boyfriend never bonded with him. Mike tends to respond to Steve with the same contempt he has for his father in the brief moments we've seen between the two.

It's Jonathan who is an ally to Will. It's Jonathan Will and Mike trust. It's Jonathan Mike has known since he was 5. And it's Jonathan who has constantly protected them. Neither one of them have a relationship with Steve. All of these characters have been on the show since the beginning. If Steve had a major impact on any of their lives they would have shown it by now. And yes, Steve is no longer the bullying asshole he once was. He has gone through a great character arch that has shown him growing and changing in a realistic way. However, he still has a lot to learn and this was demonstrated through his shitty advice to Robin early in the season. Him dismissing her fears of asking Vickie out was not ok and shows he doesn't fully understand her point of view. Just because he ended up being right at the end doesn't excuse the fact that he told her to just ask Vickie out simply because she paused a movie at a certain time. He could have very easily been wrong and it was valid that she was hesitant.

Steve used to bully people for being gay, and again, it's good that he doesn't do this anymore and has grown. But this is the version of Steve that Will, Mike, and Jonathan know. They know the version of him that called Jonathan the f word and said his brother deserved to die. They know the version of him that said their abusive father was right. Mike and Will are not coming out to Steve.

In fact, people should expect them to be afraid of him and expect Jonathan to immediately be on guard and protective. Because this is the only version of him they know. Steve was known around town for being a bully and he still has this reputation - Eddie says this season he is surprised Steve wasn't an asshole even though Dustin insisted.

Mike and Will are two scared kids who live in a town that behaves the way Steve used to. They expect this kind of reaction. It's Jonathan's calm, empathetic support they need. It isn't the guy who used to be homophobic - and honestly has no patience for the kids - to help them out. Quiet, sensitive Will does not need someone loud and impatient who used to act like his abusive father in his life. And it's not on Mike and Will to absolve Steve of his past crimes.

And I absolutely cannot stand all the headcanons that I see of how Steve is going to start a LGBTQ support group around Hawkins for Robin and Will. It's utterly ridiculous. We absolutely do need Robin bonding with Will (and Mike and Vickie) but there is honestly no excuse for the constant insertion of Steve into this narrative. It is not a place he belongs. As an ally, it's important for him to recognize there are spaces that aren't for him. They do not need his permission or approval to talk to each other.

And bonding with Robin does not automatically come with a close bond with Steve. It isn't required. She is her own separate person who has her own separate experiences that Steve does not always need to be apart of just because they are friends. It's far more impactful to see a moment between Will and Robin (including with Mike and Vickie) without Steve randomly being there saying pointless shit. And they aren't wasting a moving coming out moment with Steve and Mike and Will instead of with people they are actually close to. Inserting him into this narrative changes the focus from the LGBTQ character to Steve. It makes it entirely about him and his response instead of them. In fact it's not outside of the realm of possibility that he just never finds out or it's a very quick moment that happens in passing. But erasing his characters actual role on the show completely misses the point of why he's still in this narrative. The cool guy isn't the focus of this story for once. It's not his story. That doesn't mean he isn't important. It means that for once the straight, white dude who's conventionally attractive is taking a backseat and not only that, but he's not resentful about this. He doesn't act bitter that he isn't the focus. And this is such an important role to see.

#byler #mike wheeler #gay mike wheeler #will byers #jonathan byers #steve harrington #anti mileven #anti stancy

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aidaronan · 9 months

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Summoned

For @steddiemicrofic's September prompt, Charm. Word count: 548 Rated G Tags & warnings: practical magic, kas!eddie, off screen mentions of death/loss

The charm was meant to protect Steve from having his heart broken. His mother and father had been so in love before the accident, before the Holloway Curse took Jonas Harrington and left his mother so broken it pretty much took her too.

"They'll play the guitar and collect Garfield mugs. Their favorite letter will be an M, and they'll be able to draw anything."

It was a new moon when Steve stood, twelve-years-old, in his aunt's greenhouse next to his cousin Dustin, intuitively plucking herbs and flower petals, dropping them into a small wooden bowl carved from cherry wood.

"They'll tell amazing stories. And they'll have a ton of mean-looking tattoos, but they'll actually be really nice."

Standing under a blanket of stars, a black cat weaving through his legs, Steve dumped the bowl into the wind.

"And they won't think so, but they'll be so brave."

"Sounds like a pretty tall order," Dustin said.

"That's the point, Dusty. If they don't exist, then I'll never fall in love."

It was late March, fifteen years later, when Dustin and Steve buried the body of Henry Creel under the rosebushes.

It was April when Eddie arrived, eyes red and claws sharp, looking for the master he could still feel calling to him through the ether.

"I think we need to activate the phone tree, Steve!"

Steve and Dustin crouched together in the kitchen, holding the door shut with their bodies while Eddie tried to get in.

So Steve called Nancy Wheeler, his past with her painful proof that his spell against love had never worked, Nancy saved from the curse only by never loving him back. (Tommy hadn't been so lucky, leaving Steve alone and heartbroken with two adopted daughters who were thankfully safe with their aunt.)

Nancy called Joyce who called Jonathan who called Will who called Lucas and… Within a half hour, the cavalry arrived at their doorstep, subduing Eddie with ropes kissed with hawthorn oil.

In a circle of broomsticks, Eddie growling and snarling in the corner, they banished Henry Creel's soul back to hell. In that moment, Eddie stopped fighting, red eyes fading to a brown so deep it was like looking into the soul of the Earth.

It happened slowly. First it was occasional visits to check on Eddie as he became human again.

It was listening to Eddie strum his acoustic out on Claudia's porch. It was Eddie being sucked into Dustin and the gang's games of D&D, mentioning he used to DM. It was walking by the sun room one afternoon while Eddie wove together the beginning of a campaign that had Steve pausing in his steps just to listen.

When the Garfield mug showed up during a game though, Dustin started to push.

"Why does your cousin keep trying to get us alone together?" Eddie asked. "And why are your daughters helping?"

"I…" Steve stared at the tattoos snaking up Eddie's arms, at the M-for-Metallica belt buckle on his waist, at the drawings scattered over the sun room table. "They think I summoned you here. I think I might have too."

Eddie stepped closer, touching Steve's cheek with the backs of his fingers. "That's a relief."

"Is it?"

"Yes. I can finally stop pretending I didn't wish for you too."

#steddie #fanfic #mine #steddiemicrofic #steddiemicroficseptember

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inconspicuousdreamgirl · 17 days

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Unpopular opinion but I don’t like Vickie as a love interest for Robin. Why? Let me explain

Every relationship in stranger things, Wether it be romantic or a platonic relationship, has been built and developed overtime and over the seasons. Almost every single character has a developed relationship or friendship with another character. But for robins love interest there is no build up at all.

Examples

- Nancy and Jonathan: their relationship has been developing since season 1 and over season 2 which led them to getting together. We see in season 1 and 2 how they built a relationship starting with a team up: friendship which grew and developed into a romantic relationship.

- hopper and Joyce : since season 1 they have built this relationship and paved the way for it since day one. Was it an easy process? No because the didn’t officially get together until season 4. But it was such a great development and build up, and because of this build up it feels more connected and more well written

Lucas and max: although the build up to their relationship was alot shorter compared to others, you can see how they started off as friends and developed over season 2 and this continues in season 3. For season 4 we see the aftermath of season 3 and how it affected their relationship, which put it at a halt. But over the season they developed their bond and relationship back and were able to reconnect.

Byler : although not canon there’s no denying that they have built the connection and relationship between mike and will over the seasons. If they become canon it will be well done and well developed for both characters, as we got to see both characters progress over the seasons and wether you think it’s platonic or romantic that’s your own interpretation but either way it’s still good relationship building and development.

There’s loads more relationships and friendships that have had this sort of build up and development over the seasons.

My main point is that Vickie only seemed to be only introduced as a love interest for robin and not much to her character and had practically nothing to do with season 4 at all. Instead of having her character develop a friendship which can evolve into a romantic relationship with Robin, they just gave a love interest that has no buildup or no connection.

Just to be Clear I ship Ronance so this might be biased but robin in season three barely knows Nancy and assumes what she is like. In season 4 both Nancy and robin seem tense when around eachother at first. But gradually this friendship between them develops over the seasons and we see an amazing connection form. This would be a perfect opportunity for a relationship to form, or atleast how it should be done.

For robins character they need to develop it rather than just give her an interest because otherwise it has no connection and is not interesting. I wish they atleast developed Vickie’s character differently so it would be a good ship, but it’s just lacking.

Note : this is just my opinion, but I feel they needed to write her character to be more involved. I think her character does have some potential. But maybe it’s just me but I found her character was way to similar in persona and in character to robin, so I struggle to ship them due to this and that there is no interesting development or moments between them. Maybe this will change in season 5 but I want robin to have a relationship that has pining, grows over time and has connections and build up!!!!

#stranger things #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #max mayfield #eleven #ronance #stranger things 5 #stranger things headcanon #ronance smut #steve harrington #mike wheeler #opinion #stranger things theory #joyce byers #edd

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kiirotoao · 21 days

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Season 3 rewatch notes

Wait a minute, I just realized that Mike and Will are the only ones in The Party who’ve canonically been dungeon masters. Idk what that means for them, but, yeah. Another exclusive detail of theirs

Oh, lord. Mike’s arm being torn off in the D&D game better not be a prophecy. If those s5 notes are accurate about Mike being seriously injured… I’m scared.

GOD I’ve never noticed how hard Will breathes in the rain scene. Poor baby he was so stunned 😭😭😭😭

The thing that I love most about Jonathan and Nancy is that they’ve been through the real shit. Arguments and hardship through the supernatural and the struggles of discrimination and privilege.

I love how Max is usually the one who speaks after Will. It’s like she’s the only one brave enough to answer after he says something profound or important. I need more of Max and Will’s friendship and them having well-thought out arguments I swear

Omg I love Erica’s little green star on her cheek. It’s so cute 😭🩷

After watching The Princess Bride, I am fangirling so much over Cary Elwes - it’s so crazy to me that he got him to play such a character! I wonder if they thought of him because of all the physical stunts lmao

As much as Karen isn’t in the know of much of anything in the supernatural story, I love how she’s a picture of raw strength in the Wheeler family, the true head of the household. She takes charge. Stops at nothing to help. Not even in the face of temptation. Go Karen.

DAMN I forgot that Billy dropped an f bomb! I thought that the closest that the show got was when Max got cut off in the hospital, but nope. There it was

Shit, I’m tearing up at that scene when El collapses into Mike’s arms because I know that that was real exhaustion. Poor Millie 🩷🩷🩷. She did such a phenomenal job there.

I LOVE whenever Joyce is angry this season. Now that’s how you demand. Straight to the point, justified in her worry, and cutting past any unnecessary bs while still including the cherry on top “please” or “good day” of politeness out of basic decency. I want to be her when I’m upset.

I’m always so blown away by Maya’s performance when she comes out to Steve. Straight (haha) through the heart, so good. And I always, always smile at Steve’s reaction. So in character, so accepting. No questioning if she’s being honest, just immediately questioning her type and believing that she’s into girls. So, so important.

Oh, no. Holly saw the trees moving in the woods. Thus far, she’s noticed the demogorgon coming out of the wall, and now this. She’s definitely a target next season.

When El tells Billy the memory of his mom, I teared up a little! Something about the way that El says, “you were happy” breaks me, dude. Millie and Dacre did so well.

Also, thinking in foresight of s4, Max’s letter is so heartbreaking. The Mind Flayer made a huge show of killing Billy slowly and painfully. I don’t blame her for being too horrified to move. It really wasn’t her fault. That was traumatic. Sadie did amazing there, too. Ouch.

I’m never getting over the helicopter lights being blue, yellow, and red. Were starboard and port always blue and red? And isn’t starboard supposed to be green? It’s all intentional, I’m telling you

I love how Max and Lucas are supposed to be “butchering” Never Ending Story but those two theater kids actually sound amazing. I just wish they harmonized 😆

Oh my gosh Jonathan did the Byers hold to Nancy 😭😭😭😭 I am not okay 😭😭 I never noticed that

Okay wait. This is kinda horrible. I feel bad for saying this. But y’know how Mike has a Will voice? Well I just noticed that Mike definitely does not have a soft voice for El. I swear, he’s always so loud around her like nothing’s different about her 😂😭 Any time he’s sweet with her he’s just like YEAH. COOL. and it’s kinda hilarious.

Jancy is WRECKING me this season wtf. Charlie and Natalia are so cute 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Oh my gosh David’s voice kinda breaks at “doze off.” Fuck.

Erica has blue, yellow, and pink balloons plus a rainbow drawing on her door. I now headcanon Erica as pansexual/panromantic, thank you.

AHHHGHH I can’t wait for the original version of Heroes to play next season over Byler kissing when everyone thinks that they might be dead but they’re just surviving in the Upside Down, clinging to each other and having the highest moment of their lives!!!!!!!

This has been my s3 thoughts for the 6-8th time watching? I forget? And I missed a number of moments because I got too absorbed so, oops. Anyway, I love Jancy, I love Jopper, I love the Scoops Troop, I love Suzie, I miss Alexi, Byler is endgame, and this season was way more fun than I remembered and it always makes me laugh. My list of favorite seasons has been shaken expertly.

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #byler #<< target audience #jancy #got some notes on them too :))

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nburkhardt · 10 months

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This is something that hasn’t left me since I read a fic from fucking glee years ago. It’s haunting me and goes away only to come back and swirl in my head so I’m just gonna write it out.

Saying this now, i remember a lot of season 4 but I’ve blocked out the Stancy parts hahaha so it’s not completely accurate to the show I don’t think. Also a quick heads up, I skip a lot of what happens in the show because it’s taking up too much brain power remembering those things lol (ps: if you see typos, no you don’t)

“I always pictured you, just, wanted to let you know before we head straight into danger”

Something inside of her wants to break and yet all she can do is nod at him and immediately head into that danger. Not wanting to look to closely at it right now, there’s more important things going on right now.

Takes her shotgun and decides she’s ending this once and for all.

It feels like an eternity passes before she finds herself in the hospital. One second she’s ruining her eardrums using the shotgun right next to her face, the next she’s following the emt’s light.

Surprisingly all of them has made it, she doesn’t know how but they have. It’s all she knows, couldn’t hear properly and too out of it to really follow anyone anyway.

“-eler, ms? Hello, Ms. Wheeler? Can you hear me?”

Nancy blinks hard and looks around to find a nurse standing next to her, “oh, sorry. What did you say?”

The nurse smiles softly at her before shaking her head, “I was asking if you wanted to call your parents now? Our generator finally kicked in and we’ve already asked your friends”

That makes her blink again, her ears still somewhat ringing, “yeah- yeah! I’ll, um, do that”

The call with her mom she barely hears, but she knows that they’re on their way. As she hangs up the phone she looks around and doesn’t see any of her friends, it makes her nervous.

“Hey, where are my friends?” She asks the same nurse and catches her surprised look, “did- you already told me didn’t you?”

The nod is enough but the nurse still says, “Yes, two of them got admitted, the other two are in there with them. They didn’t want to be separated so they’re in room 130, just over there”

She knocks once before opening it to find what she expected, Steve in one bed with Robin clinging to him and Eddie on the other with Dustin sitting next to him.

It shouldn’t be surprising but it is.

“Nance! Heyyyyyy, welcome to the party!”

Robin snorts, “don’t mind the Dingus Duo, the doctors gave them some strong medicine for the bites”

She shakes her head, smiling just a little at them. Steve’s mumbling about Robin ruining the party, Dustin’s laughing and Eddie has his eyes closed either falling asleep or already there. She takes a seat on the extra chair, opens her mouth but lost her words. The room is filled with beeping, Steve and Robin whispering and Eddie snoring.

It’s nice, this is nice.

A pleasant change from the chaos they went through just hours ago.

Seeing Jonathan is amazing, he pulls her close and presses a kiss to her forehead. Her arms are wrapped around him and she can’t stop the tears from falling even if it’s a happy moment.

Because it is, actually seeing him in person and not just hearing his voice.

He holds her close and it feels great, it does. But there’s Steve’s words echoing in her head. It makes her hide her face in hopes to cancel them out, she’s with her boyfriend. The boy she loves with all her heart, and yet, yet she’s thinking of the one she broke at sixteen.

Those words swirl, rattle and settles in her head as she helps fix the cabin up. They burn when Jonathan jokes about Steve being in charge, she huffs a laugh but disagrees.

She sees the confusion on Jonathan’s face. That doesn’t surprise her. Instead of continuing, they’re interrupted.

Seeing Joyce and all of the Byers reunite brightens the moment of confusion, seeing Hopper is a massive shock but a welcomed one.

Fixing the cabin is a process, but with the actual adults back, they decide to stop for the day and make their way home.

She watches as Mike clings to El and Will, watches as Joyce holds Hopper’s hand in a death grips. Sees Jonathan hovering and she’s on the outside.

There’s those words making her stay on the outside.

There’s static in her ears, her vision blurry, heart beating fast and she can’t figure out what happened. How did this happen? They were fine, Jonathan promised. She promised.

“I’m really sorry, Nance. I just can’t be in a relationship anymore, I love you. I do, but my family needs me and I, I need them more. You have to understand” he’s holding her close and she can feel his tears fall onto her, “I won’t ask you to wait, you deserve someone who’ll love and focus on you.”

All she can do is nod as tears go down her face.

They share one last kiss before separating for good. He hugs her close and she squeezes her eyes shut.

It’s several hours later, having spent most of the day in a haze. She’s sitting at her desk, trying to get her focus back, when those words from months ago start to swirl back in.

“I always pictured you, just, wanted to let you know before we head straight into danger”

“-just travel across the country, with my family”and “always dreamt this” filters in with it, she doesn’t know what she’s feeling, she shouldn’t be thinking about her first boyfriend like this.

Jonathan just broke up with her, not even a full twenty four hours yet.

But the words are swirling fast and she can feel her stomach flutter suddenly remembering that feeling those emotions Steve used to give her.

It was nice, even if sometimes she had to be away from him. He did treat her like she was his world and it felt like it. Nancy goes to sleep with a plan set in mind.

Tomorrow, she’ll go to Steve’s and hope he still wants that second chance.

Dressed in her best clothes, wearing pretty make-up, she makes her way to the Harrington house.

Seeing Eddie’s van parked outside doesn’t surprise her, not really, what does make her pause is when she walks by a bike and skateboard on the porch.

Seeing that makes her doubt the timing, Eddie there is alright he shouldn’t know the history between her and Steve. She also swears she heard him talking Steve about lost loves and second chances.

The bike can only be owned by Dustin and he definitely knows the history and Max well, since Spring Break, has been particularly living with Steve at this point. Stating a number of times that Steve is her brother, she might not know the story but she’ll be questioning.

But she’s here now and Steve’s words are on fire in her head.

So, she moves ahead determined. She knocks on the door and takes a few deep breaths to get her composure.

The door opens and it’s not Steve answering, it’s Dustin and she blinks. Losing that composure she just gained, it’s quick and she’s quick to get it back with an easy smile. “Hi Dustin, can I come in?”

He’s been hanging out with Eddie too much lately, since he is loose with his posture now and opens the door with an exaggerated smile and waving his arm as he opens the door more.

“Nancy?”

She looks around, sitting on the couch is Max who’s got an eyebrow raise and frown.

“Hi Max, I wanted to speak with Steve. What’re you doing here?”

Both of them shrug and Dustin moves to sit next to Max, “We have plans with Steve and Eddie, we got tired of waiting outside”

“So we broke in”

She rolls her eyes, moves to stand closer to the stairs, “Are they awake? Where is Eddie?”

The two share a look and she can’t figure out what it means, Dustin has a mischievous smile once he’s looking back towards her, “Upstairs”

A little suspicious at the look, but the words in her head has her pushing forward despite the alarm bells ringing that something is up.

Steve’s house has changed since the last time she was here, there’s more life within it and old family portraits are gone, photos of friends in their places instead. There’s a door with a sign saying ‘Dustin’s room’ on it, and she passes an open door that was originally Steve’s. It’s cleared out except for the desk and the plaid wallpaper.

The next room is opened just a bit, she itches closer and pushes the door to see more and her whole body freezes.

There on the bed is not only Steve but Eddie too. From where she’s standing, Eddie’s pressed up against Steve’s back and has an arm around him; keeping him close.

She tears her eyes away from them and immediately regrets it.

On the floor is a mix of Steve’s clothes and Eddie’s, that’s not it though. Sitting directly next to bed is ripped condom packaging and by the trash bin is a poor attempt at throwing away a used condom.

It brings her attention back to the bed, in the short glance away, Steve has moved in his sleep. Instead of facing away; he’s now facing Eddie and nearly on top of the other. She tenses up as Eddie tightens his arms around Steve, then she pulls the door shut before moving quickly down the stairs.

Without acknowledging the two on the couch she makes it to the door, just as she pulls it open the door she’s stopped.

“They’re asleep still? We could tell Steve you stopped by” she can just hear smugness coming from Dustin and Max sniggering.

Shaking her head, she refuses to look back at them, “no, no, it’s fine. Have uh, have a good day!”

“It doesn’t make sense! I, I thought- he” Nancy mumbles to herself, trying to collect her thoughts. She didn’t even bother moving yet, still sitting inside her car mumbling and trying to figure this out.

She could’ve sworn Steve was flirting with her, she knows she was a little during the fight. It felt natural and right. Even though it was wrong, very wrong. But- it was potentially the end of the world, they could’ve died! Everyone involved would understand her lapse of judgment.

Steve had told her, admitted his dream with her in it.

Him and Eddie? Steve likes boys? Since when? Was- was it a lie then? Was she being led on? Maybe even being used?

She’s so in her head, she doesn’t notice anyone walk up and only realizes when her whole body jolts at the knocking on her window. Shaking her head and reaching for her glove box, looking over her eyes widen at Steve standing there.

He’s wearing sweatpants with only a jacket over his bare chest, he looks worried, confused and most importantly; scared.

Taking a breath, she rolls her window down before looking at him, “Steve, hi.”

“Nancy, what are you doing here?”

Frowning, she looks away from him and startles at seeing Eddie standing there by the door also looking scared. Her eyes must be wide, because Steve clears his throat and she immediately looks back at him. “I- I”

Steve sighs, dropping his arms to run a hand over his face and hair, looking away from her, “Nancy, what you saw- you can’t tell anyone. Okay? Please. I don’t understand why you’re here right now and I really don’t want to know rig-” he shakes his head, “just, please don’t tell anyone”

She opens her mouth, but the words get caught. Steve’s look is haunted, even more afraid then a few months ago. Closing her mouth, taking another look at Eddie by the door before focusing her attention back on Steve.

“I won’t. I promise, Steve. I won’t tell anyone, just- maybe we can talk sometime? All of us?”

He clearly wasn’t expecting that, she can tell by his eyes and how he glances behind him, before looking at her again. “I’ll have to talk with Eddie first, but, uh yeah sure.”

Steve gives a weak smile at her that she tries to match, despite her racing thoughts. He steps away from the car and she starts it, nodding her head before driving away. She watches in her rear view mirror as Steve walks over to Eddie and only squeezes his arm before leading him inside.

Imagines that once inside, Steve pulls Eddie close and holds him tight.

Three Days Later

It wasn’t avoiding them, she really wasn’t. She had to collect her thoughts, really figure out what she absolutely wanted in life now.

Which, she still doesn’t know, at least relationship wise.

Thinking back on the last few years and how they’re finally no longer fighting for their lives and the world, she can go for her dream of becoming a journalist. Which is exactly what she realizes, two days into her thinking, that’s what she actually wants in life. Not a relationship with Steve. Not even a relationship with Jonathan at this point, she doesn’t need that right now.

By the third day, she realizes how selfish she was acting and how much she actually scared, maybe even hurt Steve and Eddie.

That’s what brings her back to Steve’s front door with an apology and some cookies. There’s no bikes or skateboards this time around, just Eddie’s van and it’s not first thing in the morning.

Knocking on the door is quick and as she wants gets her composure and tries to relax. It’s not long before the door opens, Steve standing on the other side and her mind flashes back to the night in 83. Shaking her head to get rid of it, smiling she raises her hands up with the plate.

“I bought cookies”

Steve smiles a little and let’s her in, “you didn’t have to, Robs and I had a baking spree last night”

“Yeah and it’s all delicious!” Eddie shouts out, from somewhere.

It does some a little like a bakery in here, she notices. Placing the plate on the table before looking at Steve, “no, my mom insisted I bring them.”

Steve just nods as he closes the door, “It’s fine, we love cookies and if we don’t finish them, Eddie’s friends and Robs is coming over later anyway”

He leads her towards the kitchen and she’s not surprised to find Eddie at the table with paints and figurines, “Elder Wheeler, good afternoon on this fine day”

A laugh bubbles out of her, as she takes a seat across from him and she watches Steve take the seat right next to Eddie. Eddie looks towards him and she gets to see a silent conversation pass between the two, it’s not like the ones she’d see between Steve and Robin or even the ones she’d have with Jonathan.

It ends a second later when Steve looks towards her with a tight smile, “Nancy, I’m sor-”

“No!” She’s a little loud but it makes his mouth snap shut and Eddie to widen his eyes, “sorry, but you don’t have to apologize to me. If anyone should, it’s me. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you guys or to make you uncomfortable. I, I wasn’t thinking straight”

Eddie snorts, “couldn’t imagine how to do that”

It makes both her and Steve break into a smile, she’s quicker at sobering up though, sits straighter and clears her throat before settling her eyes on Steve, “I was being selfish, that’s why I came over the other day. Your words were in my head and I thought, maybe they were telling me that we could have a second chance. But I realized, I don’t want it anymore.”

Steve looks confused, “my words? Wha- my old dream? That thing?”

She nods, “yeah and I didn’t think things through, came here and found you both in bed and, scared you”

“You did” Eddie nods, dropping a hand to Steve’s, “When Dustin and Max mentioned you were in the house and looking for Steve, it really did scare us”

“I know, and I’m truly sorry for doing that to you both.” She looks away from them and sees how tightly Eddie has Steve’s hand in his, “You’re-”

“Relationship,” Steve interrupts her, “our relationship”

She nods, “it’s yours and I shouldn’t have even thought of you the way I was.”

They both nod and it’s quiet for a moment.

“Can, can I ask you?” She doesn’t know how to approach this, this isn’t something she does a lot. This is completely different from anything she’s done before, “You don’t have to tell me anything”

The couple share another long look before looking back at her, “I’m gay, I only like boys.”

“I like both. I especially like Eddie” Steve’s smile is bright and aimed completely at Eddie, “before you ask, we’ve been dating since we got out of the hospital.”

It surprises her, it’s been months.

“Yeah, I was surprised too. Thought Stevie boy was still high off the pain meds, turns out he was completely serious” Eddie laughs, “We haven’t told many people, gotta be careful with this”

She’s not surprised by that and nods, “I understand, I’m just a little confused- if you liked him and why give me hope? Why tell me that dream of yours”

“Nance, we were in the middle of a war,” Steve squeezes Eddie’s hand before letting go and reaching over to take her hand, “I wasn’t lying, I did dream of having a future with you. I thought we weren’t going to come out of it, didn’t think I’d have even a chance of growing up. That dream was from a little lonely boy who loved you with everything, I thought you should know that before something happened to us. But that wasn’t my only dream, and I know that’s not the kind of life you’d want, right?”

Her eyes are watering and nods, “You’re right, it was nice though”

It makes all of them laugh and Nancy feels like she knows him better, “I really am sorry, not just for scaring you. But for what I did back then”

“I’m sorry too”

There’s tears falling from both of them and she can see Eddie wiping away his own eyes.

A laugh bubbles up out of her, then Steve and lastly Eddie. It’s tears and laughter between them now.

Okay, look I’ll be completely serious right now. This wasn’t supposed to be this long, honestly. That’s why it ends the way it does, because it could go on even more. But I’d be repeating myself I think. Also, all of this just for the image of Nancy finding out about Steddie in like the most awkward way possible. (Without it being completely explicit 🤣)

Hope it reads okay, I had some help from the discord babes, @i-less-than-three-you & @strangersteddierthings! Love you both lovelies 💜

Information that isn’t in the fic: Robin and Wayne are the first ones to know about Steddie. Dustin, Max & the CC boys are the only other ones that know (besides Nancy) everyone else doesn’t. Also this takes place over a span of a few months. The very first part is directly after vecna (max isn’t hurt) and jumps to the “two days later” after that. But Jonathan and Nancy break up is about two months later.

TAGLIST! (If you want to be added, let me know!)

@spectrum-spectre @itsfreakingbats @mysticcrownshipper @artiststarme @thereindeerlady @justforthedead89 @ronniescontinuum @freyaforestafay @littlewildflowerkitten @estrellami-1 @gregre369 @zerokrox-blog @bookworm0690 @flustratedcas @carlprocastinator1000 @marvelmwah @solliesolesito @navnae @grimmfitzz

#Nancy finds out about steddie #steddie #steddie fic #past stancy #Nancy Wheeler POV #nburkhardt writes #pls don’t hate me for how I wrote Nancy this was my first real attempt 🫣#pls know I do love her #Nancy Wheeler #steve x eddie #stranger things fic

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