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louloulemons-posts · 8 months

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Oil At The Coffee Shop II

Eddie X Fem!Reader

Summary : Reader finishes up the shop with the help of Steve and meets friends new and old.

Word Count : 1.4k

Warnings : Ramble-y, Not proofread, talks of alcohol and being drunk, grumpy/shy eddie, bestie steve, not much reader x eddie happens in this part.

Fic Masterlist

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

It’d been a busy week, full of painting and decorating. The shop needed brightening up, now a beautiful sage colour, with deep green tiles behind the counter.

It was lovely and snug, mismatching couches, tables and chairs. Plants everywhere, bookcases lining one of the back walls, and a chalk board showing your menu.

Your aunts cafe had been the heart of Hawkins at one point, you wanted it to become that again. Somewhere cosy and relaxing when friends, old and new, could meet and laugh.

“So, how are you feeling about opening day tomorrow?” Steve asked you. You’d been almost inseparable since you came to Hawkins, catching up throughly. “Nervous, but so excited.”

“Did you get more staff sorted?” he dropped himself on a plush couch, sighing in comfort. “Well honestly I don’t think we’ll be that busy for a while, so I’ve only hired one.”

“Max?”

“Mhm, that’s for recommending this place to her, she seems like a lovely kid.”

“She is, she went through a lot of rough stuff, but she bounced back big time.”

“I’m glad, she seemed eager to get to work honestly. When she had her training day, well I’ve never seen someone pick up on how to do stuff so quickly.”

“She’s a great kid I’m telling you, and if Max is here then all of her friends will be too,” he smiled. “That including you, Mr babysitter?”

“You’re horrible to me you know that, I’ve helped you clean this place up and decorate and you’re just horrible.”

“Oh shush, thank you again for all the help.”

“Of course, can’t let my oldest friend suffer can I? Now let’s go!”

Steve had said celebratory drinks were in order when you finished the shop, so he was taking you to meet/reunite with some friends. Locking up the shop you climbed into his car and were on your way.

“So where is it we’re going?” you asked him.

“It’s called Hideout, used to be kinda dark and dingy, but now it’s been rebuilt it’s quite the up and coming place.”

You hummed, sighing in relief. The shop was ready, you could relax, have some fun. It was Saturday night and you were opening Monday morning, so a whole day of relaxation - and getting over a hang over probably.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Pulling up to the hideout it was what you expected, it looked like a club on a quiet night. Steve had mentioned that a lot of people didn’t come here because most of those in hawkins were old or thought the town was a huge satanic village.

There was a bar, booths, a smokey stage, tables and chairs cluttered around. It was dark, but not gloomy, it was autumnal in a way - a feeling of comfort.

“There they are,” Steve spoke, leading you through the small crowd to a corner booth. You saw two girls, one you faintly recognised and the another who was new to you. Then 3 men, the one being Jonathan Byers.

He pushed himself up from the booth, walking over to you. “It’s been too long,” he smiled, coming and wrapping his arms around you. “How are you Johnny?”

“I’m good, how’s everything.”

“Great,” you smiled.

“Okay, introductions,” Steve spoke, introducing you first. “This is Robin, Nancy, Argyle, and you know Eddie,” he motioned to the group.

You smiled and raised your hand in greeting, “Come sit!” one of the girls said, holding her hand out to you. You took it and sat down next to her - Nancy.

“Steve told us a lot about you, I think we actually used to play when we were younger?”

“I remember! You have a younger brother right?”

“Yeah Mike, got a sister too, Holly.”

“How’s Scott doing?” Jonathan asked.

“He’s great! How’s Will and, um it’s El right?”

“They’re good.”

“Right I’m going to get us some drinks!” Steve said, taking peoples orders.

“I’ll come help,” Eddie mumbled, standing from the booth. You chatted between the four remaining people at the table, learning more about Robin and Argyle and catching up on Nancy and Jonathan’s life. Even finding out that they were a couple.

“So how come you moved here Argyle?” You asked the long haired man, he seemed to pause before preparing an answer. “I met Jonathan a while back, and after the earthquakes I decided to help rebuild my buddies town. I now own the pizza place in town.”

“No way! I own the new coffee house a few streets along,” you smiled.

“Yeah Johnny boy said you were Callies niece,” Robin spoke from beside you.

“Yeah. Hoping to do her justice,” you sighed.

“You will,” Jonathan said, reassurance lacing his voice.

Glasses clunked on the table, they were slid around to find their owner. Thank yous spoken here and there, “Here you go,” Eddie grunted, placing the glass down in front of you. “Thank you,” you said quietly, taking a sip.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

The night was full of drinks, laughter, music and getting to know everyone - well most people. Eddie barely looked your way, seeming to mainly speak to Steve.

Robin was real sweet, talking to you about her partner, Vickie. It was adorable to see how in love she was. You’d also found out that she was a music teacher at Hawkins Elementary.

“What did you do before you got left the shop?” she asked.

“Oh painting and decorating, my brother and I did it together.”

“Sweet,” she smiled, “Family businesses always seem like the best, like the Munsons,” she nodded to the curly haired man across the table.

He noticed this motion and looked over and you, dark eyes meeting yours. Your heart thumped, they were like melted chocolate, but tired - exhausted even.

He made a noise of confusion at Robin, “Just talking about family businesses, you and Wayne and whatnot.”

“Hm right, what about it?” He asked, mainly to you, almost as if he was scared you were badmouthing it. “Well my family has businesses too, just saying how they’re the best.”

He nodded simply and went back to chatting with Steve, who almost seemed to be quietly scolding him.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“It was really nice meeting you!” Nancy smiled, Jonathan’s arm around her waist. “You too,” you smiled waving goodbye to the pair and Argyle.

You could hear giggles from behind, Vickie and Steve were currently trying to get Robin in the car. Her limbs like jelly, most likely due to the amount of shots she’d consumed.

You couldn’t help chuckle at your new friend who was telling her partner and Steve how much she loved them. “Told her to lay off the shots,” A voice spoke from beside you.

“I see why, the minute someone says shots you know it won’t end well.” He hummed at that, but not much was said after. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just a bit strange.

You were normally someone who didn’t struggle with talking to people, but Eddie you couldn’t figure out what to say. “Just so you know your car should be good as new,” he spoke up.

“Oh that’s great! When can I come and get it?” you asked, turning to face him. You hadn’t realised how much taller he was than you. “Well we’re not open Sundays, and I heard you talking about opening up your shop Monday.”

“When do you close?”

“I actually thought I could drive it over for you,” he said.

“Would you mind? I’ll pay you happily,” you spoke, so thankful for his generosity.

“Just a coffee, Steve said you make great Cherry turnovers too.” You couldn’t help but smile at him. “Okay, one coffee and a cherry turnover.”

He began to talk again, but Steve jogged over to you. “Hey, sorry about that. Robins just … yeah Robin. Let’s get you home.”

“You good to drive?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah had the one and then swapped to lemonade, I’ll be good.” He nodded and spoke again, “Okay then night, it was nice to see you again.”

“You too,” you said softly.

“Let’s go,” Steve said and you walked to his maroon vehicle as Eddie walked to his own van. It wasn’t the pick up he was driving the other day, no an older looking van.

Without looking your way again, he drove away. “You alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine. Was nice meeting everyone.”

“Told you they’d love you. Eddie’ll warm up to you eventually, he’s just shy. You actually got more out of him than most so, maybe you’re lucky.”

You hummed, leaning your head on the window, looking out at the stars and moon above.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Thank you so much for reading 🤍

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findafight · 8 months

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Controversial headcanons/opinions! That are mostly about Steve now that I read them back.

1. Stancy’s biggest roadblock is Nancy’s inability to admit she’s wrong/makes mistakes.

2. Jancy’s biggest roadblock is Jonathan’s parentification. Jon loves Will, but some of his devotion to him is tied up in that - something I think fandom tends to overlook. We’ve already seen that Nancy either forgets or underestimates how much the Byers rely on Jon and I would not put it past her to view him looking after Will on the same level as her having to look after Mike & Holly.

Even once it’s revealed and they talk about it, it’s going to open a rift between them.

3. Joyce doesn’t give a shit about Steve and never will. Hop gives a shit reluctantly, in a mostly professional capacity but will be haunted with guilt if Steve dies.

4. Karen Wheeler is a shitty person and if the Duffers wanted me to think different maybe shouldn’t have teased her considering sleeping with a kid her daughter’s age. Also doesn’t give a shit about Steve, but is better at hiding it.

5. Billy, while being in the closet and brimming with self hatred, did not have a crush on Steve - he wanted the weird codependent yet weirdly void of sexual tension friendship that Steve would go onto have with Robin.

The fact that Steve hated him and was constantly ignoring him or pushing back at him was part of the appeal. That and the fact Steve’s a bitch - Billy thought that was hilarious.

6. Steve intelligence wise is average and actually has a fairly broad general knowledge - he just has difficulty with the terminology and isn’t great at explaining things to other people.

7. Steve’s kids are Dustin, Max, Lucas and Erica. He will absolutely protect the other three, but any presence he continues to have in their lives is a by-product of the other four.

8. Mike has a on again/off again crush on Steve and it’s part of the reason he turns into an angry cat around him.

9. We will meet Vickie’s entire family before we see the Harringtons on-screen.

10. Jon would *not* react well to Stargyle happening - he refuses to believe Steve is queer, assuming he’s just messing with Argyle/trying to get revenge on Jon for cheating with Nancy (for added tragicomedy, this is how Steve finds out about that).

11. Eddie likes ABBA. I have no fucking idea why fandom seems to think that he’d hate it and has me genuinely questioning how many people in fandom have met an actual metalhead. I know he’s a pretentious douche, but *Jesus*.

12. Whatever else happens between them, Robin will always hold a grudge against Nancy for not knowing who she was when they were first introduced. Steve has the excuse of being a popular kid who was ignorant of his surroundings at all times. Robin is the person who could swipe Valedictorian out from under Nancy but chooses not too. See also, Barb and the handful of grudges she has with Nancy regarding Steve.

omg so many anon! let's do this. long post so I'm going to add a readmore!

Yeah I mostly agree? The inability to let Nancy apologize or be wrong I think really sets back her growth as a character no matter what, and it's really pronounced with stancy! It is something that could be resolved but I do not think the show will do that. Steve wasn't the person Nancy needed in s2, but maybe he is now. Idk there's better stancy meta out there haha There are issues they have I'd love to see addressed but. doubtful they will. Idk if nancy will end up single (like I think she should) but I also don't know if they're actually going to follow through on stancy revival in s5 or just leave jancy as is.

2. Jonathan's parentification!! Absolutely agree. He needs to work through his inability to move on and look to the future for himself. His focus is on Will, who needs more of an older brother from him than another parent, especially now Will is closer to the age Jon was when everything started. Jon is defined by his family, and them needing him. But we sort of see in s4 that Will is growing up, El is too, and they don't need him in the same way Will needed to depend on him in earlier seasons, and Jon is spending time smoking with Argyle, but not actually dealing with what he's feeling.

this is room for Jonathan to develop character-wise, but it's also so interesting how his parentification has been an issue with Nancy! Like she wants to be a priority, but Jon can't do that, because he hasn't figured out how to 1) focus on himself and his wants 2) let himself look at the future as something that isn't looming but something to look forward to!

God I would love to see him figure out what he actually wants and how to balance that with his loyaty to his family in the show! or read a jon focused fic where he gets to deal with these things.

3. Joyce doesn't like steve :'| why would she? he's just some guy to her that Jon didn't like and who used to date her son's girlfriend. Steve's not on her radar at all she doesn't give a shit about him lol (I should write more of the joyce doesn't like steve fic)

4. uhg yeah I think I've already posted about alternatives to the stupid Karen side-plot where it's like. random pool middle age affair man, flirting with mr. clarke, or just her making moves on her own husband to show she wants to make changes in their marriage and the fair being a little date for the wheelers or SOMETHING to make her not creepy and actual have it mean something to her character? or just. not! include! any karen plotline at all!

5. billy is interesting because i would say there might be some one-sided sexual thing happening between him and Steve, and Steve hating and ignoring him would totally egg him on with whatever was going on in his brain. idk if he wanted it actually actionable but was probably going for some weird and very intense pscho-sexual homoerotic relationship. maybe not what could be described as a crush but certainly not whatever stobin has going on (though if he had lived stobin would have also pissed him off lol)

6. Yes! steve can understand a lot if he's given time to understand it. like he's just not a genius or talking fast, and he asks clarifying questions so he (and everyone else) knows exactly what's happening. maybe that might look like he's getting left behind but he's making sure everyone is on the same page, which is actually an important part of plans and sharing info. I'd also say he'd probably have pretty good head for strategy!

7. Dustin, Max, Lucas and Erica are absolutely steve's kids! thank goodness we got Steve and Max content in s4, but I'd love to see more of Steve and Lucas and Erica! I do love Steve with El too, because I think they should and could have a great dynamic, but that's all fanon, unfortunately. Mike and Will having some kind of relationship with Steve are just byproducts of Steve being friends with the others.

8. Mike and his mortifying crush on steve is so precious to me. He'd be so mad about it. It'd be so funny. to me. not for him. but for me :)

9. Harrington parents will remain an unsolved mystery haunting the fandom forever and always. We will know the names of Robin's grandparents and their pets before we see or hear anything more than Mr. and Mrs. Harrington.

10. I am obsessed with this idea. I love stargyle sort of coming out of nowhere for other people. My favourite. They can bond over having great hair and being a chauffeur for children not related to them. Jon side-eyeing this so hard even tho maybe he's been focusing on Nancy and their relationship when steve and argyle are having their Bonding Moments. The confrontation of Jon accusing Steve of getting with Argyle to mess with him, Steve going "what the hell. why would I have an elaborate polt to mess with you that included pretending to be queer? and kissing a man? multiple times??"

and Jon blurting about how of course he would to get back at jon for cheating with Nancy and steve just stopping. and trying to clarify. and Jon digging himself deeper. ooooooh. something to think about and expand on?? 👀👀👀

11. it was the 80s and disco was way out of style but also. who doesn't like ABBA. don't trust anyone who doesn't like at least one ABBA song. suspicious. Eddie would be vocal about his hatred for Progressive Rock though.

12. Robin and her grudges!!!! omg yes if robin was holding herself back from being valedictorian she'd be Pissed that Nancy didn't know who she was. like at least know your rivals! that in combination with the barb thing and all the steve things. Robin's not letting it go. I love her pettiness she's so funny and great. Queen.

#findaanswers #stranger things #steve harrington #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #eddie munson #argyle stranger things #idk if i should tag the ships #not billy hargrove friendly #even though it's not not friendly let's be safe i guess #anonasaurus #stranger things meta #honestly i had some computer issues answering this and ive been trying to finish it for. hours no so here it is I'm going to bed #stargyle

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crazytogether4l · 1 year

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"Will they?" "Won't They?" Don't Worry My Loves, They Will ;)

Scroll down to see an analysis of who the heck the duffers could be calling a "will they" "won't they" couple. The first section is basically just context with some of my thoughts so feel free to read that as well! <3

On November 5th, a day before Stranger Things Day, the official Stranger Things twitter posted a thread of tweets replacing Steve's iconic 'boobies' quote (I have no idea how else to describe it lol) with various fandom inside jokes and comments like that. Here is the order/content of the tweets!

Okay so, the ships/people mentioned in the previous tweets were Steve Harrington, Lumax (WE LOVE LUMAX, Lucas + Max), Erica, Will Byers, The Byers, JOPPER (WE LOOOVVVVEEEEE, Joyce + Hopper), Murray, Dustin (DUSTYBUUUUNNN), AN ANONYMOUS COUPLE WHICH I WILL TALK ABOUT, and then El.

I find it very interesting that they put the mystery couple directly before el, it's kind of like establishing Els independence for the upcoming season!

Now, what in the world is a "Will they" "Wont they" couple, and who could the duffers be describing?

So this is my understanding of the basic characteristics of a "will they" "wont they" couple;

Romantic chemistry shared by both people

Relationship is threatened by all of the following;

Uncertainty

External obstacles

Internal strife

Romantic tension that remains unbroken or unresolved

Now let's compare this list to different st couples the duffers could be referring to, I'll try and remember all of them but there are a lot so lmk if I miss any! To check the criteria I will name a couple or ship, say their status and go through the criteria as it relates to each! Each couple must meet all the requirements of a "will they" "won't they" ship to be considered as such.

Which ships will I be counting? I mean, the criteria are automatically biased based on my perception of the show, so I'm trying to use solid canon evidence that the couple either is romantically involved or at least one person in the ship is romantically interested in the other. Both characters also have to be a part of the main teams of s4 like either the California (mike will el Johnathan argyle), Hawkins (Dustin steve robin Lucas max nancy erica), or Russia crew (joyce hopper neil murray). (I'm excluding Eddie because he's... well... not a contender anymore). For example, Milkvan would count as a valid ship to consider because , they are dating, but a ship like Dustin and Lucas wouldn't count (only for what I'm trying to do here, ofc I think every ship is valid as long as its respectful, everyone has their own headcanons and I support all of your perceptions of the show ofc <3) because there is no canonical evidence to support this being a possible romantic pairing in the show. Anyway, let's get started, if you have any questions on how I determined if a ship could be considered or not please feel free to message me, I love talking to all of you! Oh also I should clarify as well that I'm only counting ships that have both parties alive (with the exception of max who we aren't sure is alive or not)

Couples I'm choosing not to include (but still meet criteria to be considered): Duzie, dustin and max, robin and vickie (because vickie isn't a part of the main groups and I don't think that their relationship has built up long enough to be considered a wtwtc, however, if you disagree id love to talk about it!)

Color code: True False Is a wtwtc is not a wtwtc

COUPLE Jancy (Johnathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler)

STATUS Dating; They have been dating since season 2 when they got together after an interrogation from Murray. In season 4 they struggled with maintaining the relationship due to the long distance, but when they reunited this was mostly resolved, still some stuff was left up in the air with stancy and all.

CRITERIA (1) Yes there is romantic chemistry (2.1) No, there is no uncertainty with the validity of their relationship. While they may be struggling to figure out how to maintain their relationship, there is no uncertainty about whether or not they are in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there were external obstacles such as stancy but those obstacles have been resolved and are no longer affecting the couple. For example, will going missing and steve and nancys relationship count, but both of those obstacles have been resolved (2.3) No, there was no notable internal conflict besides shared trauma and anxiety about approaching their feelings for each other. (3) While there is romantic tension between them, the tension was resolved by them getting together and becoming a couple officially

While there is romantic chemistry, the ship did not fulfill all requirements to be considered a "will they" "wont they" couple

COUPLE Stancy (Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler)

STATUS Ex's; In season one, Nancy and Steve were in a relationship. They broke up after Nancy called their love bull shit at a high school party. There is some romantic tension again in s4, though it doesn't really go anywhere, at least directly.

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension. Especially in season 4, there are numerous moments of sexual tension. (2.1) Yes, there is uncertainty with the validity of the relationship. However Steve wants to have his "six little nuggets" with Nancy, but we as an audience can visually see how that future doesn't excite her. Steve still loves nancy but nancy does not love steve, no matter how much she hopes she does. (2.2) Yes, there is an external obstacle, Nancy and Johnathan are a couple so that is an obstacle that would get between them from being together. (2.3) No, there are not a ton of moments of internal conflict. Steve potentially likes Nancy again and Nancy doesn't feel the same IMO but even considering that, there is no internal conflict that is a barrier between a platonic or a romantic relationship. (3) No, there is no unresolved sexual tension, as they have already been in a relationship

Jancy does not qualify as a will they won't they couple, they have already been in a relationship, and the romantic tension was already broken so there's nothing new romantically to build up that hasn't already been done.

COUPLE Lumax (Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield)

STATUS Ex's, Romantic interests, kinda unclear lol; Max and Lucas got together at the end of season 2, when they kissed at the Snowball. They were dating throughout season 3, however, in the beginning of season 4, we see max isolating herself from the party, and therefore we as an audience understand that Lucas and Max were not together romantically anymore. It wasn't until we see them at billys grave and we also see Max and Lucas together at the Creel house (Lucas asking Max on a movie date) when we finally see them express romantic interest in each other again Not super related but this is a parallel to Jopper with Enzos and the fact that they couldn't go on their date because of multiple obstacles (like Joyce standing hop up to figure out why her magnets weren't working, and hop going to Russia causing everyone to think he was not alive anymore)

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension between Lucas and Max (2.1) While there is uncertainty with what Lumax's future will look like, there is no uncertainty with whether the romantic feelings they have are requited or if they have the potential to be in a romantic relationship because they already have been in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there is one big external obstacle which is max literally being in a coma lmaooo (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles Lucas and Max struggle with regarding their romantic feelings towards each other, especially Max. Max isolates herself after she experiences the trauma of witnessing what happened to billy and she experiences symptoms of vecna's curse, basically she's being vecna'd and that causes her to suffer mentally and therefore she isolates herself from the party, especially Lucas. (3) While there is unbroken romantic tension that came up in s4, Max and Lucas already dated so there is no new romantic tension that could be potentially broken here. "will they" or "won't they" couples are typically built up over numerous seasons, so the previous romantic history between them would disqualify them from being considered a "will they" "won't they" couple.

Lumax can not be considered a "will they" "won't they" couple because they do not fulfill all of the criteria to be considered a wtwtc, and even if they did I don't think that lumax would be the wtwtc they were talking about because they were already mentioned in Stranger Writers' thread as an official ship

COUPLE Mileven (Mike Wheeler and El Hopper)

We already know that Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they are already in a romantic relationship, but I'm going to pretend like I don't already know that because its good practice for me to be able to be more open to other perspectives of the show and also I think its important in general to analyze the dynamics of their relationship anyway :)

STATUS Dating; (I am a passionate byler shipper so I will try and be as factual as I possibly can) Mike and El kissed towards the end of season one but didn't get together again until the end of season two when they finally went to the snowball together. El dumped his ass in season 3, Mike said "I love her and I can't lose her again" in a heated fight with the group, and they got back together at the end of the season when El said she loved him too and kissed him. In season 4 we see them struggle with managing the distance as well as discovering their own identities. Mike has trouble saying 'I love you' to el (he is discovering his sexuality simultaneously... regarding his feelings for will), and El is not receiving the type of love she wants and needs from mike. At the end of the season, we see mike and will stand together and El stands alone, which foreshadows an independent El for season 5.

CRITERIA (1) This is something that is super controversial in the fandom, and as a byler supporter I personally don't think that there is any romantic tension between mike and eleven, but I will try and look at it from multiple perspectives.

As a byler supporter, what I see is a longing for romantic feelings, especially from mike. Mike wants to fit in and his role models are nancy and his parents, both of which have been in toxic relationships and fake love (stancy) and that is all mike knows about romantic feelings. In season one people continue to accuse mike of having romantic feelings for el. When Mike first meets el, he treats her kind of how he would treat any other peer, like showing her his toys and being nice and letting her sleep in his basement. The romantic implications of that don't even cross his mind until Lucas and Dustin point them out. There is a huge difference between the was Lucas and Dustin interact with el, and the way mike does. Lucas and Dustin think, oh this is a girl, omg a girl in mikes basement. But mike is focused on finding will, and El could lead him closer to finding him. Mike claims that he has always loved el, but he literally tried to get her to go back to where she came from in their first few moments together. Like we don't see Mike actually push for El to stay until she recognizes will in that photo. Lucas, dustin, even his older sister Nancy all ask him if he likes el romantically. I think this gets in his head a lot, which causes him to kiss her at the end of the season. In season two at the end of the season we see mike sulking at the snow ball. I think mainly this kind of had to do with the fact that will was out dancing with a girl and he felt jealous feelings but didn't understand why or what that meant. That is my perception because of the headcanons I have of byler but if I'm looking at it from a mileven perspective then it was because he assumed she wasn't coming. Personally, I don't think this is why because he knew she was back in town and she was okay and there must have been some communication about whether or not eleven was actually going to the snow ball but either way she showed up and we see his face change. Then right after we see El walk in and I think he uses the shame from his jealousy to motivate him to do romantic things with el, but that could just be my opinion because thats what I believe in my head lol. For el, she only really starts expressing romantic interest in mike after she starts watching soap operas. Mike kissed her in s1, and when she sees couples kissing on the tv in s2, she has a realization that maybe that was something couples do so that means that she likes mike... right? Or does she have this thought because she doesn't have any other exposure to what romance actually looks like? Its an interesting question to dive into, and I'll go in more detail in a future post if anyone would be interested in that. I think something that is very telling is the mileven breakup in s3. This scene has been analyzed over and over again, but in general, the way she says "i dump your ass" so easily and then laughs about it on the bus with max is very telling. Like idk about you but if I was supposedly in love with someone it wouldn't be that easy to just dump them and then giggle about it a few minutes later. In s4 we see el being very inauthentic, like for example she looks at the note on the flowers that says "from mike" and then puts on a fake smile. And over the season we kind of see this fake smile start to break down until she stops talking to mike altogether at the end of the season. At the end of the season El knows that Mike can't give her the love she needs. The fact that he says I love you, which is what El wanted to hear, but she still gives mike the silent treatment after his confession and we don't see them talk for the rest of the season? Like I love you is what she thought she needed but it didn't fix anything because she knew they were just empty words said in the heat of the moment, just like how he said "I love her" in the heat of the moment in season 3. There is soooooo much to talk about, especially in season 4 and season 3, so let me know if you want more of this because I have a lot to say but I should get back to the topic of this post <3

(2.1) No, there is no current uncertainty regarding the validity of their relationship. As an audience, no matter if there is a deeper meaning or not, we know that el has said I love you to mike and mike has said I love you to el. No matter if those words are true or not, we as an audience are expected to believe this as canon and therefore their romantic feelings for each other are not uncertain after Mike said I love you to el. (2.2) Yes there have been external obstacles, however, at the end of season 4 these are all resolved to our knowledge. El is back in hawkins with mike. The only other obstacle I can think of is will, but neither el nor mike are aware of his feelings for mike, so I would save this for a potential season 5 obstacle. (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles. Mike is having a hard time saying I love you to el because of internal hardships regarding his sexuality, and el is not receiving the love that she wants or deserves from mike. This is the opposite of a will they won't they couple, this is incompatibility and its obvious. (3) No, there is no unresolved tension. Mike and el have both said I love you, kissed, and had a relationship, there is no tension that needs resolving anymore, if anything their relationship is getting boring at this point IMO (no hate to milevens at all you all are totally allowed to love your ship <3)

No, Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they have already broken the tension that is needed to be considered one and they are already in a relationship

COUPLE Jopper (Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper)

STATUS Dating; I think Jopper has always been a will they wont they couple. There has been romantic tension with them since the beginning. Joyce has always been comfortable just walking over to hopper, speaking her mind. We see them start to form an emotional bond over season one. Then throughout the seasons, they get closer which leads up to hopper asking Joyce out on a date and they plan to go to Enzo’s but the plan changes when hopper disappears to Russia at the end of season 3. Season 4 they reunite in Russia and release all the sexual tension by making out in the warehouse thing. It’s a lot more beautiful than that but I have a migraine and can’t think of a poetic way to write that lol.

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is soooo much sexual and romantic tension between joyce and hopper!!! Literally in every single season, especially season 3 and the end of season 4! Theres no other explanation needed :) (2.1) No, there is no uncertenty with whether Joyce and Hopper like each other romantically or not. We know that both of them like each other and they both have expressed romantic interest in each other. (2.2) I mean besides bob in season 2, and basically the entire world ending, there arent too many outside obstacles currently at the end of s4. Hopper was like kinda gone in another continent for most of the last season though so that counts. (2.3) Yes, there are internal struggles. Hopper struggles with grief and for most of season one and two joyce was emotionally unavailable due to the trauma of losing her son and people telling her she was crazy. Both of these characters love each other, but they are both so scared of losing the ones they love that they love, they cant bare to give all of their love to each other just to have It ripped from them all over again.

This is off topic but this inspired me to talk about loss throughout the show, which is centered around loss. Thats what its all about. The first ten minutes show a a family, a friendgroup, even a whole town that is greatly affected by the loss of a boy. Especially in season 4, I think that the major theme throughout the show was the fear of loss, especially around the idea of love whether it be platonic love or something more. Max distanced herself from the group, partially because she was afraid of causing even more pain and loss than she felt she already had. El was so scared of losing mike, like we can see her desperately trying to be worthy of his love. She wrote to him like every day, she lied to seem cooler than she was, she faked smiles to make sure everything was perfect. Mike is probably the one most affected by the fear of loss in my opinion. His best friend went missing and he thought he was dead, then el went missing, then will almost died again in season 2, then el almost died in season 4, like the amount of times mike has had to deal with the idea of his friends leaving him is very sad. I think a lot of this stems from his childhood. Will is also scared of losing others, especially his sister and brother and mike

(3) No, the tension was broken when they kissed in season 4 lmao. Also when they kept talking about their date. This was a hard couple to debate on, especially since they were a will they wont they couple in the past, but I think because they already broke that tension, and its canon that they have romantic feelings for each other and they have done romantic things together, there is no uncertainty if they like each other more than platonically. I think that jopper is like the original "will they" "wont they" couple, and then that romantic tension was broken and now they're just a slow burn romance! Ugh I love them so much I could talk about them for hours :) If anyone wants to talk about them id love to!

This was a difficult one to determine but since there is no uncertainty with whether their romantic attraction is requited, and the romantic attraction has been acted on, I do not think that they can be considered a "will they" "wont they" because like, they already DID if that makes sense!

COUPLE BYLERRR! (Mike Wheeler and Will Byers)

STATUS Best friends, potential love intrests, gay as hell; Its currently canon that Will is in love with Mike (confirmed by noah schnapp), however it is not yet canon if mike is romantically interested in will (even though it couldn't be more obvious). There is sooooooooo much romantic tension between the two, not to mention the COUNTLESS parallels between them and other couples from the show. Not only just from stranger things, but actual canon gay couples from OTHER SHOWS! Like the duffers put a lot of thought into their parallels. Its truly beautiful, like they are the best slow burn gay romance in all of tv history. Its undeniable.

CRITERIA (1) YES OH MY GOD! There is soooooo much romantic chemistry between the two! Like especially from mike.

BEST FRIENDS DONT LOOK AT EACH OTHER LIKE THAT! tHEY JUST DONT! THEY ARE BLUSHING LIKE NO BODIES BUISSNESS AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT EACH OTHERS LIPS AND THIS INTIMATE MOMENT IS BROKEN SUDDENLY, JUST LIKE SO MANY INTIMATE MOMENTS IN THE SHOW!

Like, come on... theres just so much evidence that they are in love, not to mention all of the "intimate moments" and parallels to other couples. I could go on and on! (2.1) Yesssss there is uncertainty and loooaadddssss of it! The beautiful thing about byler is its up to interpretation. Neither of them just comes out and says out front they are in love, will uses el as a cover for his own feelings, and mike just is scared to be vulnerable about how he feels because of external and internal homophobia. Both of their romantic feelings for each other are shown not only through just words and physical communication, but also through symbols, set, lighting, music, etc. Their story is left up to interpretation because that's just accurate to the time. We are unsure if both of them love each other canonically, but we can feel it, that's the beauty of the show. We know that will is in love with mike. Thats canon. But mike, mike's story is so accurate to the struggle of growing up as a gay kid, and many adults who have grown up in the 80s have said that they identify themselves with mike and wills story! Like as a queer person who grew up with similar feelings to mike and will, its just beautiful to watch their love story unfold despite all of the obstacles they face. (2.2) EXTERNAL OBSTACLES! SO. MANY. EXTERNAL. OBSTACLES. I mean, this is a gay love story about two gay boys in the 1980's, a time when homophobia was experiencing a spike due to the HIV crisis and hate crimes and everything of that sort. And not to mention that mike is in a relationship with wills sister, so even if mike broke up with el, will getting together with his sisters ex boyfriend is kind of a betrayal to her so there's a sense of guilt or shame that's added on top of the feelings he is already having. And for mike, he has to navigate the fact that he cant say I love you to his girlfriend because he already loves will. Also he doesn't know will loves him so he assumes that he has no shot with him anyway. Not to mention all of the supernatural struggles that come with their feelings for each other. Like in season three and two, a lot of the times mike and will have an intimate moment he then feels vecna. Also the fact that will is literally being brainwashed by vecna for like half the season. Also the bullying in seasons one and two when the boys, especially will, have been called homophobic slurs their whole life. This causes shame and guilt for who they are, which makes them hesitant to acknowledge their feelings for each other.

(2.3) INTERNAL OBSTICLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! SOOOOO MANY! First of all internalized homophobia, which mike sufferers from a lot! Its shown throughout the show in so many ways. First of all, mikes relationship with el is kind of an avoidance tactic for mike, as well as a safety tactic. He uses his relationship with el to convince himself that he is in fact straight and he does everything he can to be perceived as straight, even by himself. For will, there is so much shame that has been thrown at him his whole life. Not only from his father but his peers. He has been bullied his entire life and so has mike, they have experienced homophobia their whole lives, which has caused them to believe that they themselves are the problem. And there's a whole other struggle that especially affects mike, which is heteronormativity. The minute he showed el any kindness at all, everyone started asking him if he liked el and were calling her his bf and stuff like that. Hes lived in this headspace that in order to be seen as 'normal', he has to be straight. Like he thinks that getting a girlfriend and giving up on the 'childish' things he enjoyed as a kid like dnd is all a part of growing up. There's just so many internal struggles with both of them, especially in regard to their romantic feelings for each other. (3) No, the romantic tension has not been broken yet! There is sooooo much tension and so many scenes where they seem like they are about to kiss or about to confess their feelings, but they are interrupted by a person, a noise, etc. They are so in love I love them so muchhhh! Like for example the bedroom scene when they're like "I didn't say that" and mike is like "you didn't have to". Like that scene is a direct parallel to another gay ship that KISS after they exchange their little "cool", "cool". But for byler that tension is interrupted by the van arriving, like there are so many examples of this throughout the show! I could go on and on about byler so let me know if you want me to discuss this more :)

Yes, Byler is a "will they" "wont they" couple! While many of the st couples have fit under the "will they" "wont they" umbrella at some point in the show, the unknown romantic aspect of their relationships have all been resolved except for byler! And even if jopper counted as a "will they" "'wont they" couple, the st twt still mentioned them in the thread before they mentioned the will they wont they couple, so it wouldn't make sense for jopper to be referred to twice in the same way.

So to kind of summarize all of those words, byler is the only "will they" "wont they" couple in present-day stranger things canon, which therefore is EVEN MORE evidence that byler will be end game. Especially because the way the line is used in the first place, like steve saying that Vickie obviously likes women, and then that being true in the end, it shows how byler is also true and it will happen! I hope all of this made sense! Sorry this is pretty delayed after the thread came out, I've been so busy and also trying to add to this post as much as I could over the past few weeks haha. If you have any fun things to add or stuff you want to discuss please do! I always love talking to you all. As always, much love to everyone <3

#will byers #byler canon #byler proof #byler edit #i love byler #byler is canon #byler exists #Duffers explain #Stranger things Twitter #Will they wont they #will they wont they trope #cinematography #stranger things 5 #byler

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fictionalwhxre · 2 years

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Stranger Things Preferences

Their Pet names for you

(Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Billy Hargrove, Jonathan Byers, Dmitri Antonov, Jim Hopper, Alexei, Murray Bauman, Robin Buckley, Argyle, Henry)

A/N: My first preference! There will be quite a few of these so if you'd like to be tagged in them please let me know in the comments :) Also any Russian is taken straight from google translate so pre-apologies if I have butchered it!

Steve Harrington

Steve keeps his pet names quite generic, baby, babe, sweetheart. It’s not so much the names he uses but how he says them. Most of the time he’s most comfortable using the shortened version of your name, but the amount of affection he would put into it would still make you melt. If he’s being especially flirtatious you’d even occasionally get doll, he doesn’t miss the effect it has on you when he calls you that.

Eddie Munson

Eddie is as theatrical with his pet names as he is with anything else in life. He loves to call you princess, especially during Hellfire meetings when he can incorporate you into his campaign. I think Eddie would switch between a few pet names to try to keep it interesting, baby, sunshine, sweetheart. It doesn’t matter what he calls you it never fails to give you butterflies. Let’s not pretend that if you two are hanging out in his trailer while you joke around and play air guitar together that he doesn’t call you his little Rockstar.

Billy Hargrove

Billy’s pet names for you depend on two things; his mood, and who you are around. In public you're only getting the less heartfelt pet names, he refers to you as his girl a lot in front of other people. Not only does he love the small smile it brings to your face but it also feeds into his possessive side, knowing that everyone knows you are his. When you're alone and have been together for a while, Billy finally shows a softer side of himself. He will compliment you a lot and attach all soft of pet names to those compliments, baby, sugar, sweet thing, still loving to resort to calling you his girl. You're mad at him and he’s trying to make it up to you? Get ready for him to bargain his was back into your arms, wrapping his arms around you as he whispers in your ear, “Come on sweetheart, you know you can’t stay mad at me.”

Jonathan Byers

This soft, shy, adorable baby will probably be hesitant to use pet names for a long time. I honestly doubt you would hear them until you two begin to get intimate and he’s too lost in the moment to think about what he’s saying. He’s pussy drunk and rambling into your neck, pet names would all be soft and sweet while he’s chasing his high, beautiful and sweetheart would be at the top of this list. Getting high in his room? This sweet man would tell you how you're his sunshine, rambling on in his delirium about how you light up his life.

Dmitri Antonov

While this man’s English is very good, he still prefers to use pet names in Russian. There’s something about the way he looks at you with his intense gaze as he slips back into his native tongue that just turns you into an absolute puddle. His favourites include котенок (kitten) and моя любовь (my love). The thought of this man holding you while you curl up in bed for the night, arms wrapped around you while he whispers endearing words in Russian into your ear is enough to bring butterflies to your stomach.

Jim Hopper

Let’s not pretend like for a goooooood while this man affectionately refers to you as kid even if you are barely a few years younger than him. He’s a tough shell of a man that will refuse to open up or show his feelings for a long time, but when he does you realise its worth the wait. He doesn’t throw around pet names and words of endearment a lot as he prefers to save them for moments when he feels it’s right. When it’s just the two of you and you’re sharing a soft moment, sometimes referring to you as darling in his softer moments. Occasionally you might even get a cheeky baby.

Alexei

Another Russian baby, this adorable man will always call you pet names in Russian, it doesn’t matter if his English does eventually get better. It just means more to him coming from his native tongue. His regular go to include голубь (Dove) and Милый (Darling). Although, Murray taught him how Americans also use Pumpkin as a term of endearment as a way to screw with you both and now it’s one of Alexei’s favourite things to call you. Jokes on Murray because seeing Alexei’s face light up as he reaches for you and calls you pumpkin is enough to fall even more in love with him.

Murray Bauman

I feel like Murray cannot find it in himself to call you soft names to start off with. He’s still confused by the fact that you even want to be with him, he’s not going to possibly embarrass himself further using some pet name that might cross some invisible line he’s set up for himself. He refers to you as lady a lot, or another unique name that fits your looks or personality. Once this man is comfortable and more secure in your relationship I think the names would still stay light and not too sensitive. You would definitely get honey a lot, I don’t think Murray would be able to resist yelling through the house when he got home, “Honey, I’m home!”

Robin Buckley

Robin would also keep her pet names generic just like her bestie Steve, but less out of originality and more just to play it safe. Robin would have some insecurities going into a relationship after all the careful steps she took just to get to where you two are now. She is hesitant at first to say the wrong thing so she sticks to a lot of sweetheart and babe. One day you were spending time together and she slipped up and called you buttercup. She panicked for a second worrying what you would think of the nickname, but seeing your smile wiped all of those worries away and it became one of her favourite pet names so far.

Argyle

Okay so we all know this cutie is not gonna call you any conventional pet names unless he’s sober which is almost never. You’re going to get a lot of my dude and bro but he does really mean it affectionately with you. Other than that you’re definitely going to get a lot of made up names that mean absolutely nothing but to him they mean a lot wicked lady, cream puff, anything. He would totally refer to you as “my queen” when he lets you into the van which he refers to as your chariot. Your favourite pet name would be the time he said “My pretty girl is gonna get all the pizza she wants” he couldn’t understand your reaction as you couldn’t thing of what to say next after hearing Argyle call you his pretty girl.

Henry Creel / 001

I whole heartedly believe this man would refer to you as pet. He does mean it endearingly but he also can't resist how you scrunch your nose up at hearing the teasing term. He also uses a lot of “My little...” whether it be bird, bunny, dove. He constantly feels the need to protect you and he shows that in his terms of endearment by referring to you as small and innocent. I know this man would call you his good girl, and you will have to pry that thought out of my cold dead hands.

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thestrangestthing89 · 1 year

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Part 1 of 2:

Jonathan lying isn't just about Nancy which is why I don't think it's going to ruin that relationship when it's revealed. He's also lying to his family and at the moment, Argyle is the only one who knows what's going on with him and why. He doesn't want to leave his family and makes a comparison to his father abandoning them when he talks about this with Argyle. From the start of the series it's made clear that Jonathan is protective of Will in a way that their father never was. He takes care of him and gives him good advice and is mainly the reason why Will is so kind-hearted despite having gone through so much trauma. He has Jonathan to talk to and Jonathan is always emotionally available to him. He plays a role in Will's life that blends older brother with father figure. He had to grow up too fast and help take care of him and pay the bills because their own father left and couldn't handle it.

So when Will goes missing and Jonathan realizes that he never checked on him the night before he feels guilty. And we see this through a scene with Joyce and Jonathan when they are putting a Missing ad together for Will. He's upset and blames himself. Realistically it wouldn't have made a difference of course. If Jonathan had noticed the night before Will still would have been in the upside-down. The most this would have done was start a search a few hours earlier but since we know of the supernatural element, that may not have made much of a difference. We see Jonathan is clearly feeling guilty about this - he's upset and he apologizes to Will when they find him. Which leads to season 2 and his annoyance about Bob. Bob is taking the role of father here that Jonathan has had for years. While we don't see too much interaction between the three of them, we do see that Will is more accepting of Bob in their lives where Jonathan is just tolerant. Will accepts a ride to school and listens to his advice and he sticks up for Bob when him and Jonathan are talking. Now it's important to note here that Bobs advice isn't good and it ends up unintentionally harming Will, but this is mainly because Bob doesn't have all the information about what's going on with Will. We see Jonathan give Will good advice again when he tells him about Zombie Boy and all the bullying. Jonathan is the one who takes care of Will the way he needs to be taken care of. Jonathans isn't getting replaced - Will still needs him. At the end of the season we see more guilt from Jonathan. When they are back at the Byers house after they escape the lab. Will is unconscious and Jonathan is apologizing for not having been there for him. Even though Joyce, Hopper, Mike and Bob were there for Will, he still feels guilty for not having been there himself. So of course when they are talking to Will in the shed it's Jonathan, Joyce, and Mike talking to him and telling him stories - they are the people who know him best. But it's important to note here that it's Mike who first gets through to Will and not Jonathan. Mike's story about meeting Will is kindergarten is the thing that gets Will communicating to them in morse code and it's Mike who realizes that Will is trying to sacrifice himself and it's Mike who comes up with a plan to fix it. Not Jonathan (this is important in part 2). In the scene at the end where they are de-possessing Will, it is clear that Jonathan is distraught over watching Will be in pain. It's so awful for him he can't even watch. It's been made very clear through all of this that Jonathan loves Will and will do anything to protect him. He feels responsible for him. Season 3 is the first time we don't see interaction between the two without the whole group around them. Will is distracted by his problems with Mike and Jonathan is distracted by his job and fighting with Nancy. This fight with Nancy is significant because they both are correct and only part of it gets resolved. It's still a loose thread. Because while Nancy is discussing how it's humiliating to work in a place like that, Jonathan is trying to explain to her that he can't afford to complain about it because he has to help pay the bills. It's a problem many working class women face and a problem Nancy can't relate to - complaining about getting harassed at work is a privilege. Plenty of working class women have to grin and bear the abuse at work because they have bills to pay. There is no way Joyce hasn't experienced this. So while Jonathan can't relate to the way that Nancy's treated - he immediately gains respect by being male - Nancy can't understand why he doesn't say anything and it's because his family depends on him. Nancy is upper middle class and had that job for the experience not for money. She still relies on her father for that and can. Jonathan later apologizes to Nancy but it's not for this fight. It's because he doubted that she was right about the rats and the case.

This fight is still unresolved and it's why Jonathan doesn't tell her about college. Now the reason he doesn't apply to college is about Will, but him not telling Nancy is because of this fight. They usually communicate well with each other but here is the first time they aren't on the same page and it's because they can't relate to each other. They have different experiences and they don't know how to explain it to each other. This doesn't have to be a big deal. Most couples aren't going to have the same exact upbringing and experiences, but they are young and don't know how to discuss it. So we have season 4 and Jonathan emotionally checking out for the first time. He's not there for Will when Will is struggling with his identity and he's avoiding his family. He can't tell them he won't go to college because he feels like he's abandoning them which will then lead to them feeling guilty. It's another difficult conversation he's avoiding. He does apologize to Will for not being there at the end of the season and it's clear Will still needs him. But after all the drama of season 4 - the shoot out at the house, the burying the dead agent, helping find El and escaping, and trying to help her help Max - Jonathan has to be feeling even more reluctant to leave. Because what would have happened to Will and Mike in the house when they were attacked if Jonathan wasn't there? Nancy even thanks him for being there because she knows he is the reason they got to Hawkins safely. They all need Jonathan and rely on him.

More in Part 2

#jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #jancy #will byers #mike wheeler #byler

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musicalchaos07 · 1 year

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Hot Take:

If the goal was to show how much Jonathan is willing to sacrifice for other people’s happiness the Duffers have actually written him exceptionally well.

This is going to be long I’m sorry

Now before you all get out the pitchforks hear me out. Nancy flat out says that Jonathan doesn’t back down even if it comes at a great personal cost In season 1 Jonathan is risking his life to find/save Will. I mean everyone is but we see that Jonathan would rather lie to his mother, confront his abusive father and die by demogorgon if it means Will is safe and Joyce is happy. (we won’t get into the implications that Jonathan thinks Joyce loves Will more but it’s good to keep in mind) Additionally, I would argue that the other reason that Jonathan is doing what he’s doing in s1 is because he thinks Will going missing is his fault. Therefore, it’s Jonathan’s responsibility to bring Will home safe and sound no matter what.

Season 2 is where we start to see a less motivated Jonathan in terms of main story plot. For lack of a better word he spends the season as Nancy’s sidekick. Nancy wants justice and Jonathan is willing to be abducted by the government, drive all over Indiana-Illinois and deal with Murray if it means that she gets justice and is happy. And yes, we could argue that Jonathan says what the lab did makes him mad but again it’s Nancy’s plan and he’s supporting her. Even if he’s missing school/ knows something is going on with Will and missing that too.

In terms of s3 I think this is really where the idea is driven home. Throughout the entire season we see Jonathan tell Nancy that her story is a bad idea, that he could get fired (we already know the Byers need the money and Jonathan has been working since s1 to help). BUT he goes along with Nancy anyway. It’s highlighted especially in the darkroom scene. Nancy offers him a way out in saying she’ll just take the keys and Jonathan who wants to make her happy (seen in the previous scene after her pitch meeting) goes with her anyway. Jonathan knows he could get fired but he sacrifices his needs for Nancy’s happiness.

Season 4 is where it gets interesting, First of all it’s never mentioned that Jonathan applied to NYU (where we know he’s wanted to go since he was 6) this is probably a writing error but this could also be in the story to show us that Jonathan shifted what he wanted to accommodate what Nancy wanted (Emerson) Additionally, Jonathan says that if he tells Nancy he can’t/won’t go to college she would come out to CA to be with him/give up her dreams and he can’t live with that. This establishes that Jonathan in no way expects people to make the same level of sacrifices for him. He’s the one who has to stay behind to take care of his mom/Will (and presumably El) What’s more interesting is that Jonathan DOESN’T need to stay home to take care of them. We’re shown that though it’s not explicitly told so it may go unnoticed here’s why 1. Joyce is working from home which means she’s always physically there 2. (more important imo) The Byers have moved upward financially (the Lenora house alone shows us that, but we also see brand name syrup when s3 had generic, Will has an easel/paints, El has all of her craft supplies) the Byers aren’t struggling to the point that Jonathan needs to also work (if he did Argyle would’ve been introduced as Jonathan’s coworker or Jonathan would have been more antsy about his car being broken). 3. Lastly, I think Jonathan’s insistence that he has to stay home just reinforces the idea that he thinks of Will as his responsibility (not that he doesn’t love Will) but the idea that 18 year old Jonathan should be solely responsible for 15 yo Will’s well-being is parentification plain and simple. But Jonathan would rather sacrifice his teenage/young adulthood if it means that Will is happy.

If you have read this far congratulations, but I’m not done yet.

Now if you’re thinking surely Jonathan must have wants outside of protecting his family/their happiness and you’re right he does: NANCY

From s2: Jonathan could’ve gone home after dropping off Will but instead he went to Tina’s party because he wanted to be with Nancy. (That’s why you get the shot of him pining when Steve & Nancy are dancing) He takes Nancy home he tucks her in and takes off her shoes because he wanted to take care of her. But I think the most telling thing is at Murray’s Jonathan is already halfway in the living room when Nancy leaves her room because he wants to talk (kiss) her. Which moves us to the more important point JONATHAN KISSED NANCY FIRST. And yes, this could have been done as a more romantic option or whatever but as someone who has edited the scene over & over it’s clear that Jonathan was choosing to want Nancy no matter how selfish it might have been. (the state of St*ncy is murky at this point in story and Nancy did just say she loves him even if Jonathan knew she was lying) That’s why you get that shot after he kisses her of him in the doorframe looking at her like “I want you don’t you want me too?” (kudos to Charlie for portraying this emotion)

And if you don’t believe me, we see that again in s4. Jonathan contradicts himself, he says he needs to stay for Will but when it settles in that Nancy could be in danger he’s moving hell & earth to be by her side in Hawkins because that’s where he wants to be. (In-Universe El is taken, Cali Crew finds out about Vecna, Jonathan decides on jailbreak, and the boys leave in less than 24 hours) Jonathan could’ve looked at that picture and said no Will (Mike too) is safer here with agents guarding the house. They might go looking for El but Jonathan’s call to action is Nancy. That’s why we see him apologize for not being there because despite him giving up on college with her and him saying he needs to be there for his family where he wants to be is right by her side.

To wrap up: Maybe I’m giving the Duffers too much credit, maybe it’s late and I’ve lost my mind, but I really do think that overall they’ve been trying to show us that Jonathan will sacrifice himself if it makes others happy. And that they haven’t been ignoring writing his character it’s just been subtle because it’s supposed to be. I know this is a hot-take but Jonathan is supposed to blend into the background, but he’s present and accounted for when he thinks that people need him. (again kudos to Charlie for his background Jonathan actions) When he can do something that will make others happy/help them in some way, even if it’s not what he wants to do.

Obviously, the preferable resolution to this would be for Jonathan to do things he wants to do. Not what he thinks he has to do. But whether or not that will happen, or whether or not I’m wrong will be revealed next season. Either way, I don’t think Jonathan will be in the background of s5.

TLDR: The Duffers have written Jonathan in a way that perfectly shows how little he wants for himself

#buckle in kids we're Blorbo posting again #This is so much longer than I thought it would be #it's like you edit all day and you notice things #I should've been an English major #I learned analysis right here at Tumblr University #also as a history major #Stranger Things #jonathan byers #st analysis #Jancy

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steddie-fanfic-recs · 5 months

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Crossroads (Hellfire on my Trail)

by Nevertheless_5

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Henry Creel | One | Vecna, Wayne Munson, Corroded Coffin (Stranger Things), Jeff (Stranger Things), Chrissy Cunningham, Murray Bauman, Argyle (Stranger Things), Jim "Chief" Hopper, Jonathan Byers, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, Mike Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Erica Sinclair, Heather Holloway, Joyce Byers, Robin Buckley, Billy Hargrove, Gareth (Stranger Things), Unnamed Freak (Stranger Things) Additional Tags: Rockstar Eddie Munson, Blue collar Steve Harrington, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Smut, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, like it tortured me, but there is sooo much sex once it’s ON, Pining, POV Eddie Munson, Eddie Munson Character Study, Angst, Crossroads Deals & Demons, Alternate Universe, Eddie still loves metal, Falling In Love, Billy Hargrove is His Own Warning, Eddie has sex with everyone just fyi, until he meets Steve, Period-Typical Homophobia, Steve Harrington Has Head Trauma, Sharing a Bed, No Beta (I’m the only bitch who works here), steddiebang23, Bisexual Eddie Munson, Switch Eddie Munson, Bottom Eddie Munson, the forces are order and chaos here not heaven and hell, Barebacking, Somnophilia, Dissociation, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm Words: 124,837 Chapters: 25/25

Summary

This is a love story… Like the urban legend, Eddie meets the Devil at a crossroads and cuts a deal to be a rockstar. In exchange, Henry Creel will to be his occasional puppetmaster. Eddie has one year of this shiny new life to choose to either keep or break the deal. As he grows more famous, makes a record, and starts a nationwide tour, Eddie thinks he’s gotten everything he ever wanted. Then he meets Steve Harrington and realizes he wants something completely different. He also didn’t get the fine print of his contract with the Devil though.

Project #083 of the Steddie Big Bang 2023 🎵 “love be the devil, but it won’t get me” “What do you truly want? What is the deepest desire in your heart?” Eddie laughed again. “If I had my way? I’d make this guitar do what I want. Music would be easy, the songs in my head coming out like I imagine them. Make people feel things when they hear me play. And I’d make it big, leave this town behind, be somebody.” Henry smiled, lips pulled tight, and his face looked like a skull for a second, so fast Eddie was sure he imagined it, the image overlying his features momentarily and then gone. “And the price. Would you like to hear it?”

#steddie #steddie fic rec #multi-chaptered #100-200k #rockstar eddie #slow burn #hurt/comfort #angst #bed sharing

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bisexualchrissycunningham · 11 months

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📓

There are a few different ideas I've been noodling with, but there's a few I wanna keep under wraps for now, cause I'm terrible at announcing detailed plots and then never writing them (😬) Here's one I'm happy to share, though it's a gen fic that would eventually feature background Hellcheer:

The Cunninghams and the Binghams always spent their summers at the same lakeside resort. Maybe somewhere in the Adirondacks, not sure on that yet, just that it's somewhere in the general Northwest region of the States. Chrissy and Eden met and became friends as kids, but it's not until the summer they meet Kali that they all make a promise to stay in touch and become pen pals.

I was thinking they girls would all be around 13 or so. Maybe Eden and Chrissy would be 12, and Kali 13, as I think she's probably a bit older. It would be within the months after Kali escaped the lab on her own, and she's homeless and on the run. Chrissy and Eden find her stealing food from the kitchen one night and make it their mission to take care of her while they can - sneaking meals, bringing her blankets and clean clothes. After some thorough sneaking, they find an abandoned shed on the outskirts of the resort and the 3 of them work together to make it livable for Kali - kind of like her very own Castle Byers.

Over the years, Kali moves around a bit but maintains a PO box where she can receive mail from Eden and Chrissy. Chrissy and Eden's love and friendship helps Kali be a little more trusting, and to let go of some of the anger and self-destructive lessons she learned from Brenner and Henry. When El finds her in '84, she's a different person. She's not hunting lab employees, though she has located a few of them and spent more than one night calling Eden and Chrissy with *69 to cry and beg them to stop her from doing something dangerous with the information.

I think Eden and Chrissy as they move into their teens would talk more about religion and what it means to them. Eden would rebel first, being dismissive and angry about how restrictive her parents are and her awakening pushes Chrissy to start questioning things too. Having two sounding boards completely removed from her daily life is vital in keeping Chrissy from fully succumbing to her mother's control.

The summer vacation when Chrissy and Eden are 16 is when Eden confesses to them she thinks she likes girls and boys, Kali confesses she's not sure she's interested in sex at all (I headcanon her as demisexual and hasn't met anyone who awakened that part of her yet), and Chrissy just wants to dreamily recount the story of the Boy with the Guitar from the middle school talent show. Again. (They've heard the story MANY times).

Basically it's a coming of age story of female friendship where everyone is a little less traumatized than in canon cause I'm giving them love and support they didn't have before. It feels like the sort of universe that could be the setting for a lot of different types of stories.

I think Eden was definitely Chrissy's first kiss at least, and Kali probably experimented with both of them when she was trying to figure out what she liked because they were the only truly safe people in her life until she reconnected with El. There is definitely a lifelong physical intimacy between the 3 of them that goes beyond friendship at different points in their lives, but never becomes something overtly romantic. I think there's room for an interesting exploration of a poly dynamic with Stali, Rockie and Eden (maybe Argyle too, though I'm not married to that ship) once they reach their 20s and realize that's a possibility. Hellcheer would be monogamous and codependent as hell, but super open and supportive of their friends exploring the boundaries of what their relationships can look like.

I don't know if I'll ever even start writing this, but I'm very attached to the Chrissy, Kali & Eden best friendship that exists in my head.

#erythromanc3r #answered #chrissy cunningham #kali prasad #eden bingham #fic ideas

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vinmauro · 1 year

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☕️ + Johnathan Byers character development from s1 to s4

i was actually gonna write out something longer and in-depth but i'm not smart so here's the abridged version: i think for jonathan to have development he'd need a plot and so far, out of four seasons, he isn't anything more than nancy's sidekick/love interest, will's brother and occasionally joyce's son. which isn't necessarily anything against his character or anything, it's really the writing and trying to fit too much in too short of a time span. but that's neither here nor there. like they didn't give him a friend until s4. (him saying fagin & the gang, it's sus, we don't meet them. they're not real /j)

i don't really see any development for him in a linear manner. he has changed, in ways, much like all of this trauma fundamentally changed every single person in stranger things. but i don't think he's really developed as a character. he's gone through a lot in just a short amount of time. he thought his brother died, but didn't, he thought his brother was going to die again while he wasn't home, the flesh monster shit, like by s4 i don't blame him for becoming a stoner. if anything that made me like him and relates to him a lot more than before even though i am incredibly jonathan coded like we both were taking care of our brothers while our moms worked. like we're so similar don't ask me why i'm so neutral about him. this does make me sound like i'm very critical of Jonathan but i'm not, the only thing he's done i'm not a fan of is take pictures of nancy without her knowledge or permission through someone else's bedroom window. but he knew it was wrong, he apologized in a way, it is what it is. i'm sure in the downtime, he and nancy talked about it or idk maybe they forgot about it. supernatural shit, it's funny like that.

the reason why i don't think he's changed much is that he's still kind of the same self-described loner who doesn't like most people. who would rather be that loner artsy dude who judges everyone. i think that's his character to anyone who isn't like joyce, will, el maybe, nancy & argyle. five people know that he's loyal to his family, that he's whatever the fuck else nancy said in that speech i can't remember. not saying it's bad, or there is something wrong with it, i'm just saying that's his character and they haven't done anything with him in order for him to develop into anything more. but i mean outside of maybe like 4 people, no one on this show is actually developed. if anything a lot of them, especially by season 4, have gone backwards. imo.

anyway i said this wasn't going to be longwinded but idk what short is.

send me that cup emoji + a topic for more takes.

#answered #rejectofsociety #thank you so much for this!!#i don't know if i make sense #i don't hate jonathan i'm just neutral and a bit critical of literally everything and everyone

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cosmicbrowniefan · 2 years

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( just want to preface this by saying that this concept is so cute , thank you for taking the time to cater to everyone's individuality by making the matches so specific ! you rock ! )

she/her female; 5'6 ; long blonde curly hair & green eyes ( or 'orbs' as a03 would demand . . my attempt at a joke has now sent shivers down my spine ) with funky coloured eyelashes *many thanks to mascara*, naturally dark brown but sometimes purple depending on my persuasion. fairly tanned skin with a small number of freckles here and there ; bisexual , lover of all - gender is no concern.

personality: who even knows these days . . thus , my first instinct is to scribble indecisive down. extroverted until i get super burned out , but otherwise fairly laid back. watching the world go by is a speciality of mine , it's cool to just watch people do their thing. beleiver in fate & destiny and all that jazz , maybe a little overly into tarot despite my lack of knowledge. i like to yarn about a lot of topics , usually in a conversational way instead of lecturing someone ( i hope this is the case ) but i'm ultimately a lover of language in general , stories from far and wide. loving someone from afar is a speciality , perhaps with a side peppering of commitment issues.

hobbies: music music music , whether that be listening , observing , reading , discovering . . whatever. picking up books new & old , cultivating a sense of art out of pretty things , comprehending astrology to the best of my ability , learning the greek language , taking a deep dive into character based analysis' , journalling ( when i remember ) , al pacino's filmography , spending time with my dog , rock history & actual physical rocks . . gemstone style . . if that counts as a hobby. ooh also , alien stuff ? i'm always eager to hear about ufo / space concepts , tell me everything !

likes: lava lamps *watching the goop goop * , hats of all shapes and sizes , making hyper-specific playlists for moods that come around once in a blue moon , louis theroux weird weekends , painted nails , the concept of urban exploring ( respectfully ) , green grapes & green apples , night owls as a fully fledged one myself , travelling for the sake of travelling ie. drives with no destination in my mind , the sound of rain , slow talk-y rambles and finally , a perfectly timed and co-ordinated 'your mum' joke

dislikes: my own aforementioned talk-y rambles when they go astray , confrontation , the complete dark , those with a high level of entitlement , headaches that just won't seem to be shaken , sharp noises , lack of general manners ( or those lacking in kindness ), any form of arithmetic , rough surfaces , for the most part : attempts to group people rather than viewing individuals in a case by case basis , reading the rules of any game.

anything extra: i have adhd ? no surprises there , so a level of compassion towards that would be nice from my hypothetical partner. on another entirely seperate note , i have no tattoos but think they're pretty groovy.

i ship you with...

jonathan byers!

how you met: through eddie!! eddie and you are kind of the twins of chaos. you’ve been friends for YEARS and everyone always kind of expected you two to get together, but just like robin and steve, you’re platonic with a capital p. no matter how much you love eddie, he’s just not your type. anyway, the sexually ambiguous six (the fruity four plus jonathan and argyle, that’s just my name for them) were hanging out one day and eddie realized he left his wallet at your house. you brought it over to the byers house to drop it off for him and jonathan was the one who answered the door. it was very much a cliche, ADORABLE meeting between you two, where he could barely say a word and was just staring until you spoke and knocked him out of it. wanting to get to know you more, he invited you in to hang out with everyone.

his first impression of you: for lack of a better term, jonathan met you and immediately wanted to study you. everything about you was just fascinating. your mannerisms, your interests, your sense of humor, the way you can talk deeply about any topic, your music taste, your love for culture and history and the world. not to mention, you looked like a priceless work of art yourself. he was just instantly drawn in by you and that interest has not wavered for a SECOND since you met.

how you got together: jonathan had been hyping himself up for a while to ask you out, but he hadn’t yet because he wanted everything to be PERFECT. he just felt like he couldn’t come up with a good enough way to ask you out. one day, the sexually ambiguous six (plus you) were hanging out and you went upstairs to get some water and the other five CORNERED jonathan and asked him all about when you guys were going to finally get together. he turned bright red and explained his dilemma about not thinking anything he said or did would be good enough. eddie immediately cut him off and said that you would love anything he came up with. jonathan shrugged and started rambling about just how perfect and fascinating and adorable you were and about how he thought he might not be good enough or interesting enough for you. what he didn’t realize was that, while he was saying all this, you had come back downstairs and were standing behind him listening to it all. jonathan only realized when he finished talking and looked up to see everyone grinning and staring behind him. he looked back and felt dread just FLOOD his body, and put his head in his hands right away. the other five quickly all made excuses to go upstairs and passed by you, each patting your back on the way. you came into the basement after and tilted jonathan’s head up, smiling at him and said that that was just about the most perfect way he could ask you. surprised, he raised an eyebrow and started to say something, but you cut him off with a kiss <3

what he likes most about you: jonathan thinks that your knowledge of the world is just fascinating. you seem to know a little bit about everything and he LOVES seeing how passionate you get. not to mention that you being knowledgeable and interested in everything gives you a way to connect with basically every person you meet. jonathan loves seeing you meet someone new and then within a matter of minutes you’re having a deep discussion about one of their interests. he especially loves how much you’re able to bond with will and he thinks it’s super sweet and endearing seeing you guys hit it off. you always find a way to make everyone feel loved and valued and it’s one of his favorite things about you. physically, jonathan loves your eyes and the incredibly cool makeup you do.

what you enjoy doing together: every saturday, you guys switch off and plan a surprise date for the other. in the past, you’ve gone bowling, roller skating, thrifting, hiking, berry-picking, to old bookstores, you name it, and you two have done it. these saturdays are always something you look forward to, but your most favorite one was a saturday the day after you two had been out to a party the night before, and you were both incredibly tired. it was jonathan’s turn to pick out a date, and, sensing that you both needed a rest, his date plan was you two staying at his house, watching his lava lamp, listening to music, AND he let you paint his nails, which you had been begging him for forever to let you do. it was the perfect day.

bonus headcanon: as you know, you're best friends with eddie munson, and jonathan gets a little jealous and sad occasionally. BUT you're able to reassure him so it's all okay :) not to mention he gets super cuddly and clingy when he worries so you get extra snuggles out of it <3

#stranger things #stranger things ship game #stranger things ships #reader insert #match maker #stranger things x reader #reader x stranger things #cosmicbrowniefan asks #cosmicbrowniefan ship game #i ship you with #i ship you with stranger things #jonathan byers

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