I Am Finally Watching Stranger Things

Random human obsessed with ST but who is only just watching the show now after six months. I started writing fic! (ao3 writing tag) (what do you mean am i ok its very normal to start writing fic for a show before you've even seen it) Follows etc from @cyreneduvent

[canonbydeduction]

Something Shattered in the Universe

A how a resurrection really feels prequel fic

“Robin heard the scream long before she saw the body. Or maybe it was only seconds, but those seconds stretched and strained, the horror of it echoing in her ears and crackling over radios”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48643312

[canonbydeduction]

Perhaps a controversial opinion but I’m less upset that they didn’t do byler than I am that they did do mileven. Alas I decided mid season 1 that el is aroace to me and they did not manage to convince me otherwise

[stardewfalls]

Season 4 could have been peak because Dustin and Lucas were the only two of the core four in Hawkins and yet their friendship was still under utilized

[dustin-bird]

Adding your tags bc everyone has to see how right you are

[elekinetic]

madwise and max being envious that will has such an amazing big brother. and she knows that if she were younger, she’d be resentful and mean, push him away because if it. but she loves will, and he’s one of her closest friends and confidantes, and she can’t bring herself to harbor any ill will toward him. but she’s just…. sad.

[foodiewithdahoodie]

Willel where Will's the one that El brought into the void and she tells him of her real escape plan to hide away with Kali in some distant land and this secret eats away at Will cuz he remembers s4 them, where she was lying to Mike about Lenora and he was lying to Mike about the painting, and now Will has to lie not just to Mike but to everybody

And he continues high school and he grieves El alongside his family and friends, and he goes off to college, to the city but no one knows. No one knows that El contacts Will frequently to let him know she's okay bc besides Kali, only Will understands her - understands what it's like to run from your captors and be used as a weapon and forced to kill and try to start again only for it all to blow up inevitably

So Will gets it. He gets why El chose to leave them all behind, to have them "win" at life by losing her bc he thought about doing that too

So he does it for her. For his sister. Because before he agreed to her plan she reminded him of when he comforted her back in Lenora, about how they'll fix it together. He pretends she's gone for good while eating dinner during the holidays, when playing dnd with the party, when making new memories with his friends all while El let's him know she's out there, somewhere, alive alive alive and free

[st4rscap3s]

i like the idea that although mike is enthralled by will's newfound powers, he has this feeling of "please don't go somewhere i can't follow" because it seems like will keeps getting further from him everytime he blinks (being taken in the first place, being possessed by the Mind Flayer, moving to california, having this connection to the hive mind that none of them can understand) and now he has these abilities and they're not on the same playing field in any way anymore, at least in mike's mind

[stancythings]

“Wait, gates are kinda like Peanut Butter Boppers, right? The outside is like, crunchy and tough... But then you bite down on it, it gives way to a gooey, creamy core.”

“Dude, what the hell are you talking about?”

“If I drive fast enough, I think the beamer can punch a hole straight into the gate, and then we can track the Demo on its home turf in the Upside Down.”

[shares-a-vest]

Okay I have finallyyy crawled (hehe) my way out of the first two episodes. Initial thoughts below:

Loving it so far overall. Really enjoying the way Hawkins is functioning, how we were introduced to it, the fact that all our faves are covertly working together...

Even if it is creating so. much. tension. Steve & Dustin, Mike & Nancy, Hop & El, Will & Joyce.

I was worried that the possible focus on Holly in this season would take up too much time OR other characters would be sidelined, but so far I'm finding it all evenly paced (biiiig pacing problems in s4 imo).

Also I like the idea that Vecna is going after what feels like a new generation of kids – feels both cyclical, and this never-ending curse on Hawkins.

The sequence with the Wheelers attack was stunning!! The Fernando needle drop, the Poltergeist vibes of the whole house flickering and Karen running through the house with Holly, both soaking wet. The house getting totalled. It's weird but, I have spent like, the whole time watching ST complaining about Ted and Karen, but I'm glad they not only survived but have now seen first hand what Nancy and Mike have been experiencing the whole series.

Also shouts to Finn Wolfhard. He is such a good actor and idk, I've just really noticed how damn effortless his performance as Mike is.

Nancy continues to be badass of course. Honestly, Jonathan and Steve can just go makeout, or something. Nance has bigger things going on than these two idiots 😂

That argument between Steve and Dustin was brutal. Omg my mother had thoughts about it – very unhappy with Steve she is! However, to me it is clear Dustin is grieving so hard and it is effecting his relationships, mirroring Max last season. And sadly, it appears to others (Steve here) as inaction. Similar to Hop's refusal to let El join him in the UD, or even Joyce with Will. I'll probably have way more to say about this aspect when I gather my thoughts more.

THE RADIO STATION IS EVERYTHING TO MEEE!! I already have so many brainworms.

Pleasantly surprised by Robin's amount of screen time. I was worried she would be sidelined just because of the sheer size of the ST ensemble. Loving seeing her paired up with Will. Hoping to see more of Vickie (I beggg!! I need more scenes that are just them bein' girlfriends)

Horrendous that there hasn't even been a name-drop of Argyle. Fuck the Suffer Bros for that.

Two worries I have (not necessarily just for these next two eps of Vol. 1, but overall):

Max: she needs to be there for the final showdown/ending/whatever. Her friendship with El and relationship with Lucas are huge emotional driving forces in ST. And I'm worried that her being in hospital for too long in the plot means less screentime for Lucas. ALSO WHERE THE FUCK IS MY GIRL ERICA SINCLAIR!!!

I worry that by killing off a well established human antagonist like Brenner, Williams and Linda Hamilton's character are going to fall a little flat. This is a big issue I had with the final season Game of Thrones. It deflates a lot of dramatic tension.

And finally, on Eddie: Look, tbh, my enjoyment of this season (or even the series finale) does not hinge on Kas!Eddie, or Eddie Lives etc. BUTTT, I am going to be annoyed if we get a bunch of baiting moments that could be Eddie, butt eventuate into nothing. It isn't necessarily happening so far, but a bunch of fake outs will ruin the tension and forward momentum of the story for me.

[tvandfilm]

Vickie: Who is that? Robin: Shit.

Stranger Things, Ch 1: The Crawl (S05E01) / Ch 3: The Turnbow Trap (S05E03)

[lemonycranberries]

another thing that’s really giving me hope - the “how did you know Vickie liked you back?” scene is such a CLASSIC example of a scene where a character says something relevant that will come back later on. if it’s not going to be brought up, then why add it at all? they could’ve talked about anything else. but no, they quite literally made a list of Signs Your Gay Crush Likes You Back. or is that scene just there for us to see will get hope then have it crushed? what is the reason for giving such focus for that dialogue? “a brush on the knee, elbows touching, a shared look…” things we’ve already SEEN will and mike do - including AFTER that conversation! and they specifically decided to highlight it more: “the snowball became an avalanche”. they could’ve shown will and robin talking about being gay/queer experiences in some other way, but no, they decided to do it LIKE THIS. this is the kind of dialogue that is just pointless if it won’t culminate in something later on.

[stopiwanttotalkaboutcheese]

cannot WAIT to see this conversation go down

[fatfatgaybitch]

Nah she DID that

Where the Karen edits at

[holyblanchett]

THIS IS CINEMA

[canonbydeduction]

Ehehehehehehhhhehehehehh

[canonbydeduction]

I have decided to unblock the s5 tags and once again subsume s5 via osmosis

[stoersignalart]

in honor of halloween coming up here's stobin as this post i found on pinterest

[rhosmair]

Every year on the anniversary of Eddie's death Steve sees him. At first, it's glimpses, fleeting visions. A familiar mop of messy brown hair in the crowd. A whiff of cigarette smoke, stale beer, and anxious sweat. An echo of loud contagious barking laughter.

Steve doesn't tell anyone, blames it on the guilty conscience. He still thinks it's his fault Eddie died. He should've told Eddie and Dustin how to fortify the trailer better. Should've found another way to distract the demobats. Should've been faster, stronger, smarter, should've protected Eddie, because in the end Eddie was the only one who didn't make it back alive.

Eddie's death broke Dustin, stole the carefree sparkle from his eyes, made him tough and brittle all at once, and Steve hates it and misses the bright teenage boy who used to talk his ear off about the relentless Dungeon Master, the unapologetic rebel, the proud freak Eddie Munson.

As life moves on, so does everyone else. Dustin graduates and enrolls in Purdue. Steve moves to Chicago where Robin goes to college and finds a boring job. Becomes a regular at a bar near his and Robin's apartment. On a quiet evening in late March he sees Eddie there, sipping on a whiskey on the rocks, perched on a cracked vinyl bar stool, feet hooked over the chrome rung. Steve freezes. Eddie turns to face him, and a sad smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

A barback with a crate of bottles walks past Steve, obscuring his vision for a split second, and just like that, Eddie vanishes. Steve knows he has to wait another year to see him again.

Next time it happens in a record store. Steve is picking out new tapes for his and Robin's home collection. A pale hand adorned with metal rings offers him Dio's album "Intermission".

"Their first live album," a painfully familiar voice says. "Shame I never got to listen to it."

Instead of taking the tape, Steve grabs the hand and looks up at Eddie. Eddie's eyes widen in surprise. He opens his lips to say something, but a loud noise a couple of aisles down startles Steve. Another customer knocked over a display with their shopping bags. Steve's fingers grasp empty air. Eddie is gone again.

Next year, Robin offers Steve to watch a movie at home. Steve knows she noticed his restlessness in the weeks coming up to the anniversary of Eddie's death. They spend a cozy night at home with a few beers, some cheesy pizza, and an even cheesier romcom. Credits start rolling. Robin is fast asleep on Steve's shoulder. He almost drifts off too but the lumpy couch next to him dips and creaks, and he jolts awake.

"Easy there, big boy," Eddie whispers. Steve stares at his face, as young as the year they met, half shrouded in shadow, half illuminated by the sharp cold light from the TV screen. Robin mumbles something in her sleep and snuggles closer.

"I'm losing my mind," Steve chokes out.

"Hah! Me too, man. Me too," Eddie huffs a small laugh and rests his head on Steve's other shoulder. "Mind if I stay like this?"

"Uh," Steve freezes. Eddie is warm beside him, solid, like he's really here. "Sure, you can stay if you want."

"Oh, I wish I could," Eddie sighs. "I wish I could truly stay."

The credits keep rolling silently. Steve carefully presses his cheek to the top of Eddie's head and doesn't notice how he falls asleep.

In the morning, it's just him and Robin again, dazed and sore from sleeping on the lumpy couch. She stretches, then pauses mid-yawn to sniff his t-shirt.

"Gross," Robin scrunches her nose. "You smell like cigarettes."

Steve looks at her, stunned, and can't help a sound that escapes his chest, something wet between a laugh and a sob. He isn't losing his mind after all, he reckons.

[sailors-ink]

had this in my head and then saw this post by @babyboyargyle so i took it as a sign to write it out! it's not perfect but it was fun (*^▽^*)

Say what you want to about monsters and killers and the apocalypse but at least this time they've got all-day access to pizza. Steve doesn't really know where this guy came from but damn, he makes a great margherita.

"Guys, this is Argyle," Jonathan introduces, waving towards a man with very, very long hair, holy shit.

Steve takes a second from hammering nails into the fifth bat that he's been tossed to give the guy a nod. He nods back, eyes flitting between the bat in Steve's hands to the bandages wrapped around his waist. But Steve's used to everyone keeping an eye on his wounds, from his stomach to his back to his arms to his head. He's a magnet for damage, that's just how it is.

"Hey man," Steve greets with a wave and gets back to hammering. "Welcome to the shitshow."

"Y-yeah," Argyle swallows with another nod. "Glad to be here."

At first, he seemed like a great addition. Argyle's funny, chill in a way that Steve hasn't experienced since '83, maybe even before that. Despite all the monsters lurking and the crackling in the air, dude kept his cool and got to work on food supplies and even teaching everyone how to do tracking shit like something out of a nature show.

But then, on their way back to the base (also known as Steve's fucking house), Jonathan's team is almost swarmed by demodogs and Steve and Robin have to run out to give 'em hell.

Ha, giving hell to the hellbeasts. Is that irony? Dustin would call it irony, Steve thinks.

After a little carnage and some (very therapeutic, according to Robin) violence, they manage to annihilate the 'dogs and get Will to throw their tracks off so they have their safe zone for a bit longer at least, but Argyle is quiet and frantic-eyed the entire walk home. It unsettles Steve, all that antsy energy building up under the surface.

Once safely inside, Jonathan and Nancy start on organizing the new supplies. It's when Jonathan manages to drop a water bottle that all that tension finally bursts.

"Shit, oh man, shit, shit, oh my god!" Argyle's pacing back and forth, hands scrunching up into his scalp which, yikes, not a good look for that mane. "This is so messed up, this is crazy, this is so messed up!"

Jonathan steps forward with a, "Argyle, Argyle, listen -"

"No, no, no, last time I listened to you, there was an open grave in front of me and now there's like fifty thousand demons out there! The world is fucking crazy right now, man, I am freaking out! I am -"

Okay, damage control time.

"Hey, hey, hey -" Steve shifts himself into Argyle's line of sight, holding his hands up and letting out a low whistle. "Dude, take a breath, alright?"

Which is apparently all the guy needs to latch his hands onto Steve's shoulders very, very tightly, holy shit, this guy's grip. "How am I supposed to breathe when -"

"Look at me, in-and-out, alright?" Steve exaggerates his own breathing, letting Argyle take his time in copying the motions. "In, out, in, out, you're doing good. It's pretty scary out here, huh?"

Argyle's grip on his shoulders tenses but Steve quickly grabs onto his wrists, gives them a short squeeze, and suddenly all that tension deflates. Which means physical contact is a go for reassurance, nice. "Yeah."

"I get it, man, I do. First time I got into this shit? I was ready to hightail it outta there and never look back, y'know?" He looks up from under his lashes, giving the guy what he hopes is a comforting smile. Judging by the hitch in his breath, it's not as comforting as Steve hopes. "But I get the feeling you're a ride-or-die type, right?"

Argyle shrugs, eyes fixated on Steve like he's the last hope he's got. No pressure.

"Look, I can't like - I can't guarantee much, wouldn't wanna jinx anything, but we're going to handle this, alright?" Damn, his hands are really warm. Is it because he's stressed? Even Steve doesn't run this warm when he's stressed, dude must be keeping a lot of anxiety under all that...weed? California weed? Whatever, focus, Steve. "It's not our first or second, not even third rodeo with this shit, we can absolutely handle it."

"You can handle it," Argyle says in what Steve thinks might be...petulant? Oh, that's fun, this guy is totally going to be fun to have around for the long haul. "Man, I don't even know what the hell is going on anywhere anymore."

Steve laughs, rubbing circles into Argyle's skin with his thumb. He's definitely wired up but that tight spark of panic in his eye is getting dimmer, so the contact might actually be working here. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think any of us know what's happening."

"How -"

"That's the thing, we don't need all the answers right now," Steve pats his wrist and tries a different kind of smile this time which, judging by the way Argyle's gulping and kind of just staring at him, might be working? Okay, fifty-fifty on that. "Just need to figure it out one step at a time."

"I don't - I'm kinda freaking out here, dude," Argyle confesses, like it wasn't kinda obvious for everyone in the room, as he lets go of Steve's shoulders (fuck, his grip is killer, there's definitely gonna be marks tomorrow) and lets his hands hang by his waist in a really sad way. Steve nods, patting his shoulder and gently leading him to the closest chair he can find (of course it's the sofa Mike left his socks on, god damn it Wheeler). "I'm not cut out for this freaky stuff, man, what if - what if we don't make it -"

"Hey," Steve says sharply, immediately regretting it when Argyle flinches at his tone. Take a breath, relax, the guy's worried, that's all. Steve softens his voice, and rubs a hand down his back when he buries his face in his hands. Huh, that's a quality shirt. "Hey, I get it. Believe me, I know how overwhelming this all is when you've got like, zero clue how it all happened. But I got your back here, dude, I'll watch your six."

And woah. Argyle snaps his face back to Steve, eyes wide and mouth just slightly agape. "You what?"

"'S kinda my job," Steve shrugs, continuing to rub his back so he can figure out why this material feels so familiar, what the hell.  "I'm the babysitter," - ignore Mike's affronted scoff, stay focused - "I keep track with the whole newbie thing most of the time. I mean like, we all got your back but y'know - like -  I'll personally make sure nothing happens to you, if that helps?"

Argyle stares at him for a few seconds, making it really hard not to squirm in the silence. Steve settles for scratching at his nose, finally taking his hand off that damned shirt, the fuck kind of brand is it?! Not important, focus, focus.

"Uh, sorry if that - I didn't mean to come on too strong or anything -"

"Holy shit, dude," Argyle breathes out, one of his (very warm) hands coming down to grip Steve's knee. "You're like, a godsend."

"Oh, uh, thank you?" Steve blinks when Argyle beams at him and pats his knee. Huh, maybe he's getting better at this comforting stuff. "Are - you good now?"

"Hell yes, my friend, I have a killer beast 'watching my six', don't I?" Argyle winks and shit, Steve's wounds must be inflaming again, his skin feels hot. "Now who's ready for some pie!"

Steve watches as he swoops up, practically glowing with such a positive energy it's kind of giving him whiplash. He stares as Argyle makes his way to the kitchen, snatching another glance back at Steve and giving him a wide grin, another wink and a salute before he disappears.

"What just happened?" Steve blinks again.

Jonathan pats his shoulder in sympathy which, uh, why? "You've just been Argyle'd."

"What does that even mean?" Steve splutters because what the hell is even happening. "And what did he mean by an open grave?"

"It's a long story," Jonathan sighs and gives him another pat. "Tell you once you help me sort out the water supply."

"The supply that you were supposed to figure out before you left, that water supply?"

"Fuck you," Jonathan grins and Steve shakes off the buzzing heat under his skin.

Everything's fine, all is cool. Just gotta keep an extra eye on Argyle.

Easy-peasy. Fuck, please be easy-peasy.