(Max is my favourite character and blind!max is one of my favourite tropes, which is why it's mentioned fairly often here)
Part 2
light will prevail by mreads22: max-centric, blind!max (the first st fic I read, even before watching the show itself)
Pull Myself Together, You Could Watch It Happen by UniversallyEcho: complete, max-centric, not vol2 compliant (very little plot, but great characterization and one of my all time favourites)
the kids aren't alright by MaryPSue: complete, gen (season 1 au where all the Hawkins born kids realise they have powers, one of the best st fics out there)
We Will Be (Invincible) by HaneleHaralue: SIOC, chrissy&oc, eddie&oc (WAIT before you go away bc this is self-insert, I promise it's really good. There's no romance so far, and the mc isn't obnoxious)
Scientifically Proven by Unproductive_Fangirl: complete, post s4, elumax, blind!max (YES. a complete, elumax-centric fic. It exists!)
if being afraid is a crime, we hang side by side by Claire10: complete, post s4, max&mike, blind!max (watch these two wrecks have four emotional breakdowns in like an hour)
the few things he thinks he knows by endlesslytea: complete, post s4, byler, blind!max (lighthearted, not focused on the supernatural stuff)
let our walls cave in by andiwriteordie, kidovna: complete, post s4, byler, blind!max (party go to college together)
(anything by andiwriteordie if you like byler)
falling like the stars (falling in love) by bookinit: complete, post s4, elmax, blind!max
do not cry by givehimthemedicine: complete, s4 au, pre elmax (despite what the title says, prepare to cry)
Be My Eyes by givehimthemedicine: complete, post s4, elmax, blind!max (bit of angst and then pure fluff at the end)
And Who Are We At The End Of It All? by Caseys_Crying: post s4, steddie, ronance (lots of stuff ongoing, only about 1/3 done, parents find out)
more recs under the cut:
(it's you and me) won't be unhappy by nnegan13: complete, post s4, not vol2 compliant, lumax
you can't lose me by providing_leverage: complete, s4 au, gen (there should be more 'the parents find out' fics)
we can see the flipside by maxmayfield: complete, post s3, written pre s4, max&mike, lumax
The Party (+ Others) Watches Stranger Things by BewitchingNotes: complete, mileven (an actual complete and well written 'characters watching the show fic')
All We Do Is Drive by ShadeNeverMadeAnyoneLessGay: complete, steve&robin&max, blind!max
Goodbye Rocketship by OrangeChickenPillow: complete, not vol2 compliant, max&eddie friendship
she glows for everyone but herself by BackyardOwl: complete, jonathan&max, blind!max
deserving and not deserving by vissers: complete, post s4, will&max, blind!max (part of a 'will comes out to the party' series)
years and years by inblue: complete, lucas&erica
find a new place to be from by burnthatbridgewhenwegetthere: complete, post s4, will&el&max
hellfire (save my soul) by pholilomendron: pre s4, steddie
windowsill by MissAntlers: complete, post s4, steddie, max-centric
did I drive you away? by blvewcters: complete, pre s4, during s4, max&everyone (pain and suffering and tears)
Max Watch by geckohead: complete, during s4, max&everyone
i can give you a heartbeat by soupbitchin: complete, post s4, steddie (one of those "eddie is not actually dead and needs to find his way back" fics)
there’s blood in my ears (and a fool in the mirror) by fastcardotmp3: complete, pre s4 and post s4, steddie, eddie&max, blind!max (one of those "eddie is not actually dead and needs to find his way back" fics)
The Upside by harpiaharpyja: complete, post s4, hellcheer, eddie&max (one of those "eddie is not actually dead and needs to find his way back" fics)
(Not All) Those Who Wander Are Lost by Kedreeva: complete, post s4, eddie&max (one of those "eddie is not actually dead and needs to find his way back" fics, except it's more about the upside down as its own world)
standing up the dead by heartofwinterfell: complete, post s4, eddie&max (one of those "eddie is not actually dead and needs to find his way back" fics, but mostly max-centric)
The Fruity Four Beat 1983 To Death With A Nail Bat by TheKidReadingInTheCorner: complete, steddie, ronance (unserious time travel shenanigans)
took you for a working boy by pukner: complete, post s4, pre steddie (kinda humourly written)
THIS IS IT, this is the love triangle summed up. I’ve never bought the argument that Nancy would take Steve back if she just saw how much he grew because she fully dated reformed Steve™️ (but pre-babysitter Steve™️) for a year. We’re talking, monster-hunting, monster-fighting, life-risking Steve. He wasn’t perfect but he was caring and loved her and guess what??? She still couldn’t love him, at least not the way he did.
I might eat my words next season but Steve could take a bullet for each character in the show and a Nancy still wouldn’t love him that way because that’s not how love works. Meanwhile Jonathan spent an entire year avoiding her and she still couldn’t shake him off her mind. The minute they reunited she felt drawn to him and it happened once again in s4. From her pov Jonathan was emotionally distant while Steve was right there and the minute he set foot on Hawkins she was drawn to him once again even if things are awkward. You can’t earn someone’s love and I don’t even think Steve is trying to earn it. There’s no “intention” to his kind-heartedness, he’s just like that. But that’s not what wins Nancy’s heart because no one is winning it through merits. It’s a matter of feeling a connection.
it’s funny, almost. max is pinned against a broken pillar in a crimson hellscape, gasping shallowly for air as a tentacle tightens around her neck and spindly talons reach for her face, and all max can think about is her english paper. she was supposed to finish it this weekend. all she’s got half an introduction on her desk at home. of mice and men is a book that explores the differences between…
max is so fucking afraid. she doesn’t want to die. god, she doesn’t want to die. he’s terrifying to look at, but he comes so so close to her face, she can’t look away. it makes her want to puke. chrissy saw this, right before she died. before her jaw broke. its going to hurt so bad. lucas… lucas is going to watch her bones snap. she shouldn’t have let him come, she shouldn’t have let him come. he doesn’t deserve this. he’s going to feel so helpless and so hurt and fuck, max wants to cry.
the vine around her throat constricts, and max sees stars. maybe stars isn’t the right word. they’re not like the ones on her old vans, the ones el drew all over last summer—rainbow and messy and good. el. always so good. somehow finding her from thousands of miles away, putting herself on the line for max. el, pinned to her right, watching max die. el, dying. fuck. she can’t do anything. el is crying, and max is crying, and lucas is probably crying, and max is so scared and fuck, she doesn’t want to die. she wants to tell her mom she’s sorry, that she loves her. wants to tell dustin and mike how glad she is she met them, that she gives them shit because she’s scared they’ll stop liking her. wants to tell will she should’ve tried harder, should’ve seen him, that she kind of gets it now and god, how did he do this on his own? she wants to tell el she’s the best person she knows, that she has to do it for herself no matter what. wants to hold her tight and never let go. max wants to tell lucas…god.
she loves him. she really, really fucking loves him. she doesn’t deserve his kindness, his empathy. she doesn’t deserve the chances he keeps giving her. she doesn’t deserve him, but she wants to. please, let her have another chance. fuck, she’ll start going to church and quit skateboarding and actually talk to her counselor and anything else she could possibly, miserably do. just let her tell him.
the vines tighten. cold nails press into her skin. a vile, scarred mouth twists into a sinister smile and whispers this will all be over soon. and max is so afraid.
i genuinely find it so confusing when people on both sides of the discourse aisle go "if will has a crush on mike the only options are for mike to like him back or for will to be sad and alone forever, and since option a isn’t happening what was even the point of having the storyline?! this is bad writing!” like hello there’s an extremely obvious option c here and it’s called “will gets over mike because he’s literally 14 and middle school crushes don’t last forever”
Max resting her head on El's shoulder while she reads her a Wonder Woman comic. Max helps her pronounce words she gets stuck on because she already knows it by heart
She gets a walking stick but feels weird about using it in public in case it makes people stare at her. Will gets insistent about going places with her and is like "don't worry you're not what anyone's looking at" and she's like "uh ok" and eventually just by bumping into him discovers that he's been in full wizard regalia with a staff the entire time to draw attention away from her
Eventually she tries to learn to skateboard a little bit again. mostly she forbids anyone to come with her because she wants to feel independent and not watched, but sometimes it's fun for El to come too because then she can be a little less careful and trust El to redirect her if she's about to crash into something
She wears those sunglasses from the mall montage all the time
El sits next to her at Lucas' basketball game, mouth to Max's ear narrating the whole thing over the noise, not having the first idea how basketball works, but that's ok because Max doesn't give af either beyond Lucas
various combinations of the kids supporting Max in pt while she gets her arms and legs strong again. the staff tries to make a rule limiting the number of visitors but it doesn't really work
Lucas stands at the end of the parallel bars and says if she can walk to the end she gets a kiss. she does make it to the end. he puckers up. she rolls her eyes and turns around to do another lap. he kisses the back of her head. he can tell from the face El makes at her that she smiled
Max takes what's almost a nasty spill but El mind-catches her an inch from the floor and then far too late, while the therapist is already looking, shoves her hands under Max to try to make it look normal. the therapist never mentions this to anyone but they do think about it later while eating dinner
Nancy buys Max a get well soon laser scope sniper rifle
You’re not gonna die! Just — just hang on! Max. Max! Max! No, no, no, Max. Stay with me. Stay with me! Don’t go, Max. Max, stay with me. Just look at me, Max. Max, look.
Do you think Max stuck with Nancy when everyone was making weapons to try and draw strength and bravery from Nancy?
This is so sad to think about. I wonder if Max know that Nancy crawled over into the upside down looking for Barb. It was before her time but I wonder if it ever came up in conversation. Did Max see Nancy put herself in front of a car Billy was driving full speed? She definitely saw Nancy throw herself into the water to go through that portal after Steve. So like I think it’s really easy to imagine max, who is volunteering to do something insanely dangerous in an attempt to protect others, clinging to Nancy. Also, can’t forget that Nancy’s research is the only reason Max survived the first time. So I imagine on some level she’s trying to reassure herself that Nancy won’t let anything happen to her this time. Nancy’s in charge of the strike team that’s supposed to take out Vecna while Max is distracting him, so seeing her arming up and looking badass, handling the gun like she knows what she’s doing… it would make me feel better. Everyone is playing important parts here, but the plan is very centered on action from Max/Lucas/Nancy (with support and backup from everyone else). And like to some degree this is Nancy’s real chance to save a friend, the thing she couldn’t do for Barb or Fred. So there’s all these layers of trust and sacrifice and responsibility between them. They’re both so strong and mature beyond their years, have been through so much fear and loss… and they’re also both just kids :( and then for Nancy to fail her? To not get there in time, to hear that chime and know that max was waiting for her and she didn’t get there????
for the foreseeable future i will be unwell for max's brand of cynicism, so turned towards herself, the way she holds her friends in such high esteem - thinking el can conquer anything, thinking lucas at his core is this moral paragon - all the while underestimating herself, thinking that Of Course vecna is coming after her and Of Course lucas would hate her if he knew what she was really thinking about billy's death and Of Course she's brought this all on herself, it's her fault it's her fault it's her fault
never gonna shut up about how emotionally constipated max is. like she sees the concept of love and genuine care on the ground and has no fucking clue what to do with it. she'll just like... gently kick it or something
