futch nancy is canon

don't let my theme fool you I'm still thinking about epilogue nancy ☆ Este ☆ 20s☆ she/her/hers ☆ (mostly) stranger things sideblog ☆ I shipped ronance in 2019 ☆ send asks! ☆

[duncanor]

Nancy Wheeler when she gets a new girl bestie :

[theyurimustflow]

broke: Robin's hair being long in the epilogue means she's been heteronormified

woke: Robin's hair is longer in the epilogue to show that time has passed, and has no reflection on her queer identity

bespoke: Robin's hair is longer in the epilogue because she grew it out to give Nancy more to pull on when she [REDACTED]

[sireliottgovernersmith]

Ronance writers either make Robin’s dad an incarnation of Satan or the silliest guy on earth

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

Saw you asking for asks so here I am.

What do you think Nancy's career would look like after dropping out of Emerson?

Oh boy do I have THOUGHTS on this. For starters, Nancy would NOT relegate herself to a shitty right-wing tabloid in any stretch of the imagination, so in my mind, her trainee position is at the Boston Globe.

I elaborate a little bit more on my thoughts re: Nancy's career in this post, but basically, I see her bouncing around a lot. She focuses on investigative work in her youth but mellows out as she gets older. I think she would eventually get around to finishing up school and potentially pursuing an advanced degree, but she'd need to accomplish a lot in her career first to feel ready for that.

I'm also a huge fan of early 2000s war correspondent Nancy using her time overseas as a way to run from her real problems (plus, Nancy has always looked GREAT in camo.)

I do think that no matter what Nancy ends up doing she'd probably write a book or two at some point. Maybe about herself, maybe expanding on her previous work. Obviously not about the upside down (I'm sure the U.S. govt has the entire southwest corner of Indiana trapped in a series of ironclad nondisclosure agreements) but I could also see her writing something about Barb. Maybe not a full book, but definitely a tribute piece.

I also do like the idea of Nancy, despite her refusal to work for tabloids, writing the occasional puff piece in her early career. Sometimes putting food on the table goes above maintaining one's perfect journalistic record, even if that means singing the praises of various desert tourist traps in honor of "66 years of route 66."

No matter what though, I don't see Nancy ever completely settling into one specific area where she does the same thing over and over. I think part of what draws her to journalism is the inconsistency. She's shown throughout the show to hate the idea of settling or being stuck somewhere and I think that a job where she can essentially do whatever she feels like doing really appeals to Nancy.

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

nancy definitely has to explain something to robin 3 times before she actually gets it

Yknow this is a hc that im not sure I fully agree with! I'm sure there's some stuff that Nancy has to explain repeatedly to Robin, but we see in the show and novels that Robin is actually pretty good at following directions (especially if they come from Nancy "I just don't want to be the reason Wheeler's plan fails" and all that). I think part of the beauty of Robin and Nancy’s hypothetical relationship is that Robin implicitly trusts her, even if she doesn't fully understand Nancy’s reasoning.

With that being said I'm sure that they've almost broken up over building Ikea furniture at least once.

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

(In response to wanting some ronance hc prompts!)

How do you think ronance apologise to each other after a fight? who’s first to break the ‘silent treatment’?

Oooh this is such a good one. I think the obvious answer, at least in the earlier years of their relationship (I would hope they grow past the silent treatment eventually) is Robin. She's a lot less stubborn than Nancy is and has an easier time calming down, with one major exception. I think if they fight because Nancy's putting herself in danger, then Nancy is probably the first to apologize. Robin puts a lot of trust in Nancy, and we see in one way or another that she gets really stressed when Nancy keeps things from her or makes stupid reckless descisions.

I think they also behave really differently during a fight. Robin strikes me as the type to remove herself from the situation entirely. I feel like she would probably leave the house to run errands or go for a drive, while Nancy reads more as the sort of person who would wash dishes passive-aggressively.

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

Thank you to @itsb3anbug for asking about my thoughts on additional Nancg Wheeler mysteries! I've had these saved in my notes app since april lol.

This is my personal ideas for future Nancy Wheeler mysteries, none of it is very well thought out and realistically I don't see ronance going canon ever, but hey, a girl can dream. Excuse any spelling/grammar errors, I didnt proofread. (Also, they're all named after blondie songs, duh.)

Hanging on the telephone:

Set in Hawkins, feb 1988. The military has (mostly) cleared out of Hawkins at this point. Nancy is still Holly and Mike's primary caregiver. Ted and Karen are both home but still recovering and not particularly useful. Robin and Vickie have broken up, primarily because Vickie couldn't handle that Robin lied to her for so long. Its also important to me that Nancy's hair is very short at this point, I like the idea of her getting too frustrated trying to get upside down gunk out and just chopping it all off.

Anyway, in terms of the plot: People around town are receiving strange phone calls blackmailing them (just like the prank calls in Rebel Robin), including Robin. Robin is hesitant to tell Nancy what's happening at first (she's hasn't found the right time to come out yet), but after a neighbor who was getting the calls turns up dead, she figures she should probably say something.

Im not sure what I would have the mysterious caller or their motive be, but I like the idea of starting with something a little bit lower-stakes. I would also have this book start sewing the seeds for a ronance relationship. At the very least, I'd want Nancy to realize that Robin is an option here and start catching feelings, even if she's isn't quite ready to do anything about it. If you prefer a slightly angsty route, I'd have Nancy either kiss Robin or confess towards the end of the book, only to be very politely rejected by Robin, who thinks she's just experimenting. Otherwise, I'd just have Nancy say nothing.

Call me:

Set in Boston, October of 1990. I don't have a super fleshed out plot for this one except that it involves a murder and Ronance actually getting together. The murder and subsequent coverup would involve slumlord corruption.

Rapture:

Set in November 1992. This is the obligatory road trip novel. Nancy has been tasked with covering route 66 on its 66th anniversary, and Robin is tagging along. After their car breaks down in Arizona, they find themselves caught up in a mysterious small town mystery involving a pastor, missing children, a hippie cult that seems stuck in the 60s, and a statistically improbable number of Volkswagen buses.

Rip her to shreds:

Set in New York City, December of 1995.

Nancy is writing a piece on a string of art thefts connected back to a dealer from NYC. This book features very prominent cameos from Will and to a lesser extent jonathan, who are both providing insider info from the New York art scene.

The tide is high:

Set on international waters in June 1998. Ronance is on a cruise for Holly's graduation trip, when, oh no! There's been a string of murders. Chaos ensues and Nancy gets a good article out of it. you get the gist. Featuring Mike and Holly trying (and failing) to be Nancy's mystery-solving sidekicks. Its also important to me that this book reveals that Mike lives at home and teaches middle school English, and that Holly is finishing the wheeler humanities degree trifecta by majoring in English lit.

Atomic:

Set in Hawkins, November of 2002. I feel like we can't have the last Nancy wheeler mystery without returning to Hawkins. Its gotta start with the death of someone Nancy is close to (I was thinking Holly or, possibly, Steve. Yknow for robin angst.). I feel like it would happen around Nancy finishing up a book tour too. Anyway there's lots of good Nancy angst and some solid sharp objects vibes too.

(Bonus) Living in the real world:

Set in 2004. Ronance wedding with a significantly lower-stakes mystery about missing flowers or something.

[littleprincefan]

this too is 1959 joyren

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

I'm bored and want to come up with Ronance hcs please send asks besties

[itsb3anbug]

rereading one way or another and omg the ronance fight hits soooooo good

[itsb3anbug]

additional thought i just had: if the writers weren’t fucking cowards in s5 and let robin and nancy hang out for longer than a minute at a time and actually interact then we could’ve gotten a follow up fight/talk about nancy’s need to keep robin safe and putting herself in harms way

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

Netflix I have not forgotten the "a Nancy Wheeler mystery" subtitle on One Way Or Another. I want Hanging on the Telephone: a Nancy Wheeler mystery on my desk by monday.

[archaicfauna]

there should be more fics exploring mike and robin's dynamic (especially after ronance materializes lol)

i NEED to read about the mishaps and shenanigans, and them being scared of each other for some ungodly reason, and about how they interact together around nance, and how mike's nonchalant ass reacts to all over the place robin dating his 'stuck up' sister. jesus fuck i just need more robin and mike fics!!!

Oh I ADOREEEE them. Mike would try SO hard to act like he doesn’t think Robin is cool as fuck. Robin would love getting on his nerves and making fun of him for his awful taste in music and movies, and he’d get on her nerves right back. Mike wouldn’t even give Robin a second to breathe after he figures out she likes his sister. And I just know he values Robin’s opinion and advice so much, though he’d never admit it.

They’d be the type of in-laws to go to WAR with each other on family vacations. Turn away for five seconds and Robin is shoving Mike’s face in the sand or Mike is literally throwing Robin (fully dressed) into the pool. Nancy has always been too serious for him to mess with her like that, and Holly is too young, so he enjoys having Robin around because he knows she’ll end up laughing it off (as she’s planning a way to get him back)

I agree, I wish we saw more of their dynamic in the ronance tag 😩

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

your @ is the best thing I’ve seen all day

Thank you thank you <3

[ornitharts]

Little tiny ronance portraits

They look a little different from eachother because it’s been like a month since I finished Nancy and I only got around to finishing Robin yesterday. I’m also sorry about the glare. I can’t get a decent photo with out it.

[ronancecats]

Genuinely hate when people make "being pathetic" the reason Robin follows Nancy around

Robin follows Nancy around because she's LOYAL. and wants to HELP. She's just awkward about it.

Robin is awkward, not pathetic.

[axelmedellin]

Daily drawing 6 jan 2025

Nancy Wheeler

[nancystaystrappedwheeler]

Not to dismiss or minimize Will's feelings for Mike but I do find it a little bit funny when people who are (usually) younger teens are like "how could they reduce Will's feelings to a crush" because idk speaking as someone who had multi-year feelings for not one, not two, but THREE best friends between the ages of 12 and 19, I absolutely thought I was in deep and tragic lesbian love at the time and in hindsight, I wouldn't categorize those feelings as anything deeper than a crush. Like im not saying Will's feelings weren't real and intense and meaningful, but a strong foundation of platonic love + teenage hormones + feeling guilt and shame about it makes any existing feelings that much more intense in a way that you can't really see when you're in it. Like yeah it's not on par with having a brief crush on someone you barely know for a week but when you're a traumatized teenager who kind of hates yourself and someone who you're really close with is nice to you AND they're your type?????? Yeah no shit you're gonna think that's the love of your life. I guess my point is that Will's feelings can have been intense and important and also there is a world in which he can love someone who isn't Mike. Maybe he is still in love with mike years later, but Will deserves the option to love other people, to move on. The tammy stuff was BULLSHIT though.