[Page 216 has three images on it, all in the Hopper-Byers living room. The upper one is of Steve holding up a shirt that he has just unwrapped. It is decorated by hand and reads: ‘I’m not gay, but my husband is!’ Next to him is Eddie, who is looking quite proud of himself. Steve looks fond and amused, yet also a little resigned.]
Christmas Gift from Eddie
Jonathan Byers, 1994
.
[The lower left image is of El and Max. They’re next to the Christmas tree at the end of the couch. El is rubbing Max’s knee, since Max has thrown her legs over El’s lap as she sits sideways on the couch, cuddling into El’s side.]
Couch Cuddles
Jonathan Byers, 1994
.
[Next to it is a photograph of Dustin and Erica. She has just unwrapped a thick book and Dustin is explaining the gift excitedly to her. She is nodding along, big grin on her face.]
Present from Nerd to Nerd
Jonathan Byers, 1994
.
[On page 217 are three images as well. The left one is of Hopper and Joyce dancing together, the pride flag they’d hung up in ‘88 still on the wall. The pair is off in their own world, smiles on their faces, foreheads pressed together.]
In Their Own World
Jonathan Byers, 1994
.
[On the upper right is a photograph of Will cutting gingerbread men from a rolled out sheet of cookie dough, a concentrated look on his face. Around his waist are two arms and the top of Mike’s head is visible from where he is resting on Will’s shoulder.]
Unhelpful Extra
Jonathan Byers, 1994
.
[Below it is a photograph of Robin and Steve. Steve is sitting on the couch, while Robin straddles his lap, her arms wrapped around his head so he can hide away in her chest. Her fingers are carding through his hair and his fingers dig into the back of her shirt.]
Jonathan and El go over some of her photos in the book and give insight into the stories behind them.
On AO3.
Ships: Elumax, jargancy, jopper, byler
Warnings: none.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The video opens with Jonathan and El. Jonathan greets: “Hi, I’m Jonathan Byers, the main photographer and editor of A Collection of Queer Photography. Today my sister is visiting, so me and Jane are going to look at her photos in the book,” Jonathan starts the video.
El is sitting on the other chair, her hair up in a messy bun and long dangly earrings. She’s wearing a patterned dress with a loose sweater over it as she smiles into the camera, her eyes a little too wide. All the years have made her integrate more, but there is still an edge of odd about her, though she wears it well.
“Some people online have commented that we do not look like each other, that is because Jane is adopted,” Jonathan says. “She came to live with us when she was fourteen, lived with Jim before that and she took an interest in photography in ‘86 to capture all the memories that might get lost if you don’t capture them. It really helped when Max was in a coma.”
“That is correct,” El nods with a smile still on her face.
“You wanna do the honors?” Jonathan asks, holding the book out to her which has a few tabs peaking out again.
“Yes, please,” El answers as she takes it and flips it open.
Jonathan meanwhile says: “She has quite a few in there, so we’re not talking about all of them, just a selection that Jane made.” Then he turns back to El and asks: “Which one are we starting with?”
“This one,” El replies, showing Jonathan the page as between them the image appears.
The photo is taken in the Hopper-Byers house living room. Hopper has his arms around Joyce’s waist, while she has hers around his neck. The two of them are kissing passionately. Around them are flower petals and there are two wine glasses on the table. Hopper had coordinated with El on the moment, so all the petals floated like a garden galaxy.
“She Said Yes,” Jonathan reads. “Ahw, when mom and dad got engaged in ‘91. That is a beautiful photo.”
“It is,” El agrees. “Dad was very nervous about it. We rehearsed it a hundred times while mom was at work. Picking up petals is a pain.”
Jonathan laughs at that, before he asks: “Why did you pick this one?”
“I think it shows how hard dad tried and the effort he puts in,” El says. “He isn’t a big gestures kind of person, but he knows mom would have liked something like this, so he made the effort. I think that’s so sweet.”
“Totally,” Jonathan agrees with a soft smile. “And it says a lot about them too. How they relate to each other.”
El nods, before flipping to the next tab. She Said Yes gets replaced by Kitchen Helper, which is of Argyle taking the turkey from the oven. Jonathan is hovering behind him with the roasted potatoes in his hands, which have been deposited there by Argyle moments earlier.
“This is Kitchen Helper from thanksgiving 1991,” El says. “I think it is a very cute photo. You are always so scared Argyle is going to burn himself, even if he’s a professional chef.”
Jonathan blushes a little and Argyle comments: “You do hover a little, baby boy,” from behind the camera. His sound quality is much better, he must have gotten a mic.
“But you do burn yourself,” Jonathan splutters, defending himself. “You’re always reaching into hot ovens and surrounded by burning oil.”
“Hazard of the job, buttercup,” Argyle says, a smile audible in his voice.
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Jonathan pouts, while El giggles at the two of them.
“See,” she says. “This is exactly the dynamic you can see in the photo.”
Jonathan pauses for a second, then gives into it and laughs: “I guess it is. And it is a cute photo, I love it.”
At that El grins widely, before flipping ahead again. The photo that comes on stage is of Max walking the stage with her crutches. Her head is held high and pride leaves her every pore. As she looks at it, El can’t help but light up with pride.
“Max Walking the Stage,” Jonathan reads, leaning over so he can also see. He tells the audience: “That was 1993, when the twerps all graduated college.”
“You’re only a few years older than us,” El points out.
“And that’s a few years enough,” Jonathan grins back, ruffling her hair while she tries to duck away with a halfhearted protest and a grin on her face.
Once they’ve stopped their little tussling war and both have straightened out again, El says: “I love how proud Max looks. She was so nervous about it, because she was having a bad day, so she needed the crutches, unlike at high school when she could manage without them for the stage walk itself.”
“I couldn’t tell,” Jonathan says, sounding a little surprised, like he also hadn’t known that.
“She did not want you to,” El tells him gently. “She hated that she was even nervous about it, because she did not want it to be a thing she was ashamed off. She never wants people to think that about her. For her the crutches are a part of her, not a weakness or something extra. She is proud of her disability, she just knew that people in the audience would pity her and she hated it. But she is so strong and stubborn and she walked that stage with pride.” El’s voice turns a little mushy as she adds: “God, I love her.”
Jonathan smiles fondly at his sister and softly says: “That’s lovely, Jane. I think you managed to capture that defiance perfectly. It’s very much a Max photo.”
El smiles back at him, before there is a cut, the book open on a new page. El introduces it: “This one is Late LA Nights from when me, Max and Lucas moved to LA in 1993 where Mike and Will lived.”
On screen the photo is of Mike and Will dancing in comfortable clothes in their living room. They’re close together, Mike’s arms around Will’s waist, noses pressed together and their eyes closed.
“Mike and Will love dancing,” Jonathan comments. “I don’t know how that happened, but it’s so sweet.”
“I blame you,” El says. “You made Will like music. And mom and dad, who dance.”
“You’re not a dancer?” Jonathan quirks a brow. “I would have sworn I heard [BEEP] talk about how her aunt took her to a dance class.”
When there is a beep a note appears on screen: *Mike and Will have asked the names of their daughters to be kept out, thank you for understanding.
“She’s cute and she really wanted to,” El defends herself. “Besides, I do not hate dancing, I just lived in the same city as these two for too many years.”
“You and Max are just as bad,” Jonathan points out, though he sounds fond. “And you still live in the same city as them.”
“Max told me we are cute when we do it,” El informs him seriously. “And why would I want to live in a different city from them? They are my friends.”
“Of course,” Jonathan says, then moves on. “But this is a cute photo and a little snippet of Mike and Will. What’s the next one?”
“This one,” El shows him a page, pointing to the lower right corner.
“Free Time, nice,” Jonathan says, while on screen an image of Lucas in sport’s clothes shooting hoops on a basketball court on a sunny autumn day appears. In the background is Max riding her skateboard, her crutches are on the ground near the photographer, as if they were just put down to take the photograph.
“It is very nice, yes,” El agrees. “As you said, I like capturing memories and this is a fond one. We used to go to this park all the time, now we have found a new one closer to our home, but this one was the one we first found when we moved to LA. On Max’s good days, she will skateboard and we will make flower crowns or bracelets or braid each other’s hair when it was a bad one. Or she will read to me.”
“That sounds very lovely,” Jonathan tells her, despite already knowing it. Just to affirm her in her recollection.
El smiles and nods. “It is,” she confirms, before flipping the page again to the next tab.
On screen Free Time gets replaced by Sea Chickens. It is from a Californian beach, the early spring already nice enough to allow a day at the beach. The photograph is taken from the sand, but is of the sea itself, where Lucas, Max, Mike and Will are playing in the water.
They might be adults, but that doesn’t stop them from playing chicken. Max is on Lucas’ shoulders, while Will is on Mike’s. Lucas has his hand in Mike’s face, pushing him away, while Max and Will have each other’s hands in a hold, pushing without success. All of them are laughing.
“This was one of the first swim weather days of 1994,” El says. “Winter does not really exist in LA, that is weird, but it is not always weather to swim. I am not a big fan of swimming, but it is fun to watch the others be idiots.”
Jonathan snorts at that and agrees: “They do seem to turn into five year olds whenever they come near a body of water.”
“They do,” El agrees.
“I like how Mike’s face is completely smushed by Lucas,” Jonathan points out. “And you can really see how strong Will’s arms are.”
“Will had been experimenting with sculptures during this time,” El recalls. “He had been lugging around all sorts of heavy materials.” She wrinkles her nose and adds: “Mike was horny about it. I heard too much about my brother’s arms than necessary.”
Jonathan chokes on a laugh as he wheezes: “Oh my god, I am so glad I missed that,” in a manner that is unlike how he usually is on camera, seemingly a lot less shy when joking with El.
El joins in as she giggles: “I suddenly related to dad a lot, I almost instated a three inches apart rule in my house,” which sets Jonathan off again.
The two laughing gets cut off and they appear calmed down again. The two are a little red in the face from laughter, but bravely move onto the next photo.
On screen appears a photo of Max on her knees in the living room of the Mayfield-Sinclair apartment. She is playing with Sir Fluff. On the couch behind her are Mike and Will. Mike is lounging, legs thrown over Will’s lap as he watches Max and the cat. Will is rubbing Mike’s ankles absentmindedly as he talks with Lucas, who is standing next to the couch.
“This is Sir Fluff and Company,” Jonathan tells the viewer, before asking El: “Do you remember when you took this one?”
“Not exactly,” El says. “We hang out at each other’s place a lot. It’s just natural. We have each others keys, had them back then too. We just show up.”
“I love that,” Jonathan says. “I’m pretty sure we have the keys to the Munson house and mom and dad’s house.”
“We have a copy of Erica’s key too from when we stayed at her place when she had the conference,” Argyle pipes up.
“We still have that?” Jonathan asks. “Should we- Should we give that back?”
“Nah, she would have asked,” Argyle replies.
“Sure,” Jonathan agrees, before turning back to the photo. “So this was a typical scene?”
“Yeah, Lucas does this thing where he will get up to grab something to drink, then forget because he started a conversation again. That is why he is standing there,” El explains. “And Mike will always take over the couch like a mouth breather.”
“He does sprawl, doesn’t he,” Jonathan says with a look of mild, yet playful disgust on his face.
The two of them giggle again, in the action it is clear that gossiping together is a habit both have picked up over the years. Even with the camera there, they easily fall into the giggling comments and jokes.
After a second, El flips the page again and smiles: “That was when you and Nancy and Argyle came to visit.”
“That was so fun,” Jonathan says. “I love being able to come out to see you. Having careers in different cities sucks. Why did we do that?”
“Because Nancy is stubborn and Max is too?” El suggests.
Jonathan makes a face that says ‘Fair enough,’ then bends over the book again. The photo is of the guest room at the Mayfield-Sinclairs. On the bed are Argyle, Jonathan and Nancy, the three of them still fast asleep. Nancy is on her back in the middle, while Argyle and Jonathan are both turned to her, heads practically on her shoulders. Argyle has a leg thrown over both of them, while Jonathan has an arm over Nancy, hand buried in Argyle’s shirt.
Jonathan comments: “I will never get over how tall Argyle is.”
“You love it, baby,” Argyle chips in.
“I do,” Jonathan agrees easily as he looks up, love sick smile on his face.
El hits him on the arm and says: “Do not be gross.”
“Ouch, Jane,” Jonathan pouts. “And I wasn’t being gross.”
That earns him a look that communicates that El very much does not agree with that statement, but she lets it be as she moves back to the page: “I think it is cute how you two mirror each other even when asleep.”
“It’s comfortable,” Jonathan shrugs.
“Do you guys still have a schedule about who gets to be in the middle?” El asks, while Jonathan blushes. Innocently, she adds: “I think that is very sweet. You guys are great at communicating and planning.”
That softens Jonathan up and he smiles: “We do, but it’s not a hard law. And we worked hard on that communication. You do the same with Max and Lucas.”
“We had you to be an example,” El says earnestly.
You can see how Jonathan tears up a bit, in lieu of an answer he snatches El close and hugs her tightly. El startles a little but melts into the touch with a happy yet confused smile. There is rustling and before the video cuts, you can hear Argyle mutter: “Gotta get in on that hugging action.”
After the cut, the two are sitting again, Jonathan’s eyes are a little red rimmed, but he is smiling widely as he says: “And we’re at the last photo now. It’s Jonathan’s New Years Kiss taken in 1995, but only just.”
The photo that appears on screen is of Jonathan lowering his camera in surprise as Argyle and Nancy kiss him on his cheeks at the same time.
“This one is cute,” El says. “You are always snapping photographs on New Years. Nancy says you cannot stop working.”
“Nancy also can’t stop working,” Jonathan pouts a little, before he must admit: “But I do find it hard to put the camera down. It’s just hard when you view the world through what would be a great photo and then you can’t take it when you see one, you know.”
“I know,” El says. “But dad says taking photos of the good times with the mental camera is also good sometimes.”
“That is because his photos are always blurry and his finger is always in there too,” Jonathan points out.
“Mom agrees,” El counters.
“Okay, so maybe there is something to it, but I have been getting better about it,” Jonathan defends himself.
“He has,” Argyle defends him from behind the camera.
“Thank you.”
“I believed you,” El promises, though she looks a little mischievous as she does.
“Sure,” Jonathan tells her, like he doesn’t believe her, El doesn’t seem to mind. Jonathan goes back to the topic at hand: “But it is a cute photo, even if I look like an idiot.”
“That is your face, as Will would say,” El tells him.
“You and Will need to stop hanging out,” Jonathan replies, to which he only gets a smile in return, so he rolls his eyes back.
There is a cut, then Jonathan is saying to El: “I really enjoyed looking at these photos with you. You have a fun style of taking photos and you really added a new perspective in the book. Thank you.”
“You are welcome,” El smiles. “It was fun to contribute.”
“Tell the people where they can find Jane’s stuff,” Argyle directs from behind the camera, obviously more familiar with YouTube than the two in front it.
“Oh, yeah, if you want to see more of Jane’s photography it is @JaneMPhotos on Instagram,” Jonathan says. “It is mostly photos of their pets and it is delightful.”
On screen two photos appear. The left one is of Lucas laying on the ground with a defeated look on his face, on his chest lies Hank, their husky, with what can only be a smug look on his face. On the right is a photo of Max, Pino on her finger. She is whistling to the bird and the bird is whistling right back.
Then Jonathan signs off: “So, yeah, that is a behind the scene of the photos Jane took for this book. Thank you so much for being here.”
“You are welcome,” El replies.
“Bye,” Jonathan waves and El follows after a second.
~~
A/N:
El and Jonathan are secretly mean girls together (especially about Mike), change my mind
[There are four photographs on page 220. The first one is of Steve squatting down next to some firework as he sets it off. They don’t have much, but they tried it again. Eddie and Robin are hovering in the background.]
Fireworks
Jonathan Byers, 1994
.
[Next to it is a photograph of Wayne and Eddie cheering their beers together both of them grinning at each other. Standing next to each other, it is clear how much they look alike.]
To 1995
Jonathan Byers, 1995
.
[On the lower left is one of Lucas kissing Max, cupping her face gently as he holds her close. She is clinging back to him.]
A New Years Kiss with Lucas
Jonathan Byers, 1995
.
[Next to it is a photograph of El and Max kissing. Max has her arms around El’s neck, while El has hers around Max’s waste.]
A New Years Kiss with Jane
Jonathan Byers, 1995
.
[Page 221 has three images on it. The upper one is of Jonathan lowering his camera in surprise as Argyle and Nancy kiss him on his cheeks at the same time.]
Jonathan’s New Years Kiss
Jane Mayfield, 1995
.
[On the lower left is a photograph of Dustin pulling Suzie close by her waist as he presses an affectionate kiss on her cheek. She is smiling happily and pressing close.]
Hendersons on New Year
Jonathan Byers, 1995
.
[The lower right photograph is of Mike and Will from the back. Mike has thrown an arm around Will and is holding him close as they watch the fireworks above. Will has his hand tucked in Mike’s back pocket]
Jonathan gives an insight into the family get together that happens around the holidays.
On AO3.
Ships: steddie, elumax, jargancy, byler, dustin x suzie
Warnings: minor homophobia mention
~~~~~~~~
“Hi, I’m Jonathan Byers, the main photographer and editor of A Collection of Queer Photography. Today I’m giving you a behind the scene look of the photos on 106 and 107, which is the holiday season of ‘91,” Jonathan starts out the video, still awkward, but more confident than at the start of it all.
“The holiday season means a lot to me, because I grew up poor and with just my mom and my little brother and this was the time of year we did something nice for ourselves. And as a kid, I never dared to imagine to have such a big family to celebrate with,” Jonathan explains.
“I wanted these two pages to really feel like a family photo album with small little snapshots of the entire extended family coming over,” Jonathan says.
He grabs the open book as Couch Talks appears on screen. It is of the couch in the Hopper-Byers house, from left to right Steve, Eddie and Wayne are sitting on it. Steve is talking with someone out of frame, his arm thrown over the back of the couch. Underneath his arm is Eddie, who is excitedly talking to Wayne, waving his arms as he does. Wayne is smiling fondly at his nephew as he nurses a beer.
“Couch Talks is the first image on page 106. This is the thanksgiving page and this is the pre-dinner catching up that happens when dinner is cooking,” Jonathan says. “Eddie and Steve were no longer living with Wayne, so they were really excited to see him again. Eddie was glued to his uncle’s side for most of the visit.”
“In this photo he’s talking about Corroded Coffin and all the developments that had been happening with them,” Jonathan tells the camera. “I love how enthusiastic he looks. Eddie is really passionate about his music and Wayne was his first fan and biggest supporter. You can still see that dynamic here.”
“Wayne took in Eddie when he was a teen, who had been told by his parents that the way he was, was wrong,” Jonathan explains. “Wayne was always ready to listen and tell Eddie it was okay to be him. You can see how proud he is of Eddie where he’s at now, I love that.”
“I also love that Steve is in the frame,” Jonathan goes on. “He might not be part of the conversation, but he’ll always be part of the little family and it shows how comfortable everyone is. And it’s a piece of that comfort in himself Eddie has found in himself with Wayne. Steve too.”
“Next photo is Kitchen Helper,” Jonathan moves on. “Jane took this one and I talked about it with her in the video where we looked at her photography.”
“Tell them where they can find a link, buttercup,” Argyle speaks up, always dutifully behind the camera for support.
“Oh, yeah,” Jonathan smiles. “We’ll link to it in the description. Thank you, baby.”
“No problem, beautiful.”
Jonathan blushes and looks down at the photo, before shaking it off. “I love how it fits as that juggling with all the food that is so common at celebrations.”
“The other photo is Post Thanksgiving Dinner Nap, which is tradition in every house I think,” he jokes. “Everyone has that one uncle or grandma who can’t make it through the entire night.”
Post Thanksgiving Dinner Nap is of Lucas with Max on his lap, she is leaning against his shoulder and has her eyes closed, while he is rubbing her back. Sitting next to the duo are Dustin and Suzie, holding hands. Suzie is resting against Dustin also snoozing.
“For us that’s Max and Suzie,” Jonathan says, looking fond. “No, it’s Steve and dad really, but don’t let them hear me say that. These two just had a few big deadlines right before thanksgiving, so they were catching up on sleep.”
Turning back to the photo itself, Jonathan goes on: “What I love about this photo is how gentle Lucas and Dustin are. A lot of these photos are very explicitly queer, but queer love can also look like this and I didn’t want to ignore that this is also queer and even though this looks like two straight couples that is not what this is. That touch of gentleness, of what can be seen as not-masculine hints at it, but it’s not too out there. And it doesn’t have to be.”
“Page 107 has two Christmas and two new years photos,” Jonathan explains, gesturing to clearly communicate his point. “There is a split between the top and bottom. We have a lot of good holiday photos, but it’s every year, so if you’re doing eight years, you get a lot of holidays. We wanted to avoid becoming repetitive.”
“The first photo is Homemade Gift and it’s of Robin getting her gift from Will,” Jonathan introduces. “None of us were very rich back then, so homemade became tradition.”
It is of Robin next to a Christmas tree in the Hopper-Byers house. She is in her pajamas, which are a shirt she stole from Steve and her underwear. She is happily holding up a hand painted shirt Will gifted her. It has the words ‘Lesbians for Life’ on it, surrounded by drawings of Venus symbols, boobs and flowers.
“Will is, as you probably know, quite the artist. He always has been,” Jonathan says proudly. “I can still remember him being four and drawing with the few shitty pencils we had. This was his experimentation with fabric paint, it wasn’t for him, but he enjoyed it. He always likes experimenting with different art forms and we often benefit, because he never likes to keep his own art. Mike has to fight him over pieces he likes for their own house.”
“Robin loves these loud pieces. Her dress style is very eclectic,” Jonathan moves back to the photo. “She adored this shirt, wore it to death. I think she still has it actually. She is so comfortable in her own skin and I’ve always admired that about her. I love photos of her like this one where you can see that.”
“The other Christmas photo is Matching Sweaters,” Jonathan tells the camera.
Matching Sweaters is of El and Max wearing matching sweaters, Lucas is standing next to them, looking quite proud of himself. El is smiling widely and Max is rolling her eyes, though smiling softly too.
“As a polyamorous person myself, I love seeing other polyam people and the diversity within the community,” Jonathan says. “In this book I wanted to show that we exist and how we exist. The relationship I have with Argyle and Nancy is different than the one between Jane, Max and Lucas, which you can see here.”
“I am dating both my partners and they also date each other, here both Jane and Lucas are dating Max, but not each other,” Jonathan explains. “It’s different, but still valid and I love how they do little things like these sweaters Lucas gifted both of them.”
“While they do a lot as a trio, for them it is also important to do some things as a couple,” Jonathan continues. “To affirm those one on one connections. Here Lucas affirms the relationship of his girlfriend that he is not a part of. I love that. Look how proud he is of himself.”
“They’re cute,” Argyle comments from behind the camera.
“They are,” Jonathan agrees, before moving on. “Below the first image is Happy 1992, which, as the title suggest is taken in ‘92. Just after midnight.”
The photo is taken outside late at night. The darkness is negated by the snow and the porch light. In the background fireworks are going off, while in the foreground Mike and Will are kissing.
“I must admit that it can be weird to photograph your little brother kissing someone,” Jonathan acknowledges. “However, since I focus so much on photographing people, especially queer relationships, you get used to it. I even shot a few porno shoots back in the day for a few girls I met in the club, who were in long distance relationships. After a while, you’ve seen it all and this is hardly the weirdest.”
“This moment had me jumping for my camera,” Jonathan says. “It looks so much like the ending of a romcom, which fits so perfectly with the end of the old year and start of the new. It felt like a fade to black and I love making moments like that queer. Because they can be.”
“Now, the final photo of this story is Single Witnesses to Twelve O’clock, which had been taken before Happy 1992, however putting them is this order made it a little bit more comedic and tells the story better,” Jonathan says.
The photo that appears is of Erica and Robin, who are both looking at each other with a look that says ‘can you believe this shit?’
“Erica and Robin are looking at all the couples kissing to usher in the new year,” Jonathan says. “It is of course a little funny, but it can be hard to be single in a big group of couples.”
As a side note he gives: “I know Robin struggled with finding someone for a long while. She mostly had short flings, which we didn’t have the manpower to track down to ask for permission to be in the book, so they aren’t included. Erica on the other hand has always been happy and single, which is also totally fine. She is just very done with us all sometimes.”
“I wanted to include this one for both the funny and to acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with being single, but it can be annoying sometimes, because a lot of the world and traditions is based on being with someone. So, uh, check in with your single friends,” Jonathan says.
“Anyways, that were the holidays of ‘91. This one is a little shorter than the past ones, but hopefully it was still interesting,” Jonathan finishes the video. “Thank you for watching. Bye.”
[Page 178 has one photograph on it. It is from a Californian beach, the early spring already nice enough to allow a day at the beach. The photograph is taken from the sand, but is of the sea itself, where Lucas, Max, Mike and Will are playing in the water.
They might be adults, but that doesn’t stop them from playing chicken. Max is on Lucas’ shoulders, while Will is on Mike’s. Lucas has his hand in Mike’s face, pushing him away, while Max and Will have each other’s hands in a hold, pushing without success. All of them are laughing.]
Sea Chickens
Jane Mayfield, 1994
.
[On page 179 are two images. The upper one is of Max on her knees in the living room of the Mayfield-Sinclair apartment. She is playing with Sir Fluff. On the couch behind her are Mike and Will. Mike is lounging, legs thrown over Will’s lap as he watches Max and the cat. Will is rubbing Mike’s ankles absentmindedly as he talks with Lucas, who is standing next to the couch.]
Sir Fluff and Company
Jane Mayfield, 1994
.
[Underneath it is a photograph of Max and El asleep on the bed they share with Lucas. They have another bedroom in case someone doesn’t want to share or Max’s pain flares up. This night, however, they had shared. Max is on her back in the middle of the bed. El has her head on her chest, one leg thrown over Max as well. Max has one arm wrapped around El, the other is stretched out over the empty spot Lucas just vacated.]
[Page 18 and 19 only have photographs. On page 18 has two vertical ones, page 19 two horizontal ones. The left one on page 18 centers Mike and Will. Will is sitting against a tree, legs crossed over one another. There is a sketchbook in his lap and he is bend over it, drawing something intently. Mike is sitting next to him, his head on his shoulder, eyes closed. Around them there are a few others eating from the picnic that is on the blanket.]
Summer Sketching
Jonathan Byers, 1987
.
[The right photograph is of Dustin next to Cerebo. He is fiddling with the dish, screwdriver in his mouth. Erica has the headphones on and is turning one of the knobs. There are open books scattered around them, the wind blowing some of the pages.]
Scientists of the Future
Jonathan Byers, 1987
.
[The upper photograph on page 19 is of the driveway of the Harrington house, a basket mounted on the front of the garage. Steve and Lucas are in the midst of playing a game, they both wear serious faces and Steve is trying to block Lucas’ throw. Neither of them are wearing a shirt and they’re both sweating in their shorts. More obvious are Eddie and Max in the foreground. They're both leaning on their knees, ogling the two players. Max's eyes peer out through thick lenses, but that doesn't hide the moon eyed expression that matches Eddie's.]
Lovers by the Court
Jonathan Byers, 1987
.
[Below that is an image of a hammock they put up at the Hopper-Byers house. In it is Nancy, Robin sprawled over her chest. Robin is asleep, while Nancy has one hand in her hair, scritching the undercut part of her hair. In her other hand, she has a book, the title can’t be made out from the angle. She is oblivious to the camera.
[The photograph is blown up to cover page 2 and half of page 3, leaving a column on the side for writing. The quarry is pictured, rocks in the background a little beach in the foreground. Central in the image are Argyle, Nancy, Steve and Eddie. Nancy is on Argyle’s shoulders, Eddie on Steve’s, the four of them fighting playfully, big grins on their faces. Eddie’s scars are easily seen, they look raw, but have healed quite a bit already.
In the foreground to the side are Robin and Max, floating together with a pool noodle. Erica is swimming over to them. In the background the four boys are floating in midair. An onlooker would think they’re jumping, but both Steve and Jonathan had banned the boys from jumping that high.
Instead El was floating them up to an acceptable height to drop them. It makes that they’re clear and artistically posed in the photograph, since El and Jonathan had coordinated on the picture. El had taken an interest in photography after she Vecna, when she became fascinated with capturing memories as to not forget them again. You can only make out her form in the water if you squint.]
Calm after the Quakes
Jonathan Byers, 1986
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Our story does not begin in 1986, but it takes off then. Hawkins, our hometown, had just recovered from the earthquakes and for the first time our entire family was in one place, able to enjoy some peace after a tumultuous time that had just ended.
The Byers family moved back from California and Will would be joining his childhood friends in school again as would El. Eddie, Nancy and Robin had to redo Senior year due to quakes, but both Argyle and Jonathan graduated in Cali and joined Steve in working around town. No extra hands were denied in rebuilding in these years.
And a lot needed to be rebuilt, but we had a strong foundation. We had been apart for the year prior and now we were together and we clung to one another because of it. Our future was still uncertain, but we were all alive and ready to face it. In this summer, we took it one day at a time.
[Both these pages only have photographs. On page 26 are two horizontal images. The upper one is of Max, Lucas and El, the three of them have fallen asleep on the couch and Joyce is spreading a blanket over them with a fond smile. Empty cups that used to be filled with hot chocolate litter the table.]
Hot Coco Naps
Jonathan Byers, 1987
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[The lower image is of Dustin and Lucas posing with a truly impressive snow man. They’re both bundled up and you can’t see anything past their eyes, nose and upper lip. Yet there is obvious pride in their creation. The snowball headed towards Dustin’s face is yet unseen by both.]
Mr. Snow Man
Jonathan Byers, 1987
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[Page 27 has four photographs on it. The upper right one is of El and Max, facing each other and both holding sparklers, which illuminate their smiling faces.]
Sparking Smiles
Jonathan Byers, 1988
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[The upper left photograph is made by a campfire. Steve is leaning against Robin, the two of them sitting sideways on a log, Robin with her arms around Steve’s neck. Eddie is feeding Steve a marshmallow.]
Campfire Treats
Jonathan Byers, 1988
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[The lower left image is of a pile of people on a floor filled with mattresses. It is mostly a lump of blankets, but a head of curls peaks out of blankets at the side, Dustin. Erica is also clear, having just sat up and rubbing her eyes, a bonnet on her head and dressed in pajamas with hearts on them. Behind the pile of kids on the floor is Max on the couch, to be better supported, her crutches leaned against the wall next to her.]
January 1st 1988
Jonathan Byers, 1988
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[On the lower right is an image of Mike and Will, they’re bend over a DnD guide together, seated on the love seat in the Hopper-Byers house. Mike is sitting normally, but Will has his legs over Mike’s, sitting sideways. Their foreheads are touchings and they seem to be deep into conversation.]
