#stranger things aus

[purpleyin]

Stranger Things - Stonathan moodboard I commissioned from @a-redharlequin

(For anyone interested in commissioning moodboards from them - commission info post over here)

[annieofhearts]

From the series "unhinged thoughts that come to me out of nowhere", I present: ronance au fics that i wish existed out there (but they don't 'cause I'm the only one who wants them and I can't write 🤡): - Imagine Me And You AU (just 'cause we as a society need more IMAY aus. I mean, come onnn! The drama, the comphet wedding, the hot lesbian florist lady...??!!)

- Happiest Season AU: personally I'm more of a Riley/Abby fan, but Nancy as [a much better written] Harper could totally sway me. Helloo the Wheelers are perfect for that plot also! (Although Nancy as Riley would be such a nice change imo, just 'cause she is often the one struggling with internalized homophobia etc on fics... also the blazers?! We can't forget the blazers!)

- Do Revenge x ST AU where Gabbi is Nancy's younger sister and tries to make a move on Robin just to get Nancy to wake up and do smth (sister rivalry but like not too toxic, just silly and dumb 'cause they're all gay messes and not emotionally mature yet lol)

- Bottoms AU: Nancy Wheeler in a girls only fight club?? Hello???? Don't ask me how this could work though. I could see Robin as either Josie or Hazel and Nancy as Isabel or PJ... Wait, no! Nancy as PJ, Kali as Josie (#justice for my girl Kali. plus this duo would be deliciously insane and you agree, I know you do!), Robin as Hazel (obvs!), Chrissy as Isabel (lmao Jason as Jeff?! this is perfect) and Heather as Brittany.

[souppiemousse]

Royal Byler Au

Part 2 Part 3

Imagine we're set in a fantasy world. Will's the second prince with Johnathan being the crown prince. And Lonnie, who is the king of the land is in charged of well whatever this kingdom is called alright?

Lonnie is a piece of shit, to no one's surprise, he's a piece of shit dad/husband and an okay, borderlining on tyranic king, but no one has the balls to like stand up to him.

He treats Johnathan really harshly cause he's the crown prince and has more pressure than Will since, he's the heir to the thrown.

In this kingdom, since Lonnie's in charge, every boy from the age of 9 have to be sent to be trained as knights in the kingdom grounds. They are eccentually training them to be child soldiers. And Mike is one of these boys. He comes from a pretty okay family? Karen'a a normal stay at home wife and Ted works as an accountant for the kingdom's money or smth like that, so he's pretty well off, but doesm't have much in power. Nancy's studying to become a powerful member in the council, despite her father's wishes.

And one day while Will was running away from his lessons, because, his dad's too mean to him. He yells at him when he doesn't do well in sword fighting, calling him weak and such, it's not as bad as johnathan but he still gets yelled at. Joyce tries her best to sheild the boys from Lonnie, but she can only do so much, since HE'S the king here.

Anyways while Will is hiding from his maids, he stumbles upon the training ground of the knights.

Hiding behind a tree and crying, Will mumbles to himself "stupid, stupid can't get anything right." While wiping his tears away with his wrist.

Mike finds Will crying under his favorite spot to chill. And at first he's panicked, cause he just found one of the prince just sitting under a tree?? Is he supposed to be here?? So he starts trying to comfort Will, whispering things like "hey hey it's okay,, why are you crying?" Mike akss earnessly, plopping down to sit next to Will with worried eyes.

Will, hesitantly replies with " Idk just sword lessons suck and i can never get them right, and my dad's always so mad that i can never get them right! But he's never acknowlegded me when i get my magic right." Will huffs out in frustration.

And Mike being the kind kid that he is, comforts Will and is like " heyy it's okay, it's great that you can do magic!! That's so cool!! Definately really cool, your dad's a meanie, but don't tell anyone i said that okay? I'll get my head chopped off hehe" Mike chuckles at the end nervously, causing Will to giggle.

"Thanks, no one's ever complimented me on that besides Mom and Johnathan,,, i really appreciate it." Will replies back..

"It's alright!,,pluss,, if you want i can give you some tips for sword fighting!! Teacher says i'm really good at it and i can teach you some tips!!" Mike yells excitedly, grinning widely at Will.

"Sure! I'd love that! Then maybe i can finally impress my dad!" Will agrees with enthusiasm.

Will's pretty intrigued by Mike, cause he never had a friend before, plus Mike seems like a pretty nice kid, and he likes spending time with him. Eventho Mike knows that he's a prince he doesn't treat him any different, unlike all the other nobel kids who are pretty mean and don't even look like they wanna hang out with Will.

They start hanging out more on break when Mike's free from training and all that stuff, Mike gives Will some tips on how to handle his sword better and Will tells him all kinds of stuff on magic and such, they get ptetty attached, but Will has to kinda sneak out to hang out with Mike since, if he dad sees him hanging out with a villager boy? He would not be happy, at least that's what mom told him. He doesn't really get it, Mike's an amazing friend, he's kind, attentive to Will and comforts Will everytime he needs a shoulder to cry on, he's funny and super passionate about becoming a knight to protect his family, but since Mom said so, Will's gonna do what mom says.

Fast forward, since i wanna dump the plot down before i go into details about the it more. They're like 17 now and Mike gets promoted to Will's personal body guard since he's a prodigy knight who's been excelling at his training and has become a really strong fighter.

Mike surprises Will that he's gonna be his personal bodyguard and Will is over the moon, he can spend much more time with Mike now, and doesn't have to sneak around anymore. Mike's worked really hard for this, Will's watched him train for hours on end and studied relaly hard to be able to pass early, and Will admires how strong willed Mike is, how much he inspires Will to work on his own studies too which also made Will into a really strong mage and a good fighter with swords with Mike's help.

They start to slowly fall in love. It's taboo they both know it, and they would NEVER tell each other their feelings since it would cause them a lot of trouble. So for the sake of the other they would rather keep their feelings a secret, them spending time with each other is enough. They couldn't ask for more, this is enough for them, to spend time with each other, to laugh and joke around with each other.

A ball rolls around and Will has to find like a potential suiter or something, he's 17 now so he needs to do it like johnathan.

"I don't get it! Why do i even have to get married this early, i"m only 17 for god's sake!". Will paces around in his room. Cursing his dad, after all the abuse he's endured all these years, he still wants to make Will's life miserable by setting him up with some RANDOM women who he's never met before??

"That sucks Will, but you gotta do what you gotta do i guess, you know princly duties and all that hhe" Mike says lightheartedly standing next to the door.

"You're not helping Mike" Will says deadpan with a disppointed face, to which Mike shrugs at.

"Hey,, don't look so sad, how about we just forget about all that partner stuff for now, it's all gonna make your brains turn to mush, My prince" Mike says teasingly at the end.

"Ahah very funny,," Will rolls his eyes affectionatly.

"I guess, i can kinda enjoy it, we can just ditch it and go to the garden together."

"Will you can't do that! What will you dear father think of that?? He'll surely lose all his remaining marbles" Mike says dramatically, pretending to fall over, causing Will to laugh.

"As if he has any marbles to begin with" Will muttsrs quitely. Mike gasps dramtically.

"MY PRINCE YOU SHANT SAY THAT ABOUT YOUR FATHER!!" Mike yells dramatically, face filled with horror.

"He'll surely fall over to his death, ohh my poor king." Mike says, taking his hand to wipe the nonexistent tear by his eyes. Will gigglies uncontrollably at Mike's antics, he loves how he's alaways here to make him feel better, no matter what.

Through out the years, Mike has realizsed how badly Lonnie treated his wife and his kids and he tries to shit on him as many times as he can, at any chance he gets, cause he's the one to make Will run to him crying his eyes out about how Lonnie hit him, or won't stop yelling at Mom. So to say Mike hated the king was a bit of an understatement.

"Just try to enjoy the ball though, i'll be there with you all the way." Mike says softly, holding Will's gently, causing him to blush slightly.

The ball comes around and they're doing well and all that, Mike and Will are having fun talking together, until Troy, who is a son of a nobelman comes around and starts like trying to make fun of Mike in like the sense of telling Will, why he's hanging out with a peasant like him when he should be hanging out with the nobelman, a prince shouldn't be dirting his reputation with those type of lowlives.

And Will is pretty pissed about it, cause how DARE anyone insult Mike and think they can get away with it.

"You should really be careful with what you say sir Troy." Will says coldly, giving him a death glare to which Troy is oblivious to.

"I am, prince William, i'm just trying to look out for you since you can'r be hanging out with him of all people, he's the lowest of the low, like a knight, seriously? They're just expendable things to be tossed into war. Troy says shrugging.

Will being completely enraged, is about to repsonse but is stopped by Mike, holding his arm, his face says that it's not worth it. So he calms down, but doesn't stoo glarring at Troy.

"Really? Prince William, listening to a knight of all things, wow i can't belive you've fallen to this low of a level. I'm sure your father will be very disappointed, even if he isn't already."

This caused Mike to step up, because yeah Troy can insult him all he wants, he's used to it. Used to People looking down on him, used to them looking at him like he's nothing better than trash, but no one. No one can just insult Will like that, especially in front of Mike.

"The only disppointment here is you, Sir Troy. Since you clearly have nothing better to do than to antaganize other people for you own amusemnt. And to insult the prince of all people? I'm sure your father would be **very happy** to hear that you." Mike says the last bit with a smirk.

"Is that a threat??" Troy sputters out, face twisted into an enraged expression.

"I never said anything threatening though, i was just doing my duty as the prince's personal bodyguard, by,,,protecting him from insignificant lowlives who don't know how to keep their mouth shut." Mike quietly utters the last part with venom. Eyes starring coldly at Troy.

Will have never seen Mike this angry before. Sure he's has a few outburst, this one was pure hatred, and he knows why. His father has always been a sore subject and for Troy to just bring it up to put him down, Mike wouldn't stand for that.

Troy's face was red from anger and embarrassing.

"WHY YOU-"

Will steps in front of Mike, standing between him and Troy to see if he tries to do anything.

"I think we're done here, since you've made it pretty clear that our presence bother you. Safe to say it's mutual." Will utters coldly to Troy, before grabbing Mike's wrist abd pulling him to the palace's graden while giving Troy, one last glare.

Things are going well, until Troy decides to get revenge in them by spreading rumors about Mike and Will being potential lovers and how he saw them being lovey dovery towards each other, deemed "way too close to be prince and guard"

These rumors reach Will's dad and he is NOT pleased. He is pissed. He calls Will to talk to him one night and he's like

"What is this that i've been hearing about?" And Will is confused. What the hell is he talking about?

"There talks about you being in a relationship with the wheeler boy."

And Will's like "ahah that's ridiculous, you don't actually believe that right?? they're just silly rumors! We are not like that with each other" and Will is doing his best to try and tell his dad that they are NOT DATING?? even if he wanted to, that could get Mike into a lot of trouble.

Lonnie, slams his hand onto the table, making Will flinch away from the loud sound.

"Then WHY do i hear rumors about you two ingaging in *unforgivable* activities?" Lonnie snarled at Will.

Will who is flabtergasted at what his father had just said. "What?? I have no idea what you're talking about, but Mike is nothing more but my personal knight and guard." Will responds to his father calmly.

"Yess,,, and you think i'd believe that?? You inputent child! You think i don't see how you two act around each other? You think I'M DUMB WILLIAM?" Lonnie yelled at Will, causing him to flinch away.

He could only stare hopelessly at his father, how was he going to convince him the truth?? They really weren't envolved with each other. Why was that so hard to explain!!

So likee a really big misunderatanding occurs and the rumors just keep getting worse and worse. Some servants are speading false rumors about seeing them kissing or hugging or holding hands.

And Lonnie is pissed alright? He is not happy, because not only is his son having a relationship with a knight?? A peasant? But also a boy?? Despicable. How dare he taint the royal family's name like this. WIll tries and tries again that they are NOT in a relationship and he just keeps telling Lonnie that there is literally no proof to prove that they have, it's just silly dumb rumors.

And while this is happening, the citizens are uphoaring, everyone is doing riots or just gossiping everywhere. "The prince?? Envoved with his own knight?? Ohh hoe disgusting" and all that stuff. The rumors are nonstop and everyone is just suspicious and want answers, is it really true??

And while this whole thing is happening, Mike is locked up in a cell somewhere, because you having romantic relations with the prince?? It turns out Lonnie had already ordered Mike to be locked up somewhere without Will knowing.

Hearing the citizens outraged, Lonnie who can't stand the thought of his family name being tainted by this, decides to use Mike as a scapegoat. He says that this whole started because Mike took adavantage of Will and Will was just a victim. And for Mikr's crime of manipulating the prince and taking advantage of him, he will be executated. This send a chill down Will's spine. What the fuck does that mean?? They're just going to do that? He knows his father is a heartless bastard but he didn't think he would stoop rhis low, he really thought..

"No. NO Dad you can't do this please, are you really believing any of this?? He's done nothing wrong!" Will's begging Lonnie on his knees, no he can't let this happen. Mike didn't do anything, he has done NOTHING. It was Will, he was the one that got too comfy, he was the one that insisted Mike called him by his name, it was because of his selfish acts that lead to this. He can't let Mike pay the price.

"Dad, he didn't do anything please,, he's done nothing!! It was me okay!! I was the one who started all of this, if you're gonna punish anyone, it's me" Will desperately trying to reason with Lonnie, but everything is futile. Even if he had to be wrongly punished, it was better than Mike dying.

So like,,, Lonnie says it's final and Will is dragged away by the guards into his room. He sneaks out to meet Mike.

And Mike's in the cell, his usual clothes are replaced with rags. He usually well kept hair is ragged and messy. His feets and wrists are cuffed with shakles that chained to the ground.

Will knocks the guards out and rushes over to Mike.

"Will?? What are you doing here?" Mike rushes forwards, grabbing on to the bars, shakles rattling in the process.

"Mike, you have to get out, i'm gonna get you out okay?? Everything's gonna be alright. I'm gonna fix this-" Will's stopped when Mike softly grabs his cheek.

"Hey, Will,, it's okay."

"WHAT?? ARE YOU INSANE YOU'RE GONNA BE EXECUTED MIKE" Will yells at him, grabbing Mike's hand. His eyes shine with unshed tears.

"I know that, but i can't run." Mike says tiredly.

"Yes, you can. I'll make sure of it. You're getting out of this cell, and i am not letting them touch a single HAIR on you." Will snarls out.

"And what will happen to you huh?? Will, you're the second prince. They're gonna damn you for centuries to come. What do you think Lonnie will do to you once i'm gone?? He's using me as a scapegoat to clear your name Will. It's okay." Mike smiles sadly at him.

"No, what the FUCK are you talking about? It's not okay, they're gonna kill you for smth you didn't even do."

Will's eventually dragged away by the guards while he kicks and curses at them. He's locked inside his room again and the last thing he sees of Mike is his soft smile.

OR

Will's locked up in his room and he has no idea what's happening. So like fast forward he hears that Mike and getting excuted and stuff. He breaks out and in the guards are holding him back. He's yelling at them to stop stop.

And he sees them kill Mike in front of him.

A few years later, Lonnie dies of a mysterious death. The cause was unknown. It was said that he died from a heart attack of some sorts and Will byers was crowned king.

Oh yeah Mike's last words were "Lonnie byers is a piece of shit who deserves to be burned at the stake. And you will regret wrongfully executing me." with a pained grin before meeting his demise.

Oh yeah since i'm also an artist, i can inflict twice the damge on you by DRAWING IT AHAH-

Bonus!!

What they didn't noticed was that Nancy was in the crowd the entire time.

She saw it. She watched as they brought her baby brother up onto the stage, hands tied behind his back. Face battered and bleeding. His eyes are tired and blank like he accepted his fate. She watched as they pushed onto the tree stump.

She listened to them announced his crimes of taking advantage of the prince, of manipulating him. She watched as they wrongfully accused her brother, because she knows he would NEVER do such a thing.

Nancy watched as her brotber gave the audience a bitter smile one last time before the sword was brought down to his neck.

And she will watch as this kingdom burns down to the ground by her hands.

[aringofsalt]

Sound of Music au, anyone?

Steve Harrington, beleaguered single accidental father of seven (maybe adopted/ended up with him after a local tragedy which is why they're all similar ages), desperately looking for someone to help him raise his hellions.

Steve's not fully accustomed yet to being a dad and finds himself resorting to being overly disciplinary and strict, just like his own father. He never had a good role model that way, of course, and the kids are all chafing under his rules. He's chafing under his own rules but can't seem to make it better, either.

Enter Eddie Munson, a down on his luck music teacher who's never been a private tutor before, especially not for so many kids, but who is just desperate enough to take the job when it's offered, because how hard can it be, right?

Spoiler: it's pretty damn hard.

The kids don't trust him, Steve doesn't trust him, he's starting to think that this was a horrendous idea after all. Then Max sneaks into his room one night while he's playing his guitar and they get talking. She likes his metal and he likes her attitude and they become something like friends, and when one of the little beasts starts listening to him, the rest slowly fall in line.

Finally Steve comes home one day and hears laughter coming from the basement, and music, actual music. All the kids getting along and singing along to Eddie who's running through every kid's favourite song. He listens by the door for a while, entranced with his kids actually being kids and realizing that Eddie's the one who's brought them back. They get closer after that, he gets nicer after that, finally clueing in that Eddie's not (just) the weirdo he looks like, he's actually a good guy too.

Enter Nancy, the girl he's been thinking about marrying, and his cousin Robin. They both come for a visit, he and Nancy have been discussing getting married for convenience and for the kids (since he was the one to take in her younger brother when she couldn't). High school sweethearts still clinging to those feelings despite both of them having moved on, but unable to admit it to each other because they're both stubborn as fuck. But Steve is pretty clearly starting to be into Eddie, and Eddie is pretty clearly into him too, at least to Nancy's eye. She and Robin end up getting close, anyway, so she not so subtly pushes Steve in Eddie's direction.

They have a misunderstanding one night, Steve trying to get his feelings out but mostly centering the kids instead and making a big mess of it, so Eddie thinks it's hopeless and disappears overnight.

He's picked up a shift at the music store like he does sometimes, hanging out behind the counter with his guitar out since it's not busy, not really paying attention when the bell above the door rings until he looks up to see seven little faces staring at him across the counter, in various stages of anger, annoyance; one happy face, El's, stands out.

There's questions and accusations and Eddie's a little overwhelmed by how much these kids apparently care. He feels awful about leaving and when they go to leave he's over halfway convinced he'll go back and at least try to get the tutor job back; he can ignore his feelings for Steve if it's for the good of the kids. And then, after the kids leave, El comes back in and quietly tells him that she thinks Steve hopes he comes back, too.

So, he does. Decision made. He heads back to that big old house the very next day, guitar and heart in hand. He knocks and is met with Nancy, who gives him The Eyebrow and says she hopes he's here for good this time.

Eddie hopes so, too.

Immediately he's swarmed by kids, Mike's pretending he's too cool for hugs but even he eventually gives in. And then Eddie looks up and there's Steve, coming down the stairs, the softest look on his face as he watches his kids embrace this random guy who's become so important to them all.

They get away from the kids to talk about it, finally, hanging outside by the pool after bedtime. Eddie tells him I was scared that you didn't want me, that you only wanted the help with the kids and I didn't know if I could handle being around you if that was all, but assures him that if that's the case he'll manage, because he does love the kids too and doesn't want to leave them now.

That's not all, Steve tells him. I'm not so good with words, I didn't want to take advantage of you, you've changed our lives and I didn't think I would be enough to thank you for that, but I hoped.

There's not much talking after that, at least not outside. Inside there are feverish discussions happening about who won the bet on them getting together.

El wins.

[stevesbqt]

Chrissy cunningham rockstar moodboard

According to the new article about chrissy’s interview from the hawkins post it’s stated that in the past she (chrissy) has been known to steal the hearts of many and leave them weak in the knees after a simple blow of kisses their way.

( more on pg.13 through pg. 17 )

[thephantomofthe-internet]

Homeward Bound: Chapter 1

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader, Billy Hargrove x Henderson!Reader

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13

Word Count: 2,015

Warnings: swearing, death mention, general fear and anxiety

Author’s Note: So this, with any luck will a series if y’all like it!!! I’m really happy with what I’ve written thus far. I know this chapter isn’t exactly thrilling, but it’s the preamble to what the story will become. If you like it, send a comment or ask, I really wanna know what you’re feeling on this one, cause if you hate it I won’t continue. Also, might change the title cause it’s shit!  Anyway, enjoy!

Permanent Tag: @hotstuffhargrove @denimjacketkisses @flamehairedwritings @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @steveharringtonofficial @giftofdreams @feverxxdream

Feedback Appreciated!!!

   Leaving Hawkins was the right choice. After your parent’s divorce and the mess that was the disasters in Hawkins’ Labs, your family being heavily involved, you were more than happy to take your government pay out and move as far away as possible. So while Dustin finished off his years at Hawkins High School, you pursued a law degree at Berkeley. Then, you switched to teaching. Then, you dropped out altogether. You wrote your first novel in parts, mostly in a well-worn spiral notebook with chunks coming in from napkin and coffee sleeve scrawling while working in a coffee shop in San Diego, watching struggling actors chase hangovers with caffeine and Valium and sitting through the careless flirting from rogue beat poets and other moustachioed hipsters.

But you were fabulously happy. Sure, every so often, when money was tight and morale was down, you thought about going home. But then you remembered that home meant Hawkins and Hawkins meant reliving the day your best friend Heather was eaten by demo-dogs right before your eyes. You couldn’t bear the thought of repeating that memory over and over again in your head. You couldn’t bear to see if Hawkins had moved on without her.

And besides, you could breathe easy away from your old small town. Nobody knew you, at least not by what happened to you and your family, and those who recognized you kept away. You could easily blend in to the crowds and not stick out as the girl who survived the labs. You felt free and easy, calm for the first time in years.

So, you stayed where you were. You made excuses on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter every year like clockwork. You flew out to Chicago to see your dad once, if only because Dustin was going and you missed him like crazy. He understood, of course. If not for Lucas, Mike, and Max still living in town, he would’ve moved in with dad and Marnie in a heartbeat. He called as often as he could, telling you tales of triumph and woe.

In his last call, he’d spent thirty minutes bragging about how many girls asked him to prom, including the first girl to ever spurn him, Stacy Canfield. He had delighted in rejecting her the same way she did him way back in the eighth grade. But now, on the phone, he didn’t sound so pleased.

“So? Did Marcy say yes or not?” you giggled excitedly, pressing the phone tighter between your shoulder and head as you leaned down to paint your pinkie toenail neon pink, the wet polish shiny on your toes.

“Huh? Oh, yeah she did…” Dustin mumbled on the other end and you swore you could practically hear his feet shuffling awkwardly all the way in California, a leftover from his guilty toddler years.

You sighed, shaking your head slightly, you long mismatched earrings clattering against themselves. “Alright, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing!” Dustin cried.

“Dusty, you spent months talking up this chick, you finally land her and all you can say is ‘oh, yeah’? Something’s bugging you so just tell me.” You insisted, dropping the tiny brush back into the tiny bottle, waving your hands over the wet polish.

He sighed “It’s just…I’m graduating soon and mom’s on my case about inviting you down and I don’t want to make a big deal and I know you hate Hawkins…”

“Stop.” You interrupted, silencing him in an instant. “Do you want me there?”

“Yes.” He gulped, his voice shaky and awkward and small; like a boy trying to hide the voice cracks of puberty.

“Then I’m there.” You replied swiftly, smirking as though you’d won. Truly you had.

“But what-” he started again, causing you to groan loudly.

“Ah! Don’t worry about me! Worry about exams and prom and Marcy! Have mom call me with the date and I’ll book a flight.” You promised.

This made Dustin happy, which was the ultimate goal, but it planted a seed of anxiety in your stomach that could not be soothed. You suffered through calls from your mother, filled with tense excitement and worried questions. You pushed through the fear, you bought the ticket and gave your editor your mother’s phone number. You packed your bags and handed your neighbour, Stella, your spare key and the twenty dollars you’d promised her son Georgie to water your plants.

You got on the plane, manuscript in hand, ready to edit the novel you’d spent nearly three years on, your editor’s initial notes running through your head. The flight was four hours long, then you’d have to drive from Indianapolis to Hawkins, a nearly five hour drive. Your day was set to be long and awful and it made you want to turn back and not coming back, returning to the warmth and comfort of your tiny apartment.

But you pushed through. You owed Dustin that much. You felt like a terrible sister having never come to visit, but you pushed away that feeling. You’d be home in nine hours and you’d have a full two weeks with the younger boy you adored so much. You just had to push through the journey, to hell with it being the true adventure; you knew coming home would be more intense than getting there.

Still, the drive was filled with the same sickly memories of leaving Hawkins for the first time. It had been a day trip with your almost boyfriend, Steve, just into Chicago to find the child killer their only believable source, Jane, had described.

Steve.

You hadn’t even thought about him when you were planning your trip back. He was still in Hawkins, as per his mentions in Dustin’s letters. The two were still thick as thieves, the older brother Dustin never had. Of course, you were still happy that he hung around with your brother, even after your friendship and “relationship” fell apart. You always worried that once you two became friends, he’d leave Dustin in the dust, but he didn’t. You worried that he was just using Dustin to get in your pants and he’d stop when he got what he wanted, but he didn’t. You especially worried that he’d stop hanging out with Dustin when you two fell apart, but he didn’t. Now, with you gone, you hoped their friendship was strong. You hoped that with you there, Steve wouldn’t be put off from coming to see him, from going to his graduation.

You two had not ended well.

Hopefully, that wouldn’t get in the way.

As you drove down the interstate, your mind flashed memories of going the opposite way.

September 1986, a late summer breeze blowing your hair out of your face as you stuck your hand through the wide open window, fingers wiggling in the breeze, a smile on your face so effortless and bright it could rival the sun, R.E.M’s The One I Love blasting through the speakers, Steve’s not-so-secret latest favourite song. He was singing along, off-key of course; Steve wasn’t exactly a fabulous singer, his fingers tapping out the rhythm on the steering wheel. You were laughing at his awful British accent, watching him for a beat longer than usual, mouth open in the aftermath of the laugh, still smiling. The sun was beginning to set, golden hour slowly shifting its soft light over the sky. You’d left late, Steve’s fault, he’d woken up late and spent too long choosing the appropriate road trip snacks.

“It’s an important decision, Y/N.” he insisted inside the grocery store, mulling over bags of chips. “If done incorrectly, this could ruin our entire trip!”

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head. “This is so stupid…” you muttered, stalking off to grab a bag of jerky, which wasn’t on Steve’s list but ultimately saved his snack collection once you were on the road.

It would be night soon, you’d have to eventually stop and rest or switch drivers. You weren’t necessarily comfortable driving at night, but Steve had insisted on driving the first shift, claiming that he wouldn’t know where you were going if he wasn’t in the front seat, with you holding the map. Jane had told you to simply take a Grey Hound bus, like she had, but you weren’t interested in sharing public space for hours, besides you’d still have to drive to the Grey Hound station, three towns over.

But watching Steve in that moment, you felt it for the first time-love. Or something like it. Him golden in the sunset, wearing a goofy smile as he sang along to the radio, his sunglasses slipping down his nose, freckles poking up from the sunlight. He looked…well stunning. His hair had deflated hours ago, his forehead caked with sweat, a light sunburn on his neck and shoulders, his shirt stained with sweat. By no means was he at his peak, but he looked so at peace behind the wheel. So long had you two been two steps away from danger, death following you everywhere, but now he looked calm and easy. Even though you were headed towards at worst a dangerous killer and at best a dead end, he looked as though you were just taking a normal summer road trip, going to his parent’s beach house for a weekend with some friends. Everything was calm and the roads were beginning to clear out, signs for motels picking up on the road signs and billboards. The danger of Hawkins miles behind you, you almost felt like you were free from it. Almost. But watching Steve, so calm and cool, you felt the anxiety constantly pulling at your heart never lessening its tight pull. You would be okay, as long as you stayed in that car, in that moment, singing along to Whitney Houston and Heart and whatever else came through the station’s playlist.  

That memory, of Steve’s happy, easy expression behind the wheel of his first car, filled your heart with the same lightness it did at the time. You were certain it was just emotional memory, the same way remembering watching your parents fight on Christmas morning made your stomach churn to this day. You couldn’t push away the feeling, which made you a bit nauseous; they stayed persistent in your heart, as did the memory. That was one of the good ones from that time, before everything was going up shit’s creek on a daily basis and fear was as normal of a feeling as complacent boredom. You could count the genuinely happy and peaceful moments of those tense years on two hands.

But you wanted to make new memories, you wanted to not hate that town every time you had to go back, you didn’t want to be filled with dread as you drove past the welcome sign.

You couldn’t remember a time when you really loved Hawkins. Sure, you had some good memories there-mostly with Dustin and Heather, but other memories were smattered with happiness, usually with boyfriends and your other friends. But now those memories were tainted with the blood of those lost and the sheer terror the labs left behind. You moved to Hawkins for your mother as a safe haven, but you left in cloud of dust looking for your own. Coming home felt like you were entering shark invested waters with nothing to hold onto.

Unfortunately, driving past the sign now still filled you with the utmost dread, terror, and nauseous fear that forced you to pull off to the side of the road to throw up; your whole body pale and shaky, a thin layer of sweat and goose bumps covered your skin. You couldn’t do it.

Too bad you had to; you knew that if you didn’t show, they’d only get worried and start making calls, looking for you everywhere. So you pulled your legs back into the car, turned your body back to face the road and turning the engine back on.

Once, it clicked. Then twice. Then three times. The car wouldn’t start.

“Well, fuck…” you muttered, dropping your head onto the wheel.

[souppiemousse]

okei okei, au questions incoming: in your possessed mike au, once he's been completely taken over,,, is mike still in there, trapped inside his mind and forced to watch vecna use his body for bad? or is he in a perpetual nightmare, watching whatever horrors vecna wants him to experience and being unable to escape? or is he lost in the void like max? :O

WOO AU QUESTION!!! Thank you angel!! :DD I will take this opportunity to ramble about it ehhe 🤭🤭 literally giggling and kicking my feet right now andbxb.

Alright, no to the first one. He is stuck in his own head, but he's not able to watch or interact with the outside. Think if it as like Vecna taking over his mind and locking his concious away in a closed door or smth? 💀 The party might be able to get through to him, since he's not completely gone, but they might need to go through Veca first.

Uhh yes to the second one?? Not much of a nightmare, but more of a sort of whitespace.

What I had planned for this was that, after Mike knowingly sacrificed himself for the party, thinking that if he just killed himself, then Vecna wouldn't be able to use him against them. But that didn't work, cause the party saved him just in time. But what that also did was make Vecna able to put him in a coma like state while he takes over his body.

I'm still not sure whether I want Vecna to possess him fully, or just him seperating a part of him to possess Mike, but that's not important right now :p

So where's Mike? He's still there, just under a REALLY surreal and heavy trance that might take lots od psychological torture to break through. Is he expereincing all of his horrors and nightmares that Vecna's subjecting him to?

No, in fact Vecna's gonna kill two birds with one stone and make Mike actively erase his precious/loved memories of the party himself in this trance, cause I WANTED AN AMNESIA PLOT-

That's right. All of this was because I wanted,,, a possessed!Mike au and an amnesia plot,,,. But I might just take that part put, cause it would potentially make the story longer than it has to be hehehe

Soo, after blacking out and stuff. Mike wakes up in a forest, it's dark and eeary and he has never seen it before. He thinks he's dead, but for some reason he somehow lands himself in an abandoned forest.

But what if he's not really dead? What if,, Vecna was possessing him right now? How can he help the party when he's stuck here? He tries to find a way to get back, but he's interuppted by monsters. Turns out this fucked mindscaped and filled with eldritch horror monsters ready to rip his neck open.

Not fun. And while running snd trying to survive this surreal acid dream, he meets a little boy wearing a sculpted wooden mask, hiding his face. The boy tells him that he, is his conciouness or whatever that is, and to get his mind back, he needs to go to his most cherished memories and destroy the monsters corrupting them. But Mike doesn't know that what he's doing is actually destroying his memories themselves :/

Which goes into play with how I wanted Vecna to fuck with his memories and make him incoherant possessing him. Now he's making sure that everything is wiped so it makes it even harder for them to defeat him even if they've gotten Mike out of that trance.

,,,i'm so evil smh

So just we could go the easy route and not prolong the story too much, cause it might get annoying shdbh and have the little kid just distract Mike from getting his mund back, and none of that amnesia stuff.

Near the end, Mike starts to get suspicious of this little kid and he finds out that the kid is actually not helping him, but is sabotaging him trying to help his friends.

And then he finds out that the little kid is his younger self-

That's right!! Younger Mike, a little kid who is tired of being hurt, lied to and neglected just wants to make himself happy, but he, himself is preventing that from happening. And we can have this moment of catharticness where the kid!Mike yells at Mike for ruining everything and "We could've been happy BUT YOU DIDN'T WANT THAT-" type of thing-

Yeah,, that's basically the rest of the story, that I just spilled onto you :P