Will: how come you never called me in Lenora?

Mike: Will, I couldn't possibly!! You know El and I are together! Are you saying I should cheat on her? On my girlfriend?? How could you even think such a-

Mike: Stop doing that.

Will: Stop doing what?

Mike: Saying things that make me wanna kiss the hell out of you.

i think el would team up with hopper to test mike when byler get together. she loves mike, yes, but she loves will. he's her brother. her little brother. and she knows first hand that mike can be kind of a dick sometimes so she wants to make sure he's getting as good as he deserves. and hopper never liked mike to begin with, (not as a person, but as a romantic partner for his children), so he's so on board.

they both give mike crap whenever they can. el constantly asks will if mike is treating him well, that she'll happily move all the furniture in his room slightly to the left with her mind if he's misbehaving. hopper imposes the 3 inches rule, and gives will good-natured grief about picking mike of all people. "seriously, kid! of all the nice boys, you go for wheeler?!"

obviously they quit it after a few months, only after they're sure mike isn't just playing around with their will's feelings. will finds it endearing, to know that he's gained these new family members that care for him so deeply. mike is rolling around on the floor in frustration by the end of it because goddammit he just wants to kiss his boyfriend! to have some goddamn alone time with him!!! why does he live in a house of anti-mike psychopaths!!!!!!!

i am a big fan of the idea that as soon as eddie munson meets will byers he is absolutely going to become will’s biggest fan and fiercest protector

this is canon. I'm one of the duffer brothers actually.

one day in california someone asks el if her and will are twins and she just fucking explodes. she loves the idea. yes, absolutely she and will are twins, what a fantastic concept, thank you. she announces that night at dinner: "me and will are twins now." and instead of trying to explain that's just... not how it works, the byers' are all like: "yeah, okay. cool."

it does, however, confuse the party and hopper when the byers' move back to hawkins. because suddenly el is looping her arm with will's and claiming 'twin telepathy' or that she gets dibs on will with any team based game because 'we are twins, you are not allowed to seperate us.'

(will loves it too. acts like it's always been this way, looking at their friends with fake confusion and asking: what? how did you forget about me having a whole twin sister? gosh, guys, do you really pay attention to us that little? you move away for one year and suddenly people forget such basic info about you... meanwhile el just nods along and tells them off as well.)

Okay sad headcanon, but what if Joyce and Hopper don’t like Steve? Joyce knows him as the guy who said horrible things about her kids and drove her sweet, sensitive Jonathan to violence, which got him arrested. She knew enough popular assholes like Steve in school to know they never change, no matter how he saved Jonathan or how many rides he’s given the kids. And Hopper knows him as a spoiled rich kid whose parties he always had to bust up. Steve wasn’t scared of consequences bc his parents were rarely around to mete them out and no one in authority ever bothered to notice when he was a neglected child and could have used some fucking help, so Hopper didn’t intimidate him and he let Hopper know it, which pissed Hopper off all to hell. Sure Steve’s been around for a lot of the bad stuff, but that was mostly a product of circumstance as far as Joyce and Hopper know, and so in a post season 4 (everyone lives au) they’ve got their own shit to deal with, and all the kids/teenagers are with their families who actually bothered to show up, so they’re not really focused on Steve, and once again, he is left to deal with everything by himself.

Not really going anywhere with this, it’s just every post S4 fic has Joyce and Hopper being just super loving and parentally with Steve, which I adore, don’t get me wrong, but they don’t really interact with him in canon much and they both have canon reasons to dislike, or at least not care that much about him, so I would def love to see some stories where they purposely don’t take on an adoptive parent role with him.

personally i think we should all be ecstatic that will looks like hes going through hell

hmm i think denying will’s jealousy in both st3 and st4 is erasing an important part abt his love for mike and who he is, esp with how it’s different both seasons. because it’s often associated with homophobes trying to act like will was evil for being jealous and a little upset w/ his friends, so it’s dismissed overall but like. okay. ignore them for once. in season three, it’s still a more childish thing—which yea ofc it is. he’s a kid. he wants to cherish that time and his friends. he feels left behind (he IS left behind) but this is also the first time he sees mike with someone else, somewhat of the way he was with will. and it isn’t like will was planning on making mike his boyfriend, but he assumed they’d just stay closer than everyone forever. he wants them to love each other but he wasn’t expecting some love declaration, it would just be their thing. and that’s another part of what upsets him—besides him feeling so invisible and stuck in the past, he’s mad because he expected so much. hence him calling himself stupid while looking at that picture. it was almost like it was foolish for him to even feel jealous, for him to want to be noticed again. i wouldn’t necessarily call it selfish because that isn’t will, but it isn’t like it is in season four. it’s not as resigned. and it comes from a place of sadness and anger and so much fucking hope that it’s embarrassing for him. but then in season four, he really only gets annoyed that day at rink o mania, specifically that talk with el while mike gets his socks. this is also right after that wack airport hug, so he’s upset with both mike AND el. and guess what? the jealousy is more of an i’m disappointed and i’m upset and i can’t believe this is what’s happening when it was supposed to be good. like how it was in the summer. and then other times when he seems to be jealous (mike walking up to give el her eggos), it’s quiet, it’s less obvious, it’s more yearning. even when el’s brought up in a lot of conversations, he doesn’t get mad. if it was st3, he would’ve rolled his eyes, he wouldn’t have wanted to engage in the conversation. he’s tired and he’s trying to grow up. and then again right before the byers brother™️ talk, he’s looking over at mike and el and again, it’s that quietness, that sadness, that loneliness. literal hours after he lies about the painting and resigns himself to a life of this silence, this secret. he’s exhausted and just doesn’t expect things to ever be the same. it’s still jealousy, nonetheless. the script confirms it, yes, but it’s not even that hard to realize. people just do it wrong. and jealousy isn’t always bitter or angry, will rarely is. it stems from this love he’s had since he can remember and this pathetic-ness he’s felt many times, but never because of mike. until things change (ahem. one summer can change everything or whatever it was) and mike was the one aspect of his life he didn’t expect to change!!! the contrast between his st3 jealousy and st4 jealousy is so insane and tragic but beautiful because you know he loves mike so much but he doesn’t want to fight for him or with him.

"My favorite stranger things season is s2" and "my favorite harry potter movie is the 3rd one" have the exact same vibes. I know what you are.

Mike in season 1: you're ALL my best friends there is no difference in my platonic feelings for you all... Dustin, Lucas and Will too!

Mike in season 4: well, actually, the others are great... yeah... but Hawkins is not the same without you specifically, Will

WHAT CHANGED MICHAEL WHAT CHANGEDDDD answer quickly!!!

to me the biggest byler proof is that it's statistically impossible for finn wolfhard to play a character that isn't in love with his best friend

To me it’s the fact that Steve assumed Robin had a license but still woke up 3 hours before his work shift to drive her to school everyday.

That is not a plot hole everybody, that is just the kind of person Steve Harrington is.

Thought Bubble

*Disclaimer: This is anti-St*ncy. I am in no way bashing St*ncy shippers (I will respect you regardless of what you ship provided you don’t go out of your way to be disrespectful), but proceed at your own risk.*

So I was kind of mulling over this whole St*ncy thing…we know that the life Steve wants—6 kids, Winnebago, sort of “white-picket-fence”—is not the type of life that Nancy feels would suit her. It’s giving Nuclear Family vibes, and Nancy, having seen the impact of trying to live that life in her parents’ misery, knows that this life would not be best for her (btw this is not me bashing Steve for wanting that life. Steve is obviously a much better person than Ted Wheeler and if Steve likes the Nuclear Family thing and it will make him happy then he should go for it).

But I feel like if I’m going to talk about St*ncy’s incompatibility as a whole, I need to talk about how Nancy isn’t the right person for Steve romantically just as Steve isn’t the right person for Nancy romantically. And to examine that, we need to go back to when they were actually dating—in S2. One scene that stands out to me in particular is the scene in Nancy’s car where she and Steve are going over Steve’s college essay. It’s clear that Nancy doesn’t think it’s very good (don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying she’s actively being an asshole about it or trying to be mean), and Steve sees this, so he gets really down on himself and starts acting exasperated (probably to evade and deflect his feelings of negative self-worth).

Now, Steve’s behavior in this scene could be shrugged off just a kid insecure about their essay, which would make sense, but the way he is portrayed as feeling inferior to Nancy when it comes to academic strength is something important to note. I find that to be a really interesting writing choice.

Because…Steve has been shown to have great platonic relationships with people who are academically stronger than him. Hell, his two main relationships are with Dustin and Robin. Dustin, who is a proud, self-proclaimed nerd and Robin, who is multilingual and casually cracks Russian codes. With Dustin and Robin, Steve never feels lesser-than. When Robin affectionately calls him a dingus, Steve rolls his eyes good-naturedly and comes back with a witty retort. When Dustin uses Sherlock Holmes quotes to tease Steve about being oblivious, Steve shrugs it off and the moment is used as comedic relief.

What’s more, Steve is shown to value his own strengths and qualities when he’s with Dustin and Robin. Because he knows that when they tease him about being a “dingus,” they aren’t actually intending to call him stupid (not that Nancy ever intended to insinuate that Steve is stupid, but again I say, it’s all about compatibility). When Steve isn’t focusing on his own insecurities, he finds things about himself that he feels confident in. Steve is the one who cracks the music portion of the Russian code, even when Dustin and Robin casually make fun of him. Steve prides himself on teaching Dustin hair care and how to talk to girls. What I find interesting is really one of the only times Steve verbally praised himself in a genuine manner when he was with Nancy was when they were broken up, and even then he was sort of self-deprecating.

“I may be a shitty boyfriend, but it turns out I’m actually a pretty damn good babysitter.”

He truly does not see himself as smart around Nancy, and although she tries, she can’t understand or really help him feel better about himself.

So no, I don’t think Steve and Nancy will get back together come S5. No hate to St*ncy shippers (you do you, I’m sure you guys are very nice), but I personally don’t want them back together. Steve needs a romantic partner who understands and can relate to him just the way he is, and who makes him feel confident in his own skills and qualities. Nancy needs someone for whom she doesn’t need to put a buffer on her ambition, who will not hold her back when she goes after what she wants. Steve and Nancy are great characters—just not with each other.

And like @there-was-a-hole-here-itsgonenow said in one of my previous thought bubbles about Steve, it would be so impactful for not only El to chose self-love, independence and platonic/familial relationships over romantic ones at the end of the show, but for Steve to also take a step back from romance—especially since he’s been shown to be constantly chasing girls since S1. Like @there-was-a-hole-here-itsgonenow said, having a young man who has been previously known as a “ladies man” of sorts ending up prioritizing platonic relationships over romantic ones would just be so great to see.

Steve Harrington's relationship with love.

All the loving, all the lack of it. All the being loved in the end.

The Harrington's house was big and warm, at first, and their little Steven was welcomed with anticipation and want. The little one had warm food, plenty of toys, frequent visits of family's friends, and bedtime stories that ended with forehead kisses for some good years, all mostly from the hands of his mother. His smile was frequent and it felt like love. And of course, it didn't last — but, God, it was good once.

When Mr. Harrington's job stopped demanding for frequent flights, the house quickly changed. His low and scary voice was new to Steve — that only knew his mommy's melodic tone and her friends high pitched voices —, and it was used to say some new things to him, too. Things that made he think that maybe his hair wasn't so beautiful, or that the bad grades he got sometimes meant he didn't deserve good ones at all.

Once he was old enough to notice bad patterns, his parent's relationship didn't look like love either. It sounded and looked and even smelled wrong. The time Mrs. Harrington spent in the bathroom so she didn't have to talk to her husband, her beautiful confident voice fading and giving place to a shy voice that didn't sound like her at all. The frequent arguing, the way they glared at each other with nothing other than disdain and ressentment, and how they hated each other with such intensity there was no more space to love their son — it was all wrong.

When Steve got into high school, things seemed to change a little. From other eyes he discovered he could be a new person, just a handsome and charming jock who's easy to love. There were hands to hold, mouths to kiss and eyes glued on his back anywhere he went, and it almost felt like love. He called it love — with his hope disguised as certainty and experience.

He was sure it was love, yeah, sure, it must be. So, when Carol Perkins broke up with Tommy H. for the first time, Steve was sure of what do to, what to say. Steve got him into his car and drove him to Lover's Lake to clear his mind, already planning on taking him to parties and finding somebody new — even though he would miss Carol too. But Tommy started talking, confessing things he never thought he would. Steve listened to his best friend talk about how his relationship was flawed — how it lacked something so bitter to say they just acknowledged it without putting into words. His friend went silent, trying to muffle a cry, and so did Steve, thus their pain was shared in a weird bond. Then Tommy — a disheveled and exasperated Tommy — put his put his hands on Steve's shoulders and his mouth oh-so-close to Steve's mouth for a minute, a solid minute the seemed to make the noise of tiny waves of the lake go silent. But Tommy just let Steve go, mumbling a low "love is shitty, man".

Then Steve understood. God, he changed his mind for good. He knew nothing about love.

A lot of other girls happened, and it was not love. Some boys happened, and it was not love, but sure it was new. Nancy happened, and it was almost love. Yeah, but love, raw and bare love, was still far from showing up.

Out of high school and out of his peak as King Steve, he was a little lost — if not completely. He started working, gaining some money, planning a future, thinking about living his life rather than thinking about love.

Patiently, love showed itself. There was Dustin, whose smile was also Steve's smile. He was the one to first make his old persona crumble, "cause popularity was always a dumb and limitating concept anyways". Steve gave Dustin his best advices and haircare routine, and in return, Dustin gave Steve brotherhood, with it's secret handshakes and a spot kept with love at the Henderson's dinner table.

Then there was Robin, and rather than a girlfriend, Steve met his sister, half of his soul. His dawns were placed at the side of his telephone in the kitchen, telling her secrets and hearing her laugh. His closet had drawers and a whole door filled with her baggy clothes, so she'd have them in their sleepover nights — even though she's used to steal Steve's clothes by now.

Then Steve met — the correct way this time, because high school Steve was a jerk — Eddie, and it was easy to love him. At first, sure, there was jealousy. Well, all his friends loved Eddie, and he wanted to know what was all that fuss about. He was met with crooked smiles, beautiful brown eyes and a guy that was so unapologetically himself it was scary. Then, the nerdy jokes and rambles and his always flirtatious tone showed up. And with some more time, you couldn't spot Eddie without his Steve. Eddie threw himself at Steve's heart like there was a spot there with his name written on it the whole time. Maybe it was, who knows.

Steve said he didn't know love, but it was only until he was able to look at his once empty house — that his parents left for him when they left Hawkins for good —, now full of laughter and good memories, and call it a home.

Love came to him as if it was the easiest thing in the world, as if it was bound to happen. Steve figured, love is driving teenagers around even though their high pitched voices give you headaches and they leave your car a mess. Love is listening to their problems when they need you to. Love is finally learning how to make proper meals cause now you have lots of mouths to feed. Love is listening to your best friend talk about the same problems over and over and give her the same advices she gave you over and over, just cause she needed you to say it. Love is driving her everywhere because you're both scared of losing that routine, and love is still driving her everywhere even though she has a license now. Love is having company for crying sessions just like you had when you were laughing. Love is never spending birthdays alone again. Love is having a hand that will caress your back to help you sleep, with it's cold rings that always makes you shiver. Love is looking at his face and thinking about making it work, thinking about a bright, happy future. Love is forgetting what privacy is in the sweetest way possible, cause you have company in the bathroom even when you're pissing at night. Love is giving up the last piece of apple pie even though it's your favorite, because it's your best friend's favorite too. Love is receiving gifts for mothers days, birthdays, christmas, thanksgivings, or just because they felt like giving you something. Love is listening to your brother talk about his interests nonstop even though you don't understand a word of it, just because it makes him smile. Love is the stack of D&D handbooks on your nightstand with their bookmarks near the end.

not that joe keery isn’t a very attractive man but i absolutely love the mythos the fandom has constructed around steve’s beauty like he’s somehow simultaneously the most beautiful creature you’ll ever encounter in your life and just some guy. fic writers become divinely possessed by the muses when describing this guy’s moles. i’ve never felt more secure about my own brown eyes than when i read what people write about steve harrington’s otherworldly beautiful brown eyes. he’s both unobtainable handsome and your boy next door.

no because why is this so funny in my head like😭

Steve's House From Hell

I'm bastardising @mcmansionhell's carefully honed craft to make fun of Steve's house from Stranger Things. If you like making fun of far more ridiculous houses and learning about architecture along the way give them a follow!

The Harrington's house is actually in Atlana. 8253 Carlton Road, Riverdale to be specific. With that in mind, lets get into the epic highs and lows of this property.

FRONT EXTERIOR

Built in 1976 when Steve was the tender age of ten, this grey hunk of bricks boasts 4 beds, 5 baths, 2 acres of land, and of course the heated pool. These photos are a mix of shots from the show and pics taken when the property was last sold in 2009.

FOYER

There isn't physically a chandelier in the Harrington's foyer but spiritually there is.

MAIN ROOM

I think Steve's Plaid RoomTM was a set built separatley from the house? Unless that balcony bit has been renovated since 2009.

POOL ADMIRATION ROOM

Why this room has two giant empty doorframes into the main room I don't know. Otherwise it's kinda cosy!

A KITCHEN

I have no idea where this kitchen is in relation to any of the other rooms.

REAR EXTERIOR

(as someone who has zero garages I may have gotten emotional here)

I hope you enjoyed this foray into all the photos I could find of Steve's dumb rich people house! Worth an estimated $421,700 today, it's nowhere near the fanciest or most ridiculous McMansion out there. Nonetheless I hope this inspires you to include it's more nonsense features in your fics.