thinking abt how billy is the one who gave max the nickname "MadMax" and trying not to lose it tbh

we thought love was something (we weren't meant to find)

﹂ season two of "come home"

as you approach a year since will's disappearance, things seem to be back to how they were. you still have jonathan and the boys, hawkins is boring again, and you and steve harrington aren't really friends. you convince yourself that it's fine, but time can't heal all wounds, and you sure as hell have your fair share of them. when will starts having episodes and your brother hides a literal monster from you, junior year becomes a lot more painful than it already was. (and because you can never win, steve gets dragged into it). (more complicated feelings arise). (as usual).

episode one: MADMAX - what does steve fear more ? you or the plague ? currently it's you, some guy with an awful mullet stares you down in the parking lot (gross), nancy invites you to a party from your nightmares, and you become an official unlicensed therapist for will. yay for junior year !

episode two: trick or treat, freak - you and nancy have a bonding session in the library (kinda hot tbh), billy gives jonathan and steve a common cause to unite on: Protect Y/N, you're a chauffeur to a very sad steve harrington, and dustin uses will's trauma to his advantage.

episode three: the pollywog - you lecture jonathan about daddy issues and then have an intellectual debate about healthy relationships, you play Mr. Love Dr with Steve, nancy and jonathan go on a sick side quest (and actually inform you this time !), meanwhile: you're about to put a leash on your damn brother.

episode four: will the wise - jonathan is gone for one day and suddenly all hell breaks loose, your hesitant friendship with steve is already rocky (thanks billy) but steve is hot when he's angry tbh, you become a couple's counselor to lucas and max (sorry dustin), and you're now officially the world's worst cat owner ever. and babysitter. but what else is new ?

episode five: dig dug - you and dustin bury a body and con your mother into fleeing town, great sibling bonding time ! you play hockey with a monster, dustin gets ghosted by his friends, and now it's your turn to kidnap steve (technically dustin does, but you don't stop him) who later gives you some terrifying realizations.

episode six: the spy - dustin and steve haggle a butcher, you throw some meat at steve and then have a weird conversation about love, you stop dustin from becoming an incel, and then you wrestle some demodogs like any real woman would. side note: steve is hot protecting the kids.

episode seven: the mind flayer - jonathan is back and has a lot of questions and you have even more for him, the gang gets back together and ties will to a chair, you tell the kid a story to distract him from his demons, steve is a confused mess but at least youre with him, and someone makes a surprise appearance (her name rhymes with shell).

episode eight: the gate - you encourage nancy to take your place (everyone is shocked), you and steve are the newest babysitters in town, billy ruins things as always, tunnels are weird when youre concussed, you remind jonathan of an old promise, and when the snowball comes you make your own promise with steve that you know you can keep.

⌑ set between seasons 2 and 3

﹂ episode nine: the fall - surprise ! life still carries on even with minor brain damage from constant concussions :( on the bright side, you and the gang all become homies. meanwhile, steve grapples with the warm fuzzies and parental issues before his worst nightmare happens: you meet robin. the horrors !

⌑ status: FINISHED

⌑ season two title based on this song x

⌑ blurbs set within "come home" can be found here x

⌑ “come home” season masterlist

*note: this is a part of my stranger things rewrite, “come home”, and other seasons can be found linked above :)

I’m probably a little late to the party (heh) but there’s something I’ve noticed concerning color theory and Max, and Max in general

When she is introduced to us as MADMAX, her situation with Billy makes her feel lonely and angry. She’s wearing red clothes (with a white stripe!) and her hair is down (letting her rage roam free).

In here, she’s clearly annoyed. She’s just left Billy’s car, Mr. Clarke made her stand before the class and named her Maxine when she just wanted to melt into the background and get over her first day at an unfamiliar school, still not thrilled about having to move from California.

Still, she’s zipped down, since those people didn’t do anything especially hurtful towards her and maybe she’s a little hopeful about them. 

When she’s mad after an interaction with Billy she’s wearing red:

Darker red! She’s at school where she won’t have to deal with Billy for a while. She’s cooling like lava but there’s still one streak of the anger in the back of her head.

When the boys approach her, her zip-up sweatshirt is unzipped to show some of the color underneath. She’s happy! She will not let her guard down completely but she won’t hiss at them immediately! Still, she’s ready for disappointment and snapping right back to being fully red.

Yellow is not a lighter shade of red, but it’s definitely close on the color wheel. Closer to white, too! She is showing she’s not only mad, there also is softness inside her! It’s still a shade connected to red (anger) but yellow by itself is more of a happiness color. She wants to make friends but is still scared because of the new environment and Billy.

In the car with Billy (the scene where he wants to run over the party), the entire scene is shot in a way that’s barely letting us see her clothes. It’s mostly covered by hair, too, but we can see it’s still at least a little unzipped as there’s a bit of the yellow collar visible.

In the scene, she’s defending Hawkins saying, that it’s not that bad and that she can’t see any cows (yellow). She’s scared of Billy, so she’s trying to cover up her sympathy towards Hawkins and towards the boys (with red and her hair, Billy saw her get out of the car with the sweatshirt zipped up and hair down, now she’s covering her softness with what is familiar to Billy, so that he doesn’t see anything has changed, notice that softness and hurt her. That’s exactly what she does when she says she doesn’t know the boys trying to protect them from getting ran over).

Yellow! Fully yellow :) She’s happy to be shown weird pollywog-like creatures with the rest of the Party!

Right after Will gets possessed, her question as to what “true sight” means gets brushed off by all of the boys. She’s hurt and feels excluded, but her hurt makes her angry again. Next time we see her, she’s all red again.

“Party members only! This is non-negotiable.”

“I thought you guys wanted me in your Party!”

At the arcade! She’s already acclimated to Hawkins, and the arcade is her favorite place. 

Alright, I’m getting tired and my third eye is slowly closing, so I’m going to wrap this up quickly, since I think I presented what the gist of the idea is.

In season 3, yellow, patterns, colors! She is now fully a member of the party! She has friends, she knows the secrets, El is back. This is the happiest she’s been.

Clothes are important in both of the girl’s characters! (El changes from murky colors to vivid patterns when she finds herself and there’s a post about El shedding layers of blue in season 4. I’d link it but can’t find it, I’m sorry!) There being a scene like this, with them fooling around with their clothes is basically the peak of happiness :)

Here Max gets really worried because of Billy. She’s feeling a bit guilty ‘cause that’s her step-brother that’s sowing chaos and hurting her friends. El is straining herself. The situation is looking BAD. Blue!

Beginning of season 4

Blue - she’s grieving and feeling guilty, Black coat - she’s hiding herself in a shell. She’s not particularly hiding her grief but she can close off at any moment.

(Btw Lucas is also wearing a blue shirt with some coats. I’d say he is sad because Max dumped him and doesn’t want to tell him things but the coats have a couple of colors because he’s hiding away his nerdiness in order to be cool :) 

Now, the overcoat is blue with yellow elements - Max is being honest about her grief. She’s targeted by Vecna, the Hawkins gang knows she is SAD. It’s her last day, she can unfurl. The sweatshirt is unzipped and showing red and white underneath, the same colors we’ve seen her wear when we first met her. The girl that slammed the door of Billy’s car. The one that was scared of him. That girl is still inside Max. 

Sometimes, she’s wearing this. Grief covered up with brownish-reddish... Red. She’s going back to her previous self, she is talking to Lucas again and he SEES her... But to get that shade of red you go more towards black on the color wheel. She’s not that vivid, fiery red anymore. There are bits of that girl deep inside her, but she’s too tired to make it her entire self. She’s tired. 

Trumpets and Boots (part 1)

(this story has strong topics in it, you have been warned!)

Robin Buckley x fem!hargrove (reader/Oc)

Warning, Strong topics: homophobia, child abandonment, troubled sibling relationship, child abuse, underage drinking, Homophobic language, strong language

The POV will be in second person but the "reader" will have a name.

I will not tolerate any negativity in the comments regarding sexuality or religion!

Summary: When Amelia Hargrove came out as gay to her family… lets just say some didn’t have to good of a reaction. When they’re finally reunited things become a little complicated.

——————————————————————————————————

California: 1981

You and Billy were getting ready to head out to a party at one of your friend's houses for the night and you crush Samantha Jenkins will be there tonight. You are hoping for a very lucky game of spin the bottle tonight or seven minutes in heaven. You were quickly applying your favorite color of eye shadow to your eye lids for the night. It was glittery. You smiled at yourself in the mirror, you can't wait for this party tonight. You and Billy have been looking forward to it all week.

"You ready Billy!" You shout to him through the bathroom door.

“Yeah give me a minute!”

“Really?!” You complained. “Billy you have hogged the bathroom for the past hour! If you could smell any more like a new car I’d sell you to the lot!”

“Hey! Looking good takes time!” He responded.

“I swear you’re more of a woman then I am sometimes… prissy bitch…” you mumbled.

The door shot open with you and Billy staring at each other. “What’d you say little shit?”

‘Oh no…’ you take off down your hallway to out run Billy. You’re jumping over tables and chairs to avoid him. He is hot on your tail. Until you sprint back into yours and Max’s shared room. She looks you to you with wide eyes. Max and her mom have only lived with you guys for a year now. They both quickly learned the dynamic of the Hargrove real soon.

Max knew your were different. She knew you would stare at the same girls Billy would stare at. She didn’t quiet get it. She thought other girls were weird. She also didn’t get why you and Billy were always so hush hush around your dad. Both you and Billy would always become more quiet when he comes around. She wasn’t completely dumb; she saw the bruises you and Billy suffered from your father. She saw the bond the you and your brother had, she wished so desperately that you would have the same with her. You are opening up to her more. You took her to the skate park so she could practice her tricks and show you. You kept Billy at bay when it came to him being mean to her, and you were probably opening him up to her being big brother to her. You were like a glue to the family, as much as your father dislikes you.

Billy started smacking you with one of your throw pillows cause of what you said to him. You are laughing non stop. Once the beating of the pillow was over you turned to Max.

“You sure you’ll be fine?” You asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She answered straightly.

“You know we’ll stay if you want us to.” You reassured.

“You will…” Billy scoffed. You went an smacked his arm. “Ow…” he said while rubbing it.

“We’ll be down the street Max if you need us, and we’ll be back before Susan and Dad. Alright.” You smiled at her. She smiled back to you.

"See ya Madmax!" You said before bolting out the door and locking it to go to the party down the road in your neighborhood.

"Why are you nice to her?" Billy questioned.

"Um cause she lives with us now and she's just a kid?" You answered with confusion in your voice. You never understood Billy's dislike for Max, but you're trying to fix that.

"Listen I know you don't like Susan or Max, but they're kinda stuck with dad now." You said to Billy, "And we've been stuck with him of the past 4 years since mom left..." Billy looked to you with saddened eyes. When mom left it hit you pretty hard. You really missed her just like he did. But after all the calls you both knew she was never coming back. Billy changed for the worse became for ruff and violent. You ,however, stayed the way you are. A sweet smile on your face, always willing to help someone, and just being you. You were way better than Billy ever could be.

"I got ya baby sis, I'll try." Billy answered.

"Good." You smiled to him. "And what is this baby sister nonsense you act like I'm not only 3 minutes younger then you."

"Oh sorry 3 blissful minutes before your crying ugly face came into the world."

"Oh crying I see, I guess I'll tell everyone how you cried when I gave you your earring that you "toughened through"." You laughed. All Billy did was push you into a grass ditch as you laughed even harder.

"Piece of shit." Billy grinned.

"Get my fucking skirt dirty, and I'll bury you stuff in the backyard again." You threaten.

That's when you both arrived to the party, a quick 10 minute walk. You get into the party, starting off with some beer. You drank for about 30 minutes, dancing with your friends, shouting your heart out to the music, and over all enjoying your time at the party.

Then the moment you have been hating for all night has arrived. Spin the bottle. You were so hyped.

"Hey I'm gonna smoke a cigarette outside with Jackson." Billy said. You nod at him and he was on his way out. You take your seat in the circle of teens. Samantha right across from you. You were so ready. The spinning has begun. Chris had to kiss Jenny. Charolette had to kiss Scott. Andy had to kiss Charlie C. The spinning kept going and going. When ever the guys landed on other guys they all made a big deal out of it. But when a girl landed on another girl they all cheered for it.

'Ugh, horny pigs... can't even last past 5 minutes' you sneered. That was when you saw the bottle turn in your direction, landing on you. You look up and make eye contact with Samantha.

'GOD IS GOOD!' You cheered in your thoughts.

You stood straight on your knees as did Samantha. You both leaned in to each other. Your lips connecting. It was like a flower blooming in the spring, this was way better than any guy you kissed in other spin the bottles. You knew you liked girls more than guys, but this was a whole other level. You swore you could've continued kissing Samantha when...

"What the fuck are you doing!!" An all to familiar voice shouted. Dragging you by the collar of your shirt out the door of the party to the front yard. You are shoved out only to be met with a straight faced Billy. You stand next to him as you face your dad. He was red, he was raging.

"Walk home. NOW!" Your Dad shouted. You saw some classmates laughing cause you both got caught. The difference is if they got caught they get grounded, but we get beaten into the ground. The walk home was silent. You don't think the air has ever been more still. When you both returned home, you were sat down on the couch with your Dad standing before you menacingly staring down at the both of you.

"So you both left your little sister home alone to go act like a bunch of dumbasses at a party!" He shouted.

"We're sorry... dad." You whispered out. You felt a hard smack to your head from him.

"You better be you stupid bitch!" He growled.

"It wasn't her idea, I convinced her to go with me dad." Billy tried to take the blame for you. You heard the smack go across Billy's face. You just stared down at your hands.

"I come home find Maxine by herself." He started. "While you both are at a party getting drunk, smoking, and did god know fucking what else." Neither of you said anything. Your dad grabbed you by your shoulders shaking them up to make you look at him.

"Stop looking down like a pussy!" He shouted into your face. your eyes begin to whelm with hot tears.

"Hey it's not her fault dad!" Billy shouted at him. Wrong move. Billy was dragged to his room. You heard the curses and beating from the living room. You just stared straight ahead as you heard your brother be beaten in the room next. Just for defending you from your Dad's wrath.

You heard slow boot steps come your way. You stiffened, more tears started to form in your eye going down you cheeks, your blood rushing, everything was going way to slow. Your dad now stood next to were you were sitting. You didn't look up to him; you kept your tear filled eyes forward.

"So. You're a faggot?" Your dad questioned. You said nothing. Not wanting to answer. Your father's hand went threw your hair a gripped it tight. You swore he was going to pull it out.

"Are you some faggot!" He yelled into your ear. You were now crying, the dam has been broken. Tears were streaming down your cheeks. No words were coming out if your mouth. It felt like you were choking.

"Kissing some girl! God your mother would hate you!" He kept shouting at you. He dragged you to the door of your bedroom an slammed you into it. Staring down at you.

"You are fucking pathetic, worthless dyke." He growled to you. There was nothing but hatred in his eyes to you. You slowly turn the knob of the door to your room. But you were quickly slapped across the face before he left your alone. You make your way into your room for the night, crying yourself to sleep in your bed.

A week has passed since that Friday night. Your dad kept saying you were spreading a sickness with everything your touched. Billy tried to protect you the best he could, he took every blow for you. And you patched him up every time. Max was forbidden from talking to you and you couldn't do anything about it. But hopefully today things will be a bit more chilled out.

What you didn't know was that Neil sent Susan, Billy, ad Max out to run some "errands" for dinner tonight. When you got back home from your friends house you saw Susan's car gone, only your dad's truck in the driveway. You walk through the front door to your house.

"Amelia!" You flinched at the sudden noise of your dad's voice. You walk over to the kitchen where you found your dad.

"Go pack a bag or two, me and Susan are taking all of you on a small vacation to the city for the next week." He said. "Susan and the rest of them already left."

"Really?" You said quietly.

"Yes." He said firmly. " Go pack your shit and grab some money cause I'm not buying any shit for you." You walked to your bedroom and packed a duffle bag full of clothes. You grabbed the little money you have hidden away in your room. Your dad was already in his truck waiting for you. You put your stuff in the back an put your self up in the front seat.

Neil made his way out of the drive way, the last time you'll ever see that house again.

. . .

"Neil! We're back!" Susan yelled. She looked around an saw no sign of her husband. She went to the garage thinking he moved his car there but saw nothing.

"Billy!" Susan shouted.

"What." Billy answered bluntly.

"Where is your sister?" From the statement Billy rushed to your room to see you not in there and some of your clothes gone.

"No." Billy said. "Nononono, NO!" He was looking all over the house for you. You were no where to be found. You were gone. Just like his mom. His dad has taken you away from him.

All Billy could do was cry in his room. His twin was gone. His baby sister was gone and he doesn't know where. He failed to keep you safe from if dad.

Max watched all of it unfold in front of her.

. . .

You have been in the car for a straight hour now. You were looking out the window at the desert. Nothing for miles. Neil pulled into a motel parking lot.

"We're staying here for the night." He said as he parked the car. You got out of the car with your duffle bag on your side. You made your way to the front desk with your dad were he got the key. You weren't dumb, this was all sketchy.

"Here go put your stuff in the room." Neil said putting the key into your hand. You nodded to him. Making your way to the room opening the door to the empty room. You look around confused. You dropped your bag on the ground, putting the key in your pocket.

Then you heard his truck start up. You walk over confused looking at him.

"Dad! What are you doing?" You questioned. That's when he started to pulled out of his parking space. "DAD!" You start to run after his truck. Like some sick joke he slowed enough for you to pillion the lever of the door.

"Dad! STOP, Please!" You were shouting to him. Panicked tear started to whelm your eyes. He started to speed up. You keeping pace with the truck smacking on the back part.

"I'm sorry! Dad I'm SORRY!" You shouted. "Listen I'll never disobey you again I promise. DAD PLEASE!" You cried as you tripped on the uneven ground below you as your dad drove away. Leaving you in the dirt crying.

"Billy... Billy!" You yelled out to your brother. You just wanted your big brother. You walked back to the motel. Going to the room that you had to stay in now.

Your dad has abandoned you, just like your mom. Tears were going down your cheeks. You sat in the floor of the room for a good ten minutes till a knock on the door scared you. You hopped up hoping by some miracle your brother found you. You open the door to only meet the smoking front desk lady from earlier. Your smiled dropped.

"Hey sweetie." Her gruff voice said. "I saw what just happened and I'm sorry..." You said nothing to her. You just stared at her sniffling. She sighed at the sight of you, "Listen I'm only doing this once cause you remind me of my granddaughter, I'll give you a ride to the bus station and you can get a ticket back home." You nodded at her. You gave her the room key back and grabbed your bag.

Just like she said she drove you to the bus station to get a ticket home. She even gave you a hundred bucks to help with anything else. The front desk lady gave you a gruff but soft goodbye as she left you at the bus station. You walk in with your bag and money to the front desk of the station.

"Hello miss, what can I do for you today?" The desk worker said.

"I need a ticket." You said plainly , no emotion left. The desk worker just stared at you.

"Where to honey?"

"Santa-" You stopped for a minute. You didn't want to go back to Santa Monica, nothing would be left for you there. The message was made pretty clear to you.

"Santa Monica, honey?"

"No." You stated, "What's your furthest ticket?"

"Umm." The worker started typing in their computer for a second. "Our furthest ticket is... Hawkins Indiana."

"I'll take that." You said, giving them the money and taking your ticket to Indiana.

Hawkins Indiana: 1984

It has been three, four by next fall, years since you left everything in California behind. When you arrived to Hawkins you had little money and what you had in your duffle bag with you. You are now 17 turning 18 next March. You think about Billy everyday. But with what that has happened you can't dwell on things. You live with a woman named Joey Byers and her two sons.

When you arrived in Hawkins at 14 Joyce Byers found you walking the dirt road trying to find someplace dry to find to sleep for the night. Joyce took you in an let you stay the night with her. After that night you found yourself living with her for two years. When everything happened with Will accrued you were there for her and Johnathan when they needed.

You helped look for Will in search parties. You helped the boys hide Eleven in Mikes basement. You helped Steve, Johnathan, and Nancy take down a demagorgan. You're gonna be honest, you've probably faced death more times with Neil then any interdimensional creature.After everything that happened last year you started to pick up more around the house. You didn't want to burden Joyce since she took you in. You work at the music shop in town. You put 50% of your paychecks to rent or bills at the Byers home.

Joyce has tried many times to talk to your about your family back in California, hell even brought Hopper out to try a crack ya. You never budge. Hopper has concluded that, "You've been through something and now they're dead to you." The only response you gave was "Not all of them..." Nothing else after that. You have a new life here and you're not going to have it ruined by your past. It wasn't a secret that you were gay. It was very well known fact in town that you were into women. Yeah some kids yelled slurs to you but none of it effected you. You were actually able to meet another lesbian in town, well a closeted one. Her name was Robin Buckley, you met her in your art class when you were a sophomore and she was a freshmen. You both got along pretty well. She was actually really pretty you thought but since you never actually dated a girl you were nervous in telling her your feelings.

The date was October 28, 1984 Halloween was this Friday. You were gonna take Will and the boys trick or treating.

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I hope you enjoy this, this was an idea I’ve had for a while.

If you want to be tagged in future parts comment below pls.

It's kind of funny how Max had a whole ass episode named after her with 'madmax' despite her not being an important character in season 2 at all. She doesn't even have a single spoken line in the first episode

I don't think she really adds anything to the main plot in this season. Like, her entire storyline is her overcoming billy (which good for her) and she just happens to also be physically there for the supernatural shit going down lol

I feel the need to say this at least somewhere because it's unbelievable.

My mom KNOWS one of my top celebrity crushes is Finn Wolfhard, she's really bad with keeping names so she just knows him as "the guy with curly hair and cheekbones" 💀

However I was talking to her today about Mike and Will, trying to explain to her some Byler concepts (she really liked the fact that the alternative name is Miwi, she said it sounds like a kitty)

And suddenly she blanks. I can see her literally blue screening irl. And she says "Wait, the guy you like is Mike?"

And I'm speechless. My mom, who has seen the whole series with me, WHO HAS SEEN ME FANGIRL OVER FINN EVERY TIME I SEE HIM ON A SCREEN, DIDN'T REALISE THE FACT THAT FINN WOLFHARD IS, IN FACT, THE ACTOR THAT PLAYS MIKE WHEELER.

And I'm just shocked. She says she never truly realised because the characterization is so good, which to be fair it is, they are really completely different entities but still. 4 seasons. It took us a whole month to see the series. And she didn't register that fact.

To be fair, she also said "Mike Wheeler! His sister is Nancy because she's Nancy Wheeler!" And I'm like "yes mom, the two characters with the same last name that live in the same house, are indeed siblings"

And then she forgets who's Jonathan's brother, she starts rumbling "Willy, Billy, Milly, Bill, Will" until I stop her at Will and remind her that Billy is Max's asshole brother who she hated. She mainly remembers Will as "The gay one with the bowlcut ", Dustin as "the nerd without the teeth", Lucas as "The black kid" 💀 and Mike as "the other gay one"

She remembers Eleven and Max, who she always refers to as MadMax, and she doesn't remember Steve unless I go "Steeeeve~ We like Steve~" like Murray, and Eddie is "the one with long hair and music you like/the Hellfire one" and Robin is of course "Steve's lesbian friend"

Joyce is just "Winona Ryder" and Hopper first is "Hooper" then "Cooper" then "Copper" and THEN Hopper. She somehow remembers Murray.

She remembers Karen because of the whole being a Karen meme, and Ted as "I hope you're enjoying your chicken, Ted". Probably not associating they are Mike and Nancy's parents lol

I just think it's really funny how my 56 year old mom has her own way of remembering characters 🤣🤣

🅃🅆🄾 🅆🄾🅁🄻🄳🅂 🄲🄾🄻🄻🄸🄳🄴🄳

It's 1992 in San Francisco, CA., and Billy and Steve, they're out there on the coast livin' the dream.

Billy's working construction in the daytime and taking evening classes at the university—studying for his degree in English Literature—and it's a lot, yeah, but honestly? He's never been happier. He wants to become a Professor of the Arts, eventually.

Steve is undergoing vocational training to become a certified youth worker, to maybe one day work with kids who've suffered trauma. He's also working part-time with twenty-five little nuggets in a kindergarten called Kool Kidz and, man, he is absolutely loving every single second of it.

They've a tiny apartment they share, with an even tinier balcony on 25th, off Sloat Blvd, where they huddle together in the evenings under a peachy-pink sunset sky and smoke the five star dope they buy from Eddie, who sometimes comes to stay—as do the rest of the Hawkins crew, when they can. Max, who's at college in Seattle, comes every other weekend. She loves skating the promenade.

They've just become the proud owners of a rust-coloured mongrel pup and called her Maddy, short for Madmax (because Bills really misses his kid sister when she's not around), who their neighbour from the floor below, Mrs Cherrytree, helps out with. They also co-parent a small cactus named Dusty, ha.

They buy old records from this decrepit little store downtown run by a decrepit little guy, and cook together when they can. Billy's teaching Steve to surf in their spare time.

Oh yeah, and they're so, so, so, in love ♥️

.

YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE TRACK THE LYRICS ABOVE ARE TAKEN FROM (NEVER TEAR US APART, BY INXS) ON MY 80s HARRINGROVE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST BY CLICKING HERE: 🍒CHERRY BOMB🍒

Ok so I know I said I was writing harringrove with prominent mommy kink and I am I promise, but while typing I got distracted and wrote a shitpost chatfic i started before I finished the show. It’s like 80% finished so I’ll post a teaser now for fun

Harringrove Family

Mom added Billy Hargrove to the group

Mom: everyone apologize

Ellen Degenerate: sry

MadMax: sorry

Mom’s fav: sorry I called you mean and scary, Billy

Billy Hargrove: you are forgiven

Billy Hargrove: Except max

MadMax: Oh no! Anyway

Billy Hargrove changed his name to “MILF lover”

MILF lover: ily Stevie <33

Mom: ily2

MadMax: barf

MadMax: anyway

MadMax: how is mike both gay and homophobic 

Mom’s fav: He’s still figuring himself out, coming to terms with his feelings

Mom’s fav: and aren’t you being homophobic towards mom and his bf

Mom’s fav: just to be clear, Billy. You are not my dad

MadMax: no im barfing bc its my brother lmao

MILF lover: Ill be ur step dad some day

Mom: don’t be a dick dustin

Mom: and gay marriage? In this economy?

Mom: for the record I get all my political knowledge from rob and the milf lover

MILF lover: we’ll have to speed things up then, pretty boy ;)

MadMax: double barf

Ellen Degenerate: ^

Ellen Degenerate: I’m right tho

Ellen degenerate: as usual

MILF lover: true. We are correct.

Ellen Degenerate: We should start a club

Ellen Degenerate: Democratic Socialists of Hawkins- but with a different name so we don’t get blacklisted asjdhakjsf

MILF lover: can Stevie come? As a class pet >:)

Mom: :(

Mom: you’re just going to laugh at me

MILF lover: ok maybe we were. But I promise if you come we can help you read theory and shit 

Ellen Degenerate: and debunk propaganda

Mom’s fav: my mom can help! She voted for Mondale 

Mom: Claudia Henderson is a based queen

MILF lover: :(

Mom: I said A!

Mom: ofc you are THE based queen

MILF lover: I better be

MILF lover: or else you little brats will be children of divorce

MadMax: lmao remember when n*il got arrested for jan 6

MadMax: Barbie and I keep his mugshot framed in the living room

MILF lover: I bedazzled the frame

Ellen Degenerate: camp

Ellen Degenerate: also back to our club Nance can come

Ellen Degenerate: but NOT Mike (derogatory)

MILF lover: lmao not you inviting the neolib girl boss

Ellen Degenerate: I CAN CHANGE HER, WILLIAM

Mom:… why can’t mike come

MadMax: he loves Andrew tate

MadMax: he cried when he got banned everywhere HA

MILF lover: also he called my earring gay as an insult

Mom’s fav: he’s trying, and Will is making him better

Mom’s fav: Mike’s a good guy, his parents are two bigots so he has some catching up to do

Mom: *a biggot and a sex pest

Mom: completely unrelated, im starting the “I hate K*ren Wheeler” club

MILF lover: 🥺🥺🥺

MILF lover: Steven

Mom: What she did to you is completely unacceptable and predatory

Mom: people would have pitchforks if the genders were swapped

Ellen Degenerate: im so proud of our malewife’s growth @MILF lover

Ellen Degenerate: sorry no filter

Ellen Degenerate: Steve’s right

Ellen Degenerate: im VP of the anti K*ren club

MILF lover: aiusehbiuyasebfiuasehbfiuasbfhiuasfbasiufhbasiufhbasiufs

MILF lover: you guys are amazing

MadMax: ill bite her ankles too Barbara

MILF lover: thx shitbird

Mom’s fav: im sorry I inadvertently brought her up, Billy

Mom’s fav: like im still scared of you and stuff but ik thats deep shit

MILF lover: its ok, kid

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 . . .

dependent max mayfield, as penned by lia. affiliated with hwkinsfm.

(  ELLIE BAMBER  |  CIS WOMAN  |  SHE/HER  |  TWENTY  )  —  it's  just  been  another  long  week  in  boring  -  ass  hawkins.  isn't  that  right,  MAXINE MAYFIELD  ?  shit,  i  guess  they  can't  hear  me  over  RUNNING UP THAT HILL  by  KATE BUSH  playing  through  the  headphones  of  their  walkman.  it  looks  like  they're  gonna  be  late  for  WORK  at  THE HIDEAWAY.  did  you  know  MADMAX  has  been  in  hawkins  for  FOUR YEARS ? yeah,  their  family  and  friends  describe  them  as  BRAVE,  but  i've  seen  them  be  CLOSED OFF  too !  i  would  also  say  they  remind  me  of  headphones blasting music so loud you can't hear your thoughts, wild red hair blowing in the wind, driving too fast on an empty lane, bright lights in the dark night, a skateboard held together by tape,  but  is  that  weird ?  i guess  nothing's  too  weird  for  this  little  town,  huh ? 

name: maxine mayfield

nicknames: max, madmax, zoomer

age: twenty

gender: cis woman

sexuality: bisexual

occupation: waitress/bartender at the hideaway

aligment: chaotic good

family: sam mayfield (father), susan hargrove (mother), neil hargrove (ex-step father), billy hargrove (ex-step brother, deceased). has recently adopted an orange tabby simply named cat

[ ellie bamber | cis female | she/her | twenty-two ] —— it’s just another typical week in hawkins i guess — isn’t that right, maxine mayfield? huh, guess they can’t hear me over running up that hill (a deal with god) by kate bush playing on their walkman, but it looks like they’re headed to work as an arcade attendant. did you know max has been in hawkins for three years? yeah, they’ve been described as a bit brusque, but i suppose them also being resilient outweighs the negative. i’ve also heard people say they remind them of the thrill of beating your high score in a game and rubbing it in kids faces, the splash of puddles along a dirt road that dirty your vans, idolizing feminine comic book heroes and posting them on your bedroom wall, the distressed feeling of someone lingering in the back of your mind and haunting you, the blasting of kate bush through shitty headphones, and making your own rules… however, that could just be this weeks newest rumor.

character inspirations — katniss everdeen (the hunger games trilogy), rey (star wars sequel trilogy), ellie williams (the last of us), maeve wiley (sex education), kate beckett (castle), veronica mars (veronica mars), juno macguff (juno).

full name — maxine mayfield nickname(s) — max, madmax, zoomer, red name meaning — a feminine name of latin origin, meaning “greatest” age — twenty-two date of birth — may 18th, 1964 place of birth — california current location — hawkins, indiana  gender — cis female pronouns — she / her sexual orientation — bisexual religion — agnostic ? she’s prayed before, but not sure to whom occupation — attendant at palace arcade education level — high school residence — forest hills trailer park family — sam mayfield, estranged father. susan hargrove, mother. neil hargrove, ex-step father. billy hargrove, ex-step brother, deceased. finances — poor spoken languages — english faceclaim — ellie bamber

tw: divorce mention, mental / physical abuse mention, alcoholism mention, grief, death mention, self deprivation mention.

a cali girl at heart, maxine mayfield was never going to be the girly girl her mother had hoped for. she enjoyed the non-conventional things someone of her looks and stature should enjoy, and became skilled enough to even be better at them than anyone else. a horror / thriller movie buff, video game legend, and skating fiend — max mayfield had the seemingly perfect life. until she became a child of divorce. 

she was eighteen, and with no plans ahead of her, she had no choice but to follow her mom to the midwest after she married someone new. “we want to get far away from your father”, is what her mom had said. but max liked her dad, and she wasn’t really sure why he didn’t want her to stay with him instead.

it was a house of horrors when susan became a hargrove. she earned a step-brother in the process, billy, who did everything in his power to make max’s life a living hell. his own father was an asshole who treated billy like shit, thus giving billy the power to return it on max. she was just another member of the food chain while her mom just watched. max always hated how susan never said anything.

the skating loner best known as MADMAX. had it not been for the way she was, max truly wasn’t sure if she would’ve made any friends. making girl friends was hard for her, and the only guy friend she had was back home. without letting them know, max was grateful that dustin & lucas were welcoming to her, even if mike wasn’t at first. she was curious, wanting to know more, but obviously something else had happened before her move to hawkins that made her give will their space.

and even though she is as nosey as one can be, max wasn’t gullible. it took her time, and definitely proof, for her to believe anything that lucas told her about the other dimension and ‘el’, the crazy friend they had that could move things with her mind. but after some real proof and nearly killing billy, max was a member of the party.

the summer of ‘85 was the best summer of max’s life, until it wasn’t. her and lucas were on the rise ( even if she dumped him at least an on-going of five times ) and she was finally gaining that sense of normalcy she had in california. billy left her and her friends alone, and she even finally gained a new one in eleven. 

even though max may be considered a typical tomboy to anyone on the outside, she knew she needed the girl time she could have with el. max actually loves to shop, and was blessed that the mall had better clothing options than downtown hawkins could offer. her california sense of fashion was able to make a reappearance and her giddiness for gossiping and slumber parties helped make max feel like she was a sweet teenager again, and that hawkins could actually be home.

things started going downhill that summer the night eleven and her realized billy was flayed. max was already terrified of billy and what he could do, what he showed her he was able to do. she feared for the lives of her friends and the town she just grew to love, but she battles the mind flayer with the rest of the party and watches in horror as billy dies right in front of her. not because she was heartbroken, no — but because she was relieved. 

max turned cold after that summer. riddled with guilt for the way she felt about billy, mixed in with the second new home life she had to endure in a two year span. her ex step-father was an asshole, and eventually left which helped, but then susan turned to other ways of coping.

the alcohol, mixed with the trailer and the constant worry about money forced max’s mind to focus on things other than her friends and her own health. she found someone she could go to for cheap for help. someone to talk to that didn’t obsess over dnd or basketball. the nightmares were first, then the headaches. but max would always brush it off, say everything was fine while she was simply a ghost. until there was a mysterious death.

max felt like she had gone back in time. something new was happening in hawkins and it helped keep her mind off of lucas and the nightmares. that is, until the investigations began pointing her way, and she was back to being cursed again. legitimately, this time. but, she accepts it, because of course it would be her. she deserved it after everything.

the letters she wrote simply served as insurance. max was never good at expressing herself verbally in any vulnerable fashion, but she needed to get the words written down before she regretted never being able to say them in the first place. she nearly died that march evening, and had it not been for nancy, robin, lucas, dustin, and steve, she wouldn’t be where she is today.

and max thinks thats why she will never be able to recover deep down. she was saved and she didn’t deserve it. instead, her original plan to become the bait, the final sacrifice was ruined by vecna’s own plans. max believes that it’s because of her that cindy johnston is dead. two bodies on her conscious. 

now that it has been a year, and after her own trailer was destroyed in the earthquake, max is starting to get her footing back. there’s a new trailer, and while it’s worse than the last one, it’s still better than living in the old mall just steps away from where billy took his last breath. 

max was also able to get a job, one that reminds her of who she was... who she used to be. MADMAX is no longer number one on digdug, but she’s okay with it. all that matters is that she can move on, but that first requires her to forgive herself. 

Billy Hargrove RP

The past year had been a rough one to say the least for Joanna Byers and her family. She thought their only concern was having to deal with the fact that her father left them, and they weren't very well off. She loved her family though, she was close with her mom, older twin brother Jonathan and their little brother Will. Will was taken to another place called the Upside-Down, and they were able to find a way to bring him home.

It finally felt like things were back to normal, well as normal as it could be. She could tell that Will was still being affected by what he went through, and it didn't surprise her. Joyce didn't want him walking or biking anywhere on his own. Joanna had picked up Will after he had spent some time at the arcade with his friends who she was close with too. Will told her about how someone with the name MadMax had beat Dustin's high scores on a couple games, but he also seemed a little freaked out about something but he didn't say anything so she didn't ask.

The next day was Monday, and it was almost Halloween so the air was cool and crisp, but the sun was out. Jonathan and Joann dropped Will off at the middle school, which was close to Hawkins High. Jonathan had pulled into a spot, just as Joann could hear the rumbling of another car. She got out and looked over her shoulder, she could see a blue Camero driving kind of fast through the parking lot. This must be someone new, unless she just hadn't noticed the car before, but it would be difficult not to notice it. The driver of the car pulled into a spot, she was a little taken aback when she saw the driver get out. He had blonde curly hair, denim jacket and jeans. Then she noticed a red-headed girl get out of the passenger seat and skateboarded towards the school.

"Who is that?" she wondered to herself as her eyes went back to the driver as he started walking towards the school. 

Jonathan heard her question and followed her gaze. "Must be the newbies. Billy Hargrove and Maxine Mayfield. Stepsiblings," he clarified to his sister. "What, I heard it from Nancy," he defended himself.

Jonathan was rarely interested in gossip but since Nancy, his girlfriend, was editor of the school paper he still caught most of it before anyone else.

As if the guy heard that they were talking about him, he turned around, a cigarette at the corner of his mouth and scanned the parking lot.

His eyes narrowed as they met Jonathan's but when he noticed Joanna his expression turned into a little smirk instead.

He took another long drag of his cigarette before exhaling, a perfect smoke ring.

"Seriously," Jonathan snorted, clearly not impressed.

You keep your eyes OPEN, Billy Hargrove-!

(Aricka x Billy, Aricka and Max.)

Trigger warning: heavy mentions of blood/gore; mentions of Billy almost dying, allusions to the torture Billy and Aricka went through, Billy talks Aricka through a first aid procedure where she tapes his chest up, mention of a medically induced coma, allusions to the abuse Max and Billy face at the hands of Susan and Neil. If I missed anything let me know and I’ll fix it-!

“Oh no, no you don’t,” Aricka presses her hands over the gaping wounds on Billy’s chest. His blood stained her hands a crimson red. His eyes started to close and she wasn’t gonna let that happen. “Look at me. Eyes on me water boy. I’m right here with you.” She looks away and yells, “MAX-!” Before turning her focus back on Billy. “You don’t get to leave me like this. You keep your eyes open Billy Hargrove. Stay with me. Stay awake. Don’t die on me Billy. Stay with me. Don’t go. Don’t go.”

By this point Max had ran over with Aricka Hopper’s first aid kit, and popped it open, setting in on the ground beside Aricka. “Hold his hand Maxie. I’m gonna try and clean him up,” she instructs. “Hey, Billy; talk me through this, you were the one who had a first aid class.”

Billy weakly grips Max’s hand. “…get the cloth pad in the kit, cover the wound- go two inches past if possible.”‘Aricka does as instructed, and catches her breath as she sees bubbles.

“Billy- I see blood bubbles,” she whispers.

“Tape it,” he says; looking at her. “Three sides- tape it. No air- no build up in there.” She does as he says, running her fingers through his sweaty curls. “Don’t cry- butterfly. Gonna keep my promise.”

She wipes her eyes and laughs. “You better.” She helps him to a sitting position. “I at least remembered that part.” He leans against her, his head on her shoulder. “Ambulance is coming. Just hold on a little longer.”

“… is it really over?” Aricka nods, her torn Scoops uniform hanging off her shoulder. Billy’s was in worse shape- burn holes and ripped sleeves and the shorts were in tatters at this point- but they were alive.

“It’s over Billy. We got out.” Max hears someone call her name and runs to see what’s going on. “I’ve got you. Not leaving your side.”

“Promise?” He looks at her and all Aricka could see was her future- Billy was her everything. Her past, her present, and her future. He would be her first and last everything.

“I promise,” she whispered. Steve walks over then; looking as beat up as Aricka felt. He takes the sight of the two of them in, relief a prominent emotion.

“Ambulances are here, let’s get you out of here,” he says, helping Aricka and Billy to their feet, then Aricka and Steve both support Billy as they walk out of the smoldering mall.

Paramedics immediately ambushed them, but Billy’s tight grip on her hand kept her from being separated from his side. “I’m his girlfriend, please let me go with you? And his sister is here somewhere-MADMAX-!” She yells. The girl runs to them; and with the approval of the paramedics they climb in the ambulance, each grabbing one of Billy’s hands.

Then they take off for the hospital, where the healing process would begin.

~~~~~~

They had to put Billy into a medically induced coma for a few days- his injuries were more serious than expected. Aricka had helped significantly with her first aid attempts, but now Billy would sleep until the doctors decided his body could handle being awake.

Currently, Max and Aricka were holding silent vigil by his bedside. “… can he hear me?” The 14 year old girl asks, her hand shaking where it was holding Billy’s.

“Sure he can. He’s just sleeping Max. He knows you’re here.” Aricka’s words were enough to get the girl talking,

“Billy, I don't even know if you can hear this. If this hadn’t happened, I would've said "that's ridiculous, impossible." But that was before I found out about alternate universes and monsters, so I'm just going to stop assuming that I know anything.” She strengthens her grip on Billy’s hand. “Basically, you saved El’s life. You saved my life. I play that moment back in my head all the time. And I don’t have to imagine myself running to you, pulling you away. Because Aricka and I did. And everything will be okay again. I want to become friends. Good friends, like a real brother and sister. Before moving here I would’ve thought that was stupid. I thought you hated me; I thought I hated you. But we got a second chance- and now maybe we can be true siblings. I’ve always wanted an older brother. I’m glad it’s you.” Tears drip down Max’s face, but she doesn’t bother to wipe them off. “If you can even hear this, and I really hope that you can. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Billy. I’m sorry I didn’t stand up for you sooner. I’m sorry it took me so long to say all this. Love, your dumb little sister, Max.”

Max presses her face into the blanket on Billy’s bed, shoulders heaving with the weight of her emotions. Aricka walks around to her, kneels down and wraps her in her arms. Max willingly goes, curling up as small as possible in Aricka’s lap. “Shh,” Aricka whispered. “It’s okay Maxie. He loves you. He might not say it, but he loves you. And he knows you love him. You guys have had it so rough for so long, but now it’s gonna be better. You two can have each other’s backs when I can’t be there with you, it’ll be fine.” Her hands smooth down that fiery red mane of hair, Max clinging to Aricka like a lifeline. Aricka kisses the top of her head, a sisterly, dare she say maternal love for the girl in her arms as strong as the love she had for Billy filling her. “I’ve got you, sweet girl. We’ve got you, Max. We’re gonna get both of you out of there, we just have to be careful about it.”

The two girls stay until visiting hours were over, then Aricka took Max back to the Munson’s trailer for the night.

Max wouldn’t be going back to the Hargrove trailer until Billy got better.

~~~~~~~~

@astralshipper @rosieshipper @hyperionshipping @yeehawselfshipping @letsgofoletsgo @tsundere-selfship @callsign-revenge

CHAPTER ONE | MADMAX

gif not mine. credit to owner.

WC: 2,031 warnings: mild smut

{ October 29, 1984 }

Halloween decorations fill people’s yards. The night was chilly and the breeze was soft. A bright crescent sits in the sky shining down on the people in Hawkins. Jennifer, who is in her bedroom, searches for her wallet along the way before exiting the house. She says goodbye to her mom, Claudia before stepping out the door. Jennifer closes it behind her before shoving her wallet in her hoodie pocket, looking up and sees Billie who is leaning against her army green 1972 Ford F100. She hits another drag of her cigarette one last time before putting it out, waving at Jennifer. The two females get settled in the truck, sliding their seatbelts on as Billie puts the car in drive and speeds down the road. They soon arrive at Palace Arcade as Billie parks her truck in front of the building. She kills the engine as Jennifer throws her seatbelt off, opening the door and steps out. She closes it behind her then walks towards the entrance with her best friend. The two females walk into the arcade and grab the coins that are needed for the games. 

“So, what do you wanna do first?”

“Can we play Centipede real quick. Last time I was here, there were some kids who wouldn’t let me play. And this time, it’s available.” 

“Jennifer, you gotta be tougher when it comes to little shits who cut in front of you here at Palace Arcade.” 

“I try, Billie. I do. But it never works.” 

“That’s because you’re too soft. I thought Nancy revved you up into being a different person.” 

“I… didn’t let that happen. And, stop with all this and let’s have some fun while we can.”

“It’s not like the worlds gonna end.”

“You never know, Billie. You never know.” 

Once in the game, Jennifer hear the pitter patters of feet approaching as she looks over and  see four boys rushing toward Dragon Lair and and they begin playing. Jennifer watches her brother play, dying in the process as she watches him sigh in annoyance. Dustin curses before kicking the machine as Jennifer and Billie look over at the small group of boys. Jennifer hears the sounds of death as she looks back at the screen and see that she died. Game over Jennifer reads before walking towards Dig Dug where she sees the name MADMAX sitting in the top score of 751,300 right the boys rush up to the game and Dustin pushes his older sister out of the way.

“Hey, imbecile! Watch who you’re pushing.” 

“Sorry, Jennifer. But this is more important.” 

“More important than my safety and wellbeing. Wow. I see how it is.”

Jennifer and Dustin make a face at each other before he looks at the score, reading the numbers before turning and asking his sister who Mad Max is. She shrugs her shoulders when Keith approaches. He peers above her and the small group of boys, munching on a bag of cheetos.

“Who is Mad Max?” 

“Better than you.”

Dustin holds up his middle finger, flipping Keith off. Jennifer pushes his hand down before looking back at Keith. 

“Is it you?” Will asks. 

Keith scoffs. “You know I despise Dig Dug.”

“Then who is it?” Lucas demands. 

“Yeah, spill it, Keith!” Dustin shouts. 

“You want information, I need something in return.” He suggests, looking Jennifer's way as hatred and disgust flows through her body. The boys look her way as she look back at them. 

“No. No way, Keith. You’re not getting a date with me.” 

“Come on, just get him the date.” 

“We’re not prostituting Jennifer!” Mike shouts.

“But it's for a good cause.” Lucas adds.

Dustin cuts in the conversation. “No, don’t go on the date. Know what? He’s gonna spread his nasty-ass rash to your whole family.” 

“Acne isn’t a rash and it isn’t contagious, you prepubescent wastoid.” 

“Oh, I’m a wastoid? She wouldn’t go on a date with you."

The conversation becomes indistinct to Jennifer's ears as she watches Will turn and exit, he stands there for a while in a trance before stepping towards the entrance of Palace Arcade. He walks out there as Jennifer turns to grab Mike’s sleeve, yanking it to get him to look at what she's looking at, seeing Will. He steps out and follows after Will as Jennifer stands in the middle of the arcade, wondering if the boy is okay. She watches them enter again, wondering what happened until she feel a tap on her shoulder. Jennifer turns around and sees Billie standing in front of her. 

“What happened to you? You, like, went away and just stayed.” 

“Sorry, just distracted by something. Let’s get back to the games, OK?”

Billie nods as her and Jennifer both play and spend time together for the rest of the night, having them buy burgers and milkshakes. 

——

The following morning, Jennifer sits in her car checking to make sure she has all her papers so she can turn them in as soon as she walks inside. Grabbing her purse in which she got for Christmas, Jennifer steps out of the vehicle. She shoulders her bag when a car engine revs as the person driving it parks in an empty spot. 

Billy, a tall, long haired male steps out of the vehicle as well as a redhead. She skates away and he walks toward the school. Jennifer met Billy right after he moved to Hawkins, Indiana – bumping into him in the halls of Hawkin high school before falling for him. He fell harder because Jennifer was different then the other girls, and by then, they ended up dating. She couldn't help but stare at him as Jennifer bit her lip, having Nancy and Steve look over at her. She was smitten, even if Jennifer didn’t want to admit it. At least, Jennifer has gotten over Steve Harrington and found someone who makes her happy but loved.

“Damn.” Jennifer says.

“You know you said that out loud, right?” 

“I know.” She smiles. 

“Wait. Are you dating him?” Nancy asks. 

“I’m not revealing that much of my personal life to you, Wheeler.” 

Jennifer grabs her bag and closes the car door, walking past them smiling confidently before straightening towards the double door entrance. She steps toward Billy as he grabs her hand, pulling Jennifer in like a magnet before dragging her toward the janitors closet. She giggles, dropping her bag inside he locks the door behind them. Billy’s lips collide with Jennifer's as he pushes her against the wall in the janitors closet. The fire burns in his eyes as the bell rings suddenly, breaking Jennifer away from Billy, staring and listening. She smiles before he brings her into a kiss as she stays there, gripping his bicep. Straightening their disheveled looks, Jennifer smooths her hair out, looking over at her boyfriend who is doing the same thing. Before leaving, Billy grabs Jennifer, pulling her close as his lips land on hers, staying there. She gropes his bicep as he pushes her against the wall. But they pull away, exiting the closet. Jennifer take off one way as he goes the other. She heads to class. Step in and apologizing to her teacher, Jennifer takes a seat next to Nancy as she looks over in her direction. 

“I don’t want to ask this, but were you in the janitors closet a few minutes ago?” 

“No, why?”  

“Oh, because there was a lot of racket including some breathy moans, and wanted to make sure you weren't’ doing…” 

“Nancy, enough. OK? Like I said, I’m not revealing anything to you.” 

“Okay.” 

——

Outside of class a female student hands out flyers for a party as she hands Jennifer one. She grabs it and looks at it. A party. Fun. It's   Tina’s Halloween bash. Jennifer knew that she were going, following behind Jonathan and Nancy. They talk as Jennifer followed before stopping when Nancy gets to her locker. Steve jumps out and states her, picking her up before setting her down. She stares at them before looking toward Jonathan who is already halfway down the hall. Jennifer takes off too, not wanting to see the commotion. She walks away and toward her locker to grab your next period textbook, closing the metal door. Jennifer catches up to Jonathan as they greet each other. 

“Hey, any plans for Halloween?” 

“No, just staying in and…” 

“Listening to the talking heads? Or, watching movies with your mom and her new boyfriend? Sounds pretty vague to me.” 

“Oh, hush. Anyway, what are your plans?” 

“I’m going to that party. Maybe next time we can crash at your place and watch horror movies, but not this time.” 

“It’s okay.” 

Jennifer steps away and head towards her next class, passing Billy as he stares at her and blows her a kiss as she catches it. 

——

That night, Jennifer walks with Steve and Nancy toward the front door of Barbra Holland's hose. Steve rings the doorbell as they all wait for a few seconds until the door opens, revealing Mrs. Holland. She lets the three of you in as she walks by a heap of photos of Barbra before being seated at the table. 

“I’m so sorry I didn’t get to cook. I was gonna make that baked ziti you guys like so much, but I just forgot about the time, and before you know it, ‘oh, mu God, it’s five o’clock.”

“It’s fine.” 

“Yeah, it's great.” 

“Right, I love KFC..” 

They all exchange various looks before Jennifer and Steve take a bite of their food, turning towards Nancy who begins to speak. 

“So, I noticed a ‘For Sale’ sign out in your yard.Is that the neighbors, or…”

“You wanna tell them?” 

“Go ahead.”

Mrs. Holland looks at Nancy. 

“We hired a man named Murray Bauman. Have either of you heard of him?”

“No,” 

“No, I don’t think so.” 

“Uh-uh,” 

“He was an investigative journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times.” 

“He’s pretty well known,” 

Mr. Holland shows Jennifer, Steve and Nancy Murray’s card as Jennifer looks at it. 

“Anyway, he’s a freelance now, and he agreed to take the case.” 

“Oh, that’s… that’s great.” 

They smile as Steve swallows his food. 

“No, that’s really… That’s great, right?” 

“Yeah, totally.” You agree. 

“What does that mean?” 

“Means he’s gonna do what that lazy son of a bitch Jim Hop– sorry. What the Hawkins police haven't been capable of doing. Means we have a real detective on the case,” 

Jennifer takes a sip of her soda as Nancy does the same. They keep saying how they are gonna have their daughter found as Nancy worries for them, unable to process her emotions as she excuses herself from the table. Steve makes a comment as Barbra’s parents chuckle as Jennifer stood too, going after Nancy. Standing outside of the bathroom door, she lightly knocks. 

“Yeah?” 

“I… I wanted to check on you. You know, see how you’re doing.” 

“I’m… good. Just go back to the meal. I’ll be out in a few minutes.” 

“Nancy, come on. I know you’re upset, let me in.” 

Jennifer hears a sniffle come from Nancy before she opens the bathroom door, letting her as tears fill her eyes. She sits on the side of the tub as Jennifer sits on the closed toilet seat. She kneels in front of her and bring Nancy into her embrace, rubbing soothing circles on the small of her back as she sobs.

“I wish there was something I could’ve done. I don’t… I don’t know, maybe I should have stayed with Barb and took her home. I—” 

“It’s okay, Jennifer. Really. It isn’t your fault.” 

Jennifer and Nancy both stay there for an extra minute or two before rising and checking themselves out in the mirror, walking out of the bathroom and towards the table in the dining room. 

——

When Steve pulls up to Jennifer's house, she thanks him for the ride and say goodbye to him and Nancy before unhooking her seatbelt. Jennifer opens the door and steps out of the vehicle and closes the door behind, walking towards the entrance of her house.

Maxine Mayfield; Muse Info

“Dear Billy, I don't know if you can even hear this. Ever since you've left, everything's been a total disaster. For a while we tried to be happy, normal. I know that's impossible.”

Full Name;  Maxine Mayfield Nickname;  MadMax, Zoomer, Red Face Claim;  Sadie Sink Gender; Female Pronouns; She/Her Marital Status; Single Sexuality; Bisexual Age; 18 Date Of Birth; 1971 Occupation; High School Student Residence; Hawkins Indiana Species;  Human Family; Sam Mayfield (father), Susan Hargrove (mother), Billy Hargrove (stepbrother) Verses; None Biography; Max was originally from California, and had a keen interest in skateboarding from a young age. Following her mother's divorce and remarriage to Neil Hargrove in 1984, Max and her erratic stepbrother Billy moved to Hawkins, Indiana. Max quickly gained a reputation at the Palace Arcade for topping the game leaderboards, her high scores submitted under the player name "MADMAX". Max's high scores captured the attention of arcade regulars Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike, who mistakenly assumed her to be a boy. After Maxine joined the boys' class at Hawkins Middle School, they realized the new girl and the mysterious MADMAX were one and the same. On Halloween, Max crossed paths with the boys while trick-or-treating, and despite being weirded-out by their earlier behavior, had a change of heart, and sought to befriend them. Dustin and Lucas, each secretly pining for her affection, wanted to make Max an official member of "The Party", but Mike pushed back against the idea. When Will started experiencing strange 'episodes', Max took notice, and became even more curious after learning of Will's disappearance the previous year. Though her new friends were initially reluctant to explain what had happened to Will, Lucas eventually divulged the whole history of events involving Will, Eleven, the Demogorgon and the Upside Down. Though skeptical at first, Max's convictions would shift after encountering a pack of faceless humanoid predators alongside Lucas, Dustin and their friend Steve Harrington. Max and her friends soon realized Will was possessed by "The Mind Flayer", a malevolent entity serving as the mind and heart of the Upside Down, whose influence in Hawkins was expanding in the form of gigantic, vine-like tunnels burrowing deep beneath the city. Max grew romantically attached to Lucas, but had an awkward first meeting with Eleven upon her return to Hawkins. After standing up to an erratic and violent Billy after his assault on Steve at the Byers house, Max further proved her worth, stealing Billy's car and transporting the group to the underground tunnels. There, they assisted in the fight against the Mind Flayer by attacking the Upside Down's shared hive mind. After defeating the Mind Flayer, Max attended the Snow Ball with her new group of friends, and after sharing her first kiss with Lucas, would begin a relationship with him. By the summer of 1985, Max had befriended Eleven, while going through cycles of dating Lucas, breaking up with him and getting back together again. However, to Max's discomfort, the Party's attention shifted to Billy after he was noted to be acting unusually. The group would later discover that Billy had become possessed by the Mind Flayer, prompting the Party and their allies to band together to defeat them. While the group battled the Spider Monster with fireworks at Starcourt Mall, Eleven reminded Billy of his humanity; her words prompted Billy to sacrifice his life to save Eleven's, which horrified and traumatized Max. Despite her rocky relationship with Billy, Max was deeply affected by her stepbrother's loss and experienced a profound sense of grief, survivor's guilt, and depression. Three months later, Max, along with the rest of the Party, tearfully said goodbye to the Byers and Eleven, who had been relocated to California by Dr. Owens. Months later, Max still struggled with Billy's loss, suffering from frequent nightmares in which she would relive the moment of his death. She isolated herself from her friends, breaking up for good with Lucas. However, in March 1986, she decided to help her old friends investigate the murder of Chrissy Cunningham, who died across the street from her home. After learning that Chrissy, like her, had been seeing the school counselor, Max and her friends broke into the counselor's office to find clues relating to Chrissy's death. Max realized she was experiencing the same symptoms as Chrissy and began seeing disturbing hallucinations superimposed onto the world around her. Max and her friends came to the conclusion that she had been 'cursed' by a mysterious Upside Down entity dubbed "Vecna", and that she didn't have much time to live. However, Max was able to survive when her friends played her favorite song over her headphones, providing her with an anchor to reality, and giving her the strength to defy Vecna and return to reality. After discovering Vecna's true plan, the group came up with a plan of attack to defeat Vecna, in which Max would act as bait to distract him, while Nancy, Steve and Robin would attack his real body in the Upside Down. At the abandoned Creel House, Max made herself vulnerable to Vecna's influence, turning off her cassette player. She began hallucinating again, but to her surprise, Eleven appeared in her visions, via her power of psychic projection. However, Vecna overpowered Eleven, and began killing Max. Eleven found the strength to overcome Vecna's control, and at the same time, Nancy, Steve, and Robin set Vecna's physical form ablaze with Molotov cocktails. Though Max initially survived Vecna's second murder attempt, she was blinded and her limbs were broken; for a moment, her heart even stopped. Her death triggered the opening of the fourth and final curse gate, wreaking havoc across Hawkins. However, Eleven used her abilities to restart Max's heart. She was brought back to life, but remained comatose, teetering on the boundary between life and death.

Maxine “Max” Mayfield

Look who just woke up- is that ABIGAIL COWEN? No, I must have been mistaken, that’s MAXINE MAYFIELD from STRANGER THINGS. I heard she is 19 and stuck here just like everyone else. Even in the 20’s, they still give off a/an WORN OUT CASSETTE TAPES, SKINNED KNEES AT THE SKATEPARK, BEING FIRST ON THE ARCADE GAME LEADERBOARD impression. They’re known to be quite COURAGEOUS, but have a tendency to be SARCASTIC on their bad days.

“I didn’t realize it was such an honor to go trick-or-treating with you.”

General :

* Full Name : Maxine Mayfield

* Notable Aliases : Max, MadMax, Zoomer, Red

* Pronouns : she/her

* Age : 19  years old

* Birthplace :  California

* Current Residence :  Bondi

* Notable Abilities : skateboarding, arcade games, driving, lock-picking

* Occupation : Student

Personality :

* + Positive Traits : courageous, fierce

* - Negative Traits : sarcastic, untrusting

* Likes : skating, friends, music

* Dislikes : talking about her feelings

* Song to Describe : Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush

* Myers-Briggs : ISTP

* Enneagram : 8w7

Background :

*Past life: Max moved from California to Hawkins, Indiana with her mother, step brother and step father. At first, she stuck to just being alone, but the party wouldn’t give up trying to be her friend. She made friends with Eleven and found out about the weird shit that went on in Hawkins. When Billy passed due to the mindflayer, Max was left distraught. She blamed herself, which caused her to isolate herself from her friends, especially after El moved with the Byers family. Max ended up getting vecna’d and losing her sight, but she was alive thanks to Lucas.

*Life in Sydney/Fake Life: Max’s fake life was very different from her real life. She was raised by two loving parents with a younger sibling. She’d gone partially blind when she was around fourteen years old, so her parents got her a guide dog. She can see in blurs, but can’t make out facial features or what exactly is in front of her.

*Personality: Max is stand-offish. She keeps her guard up around people because she doesn’t want to let them in, always expecting disappointment. Her friends are the only people she can truly let loose and be herself around. She keeps her emotions pushed down, trying to not bother anybody with them.

Wanted Connections :

Friends

Frenemies

Tags for character :

(    I.    )     ISMS.    / NOBODY CALLS ME MAXINE. IT’S MAX. ;  (    II.    )     VIS.     / WELL I CAN BE YOUR ZOOMER.  ; (    III.    )     RPS.    /  I LIKE TALKING TO YOU TOO, STALKER. ;  (    IV.    )     START.    /   FRIENDS DON’T LIE, BOYFRIENDS DO. 

𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐘'𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐗 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 …

my personal max interp canon compliant with a focus on her mental health through the years, and the struggle through the healing process. if it wasn’t for max’s aversion to any kind of doctor, maxine would be diagnosed with depression and anxiety as both affect her in everyday life and her interactions with her friends and family. she pushes others away, and often has mood swings. however, after some recent events, she genuinely does want to get better - she wants to be the sarcastic, loyal friend that the party originally fell in love with. she seeks comfort in skateboarding, video games, music, and her friends.

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂 UNDER CUT …

➸    ✮ her full name is maxine clair mayfield, her birthday is april 18th, and she is 15 years old. she is bisexual. her nicknames include max, madmax, and zoomer. she has a complicated relationship with all the members of her family, found here. ➸    ✮ max experiences frequent anxiety attacks when she’s left alone for way too long. her anxiety attacks look like her struggling to breathe and holding back tears, and she prefers to be held and coaxed back to relaxing again by someone she knows and trusts ➸    ✮ she hates loud noises. anything that sounds like explosions or fireworks make her want to leave the area immediately. ➸    ✮ although she would never tell them, she finds an older brother figure in steve and eddie, as they are everything she wanted in an older brother but never got ➸    ✮ she’s a very decent fighter, and for someone as small as she is, she can be very intimidating and can pack quite the punch. billy was the first person who taught her how to fight, when she was a little bit younger than she is now. it wasn’t anything serious, but it was basic self defense that she utilizes if necessary. ➸    ✮ max looks for every opportunity to sleep over at a friend’s house as opposed to going back home ➸    ✮ her favorite animals are baby ducks :] ➸    ✮ she’s got some rhythm !! one of her dad’s old buddies taught her to keep a steady beat on a drumset, and she’s not bad at dancing either ➸    ✮ she has some basic baking skills, and it’s the one “girly” hobby she has. she finds it relaxing, and it keeps her hands busy. ➸    ✮ max has a desperate need to keep people interested in her. she is constantly second-guessing herself when it comes to the people around her - she’s worried they find her weird or unlikable, and when she’s not in the presence of fellow weirdos, she struggles to find something to talk about ➸    ✮ she sounds a lot harsher than she actually intends to. her words come out naturally blunt, but 7/10 times she’s not even trying to be rude ➸    ✮ her heart is too big for her chest, seriously. she feels HEAVY for other people, and she truly does just want to help, even when it puts her into danger (re: the sauna scene) ➸    ✮ after a few years in her tumultuous family and her insane life, she’s got some first aid skills, and she has a first aid kit in the backpack she’s always carrying around ➸    ✮ she has a pocketknife that billy gifted her for her birthday one year (despite the fact she asked for a gameboy, and she never got it) and unless she’s at school, it’s buried at the bottom of her backpack. ➸    ✮ when she REALLY gets laughing, she starts to snort and topple over. dustin and lucas have only seen it once and are sworn to secrecy if they want to keep their lips attached to their faces. ➸    ✮ max takes special care of her board, and whenever she gets a sticker that she really likes, she’ll slap it onto the bottom of her board. but it has to be a really good sticker. anything stupid goes in the trash (or in her backpack for safekeeping) ➸    ✮ max hates being around people who are drunk, under any circumstance. she actively avoids it if she can. she also hates the smell of cigarette smoke, but is more tolerable of it being around her than alcohol.