i just KNOW will has been someone’s gay crush either in hawkins or lenora

My observations on the VR game re: Byler, including a couple of things I haven’t seen mentioned yet

I just saw part of a game walk through on YouTube (I can’t afford VR), and hoo boy!

1. The Mike that says El is so amazing and Will wouldn’t get it isn’t the real Mike, it’s the Mike that Vecna shows Will to terrorize him: In Chapter 3, Vecna possesses Will. Will resorts to a happy memory (Mike and him in Castle Byers), where Mike gives him a a ViewMaster. Will starts playing it, but Vecna makes every memory awful, full of spiders and particles. He distorts scenes, showing things like everyone ditching Will after calling him weird and other things that blatantly didn’t happen. Then he tells him he’ll show him suffering and shows that scene where Mike talks about El while particles fall down.

2. Will is confirmed to be a human being with wants and needs of his own: During that scene, Vecna goads him to tell Mike how he feels, and that he doesn’t want to meet El at all. At this point Will and El hadn’t met in the real world, and Will didn’t wish harm on her or anything, he just didn’t want her to be there, which is a normal and natural thing to feel about your crush’s hypothetical crush.

3. Vecna’s full of shit: In chapter four, Vecna tries to possess the four boys from the Party, and fails. He tells Dustin he puts double the effort into the friendship than the other three boys do, but Dustin turns him off with the TV remote (is Dustin’s happy memory watching tv?). Then he basically tells Lucas “you’re black and people judge you for it”, but he’s in a memory of a movie date with Max (at a drive-in theatre somehow) watching happy memories of the Party. Lucas does see the monster (so it somewhat hits?), but Max says it can’t do anything and they easily shut Vecna down. He also taunts Mike by telling him he’ll never see the most awesome person he’s ever met (El) and it’s his fault because he didn’t try hard enough, but he’s in the middle of a DnD battle with the boys and doesn’t even pay attention. A couple of dice bring Vecna down no problem.

4. Mike lovingly tends to Will’s nosebleed: Vecna does almost succeed in possessing Will, but he’s with the boys playing DnD, and Mike soon realizes Will’s nose is bleeding. He takes Nancy’s shirt and uses it to clean the blood/attempt to stop the bleeding, and admonishes Lucas and Dustin for not going to get a towel. Notice that in season 1 the boys saw El have nosebleeds and Mike was never as precious about it, unless she passed out of something and then they all helped. Lucas and Dustin are even heard in the background pointing out that nobody dies from a nosebleed. There’s a funny moment when Vecna tells Will he will always be alone right as Mike sweetly asks him if he’s ok while holding his face.

5. Brenner is training Vecna (???) and points out that he’s full of shit: I don’t know if this means anything for the show’s canon, but it’s interesting. Before Vecna tries to possess the boys, Brenner points out that they’re too young and untroubled, and afterwards he makes fun of Vecna for losing against children, again.

6. Will isn’t the weakest link, he’s the link Vecna knows best: Brenner points out to Vecna that the reason he could possess Will easier is because he already knew him (from the Upside Down) and knows the nature of his fear. When Vecna tries to possess Will, he does tell him to help him find out about Lucas’, Dustin’s and Mike’s fears, and actually asks him “what is Mike afraid of?”, indicating that he knows jack shit about them. Which leads us to:

WHERE THE LEDE IS BURIED:

7. LOSING EL ISN’T MIKE’S BIGGEST FEAR. OR SOURCE OF GUILT.

It might be a fear or regret of Mike, but it’s not THE fear.

Turns out Vecna was attacking Lucas, Dustin and Mike based on superficial knowledge, suppositions and stereotypes (Dustin’s the newest of the group, Lucas is black, Mike met El), not an actual, deep knowledge of their minds. Yes, good memories helped them keep Vecna at bay. Yes, those things Vecna told them might bother them. No, those aren’t the things that are at the core of their fear and guilt, or the right angle to drive them to either the dark side or suicide if pushed about them enough.

P.S.: At some point (that I haven’t seen yet, Max tells El that she doesn’t need to be a superhero all the time, that she’s more than fine as Jane, her friend. I think this might be literal, as in, superpowers are not the key to defeating Vecna. This is a psychological thriller disguised as supernatural horror, therefore the weapons to defeat him might be more psychological.

TL; DR: Vecna will be defeated with the power of Cognitive Behavioral TherapyLove and Friendship.

why byler is the only logical way to end stranger things: a personal opinion

long post incoming. i've been thinking about what else can they do other than canon byler or is there any logical way which would please everyone. but i genuinely can't find any logical ending.

first of all, let's see the options i heard from people who doesn't think byler is gonna happen.

not adressing will's love for mike, mike never finding out about it and will's arc simply focusing on supernatural part : well, we all know that's impossible. not after spending a whole season to show us his deep love for mike. also it's confirmed that an emotional arc for him is what is gonna tie up the story.

"his love for mike was for him to explore his sexuality, he's gonna have another boyfriend." : they could easily show it to us without bringing mike into it. the byers moving to california was a perfect chance for it since it's a place better than hawkins when it comes to LGBT, they could easily give him a love interest, include him to their journey to find el just like they included argyle and give him a good character arc in s5, just like robin in s4. well, they didn't.

"mike is gonna reject will" : okay, then what was the reason of making him fall in love with mike? did the writers want to write a horrible story for the only gay child in the group? especially after showing us how miserable he feels about mike and how much he loves him? no.

now let's look deeper at the character arcs. my biggest reason to think byler is the only logical way is: will byers

i don't think i have to mention how much will suffered throughout the show and how he needs the happiest ending. they left season 4 at a point where everything about that love triangle is unresolved and they're obviously going to do something with it.

we all know mike is the one who understands will the most. he always been, since the very beginning. we've been shown that their bond is different and special. in a scenario where mike rejects will, we all know this is gonna be ruined. will is not gonna magically bury his love and go back to being besties with mike. and for mike, it's not possible for him to ignore will's love for him and stay friends as nothing happened. it would ruin their friendship for absolutely nothing.they can't simply take the only one who understands away from him.

will said he wants to spend the rest of his life with mike for two times. even if he doesn't have any hope, he desires it. so why giving him a love that he will never have? in this scenario will's character arc is literally "the gay kid always thought he will never have love just because he is gay, he thinks it's wrong and he is a mistake, well yes, he was right! he will never find the love and just watch the other straight people have it. thanks for watching stranger things." will's arc should be an arc where he is proven wrong, where he understands it's okay to love, where he is loved the way he loves, purely. otherwise his character arc is gonna be useless. where did we leave will in s4? he was thinking there's no chance for mike to love him and he has zero hope-- he ripped off the band aid. if mike rejects him the character arc and all the build up in season 4 becomes useless. he was at zero, and he is still at zero.

like i said giving him an arc where he is loved the way he loves was easy to be done without mike but now it's too late. they made it super clear that will doesn't want to be loved, he wants to be loved by mike. mike hurts him yet he still thinks mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake at all. that's not a simple crush. that's pure love. as a writer of a show you don't spend too much time to sympathize the characters love to the audience -something you never did with your other characters, at least not as much as will- you don't show them pouring their heart to a gift, just to waste it, just to make the character feel the worst they can feel just to make the person they love happy. will loves mike such a way that he prioritizes his happiness over his. this is what is gonna pay off.

the second character whose character arc needs byler: mike wheeler

mike has always been the most complicated character of the show, but most of his actions have no explanation other than him dealing with his own feelings. the show introduced mike as the leader of the party and i think it's okay to say he was one of the main characters in season 1 & 2. what happened after s2? a crazy character downfall. the audience started to dislike him and think he is useless. he didn't have any character development in the past 2 seasons. why? why? why?

because we all just watched him struggling. dealing with something inside of his mind that we don't know.

let's talk about a scenario where byler doesn't happen. this makes all mike's arc about being a love interest since s3. no development, no explanation for his behavior in the past 2 seasons. of course mike is traumatized and never talks to anyone which effects his behavior a lot. but there's still an unanswered question. why is he distancing himself from will specificially? the writers showed us that they understand each other the best, they know each other the best and notice if somethings wrong, so why is he distancing himself from the person who he needs the most as a best friend?

this is where we start to think if the problem is will himself, for mike.

why did we make will fall in love with mike just for mike to distance himself from will for no reason and make will upset? did we want will to suffer for no reason or create an empty storyline?

if mike is not how we think he is, he is going to end the show with an empty character arc who is nothing but a love interest, a side character. if mike ends up how we think he is, he is going to be the best onscreen representation of internalized homophobia. people think he is useless or just an asshole but he will turn out to be a perfectly written character who has his own arc.

people love to say "gay people didn't exist in 80s, byler would be unrealistic." which is completely wrong. gay people DID exist in 80s and they DID find love. did they have peace? they didn't. this is why mike and will are gonna be a real representation. we watched all the real struggles they went through. even if we don't get to see them as a couple, they will know they love each other by the end and that's what matters. and there's nothing unrealistic about it.

𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆

“No, no, no, nonononono,” Eddie chants repeatedly looking around his room.

He tore the place upside down, he looked everywhere.

Where the hell is it?!

Shit shit shit shit shit shit.

If someone finds it, his life is ruined. There is no way he can pass this as a joke, everyone will know.

They’ll know just how pathetic and lame he is. Doing a character sheet of his crush. What the hell was he thinking? Well, he wasn’t really, he was high and bored when he did it. And no one was ever supposed to see it. So really whose fault is it?

Sighing as he runs his hands through his messy hair, that is just an extra type of messy today with how much he has pulled at it. He resigns himself that the paper is not in his room and decides to retrace his steps.

He goes to the Wheeler’s place, knocks on the door loudly and Nancy opens the door,

“Hey Eddie, everything okay?”

He slaps his hair down nervously, God he probably looks insane right now, “Yeah, yeah Nance. I just misplaced something,” he says, kissing her cheek as he lets himself in, “Can I go look for it? It’s a hellfire thing.”

“Yeah, of course. You want any help?” Nancy answers sweetly, opening the basement door for him.

“No, thanks!” he screams, going down the stairs two at a time.

There’s no use. It’s not there. Eddie grabs his hair and pulls, stressed. He’s going to have to ask Wheeler Jr, shit.

Fuck! If Wheeler has it, he’s probably going to end up being extorted to do his bidding for the rest of his life. 

Once more he tries to slap his hair back in place before going back upstairs, trying not to look so freaked out, “Nance, is the bad Wheeler home?”

Nancy chuckles at the nickname, “He’s at Will’s. I’m going there now. Need a ride?”

“I’m in the van, but I’ll meet you there,” he tells her, dropping another peck on her cheek and then bolting out the door.

Jon answers the door at the Byers when he gets there a record five minutes later. They half hug in greeting, and then Eddie just runs upstairs not bothering to explain himself.

And Jon doesn’t even bother asking.

“Hey,” he says when he bursts through the door to Will’s room. Will jumps a little from his position on the bed, nearly dropping his paintbrush. Mike just looks up from where he’s lying on his stomach with a comic book in hand.

Eddie half smiles apologetically at Will for startling him and then says, “So here’s the situation,” and crosses his arms, trying to look imposing. He used to scare the shit out of Mike only a few months ago. He can do it again.

“I lost a very important page from my notebook. It’s a big deal, notes about the final boss and shit. If I don’t get it back, or if you read it, the campaign is ruined and therefore canceled, get it?” he says, completely making things up on the spot.

The boys look horrified and immediately get moving, looking through their things to check they didn't accidentally take it. Mike asks him if he checked the basement while Will calls on the walkie for a D&D emergency. It’s cute how much they care, and for a second Eddie forgets how much shit he’s in, until he hears Dustin’s voice through the walkie.

“I— yeah. I found it.”

‘Shit.’

“Did you read it?” Will asks over the walkie, looking worriedly at him.

“No! No, I didn't!” Dustin says right away.

‘Okay, good.’

“Where is it?” Eddie asks loud enough for Dustin to hear over the radio.

Dustin takes a long time to respond.

“...I gave it to Steve.” 

Mike scoffs, “What, why?”

But Eddie can’t hear any of his excuses, something about not reading it and that Steve can give it to Eddie and about trust and-

“The campaign is canceled,” he yells suddenly and the boys look at him in shock while Dustin starts screaming over the walkie but he pays it no mind. He shakes his head, “I quit Hellfire. I’m done, I’m out. Find another DM,” and then he turns around and just walks out of there.

He runs into Nancy on his way out.

“Everything okay?” She asks worried.

He looks at her and is going to answer but then he hears the kids running down the stairs to catch up with him, can still hear Dustin screaming over the walkie, so he shakes his head and smiles at Nancy.

“It’s silly, don’t worry about it,” he assures her, and then gets in his van and bails out of there before the kids can talk him out of it.

𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝗱

part 1: ❤️

part 2: 🧡  

part 3: 💛  

part 4: 💚    

part 5: 💙   

part 6: 💜

part 7: 💗 

☕🥐💕

Let’s be honest. The reason why Joyce and Jonathan don’t interact with Billy in the series is because they would clock his abuse the second they talked to him and the reason why Hopper has an intense dislike of Billy is because he used to be just like Billy and he hates the reminder of it. I like to think that in another universe, Jonathan befriends Billy before he becomes popular and Joyce realizes what’s going on when Jonathan invites him for dinner. She gives him the first motherly hug he’s gotten since his mom left him and she tells him that she’ll handle it. She then proceeds to ream Hopper out because he promised her that he wouldn’t let any more abusers slip through the cracks when he became Sheriff and he deals with Neil before properly combing Hawkins out for other abusers and getting rid of them.

Billy’s practically adopted by Joyce and he helps them realize that Will is acting weird thus preventing the trap from being set. Imagine Jonathan bringing Billy along with him whenever he went anywhere with Nancy and Billy being hated by Nancy since he took her place as top student in their year which infuriates her endlessly. They tell him all about the Upside Down and he helps the team at the lab with keeping everyone alive. He is extremely surprised to see Max with the other kids and while they fight, it’s only because they care about each other. Billy doesn’t meet Steve Harrington properly until that night and he doesn’t get how everything is connected until Jonathan tells him what happened and he laughs at the image of Steve being beaten in a fight by Jonathan before helping them with a monster called the Demogorgon. He’s a lot more chill with Jonathan’s influence so it’ll be so fun for him to literally whale on the demodogs as a form of anger management. He also doesn’t really dislike the kids since he knows for a fact that they’re Will’s friends so they must be somewhat okay since Will was okay.

Unsurprisingly, Billy and El get along like a house on fire after everything that happened which forces Hopper to change his opinion on Billy rather quickly. With either Billy or Max taking up her time, she doesn’t have time for Mike who the siblings both dislike. Billy and Max convince her that she could do better and much to Hopper’s delight, dumps his ass. Billy’s also a lot more comfortable talking to Joyce about what he went through so when the middle-aged mom brigade starts staring at him for too long, practically objectifying him, he’s willing to tell Joyce who tears into them with fervor. The kids spend equal amounts of time bothering Billy at the pool and begging Steve for free samples which Billy complains about to Jonathan who tells him that he signed up for it so he needs to just deal with it.

The events of season 3 still happen with the mindflayer but weirdly enough, it’s with Tommy and Carol who were heading to the motel to have some fun. They immediately target Steve when coming back and he realizes that the mind flayer has Tommy pretty fast and he gets El to take care of it with Billy’s help in holding Carol back without killing her. Later on, Billy helps Steve with the Russians too and he manages to distract the guards well enough for them to escape untortured so they could get back up in the form of Hopper and El.

Weirdly enough, Steve starts to see Billy in a new light while Jonathan has been slowly falling for his new best friend for a while now. Billy’s had crushes on both boys at different times but he’s pretty sure they’re both straight and into Nancy so he doesn’t bother. Cue The Byer-Hoppers deciding to move to California for a new start and Jonathan inviting Billy to come with them with the promise of bringing Max and Susan too if he wanted. Steve tries to convince him to stay. Billy doesn’t know how to choose between the temptation of freedom and a newfound familiarity.

Descent into the Depths of the Earth (Or at Least Milwaukee)

by disastardly

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington & The Party, Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson Character: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, Joyce Byers, Eleven (Cameo), Max Mayfield (cameo), Erica Sinclair (cameo) Additional Tags: Dungeons & Dragons References, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Road Trips, Conventions, Author is a GM (just not for D&D), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, slow motion bisexual crisis, Gay Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, He Just Doesn't Know It Yet, The Party Goes to GenCon, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson Lives, POV Steve Harrington, Gratuitous Lord of the Rings references, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period Typical Attitudes, Taking liberties with what happened at GenCon 19, Researched as much as I could but sometimes you need to inject a lil drama, Intentionally being lewd to get a rise out of your crush, pre-Byler in the background, gotta squint a bit but girl it's there, oh my god there were only two beds, but six people so you can see the problem, Steve Harrington Washes Eddie Munson's Hair, Steve Harrington Wears Eddie Munson's Clothes, Slice of Life Words: 55,876 Chapters: 7/7

Summary

“Ask Munson to take you, shrimp. He actually likes this stuff.” “He is going,” Dustin replied, like Steve should know this already. “So why do I need to go again?" “Because,” Dustin said slowly, voice lower than before, “my mom doesn’t want us going with just Eddie. She said she’d feel a lot more comfortable if you went too. Mrs. Wheeler and the Sinclairs too.” -- August 14-17, 1986 - the greatest four days in gaming, or so Steve's been told. It's not exactly his speed, but Steve'll be damned if he lets any of the kids miss out because their parents can't see past Eddie's reputation. Four (and a half) days, six hours from home, with four teenage boys and one Eddie Munson. How hard could it be?

also just w all the chatting abt this today… with Mike being seen by Will as being Will’s knight in shining armor I think it’s worth keeping in mind that mike being cared for/saved by Will sometimes doesn’t make him not a knight. it just means that the knight needs saving sometimes too!! it doesn’t mean that mike’s characterization as the impulsive, somebody who runs into danger, protective knight person is gone, it just means that sometimes that the protective impulsive knight guy needs saving too!!

like I really think that there Needs to be a byler role swap in s5 in order to resolve their arcs because typically, Will is the one providing more emotional support/protection whereas Mike is usually the one providing more physical support/protection. We DO still see Mike supporting Will emotionally etc but it’s fallen by the wayside in s5, and so especially when Will has his little women ‘doesn’t believe that Mike loves him,’ moment, I think that Mike needs to be the one to reassure Will emotionally versus when Mike inevitably gets in over his head with physical danger in s5 (especially with all the signs that he’s going to die and be revived), I think that Will needs to be the one to save him physically, likely by using his powers/using his powers to revive Mike.

especially since Mike a.) has always been the one providing more physical caretaking/support for El but almost no emotional support and so Mike continuing to do this is unsustainable and b.) mike is at a point where his habit of putting himself in danger and his reckless is going to get him killed and is unsustainable and is rooted in his low self-view of himself and how he feels like he has to try and save/help/protect everyone. look at the quarry. it’s not sustainable for mike’s physical and mental well-being for mike to continue to be the one who Always Saves Will/Other People Physically. he needs to be saved sometimes!! just like how it’s not sustainable for Will to continue to be the one who Always Saves Mike Emotionally!! look at the van scene and how much that crushed will!! look at him sacrificing his own emotional happiness to try and help mike’s emotional happiness by trying to patch up mike and el’s relaitonship!! It’s not sustainable!! They need to help eachother and rely on eachother, and this doesn’t need and SHOULDNT change their characterization and who they are!! Mike being saved doesn’t stop him from being a headstrong protector- it just means that the headstrong protector needs saving sometimes too!! Will being the one to save Mike doesn’t mean that he’s suddenly permanently taking on Mike’s role of being the protector and completely changing his characterization and personality- it just means that Will, still being WHO he is, is capable of saving Mike physically in his own ways (esp with powers). Like!! Will IS often a damsel in distress!! But my whole point is that it would be nice to see the damsel do some saving AND see the knight get saved!! Even WILL is beginning to realize the unsustainability of mike saving everyone all the time- we see Will noticing that Mike isn’t eating, we see Will taking note when Nancy mentions the state of Mike’s bedroom, and I think that Will is very likely going to find out in s5 about what happened with Dustin and Mike at the quarry and that’s sort of going to be Will’s moment of realization about “hey, mike can’t always be the one to save people it’s going to get him killed,” and I think that Mike is going to have the same realization about Will emotionally when he finds out about Will having a vecna vision and what Will saw during it (things like Why Will was so miserable at rink o mania and things like Will destroying castle byers etc) or about Will sacrificing his own feelings with the painting and “hey, Will can’t always be the one saving people emotionally it’s going to kill him.” esp since that sort of emotional burden is the exact sort of thing that Henry feeds off of. and yes I also think that people (the audience mostly) are going to realize how much Mike has been struggling emotionally when it comes to his sexuality etc AND how much Will is going to be struggling physically when it comes to his connection with Henry, so I ALSO a think that the original dynamic of “Will supports mike emotionally” and “mike supports will physically” is going to be there just w some extra role reversal thrown in to further emphasize how they support Eachother!!

like the diff between what the audience is aware of regarding Will and mike vs what will and mike are aware of regarding eachother is very interesting to me. the audience is aware of mike’s physical struggle w putting himself in danger (see: the quarry) in ways that will is Not aware of. WILL is aware of parts of mike’s struggle emotionally that the audience does NOT seem to be fully aware of (the subtle ways that Will looks at mike not eating/notes Nancy talking about the state of Mike’s room, picks up on Mike’s insecurities before they’re shown to the audience like they’re often shown to the audience Via an interaction with Will bc he’s the one who notices). Mike is aware of Will’s physical struggle in ways that the audience often is not (ie scenes of Will needing help in that regard are often shown to the audience thru the lens of mike protecting will) whereas the audience is more aware of Will’s emotional struggle because the audience knows that the painting wasn’t commissioned and the audience saw Will’s distress and convo with joanthan whereas mike did not. so imo the audience is going to be realizing more about mike’s emotional struggle whereas Will is going to realize more abt mike’s physical struggle and the audience is going to be realizing more about Will’s physical struggle/connection with Henry whereas Mike is going to be learning more about Will’s emotional struggle.

Nobody:

Me: how I would make Melven work in the context of the show without causing Will to be heartbroken, a hypothesis;

(Disclaimer - I am byler endgame truther and this is just to show that melvin most likely has been written to not work lol)

Season 1 - Will has a crush on Mike at the start, but Will goes missing and Mike meets (and subsequently hyperfixates on) El, cause autism and he’s-just-like-me-fr-disorder, where he gets his ‘hero worship’ out of the way and gets over it pretty quickly when he sees how El being a superhero literally resulted in her ‘death’. But he’s got Will back, and he’s happy about that. Mike was obsessed with being the first to get a girlfriend out of his friend group because he’s the most insecure about that (semi canon), that he tried to project that on to El but she was just super confused. “Will you be like my brother?”

Season 2 - before Will’s crush/feelings for Mike have a chance to get stronger/more like love (which I believe they start to do in season 2, when mike refuses to leave his side and seems to reciprocate), they need to not go through Will’s possession side by side. In this version, El flees Hopper’s cabin earlier on (so she can still have her s2 independence arc), to meet her sister (same circumstances as before, she argues with hopper, finds the box of information about the lab, meets her mom, goes to the city etc). Instead of a vision of Mike making her go home, it’s a vision of Will being possessed by the mind flayer. It’s already been shown by this point that they have some kind of connection in season 1, so she’s immediately concerned and needs to go back to help. So, instead of Mike refusing to leave, El is the one banging on the Byers’ door and begging to help Will because she saw a shadow monster attack him. So season 2 is where things really change, and El doesn’t have time now to obsess over romance movies or Mike, she’s got Will to look after. This is where the WillEl bond begins. At the dance, Will and el dance together platonically, and Mike sits alone, still girlfriendless and now all his friends seem to have beaten him in that department, which leads to…

Season 3 - Dustin has a girlfriend. Max and Lucas are still together, and Will and el are the terrible two, almost like inseparable twins, whispering to each other and playing pranks with El’s powers, and it pisses Mike off. Who does she think she is?! Stealing his bff and now she’s corrupting him? So Mike directs his annoyance at El, and it’s actually mike that ends up begging everyone to play dnd because everything is changing and he hates change cause autism and it’s all El and Max’s fault, he hates them so much! One day it’s raining and he confronts el about it, the classic ‘pick on the girl you have a crush on in the playground’ kinda stuff. After that, she ends up going off with Will and Max to figure out all that stuff with Billy and that ends up playing out pretty much the same way (plus Will). When they are all together in the hospital, Will and El are sat together sharing M&Ms. El is understandably annoyed at Mike, but he has since had some time to calm down and goes over to her to apologise. Will is reluctant to leave them alone, mostly as El had confided in Will (who, during their heart to heart, had admitted that he likes boys) about how Mike had really upset her (they had been good friends when they met and he had really helped her, so she is upset that he is mad at her for apparently no reason), but El signals to him that it’s ok. Mike apologises, she shares her M&Ms with him, and they seem to both show signs that they have a genuine crush on each other. During the Mall stuff, when they’re sitting together in the shopping aisle, Mike fumbles through a confession. El, who now understands attraction and romance a bit better through spending time with max and will, admits she feels the same and they share a small and quick kiss, like max and Lucas’ first kiss; shy and sweet. Then it all goes to shit with the mindflayer etc, and now we see Will and el moving away to Lenora. Mike shows his vulnerability about still being a bit childish about Christmas, but El reassures him he doesn’t need to grow up so fast. So they end on a cute note instead of the weird, awkward one they have in the actual show. Now this brings us to…

Season 4 - El and Will are even more insufferable, it’s revealed that between the mall ‘fire’ and now, that El had been to the library to ask for “books about gay”, to understand and support Will. Will has a love interest in California, who (Steve style) is on his way over to visit Will when he gets caught up in the crossfire, and gets dragged in to the pizza van. It’s so awkward, and Mike is like who tf are you the whole time 😂 but it plays out mostly the same way (except the earlier byler heart to hearts are more platonic, and not as necessary cause they wrote letters to each other and called often enough). This new guy and argyle bond over being dragged in to this unknowingly, and getting high. He gets jealous of Mike but Will reassures him. Then it doesn’t really affect the plot much, he’s just there. He chips in here and there with useful information. For mikes monologue, it’s more genuine and heartfelt - it’s still stressful cause it’s life or death, but he looks a lot less like he’s in actual physical pain lmao, and it focuses a lot less on ‘I love you the first time I saw you’ and more on ‘over time I got to know the girl behind the powers and realised how amazing you really are’ … and no mentions of her being a superhero lol. He also doesn’t need to lean too heavily on the I love you part, cause he’s already told her, he’s just reminding her how awesome she is as a person and how he knows she can do this. Then on the hill at the end Mike and El are stood together (they never fought because he doesn’t hesitate to tell her he loves her or write it), Will and love interest are together, etc etc. also Johnathan still gives Will the ‘I’m here for you’ talk, in episode 1 when he notices there’s something more than friendship between Will and love interest

Maybe love interest is a number or something to make him more relevant to the plot, idk.

I thought about all of this when I was reading a post about m1dleven fanfiction post season 4, and how it doesn’t really work in a satisfying way and I thought… hmm… how would melvin actually work? And then this is what I came up with. Basically what it reveals is that the show is way too deep in melvin bones, that it can’t really be pulled off in a satisfying way. You’d have to go back all the way to season 1/2 to fix it 😂

wait now I need to know who else you think had a crush on Steve besides Mike

alright I personally believe that Steve is a-spec and only actually had romantic feelings for 3 people in canon (Nancy, Jonathan, Robin -> I don't think he knew Eddie for long enough tbh, maybe he had a bit of a squish on him).

He also knows he is pretty and charming and is not oblivious (like many seem to portray him for some reason?! getting people is like his thing) to how many ppl are actually into him (though he's sometimes not aware of the full extent of his pretty privilege)

that being said, here is an incomplete list of ppl who are/were into Steve:

Tommy Hagan (I do believe that they made out a lot. but like, in a totally straight way of course)

Tammy Thompson (and basically everyone who was with him at some point, he is an attentive boyfriend regardless of his actual feelings)

Nancy Wheeler (duh)

Jonathan Byers (he is actually a good guy now?! fuuuuuuck)

Billy Hargrove (definitely a factor on why he even started playing basketball in the first place)

Mike Wheeler (kinda like russian Yuri has a crush on japanese Yuuri in yoi)

Will Byers (see above)

Max Mayfield (very superficial crush, they become more like siblings when she gets to know him better. it's the chest hair man)

Lucas Sinclair (kinda the jock version of how Mike is into Eddie in S4)

Eddie Munson

(the underlined stuff are links btw <3 never skip a chance to self promote)

as someone who does like keeping their sexuality unlabeled i have a lot of issues with the duffers if they keep will’s sexuality unlabeled.

throughout the entire show they have hinted at will being gay. they’ve hinted that he has a crush on mike. they’ve never shown him being interested in girls.

and now, now that they’ve hinted at it to the point where even straight people who are casual viewers of the show can see that will is definitely not straight, they wanna say “oh well we don’t need to label it” it’s fucking bullshit.

yes, not everyone and everything needs a label. but will is obviously written like a gay man and you’re doing more harm then good by not out right saying he is gay. now people can continue to belittle queer viewers of the show who think will’s gay by saying who it’s not canon, how he’s just straight and didn’t wanna grow up.

thinking about it i’m not shocked that the duffers would do something like this. their one other queer character, robin, someone who they weren’t even planning on making queer original, is obviously supposed to be a lesbian. she rejects steve by telling him about a crush she had on a girl and how she likes girls, trying to get steve to see that she doesn’t like boys at all. but they never have robin say lesbian, they never have steve say lesbian. because of this people are able to say that’s she not actually a lesbian and that it’s fine for them to ship her with man, when it’s not.

once again, yes it is 100% ok not to label yourself, i don’t label myself. but when you’ve made a character that is as queercoded as a gay man as will byers is, you’re not being “progressive” or whatever by not labeling him and leaving his sexuality “up for interpretation” you’re just making it so queer people can once again be called delusional for thinking a character they love and enjoy might also be queer like them.

just got a wonderful idea, and i am going to write it into existence bc i am obsessed :)

Eddie munson, king of the freaks, drug seller extraordinaire, Dungeon master of the gods. there are many titles eddie has, but none matter as much to him then 'corroded coffins lead guitarist' he thrives off of it. he loves his guitar, he loves his band, it's family, hell he's been playing since he was 8. it's his life, so when he went through a particularly nasty case of the flu and corroded coffin could not play together for 3 whole months!! meaning all 4 of them couldn't put gas in their car for fucking ages, eddie decided he needed a stand in protégé, an extra guitarist incase push comes to shove eddie is out of order, he wants his band, his friends to carry on with the best replacement possible, sure jeff could be an option, but jeff appreciates being the one holding eddies sharp intricate riffs and gareth's skillfull drumming and dreams well thought out basslines together with his own guitar and his own himness, so when little wheeler starts dropping hints of wanting to learn eddie jumps at it, he hates teaching but mike has corroded coffin potential.

Mike is ecstatic to learn and eddie begins teaching him, he's a little forgetful but he's getting the hang of it, so when he invites the whole party to see him play with a band of course everyone comes, even max comes, even if it is to ridicule him, the kids communally decide steve's house would be the best concert area, steve of course accepts, giving the band directions to his house like they don't know 'harrington house' biggest party's in hawkins, and he even helps them with moving their equipment into the house. now eddies always had a grudge on king steve, he was cocky and sporty and always had a stupid smile on his face, jockish twat, even after dustin attempted to persuade him that he isn't as basic as eddie makes out eddie cannot get out of his head about the stupidly pretty preppy douche, but seeing how easily steve spoke toward his friends, and helped when no one who cared was around, he even offered them any food or drink, gareth accepted the fancy chocolates happily as he put together his drums, eddie just stubbornly sat there fiddling as he takes in the absolute mansion, glass doors in the back showing his massive pool, can just imagine the former swim team Steve harrington doing laps in his very own pool all toned from his basketball days and- eddie shakes his head as he starts writing about his next campaign in the making, today wasn't about eddie it was about little wheeler, who should be here any minute

mike walks into steve's house like he owns the place, that would be fine if when he saw steve he reacted at all, but instead he spins around and starts talking to the others, steve doesn't look surprised or really affected, the band tho, they look confused, steve's just been amazing to them and mike, the one who wanted to have this preformance at steve's house, is all icy? eddie however links the dots, now that he thinks about it, mikes the only one who doesn't kiss steve's ass about everything, even little byers is infatuated with harrington, him and eddie once got into a conversation about steve (don't ask eddie why) and will talked about how steve had stood up to max's brother billy for lucas and even gotten beaten up for it with no regrets and how he cares for everyone, even him himself, eddie gets a bit weepy about it because eddie can see wills look, it wasn't a look of admiration, that was a little crush blooming in his face, which eddie understood, he had his fair share of crushes on older kids growing up, but he understood the way will folded up and ducked his head, making himself as small as possible. eddie understood, but mike, mike was always had a scowl on his face whenever harrington was mentioned, it's possible it's about his sister but mike doesn't seem protective really, eddie shrugs it off though, what did he care?,

it's not like eddie saw the little bit of sadness in steve's eyes that was quickly dismissed as mike iced out him while he was talking him up saying how great he's gonna be, wasn't like eddie felt how badly he wanted to be praised like that, by those eyes and that stupidly soft voice, king steve is a douche preppy jock.

The show literally presents the reason to why Mike can't tell El he loves her initially is because he's insecure as El is so special whilst he's just some random nerd and he's scared that she won't need him anymore so he feels unworthy of her love. However, Mike realises that's not the case because he's told that El needs him, that El commissioned a painting for him planning every detail in it, that he's the heart of the group especially to El, that El felt lost without him because she's different and when you're different you can feel like a mistake but El feels like she isn't a mistake around him and she feels better for being different when he's around and that gives her the courage to fight on and that if El seemed mean or pushed him away it's because she was just as afraid to lose him like he was.

And that's what contributes to his development in terms of his relationship with El and that's what helps him grandly confess his love for her because he's reminded that he's "the heart" to her.

And the person telling him all of this isn't El. All of this doesn't come out of El's mouth as it should. It's his supposed best friend Will Byers telling him this and what his best friend Will Byers actually means telling Mike all this is that...

"I need you too. I made you this painting just like I used to make you art when we were kids, you're holding a heart shield on the painting because to me you're heart of the group you're everyone's emotional support you've always been the leader kept the party together since the very first day and without you we'd all fall apart especially me because you were always there for me when I was going through the hardest times you stood by me, supported me and believed me when I was possessed by the Mind Flayer. But we grew up and grew apart, I felt lost without you not just because I moved because you stopped reaching out I stopped reaching out and things were different between us because I'm different. I realised I'm not like you or the rest as we grew apart when you all got girlfriends and cared about nothing else. When you're different, you can feel like a mistake and I felt like that having these feelings for you was a mistake. I was supposed to grow up and get a girlfriend like you did but all I wanted to do is stay in your basement forever and play d&d with you to be honest. When I'm around you I feel better for being different and you give me the courage to fight on in every d&d game we've ever played and in real life that's why I didn't surrender not when I was taken nor when I took a risk for the party the night before. If I seemed mean or pushed you away, I was just as afraid to lose you like you said you were back in Lenora in my bedroom and I was so glad to hear that you felt the same way and that this isn't unfixable that we haven't completely grown apart and that the part of you that stayed by my side when we were younger is still in there somewhere."

Everything he said referred to his own feelings, not El's. It's unique to him and AS YOU CAN SEE I LITERALLY BACKED UP ALL HIS WORDS WITH HIS POSSIBLE THOUGHT PROCESSES IN THAT SCENE AND I BET YOU IF I TRIED TO DO THAT IN TERMS OF HOW IT WOULD LINE UP WITH EL OR MIKE I WOULD STRUGGLE TO DO THAT AS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS SO BASIC (imagine "I asked Will to make you this painting on my behalf because I can't paint as well as him and I know I lied in my letter about it possibly being for Will's crush but I wanted it to be a surprise" like please how does that even sound). The fact that a reminder of these words filled with Will's emotional intent helped drive the M*leven love confession because Mike thinks Will's words were actually El's will forever be the weirdest thing ever and I want to clown and say it's intentional because honestly what the hell was wrong with the writers during this volume they didn't do byler and can't even write m*leven properly why?!

Hopeless (pt.3)

will byers x reader

The headache of a hangover was the first thing (y/n) felt. Regret was the second.

What is wrong with me? Why did I kiss Will? Oh my god. He was pretty good though. Fuck. He’s kinda cute too. NO. Absolutely not. But…

Do I seriously have a crush on William Byers?

She spent the entire Sunday nursing her hangover, and planning what to say to Will.

And then finally it was Monday and she was due in school. She spotted Will and his friends, but when she made eye contact, they all turned away. Was he really that mad?

Due to the inability to talk to him, (y/n) wrote a letter. She tore a small bit of paper from her maths book. She needed to talk to him, especially if she wanted to try and sort out her newly developed feelings.

Will,

I’m really sorry that I kissed you, I know that it was totally uncalled for and unacceptable. You really have to believe that I was drunk! I couldn’t even think straight. Please don’t let this make things weird between us.

Love, your (y/n).

She slid it into a gap in his locker.

Wills hands shook as he reached for the paper slid between the metal door. For a moment, he thought it was another ‘Zombie boy’ thing, or something like that. But he instantly recognised the cursive of his friend.

His eyes scanned the paper. If only that was the problem. But she was sorry, and he found it hard to stay angry at her. And the ‘your (y/n).’ didn’t help. He turned around, and from across the hall he saw her watching him. She offered a small smile, and he sent one back.

This caused her to grin, and she walked over.

“Hi.” She smiled.

“It’s ok. I wasn’t really thinking straight either. I don’t even know why I was mad.” Will smiled back. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek. He literally thought he was going to combust.

What is she doing to me?

“Ok, I’ve gotta go. But I’m gonna stick to what I said, and call you, yeah?” She grinned, and pulled away.

He watched her walk off to her friends, and slide so effortlessly into the conversation. She turned around one last time, and grinned.

She’s so pretty.

He’s so cute.

“Earth to (y/n)?” Jennifer said.

She turned to see the group all staring at her.

“What?” (y/n) asked.

“Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on zombie boy.” Another girl said. The table erupted into giggles.

“Oh my god. Zombie boy and (y/n).”

“Stop, were friends! And he has a name, he’s called Will.”

“So you do have a crush on him.”

(y/n) was silent, thinking. If she came off too defensive, they would never believe her. She was obviously silent for too long, because one of the boys, Bobby, stood up, one foot on the table.

“Guess what, everyone. (y/n) has a crush on Zombie Boy!” He called out across the room.

Wills ears pricked up at the sound of her name. When he heard the rest of the sentence, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. His face was definitely a bright purple. The rest of the table stared at him. He watched as (y/n) climbed onto the table, next to the boy.

“So what, Bobby. You have a crush on Jen!” She yelled.

His face went bright red, as the room let what she said sink in.

(y/n) (l/n) had a crush on William Byers? Hawkins very own popular girl and Zombie boy/nerd.

(y/n) realised what she said, promptly hopped off the table and died walked out the room. All eyes were now on Will.

“What are you doing man? Follow her.” Mike shoved him lightly. Will stood up, hesitating for a moment as everyone watched, before running after her.

“(y/n)!” He called, following the echo of her feet. He turned a corner, finding her leaning against a wall.

“I’m sorry Will. I-“ She panted, not making eye contact as she stared at her shoes. Will stepped closer.

“It’s ok. I, uhm, I’m not really sure how to tell you this but… I sort of feel the same way.” He stammered, pulling at his sleeve. She looked up. They were a couple of inches apart.

“How long?” She breathed.

“A while.”

“Oh.”

It was silent for a second, before (y/n) gently pulled him in by his shirt. They kissed again, but it was much softer and deeper than before, like a shared understanding of their feelings. They broke apart after hearing footsteps, but they faded away.

“How long?” Will asked.

“What?”

“You know, how-“

“Oh. Right. Well, I think I realised yesterday. But I also think much longer than before I realised.” She rested her forehead against his.

the end xoxo

Remember What You're Looking At Is Me

by Kwills91

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley/Vickie Character: Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Argyle (Stranger Things), Vickie (Stranger Things), Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Joyce Byers, Jim "Chief" Hopper, Will Byers, Robin Buckley's Mother, Robin Buckley's Father, Wayne Munson Additional Tags: Eddie Munson Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Gay Eddie Munson, Slow Burn, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Mutual Pining, Steve Harrington Has a Bisexual Awakening, Smoking, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Steve Harrington Has PTSD, Panic Attacks, Psychological Trauma, Eddie Munson Lives, Because screw the Duffer brothers, Gay Panic, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Steve Harrington is Bad at Feelings, Hurt Steve Harrington, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Good Babysitter Eddie Munson, Smut, BDSM, Bottom Steve Harrington, Top Eddie Munson, Found Family, past suicidal thoughts/ideation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Almost Kiss, I'm British - so is my spelling, No Beta, All The Queer Characters, Spit Kink, Period-Typical Homophobia Words: 53,964 Chapters: 19/19

Summary

“Man, I didn’t know you cared so much, Harrington.” See. Always with the jokes. His voice is hoarse, gravelly. Steve stands straight again, looking at him through the tears. He’s smirking, in that flirty way he did in the RV. “You look like shit.” Despite himself, Steve chuckles and quickly flips him the bird.

“I thought you were in a coma.” Steve says simply, tears still rolling down his face. He doesn’t know how to stop them. Feels like they’ll never stop. “I woke up this afternoon. You going to stand there all night, or you gonna come and sit down?” Eddie tilts his head towards the chair next to his bed. Steve is scared. Doesn’t want to get to close. Doesn’t want to hurt him. But he goes anyway. He drops down in the chair, struggling to look Eddie in the eyes. Settles on staring at the bed instead. Elbows propped against it, fists balled under his chin. “Yeah, you’re not looking to great yourself, you know.” Steve tries at a smile, not sure if he achieves it, but he feels Eddie brighten. Doesn’t see it. Still can’t look. “They said you patched me up good, Stevie. You saved my life.” He laughs to himself. “Who’d have thought it, eh? King Steve crying over Eddie the Freak.”

The Sleepover | W.B

|Masterlist

Paring: Gay!Bestfriend!Will Byers x Bestfriend!GN!Reader Platonic besties with a capital P

Warnings: A little angst at the beginning(?)⋆ Painting nails⋆ food⋆ light cussing⋆ Tooth rotting bestie fluff⋆ Mike Wheeler⋆

summary: after Will came out to Mike he also confessed his feelings toward him. Mike felt the same but was scared everyone else would think badly of him. telling Will he accepted him but didn't feel the same led Will to a phone call full of tears and sobs as his Bestfriend Y/N tried to comfort him as much as she could since he was all the way in California. they had planned a sleepover since Will was coming back and Y/N tries to help Will forget about Mike.

It was Friday night and you were running around your house trying to get everything ready for the night ahead, grabbing the popcorn out of the cabinet and putting it in the microwave and getting the drinks out and a bunch of candy, setting stacks of movies out on the coffee table and running to the closet in your long hallway that held extra blankets and pillows, grabbing every single blanket and pillow in there you ran back to the living room, setting them on the couch you heard the doorbell ring and jumped in excitement and rushing to the door almost tripping on the way there, you took a deep breath before opening the door, hoping to see your best bestie ever. it was no one other than shit face mike. the last person you wanted to see right now.

"What do you want, Michael?" It came out a little harsher than I wanted it to, he looked awful he had tear-stained cheeks and his hair was all over the place and he looked like he hadn't slept in months, I really don't know what Will saw in him but whatever makes my bestie happy right. he sniffled a little before finally looking at me. "Is Will here?" he asked looking behind me. Fucking wow he really has the nerve, huh? "No, he's not, you just need to give him space Mike... Give him a break he's been through way too much." I spoke softly this time, he nodded before turning around to walk away back to his bike. Part of me really wanted to give him a hug and be there for him but another part of me really wanted to beat his ass for being, well, an ass. "Mike!" I yelled before he could ride away. "Yeah" he turned around. what was I even doing, what was I even going to say to him? "Be careful, and um, I love you dude no matter how much of an ass you can be sometimes." he laughed shaking his head, black messy hair shaking everywhere. this was the first time I saw him smile or even laugh since everything happened with Will. "Goodnight Y/N, I love you too." I smiled and nodded at him watching him bike off into the night. closing my door and sighing I made my way to my room, I grabbed some board games and some Magazines, and before I walked out of my room I caught a glance at my collection of Nail polishes. every time Will came over he would stare at them and pick them up to analyze them, but never let me paint his nails, I guess he was still nervous about being fresh out of the closet and didn't wanna make me uncomfortable, but to be honest, I loved him either way, and I would love to paint his nails and teach him how, if he would let me. I grabbed the whole container of the polishes and made my way to the living room, setting them down on the floor carefully trying not to drop the items.

I finished setting the bowl of fresh popcorn on the coffee table and stepped back to look at my work. Nodding my head in approvement I heard my front door open soon reviling my Bestfriend Will running up to me and giving me a bone-crushing hug. we stayed like that for a while. just hugging each other and glad to finally have some us time. slowly pulling away I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. "Sorry, I'm just so excited to finally have some friend time," he said grabbing my hand and walking over to the stack of movies. he seemed much happier right now and that makes me happy.

"What movie do you want to watch?" he asked looking through all the cases, "It's your turn to pick," I said, he looked at me surprised and I raised my brow at him. "What-" "That was like eight years ago... how do you remember that!" he asked with a shocked expression. I shrugged my shoulders. The truth is I never forgot the last time Will and I saw each other eight years ago, the day before he went to Mike's house for the campaign we had a movie marathon and that's when he told me about his crush on Mike. Of course, I supported him, he's my best friend for fuck sake. then I got a call from Joyce saying that WIll was missing and asked if he was at my house since he was here all the time. I told her he wasn't and that's how everything began. then he had to leave to move to California and it broke my heart to watch him leave, I wish he could have stayed but he had to go. but now I got him back. "I never forgot about our awesome movie nights, and also I haven't watched movies in so long since then, and when I got my movie player out tonight Leprechaun was in there and I'm way too scared to watch that alone and I know that's your favorite horror movie," I Rambelled widening my eyes in exaggeration. a wicked grin took over his face and I already knew what he was thinking. "No-" I tried to say before he so graciously cut me off by jumping and running over to the movie player and pressing play. "We are watching Leprechaun!" I let out a defeated sigh and took my place on the couch. he came and sat beside me and we huddled together and watched the movie, at the scary parts I would jump and he would tease me.

After the movie ended we played some board games, read some magazines and gossiped, and took some polaroid pictures. my favorite one was of Will on top of my counters doing the rock symbols with metallic sunglasses on. I really did miss him and I can't wait for more nights like this with my best friend.

Wow that’s { CASSANDRA HARRINGTON } ?! I know they have been told they look like {KENZIE ZIGLER } but I cannot see that. { SHE } is a { FOURTEEN/FIFTEEN (and possibly older for future!aus) AND FEMALE } who was born on { JUNE 4TH }! Here are some incoming info about her!

Cassandra, or Cassie for short, is the younger sister to Steve Harrington. She is the same age as the core younger kids, being a freshman at Hawkins High school

Cassie knows little to none about the upside down and the things about Hawkins. She  does think it is weird that her brother hangs out with kids her age all the time - but she really doesn’t question it.

Cassie has been a dancer since the day she could walk, her mom putting her in ballet classes. Though she is no prima-ballerina, the dance studio is her second home probably being there more than her actual house, also having a job at the studio co-teaching with the younger kids (5-7 year olds)

Once Cassie was in high school, she did try out for cheerleading joining the squad, it did cut her time for most of her dance classes - but she does still work at the studio.

Her grades have always been good - never going to be valedictorian but they are good enough to get her into a good college and out of Hawkins. 

RELATIONSHIP THINGS, if you see this and want to interact this is not set in stone - we can change anything or disregard it entirely. 

Steve: When growing up, there is about a five to six year age gap between the Harrington siblings, but they had always been close. He often is bringing her to school or picking her up from dance. 

Dustin: She has a crush on Dustin, simple as that. Cassie knew him but really got to know who he was from the way Steve talked about him. She totally would have dance with him at the snowball in season two and she was very bummed when she found out when he went to summer summer camp that he got a girlfriend. She’d never try and break them up, she loves seeing Dustin happy.

Will: Cassie and Will are close friends. Honestly she was probably around him the most when everyone separated off in s3 making them closer. 

Robin: Robin is her older sister, there isn’t much there. but sometimes Cassie just needs an older sister figure to talk to because she can’t just talk to Steve about everything.

Nancy: Cassie loves Nancy, and honestly misses having her around with her brother - also the only ex of Steve’s she likes

El & Max: She gets along with both of them well, but they honestly don’t have too much in common, though they have all gone on shopping trips before, and she does try to hang out with Max after El moves away with the Byers - even though she gets pushed away just like the boys do.

Mike: She doesn’t like Mike. She finds him annoying, and honestly some times rude as fuck. Though if for whatever reason a group of them are hanging out, or some how they all end up at the Harrington house - she is tolerable of him.

Lucas: She knows Lucas, Lucas knows her, probably have had some classes together, and being on the cheer squad - she has been to plenty of games to see him sit on the bench.

Chrissy: Chrissy took Cassie under her wing, having fought for the younger girl to be on the squad, even though she knew nothing about Cassie, she just knew the girl already knew counts and was able to keep up more than any of the other freshmen girls who tried out.

Eddie: Cassie only knows of Eddie, and what she heard through her brother and Dustin - She still doesn’t understand anything about DnD so there is just a lot of nodding and okaying Dustin to death when he talks about Eddie and DnD.