Stranger Things Oneshots & Preferences

Pref: Comforting the Party after trauma

Warnings: trauma, mentions of death and half-death, good and bad coping mechanisms, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS FOR SEASONS 2, 3, & 4!!!

Max:
Event: Billy's death

Max pretends to be happy for a while, right? But you know how she actually feels
You know how bad it's gotten for her
You're the eye of her hurricane
Max doesn't like opening up very much, so you help her find other ways for her to vent
You helped her to write the letters, and convinced her to do it in the first place- when she handed them out in s4, she had already written some of them, like the one for Lucas and she even had written one for El too
She wrote one for you as well, talking about how grateful she is for you and how much you helped her through it
You helped her with her depression, and were always understanding and there when she needed you
She definitely thought of memories of you when Running Up That Hill played when Vecna possessed her
You were such a comfort to her after that as well
You've always been a huge comfort to Max, and she's always felt that she could open up to you
You're like her personal pillow, something soft and comforting you can cry into, and whisper your secrets to

Mike:
Event: The Byers leaving for Cali

Mike was losing a lot of things with the Byers moving
He was losing his best friend and his (ex) girlfriend, if not another of his friends
He'd lost El and Will before, but this time was different
But he still misses them terribly
He feels like he loses everything he loves at some point or another or something bad happens to them
He gets worried for you too and you have to convince him you'll be fine
You convinced him to try to communicate with them more, and send letters and call
You sent letters to them as well, and made sure they knew how much Mike missed them
Mike can be very difficult sometimes, and he doesn't open up easily
His father hasn't helped him with sayings like 'boys don't cry' and stupid things like that
Mike had a lot of suppressed emotions from that, but you were always there for him to vent to
You were kinda like his living diary, someone he can tell everything to
He was very grateful for it, and you were always a great help to him whenever he needed it, and you would always provide that sense of comfort

El:
Event: Regaining her powers/trauma/Max's half death

El is a warrior and a mage, but she's also a teenage girl with hormones, trauma, and newly regained powers
Sometimes its hard for her to deal with it all on her own
She could always turn to you to listen to her
Even if she got words wrong or couldn't explain things how she felt, you'd always help her communicate her feelings
Definitely helped her feel valid
You'd always hug her and tell her you're here for her after nightmares
It was scary for El to not feel like she had her powers anymore and she didn't have them for a while so it was overwhelming to get them back again
You helped her focus her energy and get them strengthened
She was scared and very sad after Max's death
After all, she finally got a *girl* best friend in Max, then she kind of died
El felt guilty, like she should've been able to save her
You told her it wasn't her fault and Vecna was/is very powerful
Helping her overcome her guilt/trauma was very important to her, and she loved you for that
Honestly, even reading this like it is platonic, I feel like if you did do all this there's a chance El could fall for you

Lucas:
Event: Max's half death

Lucas was 1000% traumatized/scarred by this
Like who wouldn't be? Just imagine how scary seeing somebody's (not even your ex who you kinda still have feelings for) bones go snap crackle pop while they do air twister
He felt guilty that he couldn't save her in time and defeat Jason
He felt like he wasn't strong enough and if Max was conscious she wouldn't wanna be with him anyways
But you convinced him that it wasn't his fault- Jason is pretty strong and he was practically going crazy sooo
The two of you would visit Max in the hospital and Lucas would talk to her
He read the letter she gave him so many times
He was worried he wouldn't be strong enough to save you or the rest of his friends
You encouraged him to find an outlet for his emotions, like working out or something
He decided that would be a good idea since it would help him become stronger too
Maybe you'd even work out with him time to time
It'd help him work out his anger, guilt, and frustration
And talking to you, being the therapist you are

Will:
Event: getting possessed

Will....has a lot of trauma. Like, a LOT
He survived the upside down with the demogorgon and who knows what other nasties
Then he was frickin POSSESSED when he was just trying to confront his fears and his trauma
Like this boy deserves so much better
He has a LOT of nightmares and you always hug him until he goes back to sleep
He shows his feelings through his art
He likes to make you paintings too
He makes happy and sad drawings
Happy to cheer himself up and to give to others, and sad to vent and just spill his emotions into
His art is very deep with lots of meaning to it
You 1000000% encourage his art
You like to make him happy drawings, even if you aren't good at art because it makes him smile
If Will ever has any visions he sketches them out and the two of you look at them together to try to make them make sense
You always being there to listen no matter what it is
Him relying on you a lot, but being okay with that

Dustin:
Event: Eddie's death

Definitely blames himself
Might even wish he was dead instead
Might even get depression
Not the same at all
You have to really talk to him to bring out some of the old Dustin who was jokingly sarcastic instead of the new Dustin who's bitter and sarcastic more meanly
He refuses to play dnd
But you, Steve, Robin, and the rest of the gang beg him
He finally says yes after they annoy him into agreeing
Everybody works super hard to make it the best campaign ever
He actually starts smiling again
Enjoys it, but won't admit it
Sometimes you can convince him to play again
He likes spending time with Wayne and you since you two understand his loss and are there for him and each other
He goes to therapy about it
He's not the same, but he's getting better and you're helping him
Always looking for an outlet for him to let out his feelings
You're a great comfort to him by simply being there and well, not running away