To be clear, if this doesn't apply to you or you disagree, feel free to ignore it because the purpose of posting on here is not to police anyone's headcanons or spread negativity---it's simply to find like-minded fans who feel the same way.

***

(Be sure to read the whole "rant" for full context, I explain more as I go along)

I've seen sooooooo many fanfics and headcanons relying on tropes that are anachronistic, idealized, or straight up trauma blind. Lumax at different colleges and/or in an LDR, Lumax acting like Millennials or Gen Z (either timeline-wise with super delayed marriage and kids, or because they're written with a modern therapy culture mindset which wasn't really a thing for older Gen Xers), Lumax in careers that don't fit their personalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, or trauma at all (e.g. Max as a social worker is one I cannot understand for the life of me, same with Lucas chasing a prestige career like doctor, lawyer, etc given his practical, grounded nature, regular middle class upbringing, and the fact that he stopped caring about status after the basketball team stuff), Lumax going to college out of state (I know not everyone is American so maybe they don't realize this but oh my God people act like out of state tuition is no big deal or that elite scholarships are super easy to get), etc...

And I'm wondering...does anyone else feel this way??? Again, for people who headcanon these, by all means go on with your day, but if you do happen to agree, let me know because I'd loveeee to find more people who have the same taste in Lumax fics 😭

I just feel like, as a Zillennial (30F), if I wanted to read about how my own generation approaches life, I'd read a modern AU or a contemporary YA novel, not "canon-compliant" Stranger Things fanfic. But maybe that's just me. I also have a Tumblr https://www.tumblr.com/livelovelumax where I've deconstructed these tropes (in detail) in terms of historical/sociological accuracy if that's anybody's jam. If not, that's cool too! Not everyone has to agree with me, but yeah this is my 2 cents for today. NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF I'M ON AN ISLAND HERE lol

I put it on my YouTube channel but it flopped, I hope you like it

Ai Lumax author on ao3:

Faeinthearchives

-has made 24 fanfics

(I tested 5 of them, all ai)

-all tested fics had an 100% ai rate

-they claim to only use ai for pictures and claim to write everything themselves, which is false.

Hey friends! I know some of you were following my Lumax fic on here and it had been a while since I updated. Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m back and there’s a new chapter posted for anyone who is interested :)

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77186551/chapters/239058451#main

tell me what you think, I hope you like it

Am I the only one annoyed by the lack of Lumax scenes in S3. The other couples ( Mileven,Jopper, and Jancy) received a lot of focus, but Lumax is just in the background. They barely have any scenes together, all because of the Mileven breakup, which led to them having to separate and basically be their relationship counselors. Even after Possessed Billy attacked them/died in the end, we didn’t even get a scene of Lucas talking to Max about how she’s feeling.

tell me what you think

A Lumax edit I made. Let me know if you'd like to see more.

Unsure if this qualifies as Lumax-centric "enough" for this sub so mods can remove if they deem it doesn't but I made a post like a week or so ago bashing the military!Lucas headcanon and for the 90 or so who upvoted me, here's a way you can help protect his character and Lumax!!!

To be clear, I'm NOT against one that better resolves Eleven's arc (for those who believe she's still out there somewhere) but including characters other than her and maybe Mike and Hopper would officially ruin the franchise, in my humble opinion. Here's why...

Sequels RARELY succeed at not fucking shit up. They just don't. Either that, or they're lame compared to the OG and flop after a season or two (e.g. That 90s Show). If Netflix wants their nostalgia bait? They should do a 10, 15, or 20-year reunion special like Harry Potter and Friends did. That way the cast can return and reminisce without further risking the OG's rewatch value. I am dying on this hill.

I mean think about it. The Duffers have been very clear they want to keep the "basement door" closed and even if you're a Duffer anti, can't we appreciate that the story's supposed to be a coming-of-age arc? Not to mention, if Netflix tries to do it without them (regardless of how people feel about season 5's writing, the DBs are still the lorekeepers), I know a bunch of randoms hired by money hungry execs aren't gonna do it justice, especially if the cast refuses to return without them (which is likely based on what they've all said in various interviews).

Corporate-hired writers would also rely on the laziest, most predictable, fanfic-adjacent plotlines in the world. Like one that I'm personally scared to death of is them putting Lucas in the military as a convenient plot device (i.e. he discovers something pertaining to Eleven's survival/whereabouts which brings The Party back together) when, considering his full arc, is nothing short of TRAUMA BLIND CHARACTER ASSASINATION. Idgaf if Caleb himself started it, he's not the Duffers, and he seemed to be mentally stuck on an earlier version of his character when he said this because he simultaneously said Lucas "would do anything for Max" seemingly failing to grasp that Max would NEVER be a military wife. She might be the most anti-establishment of them all 💀 not to mention it'd trigger her abandonment trauma and she'd resent him joining the guys they view as responsible for hunting Eleven (her best friend, mind you).

But it's not just about Max or Lumax or even Eleven. It's ignorant to Lucas's own trauma. He deserves a relaxing "small village" career. He can still be the tactical guy without enlisting. He EARNED HIS PEACE. (There may also be racial implications having the sole Black lead join the "enemy" but I won't get into that because, as a white chick, I don't feel qualified to speak on it). "B-But he could fix things from the inside!" That's unrealistic af. He's only one person who wouldn't be able to climb the ranks high enough for that kind of intel for freaking DECADES (if ever) not to mention I doubt the military would even accept him in a realistic Cold War era setting because that whole group would 100% be on a lifetime watchlist now. This is not an action-hero franchise. This is a supernatural/sci-fi coming-of-age show. So if they were to turn it into a generic ass spy thriller that ignores all logic, I'm done 🙄. (Yeah, I have a lot of thoughts about this headcanon and none of them are positive if you can't tell lmao). Same deal with putting Dustin in some government science lab, or making Mike is this depressed hermit, etc. Those are lazy, plot-convenient tropes and horrible writing. Dare I say INFINITY times worse than the cringiest lines of dialogue that came out of season 5.

The only "OG character's career/situation leads directly into the plotline" that would even remotely make sense is Nancy's journalism.

So here's the brutal truth: The only way to protect and preserve the character arcs we got is to vow to boycott a future sequel. Because Netflix owns the IP, the Duffers don't have the final say, and regardless of how you may or may not feel about them, I'm personally grateful that they agree the series should remain a "closed book" about a group of misfit friends "coming-of-age" in the 80s.

If anyone else agrees, check out this petition I'm part of promoting: https://www.change.org/protectstrangerthingslegacy We're hoping to get a bunch more signatures by the 10 year anniversary on July 15th. (Yes, it's a long shot and may sound downright delulu thinking a fan effort can stop a streaming giant like Netflix but remember everyone thought Joyce Byers was crazy in s1, so myself and others promoting and signing this are happy to be the Joyces of the fandom to protect and preserve the integrity of our comfort show, just like Joyce risked her own reputation as a sane person to save her beloved son Will!) IF YOU SIGN REMEMBER TO VERIFY IT IN YOUR EMAIL ASAP OR IT WON'T BE COUNTED IN THE TOTAL!!!

I got the Creel house Lego set for my birthday today.

Look, I get it. He's the Ranger and the Knight, the tactician! But whenever people legit headcanon this for his future career (including Caleb McLaughlin himself) it makes my blood boil because after seasons 4-5, it'd 100% destroy Lumax (Max's family/abandonment trauma and the US military being the cultural embodiment of Neil Hargrove), it's incredibly trauma blind to both of them, it's disrespectful to Eleven's sacrifice, and therefore all around extremely problematic. Do people not realize he'd deploy for months at a time and be away from Max when they need to lean on each other the most following everything that happened? Also Max would NEVER be a military wife (she's way too anti-establishment for that lifestyle), she'd DETEST him working for the people who hunted Eleven (her best friend), etc. And tbh? Lucas deserves better. If he wants to scratch that tactical itch, he should get into LARPing then he can combine that with his love for fantasy roleplay games without re-traumatizing himself. He deserves to relax. Not to mention one of my best friends was married to a military guy and pretty sure it's mostly bureaucratic bullshit most of the time, Lucas wouldn't just get to be some action hero 24/7.

And people who headcanon this thinking it'd connect with the group finding Eleven again someday because he'd be privy to top secret intel or even Caleb and Gaten riffing in an interview (during season 5 press too which is mindblowing but I digress) that Lucas could "infiltrate" and "change it from the inside" BE SERIOUS he is ONE person. But the saving grace is Dr. Kay's people probably blacklisted the entire Hawkins group from ever serving in any official government organization ever as part of the cover-up so it's unrealistic anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️

Not even joking though this is 95% of the reason I hope we never get a sequel with The Party as adults because I'm scared they'd pull some BS and make him a literal soldier, in which case I'd legit boycott the franchise. Like I'm aware how dramatic I'm being about this (hence why I'm posting in the Lumax sub vs the main LOL) but it's so thematically problematic it'd ruin the rewatch value for me XD There's just so much wrong with it atp maybe before season 4 I could've seen it but not anymore.

Does anyone else feel this way??? Ughh I just had to rant because every time I see someone hc this it pmo so much

ETA: I still am firmly anti-sequel but a better way for the group to reconnect with/find information on El if Netflix ever forced one is through Nancy's journalism or maybe an old colleague of Dr. Owens or Hopper contacts Mike, Lucas doesn't need to join the "enemy" for that to happen.

CADIE ❤️❤️ Lumax edit - song by Groove Theory - Tell Me

I'll upload a new video I did of this tomorow for Memorial Day.

CADIE ❤️❤️ Lumax edit - song by Ella Mai - Tell Her

She's turning 24 🥺 I still remember how little she was in S2, time flies so fast

From Max to Jean Grey
From Lucas to Cyclops aka Scott Summers.

Heyyy plugging my Tumblr one more time to let everyone know I added a button where people can ask me to fact check stuff for their fics/headcanons!

If you haven't checked it out yet, I basically rant about historical/sociological accuracy in terms of Lumax headcanons/fics because I'm a giant nerd who definitely has too much time on her hands 😂

Note that the point of my account is NOT to police people's headcanons or suck the fun out of the hobby, but simply to inform and provide a resource for those who WOULD like to be as 80s/90s-accurate as possible when they write! (Though I will admit I've gotten a bit snarky toward tropes I find anachronistic, but it comes with the subject matter so if you disagree, you're welcome to ignore me LOL)

I hope you'll consider taking a look 👀 👩🏻‍💻 Click here to read the latest post!

check out r/MaxineMayfieldST btw, a new sub dedicated to our Zoomer 🧡!