#thottiedottie

So I’m very lame and have only recently realized this was in my inbox! I’m so sorry! It’s such a good question.

Responses are AO3 only because that’s where I read & write. Responses are Stranger Things/Mileven only because that’s what I read & write. So:

I love and follow everything by the brilliant thottiedottie. These fics include Cold War, Manic Pixel Dream Girl, Milk & Honey, and the legendary A Private Education. She’s my absolute favorite writer on AO3 and her fics are freaking brilliant. Incredibly well written, great character arcs, challenging (in a good way) material.

I’m reading Snurvel’s fic Missing, which is a realistic take on post-season 3 canon El. The author presents beautiful insights into what it means to be a foster child and how El’s lab background would realistically impact her future. If you get tired of AUs where El basically acts like she’s Millie Bobby Brown, this is the fic for you.

Disneyprincess315 has written a series of beautiful Mileven one-shots called You Are Not Alone. I can’t even. Tears ahoy! Love this work.

The Jump by Lborealis is wonderful - a Mileven AU that actually turns out to be much closer to canon than you would have guessed. So much fun and the author is a gifted writer (seriously, I doubt Lborealis needs any props from me, everyone in the fandom knows/loves her work).

Stranger Trek by ItsThatGuy. The Stranger Things gang as the crew of the USS Enterprise (er... USS Hawkins), with Mike as Picard. Twenty-six episodes (chapters). The take on El and Mileven is lovely. So well imagined and the Mileven is very innocent and sweet.

Always so wonderful to hear from you, my dear! Yes, Mileven will be 18. Two reasons:

1. I want Special 3 to include a first-time story (there will also be action, adventure, drama, comedy, romance, etc. just like the other parts of the series). I think aging them up to 18 is appropriate - I’m not looking to add to anyone’s angst (unless it’s deliberate story-related angst 😊).

2. Mike & El are separated during the period between When He and Special 3 - basically they only see each other twice in two years, each time for 1 day. There are reasons for this linked to Dr. Owens. But oh, the angst!

Hee hee! I am a cruel person.

More seriously, I’m having Mileven see each other so seldom for the same reason (IMO) that the Duffers had El move away at the end of ST3 — to do a time jump but keep Mileven’s relationship basically in stasis until the new story starts. So they’ll pine for each other, and miss each other, and they’ll get older, but the relationship will pretty much stay in the same place it was in at the end of Special 2. If anything, it might go back a bit at first because Mike and El will have to relearn how to relate to each other. And of course the Tom/Ewan OC has been using the time to get friendlier with El... oh, Mike will be furious.

Wow, great question!

Probably the single biggest inspiration is “Of Hearts and Heroes” by Emmilyne. It’s a Ron/Hermione fic set after Harry Potter book 5 and it diverges from there.

Emmilyne does the naive, innocent, awkward, but so powerful feelings of first love incredibly well. Her Ron and Hermione go through first kisses to various sexual things, but Emmilyne brilliantly keeps up the romantic tension in the story. Ron and Hermione both suffer feelings of inadequacy and doubt, even in the face of constant evidence that the other person loves them, so the story manages to sustain the “will they or won’t they (admit they love each other)” vibe throughout. That has definitely influenced parts of the Special series.

Emmilyne is also my go-to author for writing sex from a female perspective. I’m a guy, so I can never really know what sex and arousal feels like for a woman. Luckily there are really talented female writers who do write about that, and Emmilyne is one of the best.

My other big inspiration is basically anything by thottie-dottie. For my money, she’s the best writer on AO3. In particular I love the way she sets out her characters’ goals, drives and ideas, and their actions in the story flow naturally from there. Nothing ever feels forced or contrived. She’s basically the best around at characterization, and I learn something every time I read her.

Her stuff can be challenging, like her new story “Cold War.” Mileven is always endgame in a thottie-dottie story, but it’s not all sweetness and light. So it’s not for people who can’t/won’t deal with things that are emotionally challenging. Personally I think it’s brilliant and I try to incorporate some of her edge into my writing.

Thottie-dottie also does volcanic smut, you know, if you’re into that kind of thing. 😊

Inspired by the incredibly talented writer thottiedottie (check them out on AO3 and tumblr!), I thought I’d post some images related to my Mileven fanfic, “When He Was Special.” The full fic can be found on AO3.

The first set of images is Steve Harrington’s 1972 Chevy El Camino SS. Behold the car of the King of Hawkins High.

That’s how it looked in the dealership. But you can’t appreciate the majesty of Steve’s ride until you see it from the rear.

I know, right? Business in the front, party in the back. Or in this case, the Party in the back, because there’s no way all the Hawkins kids could fit in the cab.

I’m afraid I don’t, which is a shame. She deleted her AO3 account and took down A Private Education and similar works. Her mirror universe works in the Double Trouble series are still on AO3, but under an orphan account. Those were the inspiration for my own fic As Black As My Love’s Heart, which I need to finish one of these days.

I suspect that (like many of the fandom) thottiedottie’s interest in ST cooled after the very “meh” season 4. That’s what made me stop writing the Special series, though I’m back now that the disappointing season 5 has given me carte blanche to ignore post-S3 canon entirely.