how can i teach her some ways of being human that won't destroy her?
i would like to tell her, Love is enough.
i would like to say, Find shelter in another skin.
i would like to say, Dance and be happy.
instead i will say in my crone's voice, Be ruthless when you have to, tell the truth when you can, when you can see it. selected poems II, margaret atwood. 

Dorothy cunningham was perfect.

all porcelain skin and silk blonde hair and american girl doll teeth, a five foot three enigma of the highest power. the freshman queen, their leader. everyone wanted to be dolly cunningham.

until she wasn't, and they didn't.

when chrissy cunningham is found dead, brutally murdered in eddie munsons trailer, dorothy was suddenly no longer perfect, no longer anything. she became all narrowed eyes and long sleeves and hidden teeth. a living ghost, haunting—and how odd it is to be haunted by someone still alive. although dorothy didn't feel much alive, not on the inside at least. she felt like anything but one of the living. but that was all right with her, because she didn't want to be much of anything. not anymore, and likely not ever again.

the cunningham sisters had been the rulers of the hawkins school district for as long as their classmates could recall. two perfect blondes with round blue eyes and soft pure snow-white skin. when the eldest entered highschool and became a cheerleader, her queen bee status was only further solidified; she was catapulted to the top of the food chain and paired with the basketball teams captain—a stereotypical teenage love story, straight out of a movie. by association, dorothy had naturally become just as respected and feared.

now, with a late chrissys idiotic boyfriend and the rest of hawkin highs basketball team on the hunt for the killer, dorothy begins displaying an array of questionable symptoms. not one to care enough to worry, she chalks it up to grief. after all, she is grieving a dead sister and life as she knew it.

but when this 'killer' continues embarking on a murderous rampage, dorothy comes to find out she may have more in common with the stoic mystery that is maxine mayfield than she may think.

MIXTAPE.

SIDE A. Dorothy
running up that hill, kate bush. mother stands for comfort, kate bush. hounds of love, kate bush. psycho killer, talking heads. exile, taylor swift, bon iver. this is me trying, taylor swift. cherry bomb, the runaways. where is my mind, pixies. a pearl, mitski. left with a gun, skinshape.

SIDE B. Max & Dolly
linger, the cranberries. dream girl, crisaunt. misses, dominic fike. always forever, cults. strawberry blond, mitski. sofia, clairo.
birds of a feather, billie eilish. casual, chappell roan. francis forever, mitski. the adults are talking, the strokes. kilby girl, the backseat lovers. feels like, gracie abrams. sailor song, gigi perez. caffeine, jack kays.

SIDE C. The Party
young folks, peter bjorn and john. the chain, fleetwood mac. california dreamin', the beach boys. girls on film, duran duran. kids in america, kim wilde. shout, tears for fears. where'd all the time go, dr dog. teen age thugs, sonny and the sunsets. ain't no rest for the wicked, cage the elephant. nights like this, the kid laroi. sundress, a$ap rocky. you've got the heat, luster.

i am afraid that if i open myself i will not stop pouring. (why do i fear becoming a river. what mountain gave me such shame.) erosion, jamie oliver.

kristine froseth as dorothy cunningham.
(15)

i get deeply tired because everything touches me, i am never indifferent. the diary of anaïs nin, vol 2.

sadie sink as maxine mayfield.
(15)

i feel it's my anger that has helped keep me alive. the letters of audre lorde & pat parker, audre lorde.

also starring!
gaten matarazzo as.... DUSTIN.
caleb mclaughlin as.... LUCAS.
priah ferguson as.... ERICA.
natalia dyer as.... NANCY.
joe keery as.... STEVE.
maya hawke as.... ROBIN.
joseph quinn as.... EDDIE.
grace van-dien as.... CHRISSY.
all others as.... IMAGINED.

WARNINGS
gore. death. foul language. depression. *minimal hints of self harm/suicidal ideation. violence. any other mature subjects as seen in stranger things.

DISCLAIMERS
i do not own stranger things, its plots, or it's characters. i only own dorothy cunningham and her plot. that being said, this book follows the plot of season 4. however dorothy vs vecna is the main focus point, instead of max's storyline with vecna.