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aurorabyler · 2 years

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Screenwriting: How Do Internal Monologues Factor In?

first and foremost, i am 18 and am not an expert AT ALL when it comes to screenwriting. i LOVE screenwriting, i’m passionate about it, and part of my education over the years even now that i’m in university has been spent learning about it. that’s what i’m basing this analysis on, as well as my experiences with the stranger things scripts overall. just wanted to preface!

there’s been LOTS of discussion now that the dear billy script is out (😊💓 i’m so happy you guys are happy) about how we are shown SO MUCH of will’s perspective and that the audiences perception of mike and el’s relationship when will is in frame vs when he is not are completely different. a lot of this has to do with will’s internal monologue being EXPLICITLY SHOWN, unlike mike’s or el’s.

going through the old scripts, especially the season 3 ones since we have access to all of them, there are no other scenes with ANY of the characters that describe this level of an internal monologue within scene directions. this has been discussed, so you may be wondering why i’m bringing it up again? the reason is that it reminded me of when i took a writing course last year and we focused on screenwriting. one of the most important things i learned in that class was that stage directions are NOT TYPICALLY SUPPOSED TO SHOW A CHARACTER’S INTERNAL MONOLOGUE.

take this comparison for instance. this is just one of many, i could use any scene between characters (joyce and hopper, steve and robin, dustin and steve, etc) to show that the stage directions in these scripts show ACTIONS, not EMOTIONS. take a scene that has a lot of emotional significance for the show, el dumping mike. none of the directions point to either mike or el’s emotions. they just show their actions. because that’s what a screenplay is meant to do.

i was actually surprised by this, so i asked my teacher how that plays into actors creating their characters. he said that the job of a screenplay is mainly direction and tone, and that it is the job of directors and actors themselves to work together in understanding their character arcs. it is not typically the job of the screenplay.

the only character where this screenwriting “rule” differs in stranger things is with WILL. it’s been spread everywhere by now, but the scene between mike and will directly shows his internal monologue:

reflecting on this now, it makes it even more significant that WILL is shown to have this level of an internal monologue and that all of these scenes between mike and el’s are shown through his perspective. it goes so far beyond perspective—the show runners are actively placing will in the main character role here, making us sympathize with him, making us feel his pain, AND MAKING US ROOT FOR HIM!! and it totally seems to have been effective. how many people have started to open their eyes to wills love for mike and the romantic implications between them since season 4 dropped?? it is feeling like that because that is what the writers WANTED. will has become the main character in this triangle between mike/el/will.

with all of this in mind, it is palpable that our theory about the duffer’s direction with mike is true—that they are telling finn wolfhard mike’s inner thoughts, and he is portraying mike based on that. they have to give their actors something to work with. as of right now, will is the main character and mike is the person whose head we don’t see into.

one more important note to mention with regards to actors being told the arcs of their characters—all of this reminds me of what david harbour has said over the years about hopper: that he asked the duffers to not only give him hopper’s internal monologue for the season they were currently filming, but also the ENTIRE arc for hopper, so he could play him accordingly. they agreed and he said the following about it:

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 4 #byler better be canon #mike wheeler #will byers #byler endgame #byler is endgame #mike wheeler x will byers #st4 #screenwriting

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billfarrah · 1 year

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favourite s2 scene is the locker room scene in ep 4 after simon gets out of the shower!! the tension, the pain, wille’s face, simon’s regret of what he’s just said at the end with his hands through his hair 😭 i love the scenes that have pain tbh but i am looking forward to hopefully more smiling in s3 x

gahghjgadgiowat I got so many responses to my question and then didn't have time to answer any of them so I'm gonna try to answer them slowly when I have time coz I want to post everyone's lovely answers

That's one of my favourite scenes in the entire show. I think it's the scene where we really, really get to see Simon's flaws shine through and it really humanizes him. He knows he's being hypocritical and unfair but he's so angry and hurt he doesn't care, and he vindictively wants to hurt Wille the way Wille had hurt him. It's such an important turning point for Simon because it's the moment he finally admits how he really feels and it's when he begins stops running away from those feelings. In my opinion Simon's character arc in season 2 revolves around him learning to stop running away from situations when they get too difficult, to stop running away from his feelings, and also learning to stand up for himself and find his voice, to stop letting people piss on him. There's so much going on in this scene and it's brilliant. Episode 4 is Omar's best performance in season 2 imo (bring back Kristina Humle for season 3, she's great!); it's the most conflicted Simon is all season and Omar portrays his inner struggle brilliantly. One of my favourite details in his performance in the locker room scene is the way he looks at Wille after telling him he can't accept him - his anger and pettiness fades away from his gaze in that moment and his expression becomes so layered. He's shocked at his own admission and there's some regret there as he knows he's hurt Wille, but I also detect a note of desperation - like he's begging for Wille to fight back, to do something, to make things right between them because by this point in the story Simon understands that what he wants and what he's wanted this entire time was for Wille to make things right between them, and maybe he's realizing that he himself has played a bigger role in keeping them apart than he realized - by acknowledging that he doesn't accept Wille for who he is.

#young royals #wilmon #im listening to police video at work and the audio is so bad i cant even get anything out of it but i still have to listen

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meredithdoesfandoms · 2 years

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hello byler nation! here is some of my byler reasoning that comes from a film studies perspective- i am NOT using any info from #scriptgate and am aware that this is wordy and hard to follow, enjoy!

• PROOF #1

unrequited love stories can happen. this is what we usually see come out of them.

option 1- character A is rejected and has some type of revelation or independence arc (which we may see with el if we see a milkvan breakup.) an independence arc from will is possible, the duffers have said ST5 will be will-centric. but it doesn’t make sense with the character. most of his arc is based on his relationships with other people, specifically mike. if mike was suddenly no longer of interest to will, that would simply be terrible writing. will would lose his entire character motivation.

option 2- a new romantic interest comes into play for character a. in the case of byler, we know a new romantic interest will not enter the plotline, as the duffers have confirmed there will be no new characters in ST5. unless they somehow managed to queer code, and rework either dustin or lucas, we would not see that play out for will.

unrequited love stories aren’t written for the sake of torturing characters, something comes out of them every time. but based off of the scenarios presented above, byler being unrequited is illogical, and would be poor writing. the duffers are smart, they know how to write characters, byler is NOT unrequited simply because they arent TERRIBLE writers.

• PROOF #2

in shows like stranger things, in which the plot is mapped so far in advance, writers simply don’t “forget” characters and their arcs/ storylines.

in season 1, mike was one of the biggest players on the show. you could argue he was the main character. he had some of the most screen time, the main plot line, and the clearest arc.

in season 2, mike isn’t as relevant, because quite frankly he didn’t need to be. season 2 was about expansion- we are realizing the upside down doesn’t just have a single demogorgan. it has multple demogorgans and demodogs, various species, a hivemind, a leader, etc. mikes only relationship focused on in season 2 is his relationship with will. yeah i know he missed el too, but the story itself was about will, and those who cared about him.

in season 3 we see a split in mikes focus between his relationships with will and el. he cant seem to have both. he can have friends who aren’t will + el, or friends who aren’t will + will. this conflict is the only focus mike has in season 3.

in season 4, it almost seems as if we have shifted mikes focus from will to el. however this seems to be the same plot as season 3- he can’t seem to have both. we see mikes dissatisfaction with his relationship with el, and thats about it.

so why would mike have no significant storyline in seasons 3 and 4 when he used to be a main character? well, the arc is actually linear when you look at it

season 1- finding and missing will

season 2- protecting and saving will

season 3- balancing his relationships with el and will

season 4- balancing his relationships between el and will

which means in season 5, this very clear arc will be resolved. with his focus being on will in seasons 1 and 2, it seems as if in season 5 will is going to be key to solving this conflict. likely within the context of a romantic relationship.

•PROOF #3

no because i know yall are SICK of rain scene analysis, but there is a crucial fact that we learn from this scene

mike believes that maturity= liking girls, disliking DnD

in season 4 it is revealed that mike likes and plays DnD. however when will brings up playing DnD for the rest of their lives, mike brushes it off.

mike is trying to appear mature around will. he doesn’t even try to do this with dustin, luke, max, or el. it is will specifically.

since mike makes it seem as if he’s too cool for DnD, he may be pretending to like girls. because as i mentioned earlier, mike believes maturity= liking girls, disliking DnD. and mike wants to appear mature, especially around will. so it makes sense that he talks to will about el so much, its a symbol of maturity the same way that disliking DnD is.

^that whole blurb makes no sense i’ll rewrite it if yall want

i can add onto this if yall want!! just a few thoughts i had :))

#byler rights #byler #stranger things #stranger things season 4 #st4 #stranger things 4 #mike wheeler #will byers #byler is real #byler tumblr #byler season 4 #byler nation #byler is canon #byler proof #stranger things script #scriptgate

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kiarabanetmi · 10 months

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Chloe’s Arc vs Felix’s Arc

Chloe and Felix share many similarities as characters and yet their stories have completely different outcomes and I want to try and analyze why. I think both of them share similar stories with different outcomes to show how different actions taken by similar people can have drastically different results

On a surface level it may seem like Felix and Chloe aren’t similar, and yes they do have many differences between them that make them different people entirely, but they both have many of the same types of background and suffered similar kinds of abuse and developed negative mindsets about the world because of it

They are both rich children both to influential families that shaped their lives. Each of them had an abusive parent but in different ways: Chloe’s mother abandoned her and her father indulged her bad behavior to avoid being abused himself. Felix’s father abused Felix mentally and emotionally and even Physically since he would use Felix’s miraculous to control what he what physically couldn’t and couldn’t do. We don’t know about how his mother raised him, but I saw an interesting post on Twitter analyzing a moment from the play Felix and Kagami did (it’s linked somewhere on Twitter but I’m having trouble finding it so I can’t give credit where it’s due). The bunny that Felix holds at one point is supposed to represent Felix’s mother (there’s a screenshot somewhere of Amelie wearing a rabbit mask) and the moment where the arm is torn represents that his father abused her as well. This may have caused her to be indulgent of her son to try and make him happy, especially after her husband died, since they were both finally free of his abuse and cruelty

They both have incredible power and financial means as well as a warped view of the world due to their upbringing. Chloe sees everyone as beneath her cause that’s how she feels better about herself and how her mother acted and encouraged Chloe to act when she was actually around. Felix suffered abuse from someone who had power over him, developing a cold and closed off personality, putting others down as well, unwilling to allow himself to open himself up to be used and abused again, causing him to look down on others cause he was trying to protect himself (and his mother).

They also both tried to Sabotage Adrien’s relationship’s at some point too. Chloe tried so she could have Adrien, her “prince,” all to herself and could torture Marinette; Felix did this for unknown reasons but I hypothesize it was a combination of trying to get HawkMoth’s attention by making Adrien’s friends angry enough to be akumatized and out of jealousy that Adrien seemed to have loving friends. Or maybe in his head he also thought he was protecting Adrien from people who were just out to use him rather than actually cared about him, since he never really had any friends of his own and couldn’t believe they were genuine (but that’s my own headcannon, there’s no proof of it).

Adrien also both gave them second chances. In Chloe’s case, it started in Season 2 in Despair Bear. Then later in Derision after he learned the Hell she put Marinette through the years before in school (we’ll come back to that one in a bit). In Felix’s debut episode, Adrien did confront him on what he did, and forgave Felix when he apologized, but only after he made it clear that what Felix did was NOT OK and would not forgive him if he did it again.

Here’s where their story lines start to divulge: what they do after Adrien calls each of them out. They both take different routes. Chloe still bullied Marinette’s and the others and tries to keep Adrien to herself (which really only actively starts up again after the Season 3 finale). In the season 4 episode Gabriel Agreste, she plans to reveal to Gabriel the classes attempts to help Adrien escape his home (and by extension reveal Marinette’s feelings) so he’ll take Adrien of school and make sure only she can visit him. In that very same episode Felix comes back.

Now, on the surface, it seems like Felix hasn’t changed. He’s cold and closed off, gives Gabriel a fake ring back, makes fun of Chloe and avoids interacting with everyone else, including Kagami. But here’s the thing no one notices: he’s not actively trying to sabotage Adrien’s relationships this episode. When he and Kagami are alone in the room, he doesn’t say anything to try and manipulate her, not try to make Adrien look bad. Granted, he probably had more important things on his mind, investigating Gabriel, but it’s still a small improvement. Then there’s the BIG moment in the episode where Gabriel tries to trick Felix and akumatize him: Felix flat out REJECTS it.

This is significant for two reasons: at this point in the timeline, this is only the third time we’ve seen a character actually reject an akumatization based on will alone. The first, funnily enough, was Chloe back in season 3, Miraculer. She refused to be Akumatized and manipulated to try and be better per Ladybug’s advice. The second person to do it was Alya in Gang of Secrets earlier in season 4. Felix (at this point) is only the third character to do this. That’s huge

The second reason is he outright refused to be akumatized at all, rejecting any power offer. In his debut episode, it seemed like he wanted to work with HawkMoth, but here he’s not. Outright refused powers from someone who can literally give them. (Side note, Gabriel is also threatening Felix’s life here by threatening to make him disappear, since he had the peacock miraculous repaired now, and I have a theory as to why it broke in the first place). In the previous episode Queen Banana, Chloe even had a conversation with HawkMoth and readily accepted; showing she was no longer just being manipulated when the butterfly came into contact with her. She could have rejected it (and later did in Penalteam), but still accepted the power. Felix didn’t at all. So we start to think, maybe Felix isn’t that bad? Maybe he’s better than Chloe right?

Then he went and betrayed Ladybug and gave Gabriel all the miraculous in exchange for the Peacock. He didn’t care about the people he hurt or betrayed or doomed in pursuit of his own goals, getting his hand on the Peacock miraculous. Chloe, in similar fashion, wanted the Bee Miraculous back, and allied with HawkMoth when he offered it to her in the season 3 finale. And even in his small scene in season 5 episode 2, when he shows up and his mom is shown to have lies to Ladybug and Cat Noir to protect (or enable) her son, our suspicions about his motives and allegiances are confirmed true.

So far, his story is like Chloe’s: a rich, spoiled kid with an abusive parent (father) and the other parent as an enabler, looking down on everyone not at his level, acting cruel for the sake of it,, working with Hawkmoth to get their hands on a miraculous, and not regretting any of his bad choices and acting in his own self interest without caring about how it impacts others around him.

Let’s head back to Chloe for a second since we’ve focused on Felix and there’s a gap between his appearances in season 5. In the episode Derision, Adrien finally learns the true extent of the torture she put a Marinette through. He may not have heard about the smaller stuff from Kim, like leaving bugs in her locker and paint on her seats, but he learned of the horrendous “prank” she and Kim pulled on Marinette and immediately was furious. I mean, he tried to Cataclysm Kim’s face a few minutes later (I don’t blame him).

Adrien finally learned the true extent of Chloe’s cruelty and evil. So he decides to give her one last chance. He tells her to apologize cause he believes she can change. And she’s shown she’s capable of it. But this time, instead of trying to plead his forgiveness, she just laughs in his face now. She refuses to try being good anymore and outright tells Adrien, her “Prince”, the boy she always called her friend and seemed to care for one some real level, wrong and tries to convince him that she is better. She’s completely given up on any semblance of trying to good, or even just acting like she’s doing it to lease Adrien anymore. She’s done. She’s revealed her true colors to him. And Adrien is done with her. She’s not even sad about it anymore, just angry and annoyed that he betrayed her.

We see here that even though it seemed like she did care about Adrien enough to try and change or be better, she no longer does. Maybe she never did. She still sees him as some sort of prop or tool or prize that she deserves. Now let’s head back to Felix and the episode Emotion and how it displays both Felix’s growth and Chloe’s regression

***note, I have a full post on Felix and his actions in the episode Emption as well if you want to read it

Emotion happens and we see the true differences between the characters, and we learn more about Felix here too. Until now it seems like Felix has his own sinister reasons for allying with HawkMoth and is nothing but a male version of Chloe. But we see the differences here now. He tries to talk to Kagami (posing as Adrien) and doesn’t try to ruin their relationship, in fact apologizing when Kagami tells him that since they’re no longer dating the hand kiss was too far (learning about consent is good young man, but you still have to apologize to Ldybug!). He even tries to bond with her. Meanwhile Chloe had unwittingly “befriended” Marinette at the party and insists on showing her around, bragging about servants and robots and money and the like. Then the King and Queen are supposed to dance.

When Marinette reveals herself to them, you can see the differences in their characters in the ways they react. Marinette gives “Adrien” a heartfelt speech, saying she loves him, how she understands why he didn’t tell her about the dance and isn’t mad or betrayed, how she understands his father is forcing hot to do this and doesn’t blame him, and that she trusts him and loves him no matter what. Chloe is obsessed with the fact the baker girl broke into the dance, wanting her kicked out immediately. Felix by contrast is shocked, and then smiles and dances with her. He’s still acting as Adrien so it could be a cover, but I think he was genuinely loved by her words. Until now he’s never interacted with someone who honest, even if it would get them in trouble or hurt them. When Marinette starts getting self conscious and saying they think she’s a monster, he gets angry and says that they are the monsters.

Then Chloe gets so mad that she outright attacks Marinette and Felix then reveals himself. He starts snapping everyone away, but doesn’t do so with Marinette. He takes her away and hides her rather than just snapping her away for later. He doesn’t want to hurt someone who genuinely cares for his cousin. Then after he snaps the rest of the world away except for himself and Kagami (and be believed Marinette) he brings Adrien back and is overjoyed! He is happy cause he thinks he freed them and wants to have them all live together and be free and happy, (like he never was with his father)

Now we see there’s more to him that a cruel Chloe copy: he wants to help those he cares but is INCREDIBLY misguided, he thinks the only way he can think to help is to take the extreme and completely cut off anyone else who they don’t know or could possibly hurt them in the future, that there’s no one else good in the world except for Adrien and his mother (then later Kagami and Marinette). And we also see him regret his actions when he hurt the people he cared about. When he couldn’t bring back Marinette, he panicked and brought back everyone cause he didn’t want to hurt Adrien.

This is another Major difference between Chloe and Felix. Felix’s actions are also undoubtedly selfish and cruel (snapping away the entire world? Damn), but beneath that there’s a twisted and warped sense of protection and care behind it. He did it to save his loved ones. He was incredibly wrong in his approach and actions, but he seemed to genuinely want to help. And when Adrien called him out on it and how he was out of control and actually hurting people and him with his powers, Felix immediately stopped. He could have ignored it and snapped him and Kagami away, living alone in his free world, but he didn’t. By contrast, in the episode Revolution, Chloe gets similar powers to send people away, and when Adrien calls her on it she just sends him away too, without a second thought. Lila didn’t even need to say anything to convince Chloe to do it, that’s how little she cares about Adrien.

And their differences don’t stop at Emotion and how they use similar powers. They continue for the rest of their individual appearances in Season 5.

After the Diamond Dance and Felix snaps away Red Moon, he could have stopped there. After this failure and hearing his mother agree with his sentiments about how cruel everyone else in the world is (his mother being someone he loves and looks up, who is now validating his original beliefs), he could have just stopped right there. Instead, after that, he took an interest in Kagami, and also still tried to look out for/after Adrien. Remember, in the Season 3 finale, ladybug also tried to reach out to Chloe again after she made that mistake, and Chloe outright refused to apologize and turned against Ladybug fully. Felix ended up listening to Ladybug in the end, when she told him winning isn’t always what you want, or something like that. He did end up taking her advice.

Then when he saw Kagami being abused emotionally and verbally by her mother (one step forward, one step back; STALKING IS NOT OK YOUNG MAN), he noted how horrible it was and immediately acted to stop it. He kidnapped her and took her away (bad reaction, make that two steps back), but here he’s genuinely trying to do good. He’s actively trying to change. Kagami even calls him out on his stalking and kidnapping, and he apologizes and explains he didn’t know what else to do cause he knows what it’s like to be abused. Chloe would’ve just laughed at Kagami’s plight: Adrien’s “perfect” friend and ex girlfriend isn’t so perfect and her mother thinks she’s ridiculous too? She would find that utterly amazing and laughable.

Throughout the rest of the episode, Felix’s only plan is to protect Kagami, and even Ladybug and Chat Noir realize this when Kagami tells them so. He doesn’t try to fight them anymore and leaves.

Then through Lila’s manipulations and schemes, Chloe becomes mayor of Paris, and again ally’s with Monarch to gain powers for herself. She’s back to her old tricks, and this time is completely unrestrained by her former attachments to Adrien. One last time, she could have turned him down, but in the end she didn’t. This final choice is the metaphorical nail in Chloe’s coffin.

**I have another link where I try to analyze Chloe’s fall from grace and the reason her story ended the way it did

That’s a fundamental difference between these two characters which such similar backgrounds: it’s how they react to what they did and react to their mistakes and other people calling them out on their actions

Chloe never truly cared that she hurt Adrien despite him being “precious” to her, she never truly accepted responsibility except for that one time with Maledictator, and in the end didn’t see how her mother treated her as wrong. And when being good wasn’t as easy or rewarding as she wanted it to be, she stopped trying.

She found that being cruel and mean was easier for her and more immediately rewarding, so she took the easy way. It’s not that difficult to expect, especially the way she was raised: with a snobby, absentee mother, a weak willed father, and all the power of the city at her beck and call. It takes a lot of strength, will, and determination to try and break that cycle, especially as a kid. We see she’s capable but it’s hard for her to stay the course of good. All we can hope for is one day she’ll see the error of her ways AND get the help she desperately needs to get her out of abusive home and able to learn healthier and kinder ways to live

By contrast, Felix did realize the error of his ways and actively began to try changing, even though it was really hard. No one trusted him, especially not ladybug or Kagami or Adrien, but he still wanted to try. And he did. When confronted by Ladybug and Car Noir again, he didn’t try to fight them, only intending to protect Kagami. When Kagami told him off and what he was doing wrong he apologized and explained himself and what he was trying to do. He also worked to give her freedom again. Being good is not easy for him either, especially with how often he was hurt and abused when he was young, but he’s trying to be better here, and sees that even though it’s hard work, he’s willing to do it. Hopefully he stays on this path.

#mlb season five #mlb season 5 #mlb season 5 spoilers #mlb chloe #mlb felix #chloe bourgeois #felix fathom #mlb s4 #character analysis #mlb risk #mlb strike back #mlb derision #mlp multiplication #mlb emotion #mlb revolution #mlb representation #mlb gabriel

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ronancexists · 11 months

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^^^ Exactly!!

This is why Ronance should be canon. Robin and Nancy are already integrated into the whole Upside Down of it all, they're flushed out as characters and we love them because of it, and we wouldn't have to worry about a new character taking over possible plot lines for the two of them along with the rest of the characters.

If they made Ronance canon:

1) We would get to see Nancy be with someone who respects her, sees her, and understands her, but also challenges her in ways Steve and Jonathan haven't. We would also get to see Robin have a girlfriend for (I'm pretty sure) the first time in her life.

2) We would just get to see more fun dynamics between Ronance and then also the drama with Steve and Robin and their friendship. Like imagine how confused and hurt and overwhelmed he would feel about Robin being with his ex-girlfriend and how guilty and worried Robin would feel being in a relationship with Steve's ex, especially because I have no doubt he told her everything that went down between Nancy and him at that Halloween party. And also because the Duffers were trying to push Stancy on us so hard during season 4 with Steve saying he imagined/was currently imagining a future with Nancy and six kids.

It would definitely put a strain on his friendship with Robin and Robin would be so upset and feel so bad that she hurt her platonic soulmate and broke "the bro code." Nancy would feel guilty and try to break things off with Robin but then as soon as she does that Steve gets on her ass about not hurting his best friend and he would eventually get over it after he saw how happy they were together. Because ultimately that's what he wants. He wants his friends to be happy, but it would still sting for a long time after.

3) I would hope we would get Nancy confessing to Mike about her feelings for Robin and then in turn Mike confessing that he thinks he might like Will as more than a friend (because let's be real the Duffers are going to be burned at the stake if they don't make Byler canon by the end of this series) and we get the same scenes but it's with Robin and Will. I like to imagine it as the scene in season 4 that was switching between Nancy and Fred/Jonathan and Arygle about the not coming to see each other on spring break thing.

4) We would get to see both of these characters have their happy endings. I imagine Nancy would still be attending Emerson and Robin would follow her (I would have no doubt that Robin could get in because she's fucking smart as hell, like girlie learned 3 languages for fun and she translated Russian without an ounce of knowledge about the language) and because Steve is Robin's platonic soulmate he would follow her. They would live together and Steve would probably go to the community college there and they would share an apartment while Nancy lived in the dorms until she could save up enough to move in with either just Robin or Robin & Steve because again, platonic soulmates.

I'm not trying to upset anyone who ships Vickie and Robin. I would too if only she didn't appear to be so similar to Robin like with the rambling. I (personally) love the whole opposite attracts shit with Ronance and I think they have more chemistry than Robin and Vickie do. But like the post I linked said, the Duffers have the entirety of season 5 to make Vickie a fleshed out character with an entire character arc and storyline while also making the audience fall in love with her, and they would somehow have to do it without taking away from the characters we already know and love.

This, along with the reasons above, are why I ship Ronance and, personally, why I think they are the better ship. I'm sure there are more (PERSONAL!) reasons, but these are the only things I could think of off the top of my head.

#ronance is everything #ronance and byler in season 5 #ronance #robin x nancy #nancy x robin #robin buckley x nancy wheeler #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #also byler #make them canon #in season 5 of stranger things #platonic stobin #stobin #stobin friendship #platonic soulmates stobin #like i want to love vickie #she seems sweet and cute and i love robin being able to have a crush #i just really wish that they had developed her in season four and actually roped her into the upside down #instead of only giving her like five to ten minutes of screen time total #this is not anti vickie the person this is anti vickie the plot device #she seems like a nice girl i just do not have time to make new friends on this show at this point!#they had their chance!#they squandered it!#these are just my opinions #don't come for me #please and thank you #stranger things #stranger things 5

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best-underrated-anime · 1 month

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Best Underrated Anime Group K Round 3: #K8 vs #K2

#K8: Fishing with friends (both human & alien)

#K2: A show where any universe/plot is possible

Details and poll under the cut!

#K8: Tsuritama

youtube

Summary:

Yuki Sanada has always felt like a fish out of water. Socially awkward and anxious, he struggles to fit in with his surroundings and moves from town to town with his grandma. As he and his grandma settle into the charming seaside town of Enoshima, Yuki hopes for a fresh start. However, his reputation at school is jeopardized by the arrival of fellow transfer student Haru. The eccentric Haru immediately makes a splash, wildly claiming to be an alien and declaring that Yuki is his friend. Pairing the reluctant Yuki with their classmate and fishing talent, Natsuki Usami, he tasks both of them with the absurd mission of saving the world from a mysterious threat in the ocean. Mischief and hijinks ensue, as these three embark on a whimsical adventure filled with laughs, heart, and self-discovery!

Propaganda 1:

Tsuritama is a heartfelt show about learning to cope with anxiety by building confidence through learning new skills (fishing). It’s also about learning to be vulnerable with others and rely on them. The soundtrack is almost entirely recorder, as they asked the Kuricorder Quartet to put it together for the show. On top of that, the color scheme is very bright and hopeful.

Propaganda 2:

This show left me feeling both happy and incredibly emotional. It started off very goofy but really reels you in (get it? Reels?) and becomes quite an emotional journey at the end. Also, the art style is really beautiful and colorful and the opening is a bop!

Trigger Warnings: None.

#K2: Beryl and Sapphire (Xiaolü He Xiaolan)

Summary:

The series is based on a manhua where the main characters are drawn as stick figures, so they can be placed in any situation, essentially making different AUs canon while any genre is possible. Some of these stories have overarching plots (they’re sort of like actors), some are more slice-of-life, and some have more hard-hitting moments of angst or occasionally cute, romantic stories between the leads: the mild-mannered Beryl (Green) and the easily-embarrassed Sapphire (Blue).

In this show where each episode is set in a different world, how would they encounter each other time and again?

Propaganda:

It’s genuinely just such a cool concept! Getting to see these characters in practically any story/setting while still featuring the (usually same) main characters means you still get attached to the main cast, but you really get a diverse range of plots and ideas.

You may find yourself getting super attached to one (as I did for the Robo-Beryl arc, because I liked the character of Robo-Beryl but I also found Sapphire’s shyness/crushing adorable), and many of even the shortest ones are really interesting.

The OP even features them as actors and the title cards are film clapboards, which is such a cool way to tie in the main set-up!

Plus, because the manhua features them as stick figures, Ocarina (the original creator of Beryl and Sapphire) has way more room to explore deep ideas or just silly jokes; the flexibility of stick figures means we get lots of deep, philosophical writing/dialogue, and the donghua adapts that quite well.

Beryl is fun and Sapphire is super cute, and I love seeing how they interact in different universes/stories (and yes, they are very shippable!). Their default design is technically male, but sometimes they’re female too.

Some of the storylines are also super creative and really really do just punch you in the gut with feels. I don’t think I’ll ever forget some of the more tragic arcs…

Yet at the end of the day, Beryl and Sapphire is a really cute donghua, with a lot of feel-good stories to it! It even finally came back after like 4 years with season 2, which focuses on one of the over-arching arcs (the Demon King Beryl one), and we’re still getting discussions of deeper ideas alongside comedy, and Beryl and Sapphire are as cute as ever!

The new art style is quite pretty and hey, if you’re a fan of the playful, teasing (yet still can be rather emotionally reserved) type and the easily blushy type, Beryl and Sapphire may just be for you! 😉

Trigger Warnings: None.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

#anime #donghua #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 3 #tournament polls #group k #tsuritama #beryl and sapphire #xiaolu he xiaolan #xiao lu he xiao lan #xiaolü he xiaolan #xiaolv he xialan

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theprinceandthewitch · 2 years

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Not to be mean or anything... but when I see people compare Luz to Caleb and think Evelyn and Caleb are supposed to be about Lumity I tab out immediately.

The parallels between Caleb and Luz don't work; and Lumity isn't Caleb+Evelyn because

Hunter is a clone of Caleb and is the only Grimwalker who looks the most like him. Hunter and the GG's are tied to Caleb whether or not they like it or are even aware of it. Their lives and deaths have always been determined by what Philip believes his brother should have been - a fellow witch-hunter who would never abandon him for the evil he wants to destroy.

2. Caleb is an orphan. The only remaining family member is his brother Philip. Before Hunter knew the truth of his origins he was raised to believe that his entire family was wiped out by wild magic. And that it was his "uncle" who saved him and is his only remaining family. This mirrors Caleb and Philip as orphans who were the only ones left of their family after tragedy befell them. Though the caretaker role has been reversed.

3. Caleb's entire deal is that he's fundamentally a good person who eventually forsakes his "oppressor" mindset. We can even see this quality present in all the GG's including Hunter. Every single one of them came to the realization that what they were doing was messed up and changed themselves. And that they'll always try to put a stop to Philip's plans. But yeah, the "unlearning of an oppressor mindset" doesn't work with Luz for reasons that are so obvious I'm not going to waste time writing them out.

4. Amity did not "entice Luz away" with magic and Luz did not run away to a new world because of Amity. Luz ran away to TBI specifically because she followed Owlbert through the door. And she didn't stay there for Amity. She stayed there only because she wanted to learn magic and live out some kind of grand destiny in a fantasy world. AGAIN, Luz did not run away to TBI because she wanted to start a more peaceful life with her lover - she "ran away" because she wanted to learn magic and live out some kind of grand destiny in a fantasy world. She never planned on staying on TBI for the rest of her life despite dating someone from TBI. And I honestly don't see this show ending in a situation where Camilla and Luz are going to spend the rest of their lives on TBI. The most likely outcome is that they're going to find a way to go back and forth between worlds.

Also I want to point out that unlike Philip's and Caleb's relationship, Camilla's and Luz's relationship isn't hinted at being unhealthy and eventually abusive. This is important to note because Caleb most likely "abandoned" Philip because he came to realize their relationship was poisonous. Luz didn't INTENTIONALLY "abandon" Camilla like Caleb did with Philip. Camilla is not a toxic influence over Luz's life that Luz wanted to get away from. This is why Luz "running away" and Caleb running away doesn't - the motivations are completely different.

5. Amity does not have meaningful history with the main villain like Luz, Hunter, Evelyn and Caleb do.

6. Luz lured Hunter away from Philip. I mean this literally and from a character arc standpoint. Here, let me just copy and paste what I wrote in my pinned post:

" Okay so let me explain why this drives me crazy as someone who loves storytelling. Because this parallel doesn't start when Hunter is running away with Luz in Hollow Mind and stop in the season finale. It goes deeper than that - to a character arc level - and it goes all the way back to Hunting Palismen. This episode is the start of Hunters positive change arc and "betrayal." The person to spearhead his positive change arc and "betrayal" is our favorite WILD WITCH Luz. Completely unbeknownst to Hunter, the moment he lets Luz go he is taking a stand against Belos. And he's following Calebs footsteps by choosing a wild witch over Philip. That is so romantic it's crazy to me"

Romantic undertones aside - do you know how important this is? That both Hunter and Caleb were lured away by someone who represents something they've been taught to fear? Caleb was taught that magic was evil so any practitioners of magic were agents of the devil who needed to be killed. Hunter was taught that wild magic was dangerous and that anyone who didn't want to seal their magic were criminals that needed to be killed. Do i need to say any more than that? This is also why "Amity enticed Luz with magic" doesn't work because Luz was never afraid of magic.

7. Luz introduced Flapjack to Hunter like Evelyn did with Caleb. It's unclear whether or not Flapjack was hers or she carved him for Caleb. I'm more inclined to believe the later because of how Flapjack is a cardinal - a.k.a a creature that is not a native species on TBI. Either way, the point is: without Evelyn showing him that magic isn't evil, Caleb would have never wanted Flapjack. Just like how Hunter would have never wanted Flapjack if Luz didn't show him "wild" magic wasn't dangerous.

8. Evelyn is a Clawthorn and Amity is not. Luz isn't a Clawthorn either but she's heavily associated with this family. And this family has alot of ties to the plot of TOH. Amity doesn't hold the same weight in the story like the Clawthorns do.

9. Luz is a "witch from another world".

People tend to forget what wild witches are and how magic works in universe. Wild witches are witches/demons who refuse to limit themselves to one of the nine main forms of magic.

Magic operates in two ways: either the spellcaster writes a spell in glyphs to perform it or the bile sack, which produces all the glyphs, combines them for the caster. For the former, if you know all the glyphs then you have access to all the same spells someone with a bile sack would have. However, unlike a person with a bile sack, you need to spend some time writing out combinations to figure out how to get the spell you want. This is why this parallel still works despite Luz not being an "actual" witch. Because, even without a bile sack, she still has excess to all forms of magic, just like any wild witch with a bile sack would have.

I need to point out Luz not being an "actual" witch is irrelevant. The point is that Evelyn and Luz represent something Caleb and Hunter were indoctrinated to fear. Evelyn representing magic and Luz representing WILD magic. Through Luz and Evelyn, Caleb and Hunter came to realize the thing they feared wasn't actually dangerous. And because of Luz and Evelyn, Hunter and Caleb were "lured away" from Philip so they could try and live more peaceful and fulfilling lives.

It just doesn't work with any other combo of characters besides Luz and Hunter.

#lunter ramble #analysis #it really is Luz's and Hunter's story... always has been.

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alltheboysandgirlsiloved · 2 years

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Ben’s character arc: the summary and the highlights

In other words: why do I love Ben Pincus so freaking much

// spoilers for season 5

Ben is an extremely inspiring character to me. I firmly believe that he has the best character arc in the entire show. I also think, this is obviously biased, that out of all characters he has matured the most. And so I decided to briefly break it down to you because I felt like it.

Season 1

Ben’s just a kid who is afraid of life, kinda ignores that there are things he might be missing out on, and kinda doesn’t want to explore that. That fear or nervousness affects his relationship with other people.

Ben is just an anxious shy kid, who has a strong core but is still afraid to take an initiative; he isn’t big on crowds and people and prefers to keep some stuff to himself. For a while, he feels like he doesn’t fit into the group (everyone pretty much arrived at the camp somewhat excited, Ben was simply terrified).

Slowly, Ben reaches out to touch and explore things that seemed beyond his reach – budding friendship with the campers, Bumpy (!) and, of course, his decision to fully get out of his shell to save the day on the monorail.

ft. Don’t get me started on the entire “it’s okay to be different” speech (10/10, that one was for history books)

Season 2

aka The traumatic experience.

Ben falls from the monorail, suddenly he is on his own in a situation that is very unfamiliar to him. It’s just him and his fears and he has to face the questions like “who am I?”, “how is this going to affect me?”, “what do I have to do to survive?”, “how do I face my fears?”

ft. “What? You’ve never seen a ghost before?”

Season 3

Finding a way back to “an old life”

On an emotional level, Ben doesn’t click with the other campers instantly, finding the connection is hard, and he struggles a lot. He feels like there’s a gap between him and them. While he knows that they care about him, it’s hard to bond over the same things as before; there are also things that Ben thinks are “uniquely his” and he’s very attached to them (Bumpy). These are all the marks left by the trauma, things that helped him find himself, things that in a way reshaped him. They are important to him.

He also finds out that there are aspects of his life, like Bumpy, that he has a hard time leaving behind even if it’s the right thing to do. It hurts too much. He learns how it feels to mourn over friends (Bumpy) that you have to leave behind.

ft. He likes to play with fire a little bit too much

Season 4

Being thrown into a new environment&the fear of “failing”.

Ben finds himself in a similar situation to Ben in season 1 and it affects him heavily. Once again we see this fear, this nervousness, and his insecurities make themselves known once again.

At the same time, he faces his biggest fear: pteranodons. Just when you think that he’s going to glitch, that he’s going to panic and freak out, he simply decides to, in a way, stop running. The scene with pteranodons is probably one of the most important scenes for Ben’s character in the entire series.

ft. Ben learns to trust a person “out of his safety zone” – it’s not easy, it takes time but eventually, he decides to trust Mae

ft. Ben’s entire conversation with Yas.

Season 5

Fully embracing both his insecurities and his courage.

It may not be obvious but everything about 'season 5 Ben' speaks “confidence”. He’s confidently scared but also confidently brave. He doesn’t overthink his reactions to particular situations. It's obvious to be that he has a very healthy relationship with himself. He accepts the world as it is. He is also not as stubborn as before – in the end, he is, surprisingly enough, the first one to forgive Kenji. Probably one of the top 5 moments of the entire series for me personally.

ft. Ben and Bumpy episode/reunion call it however you want – I think that the moment he refused to control Bumpy even if it meant "getting her by his side" proves that he is emotionally one of the most mature characters. He would rather lose her again than do something against her will (even if her will is, or at least seems, unexistent at that point).

ft. Ben being the one who gives Yas the proper push. He might be awkward when it comes to feelings, especially anything romantic-related but, in the end, he’s a good supportive friend and others know that they can rely on him.

Season 5 post-time skip

Ben doesn’t stop. He doesn’t return to his shell. He fully embraces his interests and who he is. I truly, truly believe that there’s nothing that can stop him. He deserved happiness and that’s what he got.

(I probably missed a bunch of stuff but yeah. i just... I love Ben so much, he made a space for himself in my heart and I don’t think he will ever fully leave. thank you for all those beautiful moments, Ben. I know that you are just a fictional character but gods, among all fictional characters you are one of the best.)

#ben pincus #jwcc ben #camp cretaceous ben #camp cretaceous season 5 #camp cretaceous #jwcc #jurassic world camp cretaceous #jurassic world #camp cretacerous spoilers #jwcc spoilers

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alpaca-clouds · 10 months

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How does Isaac heal?

Let me quickly address something that came up in discussions about Castlevania and the character arc of Isaac.

I wrote yesterday about my take on Hector and his trauma, and I have written before about what we can piece together about Isaac's past. tl;dr: Isaac was probably taken from somewhere in the Ottoman Empire as a child and brought to Europe as a slave. We also do know that after he escaped slavery he was again and again confronted with racism and islamophobia, making him misanthropic.

Now, when I talk about that Hector very clearly has not healed from the trauma during season 3 by the time season 4 happens, because it is just not realistically possible, I have now heard it several times come up: "Well, but Isaac heals by talking to like three people."

But here is the thing: No, Isaac does not heal. But he ends the series in a place, where he might be able to.

So, let me ramble once again about trauma. Like Hector, Isaac for sure has CPTSD, because his psychological and neurological development was altered by the abuse he experienced as a slave - and whatever happened after that.

And no matter how calm he appears in his demeanor, that trauma is there and it is raw. While Hector is outright searching for love, so eagerly hanging onto whoever might just offer him a glimpse of it, Isaac has closed himself up to love and trust. Because this, too, is very much a trauma reaction. And like Carmilla he channels all of his hurt into anger against pretty much everyone else.

We do not quite know, what he did before joining Dracula. But it appears that he did never once follow a bigger goal than survive. (Also see: His monologue in the end.) Which makes total sense, because trauma - especially continuous trauma - will put the brain into a constant survival mode. And while the entire "fight or flight" thing we learn is greatly oversimiplified, there is some truth to it. And in Isaac's case it is very clear that he is always in "fight mode".

Now, what happens during his journey is, that he suddenly has a goal of his own and for once is forced to actually listen to other people, rather than just kill every single person coming his way. And what happens through it - especially through what the Captain tells him - is that he gets a chance to reframe his prior experiences. He gets a chance to reframe his trauma.

And that is something that is the first step in healing. Because it can lead to acceptance and acceptance can lead to healing.

Reframing basically allows him to look at the world through another lense but his constant survival mode and anger. It allows him to act out of a basic form of rationality again. Because until that point his actions (like Carmilla's) were irrational.

Just take his "revenge" on Hector. Sure, Hector did betray Dracula. But Hector had literally no hand in Dracula dying. Would the trio have had more of an issue, had they had to fight more forces in the castle? Probably. Would it have made a difference? Doubtfully.

Now, the big difference between Hector and Isaac in my PoV is, that Isaac has a lot more tools to heal himself, than Hector has. Because: No matter how you think about religion, religion can very much help in healing from trauma.

It is why I am far less worried about Isaac's trauma post-canon, than I am for Hector. Especially because we see Isaac at least willing to face his trauma, too. And Hector... uhm, well. He ain't that far yet.

#castlevania #castlevania isaac #castlevania netflix #isaac laforeze #trauma #ptsd #cptsd #psychology

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coldninjaruins-blog · 1 year

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"Mike is obsessed with Eleven, they are obviously endgame."

The first part of the sentence is just what makes me believe that they are in fact not going to be endgame. Even if byler isn't endgame, even if Mike just sees as a best friend to Will, even totally taking out of the equation that Will is in love with Mike and how his veiled confession was used to fix a straight relationship and how fucked up and wrong that is.

(This post is going to be assuming that Mike has no feelings for Will and everything they say about Mike and El's relationship is true).

First of all, obsessed is not a good word, it's not a good thing to say someone is obsessed with something, and Mike being obsessed with El would be no exception. The show never established this as the opposite

Mike is constantly being called out for leaving and ignoring his friends for El. This doesn't happen once or twice but multiple times.

And the point of these scenes is never to paint this as something good and romantic because it's not! It's always to point out how Mike is wrong for doing this.

To be fair in the first season this makes sense, Mike is just a boy who likes a girl for the first time and unintentionally puts all his attention on her making his friends feel left out, it's understandable and realistic and they address the issue!

So what is the reason they add the same arc to Mike over and over again? To show us that he doesn't learn anything? That he has no character development? I'm sorry but it would just be bad writing.

In season 3 after the fight with Will, we never see Mike addressing his behavior and he turns all his attention back to El. "But there were bigger problems" the writers had Lucas apologize to Will after that and that's taking into account that the fight was mainly between Mike and Will but they couldn't do the same with Mike?

Then we go back to the same narrative arc in season 4, because you know! Apparently everything that happens in the fight with Will in season 3 meant nothing to Mike and recycling is good! At least Mike apologizes this time.

My point is that the writers can't do this and expect people to see Mike and El's romantic relationship in a good light, subconsciously it gives you a message of "Mike is a bad friend" even though this poor guy was going to jump off a cliff to save the life of one of his friends. That's why many general audience members don't like Mike, that's why they say he's a bad friend, that he's poorly written and that his character relies solely on being El's boyfriend in the later seasons.

They can't do so many scenes implying that Mike and El don't really work as a couple, Mike needing to be needed and how unhealthy that is, both feeling uncomprehended in the relationship and expect the audience to not think "hey, maybe they should just break up" unless that is in fact their goal all along.

Or maybe they ruined the cute relationship Mike and El had in s1&s2 (because they were fucking adorable back then) the friendship Mike had with Will, and basically Mike's entire character for no apparent reason!

#not really about byler but tagging bc yk #byler

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share-the-damn-bed · 1 year

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I am 100% sure that they are gonna split the season and I am 100% sure that the last Jancy scene we'll get in volume 1 will be the blowup fight about college.

Hey, look, it's my most realistic season 5 nightmare haunting my ask box!

But seriously, Anon, there is a very real possibility this is exactly what will happen and it is partly why I'm so wary of a mid season break because I feel like the writers will use it to temporarily break up Jancy which will lead to a very stressful time between volumes.

However, I do still have hope. And I want offer a glimpse of that hope to break up the little bit of ask-related doom spiraling on my page recently.

At this point, I truly believe (after close analysis of all the ST4 scenes) that there is no chance for a St*ncy endgame. I really don't think Nancy's heart is in it authentically and I believe that the point of the entire plot line was to have Steve "crawl backwards" a bit, regress in his character development (since he was fully redeemed and they didn't know what to do with him) and give him a chance to mature past this once again in season 5 and win over the hearts of the audience in a way that parallels season 2. Fans love when Steve is a pathetic character they can root for (post-nancy dumping him, literally all of season 3). It's kinda like a reset for him.

I also believe that season 5 will end happily for all the main characters and I trust the writers to do right with all of them. Even Jonathan. I will argue that Jonathan actually did have a great arc set up in season 4 that was not focused on enough and was cut too early in the season until I'm blue in the face. They would be dumb not to explore it more in season 5 because his character needs it. I'm not saying that this guarantees a Jancy endgame but I do think it means the conflict with Jancy will be resolved in a way that satisfies both characters' overarching arcs. Even if they do temporarily break up between volumes. And I personally think that the best way to do that is by having Jancy end up together. Especially because...

The overarching theme of this show is the power of love. This has been shown repeatedly, especially in season 4. I believe this concept will be what our heroes will use to defeat Vecna in the end (especially with his anti-human/humans suck philosophy). Therefore, it only makes sense that love will be what will resolve this conflict between Jonathan and Nancy and that their love will help them overcome every obstacle.

For those, like me, who may agree with everything I stated above but are still wary because they no longer trust the writers, I want to point out one thing I've reflected on which may help...

I really hated the way they handled the Billy storyline in season 3 (sorry Billy fans). I didn't like how they made him an obvious human antagonist who was abusive towards Max in season 2 and then suddenly changed their relationship in season 3 where Max was worried about him and the show seemed to completely forget about all the horrible things he did in season 2. I thought his redemption attempt was cheap and I didn't bat an eye when he died. I was more concerned for Max but I was still confused why she was so upset. The show didn't do a decent job explaining any of this during that season.

I wrote this whole thing off as bad writing (which to be fair, in season 3 it mostly was) and I was very, very worried when I saw the trailer for season 4 for the first time (with Max reading a letter at Billy's grave) and learned that an episode was going to be called "Dear Billy".

HOWEVER, I thought season 4 did an amazing job, an actual incredible job, presenting Max's grief surrounding her step-brother and her mourning the relationship they would never have.

I'm not saying this makes season 3's writing choices suddenly good but it does give more context for why Max acted the way she did in season 3 AND the situation from season 3 gave the writers the foundation for the best storyline in season 4.

In summary, even though some choices did not make sense or seem good in season 4, I am going to trust the writers to tie things up in a satisfying way (just like they did with Max's relationship with Billy) in season 5. I want to wait to see the whole, complete story before I continue to judge them too harshly.

#wow this was long #jancy #anti billy hargrove #sorry if you're a fan #i'm just not

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jeanmoreaux · 7 months

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why did you dislike ses4? and was there anything you enjoyed recently?

oh boy. i think it would be easier to tell you what i DID like about the season. i can count it on one hand. (1) ruby. she's my queen. (2) adam making it explicitly clear that he identifies with the bi label. (3) gillian anderson. she's just soooooo ugh. i love her. (4) NONE OF THE BAD BITCHES CHOOSING OTIS. maeve and ruby both deserve better fr. (5) aimee reclaiming some agency. cannot even think of a sixth thing. that's how bad this season did not worked for me. i said i was not gonna rant but i guess now i am gonna rant a little (trying to keep it short for both of our sakes).

i think there is definitely some more technical and objective stuff that's wrong and with this season and then there is some stuff i personally didn't like but that may work for other people.

objectively, i think the writing was severely lacking in quality. it was SO LAZY. even uninspired. the plot was meandering and the arcs fell extremely flat as a consequence. they randomly introduced interesting internal and external conflicts, sometimes even towards the end of the season, that could have spanned the entire eight episodes, but then they often just drop those ideas like hot potatoes—sometimes by the next episode, sometimes by THE NEXT SCENE (e.g. otis basically taking over a surrogate parent role or feeling like losing his mom, basically everything ruby-centric that wasn't oatis-related, jackson questioning his sexuality, etc.)!! other storylines that didn't have to last for several epsiodes (like jackson's cancer scare) went on for way too long. and the storylines they kept up for several episodes were mostly half-assed. the vivian & beau thing was surface level at most (and rushed af), the ace thing was soooo buried and shoved aside for stupider plotlines (they did o so dirty istfg), same with their approach to adding to the discourse on disability/accessibility, the exploration of jean's sister dealing with her abuse was just almost non-existent, eric's storyline reconciling his sexual and religious identities relied an cheap gimmicks, maeve finding her voice as a writer, jean's postnatal depression (how half-assed that was truly hurt my psych major brain), etc..... and then they dragged these storylines out without giving them any *substance*. like. i SKIPPED two episodes and missed NOTHING (i even did go back to jump through it just now to verify and, yup, did not miss a piece of information i did not gain or infer from the episodes i watched). you know a story is aimlessly wandering around when people can skip 2h of content and not even miss a shrivel of character development. i'd claim almost all storylines and arcs were handled badly. the only one that was well-structured and well-executed (from a storytelling standpoint) was the groff family arc (mind you, not the individual arcs but their arc as a family). AND I DON'T EVEN AGREE WITH THAT STORYLINE FROM AN IDEOLOGICAL STANDPOINT BUT STILL I LIKED IT THE MOST BECAUSE WRITING WISE IT WAS AT LEAST COMPETENTLY HANDLED!!!! like, that's so unfortunate. for me. and don't even get me started on the tonal dissonance WHITIN scenes and BETWEEN scenes. it was so so jarring at times and made the humour NOT land AT ALL (especially the physical humour because holyyy shit what was that). idk if that's editing's fault or if the writers made these decisions or if the producers and executives are to blame, but the inconsistency of mood and tone just really made me feel disconnected from the emotional moment. felt absolutely nothing about what was happening to these characters.

on a more personal level, i took issues with the way they wrote some characters and the content of some arcs. they really reduced maeve's character to nothing (like. i am sorry but her dialogue is so flat and boring, the most meaningful thing she said all season was probably at her mom's funeral.) otis literally learned jackshit. he's still kind of a self-absorbed dick. o was so underutilised and disrespected (they didn't even try to make the ace thing an important plotline). aimee was turned into a grotesque parody of herself. eric's story focusing on religion was HELL to me personally. like, i grew up catholic (which is different to the christianity eric practices but still...), and ngl the way they handled his 'religious' awakening just sent me up the wall. as a queer person who was very involved in church life from a young age and had to reconcile her faith with her queer identity, i felt like his story made a mockery of that struggle and that inner conflict. the visions were ridiculous. it felt like the writers were making fun of the struggle queer people face when (1) wanting to meaningfully engage with faith and religion *OR* (2) wanting to distance themselves from organised religion. additionally it felt like they were making fun of religion & religious faith as a whole, depicting it as this almost psychotic thing to believe in god. and they completely decoupled eric's personal journey to faith from what religion primarily is about for many, many people: community and connection. like, sure, they briefly brushed it i theory, but neglected to real get into the emotional reality and complexity of it. they very much glossed over the fact that religious communities are a source for moral/ethical and social control and even when you disagree with some aspects of the doctrine you will still be affected by it if you grew up in those circles. and your personal reckoning with religion will probably be more tied to THAT (the fear of losing love/support/part of your social circle, ostracisation (because even when you're okay with who you are right from the start it's something that doesn't feel good even when you prepare for it....), feeling disconnected from your former self, struggling to build your own belief system that you feel lie it truly belongs to you etc.). his entire journey was lacking any nuance and complexity in my opinion. and maybe that's because i personally had a different experience reconciling my faith with my sexual identity. i wasn't a self-hating queer either, but breaking away from religion still was a change in my life that impacted me very real and convoluted ways!!! (also like let's be real him becoming a pastor is gonna solve what exactly??? go through the homophobic system to change the homophobic system??? HUH with what power??? you're better of starting a new church fr.) idk. another thing that bugged me was the lack of chemistry in intimate scenes. like. jo and i watched these scenes and. nothing. the lack of chemistry really made me so uncomfortable. it almost made me question if i really do like sex lol. ALSO WHYYYY did they force the aimee and isaac relationship for no reason???? that really didn't have to have to happen. not that i hate it, it's whatever, but i was just so BORING to me. same with the otis and maeve thing. THEY WERE SO BORING. their drama this season was so repetitive and reminiscent of earlier conflicts between them it made me want to rip my hair out. i think i stopped caring about them as a couple after season 2. they don't fit and they don't work yet still the writers were trying to make them a thing for no reason. i could go on but this is already longer than i wanted it to be (yikes). i just want you to know that this season did so many things so badly i ended up not caring about ANYTHING that happened or ANY of the characters (except ruby). they could have all just disappeared and i wouldn't have cared one bit because they were all giving NOTHING. so basically, the season felt like this meme to me, but with a heavy, all-permeating, very petty & derogatory undertone:

okay so now for the things i did watch and enjoy recently (i assume you mean movies/tv shows because i my monthly wrap ups cover my reading). there are quite a few things, actually! ofc i watched barbie which was fun, and oppenheimer which was Very Good. oh, and i watched and liked set it up, and my brother sat me down and made me watch the two spider verse movies with him which i enjoyed a lot as well! my other brother made me watch the new puss in boots (liked that one, too). i also watched the first couple of episodes of the bear and i am very intrigued (gonna continue for sure)!! also finished glow a couple of month ago which was quite good but sadly prematurely cancelled. other than that i have been mostly rewatching stuff tbh (recently e.g. fleabag, schitt's creek, atla, succession, and the occasional movies like p&p 2005, emma 2020. also been in the mood for a rewatch of god's own country & the ghibli movies.). other than that, the movies/tv shows i reblog stuff from are generally things i enjoyed in the past (or at least partly enjoyed). idk there's a lot on my 'to watch list' but i am only making my way through it super slowly jhghjgjhjgjh

#thanks for the ask <3 #would love to hear what you have watched and loved recently!!! always open for recs.#and if you want to share your thoughts on ses4 or anything else i am all ears!!#anon #answer #schitt's creek #atla #succession

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malevolententity · 10 months

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hello season 2 i am in Pain

project 4

to start this off. you all must know that i loath granny squares. i think theyre Fine to make as a boredom time killer! theyre fairly easy to work up! but making Pieces. Making Whole Ass Projects Out Of Squares? killing myself. killing god even. killing every pattern maker and every urge in me to Make the thing.

i hate this bag with a passion. i like it because the mushrooms are cute! its made entirely of scrap yarn that couldnt be used in other projects but a granny square project was perfect! the entire point of this bag is to put in every piece i make, that i keep, while watching ordem into this! it shall serve its purpose well. but i hate it. i hate this thing so much.

this wretched thing took about 14 hours? i started it 2 hours into season 2. i finished this bag with about 10 minutes to spare on episode 4. this is a 14 hour bag and i hate my life with a passion but its okay because i made something to hold things i like more LMAO.

i am though very proud of it working out colorwise as well as it did since its made of all scrap yarn. the handle doesnt work as Well as i was hoping but i think it still pulls all the blues nicely for the most part. and again its just a think to hold projects for the moment unless i end up gifting it. for not proper planning i Do like it even if i kinda hate it xD

season thoughts so far

dude luis can not catch a break like i Know both deaths of his so far have been purposeful by his own hand. but like what the fuck dude, he can not have a character that lives to see episode 4 huh. i like the big weird spider ngl i hope we get a fucked up brocket or a fucked up bear with whatever the fuck is going on in the forest. m kinda neutral on arthur right now but i know he'll grow on me as we get more episodes in, god m gonna miss cris and esp what growth we coulda had between cris and cesar but i know its probably gonna kick off a wonderful cesar arc. assuming he survives to see said arc.

still big fan of joui, in love with the entire conversation between joui and liz surrounding The Stairs Incident hes soooooo. that fucking conversation took me out. i cant wait to see what happens next and who the next casualty is because i knew getting into it, but esp now that this is a no holds series, you will just die and have to learn how to keep going. since i dont check the wiki m really interested to see if luis comes back in the next? 12 episodes i think are left? with a new character or if hes just gone from the season and i gotta wait for season 3 to see him again.

and sadly :( i can not watch anymore ordem for the next little bit even tho i have a project and yarn all picked out because i hurt my wrist yesterday while crocheting and did the Silly of finishing this piece today even with slight pain. so m gonna be kind to myself a rest a few days even tho i reaaaally wanna see whats in this fucked up bone house???? human skull effigy house its Gotta be something interesting. but until then. i shall simply enjoy normal streams and learning more portuguese

#a ordem crochet #fiber art

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gaygoetia · 2 years

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Season 4 Vol 2 Theory/Predictions

It's been like two days and there's still an entire month until Volume 2 so... It's theory time!

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SEASON 4 OF STRANGER THINGS

What's next for Will?

By the end of Volume 1 El's individual storyline seems mostly resolved. We don't see her get her powers back but she remembers everything and we get the reveal that Vecna is One.

Meanwhile Will, Mike, Jonathan and Argyle have found out from Suzie where Eleven is and are heading her way.

I think they'll get to her early on in episode 8 and help her escape from the facility then head to Hawkins to help their friends.

In Hawkins

So what's gonna happen when they get there?

The immediate issue is that Team California and Team Hawkins might not be able to contact each other.

Team Hawkins have no way of knowing the others are there and they can't be contacted themselves because they're hiding from both their parents and the jocks.

Team California's first thought would be to call them but nobody is gonna be home. So the only possibility they have of contacting them is by radio/walkie-talkie which, as we've seen, isn't the most reliable.

I think potentially Vecna might target Will before they have a chance to speak to the others and learn the power of music, so it will be up to Eleven, Mike and Jonathan to save him.

This could be the perfect way to bring together Will, Eleven and Mike's arcs set up in Volume 1.

Will's Trauma

We know Vecna targets people with trauma and secrets and Will has both in spades.

I have no doubt that he is still haunted by what happened to him in season 1 and 2 when he was trapped in the Upside Down then possessed by the mindflayer. He's also almost definitely secretly gay and hiding his feelings for Mike.

Judging from what Vecna's other victims saw and heard leading up to their deaths, I think the initial voices/visions will focus on Will's sexuality and his dad's homophobia. Then when Vecna goes to strike by trapping him in a vision it will be him trapped in the Upside Down again.

Much like the exploration of Eleven's backstory in Volume 1, this could be a great way for the audience to learn more about Will's time in the Upside Down during season 1 without needing to hire a different actor for flashbacks.

How will they save him?

I'm cautiously optimistic that the Duffer Brothers wouldn't be out of touch enough to kill off their only gay character immediately after revealing his sexuality, so here's how I think he'll survive.

Rather than repeat the music trick we already saw with Max, I think Eleven will do something similar to what she did in Season 3 when she was trying to reach a possessed Billy and unwittingly accessed his memories.

I think she'll get a glimpse of some of Will's memories before ending up in the Upside Down illusion with Will and there'll be a showdown between her and Vecna within Will's mind.

Meanwhile Mike and Jonathan will be doing everything they can externally to bring them both back (probably by recounting stories and telling Will how much he means to them) much like when Will was possessed in season 2.

Will, El and Mike's Arcs

Here's how I think all this will tie into the characters individual arcs.

Will: This will be the reveal of Will's sexuality (and his crush on Mike) to both the audience and to Eleven and it will tie back to what Will said about being scared to say his true feelings in case people react badly to the truth. El's acceptance and support (maybe Mike's and Jonathan's too if he's able to hear them) will lessen the power Vecna has over him, as he no longer has to fear that rejection.

Eleven: El has struggled this season with feeling out of place and inherently different to her peers, which connects strongly with Will's own journey. She might even see Will's memory of his conversation with Jonathan where he tells him it's better to be a freak. This could help El accept her own unique differences, just as she accepts Will's.

This could also tie into El's relationship with Mike, due to her realising for the first time that Will also has feelings for him (maybe she'll realise Mike doesn't deserve either of them lol)

Mike: I think this will function as a surprise callback to the conversation Mike had with Will about being honest about your feelings even if people might not like what you have to say. Obviously that conversation was about him telling El he loves her (or doesn't) but I think it will come into play here, with Mike telling Will something he was too scared to tell him before.

I think whatever Mike tells him (and/or Eleven?) will explain his weird stand-offish behaviour with Will and/or his refusal to tell El he loves her.

Jonathan: I'm less certain of this one but this scene could also possibly tie in to Jonathan's arc. We saw in Volume 1 that Jonathan has (seemingly out of nowhere) decided to stay in Lenora with Will and El instead of going to college with Nancy and one of the reasons he gives is his reluctance to leave them behind.

In this scene he might admit that he's scared of leaving Will alone because he's traumatised by losing him in season 1 and nearly again in season 2.

TL;DR

I think Will, El and Mike will reunite and return to Hawkins where Will will be targeted by Vecna. El will use her powers to enter Will's mind where she will confront Vecna and save Will. Meanwhile Mike and Jonathan will finally speak honestly about what the fuck is up with them this season.

Please lemme know what y'all think about this theory. I need people to chat with about Stranger Things to make the wait for Volume 2 bearable!

#will byers #stranger things #stranger things meta #stranger things theories #stranger things 4 #stranger things spoilers #ST4 spoilers #my posts #my meta

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bussinpoots · 2 years

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Wonder If I should Liveblog my thoughts on the new Stranger Things 4. Haven’t started it yet. Maybe I will Maybe I Won’t. Look, ok. My predictions are:

Will’s going to die, because I can’t imagine they’ll keep him alive. ST seems like, sadly, a Kill Your Gays trope series OR Random BF out of nowhere appears in some kind of Flash Forward scene or Conclusion moment / Summation of their lives after the Main Shit. Either that or he’s going to be shoved to the side.

We’re going to have some kind of beginning where it shows 1- Someone’s broken up in the main cast, 2- Someone’s having a rocky relationship in the main cast, or 3- Someone’s got a new love interest. Because unfortunately we can’t have a show or movie where not everyone needs some kind of romantic life happening.

Some bullshit iteration of Nancy/Johnathon/Steve again. My guess is Johnathon and Nancy aren’t getting along, Steve’s moving on or something, and Nancy’s going to pop back in.

Robin gets a GF or a love interest. Because she deserves it, and also because the Duffer brothers are assumedly straight men and they’d rather their token lesbian be the one who’s happy rather than sad boy Will who’s there for the depressed character always fighting for a better life.

We already know Hopper’s alive, I think it was obvious even during his ‘death’ scene in season 3. Never believed for a moment they’d kill him like that. Whether he dies or not in this season I’m 50/50 on. I feel like it’d be repetitive to kill him again after bringing him back. I am going to assume though, that he’s probably not ok when it’s revealed he’s alive because they closed the portal and the only places we’ve seen that have been testing with the upsidedown or whatever was Russia so he’s going to have something to do with that.

Eleven is going to have some kind of breakdown arc/plotline because she’s going to struggle without her powers. She’s going to need to learn how to be a person in a new environment, so I imagine she’s going to get bullied in some way or another, and as we’ve seen she can lose her temper so I think she’ll get into a fight, but Idk if she’d win or not.

Joyce won’t be in a relationship, or at least won’t be until the end of the series. I don’t think she’ll be killed off because the repetition of killing off Eleven’s caregivers would be getting old by then.

I assume we’ll see Brenner if Eleven’s ‘Sister’ and that man they threatened weren’t lying about him being alive. Maybe he works for the Russians, who knows.

The ‘Sister’ will make an appearance. (I’m putting writing the word ‘sister’ like that because I can’t remember her name, but I don’t want to google it in case I get spoiled)

Some kind of relationship drama will happen between Will and Eleven because if there’s one majorly repetitive thing, it’s that. I don’t think they’ll break up though, because that that would mean storyline-wise, they’d have to focus on Will more because I feel like they’ll touch base on him more anyway this season because he lives with Eleven now, and if the previous seasons were anything to go by, he’s into Mike. So no, Mike and El aren’t going to break up, but they’ll have some kind of tension happen anyway.

Some brilliant bestfriend moments between Robin and Steve. I fucking hope.

Dustin is going to have new friends who might or might not become plot relevant, because I can’t see him being able to keep as close of a bond with the Mike|Will|Lucas|Max| quad. Considering him being pushed aside in S3, hanging out with Steve|Robin|Erica trio pretty much the entire season, plus his friends’ not believing him about having a girlfriend. I also assume we’ll see Dustin and Steve become really good friends

Lucas is going to drift away from the core group. He’s had those vibes in all the seasons, and I think with the Byers moving, and Dustin having other friends, that this is bound to happen. I don’t think he’s going to be as involved with Max as he was before. Mostly because if he’s distancing himself from the group (whether knowingly or not doesn’t matter), he’s going to spend less time with Max and I think she’s not going to be ok. She lost her brother kinda horrifically even if he was a dickhead so I think she needs to heal from that and Lucas changing isn’t going to help. So I take this back to the second prediction I made, and I think this is going to be about them (also Mike and El, but that’s inevitable).

There’s probably going to be tension (not romantically, obviously) between Will and Eleven.

I assume there’s going to be a death of the main cast. (probably Will), in some self-sacrificing thing, or a Jumpscare death like Bob’s. Some dramatic I Love You Always Did to someone. Hope not, but it probably will.

I also think they’ll try and draw it out enough that there’s like one tiny loophole in the series that can use as an excuse to rip another season out of their asses. Maybe even pull some Boruto shit

Johnathon is going to be an other 50/50 for me. I really don’t know how he’s going to be at all. I don’t have anything against him, but he’s been a pretty boring character so far, so I’m not sure what’s going to be up with him because his entire character development is Nancy, so their relationship is going to be rocky I assume, otherwise they have nothing going for them.

So those are my predictions. I’ll start the new series in the next hour after I cook some dinner, and update through reblogs on this post, how it goes and my thoughts.

#st4 spoilers #st4 predictions #Tagging spoilers in case anything i say is right and i've accidentally spoiled it somehow. which i doubt will happen #apologies if this is worded weirdly- i have dyslexia and I type based on pure muscle memory

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