#jonathan and nancy would be like those random characters that show up every once in a while like tyler cutebiker or toby determined

[starkstruck27]

Okay wait, but I've got another idea: a Gravity Falls AU. Recently I've been rewatching the show, and I think it has a lot of similarities to ST, so I've been thinking...

Robin and Steve are twins (fraternal, with Robin being two minutes older, and I'm thinking they're, like, 16 or 17 in this AU) and they're sent by their parents to stay with their crazy uncle Hopper over the summer. They live in Chicago, but Uncle Hopper lives in the sleepy little town of Hawkins, and is kind of a mystery. He owns a tourist trap called the Oddity Emporium, and even though he's kind of a stingy, crotchety older guy, he loves them, and the Emporium is where they live.

Robin and Steve move into the bedroom in the attic, and as soon as they get settled, they start to notice some oddities outside of the museum. First, Robin swears she sees a fairy flying around when they're exploring the woods, then Steve is convinced that one of the statues in the town square is in a different position when he comes out of the supermarket, but they have no proof. They try to chalk it up to their uncle's place just messing with their heads, but then, they're exploring the woods one day, and Steve trips and falls into a ditch.

Robin immediately climbs down to check on her brother, and he's fine, but he hit his head on something and they decide to check it out. It turns out to be a chest buried at the bottom of the ditch, and when they finally pry the ancient lock open, they find a book inside.

Steve isn't impressed at first. It's a weird book, what's so special about it? But Robin cracks it open and they start to read, both amazed by what they find. It's some kind of journal, apparently the third in a set, that has a mysterious unknown author, and it details all of the weird creatures and supernatural goings-on that make Hawkins so weird.

At first they don't want to tell anyone about it, not even Uncle Hopper. They don't know why the book was buried, but it seems like there was a reason, right? Maybe it's a government conspiracy or something. But they study it together, trying to figure out who in the crazy little town might have something to do with writing it.

They become friends with Eddie, another guy a little older than them who works at the Oddity Emporium as a handyman/cashier/whatever else is needed of him, and his friends, Gareth, Rich and Jeff. They're the cool kids in Hawkins, rowdy teenagers who just always seem to have the best hangout spots (including a secret ladder that leads to the roof of the Emporium) and the most fun of anyone else in the town. They also befriend some local kids who come with them on adventures, Dustin, Will, Lucas, Erica and Mike. They're all younger than Robin and Steve, but they're pretty cool, and they're more accustomed to the weirdness that plagues the town, so they're pretty awesome to have around.

There's also Mrs. Byers, who runs the diner in town, and her other son Jonathan, who is kind of friends with Eddie and his gang. Jonathan is also Will's older brother, so he and his girlfriend Nancy often tag along on adventures. And of course there's El, the psychic girl who is the centerpiece of the other tourist attraction in town, the Hut of Hypnotism. Her dad and Uncle Hopper have been in a war for best tourist attraction for years, but because El made real friends and doesn't like using her powers (which no one knows how she got) just for him to make money, Hopper often comes out on top. There's the local cops, Powell and Callahan, who are not great at their jobs, but perfect for comedic relief, and finally, the local kook, another hermit who lives in a shack in the woods named Old Man Murray.

Robin and Steve get to know the people of the town pretty quickly, and they find them all pretty amusing for the most part. Even Old Man Murray has his good points. But there's one person that they meet a few weeks into their stay that they simply cannot stand. Billy Hargrove, the rich asshole who's great great grandfather apparently founded the town.

Billy seems just as awful as his parents, who live in the mansion atop the hill with him and his sister, but they kind of have to put up with him, because his little sister is friends with the other kids they're friends with, and he's told to keep an eye on her. But he's still a jerk, snarky and always acting like he's better than everyone else because his family is rich, and he loves to be the center of attention. But as the summer continues and they battle more and more weird monsters, Steve and Robin start to think that he's not so bad.

Especially Steve. Sure, they had a rough start, but after fighting a horde of Goblins, uncovering an ancient tomb with a mummified Native American Chief inside, and working together to capture a vampire that's haunting the old wing of the Hargrove mansion, they've kind of bonded whether they like it or not.

It's about halfway through the summer when things start to get really weird. Firstly, Steve and Robin had to time travel over and over again to make sure the timeline stayed correct and so Steve would still get to keep the pet goat he'd won at the county fair. It was a whole thing. Then, they find out that El's dad, in order to try and get a leg up on Hopper and try and destroy his business, had the second of the three journals, and they had to fight not only the man himself to get it from him, but also some kind of dream demon that went by the name Henry Creel and seemed to enjoy toying with them. They didn't defeat the demon, but he told them that he'd leave them alone until they became important, so they tried to forget about him. And finally, they tell Uncle Hopper about the books, which he laughs off and says is fake, but that some of the things in it would make great attractions at the Emporium. Robin and Steve know the truth, though, and still use the journals to their advantage every time they need to.

Finally, the summer is two thirds done, and Steve and Robin have three major problems: One, they're still no closer to finding the author of the journals. Two, Henry is back, and he's hinting at something big coming soon. Three, Steve has developed a huge, embarrassing, inexplicable crush on Billy Hargrove.

When Robin first finds out about that third one, she groans and tries to remind Steve that all summer Billy was a jerk to him and that they have bigger problems to worry about. But Steve tries to tell her that Billy is changed, he's not really as big a jerk as everyone says and he knows it sounds crazy, but he's pretty sure Billy likes him back. Robin rolls her eyes at first and just tries to focus on their other mission, finding out who wrote the journals, but she can't do it by herself. Every time she tries, Henry appears in her dreams and throws her off course, and it's getting annoying and, quite frankly, terrifying. But eventually Steve returns to help her and they find out that the answer lies much closer to home than they'd realized.

They're walking around the Emporium one day when Robin drops something and it rolls under the porch. She and Steve crawl under to get it, but their combined weight causes a bit of the ground to collapse and they fall into a basement they didn't know was under the Emporium. They're confused, because it doesn't look like the kind of place that Uncle Hopper would have under his house, almost like a bunker of sorts. But the real surprise is when they find not only the journals that they showed Hopper and he never gave back, but the first one, too. He had it all that time.

They're obviously pissed, so they grab the books and find the way upstairs, using an elevator that leads them to a staircase that opens up into the (thankfully empty) gift shop of the Emporium behind the vending machine. They find their uncle and demand an explanation, and he finally tells them the truth.

His daughter was an incredibly intelligent girl. She was always looking for adventures and documenting her findings in the very books they were holding in their hands. This was all before they were born, so they never met their cousin Sara, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Hopper told them that she got in too deep with her mystery hunting, and she encountered Henry Creel long before they did. Only, she made a deal with him, a bad one, and she ended up dead.

Hopper says that the official story that ran in the newspapers was that she had brain cancer, and an aneurysm is what took the young girl away so suddenly. But Hopper knew the truth. Something in those books had killed his little girl, and he didn't know if it was still out there, but he hoped that if he could hide the books well enough, no one would be able to use them to go looking for it. He kept only one for himself, just wanting to hold onto some little piece of her, because it was her greatest passion, and it was all he had left.

After he tells the twins the story, they tell him that they've encountered the same demon, and that it wasn't even their fault, but that they've beat him before. Hopper is amazed, and asks how they did it, but they say they aren't exactly sure, they just knew they didn't give up until he surrendered.

Hopper is still amazed, but he tells them that if they ever encounter the demon again, they're not to engage with him, because he's smart, and he has no qualms about killing for his own gain. He also tells them that he doesn't want them going around looking for any other weird creatures or anything, because if they get caught in some kind of trouble, he doesn't know how to help them and he doesn't want them getting hurt. They say they won't, but they both know they're lying.

Especially when, two days later, Henry comes back, and he says that it's time. He visits them in a dream they end up sharing, and says he's got big plans coming, so he's gonna give them some advice. He tells Robin that she thinks too much, and she should learn to clear her head. Then he tells Steve to keep his friends close, his family closer, and his enemies closest. Then he disappears, and the twins wake up together, scared and confused. But they know that whatever Henry is planning, it's up to them to stop it.

It's a week before they're set to go back home that it happens. They're not sure how, but some sort of rift in the fabric of the universe allows Henry's hellscape of a dimension to leak into theirs, and even more horrifying creatures than the ones they've already seen that summer (and that's saying something, considering they've encountered shapeshifters and bears with multiple heads) start infesting Hawkins and walking around like they own the place. Robin and Steve are both terrified, but they know they have to help fix it, so they start trying to figure out how.

They know it's going to be different than the first time they fought him. That time, they were I the mindscape, where whatever they could imagine would happen, and they could conjure weapons and such. But this time, they're in reality, and they have to rely on their wits and whatever they can scrounge up around them to fight with. They don't know how, but they know they've got to do it.

Finally, they're almost ready to confront the dream demon and fight him with their friends, but before they can get close enough for even one swing at him, he stops them, and starts to monologue, as villains do. He says that it's cute that they thought there was strength in numbers, and he says that that's not how he plays the game. He reminds them of the advice he gave them, and says they're going to need it if they want to save their friends, who he has levitating off the ground by now, all of them frozen and looking terrified. He says that they're going to play a game, and their friends are taken away, flying off to somewhere else in the labyrinth of a palace Henry's built for himself. He tells them that he put one of their friends in each different room of the place, and that they're going to have to go through one room at a time to attempt to save them. Each room will get more and more difficult, and they'll each take a wing of the palace to go through, they can't do it together. They'll get three tries to answer each riddle, and if they can't, then their friend in that room will die an agonizing death. Robin and Steve are terrified, but they stand their ground, and say that they'll do it.

Henry is all too delighted, and tells them that if they manage to do it and get all their friends out alive, then he'll allow them a chance to try and beat him. He's clearly doubting their abilities, and entirely too amused for their liking, but they know it's their only choice, so they accept. And as such, the games begin.

They each get seven rooms. The riddles for Robin start easy, but the answers are so simple that she begins to overthink them, and it almost costs her her second room. But she remembers the advice Henry gave her, and she knows the stakes. She also knows that he never gave them a time limit, so until she's sure she's got the answer, she doesn't even chance it. She saves Mrs. Byers first, then Jonathan, Mike, El, and Erica. The second to last room is occupied by Eddie, and it's one of the simplest riddles, but Robin almost loses again because of the overthinking. She is down to her final try when she finally gets it and saves him, and is finally sent on to her last room, which contains her uncle Hopper. She is timed on that one, but even under the pressure, she's noticed a pattern to all the riddles, they all have something to do with fire, so she figures it out by process of elimination, and saves her uncle.

Meanwhile, Steve is faring a little differently. He doesn't just get riddles with simple answers like his sister, his riddles all have something to do with the person he's trying to save. Something that he would only know if he knew them well. He figures out that this is what Henry meant by "keep your friends close", and once he figures that out, it's pretty much a cakewalk. He saves Nancy, then Murray, then Lucas, Will, Max and Dustin. Finally, he gets to the last room, and he finds Billy inside. This is the hardest room for him, and even though he's not timed, he only gets one chance to get this one right. He thinks about all the other riddles, all of them having to do with either some fear the person had or some kind of thing that could be used against them somehow. And this riddle is one that hardly makes any sense, where the others were mostly pretty simple. Steve tries to break it down bit by bit, like his math teacher taught him to do when they were doing a tough problem, and he finally figures it out. It's asking for the one thing that would make Billy surrender anything for. Steve gives his answer, and it's correct.

After that, Billy drops back to the floor, and the two of them, as well as Robin, Hopper, and everybody else, are teleported back in front of Henry, who is only slightly ticked off that Robin and Steve have figured it all out. But, he plays fair, and tells them that they can take their shot at him. Robin and Steve can't do any kind of sibling communication between their minds, but they did make up a secret language when they were kids, so throughout the battle, they're able to communicate without Henry understanding what they're saying or planning. They talk about the riddles, how all of Robin's had something to do with fire and how Steve's all had something to do with how to gain the upper hand on each of the people he'd saved. It only takes them a second to figure out that Henry was testing them that whole time, because it wasn't just about them being able to save their friends.

It was about seeing if they were smart enough to figure out what his weakness was.

Ultimately, Henry's cockiness led to his own downfall, because as soon as they figured out that fire was his weakness, they found a way to light the sucker up. It hadn't been easy, and they didn't escape unscathed, but once Henry went down, so did all of his minions.

They didn't remember much after that, both of them being too tired and too worried about their friends and the rest of the townsfolk to worry about what happened then, but from what they can guess, Henry died and all of his demons were sucked back into the portal they came out of, and the town was restored to its former glory. There were still weird creatures all around, and it took them a while to repair some of the damage done to buildings and such, but for the most part, Hawkins just went back to being Hawkins.

Soon enough, it was their last day in town, and as they packed up their things and tried to prepare themselves to say goodbye to their friends, they got to talking about Henry and his game again. Robin tells him about how she almost messed up and lost twice, and he comforts her and tells her that she didn't, so it didn't matter, and even if she had messed up, it wouldn't have been on her, it would've been on Henry. She says she knows, but it's still hard, and then she asks him what his hardest riddle was. Steve tells her about the final riddle, how he only got one shot to get it right, and how twisted up the words were so that he almost wasn't able to figure it out. Eventually though, he found out that it was asking for Billy's one weakness, and at this point, Robin interrupts with a scoff and asks how he managed to figure that out.

And now, Steve finally comes clean with her, telling her that after the whole vampire fiasco earlier in the summer, he and Billy started seeing each other. He says that all summer, he'd been wanting to find a nice girl or guy to have a summer romance with, and he finally found it in Billy, and it was around then that he started to get more involved with her and the journal stuff before the shit hit the fan, because he finally had something. He says that he told Billy about Henry once and how he always tries to figure out your weakness to exploit it (in their case, it was the people they cared about) and he says that Billy told him his only weakness would be him and Max. He'd laughed it off as a joke at the time, but he couldn't have been more relieved about it when it finally came down to that stupid riddle. And he's glad he's telling Robin now, because it felt weird to lie to her all that time and now he doesn't have to any more. And Robin is happy for him, really. After all his failed summer romances that she had to bear witness to, she's glad he found someone that made him happy. Even if it was Billy Hargrove.

Finally, their conversation ends, and they have to start getting ready to say goodbye to everybody. They head out to the bus stop that's gonna take them home and everyone is there waiting for them. The kids are all hugging them over and over and practically sobbing as they make them promise to write, the young adults are all hugging them and telling them they had so much fun over the summer and they better come back next year, and the adults are loading them down with snacks for the trip and making sure they've got everything packed. Uncle Hopper even makes sure that Steve's pet goat that he won at the fair is cleared to go home with them (their parents don't know yet and he may have had to threaten the bus driver, but it's for his nephew, so who cares).

And then finally it comes time for them to board the bus. Robin is crying and refusing to let go of Uncle Hopper, the two of them forming a bond over the summer that she says better not be broken by the time they come back next summer. And Steve is emotional, too, over Hopper and everybody else there. But the person that makes him cry the most is Billy. He makes him promise to call all the time, and invites him to come stay with them in Chicago sometime and says that he'll be back to visit as soon as he can manage. Billy promises that all that will happen, and then, just before Steve has to board the bus, he hands him a little present wrapped up in tissue paper. Steve is about to open it, but Billy stops him, and says with a blush pinker than the bubblegum Robin is chewing that he should wait to open it until the next time he misses Hawkins.

That time comes on the bus ride home, after Robin falls asleep next to him and everybody in Hawkins is miles away. It's a scrapbook that Billy must've put together himself, with an entire page dedicated to everybody important and all kinds of pictures from throughout the summer, even before they got together. He got everybody to sign it, and the very last page is just a letter telling him he'll miss him and he's already looking forward to next summer.

Steve can't help the dopey smile on his face as he gets off the bus and immediately runs to a payphone to tell Billy how much he loves it and how many plans he's already making for next year.

#steve would so be mabel #and robin is definitely closer to dipper #i think this would just be fun #also hopper as their grunkle stan and joyce as lazy susan just makes sense lol #eddie is a mix of soos and wendy but is definitely more like wendy #and murray as old man mcgucket is just so funny to me #billy as pacifica also just works #and powell and callahan as blubs and durland is already pretty much canon #el as the good version of gideon is also amazing #and the kids all kind of being like the candy and grenda for them #jonathan and nancy would be like those random characters that show up every once in a while like tyler cutebiker or toby determined #i just think this is neat and i probably put way too much though into it lmao #gravity falls #billy hargrove #steve harrington #robin buckley #eddie munson #max mayfield #jim hopper #joyce byers #will byers #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eleven #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #murray bauman #harringrove

[demadogs]

Hi,i have this doubt. The duffers said the ending of st5 will be emotional,that some co producers cried knowing the ending and they can’t satisfy everyone with the ending.. what do you think this means? This statements scream to me that someone is gonna die,what do you think?

i think no matter what, the ending will be very emotional so they might not be referring to a main character death but that does sound like someones gonna die. i think the “not everyone will be satisfied” part could be referring to the endgame couples. not even just byler but jancy too.

also i forget her direct quote but millie said that the duffers are too attached to their characters to kill any of them and honestly shes right thats why they keep adding new characters that are written to die from the start instead of killing the og gang. maybe it’ll be different this time since its the last season and its not like theyre killing off an actor and wont be able to work with them again but idk. heres what i think:

will dying honestly just wouldnt make sense at all. they need the satisfaction of this character whos been suffering from the very first episode to get his happy ending or honestly just ANY ending/closure thats not death. i cant see them having this character suffer alone in the upside down, be possessed, be ignored by his friends and feel behind in growing up, fall in love with someone he assumes could never love him back, and then DIE???!! that’d be insane. it would be a very incomplete character arc. i unfortunately think he would be more likely to die than any of the other kids just because he has such a big role next season and killing say lucas or dustin would be so random but i do think it would just not be great writing if they killed him. for so many reasons. like there are deaths that i absolutely did not want but do make sense and are well written in the grand scheme of things, eddie being one of them. i think every death in the show so far abides to that actually, whether i wanted them to die or not but that just wouldnt be the case for will at all.

theres also the fact that every single death in the show has played a big role in the next season so if someone were to die in s5 we’d never see how that affects the characters they were closest to making THEIR character arc incomplete as well. so because of that i dont think it would be jonathan or joyce because we’d never see will cope with that, i dont think it’d be any of the og party kids for the same reason (and i honestly just dont think the duffers would kill the og boys), i dont think itd be hopper bc we wouldnt see el cope, plus she just got him back so thatd just be plain mean. and i dont think mike or will would die bc byler will happen. they wouldnt have SO much queercoding for both of them only to have them kiss maybe once and then one of them dies. itd be a waste of all the time they spent building them up. but i do believe mike will have a near death experience.

i dont think it will be el at all because like millie said, theyd never have the balls to do that, but also this would almost completely ruin byler for me. it objectively wouldnt be wrong because mike has had feelings for will this whole time but i would actually understand those who would be mad at mike for just dating will “out of nowhere” after his gf dies. it’d look so bad and like will, we need to see el truly happy to satisfyingly finish her character arc and that involves being happily single and have a very healthy wholesome friendship with mike. she and will probably would be willing to sacrifice themselves but i dont think anyone would let them go through with it.

i also think a lot of characters are just too random to die. robin, nancy, argyle, murray, lucas, dustin, erica, these are all characters that do play a big role but not one big enough that i think they may die.

then theres max. i dont think she’d die but im not as confident in this one. im not saying she wont wake up. they would have just killed her this season if they werent planning on having her wake up. she will definitely play a part in next season and i think a lot of it may be related to the state shes in. like if shes blind, she will notice things the other characters dont because theyre focusing on what theyve seen whereas max would pay more attention to what theyve heard or touched. it could be a really interesting point of view if shes blind. but it could be a situation where shes still very weak and her body hasnt fully recovered yet so shes more at risk than the others but the reason im hesitant to say she could die is the same reason i dont think hopper would die. like el, lucas is currently mourning the loss of her. she’s not dead but he did lose her and to bring her back only to lose her again for good would just be so brutal.

yall are gonna hate me for this.

this leaves one last person and believe me i am just as upset as you are but fuck i really think it might be steve. every season he is seen as a hero to these kids, hes always putting himself first before any of them and protecting them in every way he can, he always ends up getting his shit rocked, he is a fan favorite. it would be a very impactful death, much more than any of the random characters i mentioned earlier like dustin or erica. it’d have such an impact on people that i think a big reason why it hasnt happened already is because there are people who would literally stop watching if he died. ive NEVER seen a fictional character so universally loved like this so if they were ever going to kill him it’d definitely be the last season. and if they want a super emotional death that gets everyone talking, he is 100% the one to go with.

going back to how we would never see the characters cope with the loss, i think they could get away with it for this one. it would be fucking devastating for dustin especially bc he just lost eddie but steve might have helped him a lot with his death and he could take his advice for steve’s as well. and for robin it would also be so sad but i think she and dustin could find comfort in each other about it.

like i said earlier there are deaths that i really really wish didnt happen, but from a narrative perspective are well written and do make sense. steve makes sense because of how much of an impact hes had on EVERY other character. even if we dont see much interactions with some of them theres still little things that show us how close their relationship is with steve, the kids especially. we know hes closest with dustin, but mike, will, lucas, and max all still have a wholesome relationship with him and one way they showed us that was him regularly letting them into free movies through the back door of scoops ahoy. another one was him giving max and el ice cream and knowing el shouldnt be out. he also was the only one who went to lucas’ game even tho he didnt seem thrilled about his date and couldnt even sit with robin cuz she was in band. also the fact that max wrote him a letter. she didnt write any of the other older kids a letter which shows that she had a closer relationship with him than any of the older kids and one that goes beyond just being with them whenever the worlds going to shit again.

since most people would be on the same page with how close they were with him, this avoids the problem i mentioned earlier of a single character having an unresolved character arc because we never see them mourn. theres not another character i can think of that has this big of a relationship with almost everyone on the show. like robin dying would be so sad for steve but mike wouldnt be that affected. nancy dying would be so sad for mike but lucas wouldnt be that affected. erica dying would be so sad for lucas but will wouldnt be that affected, you get the gist. steve’s death would affect everyone.

i HATE to say it but it checks so many boxes on why it would objectively be a well written death for both the characters and the audience. BUT ID LOVE TO PROVEN WRONG!!!!!

#sorry this took forever this is long as hell #i was so anti steve death before s4 came out bc like i said people would straight up stop watching the show #but now that this is the last season its very possible #if someone must die he makes the most sense #but its so sad for dustin oh my god #i hope im wrong #stranger things #byler #ish #eden answers

[lesbianrobin]

If you had to rank all the 14 ST characters in the main group from most to least fav what would your ranking look like? (And by main group i mean the characters including murray and erica, and excluding karen, basically everybody involved in the final battle in 3x08)

ok let me preface this by saying that i literally love all of these characters i don't hate any of them okay?? let's go... ascending order for the drama!!

14. murray. no explanation needed. no offense to brett gelman he's phenomenal and i honestly think murray is really funny, but he's more or less just a plot device with some comic relief slapped on top.

now things get spicy <3

13. erica. love her to death! but she's fairly one-dimensional, once again primarily a comic relief character. maybe in s4 she'll get some more depth like the older kids have, but for now she's sort of a default next-to-last :/

12. will... no tea no shade but the kid's barely in the show! i absolutely want good things for him but like. i barely even know him. yknow? he’s only above erica bc he’s gay and she’s a capitalist. also that scene in s1 right before he gets snatched by the demogorgon when he just runs straight to the shed and grabs a goddamn shotgun and loads it fully ready to defend himself... that shit slapped good for him!!

11. this Will be controversial among some and i Know this character is many people's favorite... if you follow me already this is probably not going to surprise you but. nancy. i just think her character is kind of inconsistent, so i have a hard time really clicking with her :/ sometimes i love her and i think she's so cool and funny and hot (that hospital scene in s3... my GOD what a badass!) and other times i would like to fistfight her.

also let me get this out of the way right now: i'm aware that jonathan's character is ALSO super inconsistent!! i know okay??? i know!!!! please nobody judge me for how high rat boy gets on this ranking okay i'm literally making this up as i go along so idk if he's next or if he's like in the top five but i have a disease called Unreasonably Invested In Wildly Speculative Meta-Analysis Of Stranger Things which makes it impossible for me to be normal about jonathan and this is my ranking so i pick the bad taste!!!

10. joyce! i love her bro she's MOM and she tries so fucking hard all the goddamn time and she's so STRONG and kind and adorable... joyce is honestly a very unique and refreshing character ESPECIALLY if you’re considering stranger things within the horror genre which is often defined by these very specific archetypes of mothers and motherhood that i can get into if anyone is interested but like basically. love her <3

9. dustin <3 what an icon... i love him i love how he straight up killed a man and hardly flinched because it was to protect his friends and i love how he and his little girlfriend have a song they sing together and i love how he either has an insanely warped perspective on things due to low self-esteem or he just sometimes flatout lies to gain sympathy either way he’s a BABY and he’s so FUNNY and KIND and even when he’s scared he keeps going... ugh god and i love how even when he doubts his friends’ devotion to him he NEVER ever questions his devotion to them and he never ever considers leaving them behind or not stepping up to help them... he’s so brave!

8. mike is such a fucking BITCH but even more than that he is an ANGEL... literally his range who is doing it like him??? nobody!!!! graffiti’d the bathroom stall at school... hates cops.... what a legend. also i like how fucking goofy and dumb his hair looks in s3. also he’s very soft with his friends and it makes me cry. ALSO he literally stepped off a fucking CLIFF he was ready to DIE FOR DUSTIN and i know all the kids have risked their lives for each other but this wasn’t even a monster yknow this was just... bullies.... threatening his friend..... and mike couldn’t fucking let it happen bro he was ready to just step off the edge to keep dustin safe and it’s SO MUCH... and god the kindness he showed el when they first met!!! he’s a total angel and a total shithead and it’s amazing.

7. lucas my tiny baby hero.... he’s so strong and cool and capable yet at the same time he’s such a COMPLETE dork!!! he very seriously believes his slingshot wrist rocket is a lethal weapon and then he ACTUALLY USES IT AS A LETHAL WEAPON TO SAVE HIMSELF AND HIS FRIENDS!!! he hacks off a giant monster’s freaky tentacle arm thing with an axe to save his friend AND he keeps a bunch of action figures and random dice on his bedside table bro he just thinks they’re neat!!! like... i genuinely love him so much god he cares so much about his friends and he’s so brave and smart and loving... i know he is not tiny anymore but he is my tiny baby hero okay...

6. hopper! big man care for little girl... protect and love kids... dance to dad music... be goofy and hot... have trauma.... admit his faults and attempt to grow from them.... what's not to love?

5. jonathan... look i can’t explain it except that he loves his goddamn baby brother so much and i’m a sucker with extensive headcanons alright!

4. el!!! feral little darling girl!!! i literally cannot articulate the love that floods my heart whenever i see her face or think about her for too long she’s just... so strong but more than that she’s so incredibly KIND!! when she has every reason to be selfish and cruel and yeah at times she does let herself get a little mean but on the whole she’s always so goddamn kind and loving and selfless no matter how afraid she is or how she’s hurting... and i hope that with her powers gone in s4 she’ll maybe learn how to see herself as more than a tool to protect those she loves yknow but that’s off topic skdncmn i just think that el is such an incredible character with such depth!! she can be so grave and mature yet she’s still such an innocent child at the same time, and i think that both the writing and mbb’s acting are handled such that both of these things WORK and feel real and they make el (and her trauma) so believable. i just love her to death.

3. robin, light of my lesbian little life!! unfortunately she's wayyy too much like me to snag the top spot lmao. maybe once we get another season with her she’ll trample the competition but for now my baby is in a solid third place <3 i’ve never seen a lesbian on screen who i felt so accurately represented me and my experiences!! she feels so real and in just one season she’s become one of my favorites on the whole show, and i cannot fucking wait to see what else we learn about her and what development we see from her in s4. 

2. as u may have guessed... max!! i know i said this was my subjective opinion but here i’ll just say it: max is objectively one of the best characters on the show. she’s so strong and funny and quick on her feet while harboring some real pain and insecurity at the same time, and both of these aspects of her character are married perfectly, logically connecting to one another and joining with sadie’s incredible acting to create an amazing character who feels just... so real!! i absolutely adore her and i CONSTANTLY tear up just from thinking about her skdncmn...

1. what if my number one wasn't steve. like can y'all imagine???? if i just said like will or some shit???? genuinely i did consider giving max or robin top billing here but i just Can't i've dedicated too goddamn much of my life to steve harrington to deny that he's my one and only. is there anything to say that hasn't already been said? look at the bitch. just look at him. 

what other answer could there be?

#asks #em talks #long post #stranger things

[jancys-blue-bayou]

Yeah so Stranger Things 3 was painfully bad

Yeah yeah big negative post about ST3 coming up. Just... holy shit, my expectations weren’t exactly high but jesus I didn’t think it’d be this bad. Wow. Mindboggling to think it was made by the same dudes who made season 1, it feels like a different show. Some of the worst writing I’ve seen in a long while, parts of season 3. This got very long because it was very bad so it’s under the cut. Starting with the few positives and then away we go...

Of course there were bright spots, I thought what we got of Jancy was generally good (just wish there had been more of it. Just like... more lines between them, a few moments could’ve gone on longer...like after the awesome hospital fight scene jesus just let them fucking desperately embrace and profess their love for each other, it was awesome how they relentlessly kept going at the monster to save the other but can we please just have a few more seconds for a comfort moment after?) I liked how they handled the fight btw, apart from the Oliver Twist comment yeah yeah heat of the moment but still felt OOC with that loa a blow. Nancy and Karen scene was nice and um... well Max and El bonding was nice. And um... Mr Clarke! And I kind of dig Murray.

My main issues with it:

- The product placement. Jesus Christ. Okay, ST has always been a show with noticeable product placement. But it’s gone from things like a Coke can prominently on display on a table in s1 (El crushing it with her mind) to literally having a straight up ad for Coca Cola in the middle of a tense scene. That’s the big offender that made me go wow you’re really doing this to yourselves huh, there are many others ofc (everything at the mall ofc, Slurpees being in hyperfocus for a bit, and a lengthy talk about Burger King. These smaller things one by one wasn’t the worst but all combined jesus it was too much, all added together and then bam the Coke commercial was wow... Congrats on the like 80 sponsorship deals and esp the new ST themed arcade hall by Coca Cola hope it was worth completely selling out for.

- Relatedly, the original fucking song. Holy christ talk about jumping the shark. That was the oddest, cringiest, weirdest shit I’ve seen in a long time. Gaten’s a great singer don’t get me wrong, but there’s a time and place for it and an original song stuffed into the middle of the tense climax of the season is not it Duffers. Just a blatant cash cow, hoping to bring in more money via the song.

- Robin. Sorry but holy cow what a Mary Sue. Hey here’s this super cool girl who’s cool™ and funny™ and super smart™ and NOT Nancy (like they seriously for real said in a scene, they actually for real had to pit Robin and Nancy against each other for no reason). And she conveniently has these specific skills needed for the plot (which she gets involved with for no real motivation other than having nothing better to do, lazy writing). Said skills were so over the top unrealistic it completely sucked me out of it. To start with, this random girl in small town Indiana in 1985 speaking French, Spanish and Italian um... does Hawkins High have the most amazing language department or what? Very un-american in that case... and okay then, her knowing those languages wouldn’t help jackshit with understanding Russian. Russian is a notoriously difficult language to learn and it is not related to the Romance languages at all, Robin knowing those languages and oh, having “a good ear” bc she’s in band (?!??! what?!) wouldn’t help her at all. Having the alphabets on the wall and listening to strange words in a foreign language she has no understanding of would never work. No way for her to understand what is she’s hearing, what letters are in the words just, nothing. It’s completely ridiculous. The good thing is she’s a lesbian, crushing Stobin that made me LOL. Btw, I don’t get what age they were writing her as? She’s still in school but later says she and Steve was in the same class, and she knows who Nancy is but Nancy, who is still in school, doesn’t know her even though presumably they’d be in the same year at little Hawkins High? Was it just sloppy writing or what?

- Too. Much. Plotting. What happened to “this season is about the characters” um there was just so much plot stuff and action sequences and barely any character driven moments at all. Those intimate moments that made s1 amazing. Generally regarding plots felt the Russian plot was messy and not well-written also what happened to the US government as the big bad? Unless they’re setting up a big Cold War thing for s4. And felt the zombie thing was wasted, could’ve been used differently like I’d have thought it’d be used like the MF spreading it’s influence over vaster areas and being harder to keep track of etc.

- Too little Will. Will’s whole thing with feeling left out etc was just dropped halfway through it felt very undercooked. His arc was just dropped wtf.

- NO BYERS FAMILY INTERACTIONS WTF. The sequence in the first episode when Jancy has overslept and Joyce wipes the lipstick off Jonathan was cute (but could’ve been even cuter I’d have preferred a short fluffy Jancy moment here just as they wake up before they realize they overslept, bc we didn’t get much pure fluff, and then it’d been awesome if Joyce would’ve just called Nancy into the house to mess with them). But like... that’s kind of it. For the Byers family. Talking to each other in the whole season. When they partnered Jancy with the kids many thought awesome we’ll get Byers bros talking and teaming up (and Nancy and Mike) but there was just nothing. Not even a family hug after the battle at the mall, just Joyce hugging Will, with all this tightknit little family has been through you telling me Jonathan wouldn’t join in?

- No Will and El bonding wtf? SUCH a wasted opportunity. They’ve built this unique awesome connection over s1 and s2 and now in s3 would finally be able to bond normally for real and... nothing.

- Turning Hopper back into an even bigger jerk than he was at the start of the show, neglecting all his character development. What was the point of the whole El and Hopper thing they devoted so much time to in s2 if Hopper’s back at it with the yelling and all now? And jeez his constant whining to Joyce about every man she interacts with holy christ that got annoying. Generally Hopper was such an annoying asshole this season I was so tired of him by the time he “died”.

- TOO MANY CHARACTERS. Jeez, I know I’m on about it all the time but jesus christ there is way way too many characters in this for 8 episodes which hurts the narrative and screentime for interesting characters is just... yeah.

- Speaking of screentime, did we really need that many identical generic fight scenes between Hopper and the Russian guy? Jesus Christ it’s so boring watching fight scenes like that, so repetitive (compare to the hospital fight scene which was dynamic and awesome). Also regarding screentime did we really need to devote so incredibly much of it to Steve and Robin being comedic relief while drugged? Yeah yeah mix light and dark and all that but jesus christ at that point in the narrative shit has hit the fan lean into the dark.

- Totally expected of course but still, the furthering of Steve Memeington. My god they actually had him literally call himself daddy... christ.

- The Billy and Karen/all the other middle age women remains gross and bad in a billion ways. Also completely pointless for the plot, they could’ve come up with any other way to get Billy to the factory. And what did it give Karen in development? Just the realization that yeah I’m tired of my husband but I’m not leaving my family and I’ll stick with him just ‘cause? Okay but did we need her almost sleeping with a kid a year older than her daughter for that? Icky. Also the editing of the scene where Billy hits her was so weird. Also that was weird as fuck.

- The ending. Okay christ my main gripe with this is because of a point above: No Byers family interaction at all! Joyce and Hopper talk briefly about her thinking about moving once or twice but she never talks about it with her kids... obviously she did in the timegap but we need to see that to build to the thing. Having no Byers interactions the whole season and then just oop we’re moving is so weird. I’m also not sure if Joyce’s motivation for moving (her bad memories of Hawkins) would be enough. For sure an argument for it, but an argument against is the one Hopper presents to her (and though he’s not around still there’s still a support system around them there, especially for her kids which she loves above all). Speaking of her loving her kids above all, she knows they love their friends/girlfriend/boyfriend to bits, have walked through fire with them and are each others support system as mentioned, would Joyce really just uproot them from that? There’s also some purely practical things that stuck out to me immediately: the timeskip for the epilogue makes it so they move when the schoolyear is already well under way and Jonathan has started senior year, feel bad for Jonathan there in a number of ways. Also, how the hell did Joyce manage to sell her house and what did it fetch? Her rundown house on the outskirts of a now infamous town with an incredibly bad rep? Even if the buyer bought it for the land the land doesn’t look special, just find it hard to believe she could get much for it. And where did they move? Where did she find a place? And work? Did she have something lined up or? I guess we’ll see.

- Oh and speaking of work, that was another thing that was just dropped, the mall killing downtown and the protests just fell out of the story. But, with what happened to the mall wouldn’t business come back to downtown (possibly reason for Joyce to want to stay if Melvald’s going out of business was another reason to move).

- Sorry but Mileven took way too much space.

- Again, no Jonathan and Will actual brothers bonding. But a whole lot of Steve and Dustin meme fanservice wank.

- Erica is just the sassy black girl trope non stop the whole season and nothing else and it’s so grating and... I was gonna say disappointing but I had no faith in the Duffers regarding this. Just because a bit character becomes a meme doesn’t mean they need to become a main. *cough* Steve *cough cough* Sorry.

- Last but not least, the woobiefication of Billy. Uggggghhhh. Disgusting. And having Max cry over him WTF?!?!?!?!?! staaaaaaahp.

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #stranger things 3 thoughts #stranger things 3 spoilers

[willel]

Season 3 Review

TLDR; I’ve only watched it once so far. My opinions are relatively positive, but I did have this... weird feeling like something more was meant to happen but didn’t. 

The Review:

Here’s the order I will go in. Plot review, and then character by character review. For the characters, I’ll try to put the shorter reviews on top. Don’t expect a perfect review, these are my free flowing thoughts. 

Plot:

Plot was ok? I’m going over it in my head right now and there’s nothing in particular I didn’t like. Like last season, maybe they could’ve spent more time on other characters and relationships? Relationships that REALLY needed it? The flow of the story moved at a decent pace. I didn’t really feel like it was dragging at any parts. 

I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but they just have way too many characters. When you have this many characters, you spread your story thin. It happens every single time. Why do writers never learn from this? The more you add, the more time you have to give them, time you don’t have?

But now it’s too late. Maybe some of these characters can fall back into the background? (Such as Robin, who I didn’t mind really)

As for how everything resolved, it was ok I suppose. The Mind Flayer? He was cunning, sure. But not nearly as cunning as the fandom dreamed him up to be, and I preferred the fandom interpretation. For a while we’ve all been predicting the Mind Flayer wouldn’t immediately go for El. He’d go for her friends and family, or Will’s friends and family, or Will again and then make it’s way to her. It’d make his beef with her very personal. Like take Mike. Or Hopper. Someone she’d least likely expect. 

But no, it was taking random victims from town, or people El already didn’t like or know. (which by the way, I feel sorry for those poor people. Some were just children. Tsk)

Things could’ve gotten so much more cunning and creepy. Like they’d all be questioning if they’d been infiltrated by the MInd Flayer and someone in the Party wasn’t on their team or something. I dunno. Something. 

As for how everything wrapped up, I don’t think Hopper is dead for one. Joyce was breaking down and assumed he was dead, but was she actually looking at his crispy body, or just an empty spot? If it’s empty, why do I feel like he escaped into the portal or hid somehow? Huh

And the very end?? As predicted, the Byers are moving away. I know before the season released the big theory was Will and El would be kidnapped, but after we got a still of Jonathan caressing Nancy’s face (they both looked to be crying), the shot of The Party biking away from the Byers empty house... I dunno. Something was off. Would Joyce still move if they were gone? I mean surely she would’ve stuck around Hopper to get help in finding their kids, and I highly doubt Hopper was gonna move anywhere. 

I remember a very long time ago, Noah mentioned something about characters coming together, but not in the way he expected. And more recently, he said something happens at the end of season 3 that will give him and El more screen time next season. 

This leads me to 2 conclusions. All that Byers fluff I wanted is next season... AND SO IS ALL THE EL AND WILL I WANTED. 

But... I feel like there was so much opportunity to put some stuff in THIS season, you know? So, I’m kinda conflicted right now. I look forward to it next season, but I also feel it could’ve fit in this season 2. 

CG looked good. Better than I was expecting. So good job folks. My biggest takeaway is simply too many characters. There just is. 

So, onto the characters!

-----------------------------------

Characters 

Erica: Very happy with how this turned out. We’ve already got black nerd rep with Lucas, but now his little sister too? So rare to see in media to be honest. It would be so cute if she joins The Party for DnD games. Not as a main maybe, but the person to go to for math.

Robin: You know, I’m glad it took the turn it did, with her being gay and all. I’m glad they aren’t trying to pair every single person under the sun. I think it’s good that Steve found someone that gets him, but that is truly just his friend that happens to be a girl. That said, I don’t know what there would be for her to do in future seasons, you know? Like, maybe she serves a role similar to Mr. Clarke where she can crack some code or something. But as a character? There’s no where for her to go, you know? And that’s not a bad thing! I think she can totally work as a supporting character. (though I feel conflict with that too. Cause she’s LGBT representation and we’re kinda imbalanced with the cast if you know what I mean)

Steve: I was fully expecting them to turn Steve into a complete goof and lean in too hard on the meme. They still kinda did, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. His doucher side still popped out now and then. Some scenes with Robin I liked (the bathroom discussion). Other times they spent WAY too much focus on his story (the “do you remember ms. Clicker” and “ooo the ceiling is wavy”). That said.... I feel like Steve’s character has also been mostly resolved? Where does his character go from here? Maybe he’ll get a girlfriend, but like Dustin’s girlfriend, I don’t find it necessary to focus on or anything. He’s got a friend his age now, still friends with Dustin. If there weren’t so many Steve fans, I feel like it’d be a natural progression to have Steve fall back a little too. (but I doubt that’s going to happen.)

Dustin: Dustin. Mmm. Dustin. I always feel like I have so little to say about Dustin. Not because I dislike him, but hey. We all have our favorites, right? I’m glad he took Erica under her wing and showed her it’s ok to be a nerd.... SD THAT HE BROTHER COULD’VE HAVE DONE THAT, but I digress I digress. Sometimes, your sibling isn’t the one to show you the way. It’s cool that he got a girlfriend I guess, so he actually wasn’t upset about Max and Lucas at all. He basically had similar feelings to Will, but less angry and intense. Was not interesting in the whole singing situation, but it was nice to have a comedic comeback with Lucas and Max teasing him.

Lucas: Lucas, my other son. He served the role I thought he would this season. The love doctor, trying his best to set his bestie on the right path. I mean, I guess his advice was sound, but El isn’t Max. His and Max more toned down relationship is how I feel like 14 year old romances should be. Teasing each other. Teasing mutual friends. Playing around. Hugs. They’re sweet. Wish we’d gotten more time of them talking about stuff going on though. I thought Max and Lucas would kinda work together to give their friends some space and give them time to think or something. Not Lucas actively working to get them back together and Max almost doing the opposite. I’m so happy that he was trying to apologize to Will about the dnd campaign. Will insisted he didn’t care anymore, but I bet he still appreciated Lucas bringing it up and saying it was a good campaign. What a good friend. So cute that they worked on the fireworks together. AND THE SEASON STAPLE HAPPENED, THEY HUGGED! YES. AND LUCAS WAS ACTION MAN, CUTTING EL FREE OF THE BEAST

Max: Max was definitely out of have fun this season. I’m glad she made a new bestie and they got along great. Though I do think Max could’ve approached the “you should be more independent” situation more gently (because El will take it all literally and do stuff word for word), it is what it is. The end result was positive. I’m glad Max called Mike out on being a little too controlling/protective, but you would’ve thought the others would’ve said something sooner? I guess Will tried but we all know how that went. Lucas poked fun at him, but didn’t really push for change. So, it’d make sense for Max to be the one to do it I guess. El had to make things change, not Mike. What I did not like this season was Max on multiple occasions trying to get through to Billy? We saw what their relationship was last season. Toxic as all hell. I’m sure Max wouldn’t want Billy to die or get morally wounded or involved in the supernatural shenanigans but... something was just off about everything. Mm.... like... she’s seen what Billy can do. Would she really doubt he did something bad that hard? It would have been nice if El had a “I need you to trust me.” line with Max like she did Mike. They’re both in their own way trying to dictate what El should be feeling (Max much less so, but still). Even if Max believed her, would’ve have changed much either way. Moving forward, where can her character go? Maybe some family stuff? Billy’s dead now. Where will Neil’s abuse go? Because, it’s clear he’s always just been a piece of shit. 

Mike: Mike wasn’t as cruel as he could’ve potentially been, but he certainly was a little shit sometimes. His love and affection for El was clearly becoming an obsession. I’m glad he was basically forced to take a step back and had to try and work things out. El gave him virtually no pity or reward until she felt like he earned it. And the whole thing with Will? Ooof. What were you thinking Mike? Will obviously put a shit ton of work into his campaign and then you treated it like a joke the entire time and didn’t realize you were being a butt until Will finally had enough. Mike has always been very emotional and hot headed. He easily gets tunneled visioned too. But you know, despite liking girls and being with a girl, Mike Wheeler is still Mike Wheeler, a nerd who doesn’t know how to deal with girls really. I’m sure by the next time we see him, he’ll be much better.

Hopper: Hopper??? He was.... basically a dick the whole season. While I didn’t mind he was being the “leave enough room for jesus” trope he had going on, threatening Mike and making him lie to El was just.... what the heck are you doing Hopper? You’re really going to risk your relationship with El and Mike because you don’t like that they’re kissing so much? I get that you miss spending time with your brand new daughter, but I’m sure eventually all those butterflies would calm down and you could have your father and daughter times again. He should’ve swallowed his pride and did what Joyce said. And then Joyce? Omg Hopper please. She lots the man she was potentially going to marry and move away with less than a year ago. I know you’re horny, but please have a little class? I don’t hate Hopper, but man. He was WAY out of line sometimes. And I probably only feel this way because Joyce essentially told him “Screw you” multiple times. I can see why Joyce was hesitant to jump into a relationship with Hopper. He does share a few qualities of Lonnie. Don’t get me wrong, not NEARLY as toxic. But Joyce spend the whole season arguing with him like she did her ex husband. That can’t feel good, you know? Hopper needed to be better. He needed more time. Buttttt, unfortuntelyyyyy, time that could’ve been used for that.... wasn’t used for that. As for his death? To be honest, I won’t be convinced until I see a proper body. But just.... he was so considerate and patient last season with Joyce. What happened? Ooof

Joyce: Joyce. Best mom Joyce. I love her. Always have, always will. She did not take any shit this season from anyone. I can tell she was beyond pissed that Hopper was blowing off her concerns yet again. It was hilarious that she left him alone to yell into the void and was like, “No it’s ok. I’m just gonna borrow these and break into the facility without you.” I wanted soooo much moRE TIME WITH HER SONS. OR WITH EL. What are you doing Duffers? Then again.... when I really think about it, Joyce hasn’t had anything to do except worry about one of her sons in season 1 and season 2. It was a nice change of pace for her. She had her own adventure of sorts and that’s great. That said, I did love the .00002 second clip of her and Jonathan wiping his face. And I love that she was hugging Will so tightly that he actually said, “I’m suffocating.” I also liked that Will and Joyce cried in each other’s arms..... BUT WHAT THE HECK, SOMEONE GIVE EL A HUG PLEASE

Jonathan: I will say Jonathan’s nonchalance toward Nancy’s treatment did not feel quite like him, but I guess I understood his point of view after they were fired. Like, OBVIOUSLY he didn’t like Nancy’s treatment, but I guess the Byers financial situation has gotten so bad he just.... let that stuff slide (Joyce mentioned how Hopper was her first customer and she’s doing nothing but putting clearance labels on all their store products, so her job is definitely not safe) I’m glad we were granted not only the arguments, but also their apologies and whatnot. I feel like it’s in Jonathan’s nature to be skeptical until he’s proven utterly wrong. Not a bad trait to have, just makes him a wee bit hard headed. I was sorely missing Byers bro time. Omg there were so many opportunities to have them not just next to each other, but speaking and stuff? Or worrying about their mom? Or something? What is up with that? Ooof. They said this season was reminiscent of season 1, but I don’t see that at all. Even when Will wasn’t there for most of the season, the Byers still just... had so much???? going for them??? But now? There are no gifsets I can make this seasons of the bros basically. Or of Joyce and Jonathan. Like, nothing. And that’s a shame. (Just that scene of them driving in the car basically) Though, LET ME JUST SAY IT WAS SO BIG BROTHERLY THAT JONATHAN WAS TRYING TO HELP EL BUT WAS UNABLE TO CATCH THE WIGGLY CREATURE. AND TRYING TO PROTECT EL FROM THE WRIGGLY MOUTH TENTACLE. He’s so soft. 

Nancy: Nancy had a lot to do this season and that’s great. I wonder now that the two hot dogs holding her back the most in the post are gone if she can finally shine and make a name for herself? Or maybe she’ll follow her mom’s advice and work for a different paper? I’m glad she stood up for herself and followed through with her investigation. Also, it was kinda cute that Mike called for her when the big beast was breaking through the ceiling

Karen: KAREN. I thought I was going to be really mad at you this season, but I’m glad you turned things around. Ted sucks, but he’s not a creep or abusive. If you want a new life Karen, then I hope you do it the proper way. Just divorce him or whatever. But you know what? Karen dragged his ass out to a crowded fair and he actually seemed to be enjoying himself so maybe he just needs a push in the right direction. As for the kids, omg. I’m glad Mike and Nancy finally came to her to cry and talk. Maybe they didn’t tell her everything, but at least they told her something? You know? And she had beautiful sound advice for Nancy. Karen is back in the graces of good moms again. 

Will: WIll my boy. I know they said Will would be getting a break this season, but other than his friendships falling apart and feeling like the worst... to me, it was kinda odd how the Mind Flayer didn’t care about Will at all? Will is basically giving away all of the Mind Flayer’s secrets and he doesn’t care at all? Does he not know? Surely the all powerful Mind Flayer can tell... unless it’s not the Mind Flayer piece that’s giving Will this ability to sense him. Like, Will really has a sense evil ability I suppose. Which leads me to WIll’s power. I think this can be considered Will’s power, but I have a problem with the way they implemented it. Will sensed things sure, and could tell the Party if the monster was nearby or something. But... why have Will feel that so late? Wouldn’t this plot point be better implemented by Will feeling the Mind Flayer much much sooner? Or within people when they aren’t acting psycho with black veins? Why have Will say “Oh yeah, something bad is here.” When it’s obvious something bad is here. You know what I mean? I mean, technically he was feeling it before anyone else noticed anything, but not enough time to properly warn them. You know? Maybe this is a matter of practice makes perfect. He needs to work his new muscle to get a faster heads up. But yeah, my prediction in that way was right. His powers would be related to sensing or feeling. In some episodes, there were these various moments where I was sure Will was going to step forward and say something. Or offer El advice or comfort (like when she was diving deep and Flayed Billy was being mean, because he’s seen and felt some shit too), but it never happened. It always fell onto Mike to resolve. And I mean, that’s ok I guess. And typical of him to do so. I was also expecting more people to notice when Will was touching his neck and stuff, but Mike only noticed that one time in the movie and no one else paid attention. Also, it was weird that it took Will so long to notice Nancy and Jonathan’s struggle in the hospital. Side note, Will the Wise had me ROLLING. Will should join the drama club after all. He’s amazing. He should become an actor. On the topic of his sexuality, I have changed my mind on it. While before I was certain he was gay, now I think he’s either gay or aroace. Or both. To be honest, I’m not well versed on the subject, but whether he’s ace or not, I think he’s still gay. As for where his character is going? I hope his BRAND NEW SISTER EL can get him to chill on the “All girls are icky” routine. Pffff. My boy, you don’t gotta romantic like a girl to be friends ya know. Honestly, I can’t believe Will and El only really had 1 conversation on screen. That is BOOTY. P.S, I’m glad there wasn’t a love triangle. It would have been a mess. Lol

El: And nowwwww, to El! El dealt with a lot this season. I remembering mentioning to a friend that everyone demands Will get a break, but never mention El getting a break. She was basically tortured this season. I’ve discussed her a lot in Mike’s section, but to summarize, I’m glad she found her own form of independence this season. She was taking on a little too much Max (like she was with Kali. And before that, Mike), but by the end, you could clearly see she really coming into her own. A little mix of everything with her own self coming through. Now, onto her powers. So, they’ve changed how they work a little. Apparently, El decides who can and can’t see her in the void. That means, the ONLY people who have broken this rule is her mother and Flayed Billy. That whole thing with Will? That’s because she wanted him to hear her at the very least. And also, apparently anyone can talk to El while she’s in that place because she heard Mike like she heard Joyce in season 1. Also, that power to dive into memories wasn’t Terry’s power. Or rather, that’s yet another power El has that her mother has too. At this point, it kinda feels like they’re just piling any ability onto El that fits what they’re trying to do with the plot. It is an interesting choice that she’s lost them for now, but I wonder why exactly. You can still hear when she’s using her power, but nothing happens. Now El can really be a “normal” girl until they reappear (which they’re bound to do). Also, IT IS SO SO AMAZING THAT JOYCE TOOK HER IN AND NOW iT’S A FAMILY OF 4 AND JOYCE IS LEGIT HER MOM OMG. EL HAS A MOM!!! (Ok, she’s always had a mom. But you know what I mean) She’s now living in a house with more people. And although Joyce is a very clingy paranoid parent, she is not clingy and paranoid like Hopper. If there’s a problem, she properly address it with her kids. I think El will really like this new take on family with Joyce. 

Other:

Was SO happy to see Bob. I’m glad his memory is alive. Would’ve liked to see Will think about him, but I guess Will had another things going on. Still. Would’ve been nice. Very nice. Also glad to see Dr. Owens for a split second. You know, I really liked that Alexei guy. He turned out to be kinda adorable and was really trying to help. It’s so sad what happened to him honestly. Didn’t care for trying to make Billy sympathetic, but I guess if you’re going to kill him off, you should better understand why he’s suck a dick. I guess. And, it’s quite sad all those people disintegrated into poo. I feel like I already said this. 

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Conclusion

Although my feelings have not completely settled, there is one thing that’s clear. I still prefer season 1 and 2. I basically feel like everything I expected to happen this season is actually going to be next season. It’s a weird feeling to have. Makes me feel uncertain. Should I really be looking forward to the promised next season when I felt like this one surely could’ve had more? Know what I mean? 

I want to say I should definitely be getting what I want next season. But... I wish it were this season. 

As for what’s coming next, well, obviously the Russians are dumb and they opened a gate. And they have an American prisoner. But anyway, I wonder what the Mind Flayer/Demogorgon is going to do next. Track down El? Mmm.... and I guess the US government right now must not be a threat whatsoever. Not with Owens in charge. Mm. El faced no backlash being seen by all those government goons. 

Ok that’s it for now. If ya got questions my askbox is open.

#stranger things #spoilers