#billy rescuing steve in s4 when—

[harringroveera]

And his boyfriend who’s trapped in the Upside Down is coming to find him

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Rewatch: "The Vanishing of Will Byers" (Part 1 of 2)

Disclaimer: This is NOT a traditional review/analysis, but a collection of observations, brief commentary, favorite moments, and so on that I'm noting as I go through these episodes. All of these are just my opinions and/or theories, and can be subjected to change as the rewatch continues.

Observations:

Happy Stranger Things Day! :) As of today, this took place 40 years ago.

Love how reminiscent this opening scene is to the climax of Ridley Scott's Alien when Ellen Ripley is escaping the USCSS Nostromo as the alarms go off. I wouldn't be surprised if this homage turned out to be intentional on the Duffer Brother's part:

When we're introduced to Mike's campaign, The Party is in the middle of being attacked by an army of Troglodytes. This is the image I found when I looked them up:

It's probably just a fun D&D moment, but since the Duffer Brothers have named a lot of their monsters (Demogorgon, Mind Flayer, Vecna) after D&D creatures, it makes me wonder if there's some kind of animal like a troglodyte in the Upside Down. It's unlikely we've seen all the monsters from that dimension, and they might introduce new ones in S5 that the Party hasn't encountered yet and will inevitably fight.

They do a good job with the establishing character moments for both Dustin and Lucas in Mike's D&D campaign: Dustin telling Will to use caution and cast a protective spell while Lucas insists Will fireballs the Demogorgon while he has the chance. Lucas's strategy is to go on the offense while Dustin's is to go on the defense. Specifically with Lucas, he uses that strategy in other situations he's in: Like when Lucas kicks Billy in the groin in S2 after being pinned to the wall by him, or gets an axe to chop at the Meat Flayer's tendril to save El in S3, or even how Lucas is the one who later convinces everyone to take the fireworks from the store to use as ammunition (which helps turn the tide at the Battle of Starcourt). By contrast, Dustin prioritizes the safety of the Party, from pointing out to Mike and Lucas that they might be walking into the same danger Will encountered when they later look for him in the woods, to telling Mike NOT to jump off a cliff when Troy threatens Dustin, to enlisting Steve's help in S2 because he knows Steve will be able to protect them due to his size and skill with the bat, to rescuing Steve and Robin from the Russians in S3.

This isn't to say that Lucas is wrong and Dustin is right, or even that Dustin is wrong and Lucas is right. It's merely noting they have opposite approaches. Each situation they encounter is different, and sometimes (just like with Will's dice role) it's really up to chance.

Also (as noted later in the episode by Mike), Will took Lucas's advice and used fireball as a means of protecting the Party instead of trying to save himself. He puts other people's safety before his own. The comic book "The Other Side" (which focuses on Will's perspective during the events of S1 while trapped in the UD) expands on this aspect of his personality by including several moments of him coming to the aid of others (including Nancy) while in the UD, despite knowing it would put him in danger.

Also, regardless of Lucas insisting the role doesn't count because Mike didn't see it, Will still chooses to be honest with Mike. He knows there are situations you can't cheat your way out of, or pretend didn't happen (as he's about to find out with the real Demogorgon).

The lights flash at Mike's house just as Will leaves. I'm assuming Vecna and the Demogorgon he was controlling were already beginning to track Will's movements here.

I've talked about this before in my review of "The Other Side" (and I know for a fact I'm not the only fan who's speculated on this), but I don't buy that Will's kidnapping by the Demogorgon was random. Given the revelations in S4, I'm inclined to believe Vecna deliberately targeted Will and used the Demogrogon under his control to bring Will alive to the Upside Down. I also would argue it was Vecna who used telekinesis to unlock the door to Will's house:

I know several episodes from now, Jonathan talks to Nancy about how his dad took him hunting when he was 10 and forced him to kill a rabbit, so I'm assuming Lonnie also taught Will about loading and shooting a gun. It's possible Jonathan could have, but considering how traumatized he was over what his dad made him do, IDK if I see Jonathan teaching Will how to use a gun.

I've said this before, but I don't buy Vecna wanted Will to just impregnate him with the larva's that would grow into future Demodogs/Demogorgons. He could have easily used the Demogorgon to kidnap other residents of Hawkins for that purpose if he wanted to. He didn't need Will specifically for that.

Still one of my favorite openings for any TV show I've seen:

I missed the drawing Sara did of her family the first time I saw this. Nice foreshadowing about Hopper's past life!

To this day, I still don't understand why Troy and James got their own graphic novel. Out of all the side characters they could have focused on, why did they choose these two? Was there some kind of demand from the fandom to bring them back that I'm unaware of?

I know Caleb McLaughlin gave an interview after season 4 aired where he expressed frustration over how certain fans have been dismissive of any racial trauma Lucas has gone through, and this goes all the way back to season 1. Both Troy and James's bullying of Lucas was racially motivated, and the graphic novel Zombie Boys also highlights this:

On a related note, Troy and James making fun of Dustin for having cleidocranial dysplasia is disgusting.

I've seen this discussion before in the fandom about Barb's attitude towards Nancy dating Steve, and this idea that Barb was jealous of the idea of Nancy possibly becoming popular, which.................is not an interpretation I've ever understood. I never once took Barb to be some kind of social climber. When she's talking with Nancy in her first scene, she sounds genuinely excited for Nancy about Steve calling her, as well as cheekily acknowledging that both Nancy and Steve are into each other.

On top of that, Barb knows Nancy well enough that she wouldn't discard her as a friend, even if she became popular. The way she talks with Nancy in this scene, she doesn't seem worried or upset with her. If anything, Barb is amused during this conversation (including when she sees the note Steve left for Nancy in her locker). There's also the way they both talk about Tommy and Carol, indicating they both have low opinions of them, and that Barb is aware that Nancy doesn't like them and isn't going to abandon her for them.

@will80sbyers pointed this out in a recent post, and I thought I'd note it here since it's a good observation: The first scene we see of Steve and Nancy's relationship is in a restroom..........and their breakup in S2 happens in a restroom as well. That's how things come full-circle for these two:

It's notable that the two times Steve and Nancy meet in this episode, it's in an area that's supposed to be private (the school restroom, Nancy's bedroom) but there's always the risk of someone (a high school student/teacher, Nancy's parents) walking in on them while they're making out (not that Steve seems to care). Both times involve Nancy interrupting to tell Steve she needs to study for a test, and while Steve initially tries to make it all fun-and-games between them, he eventually concedes when he realizes she's serious about her schoolwork and agrees to help her.

This still remains one of my favorite quotes from the show (and is literally what weekday mornings are like for me before I have to clock in for work):

This has been pointed out by others, but there's an interesting parallel between Joyce calling Will "sensitive" vs. Victor Creel calling his son Henry "sensitive."

Notably, when Joyce talks about Will being sensitive, it has more to do with him being aware of other people's feelings, as well as the way other people look at him and judge him. Meanwhile, I'm skeptical of that being the case with Henry. Maybe Victor thought Henry was sensitive because of his inability to "fit in" with the other kids (as well as being labeled "broken" by teachers and doctors), but considering how insulted Henry is at the idea that he was broken, as well as how he didn't care about torturing and killing animals before murdering his mom and sister in cold-blood (and letting his dad take the blame for it), I doubt Henry gave a damn about what others thought of him. His behavior indicates he doesn't feel empathy for anyone the same way Will does. Henry's "sensitivity" likely had more to do with the abilities he had locked inside of him, or even possibly being able to feel the presence of the Upside Down before he was banished there by El 20 years later. Maybe they'll expand on this in "The First Shadow" when it comes out.

They foreshadowed pretty early on that Will was secretly gay. I remember this was discussed by fans way back when season 1 first came out.

Yes Hopper, he is.

There's a dark irony in how Hopper's been working as Chief of Hawkins for 4 years, and claims that nothing awful has happened during his tenure. 4 years ago would have been in 1979, the same year Henry/One/Vecna slaughtered the special kids (and most of the staff) at the lab before El banished him to the Upside Down. I know Hopper wasn't aware of any of this when it happened, and none of that was his fault or responsibility, but still.........

Something I always found frustrating with the show (and even supplementary materials) is they never really explain how the chain-of-command works when it comes to government officials on this show. They establish Dr. Brenner as the head of Hawkins Lab (and later that role gets transferred to Dr. Owens in S2), but they never truly say which higher-ups Brenner answers to. Then there's the introduction of Colonel Sullivan in S4 (despite him never being hinted at or mentioned in the previous 3 seasons): Judging by the conversations he has with Dr. Owens, as well as how Dr. Owens got fired for the Russian infiltration of Hawkins in S3, I assumed Sullivan was Owen's superior. Does that mean that Brenner also answered to Sullivan during this time? Or was Sullivan just part of a different faction of the government (i.e. the same faction Ellen Stinson warns Mike about in S4) who was opposed to what Brenner was doing from the beginning, and only recently got involved?

In any case, I'm assuming the men pictured above who are meeting with Brenner are either government agents sent to investigate the opening of the gate, or Brenner's superiors who want to know what happened the previous night.

I wonder if there will be a twist in S5 that Upside Down itself is one whole Lovecraftian-like monster, and stuff like the Demogorgons and other creatures are just extensions of it. Just the way that gate breathes, and how it looks like you're traveling through someone's insides.............

I missed Scott Clarke in S4, and I hope he comes back for S5 to give more scientific advice to the main characters (assuming he didn't leave Hawkins). Who knows? It may prove helpful against the upcoming fight against Vecna.

Since Stranger Things loves referencing Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit), with the show even drawing parallels to the books (like the Upside Down being similar to Mordor, or even Hopper's fake death in S3 and return in S4 having similarities to Gandalf's apparent death in Moria and his later return), I am looking at the books as one possible blueprint to predict how Season 5 will go. That's just me though.

Also, Will disappearing near Mirkwood, which in The Hobbit is where Bilbo encounters the spiders that try to eat him and his companions, and Vecna has a creepy obsession with spiders and shaped the Mind Flayer into a spider, and the Mind Flayer later attacks Will..................

I'm sure there's somewhere I'm trying to go with this, but I can't articulate it in a way that makes sense.

SIDE NOTE: This particular scene with Dustin and Lucas fighting while Mike sits in the middle looking irritated is hilarious. 😂

Come to think of it, this scene is a perfect representation of the dynamic the kids have this episode: Dustin and Lucas argue (whether it's over D&D strategies, how to find Will, etc) and Mike is caught in the middle. This changes later once El is introduced where it's Mike and Lucas fighting, and Dustin is trying to act as the peacemaker.

To be continued in Part 2..........

[epicsteddieficrecs]

Epic Steddie Fic Rec (March 6th-March 19th 2023)

Hey y'all! Here's what I've read in the past two weeks. I hope you enjoy! :)

Complete

🖤 the pre-show ritual by helix_stomper (PWP, Glory Hole | 12K | Explicit): Steve wasn’t really all that surprised to find himself here. He had never seen a gloryhole before. He’d chalked them up to a horny teenager’s pot at the end of the rainbow. Fantasy, and nothing else. But here it was, a small circular hole cut into the side of two adjacent stalls, as real and as terrifying as it could be. What surprised Steve about tonight was that he wasn't sticking his dick through the hole. Instead, he found himself sitting on his heels in front of it, hands wringing anxiously in his lap as he licked his lips and waited for someone to shuffle into the other stall. (Part 1 of boots & budweiser’s miraculous misadventures)

🖤 service and devotion by helix_stomper (PWP, Glory Hole | 22K | Explicit): Steve and Eddie meet up regularly for anonymous sex, and Eddie gives Steve his first (official) experience as a sub. Steve fell first. Eddie falls harder. (Part 2 of boots & budweiser’s miraculous misadventures)

The Killing Moon by Oddree13 (Canon divergent, A/B/O, PWP | 3K | Explicit): “Hey, hey, cmon. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours. Cause something is obviously bothering you.” “You don’t touch me.” “What are you talking about? I’m touching you right now.” “And that is where it ends Eddie! It’s been what, two months, and we haven’t done more than make out and grind on each other! It’s like I went back on birth control for nothing!” (Part 3 of Six Kids and a Winnebago)

Make Me an Offer (I Cannot Refuse You) by Beachfckerblake (PWP | 7K | Explicit): Steve just needs weed for this party and Tommy sends him instead. When Eddie tries to overcharge him for it, he figures the can work something out but he ends up getting a bit more than he bargained for when he makes too much of an open ended offer

i've been having a horrible time pulling myself together by deadratz (Post S4 | 74K | Explicit): The last thing Eddie thinks as he draws his final breath is that Henderson is gonna need a shit ton of therapy. But then, Eddie wakes up, gasping for air, and miraculously, he's being rescued. Now he has to figure out how to live.

WIP

In Just Seven Days by Oddree13 (Modern AU, Fake Relationship | 1/7 | 1,6K | Mature): Steve doesn't exactly care about relationships anymore. Not after Nancy broke his heart and Billy broke his face. He's bored and just going through the motions the first time it happens. Noelle asks him on Monday if he's busy that coming Friday and Steve figures why not? He takes her to the movies on Friday, takes her to bed on Saturday, and on Sunday he lets her down gently. She takes it in stride, and the next Monday it's Jocelyn at his locker. Then Ginny. Then Cami. Soon a rumor starts that Steve Harrington will accept anyone who asks him out at the beginning of the week and end their relationship after seven days of dating. Eddie doesn't believe the rumors. After all, to say Steve Harrington would ignore the glaring asterisk of heteronormativity is just insane. But when he catches the King being tardy on a Monday he puts his theory to the test. Suddenly Eddie has a boyfriend for the next seven days. Now he just has to not fall in love.

🖤 Steve Harrington’s Radical Fun Time Babysitting Serviceby Humanities_Handbag/ @humanityinahandbag, Invader_Sam (No Upside Down AU, 90’s | 24/? | 93K | Mature): Alternatively: Steve accidentally starts a babysitting service, falls in love, panics [in bisexual], and gets himself a boyfriend. (Part 1 of 90’s Music Store AU)

no me without you by cydonic (Post S4, Kas Eddie | 1/10 | 1,7K | Mature): Eddie Munson dies, the world is still ending, and Steve Harrington doesn't know how he's supposed to keep going. That is, until he comes face to familiar face with the creature killing people in Hawkins.

🖤 Reboot by plutosrose/ @plutosrose (Modern AU, Actor Steve & Eddie | 4/10 | 14K | Explicit): In 2012, Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson film a scene in the teen drama Normal Stuff that launches a popular ship on ao3. By early 2013, they aren’t speaking anymore. In 2024, Robin calls Steve with an offer to reprise his role as Andy Hartley in a reboot of their old show, with one important update–his character gets together with Eddie’s.

🖤 better by you, better than me by palmviolet/ @palmviolet (Canon Divergent, Season 1-2 | 23/? | 120K | Mature | Warning: Violence): November 1983. Between unpaid bills, the supposedly straight jock he’s seeing, and letters from his convict dad, seventeen year old Eddie Munson’s got enough to worry about. But when Will Byers goes missing, it sparks a chain of events that will show there are more depths to Hawkins — and to certain people in it, like infamous Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington — than he realizes. / or, the excessively long slow-burn in which Eddie is involved in the Upside Down from the very beginning.

Burning Love by FluffyChicken/ @tshireisonfire (Modern AU, Firefighter Steve | 10/12 | 42K | Explicit): Firefighter Steve Harrington meets one Eddie Munson and their lives change forever.

~

If you know anyone I haven't tagged, please tag them in the comments!

[pinkeoni]

do you think max was characterised for a bait-and-switch final girl. preferring max than maxine, being boyish, seeming to reject the boys at first, being the one to defeat billy over steve holding his nail bat (check the castration fear threat when she slams it down to the floor between billy’s legs) while all the boys are prone bystanders. but this then falls away as her story prioritises her romance with lucas and female solidarity, and why she isn't able to escape her victim role coming to head in s4 saving herself

I don't think I mentioned this in my Will post but Max is absolutely a Final Girl, from what you said anon with her boyishness as well as her function in the story. S4 is the most slasher-y season (they even bring up Freddy Krueger by name, just in case we missed the reference) and Max is the final victim and does manage to survive, even narrowly.

There are some aspects like you said that do set her apart from common ideas of final girls although final girl-ism isn't necessarily a strict set of guidelines and there are plenty of other characters that bend the rules but are still considered to be Final Girls— Sally from Texas Chainsaw was rescued by an outside source and Sidney Prescott had a romance and even lost her virginity in the movie (albeit to the killer himself, and Scream is a film that acknowledged and tried to both embrace and subvert slasher tropes)

I see the part of your ask that asks if these parts of Max that set her apart from other Final Girls is what causes her to not be able to save herself and honestly anon... I'm not sure. I know that the Duffs originally planned to kill her which is... a decision I'm glad they went back on. And really I don't think that this eliminates her Final Girl status as I see the Final Girl as being able to endure and survive and even if she needed outside help and just barely escaped alive, she's still kicking!

Honestly I don't know if Max's rescue by El at the end of the season is meant to be a bait-and-switch and more of a half-hearted attempt to try and string two plots together. Sure it makes sense for El to want to save Max, but El's plot wasn't really about Max, Max's plot wasn't really about El, so it doesn't feel like a culmination of anything. Max was able to help herself out a little by figuring out how to "hide in the light" but after that she was just mulling around until El showed up. If anything it serves El's hero plot more than it serves Max's plot. There's some connective tissue there, but it's loose.

I know that part of Max's plot was about allowing herself to open up and let other people help her, this is a little flimsy because El wasn't the one she was keeping out and they were really only separated by distance. Would Max have shut El out if El were still in Hawkins? Probably. But the way more satisfying moment already came from Dear Billy when the people she was trying to shut out in the first place, Lucas and Dustin, not only get through to her with the music but she also makes the decision to run to them. So now with Max being able to let others in to help her, she needs to decide if she wants to allow herself to keep living.

[strangerficsx]

Full Stranger Things Series Masterlist

Midnight Rain

Genre: Sci-Fi; Drama; Horror; Mystery; Drama; Romance Warnings: Violence; Fear; Anxiety; Swearing; Gore; Substance use; Drug use

Jennifer henderson's biography Phoebe cromwell's biography

cassatt tape (one | two | three | four | five) style (S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5) relationship timeline (season 1 ~ 4)

SEASON ONE

prologue i

chapter one : the vanishing of will byers

chapter two : the weirdo on maple street

chapter three : holly, jolly

chapter four : the body

chapter five : the flea and the acrobat

chapter six : the monster

chapter seven : the bathtub

chapter eight : the upside down

SEASON TWO

prologue ii

chapter one : mad max

chapter two : trick or treat, freak

chapter three : the pollywog

chapter four : will the wise -

chapter five : dig dug - as the henderson siblings frantically clean and attempt to trap dart, dustin decides to leave and get help as jennifer stays behind on look out when phoebe suddenly arrives at her place. she tells the other female what's going on in hopes of having her believe jennifer and make sure she's not crazy.

chapter six : the spy - believing it is some halloween prank, steve indulges in the search for dart, learning that it was for a girl jennifer's brother likes as they lead a trail of meat to capture the dog at the junkyard. however, the yard needed some cleaning up and protection as they all wait the night out and are sitting ducks while awaiting the arrival of dart... until things go wrong when more demodogs show up to terrorize them and the kids.

chapter seven : the lost sister - after the death of someone she cares deeply about and getting to know max, jennifer offers to be a big sister / role model to her since billy is a huge jerk and isn't willing to do that since he holds a lot of anger.

chapter eight : the mind flayer - after reuniting with nancy and jonathan, the teen and children meet hopper, joyce and will as they regroup at the byers' residence to make a plan on how to close the gate.

chapter nine : the gate - after eleven reunites with everyone, she plans on closing the gate as her and hopper escape to hawkins lab. secondly joyce, jonathan and nancy take will and try to fight the mind flayer within as jennifer and steve babysit her brother and his friends until trouble shows up.

SEASON THREE

prologue iii - jennifer comes home from visiting her aunt in michigan, leading her to the newly built starcourt mall where she starts working at an ice cream parlor to keep herself busy from thinking about the death of her best friend.

chapter one : suzie, do you copy? - with a sudden power outage, jennifer begins to suspect something bad is coming, suspecting the gate has been opened, things turn upside down when she go through a bought of depression -- hiding her feelings from steve.

chapter two : the mall rats - jennifer's brother comes home from camp nowhere, revealing that he intercepted a russian code the night before as he asks for help from her, steve and robin.

chapter three : the case of the missing lifeguard - jennifer, steve, and dustin keep a look out for russian spies in the mall as she begins to feel somewhat better.

chapter four : the sauna test - after robin finds a useful map of starcourt mall, her, jennifer, steve and dustin bribe erica with 'free ice cream for life' as she crawls through startcourt's ventilation system. later, she opens the lynx transportation door, and the small group comes down from the roof to join her.

chapter five : the flayed - after falling down the elevator shaft, the scoops troop make their way through the russian base as they come across the gate being reopened.

chapter six : e pluribus unum - with robin and steve trapped by russians, jennifer, her brother and erica stage a daring rescue.

chapter seven : the bite - the teens and kids prepare for war as they regroup with joyce, hopper and newcomer murray bauman.

chapter eight : the battle of starcourt - terror reigns in starcourt mall when the mind flayer comes to collect. However down below, in the dark, the future of the world is at stake.

SEASON FOUR

prologue iv - with jennifer's relationship on the rocks, she meets metalhead eddie munson at a lone picnic bench behind hawkins high school as soon become friends.

chapter one : the hellfire club - jennifer begins working at family video alongside steve and robin when she gets invited to eddie's trailer, only to be a witness to a crime by an unknown entity.

chapter two : vecna's curse - while jennifer tries to tell her friends what happened, they don't believe her and begin searching for eddie. that night, he reveals to the gang what happened.

chapter three : the monster and the superhero - jennifer, steve and dustin take max to talk to ms. kelley before traveling to the high school to retrieve answers on her condition.

chapter four : dear billy - max is in grave danger... and is running out of time as jennifer, lucas, dustin, and steve accompany the teen as she writes and hand delivers goodbye letters for family and loved ones.

chapter five : the nina project - while the hawkins kids comb a crumbling house for clues, billie is in danger when she becomes vecna's next target.

chapter six : the dive - while searching for another gate to the upside down, the police catch dustin, lucas, and max as the young adults dive into lover's lake to rescue steve.

chapter seven : the massacre at hawkins lab - jennifer, steve, nancy, robin, and eddie are trapped in the upside down. jennifer later learns from nancy that the day is stuck in november 6, 1983 -- the day will byers went missing.

chapter eight : papa - after getting back to the real world, the gang gather supplies and prepares for battle.

chapter nine : the piggyback - from russia to california to hawkins, heroes fight to save hawkins -- and the world itself.

Crazy For You

Genre: lgbtq; sci-fi; horror Warnings: violence, past trauma, swearing, fear, gore, alcohol consumption, light smut

kathryn harrington's biography phoebe hopper's biography

THREE

001. missing keys - after arriving at starcourt mall, kat finds her brother's keys as he returns them to where he works, coming in contact with his co-worker robin buckley.

002. the mall rat - kathryn begins to develop feelings for a fellow classmate, coming to scoops ahoy all the time just to talk to robin.

003. the stakeout - kathryn gets dragged away from her crush to have a stakeout with her brother and dustin in starcourt mall, almost revealing too much information.

004. test - kathryn follows robin to a nearby store to retreive a map of the mall's ventilation system, and begin to get to know one another.

005. flayed - kathryn, robin, steve, dustin and erica get trapped beneath the mall in a russian base.

006. the rescue - steve, erica and dustin come to kathryn and robin's rescue, saving them from the russians.

007. war - after running off, kathryn and robin are enticed by the mall's lights before purging the truth serum out of them, later coming to terms on how they feel about each other.

008. starcourt - everyone regroups to plan out how they can fight the mind flayer and close the gate once and for all.

009. is this love? - kathryn and robin give the relationship between them time as kat mourns the loss of her best friend.

010. trauma - the grieving process is hard cause there's a lot of feelings to uncover, however, a dark entity begins taking over students of hawkins high.... unfortunately, kathryn is one of them.

011. cursed -

012. hawkins past - kathryn, nancy and robin venture out and delve into hawkins past demons.

013. running out of time - the gang uncovers the symptoms that vecna's victims suffer from before eventually dying as kathryn worried for her future.

014. the creel house - the gang investigate clues in the creel residence to try and find something to save kathryn.

015. the dive - after kathryn, dustin, max, and lucas get caught being out after curfew, they eventually figure out a way to communicate with them from nancy's bedroom before escaping to rescue the gang.

016. vecna's motive - nancy reveals vecna's past to the others as everyone fears for kathryn's safety.

017. prepping - the gang prepare for battle as robin commemorates her love for kathryn one last time.

018. the fight - being a prime target, kathryn sacrifices herself long enough for the gang to fight vecna

epilogue - what come next for kathryn now that she's saved?

[bigdumbbambieyes]

just thinking about Billy and Max in S4, their relationship would’ve begun to improve and they’d grow to trust each other and Billy would’ve been vehemently against Max’s plan of her baiting Vecna (although i guess she wouldn’t be targeted if he lived but whatever let’s pretend lol)

imagining Max in trouble and Billy immediately going to her rescue, or Billy being overwhelmed by something and Max rushing to help him because like hell she’s letting him fight alone anymore

Billy rolling his eyes when Lucas talks to Max, or tries to cheer her up, because he knows all about their little relationship drama

Max smirking to herself as she watches Billy taunt and tease Steve, because even once Steve tells him off and storms away, Billy has the biggest googly eyes on his crush

when they’re preparing to fight Vecna and they’re quietly talking as they make weapons, muttering about their parents and how they wouldn’t be caught up in all this shit of they were in California, etc

they’d have petty arguments that everyone else is so over

just Max and Billy finally being siblings 🤍

[foreverautumn89]

So yeah… we all know Jonathan is a damsel in distress when he is fighting monsters with Steve and Nancy, but notice that Steve and Nancy both weren't with Jonathan in S4? So Jonathan had to save himself for once [since King Steve wasn't there to rescue his princess] and Jonathan protected himself and the others with ease in S4.

So clearly in the earlier seasons... Jonathan was just pretending, so he could wait to be rescued by King Steve and Queen Nancy even though he could have saved himself.

Jonathan just PRETENDS to be a damsel in distress so Nancy and Steve will protect him and he can 'thank them properly' afterwards for saving him. #CONFIRMED

I can totally see Steve mentioning casually to Jonathan how he always saves him and he deserves a 'reward' for that, referring to himself as 'King Steve' just like everyone else does, and calling Jonathan 'princess' in an affectionate way… This is canon to me don't care what anyone says.

Just the times off the top of my head that Steve and Nancy rescued Jonathan:

S1: The Demogorgon attack that will forever unite them: Jonathan gets attacked and Nancy starts shooting at it to save Jonathan Then Steve comes in, takes Jonathan's bat and is like "not my girlfriends, you bitch" and starts attacking the demogorgon.

Season 3: Nancy saving Jonathan from the guys from the Hawkins post [that were possessed].

Season 3 [reenactment of Nancy and Steve saving Jonathan in S1]: Nancy tells Jonathan to get in the car and get it started while she shoots at Billy who is possessed. She is trying to protect Jonathan and their kids and when that doesn't work, Steve shows up and once again is like 'not my girlfriends [and kids], you bitch!' and slams into Billy's car.

Honorable Mentions: Steve taking care of and protecting Jonathan's kids in S2-S4, not directly protecting Jonathan himself but it still counts

Steve even makes up for hurting Jonathan's feelings in S1 because hes like 'oh you're sad I broke your camera, well heres another one. Merry Christmas, sweet heart.'

Also, in S1: Steve and Nancy hanging around in the hospital to give Jonathan emotional support when Will was in the hospital [just rescued from the upside down].

Come on Duffer brothers in S5 I want to see Steve using his bat to protect Jonathan from Lonnie.

[longlivefanfic-net]

i do not ship harringrove IN THE SLIGHTEST. stommy & stonathan r just kinda funny to me,but steddie has my heart. buttt the thing is,all these guys have deffo played a huge part in steve figuring out that he’s into guys. maybe at one point,he found himself looking at jonathan a little too long. or when tommy was with carol,and he’d try to make some sort of “bros over hoes” type comment so he could spend more time with him. or when billy got a little too close under the pretense +

oh. OH. I am so glad someone is giving me the opportunity to go on my long winded rant about how Jonathan was actually Steve's gay awakening, like canonically, because trust me I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS.

In s1, when Steve picks up the nail bat that becomes his signature--who was holding it only seconds before? And who does he use it to rescue from the demogorgon? Jonathan fuckin' Byers. I think it's so important that Jonathan can't protect himself and when Steve does it for him--not protecting Nancy, but protecting his supposed rival for her affections--it becomes one of his defining characteristics for the rest of the show.

In s2, when Murray is talking to Nancy and Jonathan he says "you've got the important shit: shared trauma!" The night before, Nancy and Jonathan had admired their matching demogorgon-summoning scars. Steve doesn't have a scar but he was there too--he has that same shared trauma. We already know how it affected the way he feels about Nancy; I think it's reasonable to assume it gave him some pretty strong Emotions (TM) about Jonathan too.

In s4, when Steve and Nancy are talking and he says "you gave my head the biggest thump of its life." Yeah, you know who actually gave his head that thump while he beat Steve's ass (starting the trend of Steve Harrington Can't Win a Fight)? Jonathan. Fucking. Byers.

Steve is wildly obsessed with him, too. It's more than just "he's the weird kid," it's more than just "he's my girlfriend's guy best friend," it's this whole additional layer of masculinity and pretenses and wanting to be tough but also being gentle (I know Steve paid for that camera Nancy gave Jonathan for Christmas, I just know it) that is just...so queer coded.

Some day, far in the future, Steve Harrington is going to sit straight up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat, and rub his hands down his face while he goes "did I have a crush on Jonathan?!" And then Eddie will sit up in bed next to him and simply say "Yes, sweetheart, now go back to sleep."

I don't even ship Stonathan, honestly--I think they would be a wildly poorly matched pair, their respective weirdnesses don't compliment each other like Steddie imo--but, like, the Duffer brothers have so aggressively bisexual coded Steve with the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle. I also personally love the Jonathan is transmasc HC and I could so easily see s1 Steve explaining his feelings for Jonathan away by misgendering him, trying to rationalize that he's "still straight," whereas by the end of s4 Steve is like, yep, Jonathan was the first boy I had a crush on.

Anyway. This is almost definitely NOT what you were hoping for when u sent this ask in so. please feel free to send more/other stuff and I'll try to write for it.

[nakianshuri]

Looking back at seasons 1 through 3, I think Jonathan as a character suffered not because of Steve's popularity--or to make Steve look better in comparison--but because they put him with Nancy too quickly and removed him from his own storyline in order to become a secondary character in hers.

So far, Jonathan had his biggest storyline in season 1 when he interacts with Joyce and Will primarily. That's his world. Nancy only really comes in because they face the same trauma, but as soon as Will is rescued, Nancy becomes the one with the trauma. Her pain becomes the center of their relationship, not his trauma because as Nancy said, Will returned. Barb didn't. While she takes a leadership role in getting justice for Barb, Jonathan is completely separated from the biggest storyline of the season: Will. He's a tertiary character in Will's S2 drama when he was initially introduced as his sole Will's protector.

Season 2 is Will's biggest season to date, and Jonathan misses most of it because he's off with Nancy. Instead it's Joyce who gets the most to work with because of Will's Mindflayer possession. Joyce gets her own storyline with Bob and Hopper, and Hopper gets material to work with because of El. Mike also gets a good amount of storyline to work with because of Will and El. Basically, everyone involved with Will's S2 drama gets to benefit from that. Jonathan is mostly removed from it because...he's off with Nancy. He doesn't interact with anyone else in any significant way either. He's not with Will's friends, doesn't really do much with Bob, has no relationship to Billy, has no onscreen interaction with Steve.

Will takes a backseat in s3, and Jonathan is once again a secondary character in Nancy's storyline. S3 is even worse for Jonathan because the J*ncy storyline is really Nancy's storyline about her need to follow her truth and the power of her own investigative skills, which Jonathan initially doubts because they threaten his job.

I think the tensions between them in the third season could have been interesting, but we never see Jonathan's POV. He's wrong imo to disregard Nancy's feelings, but the season should have still delved into his financial problems or even the trust issues Murray brought up in season 2. The problem is that none of Jonathan's problems have anything to do with main S3 storyline. Nancy's problems, however, do. She's the one who is right about what's going on in Hawkins. Once again, she's the leader in the relationship, and Jonathan is the follower. J*ncy is really Nancy's storyline in s2 and 3; it's a prism through which we learn about how she responds to trauma, and we see her in a leadership role when Jonathan follows her or gets out of her way. Do we learn anything about Jonathan's issues from this relationship?

That's where S4 comes in and gives Jonathan a friend for the very first time because he's separated from Nancy. And we hear that perhaps it's been Nancy making plans about their future, and he's been...silent? Agreeing that he'll once again follow her dreams while secretly planning to do something else entirely? Is he afraid of losing her? Not really if, as Argyle says, he's slow motion breaking up with her. So why can't feel free to express himself in this relationship? Will we finally get to see what he's been dealing with?

Of course, his best scenes imo are with Will, because that's when he returns to something resembling a storyline about him and what he cares about. Contrary to what I've read here, I think s4 is maybe not Jonathan as his best but at his most interesting because we get a hint that something is bothering him. For the sake of his character, I hope we get to see why he's been self-medicating and perhaps a recognition that feels trapped perhaps both by his responsibilities to his family and his relationship with Nancy, which is why he seemed to disappear from both of them until the end of the season.

So...Jonathan as a character doesn't suffer because of Steve's popularity or to make Steve look better in comparison. In S1 and 2, Steve was made to look worse in comparison to Jonathan, and Steve still got his own storyline. The problem is how his relationship with Nancy has been written since s2 (and I'd argue s1 highlights her feelings for him more than his feelings for her) erased his connections to Will and Joyce, who are his saving grace as a character.

[jancys-blue-bayou]

could you talk some more about why you think s3 and 4 are some of the worst written tw

Hoo boy there's a lot. Off the top of my head:

Bottom line their biggest problem is they completely overstuffed the show with way too many characters and locations. This is a basic problem that feeds into so many other problems like the pacing being thrown off (remember how smoothly they cut between different plotlines in s1?) and several characters (mainly Jonathan, Mike, Will) being completely sidelined.

In s3 they focused more on memes (Scoops Troop, Alexei etc) than anything else.

In s1 character moments and character development drove the whole season. Now the character moments we get is only crumbs. As for character development, Steve from s3 and on has been reduced to nothing but a walking meme, Jonathan is completely sidelined, Nancy gets some badass moments but they screw her over by tying her up in the mindnumbingly dumb love triangle writing. If they make Stancy happen in s5 they'll have completely walked back any and all character development for three characters.

Further, especially in s3 think several characters acted very out of character. Like some of the stuff Nancy said to Jonathan when they fought in the car came off as very OOC to me (the Oliver Twist dig etc). Dustin is nothing like the sweet smart boy in s1 who kept the peace and cared more about the party all being friends than anything. But most of all, I hated Hopper in s3, how mean and cruel he was to Mike, Joyce, El. Go back and watch s1, he's so much softer. Also ridiculous that he doesn't flat out believe Joyce right away in s3 after s1-2, esp since he comes around to believing Joyce easier than you think in s1. Also his letter voiceover end of s3 that was supposed to be emotional was just trash.

They can't write relationships for shit. Once a ship is canon all the writers can think to do is "let's have them fight and break up!" which is so cheap and dumb.

The spoopy Russians in s3 and that whole plot was so lame, over the top and bad. It was completely unbelievable (yes it's a show where monsters are real but that doesn't mean the human stuff doesn't have to make sense. The realistic human storylines in s1 was what made the monster stuff work so well against it), incomprehensible and just *so* hokey.

They had a full on Coke commercial in an s3 scene. Yes product placement has been part of the show since s1 but the New Coke scene was another level, completely shameless.

The Never Ending Story musical number broke the Geneva Convention and should be investigated and prosecuted as a crime against humanity.

In s3 they give so much screentime to Billy and give his racist abusive ass a sort of redemption by the end.

In s4 they waste soooooo much screentime on the incredibly one note Jason the jock character while the likes of Mike, Will, Jonathan don't get anytime at all. They're not even in ep 7 and spend the climactic fight watching from the sidelines.

The Byers move makes no sense.

They completely don't give a shit about the Byers family anymore when for me and many other viewers they were the emotional heart of s1. It all started and ended with them. In s3 Jonathan and Will are in the same plot line for a bunch of time but we don't get any Byers bros stuff even then, and at the end of the season we don't even get a family hug, Joyce just hugs Will even though Jonathan is there too (and the Duffers told Winona there "was no time" for her to hug both her sons...) In s4 Joyce abandons her kids to go off on her Hopper rescue mission. We get the Jonathan and Will talk and hug which was great (and completely shocking to all of us that they allowed for that) and a family hug at the end but like... please let Jonathan and Joyce talk at some point?

Nancy and Mike spent a lot of time in s3 in the same plot too but we didn't get any sibling bonding between them.

They straight up just abandoned Will's arc halfway through s3. In s4 they repeat the "Jancy has communication issues" which was their arc in s3, negating that s3 arc. And they refuse to complete the arc in s4 to drag the dead love triangle into s5.

The meat monster in s3 was a super lame monster and s4 revealing the big bad as Vecna aka edgelord 3000 I'm not a fan of.

The cgi looks so bad. Vecna being tossed into the UD/whatever that place is in s4e7 takes the cake.

Them retconning so much of s1 in s4 is trash writing.

The s4 scene of El being bullied at the roller rink was really bad, like completely over the top and hokey.

Overall I'm not a fan of the direction they've taken the overarching plot in, with the spoopy Russian, Vecna etc.

Them repeating the same seasonal structure year after year is so boring. Separate cold open. Checking in on all the characters going about their lives. Supernatural stuff slowly starting to happen. Everyone being split up into different plot lines. Plot lines converging towards the end. El fights the monster of the season. Aftermath epilogue. Rinse and repeat.

The human threat of the US government makes no sense anymore. Owens and his super loyal agent men being some sort of good guys for no motivation, the spoopy Russians being set up as more evil than the Good Americans, together with the Bad Americans now being some army branch it's all just... what happened to s1?

They make cheap, dumb and so easily avoided mistakes like forgetting Will's birthday, having the cops interrogating El (a minor) without a guardian present etc yes these may seem like small things but there's so many small little mistakes like these.

They don't have a script supervisor, the Duffers openly admit they don't watch the previous seasons. Which explains a lot of why later seasons don't make sense with earlier ones.

Basically I just think it's like a completely different show compared to s1, and the writing is the main cause of it. Go back and watch s1 and see how the plot develops organically, character driven, at such a nice pace, Will and Barb going missing and El being found setting everything off and then it's all driven by the characters growing and developing and they cut between all the plot lines perfectly before they all dovetail nicely at the end. Compare it to s3 and s4 and it's just like night and day.

[rainingongallifrey]

@lovipop2049 So this is my incoherent, rambling opinion of the Jonathan Ships lol and I decided not to tag the ships because I really hope no one is going to be mad about my opinion. If they do find me please hide me. 🫢 I do love or enjoy all the Jonathan ships so far but I just prefer some dynamics over the others.

I'm so glad you said that! Jargyle is my favorite too. Right exactly they are so perfect and Argyle is so sweet to him and caring and kind its just nice to see Jonathan being treated right for once and be shown so much love and praise and Argyle just babying him and taking care of his kids and showing him nothing but love and support UGGH! It's so adorable. It's the same reason why I love Samantha x Jonathan and Eddithan so much too. But Jargyle is easily my fav.

AHH I figured it out Samantha x Jonathan is SONATHAN. How did I forget that when its spelled so much like Stonathan?

So yeah Sonathan, Eddithan, and Jargyle are my top tier ships. As much as I enjoy Jommy/Stoncy/Stonathan ext, I still favor Jargyle and them.

And seeing someone take care of Jonathan for once instead of him having to take care of them is amazing. He deserves all that love and care and needs it. I can't wait to see Vecna try and come after Jonathan in S5 and Argyle comes in like a handsome prince and saves Jonathan! It better happen. But I guess it doesnt matter cause its already been happening in my head.

Eddithan is my other favorite for the same reason. But Jargyle is still superior imo because its canon I don't have to make up how sweet it is in my imagination-Jargyle was on the show itself while Eddie and Jonathan didn't interact. Not that I'm against non canon ships ofc but I'm sure you know what I mean. Its easier to love a ship where the two are already close and connected to begin with and you don't have to do all the heavy lifting yourself to think of how their relationship is.

I think I got foreverautumn converted finally and supporting Jargyle more than Stonathan. I love Stonathan and that don't get me wrong, but Jargyle is superior and I'm tired of Argyle being overlooked because of Steve supposedly being prettier and better than Argyle and how hes a fan fav.... it makes me mad. Like I'm sorry but thats bs. Argyle deserves Jonathan a lot more than Steve ever has. Argyle has done so much for Jonathan, got him to trust and open up, and Argyle's entire storyline has been about how he supports Jonathan and helps him through everything and makes him happy. I'm tired of people saying Argyle is dumb too when S4 clearly showed how smart he was if it wasn't for him they wouldn't have saved El in the first place and it was his whole idea to go to Surfer Boy so El could piggyback and rescue Max. As much as I love Steve and Stonathan, Jargyle is the superior ship.

I really enjoy Jommy too but I want to see more of us all getting away from it just being the second coming of Stonathan. Because Tommy and Steve may be similar, but Tommy isn't Steve and I'd like to see to see how Tommy treats Jonathan differently and how his relationship with Jonathan goes instead of him just being Steve 2.0. Especially since Tommy treats his S.O. better.

Yeah I want to be clear-No hate to Byergrove or the Byergrove shippers at all. I see the appeal of Byergrove and I love foreverautumn's headcanon of it where Steve and Billy are fighting over Jonathan and how much depth and character development went into that. Billy is so hate-able in that especially because hes trying to break up Steve and Jonathan just so he can have Jonathan, but hes also loveable in that because of how much appreciation he shows to Jonathan and how he keeps bettering himself for Jonathan. I found myself cheering on Billy momentarily because its sweet how he thought Jonathan was worth fighting for and how Billy changed for the better and became a good big brother to Max once Jonathan got ahold of him. There are times I love Byergrove just because its always a really compelling story, but at the same time I wouldn't call myself a Byergrove shipper.

I love Billy I really do I think hes a really interesting and complex character and he really adds to the plot of the headcanons and stories, but I always favored the ships like Jargyle and Eddithan where its someone taking care of Jonathan and showing him love and support instead of the ships where its Jonathan saving them in more ways than one and fixing their lives and helping them and taking care of them and helping them to grow up [like Stonathan/Stoncy/Byergrove/Jommy]. Not that I don't like those stories, I love those stories and those ships and see the appeal cause it shows how special and heroic Jonathan is and puts him in the spotlight and shows off what makes him such an amazing person, but I prefer the ships where the SO takes care of Jonathan instead.

Jonathan doesn't need even more people to baby and take care of he needs to be taken care of and showed a lot of love and support. I guess I favor the 'fluffy' type of relationships too much. Don't get me wrong I love the angst and complexity of ships like Stonathan and that, but I just favor Jargyle and Eddithan because its Jonathan being taken care of and saved and shown so much love. I know I'm rambling and I hope this was coherent.

I was in a rush so I don't know how coherent this was, but hopefully you get what I'm trying to say I love Stonathan/Stoncy and that so much, but Jargyle and Eddithan will always be superior because Jonathan takes care of Eddie and Argyle, but they take care of him even more and help him through his trauma and show him so much love and support and give Jonathan everything he could ever need or want emotionally. All Eddithan and Jargyle is is some big love fest where they just adore Jonathan and praise him and help him and remind him constantly how special he is. Even if Vecna does still brings the drama and angst into their relationship anyway.....

[munsontm]

EDDIE IN EVERY SEASONS TIE IN:  this is a rough draft compiling how I will write Eddie in seasons 1-4. I don’t think it’s too invasive on other character’s canon?? It’s supportive if anything, at least I think so, it doesn’t mess things up. But there’s lots of room for tweaking! Plus, I cannot remember all the fine details of previous seasons because of disability reasons. So, forgive me if I get things the wrong way around.

SEASON 1.

Main focus for Eddie: helping Jonathan and Joyce find Will utilising Corroded Coffin/The Hellfire club to help. He is not present for the Demogorgon attack in the Byers house in EP8, but instead stays with the party to look after them and take part in the deprivation tank scenes. He feels guilt at the end for not being able to help Jane further when the agents show up and the Demogorgon comes at them.

Eddie has probably known the Byers for at least a few years and has befriended Jonathan and Will in that time, and in turn, the party, though to a smaller degree than what we see in S4. It’s more casual acquaintances and fellow D&D nerds, though he has probably transported the boys about in his van more than once.

Jonathan, maybe Joyce is aware that Eddie is bisexual. This can be handy for Will rpers in later seasons.

He sees Joyce as the mother he never had. Eddie’s mother suffered from chronic depression and he was often neglected. So, he’s very attentive to helping Joyce and will do anything she ever asks of him.

Does not get along with Steve at all. Nope. It’s a hateship at this point. And will he punch out Steve for attacking Jonathan, especially while using a homophobic slur? Ohhhhh yes. This happens after the Demogorgon battle at the very end of the season.

SEASON 2.

Main focus for Eddie: flits between Steve and Jonathan’s narratives (since jon is developing his romance with nancy at this point), developing a friendship/antagoship with Steve, and begins to spark a siblingship with Max. Is part of the junkyard and tunnel battles (after being summoned by Dustin for back up), as well as accompanying Steve and Dustin to dispose of Dart. This is where co-dads begin. He is not present for Steve and Billy’s altercation, though, and ultimately feels guilty for it afterwards because Steve looks like hell.

Because of the final events of S1, Eddie has found himself closer to the members of the party. They’ve awoken a protective instinct in him after what happened to Jane.

He encourages Jonathan to go for it with Nancy after her and Steve are over because buddy, he’s sick of the simpering looks.

Eddie sells weed at the party Nancy, Steve and Jonathan are at. He’s dressed as a bard, no joke. Eddie helps Jonathan take Nancy home.

Where co-dads of Dustin begins to develop here. It forces Steve and Eddie to interact on better terms than in S1. I’d like to believe they resolve their differences, working together as a team to defeat the Mindflayer and look after the kids split between them. And though Eddie doesn’t out himself to Steve, he makes a point of saying that Jonathan could have ended up hurt or even dead if it got around that Steve accused him of being gay.

SEASON 3.

Main focus for Eddie: working in scoops ahoy with Robin and then Steve. Only partially involved with Russian shenanigans, primarily with Dustin and Erica. Does not focus on key Robin and Steve moments because that’s not cool, that’s their thing, but he takes part in rescuing them with Erica and Dustin. He also tries to get through to Billy at the Starcourt Mall, having recognised some similarities between them and their family over S2 and 3, and ultimately takes a beating during Starcourt Showdown from Billy (if that’s cool with Billy rpers) while defending the kids and Max. Once again, Eddie feels guilty for not being able to help Billy.

Up to Robin rpers, but I will generally write Eddie and Robin as already being acquaintances if not friends. Whether Eddie knows she is a lesbian and vice versa etc, is entirely up to individual interpretations.

Eddie is still very close friends with Jonathan, but perhaps a distance has been placed between them what with Jonathan having a girlfriend and his newspaper job. Which can absolutely be rectified, but we need some drama, right?

SUBPLOT:  Eddie having to kill a flayed person to protect Erica and Dustin, and that messes him up a lot. Especially as they then have to rescue Steve and Robin from the Russians.

Ribs on Max for being so adorable with Lucas. He ships Lumax okay. 

SEASON 4.

Main focus for Eddie: Guilt. Do you see where this is going? Enter Chrissy Cunningham. I don’t need to explain anything further to ya’ll. Just some personal bits I am implementing.

Eddie does miss Jonathan a lot. Yeah, he’s got his Hellfire/CC bros. But Jon is still very much missed as is Will, Joyce and Jane.

Is on established friendship terms with the scooby gang/fruitys.

Eddie gets Vecna’d hardcore because of his whole ass trail of guilt, and the scoobs + dustin having to bring him outta it.

Sorry Nancy, but Eddie is gonna full on platonically kiss Jonathan when he sees him again. When, you know, he’s not half-dead from Demobat at

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

-> fem!reader vers. // they/them reader vers. // he/him reader vers. // season 1 // season 2 // trailer 001 // trailer 002 // main masterlist

𝗲𝗽. 𝟭 ━ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘀𝘂𝘇𝗶𝗲, 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆?;

Summer brings new jobs and budding romance. But the mood shifts when Dustin’s radio picks up a Russian broadcast, and Will senses something is wrong.

Preview

Chapter One || [Part One]

Chapter One || [Part Two]

Chapter One || [Part Three]

Chapter One || [Part Four]

Chapter One || [Part Five - FINAL]

𝗲𝗽. 𝟮 ━ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘀;

Baffled with Mike's sudden behavior, El seeks out Y/n and Max for advice while Will struggles to get through to Mike and Lucas. Billy takes his co-worker on a field trip, and Steve and Dustin enlist a helpful ally in their top-secret mission.

Chapter Two: The Mall Rats || [Part One]

Chapter Two: The Mall Rats || [Part Two]

Chapter Two: The Mall Rats || [Part Three]

Chapter Two: The Mall Rats || [Part Four - Final]

𝗲𝗽. 𝟯 ━ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱;

El goes astral projecting and discovers that Billy has done something with Heather. While the girls try to find the missing lifeguard, Will tries to get Mike and Lucas interested in D&D. Dustin and Steve spy on the mall shops, and Robin tries to decipher the Russian message.

Chapter Three: The Case of The Missing Lifeguard || [Part One]

Chapter Three: The Case of The Missing Lifeguard || [Part Two

Chapter Three: The Case of The Missing Lifeguard || [Part Three]

Chapter Three: The Case of The Missing Lifeguard || [Part Four]

Chapter Three: The Case of The Missing Lifeguard || [Part Five]

Chapter Three: The Case of The Missing Lifeguard || [Part Six - Final]

𝗲𝗽. 𝟰 ━ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁;

Mike, Lucas, and Will recruit El, Max, and Y/n to help them learn who the Mind Flayer's host is while Robin, Steve, and Dustin recruit someone to sneak into Lynx.

Chapter Four: The Sauna Test || [Part One]

Chapter Four: The Sauna Test || [Part Two]

Chapter Four: The Sauna Test || [Part Three]

Chapter Four: The Sauna Test || [Part Four]

Chapter Four: The Sauna Test || [Part Five - Final]

𝗲𝗽. 𝟱 ━ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱;

The freshly assembled Scoops Troop explore the tunnels beneath Starcourt while Nancy and Jonathan recruit Y/n and the others to help them discover what happened to the Holloways and find the Mind Flayer's base of operations.

Chapter Five: The Flayed || [Part One]

Chapter Five: The Flayed || [Part Two]

Chapter Five: The Flayed || [Part Three]

Chapter Five: The Flayed || [Part Four - Final]

𝗲𝗽. 𝟲 ━ 𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘂𝗺;

In their search to find Billy, El discovers the Mind Flayer's sinister plans. Dustin and Erica stage a daring rescue, and Y/n grapples with her fears. All the while, desperate to fix what he broke so long ago, Mike finally comes to grips with what's been bothering him about Y/n and Will's relationship and attempts to make amends.

Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum || [Part One]

Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum || [Part Two]

Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum || [Part Three]

Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum || [Part Four]

Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum || [Part Five]

Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum || [Part Six]

Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum || [Part Seven - Final]

𝗲𝗽. 𝟳 ━ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗲 & 𝗲𝗽. 𝟴 ━ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁; planned but waiting for s4 🩸🥼🕘🌊

[thesaunatest]

MY HUGE THEORY ON EL’S PLOTLINE IN S4

before you guys even start, YES I know that 99.9% of what I say is going to be wrong but this is literally just for fun.

its march 1986, middle of the school year and el HATES school

when we left her she was barely literate and had just started getting accostomed to speaking full sentences, NOWHERE NEAR a 9th grade level, so shes struggling in her classes to say the least

on top of that, she barely knows how to socialize with other people, so shes evidently getting picked on

with joyce and jonathan both working to keep the family afloat, will and el get left alone alot

but outside of the party, they socially have nothing in common

in fact, will is adapting to the new town a whole lot better than el. he fit right in with all the creative kids he met in class, but el didnt mesh with that crowd

anyway, our girl is sturggling

the only time she really has fun is when she visits hawkins, or when someone from the party visits them

which leads us to spring break

mike obviously comes to visit, and el doesnt want them to waste a single second so she begs mike and will to come explore the town with her

at this point joyce is already in her detective mode, hatching a rescue plan for hopper so she doesnt notice theyre gone

and jonathan is battling the heartbreak of nancy ghosting him when she was supposed to come visit

so the trio goes off on an adventure without anyone noticing.......... or so they think

because brenner is back, and he knows el is with the byers, but he cant go and snatch her because he doesnt have the resources all the way in california

in fact, he doesnt have the resources at all. his numbers experiment is seen as a catastrophic failure that lead to the deaths of hundreds of lab employees

the only way for him to redeem himself in the community, and gain his funding back is to present his peers with proof that the project can work, so he needs to get one of his numbers back

el is the only one he can track down, but he doesnt think he can do it himself. if she saw him, she could just kill him with her powers, he assumes because he doesnt know she lost them

so who does he employ to get el back to hawkins? lonnie byers

its almost too easy. it doesnt take much to bribe lonnie, and hey, its not like its his kid. so lonnie accepts the bribe, and goes all the way out to california to find el

he shows up at the byers house..... only to find it completely deserted. so he waits

and the trio finds him there after their day out (why are you here? what do you want? where are mom and jonathan?)

and lonnie, being as crafty as he is, comes up with a good excuse on the fly (hes craftier than i am because i genuinely have no idea what he would say)

anyway, he gets them in his car and on their way back to hawkins

jonathan shows up after theyve already left, and is too stoned tired to think anything of the empty house

and joyce is already halfway to russia

will knows his father. he knows that his father doesnt give a shit about him, the family, or anything about hawkins. he knows that his father wouldnt get involved in anything unless he had something to gain. so hes wraking his brain

maybe.... lonnie pulls over to take a suspicious phone call? maybe will figures out an inconsistency in his story? either way, the gang is onto lonnie and figures that they gotta get away from him and get back to joyce and jonathan

they tuck and roll out of the car. idk. all that matters is that they get out of there

as theyre rolling out of the car, el bonks her head a little and has a quick flashback to her time in the lab

since her intuition is always spot on, she takes this as a cue the breener is back and lonnie is working for him

she tells the boys it isnt safe to go back to california or hawkins, so they come up w an alternative plan, somewhere neither brenner nor lonnie would think to look for them

and while theyre on the road, they stop at a diner to eat (dont ask me where they got the money) and we get will leaving an emotional voicemail home, probably sobbing to jonathan about how much he means to will, which gives el an idea

because who has the resources to help her, as well as a desire for vengeance on brenner? kali

el uses her superb hitchiking skills to get them to chicago

maybe she just has some hints of her powers left, but it isnt too hard for el to find kali

she explains everything thats happened, and lets kali know that if she want revenge, the opportunity is hers

unfortunately, lonnie was hot on their trail, and called for reinforcements

theyre ambushed by the few employees brenner has working for him. initially, everyone is hiding, assisted by kali’s powers

but el knows they arent leaving empty handed, and would rather get taken away then have kali’s freedom taken from her

so el reveals herself, followed by mike because he wont leave her, followed by will because he wont leave mike

all three get taken away, back to hawkins lab, but now kali is even more motivated to bring down the lab once and for all

so kali and her gang get to hawkins, almost simultaniously with jonathan, who has been looking for his family in a frenzy since the morning he woke up to find eveyone gone, without even a note or a phone call, as well as argyle, who came along for the ride

the video store is being used as home base this season, so thats the first place they go, where they find steve, shortstaffed and not knowing whats going on because the whole team ditched him

they catch him up to speed on how EVERYONES GONE and steve catches them up to speed on how EVERYONE IS GETTING MURDERED

meanwhile, brenner has three predicaments

1) no matter what he does to el, what kind of torture he inflicts, she isnt using her powers because she doesnt have them. she tells him this several times. he refuses to believe it

2) lonnie byers is demanding his payment, which he didnt recieve because the deal was that he bring el to them, and he couldnt even do that

3) he has to find a way to dispose of mike and will, who he had no intention of bringing into the lab but theyre here and they know everything

and this is the moment where mike screws up by letting them know that people know theyre in the lab and people know about all the experiments and any second now, someones gonna come banging that door down to save us. nancy, jonathan, steve, robin max, lucas, dustin, kali-

and the second mike says her name he knows he screwed up

brenner decides in that moment that all he can do is round up everyone involved and get rid of them. conveniently, the string of murders occurring will serve as a good cover for what happened to them

and this is the part where joyce, murray, and hopper get back to hawkins

this is also the part where nancy and robin and the gang get back to hawkins

so nancy and robin immediately go to the video store armed with all the new information they learned from victor creel

..... and are met with jonathan, argyle, kali, and steve in pandemonium

they close the store for the day, and get ready to storm the lab

they realize that they need something from the school, so they head there to pick it up

and soon after arriving, theyre met with the all to familiar hawkins lab vans

they make a hasty escape, taking out some of the goons but they need to find a way to get the rest off their trail

they head for the woods, hoping to hide out in the cabin

meanwhile, the russia crew has taken the mostly demolished cabin as their haven to recover from whatever injuries they sustained

theyre all running through the woods, but they realize the people from the lab are closing in on them

and then nancy and jonathan pass a very familiar tree

they use whatever weapon they have on them to break through the bark, and head into the upside down

the lab people keep going into the woods, eventually finding hopper’s cabin

epic showdown between the russia crew and the lab people, joyce, murray and hopper win, they realize the lab is back, immediately head there realizing theyre gonna have to rescue someone

nancy and robin use the info they learned from victor creel to keep the gang alive in the upside down, max, argyle and eddie are freaking out because omg we’re in another dimention, we get some big reveal about the truth about the upside down and the gang makes their way out and head to the lab

and while this is all happening,we get some super emotional monologue between brenner and el (ala-the last 10 minutes of the truman show) and brenner realizes that el isnt going to be the naieve superweapn she used to be, and decides the best thing he can do with el is give her the standard punishment, time in the closet

and being in the closet triggers all sorts of flashbacks and emotions (mbb’s opportunity to show off her acting chops for an emmy)

joyce and hopper bust into the lab like they did in season 1, but this time they dont get caught

they decide to split up to cover more ground, and hopper finds el in the closet

and around the same time joyce finds mike and will and gets them out of there

here comes the REAL emotional performance

hopper sees her, we get a teary eyed “el!” “dad!”, and then hopper gets pulled away from el by lab workers

exactly the same way terry did

we’re watching this happen from el’s perspective, with a heart-wrenching “noooooooooo” from el, accompanied by cuts to every time el has had to be separated from someone she cares about (terry, the s1 ending, billy dying, her leaving kali in s2, saying goodbye to everyone on moving day, her being separated from mike and will when they got to the lab) accompanied by some terribly sad 80s song, then back to the present moment, she reaches her hand out and boom, the guards go flying. her powers are back

except she doesnt have control of them the way she did before, and now shes bringing the whole building down

her and hopper race to the the first floor, and meet joyce and the boys, they get out of the building at the very last second, and the whole thing collapses.

eventually they find the other group, the whole team is now together, they go and take down the big bad from the upside down, joyce almost KILLS lonnie

nancy and robin drop a huge bombshell that has to do with hawkins/the upside down, specifically pertaining to el, which they pieced together after talking to victor creel

we get a massive cliffhanger, season 5 starts like 10 minutes after the ending of season 4

[youjustgotlawyered]

Okay, so I’ve reflected a lot on Stranger Things S3 and have some thoughts on it and how the series finale might fix everything. 

As much as it physically pains me, I’m going to take Dacre at his word when he says that he’s basically done. I don’t agree with the Duffer’s decision to kill him off because Dacre is an amazing actor, he’s one of the richest and most nuanced characters, and oh yeah, is an abused kid who deserved better. I had a lot of problems with S3, but I think all of that could be a moot point. Why? Time travel, bitches. 

Funny enough, I first started thinking about the idea after reading an article from my own childhood, the Tv Guide. 

https://www.tvguide.com/news/stranger-things-season-4-time-travel-theories/

So the TV guide article itself points out some great possibilities for time travel, but I’d like to add a few! The more I thought about it, the more it made sense! 

1. Hopper isn’t the American. I don’t think Brenner is dead and neither do the Duffers. This was said a long time ago and recently: https://www.insider.com/stranger-things-2-is-dr-brenner-papa-alive-2017-10  So Hopper could be the American, but wouldn’t it be difficult to rescue him so quickly from the upside down for the Russians to already have him captured? It would make more sense for the Russians to actually have a powerful person who could also advance their own technology and odds at beating the U.S. There’s nobody better qualified for that than Brenner. 

2. Brenner could know more than we could realize. Brenner also could know about time travel technology or another lab kid who is capable of it. Listen, we haven’t seen all of the kids! Kali is...somewhere, and for all we know she’s the American, but the audience will probably get a little more information about these other kids at some point in time in the show. Kali could also at this time know the location of other lab kids, but I’m betting on Brenner.

3. The world keeps getting bigger, and that’s not a good thing. There are an enormous amount of unanswered questions and honestly, I’m a little tired of an expanded universe! I want answers to my old questions! The Duffers said that they planned for four seasons because the actors are growing up and nobody wants the show to get stale. David Harbour implied four was planned, but he thinks there should be five seasons and that he thinks the ending will be “beautiful.” http://mentalfloss.com/article/579859/david-harbour-stranger-things-ending-is-beautiful So we only have one or two more seasons! I want the big bads to get their asses handed to them! The Americans took these kids and experimented on them, and they are not the good guys. I’m not going to frame Brenner and the lab in a positive way just because we’re set in the fucking Cold War. Let’s get back to Hawkins basics and wrap this shit up! 

4. The big bad can only get so much bigger. Anybody notice how the Mindflayer keeps getting bigger every season? How many more Russian nesting dolls are we gonna go through until we’re done? I would say the final big bad is the one we see looming in the Upside Down in S2, unless the Duffers planned for...multiple Mindflayers in this universe. So isn’t the next encounter with the MindFlayer logically their last? 

5. Back to the Future. Need I say more?? I think they’ll do a winter season, so it might be winter of 1985 and “Back to the Future” could be a big movie influence in S4 since it was constantly brought up in S3. The Duffers don’t always do their influences consecutively, but I was looking at popular movies in 1986 and some of the movies that Duffers likely would have watched and enjoyed. So there is Short Circuit (escaped lab robot), Howard the Duck (humanoid duck stops aliens), Critters (furry aliens terrorize rural town), and Star Trek IV: The Voyage (they’re in Star Trek and they go to San Francisco in 1986 to...communicate with whales--I had to look that up). Notice a theme? Short of the whales?

6. It might be the only way to actually wrap things up! Okay, let’s really think about this. The best way to stop the Upside Down is to stop El from ever first communicating with the Upside Down and opening the gate in the first place. There is absolutely no way to do that without traveling back in time. If the whole gang is able to travel, there’s nothing that stops them from retaining their knowledge when they go back to their present time, just like in Back to the Future. They could also stop El from ever being tortured in the first place. 

What could possibly be more beautiful and sweet than that?! Not to mention we have a whole set of characters who then didn’t die because El never opened the gate in the first place!

Think about Nancy going to school and bursting into tears when she sees Barb at her locker. 

Think about depressed Joyce now watching bad reruns with Bob on the couch.

Think about Max actually being the one to push for this before any of the others because she has a hard time coping with Billy’s death. 

And yes, because I’m a self indulgent monster, Steve clapping Billy on the back, saying, “Maybe you’re not such a bad guy after all.” Which, Billy can look at him like he’s grown a second head while he mumbling angrily around a cigarette like, “What the fuck kind of drugs are you on, Harrington?” 

[timingmatters]

Opinions on ST S3 (I’m on mobile so I can’t do a cut below im sorry shdjdj)

I loved mileven and think this season explored very well Mike’s abandonment issues with El ( a product of s2) and how overprotective he was of her. He definitely had a point over people being careless with her powers and treating her like a machine. Max wasn’t right saying he treated her like a pet, because he really doesn’t, but she was right on him not trusting her knowing her limits. She knows how to take care of herself and Mike had to understand that. I loved that although their break up was over a dumb misunderstanding thanks to Hopper pressuring Mike and Max misunderstanding him, it ultimately helped them grow stronger as individuals and a couple. And Max also gave El the opportunity to explore herself as an individual outside just her powers or boyfriend. I def think Mike wanted to be sort of like an anchor to her, and El thought so too, but she had to learn to be her own anchor and Mike had to learn that although he wants to protect her, she also has to be on her own. Love when the issues relationships have are to make them stronger as a couple and not cheap love triangles. Which I felt the same with Jancy. He has always understood her, but for the first time he learned that he also has to speak up when OTHERS underestimate her. He has always just let her do her thing but theybare learning to work as a team not only during missions but throughout life in general. Overall i loved mileven and jancy and think their development was realistically done and they still had their cute moments (their moments at the last minutes of the season were incredibly cute and heartwarming). Lots of people didn’t like this season so much but i loved it. However I still got things that I disliked or would at least like to see on s4 because we didn’t get to see during this season.

Things I would have liked to see and hope s4 brings:

- Will was pushed to the side, and while I’ve seen people that hated it, I sort of enjoyed it?? I love Will but both previous seasons have focused soso much on him so it was nice for him not to be the main point suffering and just sitting bck and having a normal teen (gay) boy crisis and helping his friends.

- HOWEVER I did think friendships were pushed to the side. It wasn’t for no reason, it was a storyline that had a climax and even a resolution, but even so friendships had little time to shine and they are the heart of the show so I’m hoping for more next season. Especially Mike and Will, I’m not a byler shipper but they definitely have a very very strong bond and I wanted more. S4 has a lot of potential on that because clearly Mike knows Will is gay (if we are going down that path which it genuinely looks like it!!!) and I think him being a support for Will when coming to terms with it could be such an amazing storyline. Hell, they have (what for me is as friendship) AMAZING chemistry together, one of the ultimate best scenes on s2 was Mike recalling when they became friends to get Will back. Hope we see more of that in s4.

- some people said this season had too much Eleven. Sadly, I agree. I won’t complain bc like I said I get it and enjoy it. Also understand she’s sort of the main character, but truly a lot of characters didn’t get much of an arc and Eleven was given tons of screen time. Characters like Lucas barely had a storyline apart from just being there and I would have enjoyed for of them, especially considering his little sister almost died by the hands of the russian gov, like I can’t believe he didn’t at least have a big brother moment where he freaked out for her safety

- Max and Mike. I think they could be such friends. I understand, again with the abandonment issues Mike had where he came from being harsh to her, and obviously her not standing for that bs. But they could be such good friends and I thought they would at least have a talk towards the end to get a redemption arc on their friendship. If I was truly disappointed by something on this season it was probably that, I hope next season they become better friends and we get to see it

- On the same note, I wished we had seen El bonding with also thei other boys not just Max. On s1 she had developed strong friendships with Dustin and Lucas, and her friendship especially with Lucas had a rocky start so it would have been good to see them bond more. And Will who is lowkey her brother. Will had a rage moment and called her dumb and that’s just?? Only solved thro the friendship moment with the boys?? But he never attempted to actually bond with her and like shdhdj she saved his ass a lot and I hope s4 brings siblings moments with them (and Jonathan).

- Karen being a pedophile sucked ass and I’m disappointed I honestly wanted so much for her shdhhdhd. I CRAVED for her to be as involved as Joyce but they just made her a pedo with bad taste :/

- I understand how Max still sort of loves Billy even though he was her abuser. When the abuser comes from family is complicated like that. Still, I don’t think the redemption arc he had was enough to make me truly care for him. The moment with El and his mom’s memories at the end was a beautiful directing work and incredibly well acted, sadly, because as a viewer I don’t care much for him it wasn’t as impactful and emotional as I think they aimed for. Had he at least TRIED to touch on his past abusive and racist behavior, apologizing, blaming his dad, literally anything, I would have felt A LITTLE bad for him. But just because he lost his mom in a sad way doesn’t mean I will care for him lmao. And I can’t believe after making a point of his dad abusing him with homophobic slurs and showing those had an impact on him, the idea of him being gay was never explored. That honestly kinda shocked me.

- Hopper was an ass to Mike point blank lmao. I always find it creepy when dads in prom pics take pictures with their daughters’ dates and their guns as a “threatening” moment. I got the same vibe from Hopper during the first episodes which sort of ruined how I viewed him. ESPECIALLY after s2 when he holds Mike as he is having a breakdown over Hopper not telling him El was alive, he should be a lot more understanding towards Mike. Hopefully when he gets rescued from the russians in s4 Mike will be there to help him and they will bond

- again, MORE FRIENDSHIP PARTY MOMENTS. I truly loved the Dustin/Erica dynamic and Dustin/Steve, but the heart of the show will always be the party and I was sort of sad to see how little screen time Dustin had with the other kids.

- lastly, s2 went on a whole thing over other people like Eleven that were experimented on, and the promos for this s3 had a whole thing over Will having powers/being a key (which never happened all he did was feel a cold on his neck shdhdj). So I’m hoping s4 explores more on the power origins while El tries to get them back, and perhaps Will gains powers. And thus also introducing other people who were experimented on, not like in s2 where that storyline never merged, but also having the others involved.

Despite all the things I complained about, I understand the choices that were made with storylines and screen times for each character, and I did truly loved the season. I think Mileven’s issues were realistic regarding what they have been through and I loved them still seeking for each other and holding on to each other the moment things go badly. I did loved Mileven this season and hope they have learned and will be more stable on s4 and give us more cute moments. I feel the same with Jancy. I hope if there’s any relationship that gets more focus next season is lumax and jopper and hope they get drama and development while jancy and mileven just chill and have cute moments asjdjdjdj. Also hope Will gets a boy love interest!!!!! I loved Robin and her dynamic with Steve. They have an amazing friendship dynamic but i also understand not wanting to leave Steve forever single and alone unless s4 introduces him a new love interest and Robin remains as his bestie. On the same note, since s1 all I want is for Jonathan and Steve to be besties. Shhdhdjd still gonna hope for it for s4. I HOPE THE EVERYONE GOES TO RUSSIA TO SAVE HOPPER THAT WOULD BE COOL.