#duffers brothers just ruined everything

[chirpsythismorning]

Y’all will be your own undoing the fact none of you have not even the slightest bit of doubt is rather worrying. what happens if neither is endgame and let’s say Mike is killed off? You can’t say that won’t happen either because you don’t know the same way you can’t say byler is endgame because you don’t know hell even milevens can’t say they’re ship is endgame because they don’t know. Ego is ruining both sides and neither side is correct and shouldn’t proclaim to be.

I'm sorry anon, but I'm not all bylers. While there are a great deal of bylers like myself who have less doubts these days, there are plenty that have mostly doubts. PLENTY. Arguably the vast majority. And for good reason, ie. history.

To be completely honest anon, I don't think you're worried about bylers and their lack of doubts. I think their lack of doubt scares you bc it's caused you to go from confident to having doubts yourself. Why else would you be here on anon all condescending otherwise?

Personally, I'm not even here bc I want to believe byler's endgame. And no offense to those that have went through it, because the whole point of queer-baiting is to basically mock queer fans and lead them on with no intention of following through, but I have never been queer-baited before.

I did however, like many milkvans, go into Stranger Things loving Mike and El under the assumption they were peak romance. I literally skipped all of s2 during my first rewatch to get to their reunion! But genuinely, do we think the show is supposed to be watched that way?? Hell no.

If you're having to skip all of s2, most of s3, most of s4 in rewatches, bc Mike and El are separated, fighting, or broken up, what does that tell you?

If you're having resentments for characters like Max and Lucas and Will and Hopper bc the story has made points to have those characters interfere with your confidence in Mike and El romantically, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're probably watching the show wrong. To be clear, if you have resentment for ANY of the main characters, you are missing something!!!

And that was my problem back then when I subscribed to these assumptions, because I WANTED to believe Mike and El were the pinnacle of romance, despite the signs incoming that went against it. And what that meant is I had to hold resentments for all the characters, including Mike and El themselves and even the Duffer Brothers for ruining what I WANTED to believe.

After s3, me, my friends, family and quite honestly anyone I spoke to about the show, said that it went downhill since the previous two seasons. And I do think a big part of the reason why, is because of the Mike and El conflict conflating everything. It felt regressive. And s4 repeating that exact storyline????

It took me a while to even consider byler as an idea. It's not like I latch onto every non-canon mlm ship and just ship for nothing (very few bylers do this, no matter how much anti's need to convince themselves this is the case as an excuse to be homophobic).

I am a hopeless romantic. Doesn't matter if it's queer or straight, I only ship stuff that I feel confident is endgame bc why would I put myself through scenes of something that doesn't feel right to me, merely bc I want to believe it and despite everything pointing against it??

Full serious, IF I was confident in milkvan endgame as a possibility, I would probably just convince myself to like them and provide evidence supporting it, bc I would honestly rather be right? Who tf wants to be wrong?

The problem was it didn't matter if I was initially convinced Mike and El were the pinnacle of romance (I was a child okay, give me a break...). Once I let go of that assumption because of all the doubts I had of them piling up, and took off my heteronormative goggles, I went woah... Holy shit. This show is actually fucking epic. Doubts gone. And the rest is history.

So, what happens if neither is endgame and Mike's killed off? I guess I would be confused, especially because the Duffer's specifically mentioned not being able to kill off Mike in a podcast last year. They gave their reasoning as to why, being that they take deaths on their show very seriously, needing 1+ seasons for them to show the characters mourning the loss. And so ending the show on that exact note, would be kind of a spoiler since they brought it up specifically? Therefore kind of redundant?

I guess, sue me for thinking the Duffers care about the show and put a lot of meaning into it. All of my analysis and theories are based on that assumption. No one's going to change how I think about that, so trust me, not worth getting worked up over it, anon.

If your evidence is all based on the assumption that the Duffers are not that good of writers, that almost everything on the show is coincidental and there's no deeper meaning beyond surface level, why are you even watching it in the first place? You do you I guess, but I just don't know why you wouldn't want to watch something that is more worth your time?

People being confident in their theories wont hurt you. If it bothers you so much, maybe find a way to be confident with your theories after looking at all the evidence from both sides. All sides. Any sides. If you still come up completely indifferent, then don't work yourself up by going on anon and making it other peoples' problem.

If it turns out everything meant nothing, and I was wrong about everything or most of what I interpreted, I will be okay! Because the show went from being about what I wanted to believe, to just what I genuinely believed.

Would I be disappointed? Sure. But lets hope I'm right bc in my scenario the show is epic and everything means something... not sure why anyone would root for the alt...

[thestobingirlie]

So apparently (s)/duffer brothers confirmed their "stage play" first shadow is canon to the show (100%) (a play that most of the fandom isn't going to see) but it seems like they're sorta ruining the intrigue/premise of the entire show (S4 did that as well, since they're explaining everything off the bat on silver plate, and it was better when we didn't know shit and had room for interpretation.. the name of the show is literally stranger things... Weird things are happening and no one knows why? The ambiguity of the story was way better and it was what made the show amazing in the first place.... Now it looks like unnecessary milking of the universe as much as possible. (And even if they consider getting the play on Netflix magically most of the viewers don't even know the play exists except the ones who are getting their source from fanpages)

literally the mystery was the best part of the fucking show. what is the mind flayer? what does it truly want? we’ll never know.

oh wait, no. it’s all just a guy. booooooo

i honestly think that vecna ruined the villains of the show. i don’t think he’s an interesting villain. he’s so basic, with no real motives. and even if they try to give him depth in the play, it won’t matter to me. because i won’t see it. most of the audience won’t. so what’s the point other than to suck as much money as they can out of a franchise?

[thecelestialsyzygy]

I feel like this has been said plenty of times before, but I'm going to say it again...

The whole conversation about whether or not Mike deserves Will because "Mike treats him like crap. Also, what about El?" or whether or not the Duffers will bury their gays, is so exhausting.

First off, they are all complex characters who are (may I remind you) 15 YEARS OLD. Who doesn't say and do stupid things at 15?! We haven't even really seen the full extent of things Mike has been going through personally and there are so many good analyses out there that provide possible explanations as to why Mike in specific may have done/said the things he has. Not excusing them, but OMG character development is a thing. S4 was not the last season. Did we forget? I know not everybody keeps up with ST news, but if you did even a little bit of research you would see the Duffers say things like "We don't want to be like GOT" and "Mike (a main character) dying would be too depressing". Not only that but you would see David talk about how the ending is beautiful and Noah comment on how amazingly well Wills arc is handled.

And let's bffr for a moment; Do you really think any of them dying (in this case, Will) would be considered a beautiful ending? NO. Not only would it be sad af for the other characters, but for the audience as well. They all deserve happiness. And deaths in cases like this solve NOTHING. Idc how bittersweet and purposeful they're written to be. Idc if Byler becomes canon, Vecna is defeated, and Will dies 'happily' after an injury or something while he's surrounded by love and holds the knowledge that he protected those he cares for; it's still too depressing. Think about the party (Will's best friends) and family who has seen the horrors he has gone through. There's El (his sister who has been through a lot herself), Jonathan (his brother who has helped raise him), Joyce (his mom who has fought tooth and nail for her kids), Hopper (his stepdad who's been there through it all), and let's not forget Mike (his bestest friend AND true love). What are they gonna do? Would the Duffers just play it off like "Everything happens for a reason so everybody's gonna move on because it was for the greater good". Like STFU. Even when Noah and Millie were joking about killing off characters, the Duffers basically told them "no". And let's bffr for another moment; Do you really think Noah would allow them to let Will die? Yes, Noah is just an actor so he doesn't have a huge say, but my point stands. Noah has expressed how much Will means to him numerous times and I know Noah is dramatic at heart (we love him for that) and would nail a scene like that but I'm pretty sure he would not enjoy that ending and say good things about it. Not only this, but Noah has said he wants to see Will ACTUALLY be happy as well, not just have a glimpse of it.

Stranger Things is NOT all these other shows and if they pulled the same things these other shows did it would go against the whole meaning of Stranger Things. The Duffers would literally ruin their careers.

I understand being skeptical because unfortunately things like this do happen, but this conversation is old and tired. Ppl on this app have provided reasonings and evidence over and over as to why this still shouldn't be a huge concern. If you choose to not trust the Duffers or listen to anyone's points and be negative, then fine, but do us all a favor and keep it to yourself because I am tired of seeing it.

[steve99941]

Why Stranger Things' 4 Plot Twist Doesn't Work

Let's face it, Netflix's Stranger Things Series took the world by storm when the first season was released in 2016.

No one expected the idea of a Stephen King/Lovecraftian Horror amalgamation set in the 80's based on Eldritch monstrosities and alternate dimensions. But it happened anyway, and the Duffer Brothers were in for a treat. Not until....

When something becomes too much of a good thing, it becomes a problem. This is a very well known fact, and Stranger Things couldn't have enough of this realization. It just had to overstay it's welcome.

The fanbase became increasingly cringe overtime, and people loved the characters so much that they forgot the point of the entire show, or more like, the point of a horror show; IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CHARACTERS, IT'S ABOUT THE HORROR.

The moment you realize that people are more interested in your characters than in the manifesting horror of your story, you'd know you've messed it up.

I come in peace now, don't hang me. I'm not saying a horror story shouldn't have interesting characters. Of course it should, but the emphasis I'm trying to make here is; Stranger Things' fanbase is invested so much on the iconography, characters and the costumes. There is little to no emphasis on the horror, as per the Series' Popularity. When you see two people talking about Stranger Things, you don't necessarily hear phrases like "The Upside Down" or "The Mind Flayer", it's mostly about the four kids(Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Will), or the cop(Hopper), or the supporting characters.

Anyway, by the time the Duffer Brothers caught on on this hype for the show, they decided to exploit it, by giving the fans what they want; more screentime with the characters. That was the beginning of the downfall of this show.

Anyway, speaking of horror stories that don't necessarily pay attention to character development that much, but are rather invested heavily on the horrors of it's haunted universe, is the work of Junji Ito, a Japanese Mangaka, whose works are very inspired by H.P Lovecraft.

Many of his comic book horror series (The Uzumaki series for example) are not necessarily based on specific characters, but more on how the manifesting horror affects them. You could literally know nothing about his characters and yet still feel so much for them, with it's accompanying horror themes; A dread of the unknown, and a madness from the beyond.

This is what a horror show is supposed to be about. Not the other way round. It's the feeling of inevitability and doom, or the idea of helplessness surrounding the horror that builds fear. It's exactly the reason why Junji Ito's works are one of the most terrifying I've ever seen.

Alright, I digressed. Now let's go back to Stranger Things, and the reason I'm writing this in the first place; the infamous "plot twist" of Stranger Things 4. Why it doesn't work and how it fucking ruins everything in my opinion.

SPOILERS: You know this, I shouldn't be telling you. You've been warned.

What is the Plot Twist for Stranger Things 4?

In Season 4, we are introduced to an entity from the Upside Down, who is later revealed to be Lord Vecna, from the Dungeons and Dragons game the Hellfire club were playing.

Later on, when Eleven(Millie Bobby Brown) is taken by Owen(Paul Reiser) to El Navada, she is forced to confront her past in "Project Nina"(A top secret government facility and program located in the Nevada desert) which was developed by both him and Dr. Martin Brenner(Matthew Modine).

Eleven had apparently lost her abilities by the time of Season 4, so this whole government facility was designed to make her retain them.

Somewhere else, Robin(Maya Hawke) and Nancy(Natalia Dyer) are searching for clues pertaining to one mysterious Victor Creel(Robert Englund 1986, Kevin L. Johnson, 1959). They eventually find where he's being kept(in a mental institution), and he's not looking good.

Before hand, the team had been investigating certain mysteries surrounding a serial killer in 1986 who has been killing victims in a brutal but similar manner(Disjointed limbs, gouged out eyes, broken bones). People talking about these cases only reference a specific killer who would be the only one behind it, named "Victor Creel".

The team decided to check out the 1959 "murders" that Creel was supposedly associated with, so they could understand the nature of the 1986 murders. It turns out they are actually of the same kind, as the news reports explained.

They ask Creel about the 1959 murders that happened, and how he ended up in Pennhurst Asylum. He begins by explaining his backstory;

At some point in March 1959, after he retired from the war, he inherited a "small fortune" from his wife's great uncle who had died.

The house was located in Hawkins, Indiana and they moved there to start a new life. So it would seem.

A month later(the only month of peace they had), the family began to experience various otherworldly and paranormal occurrences (Animals getting strangled and mutilated, flickering lights, radio interferences and so on). It was becoming so frequent, and it made Creel extremely paranoid. He began to believe this was the work of a "Spawn of Satan", and called an exorcist for help.

That never helped. In fact, it made everything worse. Virginia Creel(his wife) died in a very horrific manner(the same kind of the victims in 1986). Horrified at this occurrence, he tried to take his children out of the house, but had a hallucination.

After snapping back to reality, he realized Alice Creel(his daughter), was killed in the same manner Virginia was killed. He also realized that Henry Creel(his son) had passed out and was in a coma.

When the authorities came, they weren't exactly ready to buy into his "demon spawn" story, so he was incarcerated. He begged for an insanity plea (for being arrested for a crime he didn't commit).

It was granted, and he found his way to Pennhurst Asylum. There he also attempted suicide, but couldn't go through with it and only managed to gouge his eyes out.

After making a controversial statement about a "demon" punishing him by killing his family (He heard falsely that Henry Creel died in a coma) which was of course, cast aside and not believed; he vowed never to explain his story to news reporters or authority figures again.

Meanwhile, Eleven keeps having a certain flashback about her "killing" a bunch of kids who were in Dr. Brenner's superweapon "spy" program. However she can't seem to recall how this happened or how she was involved.

Dr. Brenner and Owen plan to help her remember her past by placing her in a simulation-like experiences of her past, allowing her to navigate them and uncover lost memories.

During her past time in a facility(in her flashbacks), she met a certain guy who served as one of their supervisors. This guy, apparently a nice person, gave her a lot of good advice when she was to undergo various training programs. (This attracted Brenner's attention, and he was extremely punished for this).

Eleven slowly began to warm up to him, and felt very terrible for what Brenner had done to him for her sake. They began to relate with one another, until one day....

He decided to help her escape the facility(telling her that she was to be killed by the other kids and that Brenner knew). On reaching the escape point, she beckoned him to come with her, but he refused, saying he was a servant, like she was, and that no matter where he escaped to, "Papa"(Dr Brenner) would always find him.

Refusing to leave him behind, and using her powers, she helped him destroy a chip implanted into his neck with a tracker. He told her to wait in one of the rooms, that he had something he needed to do.

After waiting a long time and having heard nothing but screams, Eleven journeyed back to the rainbow room, where she discovered something shocking;

She didn't kill those children, like she thought she did. She misremembered. Someone did it, and that someone was none other than the "nice guy" that was helping her all along.

He revealed himself as 001. And explained a lot to Eleven, about his backstory and motivations which sounded awfully similar to someone we already knew; Henry Creel, the son of Victor.

That was when the entire team realized, that "Vecna", the supposed character from DND, was actually the "Spawn of Satan" his father had been extremely paranoid about; Who was behind the murder of the entire family (Victor Creel was alive all along, and was taken by Dr. Brenner into his Superweapon program).

The 1959 killer had been Henry Creel (his father never saw this coming), and the 1986 murders were committed by the same person, although completely changed.

After having revealed his true intentions to Eleven and manipulatingly tried to get her to join him, she refuses him and the two of them get into a fight. She eventually wins and out of anger, opens a gate into another dimension (The Upside Down). 001(Victor Creel) goes through the gate, and transforms into Vecna after being struck by a mutated lightning blast.

The scene dramatically cuts to the Creel house in the Upside Down, where Vecna rests, and the mark "001" can be seen on it's arm.

It was Vecna all along, the Upside Down, the Mind Flayer, the Demo-dogs, everything. He had been opening portals all along.

Why doesn't this work?

1. Vecna's motivation doesn't exactly work either.

Basically, if you wanted to summarize Vecna's motivation for turning into a deranged psychopath, it's something like this.

"I Killed everyone I cared about because I was different. I also mentioned something horrible my parents did, which wasn't shown on screen to make everything believable. So I just turned genocidal all of a sudden and had a desire to end the world, because I had spider issues and was sent to the Upside Down."

No, seriously, none of this makes any sense. If it was the case that this mentality developed when he met Dr. Brenner, I would have agreed with it. Brenner was sort of an asshole, so we kind of get why he would have motivation to kill everyone in the facility.

But no, that wasn't how this happened. 001 hadn't even been exposed to this inhumanity before he started killing his family members(Victor Creel looked like a nice guy with a few flaws).

Parents can be shitty and abusive at times, but it wasn't shown enough to make us believe his transition. Certainly not also enough to snap the limbs of a mother and her daughter.

All I'm saying is, the lack of clarity as to what turned him from a sensitive boy who had powers, to a deranged genocidal killer just doesn't work here.

2. Plot hole/Continuity errors

In that exact same episode, of the big reveal, Nancy discovers that the Upside Down is stuck in 1983. Why? Well that's because that was the year as agreed(In Season 1) that Eleven opened a gate to the Upside Down. It was also the same year that Will Byers was declared "missing"(November 6, 1983).

But hold on now, the prequel to all this happened years ago. The flashbacks that Eleven had about Vecna and the first gate that was opened, took place in 1979(as per Season 4), 4 years before the supposed event that made Will Byers a missing person(1983's incident).

So which is it? 1983 or 1979? This is what happens when you're trying to introduce something that wasn't there before in order to scream "Got ya! Clever plot twist! Didn't see that coming, did ya?"

Honestly, this show is like Riverdale and most teen dramas, where they establish a bunch of lore, then they go back and say stuff like, "Uhm... Actually, before all this, uh... This happened. Blah, blah, blah..."

The Duffer Brothers wanted in on the Plot Twist train, but they didn't realise that you can do it so horribly wrong (like this show did), or you can do it brilliantly (Attack On Titan Season 3's plot twist).

Again, why are the Demo-dogs in Russia still alive? Despite the fact that Dustin correctly explained the concept of the mind flayer, the source and the Demo-dogs? Despite the fact that L had closed the gates and all the Demo-dogs died?

Ah. Who remembers this chick from season 2? I honestly didn't see why this episode(Ep.7) had much hate from fans, I just didn't care enough about the characters to hate them.

Okay? Why her? Well, she's another plot-hole. In that same hated episode she explains that she and L were "sisters" and that L escaped before she did.

So, I don't know if the Duffer Brothers were drunk, because I didn't see a single scene in all of L's childhood flashbacks where she appeared.

Honestly, I'm pretty sure I know the answer; People hated the character so much that the Duffer Brothers decided to remove her from the plot. Even if this was the answer, it just sucks. It just shows why I dislike the fanbase of Stranger Things. This is YOUR story, not the story of the fans.

All this would have been corrected, without the need for this plot twist.

3. It ruins Eleven's character.

I seriously cannot begin to explain how much mess up there is about this twist on L's personality.

First of all she acts like she doesn't know what "bullying" is, and she obviously doesn't know how to construct grammatical sentences properly( a major part of her reason for bonding with Mike in the first place).

With all her smaller developments for liking Eggo's, referring to bad people as "mouth breathers"(because she doesn't have much vocabulary to curse much) and all that.

The Duffer Brothers took all that and threw it out a window. Turns out, None of that Mattered! She was bullied back at the Rainbow room, She could speak properly and construct sentences when she was communicating with Vecna/001/Creel. So If she could do a lot of things in 1979, 4 years before she even met the boy team, why doesn't she remember any of them?

Many Stranger Things' fans would argue that L had a traumatic experience, so she forgot all of that. But that doesn't make any sense does it? She remembers Kali. She remembers the rainbow room, she remembers Dr. Brenner, She remembers the kids, She remembers she opened the gate(like we see in Season 1), but she doesn't remember Vecna? Or that she was bullied? Or that she could speak properly?

Lesson to take home dear writers: Please for the love of Isis, Osiris and Horus, do not use trauma to insert new plot points in your story, it doesn't work out well.

One more thing I forgot to add was; The realization that L wasn't behind the murders, but rather Vecna, was horribly disappointing. Why? Because this shatters everything we know about L having a dark and dangerous potential.

I mean, ever since we got introduced to L, we had a feeling that something was off about her, that she was someone who would bring a lot of problems to anyone she found herself acquainted to.

We also believed she had a "dark side" that no one but her knew. Which is what I kind of got in the first season where L says she was a "monster" to Mike(Because she opened the Gate to the Upside Down in anger, and killed a lot of people, mind you, this supposedly the 1983 Byers went missing, but now it's 1979, all thanks to the plot twist). So it all felt she knew she did something terrible out of anger, which screams secret murderous-like tendencies, like when we see her almost kill the stereotypical bully girl with a boot.

All of this was completely destroyed when L's flashback of those "murders" she committed weren't actually hers, but Vecna's. She was a "good person" all along.

I don't know about you, but I like complexities in characters, and this was an opportunity for them to do something like that, but they had to skip this for... A cheap plot twist.

It could have been written without Vecna's intervention, at all, or with his, just not this way.

In my opinion, the "dark side" of her personality would have been explored better if they made it that she was the one who actually killed those children. Just, this time she did it out of anger.

Remember when Vecna had been manipulating her into believing that the children wanted to kill her? That Brenner hated her? And all that?

Since she was a kid, and didn't know much at that time, it would have been a nice character development for her, if she actually did kill those children, not just out of anger, but also of fear. They were about to kill her, like Vecna said.

Afterwards, Vecna would show up and reveal he lied to her. She would feel guilty, not just because she was manipulated into killing those children, but because deep down, she hated the way they treated her(Vecna would have her do this; Kill innocent people, to become more like him)

L's reaction could have been written as a mixture of feelings; Anger, Guilt, Pleasure, Remorse and Fright.

Which would be why she really thinks of herself a monster, because she's hiding behind mixed feelings of "No I didn't kill them intentionally" and "Maybe secretly, you wanted this"(They tried to do this for Max but it didn't work out well in my opinion).

Then, it was the anger of her being manipulated by a puppeteer that made her open the gate and destroy 001's physical body.

Oh well, it's just an opinion. I just would have loved to see that. Characters, especially the main ones in this series are just irredeemably good(Eg. Joyce). I have issues with that.

People are not like that in real life.

4. It ruins the mystery of the Upside Down

This was the ultimate turn off for me. When I saw in the plot twist that Vecna was behind almost everything that happened in the previous seasons, I was horribly disappointed.

So, basically speaking, the Upside Down isn't a terrifying alternate dimension that creeps slowly into living universes and absorbs them, it is not a dimension filled with Eldritch Abominations that are completely unknowable and difficult to understand, the Mind Flayer isn't an abstract, Incomprehensible monstrosity like we thought in Season 2, the portals of this strange world doesn't just creep into ours for unknown reasons (like we see in many Lovecraftian Horror stories), it isn't a very scary place.

Why? Because everything concerning the Upside Down creeping into our world with "uncertainty"(like we believed) was all connected to a kid(a human with powers) with spider issues who later turned into a genocidal psycho. The mind flayer, the opening gates, the monsters, it was all Vecna's doing. Great.(How to ruin a horror mystery 101).

I can go on and on and on. But that's that by the way.

For the Record I still Love Stranger Things (What it was in Season 1 for the most part), so it sort of irks me a bit to criticise the show.

It's just, it's sad to see how fanservice ruined a show like this that had so much potential.

That's it for now, and I'd see you next time.

[a-study-in-dante]

Helloo palm tree and nutmeg? :D

Hello dear and thank you for the asks <3

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

Ouh, tough. I just forgot every single piece of media I ever consumed lol Tough question though, especially in this day and age when books, movies and TV show are trying so hard to make their villains fashionable and/or loveable, which kinda overturns the first part of the question AND OK OK I'LL FOCUS Oh I Know. Billy Hargrove from Stranger Things! I should hate him for his abusive behaviour and being an overall little shit but the Duffer Brothers tricked me into liking him. Also - Rasputin as portrayed in the (best) animated movie (ever) Anastasia. He's terrible and he scared the hell out of me as a kind but he also cracks me up SO MUCH. But then again I guess you could argue he's based on a historical person and therefore not in the "fictional" category. Oh well I suck at asks actually don't I?

nutmeg ⇢ how’s your room/home decorated? do you have a specific theme or style going on?

Interesting question at this time of my life! I just recently moved to the UK and I am living in a college room that is alright except for the carpet on the floor, the obvious marks of previous inhabitants (ridicule amount of glu stains on the wall) and moths. But I have a corkboard for the first time ever (it came with the room somehow) and I LOVE IT, definitely getting one when I get back home. I also printed a shit ton of pictures that I like with my friends (and waiting for another film of my old camera to be developped) and I pasted everything on the wall. I bought some fairylights too. I am clearly overcompensating for the fact that this room feels a bit old and not mine (yet, I hope). Otherwise with my actual flat in Belgium I went minimalistic all the way, because I'm only recovering from when it was cluttered (as was my childhood bedroom). Also we painted it last year and I didn't dare ruin it by sticking anything on the walls, so it lacks a bit of pictures here and there. But I have four adorable plants that are my infants and that I miss very much. And my (amazing, beautiful, love-of-my-life) bookshelf is the main attraction. I love what I did with the place though, getting rid of a lot of stuff and rearranging what was already there was a good idea. It makes me confident in my "home styling skills" for when I'll move in a place of my own!

Random get-to-know-me asks

[shinydixon]

No you're right, everything was SO nice when volume one dropped. There was little to no drama and I remember thinking Joe's fandom was one of the most wholesome I had ever seen. Unfortunately, that changed after volume 2. Or maybe a little before that, I can't remember exactly.

And i'm pretty sure most of it has to do with the fact that people pay WAY TOO close attention to details, details that the Duffer brothers themselves forget or straight up don't care about. I genuinely don't think props matter all that much, what's important is the context. We should be free to believe and headcanon things however we want.

But yeah, it is what it is lol.

Some Steddies have ruined Steve and Eddie for Hellcheers, and some Hellcheers have ruined Eddie and Chrissy for Steddies. And because of this constant negativity within both fandoms, it's hard to not hold a grudge against people or be tempted to put them all in the same category.

Thank you again for your kindness, i'm glad we had this conversation :)

-lili

I honestly don't know, but things got really nasty, it was difficult to enjoy this fandom.

Stalkers among Joe Q and Grace's stans, toxic shippers etc. just ruined it for everybody.

Btw you're welcome! Thank you for reaching out to me in a civil way, I'm glad that we both were able to share our reasons and have a conversation 🤍

[justrandomfandomstm]

Just rewatched stranger things and OH BOY

Dont rewatch it guys, its not as gay as I remembered. I do see a lot more Ronance when Im searching for it but they are REALLY forcing st*ncy down our thoats like theres no tomorrow.

I will say that Eddie is still my baby and I love him sm. It was nice to see Steve grow as a person again. Robin and Steve are amazing together, love them. Im sorry but this is a byler hate page bc WILL DESERVES THE WORLD NOT BITCHASS MIKE. El also deserves the world.

Something fun I was thinking about is how El might be autistic with selective speech bc all the other kids speak normally, and the doctors do seem to teach them to talk, yet its only El. But thats for another post.

But Steddie is so real for me, even if it wasnt as blatently obvious as I remember it being, Steve is still staring at his lips, thanking Eddie for saving him when it was Nancy to do it first, throwing him his sweater, smoking bc homie had the hots for Steve on the boat. Ehat doesnt make sense is Eddie purposfuly ruining a Stancy moment to throw his vest to Steve and then telling him to get back with her? And the cut line thats Robin teases Steve for the vest?

I honestly dont think the Duffer brothers are really good at character writing this season, and the others too. They arent entierly clear with them, and you cann see that clearly this season. They might be good with the action and the war and everything, but the characters themselve are nit the best, especially because there are so many. They cant really seem to remember some things from the characters and make their characters do something out of character.

But yeah, just wanted to pop in here and if anybody wants me to dive deeper in anything about the show just say so, rat brain lives talking about dumb shit

(sorry for any misspellings i have dyslexia and I tried to check as much as I could but i am writing this in class)

[dontuguyshavejobstodo]

Billy IS brave

Ok I’m mad. But not about what max said.

Max : « I thought maybe billy didn’t deserved to be saved » « I prayed for something to happen to him »

I don’t know if she was truthful or she if just lied to bait Vecna, but even if she said the truth, I don’t blame her. Billy was awful to her.

What I don’t like is that Billy’s abuse by his father was NEVER mentioned. I don’t know if max knew or didn’t. I hope she didn’t, or maybe just had suspicions. If she didn’t, then okay. She has this step older brother that is awful, always screaming at her, always mad, violent. I get her. Her feelings are understandable, even tho they don’t match AT ALL with what she said in her letter to billy in vol 1, but that is just bad writing. You don’t do a 180° turn on 2 characters dynamic and a character’s grief in 3 episodes. That is why I decided to think she was lying, or grossly exaggerating in order to attract Vecna.

What I’m mad about is Vecna saying « you are brave Max, not like your brother ».

Billy put up with his father’s abuse all his life.

Billy, as a CHILD, rushed his violent father to protect his mother (s3 flashbacks). That alone is a sign of bravery like no others.

Then, Billy, after freeing himself from the MF, did not run away but faced that giant monster. He had no weapons, nothing but his bare hands. He had witness the MF’s power with his own eyes, being manipulated for days.

But still, he grabbed the MF tentacules to protect El and then got killed. Before he died, he didn’t cried for help or tried to escape. He fucking screamed with anger at the MF, he faced him with no fear visible.

Anyway, go rewatch his death scene if you want, but if you think he was a coward, I can’t understand you.

Then in his dying breath, he said sorry to Max.

I can’t understand why they added that line. That « billy is not brave » line. That line that take all Billy had left: his bravery. The only quality that was visible through all his anger from his abusive upbringing. The quality he was remembered for : the one who sacrificed himself to save El and the other’s life.

I feel so sad for his character, I can’t even express it right.

[loveronlineee]

Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 spoilers.

At first it was denial.

I saw the signs. I saw how he said Never change Dustin Henderson. I saw him say again and again that he’s no hero. I saw him go back to give the others more time. I watched as he lay so close to gone with Dustin holding him and I still didn’t believe it.

Then it was shock.

How the time skip happened and everyone was safely back, out of the upside down. No mention of Eddie from anyone, until Dustin.

Then it changed again, going back and forth between heart wrenching mourning and white hot anger.

I am upset. The kind of upset where your feelings overcome your body and you can’t even stand, your knees giving in beneath you. Crying on the floor. Watching the tears fall onto the ground, inches from your face.

I am upset. The kind of upset where you can’t even hold back the fury. Where nothing will calm you down and you’re shaking and tense, and you just have to feel that feeling with every fibre of your being until it turns back into tears.

I convinced myself that Eddie wasn’t going to die. I read posts saying that Eddie and Jonathan were gonna have scenes next season, they put forward the point that Why would there be so much promotion for a character that wouldn’t even be in the next season?

I couldn’t even enjoy the rest of the episode after that. I couldn’t be excited about Robin and Vickie. I didn’t feel anything when Hopper and Joyce reunited with their kids. I didn’t care that Hawkins was in trouble. Nothing else mattered after that. I felt numb.

Thank you Joe Quinn. For bringing alive a character that I love more than any other I ever have. No other is even close. And fuck you Duffer brothers for absolutely ruining him.

I’m only half serious, because I understand that when you make something and people love it, you’re terrified that one day you’ll fuck it up and all those supporters will turn on you. I know that the Duffers originally didn’t want Eddie to be that likeable, since they planned on killing him. But they didn’t change what they planned even after casting Joe.

And I think what makes me the most angry is that his death wasn’t even a good death.

No one mourned for him. There was no funeral. We don’t even know that much about what happened after. We can assume that they just left his body there, to rot in the upside down. Alone. Forever.

He never got to meet Will. He would have loved him. He would have taken him under his wing and protected him and become a second older brother. He never got to meet El and see her awesome powers in action. He never got to meet Hopper, or Joyce, or Murray or Argyle or Holly or any of the parents or anyone else.

I wanted to see him become part of the group. I wanted to see him interact with the others. What would Hopper have said after taking one look at him? It would’ve made me laugh whatever it would’ve been. I wonder what Eddie would’ve thought of Dustin’s girlfriend Suzie. Did he even know that this girl with superpowers was Mike’s girlfriend???

His name was never redeemed. Everyone still hates him. He never graduated. And no, he didn’t die a hero. His death wasn’t an epic sacrifice like Billy’s was. He died even though the exact same thing happened to Steve and he survived.

His death didn’t feel like it meant anything.

And it should’ve

It could’ve.

If Eddie died it could’ve been him protecting Steve, Nancy and Robin. He reaches the house, saves them but ultimately doesn’t make it. Maybe he makes such a ruckus that Vecna has to find him and kill him himself, giving El and Max more time to save themselves.

If they were planning on it, it could’ve been so. Much. Better.

Duffer brothers you made me fall in love with a show and continue to love it for 6 years. And you ruined it in just under 4 hours.

But even after everything, I still love this show. And I will not stop writing. Eddie Munson you stole my heart and I have no regrets about that.

And I will share this love with every person who reads my work and interacts with my blog who loves him too.

I’ll write Eddie the story he deserves.

Eddie I love you. You freak.

- Willow.

[c0usingreg]

Theory Time

I am saying this now because I haven't heard anyone else put two theories together and it just makes so much sense to me.

We all know the theory of Mike keeping a letter to Will in his jacket pocket. There isn't really evidence so much as there is foreshadowing of the fact. I will link a more in depth analysis here (by @bylercloud )

"Letter to Willy" - The song that plays in Dear Billy.

Joyce finding Hopper's letter in a shirt pocket while packing for California. It's a meaningful heart to heart type letter. Which, after reading, El folds and place in her own shirt pocket.

Jonathon keeping his community college letter in his shirt pocket as well. Much of his storyline in S4 revolves around him hiding the existence of this letter from everyone but Argyle. Even Joyce.

The cryptic post on from the Stranger Writers twitter.

The letters aren't kept in the pockets of their jeans or anywhere else. They are kept close to their hearts. Possibly signifying their emotion significance as well as the fact that the characters what to keep them guarded, protected, where no one else can see or get to them them.

We also know the theory that the Duffer Brother's did not actually forget Will's birthday. See these two posts by @chirpsythismorning for more in depth evidence. But the gist is:

The Duffer's claiming they haven't rewatched season 2 in ages, which is clearly not true going by the parallels. They are sticklers for their timelines and dates, mentioning mutiple times the different ways they made specific choices in order to make things work and that they have calculated Vecna's age and so on. NOt to mention that Will has always been a central part of the ST story, do we really think the creators would forget one of their main character's birthdays? As well as them saying they would edit the S2 episode that mentions his birthday, but also saying they wouldn't and haven't edited any past seasons.

Birthdays being referenced mutliple times throughout S4, most notably Suzie knowing Dustin's birthday down to the hour.

The simple fact that they even decided to add a guy with a camera to the scene, purposefully showing a segment through the lense in order to give us this time stamp in the first place. March 22nd being specifically chosen as the date.

So my thoughts? What if it's not just a letter in Mike's pocket, what if it's a birthday card? What if no one actually forgot Will's birthday?

Mike writes a letter/birthday card for Will. Possibly even making him something -- my thoughts being he wrote a DnD campaign, something he's been known to do as dungeon master of their friend group as well as the the pic from the Stanger Writers twitter reading "I think you'll--" [like it] "sorry I couldn't get it done--" [in time for your birthday] "but you mean--" [so much to me] and it's been [so long since we played]. "Hope this is--" [good enough to] "last until--" [ 1) next time? or: 2) I finish the campaign.] "Love--" [Mike].

I like to point out the fact that in one of the ST comics Mike actually tries writing a DnD campaign for just Will, wanting to make it so that Will, and only Will, would be able to save them and eventually win the campaign. Link

I could even go as far as to say that it's a possibility that Joyce ad Johnathon didn't forget Will's birthday. Make come's to see them on that day specifically. Perhaps the Byer's were the one's to make this happen, maybe paid for the ticket, as a birthday present for Will?

There isn't much evidence either way, but I do think it's curious how Jonathon stops Will at Rink-o-Mania and tells him to have fun. He doesn't say this to anyone else. It gives off the vibes that maybe this was supposed supposed to be more of Will's day, but that Mike was ruining it with his stand-offish behavior.

Then, with everything that ends up happening -- El assaulting Angela, the cops being called, Mike being in a mood, Jonathon getting high, the Russian doll and Murray showing up -- it's very possible that his birthday was swept under the rug, put on the back burner, or forgotten about because there was so much drama going on.

Lastly, they return to Hawkins around the end of March and Mike's birthday is April 7th. It would be a perfect opportunity to bring up the secret letter/card Mike has for Will when Will inevitably gives/says/does something for Mike's birthday.

This all being said, when it comes to Will's birthday and how it was handled vs how it will play out in the next season, I believe the Duffers know what they are doing, and they might be the only ones who know the significance of it. They may have kept the actors in the dark on this.

All of this, of course is just speculation! Some parts could be right, others completely wrong, but I think it's a compelling theory, or at least a sensible way to marry these two theories together. If you made it this far, thank you for staying with me and I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions on this!

[jinxing-powder]

i feel like a lot of the people working on stranger things wanted the queer ships to be real possibilities and the duffer brothers just took a massive shit on it all and ruined everything by using queer characters to progress straight couples relationships and it really pisses me off <3

[luvingspence]

stranger things volume 2 spoilers!!

i am mourning and will never recover.

eddie munson, my beloved, you were too good for hawkins. the fact that he is gonna be remembered as a murderous cult leader and not the good, funny, heroic guy that he was actually kills me STOP </3

also lucas screaming ‘erica help!’ killed me :( the way his voice just broke, i love him so much he’s too good for this world!!! and max? don’t get me started i was literally screaming and crying

and WILL?? will is totally in love with mike and it hurts me. will talking about being different takes us right back to season one where joyce was talking to hopper about why will was being bullied and it’s so sad. he was literally telling mike everything about how he felt in that car but instead of saying it himself, he was saying it through giving mike advice in regards to eleven. my poor baby :(

dustin? that poor boy, whenever he said he’s gonna take care of everyone when eddie was gone, that must have been the hardest thing for him, i’m just glad he still has steve alive :(

and SPEAKING OF STEVE, i hated the nancy and steve tension. it ruins character development? i love nancy to bits but she was not good to steve and he was not good to her, a huge part of the pivotal points of their characters (especially for steve) was their relationship ending and the duffer brothers tried to bring it back for what😭😭

HOPPER AND EL REUNION! BEST PART!!!!

the ending though? CMON LET THEM BE HAPPY

overall, i thoroughly enjoyed it!!!!

especially jason dying <3

[thestobingirlie]

Can agree with Riverdale being camp😂 seems like duffer brothers took some classes from Ras (though s3 was giving stranger things with gryphons and gargoyle plot ngl) i just think making good story doesn't have necessary mean to explain every slight detail because once you explain something that doesn't add up the whole thing falls apart (in world building way) and yeah but with ST it's kind of complicated s3 was camp with few body horror moments (i like to rewatch this season specifically on July😂 summer vibes) and then it keeps going into serious moments vs. camp moments the humor did fall flat in S4 and it's more of a serious season (and it seemed forced) and it seems like duffer brothers themselves started "running" the show like any teen drama with the fake out deaths, surprise villains, even that happened but wasn't revealed until now (pretty little liars and their endless build up towards something for it to be twin sister-😐)

They should've stick at subverting tropes tbh.

i do like s3 in many ways, and i agree that it has great vibes, very summery. but i think they went a little too far trying to make it camp. they wanted me to giggle at steve getting tortured and i did not like that lmao. i just feel like too much of the humour was shoved into the scoops plot line, and it just didn’t mesh well with the other groups.

but yeah, i think a big part of st should be mystery. it’s supposed to be strange! we’re not supposed to know and understand everything. but they seem to be losing that as the seasons go on. now it’s more like the audience knows everything, and we have to watch the characters figure it all out. instead of discovering things alongside them. and yeah, it just means that any little mistake just destroys the world building.

and i totally agree that it’s getting way too teen drama-y. i think likely in an attempt to appease a larger audience, but it just kinda ruins the show.

[neonpancakes]

This new Duffer Brothers Death Note project is already making me want to throw myself off a cliff. If COLE SPROUSE…𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑬 𝑺𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬, is cast to play 𝑳…I’m literally ending it all. (An unconfirmed possibility that everyone seems to be so friggen enthusiastic about for some reason) Goodbye humanity.

Why can’t people just leave something alone if it’s good? Just because Stranger Things is a success doesn’t mean everything you touch is now gonna be a masterpiece.

The one thing we don’t need is the army of Riverdale stans charging into the fandom and ruining everything. The 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 thing we need is another trash white people remake that doesn’t do anything any ‘justice’…just saying. (The pun was intended)

Apologies, I had to rant.

[popculturefein]

What I want to see in Stranger Things 5:

Cannon edition: I hope.

Some of these are going to overlap each other cuz stuff happens I guess.

Eddie back. I want my baby back. I don’t care if he’s a blood sucking vampire upside down demon thing. I want him back.

Will to get closer to another person cuz Mike is just breaking my little man’s heart every single day.

Max to walk again. Do I know how this will happen? No. But I prioritize mobility over sight because I feel like a blind Max could be a power move. Again, I don’t know why, but I feel like her being non voyant could have a greater meaning. Lucas never leaves Max’s side. He and El are the ones that try helping Max navigate her new life.

Erika and Dustin leading Hellfire together, Eddie saw potential in both these little weirdos I think.

Steve to have a black girlfriend. I know people might say, oh but why bring race into this? Well because I myself am black and I’d see it as a sort of cannon self insert fanfic and there’s nothing better than that.

Also in regards to Stevo in a relationship, if what the Duffer brothers want is for Stancy (🤮) to come back, why not make Ms. Wheeler a little jealous for once.

Robin’s gonna get the girl. Purrr. This is more of a it HAS to happen. It’s kind of a way to force the Duffer brothers to pay reparations for the lack of Fruity Will content.

Will also needs to explore his sexuality beyond Mike Wheeler. I don’t know. I just feel like if he’s always going to have Mike as his “heart” then he’s just destined to see it break.

Jonathan and Nancy move in together but they can’t make it work because their communication skills suck so that forces them to finally be honest with each other about things. I’m a Jancy shipper, and I was disappointed in the ending they got because even after everything Jonathan would still rather lie to benefit Nancy than stand up for himself. Like please you’re the only hope for the Wheeler x Byers pair and you’re ruining it.

For Steve to bring Dustin to visit Eddie’s grave, if he even gets one.

For 8 to come to Hawkins and help El defeat the upside down for good. There’s no way she just disappeared after season 2 and no one’s mentioned her.

Susie (and Eden Ofc 😏) meet the entire gang and we see Susie and Dustin actually interact in person.

Hopper x Byers family extravaganza. Aka Hopper becoming protective over Will. And for the Hopper-Byers residence to take in Argyle when he comes to Indiana on a whim for a visit. Pls I’m tearing up at the thought of Will finally having a supportive and positive father figure 😭😫😫

Lucas is captain of the basketball team hopefully, if they still have a team, seeing as most of them died I think.

Nancy and Robin actually bond outside of being forced to save the world together.

Eddie and Steve. I don’t know what more to say but the signs were there Duffers and I won’t be satisfied until it’s fulfilled.

Will kinda becoming the villain. If this happens and there’s only one person able to bring him back it’ll either be El or someone new or Jonathan. Because we already saw Mike give a whole speech this season, it’ll be repetitive if they give him another one next season. And Jonathan was one of the reasons Will came back in the first place. So maybe El or someone new 🤔

[subbypeterparker]

ST S4 V2 SPOILERS BELOW

I got like emotional whiplash watching the volume two final episode istg. I was crying then I was angry, and then disappointed. now I feel kinda numb idk

I wish Eddie could've gotten the chance to graduate and be happy :((((

also idk if anyone feels this way, but volume 2 felt kinda anticlimactic?? I know it's building up for s5 but still.... I was kind of expecting a bit more.

exactly!! i feel numb inside, and can’t believe a fictional character has such an impact on me. eddie deserved better, and had so much potential. but of course the duffer brothers had to ruin everything.

after 3 years, i was honestly expecting more. to me if felt like it was creating new plot holes from earlier seasons that didn’t exist, and then filling said plot holes.

i am excited for season 5, but just wish eddie could be alive :( sucks seeing a character you unfortunately relate to die