#either way i was put into an uncomfortable position i just wish theyd left me out of it from the start

[1hyunjae]

Just had to have the weirdest talk ever with my friend YIKES

[topicaltropic]

🤝re rons arc!!! IDK what your thoughts about it are but i found the way it was resolved very uncompelling </3 especially re: Terry having to act responsible for Ron (which is!! pretty bad for a kid to do no matter how much their guardian loves them!!)

like, its interesting that the problem was there, I just wish theyd acknowledge it more instead of treating it as resolved.

if its ok to ask, what do you dislike abt it?

OH MY GOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ANON !!!!!!!!!! 🤝 !!!!!!!

Okay. Reading from it meta textually you could really say its from tower of terry that they really began to transition from simple comedy podcast to dramedy. Consequently, its the arc where in trying to find that new balance for the show's settling focus that results in the most (to me) tonal dissonance. The rest of the podcast gets its footing for the right amount of being seriously unserious and unseriously serious through tower of terry, but Ron unfortunately sort of gets left in a limbo where the unhappy middle-ground is far too light hearted for tower of terry, and far too dark for the everything with his anchor.

I would honestly pinpoint this interaction as the root of the problem and what kickstarts everything im going to be complaining about with Ron's arc:

Its a silly one liner for a comedic podcast, yet in the context of the story, Ron is being abjectly cruel and has retraumatized his kid. Nothing of consequence happens except terry flipping him off and storming away. To briefly compare: Next arc they come up with a jokey plan to put grant in the minotaur to kill it. Darryl pays the full weight of that action with grant coming out completely traumatized for the rest of the series. As the tone of the narrative changes, the same actions now have different weights of importance. It could be interesting if this was used to serve a purpose narratively, but frustratingly, its more like Ron slipped through the narrative cracks and landed out of bounds, going over the negative amount of points to glitch over to the maximum like some sort of game exploit and now he never has to pay the piper.

But puting the meta aside, even more maddening is how Ron wins Terry over in tower of terry.

What does Rons father not being proud of him have to do with Terry's grief? How is Ron telling Terry he loves him in this moment impactful, when hes the person whos hurt him in the first place? What sucks to me is that this is the first moment of many where every emotional moment between these two it's all always centered on Ron and his trauma and leading to Terry becoming the one who has to take on the role of being the mature one in the dynamic and providing support to ron and becoming his emotional crutch. Like you said anon if this was explored or addressed it could've definitely been interesting except that unfortunately the creators never even saw it as a conflict to resolve in the first place seeing as the narrative itself perceives it as something positive .

To touch briefly on Ron and his father: i dont think this story is equipped to handle the heavy subject it envokes. Uncomfortable subjects have lots of merit to explore or examine, but this story uses it more as hurt for the sake of hurt. Me tearing up and feeling upset from this isnt because im being moved, it's because its touching nerves and to put harshly, doing cheap emotional signals.

I truly dislike how Ron either unintentionally by the character or the player steps on and uses Terry for his growth. Rons trauma overshadowing Terrys struggle in his grief, Terry having to put his own trauma aside for Ron, basically forgiving Rons for the pain hes caused him because Rons being abused is incredibly dissatisfying to me. A lot things in their relationship to me is deeply unearned.

[waydcwnwego-archive]

@bluebracelet​

The look he shot Jess was both wounded and positively enraged. An all-consuming anger washed over and through him, of such an intensity that the world took on a sharp, red quality. To this man who thought he’d experienced the full spectrum of rage, it was terrifying and uncomfortable. But boy, did it make him feel strong –

Stop. Stop. Something was wrong with Hopper. He didn’t know what – the only idea he had was fucking insane, unworthy of even a second of thought – but he knew he had to fight it off and focus.

There was enough blood soaked into the dirt that it had pooled. If either of the two bodies lying in the middle of the carnage were still alive, their time on this mortal coil was close at hand; nobody could survive the kind of attack they’d been through.

And it was Hop’s fault.

Very obviously Hop’s fault.

He could taste blood in his mouth and dry bits of it were flaking off of his fingers, which kept shaking and flexing of their own volition. Like he needed a drink real bad. A whole bar’s worth of drinks.

But he couldn’t remember how any of this had happened. He was at home, and then…

Then he “woke up” here, out in the woods. And there were two campers who looked like they’d been put through an industrial size paper shredder. Jim was familiar enough with the forest surrounding Hawkins to know where he was, and Jess… Jess was the only person he could think to call. She saw weird shit all the time and he trusted her

His voice was very soft when he spoke. “ I… ” He swallowed, hard. “ I don’t know what happened here, Jess. ” The anger had left him and Hop looked scared. “ What did I do? ”

       The wee hours of the morning found the witch driving the winding back roads of Hawkins, a night’s hunt behind her as she headed for Hopper’s trailer to crash for the day. Sleep tugged at her eyelids, a nagging weight in her bones and all she could think about was the warm bed that waited at the end of the room and the warm body she’d be curled up against very soon, even if it wasn’t much longer before Hopper would have to be up to start his day.

       Take me on the floor started playing on her phone, cutting through the early morning run of the greatest hits of the 90′s on the radio and she scowled because that was Hopper’s ringtone and if he calling this early it couldn’t possibly be anything good. Never had she wished to be so wrong before in her life than she did when she answered and the sound of Hopper’s strained voice cut her to the core.

       She sped the rest of the way to his trailer, pushing her old and beat up Crown Vic to it’s limits. She slammed the brakes when she finally reached her destination, the car skidding to a halt near Hopper’s truck, and she bolted from the car without taking the precious few seconds to turn off the engine or even close the door. Michael bounded out after her and ran up ahead, like he knew exactly what, or who, she was looking for.

       The sun was just starting to crest over the horizon but the woods were still hidden in thick shadow and Jess had to slow down to pull her phone from her pocket and turn on the built in flashlight. Her heart pounded in her ears, her blood ran cold with dread. She wasn’t one to pray, but one phrase cycled through her head over and over like a mantra or a plea to whatever higher power may or may not be listening. Please let him be okay.

       A loud yowl and the tense growl of a cat pulled her in the right direction. Michael had found him first and what he saw made the cat’s fur rise on its back, a threatening hiss and a constant warning growl as he kept his distance from the man because something was very much wrong and Michael knew it. No, no, no... She pushed her legs to keep running, to keep moving through the trees, following the sound of her cat until she finally saw the shadowed shape that she knew was him.

       But her relief at finding Hopper was quickly replaced with a sinking feeling in her gut as her light moved over him and she saw blood. Lots of it. Too much of it. And she just knew it wasn’t his.

       “Hopper...” she started, but what could she say? Jess swept the flashlight over the ground and there was no stopping the startled gasp at seeing the carnage at his feet. “H-hey...” She eased toward him, a few small steps but it was clear she was also keeping her distance. “It’s okay...” It wasn’t. It really wasn’t, but what else do you say in a situation like this? “It’s... it’s going to be okay...” She had a look on her face that Hopper had never seen directed towards him before. She was scared. Scared of the situation, of the implication of just what happened, what the bodies and the blood all meant. Scare of him.