#have you SEEN those edited pics of orderly henry where they basically just slap long hair on him and slim his face a little bit. HELLO???

[henrysglock]

Thinking about hopcreel tonight. but specifically in the way of Henry "goes to extreme lengths to prove he's a 'normal' person because of his childhood" Creel who's there like. "Wait. What if I'm not a homosexual. What if I'm just a straight girl in the wrong body. See. It's completely outside of my control. As a person, I'm normal. I was just betrayed by my body hahaha" who runs away to NYC after 1959 trying to escape Hawkins for a while as things quiet back down in the aftermath of The Murders and Jim "raised by a father who would not 'condone' homosexuality, but who would be okay with his son marrying a slightly masculine woman" Hopper meeting "Henri" in the sole gay bar he's been brave enough to step foot in (Henri frequents it because...where else is she going to find friends who wouldn't care?) like. "A pretty, tall blonde girl that I picked up at a gay bar? And she has a dick? Don't mind if I fucking do." because it means he's still technically straight.

The important part is that both of them are using other identities to lie to themselves for the sake of normalcy and meeting the expectations of society/their families. The important part is the "this isn't...healthy. but you two sure make it work" aspect. Henry's very much a gay dude (mayhaps with a touch of the feminization kink/interest in cross-dressing, but a dude nonetheless) and Jim is very much bisexual. Both of them are just clinging to normalcy by hiding. "Henri" makes a handsome, "normal" woman, though. and she toes the line of antagonizing Jim with her neuroticism/up-tightness and letting Jim play stupid games/win stupid prizes (think of a less volatile version of j0pper, because Joyce and Henry very much have their similarities in canon). Jim very much has a wife. She's just a little...different.

Thinking so hard about the librarian from ST1 that Jim dated briefly...Henri as a librarian...you see the vision...the academic, borderline stuffy vest/button-down/long skirt deal she'd rock!! She'd let Dustin take more than 5 books just so he can "live a little". She'd be a twitchy freak about Nancy and Robin looking into the Creel murders and about Jim looking into Brenner. She would absolutely clock Robin as a lesbian. She would also make that pained, vaguely judgemental expression about Steve's hair ("Karen...how do I tell your daughter's boyfriend that the Farah Fawcett spray isn't doing what he thinks it's doing for his image...") and about Karen flirting with Billy. The kids of Hawkins would dig her little library programs. Let her teach kids how to draw. She'll have a blast, and so will they. She can do story time with the little little ones and become the parents' darling angel. Orderly Henry but for good, y'know?