#i like the thought of argyle coming to hawkins and become part of their relationship

[weird-an]

The first time Billy tries to cook on his own it happens because he's hungry and his dad is at work. His mom hasn't come back yet, it's been a week and he's still waiting for her.

His stomach hurts and he remembers her letting him stir the pots when Neil wasn't home. There is canned soup, but he can't find the opener. Cooking is for girls, his dad says, but he isn't here right now.

So Billy grabs a pot, fills it with water and puts some maccaroni in. He burns his finger on it, when he tries to pour out the water. The maccaroni are too soggy and taste like nothing, but at least he isn't hungry anymore.

The blister on his finger reminds him that he has to look out for himself and by the time its healed he realizes his mom isn't coming back.

When Susan and Max become part of the family, Susan and Neil sometimes go on dates that take way longer than they told them before. Neil loves responsibility, but only for others.

Billy cooks for Max and him these nights. The first time he tries to make chicken, it's a disaster. Argyle laughs at him a day later and asks him if he used any spices. Apparently a ton of salt is too much and not enough at the same time.

Argyle comes over, whenever Billy is sure that Neil and Susan will stay out for at least a few hours more. He brings herbs Billy has never heard of, he shows him how to make picadillo, enchiladas, shows him how a squeezed lime can make everything better. Not only the food, but Billy's whole day.

Billy has his first kiss over a bunch of fish tacos, his lips still tingling from chili and Argyle's warmth. At home, a place where he never thought he'd like to be. But here? In the kitchen? It almost feels like a home.

But then Neil drags him away from California, away from Argyle's smile and tasty dinners. Neil is breathing down his neck and everything is awful.

Billy is stewing in his own misery. Argyle and him break up, more out of desperation than anything and that's just the cherry on top.

Billy is all boiling angers and searing sadness, tries to get on top of Hawkins High, just to forget. When Susan and Neil are gone, he tells Max to get some pizza.

Life is bland and without any flavor.

Steve Harrington and him hang out one day, Billy too tired from learning all about monsters and an Upside Down which is supposed to be even worse than Hawkins.

Harrington tells him he's living off canned food and microwave dinners and maybe it's the beer in his system or Billy's longing to finally cook something again.

Billy digs through Steve's fridge and finds a few veggies and a bit of rice. It's simple, but it's tasty.

Hawkins gets a bit more color and Steve gets even prettier. He comes over more often, drags Steve down to the supermarket and bullies him until his kitchen is always stocked. It's a great outlet. For his sadness, his anger, chopping it into tiny little pieces, throwing it into a pan. It sizzles and grows into his heart beating faster when he looks at Steve. His stomach is full of love after month of starving.

Steve kisses him when Billy has just put a lasagna in the oven and it starts to smell like juicy tomatoes and melted cheese.

Steve's kisses are a great appetizer. Billy wants to simmer in them.

[byler-alarmist]

Jancy :]

Okay, bear with me here lol

I was never super cool with Jonathan taking those pics of her about to get it on with Steve without consent, even when it was clear we were supposed to root for him as the underdog love interest. However, I know people make mistakes and I can deal with some moral greyness in fiction.

I still love Jonathan especially for what an excellent brother he is to Will and for his sick taste in music

I loooooved the passion of Jancy's first kiss. That was amazing!!! Cinema!! And all the lead-up to it- them dancing around their feelings for each other, the matching scars, the "only one bed" tension, them getting Murray'd, all of it! Very good chemistry, which is understandable since Natalia and Charlie are a couple IRL

In S3, I started to like their dynamic a little less. I loved the hasty morning scene of climbing out the window and the lipstick on the cheek, but their interactions fell flat for me during most of the season. They both occasionally talked in a way that sounded condescending and just generally fraught. They didn't understand each other's struggles (misogyny and classism/poverty, respectively) and I don't feel it got adequately resolved by season's end.

Then of course S4 has Jancy living apart, and both giving rather concerning commentary on the state of the relationship

They both go overboard to describe to a friend all the reasons they love each other and that's why they can't spend spring break together and have some hanky-panky as Argyle calls it, but both friends seem a bit suspicious of the truth/motivations (and rightly so, I think).

I do think they genuinely admire those qualities they listed about the other, but it seems to me (and Fred and Argyle) that they were just making lame excuses why they couldn't see each other.

Then in E2 Jonathan discloses to Argyle that he was initially hoping Nancy would've surprised him by coming to California, but then he was relieved that she hadn't.

Then he drops the bomb about college and how he's lying to her and is anticipating a slow-motion breakup with her because he can't be honest about not wanting to, and I quote, "chase s dream that isn't his".

He then goes on to say that they will grow to become like their parents and resent each other. Argyle calls this Jonathan's "nightmare cycle".

Sound familiar? When Steve was talking about his six nugget dream, Nancy said it sounded like a nightmare.

That's why I think both Jancy and Stancy are at a disconnect. They have different dreams! Their lives are taking them in different directions!

Now, I know people will say it doesn't have to be that way, that if Jonathan is just honest with Nancy, then he will go to NYU and she will go to Emerson and they'll just happily do long distance or get back together at a later time.

Maybe!

But I didn't like the way Jonathan was still holding out on Nancy at the end of S4. That means they are still basically in the midst of a slow-motion breakup. Yes they are on apocalypse time, but when will he think is the right time to talk about it? Didn't seem like he had changed his M.O. from what he told Argyle in E2.

And the way Nancy was talking to Robin in the woods was indeed a Byler parallel, with her complaining that she could never get through to him on the phone and wondered if he had met another girl, understandably frustrated at the situation.

When Jonathan asked if they were okay, the answer seemed insincere to me. like they were just trying to ignore the problems and it was most convenient to just say yes.

Nancy even told Jonathan she was glad he hadn't been in Hawkins, just like he had been relieved she hadn't come to Lenora back in E2!

Now the next part when she tells Jonathan that Steve has grown up a lot, I don't think it was meant to mean that she was seeing Steve in a romantic light again, even though Jonathan probably took it to mean that.

I have my own idea of what she meant, but I will save my thoughts on that because that will get into another ship that people here seem to dislike LOL Let's just say that she feels he has grown a lot since he called Jonathan a queer back in S1.

Conclusion: if Jancy mend their relationship and decide to go long distance or get back together after college, I hope they grow to be really honest with each other and mature a lot as a couple. They have had some really sweet moments.

But in the words of Fred, I am still rooting for my alt (Ronance ;3)

[daisiesflower]

So some thoughts, hopes, theories for stranger things five. Not gonna tag this spoilers cause like it’s all coming from my own brain none of this is leaks or anything

I know the actor has claimed he isn’t but I wish Argyle would be coming back. And for more than like a guest character the way Suzy is, he was literally a main character of season 4 and if Robin could join the team permanently why not him

On that note I want him and Steve to be besties. I want Steve to have healthy male friendships of his own age but also it would be soooo funny cause Jonathan clearly still has petty beef with Steve after all this time but Steve’s totally moved on and considers Jonathan a friend and he would get along so well with Argyle, I think it would be hilarious because Jonathan would be fuming like he’s bitched to Argyle so much about this guy and Argyle is his best friend and now him and Steve are hitting it off. But he knows he doesn’t have any actual valid reason to be mad so he’s just really bitchy about it

Literally anything about Steve and Robin’s home lives. Literally anything. I am begging for scraps here.

I mean we all know Holly Wheeler’s going to go missing and play some important role in the plot. Is that even a question anymore. This one has always been a matter of when not if

I think there’ll be an episode of the Upside Down invading Hawkins using Vecna’s victims. Like I think it’ll be an episode dedicated to zombie flicks as characters come face to face with corpses of people who had major impacts on them and have to kill them all over again to protect Hawkins. I don’t think that’ll be part of the climax though I think it’ll be like mid-season to ramp up the stakes. Think that’s where we’ll get an Eddie cameo, think we’ll see Barb, we’ll see Billy, we’ll see Chrissy, Fred, Patrick, maaaybe Jason. The real question mark is Bob - he didn’t die in the Upside Down, his body was either completely eaten or it was moved by humans and buried so question mark whether Vecna has any control over him

As far as stancy vs jancy goes I want Nancy to end up single, with acknowledgments that none of them are in a place in their lives to be able to have relationships with each other for various reasons and an emphasis on stoncy moving on and coming together as friends. Most likely though I think jancy will end up together

Duffer bros are for sure going to kill someone off. Ideally for me it would be Jonathan (and I do have well thought out reasons if anyone wants them) but I don’t trust them to do that. Think it’s more likely to be Steve so that Nancy can be with Jonathan without guilt or whatever (would hate that)

I think the Duffer bros are invested in the romances they set up at the beginning of the show. The show started with mileven, jopper, and jancy so I think that’s how they’ll end it. Jancy I think is the most at risk due to them being very aware that Steve is more well-liked than Jonathan (by both general audience and themselves)

I so think Robin will be Will’s gay mentor. Cannot emphasize enough how much I Do Not Want This

I want Kali back. I know it’s not gonna happen. In my rewrite of Season 4 she joins the team permanently so she’s be there in Season 5. But unfortunately the Season 4 rewrite only exists in my head

I would love to see a Joyce-Robin team up. They struggle with so many of the same issues that I would love to see them find strength in each other. Plus Robin could use an adult figure in her life since she apparently doesn’t have parents (sarcasm). I feel like maybe I saw a pic of Maya and Winona filming so this could become a reality but it could also be my hopeful subconscious making shit up

I want Murray and Erica in the same grouping for an extended period of time. With Lucas there because I don’t want Murray alone with her (yikes) and also for the good good Sinclair sibling interactions. Max and Robin can pop in occasionally. I just want like sixteen straight hours of this man being bullied by teen and preteen girls. Would love to see a moment of Sinclair bickering and then Murray steps in and it becomes “oh hell no, no one gets to bully my sibling except me”

I want the season to start with a grouping of Max, Steve, and El. I love the Steve-Max relationship (he’s so older brother coded to her) and I feel like we’ve gotten little hints that Steve and El are close, that he considers her one of his little nuggets but we’ve never actually seen that

On that note I think it’d be funny if we make it through five straight seasons without Will and Steve interacting once

I want Nancy and Mike to find out about their mom nearly hooking up with Billy. It feels so weird and random to include as a plot point if nothing ever comes of it and neither of her kids ever find out. I think it could work for Nancy to find out in order to help her maybe make a decision about her future and her relationships, to really cement what she’s known all along which is that she doesn’t want to end up like her parents. I think for Mike it would affect his friendship with Max, I think he wouldn’t know how to behave about it and it would make thinks difficult between them for a bit

On a similar note I want Mike to have some time away from Will and El. Spend some time with Lucas and Max. He has other relationships that also impact his life besides just those two (even if they are arguably the most important)

I don’t think it really matters what grouping Dustin ends up in since he’ll be awesome no matter what. But since they’re obviously going to make the Wheelers more important, I want sixteen straight hours of him bullying Ted Wheeler

Actually since I also want Dustin and Erica being besties, let’s make that the foursome of the season. Dustin, Erica, Murray, and Ted Wheeler. Just Dustin and Erica bullying these middle aged men who also hate each other - Ted regularly calls Murray a communist and a kook (despite literal proof of other dimensions being right in front of him) and Murray hates him for voting for Reagan

I think that there will be like no reference to Russians. Firstly because this season is gonna be very centralized in Hawkins, I don’t see any plot points that aren’t about Hawkins’ direct focus happening. But also because the Duffers are quite good at listening to audience critiques and adjusting in ways that give the audience what they want without sacrificing their story. And last season they know damn well that the Russia plotline was the least favorite of anyone and that in Season 3 the only reason it was a favorite was due to the grouping of characters

I think Dustin’s plot and character specifically will be inspired by Eddie’s death in the way Nancy’s was by Barb. I wish with all of my being that this would be Mike’s story since he makes the most sense to idolize and emulate Eddie but alas I doubt that will happen. One day I’ll write a post about this. That day is not today

On the one hand I don’t trust them not to kill Steve. On the other hand, killing Steve means he can’t be used in any kind of spin-off…much to consider

I highly doubt byler will happen. I think it’s more likely the season ends for Will the same way Season 4 ended for Robin. I think he’ll spend the season learning to move on from Mike, then in like the second to last scene of the show will meet and bond with some random guy also implied to be gay with the clear subtext that this is Will’s future boyfriend

I want Tommy H and Carol back. I miss them

[byebyler]

THAT WAS SO GOOD!!! I am truly just blown away by this season so far. My worst fear was that the show would just keep getting worse and worse until finally dragging to a stop but they really turned things around here. I don’t know if it’s surpassed season 1 but it’s right up there with it! Lots of happy, incoherent rambling and spoilers under the cut!

BYLER STANS RISE UP!! I said before everything was too good to be true but nooope I really think they’re going there. Only time will tell if it’s a one sided crush or if Byler is on its way to becoming canon. Depends on how the last two episodes go. But anyway, it’s really subtle but it’s so there. If you know what to look for, then you know. But if Byler isn’t even a passing thought then of course it’s not going to click for you. So obviously the reviews are skewed one way or another. And there are enough hints for a proper Mileven break up so really, who knows?? Like I said, last two episodes and then we’ll see

Of course the Byler stuff isn’t the only stuff I’m excited over. It really is such a good season. The whole time, except for maybe the last two eps, was really evenly split between all the plots. Pretty much hitting A, B, C, D, A, B, C, D like clockwork. I never felt bored with any part of the story. And despite the introduction of so many new characters, it never felt too cluttered to me.

Obviously El’s story is pretty heavy, since it’s only focused on her. And the Hawkins plots are harder to juggle bc you have so many characters on that side. But I still think they did a really wonderful job, considering. The only time I was really reaching for my phone was during the Russia stuff. But for the people only here for action, I’m sure they won’t have a problem with that :P

THEY FINALLY LEARNED SHOW, DON’T TELL. I’m in complete and utter shock that some romantic aspects could happen organically. It’s so easy to spot the Steve and Nancy hints and it made me sooo happy. But then of course they ruin it by having Eddie flat out tell Steve that Nancy is in love with him or whatever lmao alskfjsdlkfjs no one is perfect I guess. Still. It’s an improvement 

THE NANCY REVEAL HAD ME GAGGED. Genuinely did not see it coming and it caught my by surprise. We were screaming. But I’m 99.99% sure she’s going to be okay lmao. Although now I’m not so sure about Steve. All the hopeful optimistic talk of a future romance has me thinking that one of them is definitely going to die. And not saying I WANT that to happen but I mean come on. It only makes sense

I said before but I’m so thankful of Max’s friendship montage, and for her calling for Lucas AND Dustin when in distress. One thing I hate about Mileven is how singularly focused they were on each other. When El was in distress she was only calling for Mike, like Dustin and Lucas were just dust. So you know. It’s good to see close relationships being acknowledged even when they aren’t romantic. It’s good to see everyone being actual friends

And I’m so glad we’re shaking up the groups again. One reason s3 is so annoying is bc you knooow they saw people talking about s2 like “omg weren’t Steve and Dustin so funny together?? need more of that next season!” and as a result Steve and Dustin almost exclusively only talked to one another. I haaated that. So I’m glad Dustin and Lucas are close again, that they’re with Max, that all the teens are together, that Erica is there but not too much lol. And I loved all the Byler interactions, obviously. The trio of them with El. Them with Jonathan and Argyle, even. Fuck I even can tolerate Murray this season!! They’re doing such a good job with all the characters, it’s literally insane. I still can’t believe it

And everyone feels important. No one is just standing around. So many times last season half the characters or maybe just Will would literally just be standing there in a scene like 🧍🏼‍♂️ it was sooo frustrating. But no everyone actually manages to feel like an active part of the story this time around. It’s so impressive like I am still in genuine shock that it was so good

I’m sure the more I think about it and rewatch it the more I’ll find to complain about but I’m not interested in that right now. I just genuinely had such a wonderful time. It was hours and hours of content, I’ve been up since 3 am watching, but it felt like it just flew by. It was well worth the obscenely long wait, which I’m thankful for. It’s just a great fucking time and I’m so fucking excited for the last episodes and the last season. I really hope they can pull this energy through to the end and not ruin it for themselves!!

[munsontm]

👫 — w/ stevie ofc

Send a 👫and I’ll write four headcanons I have about our muse’s relationship - ACCEPTING. @harringtontm

Eddie realised he loved Steve when he woke up one morning after they spent the previous night being fools with the rest of the elder group. Argyle and Eddie supplied the weed, booze was up to everyone else. Not Eddie and Steve had been too shitfaced to drive anywhere, so they crashed in Eddie's van. But that morning after when Eddie woke up. He looked at Steve who looked like absolute shit. We're talking eyeliner on various parts of his face from where Eddie had tried to drunkenly apply it at Steve's request with little luck. There's lipstick kisses on him, of which Eddie thinks some are actually from himself. And the Harrington do looks like it's been through a tornado. Eddie laughs into his pillow, then looks at Steve only to realise for the first time in his life he almost feels content and at peace. It hits him how much Steve has come to mean to him after their months of pining for one another, and that he never wants to let Steve go. He's fallen in love for the first time with a hungover rl Picasso painting, and it's amazing.

Steve and Eddie develop a system of silent communication. Mostly used when the kids are around. They think they're subtle about it, but they really aren't. The system itself only makes sense to them because it's so infuriatingly chaotic, that no one else even tries. It mostly consists of various degrees of glaring, eddie batting his lashes rapidly like fucking morse code, nose twitches, and some odd tongue signals that kind of weird everyone else out and lip pursing. Although no one can decipher what the hell is going on. If they could-----they'd know a lot of it is Steve telling Eddie to behave, Eddie just wanting Steve's attention or saying he needs a cigarette. But also that they'd like to go make out and how they can escape their current situation to do that. Welp.

Eddie is not wealthy, far from it. He does not have the funds to buy Steve nice gifts etc. Though tbh I don't think he's overly materialistic anyway. But when it gets to the point where they start giving each other things, the first thing Eddie gives Steve is a song he wrote for him. It's not specifically about Steve in the sense that his name is in the lyrics. It's a song about a scoundrel who changed his ways and went on to become the greatest hero in all the land. He fights dragons and demons, protects women and children. It really be metal fantasy Steve Harrington. Afterwards, Steve insists that Eddie records it for him so he can listen to it all the time. Eddie becomes very flustered at that point, he didn't expect it to go down so well. But he agrees to do it, and feels particularly good inside whenever Steve plays it.

Before they leave Hawkin’s, Eddie begins acting kinda strange, a little distant. Steve thinks he's having second thoughts or regrets about leaving, which makes no sense given how desperate he is to get out of backwater hell. Eventually, Eddie confesses that he was gathering up the courage to ask Steve to go and visit Annie (Eddie's mother) with him who is in a nursing home on the account of her tragic case of early dementia. It's a hard visit because Annie clearly has no idea who Eddie is, but he talks to her anyway about the memories he has of her, and how she was a good mother during their short time together. He also apologises for not being able to protect her from Laurence (Eddie's dad), even though Eddie was a child at the time, and how sorry he is that she had to stay in Hawkins for him. She could have run away and abandoned Eddie to his father's clutches, but she didn't. Afterwards, there's still no recognition. So Eddie says his goodbyes, and promptly breaks down on Steve outside the building. They have a long talk during which Steve really tries to make Eddie see that he's not at fault for anything that happened in the past. He can't convince Eddie 100% but Eddie is more than grateful for Steve being there with him. The fact that Eddie let Steve anywhere near his past speaks volumes.