#poor baby sad mike wheeler you break my heart

[lazerfish-bish]

is it just me or has anyone else thought about if dustin and mike told the party or other trusted non-adults in the show about that day where mike un-hesitantly jumped off a cliff for him. because i think about it a lot.

like im sure they talk off screen about some of the shit they did and what happened when another party member wasn’t there (because that’s why friends do yknow), but did they tell anyone about this specific event?? did they ever talk about it afterwards at all?? if it was me, i wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know what happened. and maybe it was something they thought they didn’t need or want to bring up because of humiliation of the whole thing (how far troys bullying went and their hopelessness at fighting back, mike jumping, you get the picture), or just because it’s literally insane what mike did, without hesitating. that kid would’ve died for sure, and he didn’t know el would save him so like... that’s some deep and heart wrenching shit in my opinion. and i can’t help but think maybe mike didn’t really care if he died—hence the no hesitation—because he lost his best friend (since what, 4??) and thought he might be dead; he was feeling hopeless, lost, alone, heartbroken, i don’t know. and i know he did it to protect dustin but, again, he didn’t hesitate, had a blank expression. part of me will always think he was some-what alright with the idea of dying. un-phased by it. but they were only wee lil kids so they might not think it was as ‘deep and heart wrenching’ as i do and they might just think about how heroic and brave it was of him, without thinking of what the actual consequences would’ve been.

but like, i question this too often. did they converse just between the 2/3 (dustin, mike, el) of them?? maybe in the later years where the reality of the situation set in now that they’re not so naive and understand what crazy shit went down?? did they tell the rest of the party?? ever?? if they did how did they react?? did mike and dustin just end up walking off, a mutual understanding, through a look they shared, to never repeat what just happened???

i might be thinking about this too obsessively but it’s one of the many, probably insignificant, things in this stupid tv show i love so much that my brain latched onto, to think about for the rest of eternity

i dunno tell me what you think 👉👉

[erin-bo-berin]

I just love your work!!! Brightens up what is otherwise a crappy, boring day!!

Now I have a request (I’ve been wanting to write this myself but my day job and real life get I the way)

The reader/Y/N (whatever you call it) is a Byers so had to go to California and is in a relationship with Steve. For whatever reason he couldn’t come to you when Mike went to see Eleven and you couldn’t come to him (better excuses than Nancy and Jonathan’s) so when the van appears in Wheeler’s driveway, she gets out of the van (slightly after the others do which has Robin comfort Steve when he thinks she’s not there) and then she appears and there’s lots of running into each other’s arms as they reunite and you can go on from there! Hope it makes sense!!!!!

I love this! And of course, I can’t find the gif I wanted to use where she’s rubbing his back, but I’ll use this instead cause poor baby looks sad.

Five months.

Five months and 2,000 miles apart is an awful thing to deal with when you’re separated from the love of your life.

When you, your mom, brothers Will and Jonathan and El moved to Lenora, California after the events at Starcourt Mall over the last summer, you were heartbroken.

You didn’t want to leave Steve Harrington.

Steve, who’d been your boyfriend for over a year at that point. You’d never been away from him and your heart was absolutely crumbling when you left.

It had been the longest five months between October and March, which was currently spring break. While El and Mike wrote letters to one another, you and Steve constantly talked on the phone—much to your mother and brother’s annoyance.

“If I have to hear, “No, you hang up first!” one more time, I’m gonna barf,” Will complained.

Jonathan one time had went ahead and did it for you.

“No, I’ll hang up!” he said, with a cheerful smile, making you grimace.

“I don’t complain when you talk to Nancy,” you’d huffed.

“That’s because we have adult conversations, unlike you and Steve,” he’d rolled his eyes.

“Steve’s older than both of you. As am I, if I remember correctly.”

“This is why I choose to write letters,” El shrugged, unfazed by the arguing.

She was just happy that Mike was coming to California for spring break.

You and Jonathan hadn’t lucked out when it came to your significant others though.

Steve didn’t have enough money to afford a round trip ticket to California since his parents cut him off. He was working at Family Video and while that made him decent enough money, it just wasn’t enough to afford the ticket.

You couldn’t go to him because your mom absolutely refused for you to. Joyce Byers had been through a lot in the last couple of years.

Two years ago, Will had went missing, disappearing into an alternate dimension none of you had even been aware of before.

One year ago, she lost her old school friend and boyfriend Bob, to one of the horrid creatures from said different dimension. He literally died in front of her eyes.

Eight months ago, last summer, she lost Hopper. Someone you were sure she harbored feelings for. No one found him after the blast and the fire at the mall. He was presumed dead.

So you could understand why she prohibited you from going back to Hawkins. She was just terrified.

But when she went missing on a “business trip” to Alaska, El was arrested for assault of her school bully—you still wish you’d seen her click the girl, she deserved it and more for the way she’d treated your younger sister—and none of you could reach your mom, spring break turned into quite the dumpster fire.

Mike had arrived and enjoyed all of a half day with El before the roller rink incident and everything fell apart.

What happened next was so wild you thought you’d accidentally smoked some of Jonathan’s and his friend Argyle’s stash of weed—it was that crazy. In fact, you kinda wished it’d been a weed induced dream.

It involved secret agents then dead secret agents, when there was a shootout at your California home, Argyle freaking the fuck out, ending up in the desert searching for El and a woman named Nina and a side trip to Utah to visit Dustin’s girlfriend Suzie.

Between finding out Nina was a thing not a she, finding El in the middle of the desert, rescuing her and trying to aid in defeating a new villain that you and the others had no idea even existed up until this point, you were exhausted.

It was a long two days heading back to Hawkins. You were grateful to be seeing Steve, but you were worse for wear, tired and run down after everything you, your family and friends had experienced.

You fell asleep about an hour from home, missing the absolute chaos of what your town had turned into. You were told later about the huge cracks in the earth throughout the town, the line of cars you’d passed that we’re leaving Hawkins as you’d entered it, about the “earthquake” that had caused so much damage.

But in that moment, you were peacefully unaware, lost in your dreams.

•

Steve was just as confused as the rest of his friends when he heard Mrs. Wheeler’s comment.

“Did someone order pizza?”

“Pizza?” Dustin asked turning around.

He turned with Robin and Nancy, spotting a van—Surfer Boy’s Pizza labeled on the side.

His astonishment was as clear as everyone else’s when he saw who all stepped out.

Mike.

El.

Jonathan, Will.

A boy with long black hair, a visor and bright, mismatched clothes followed.

His eyes scanned to see if there was anyone else in the van and he was sure his chest broke open when he saw no one.

Where were you? Were you okay? Did something happen to you?

Mrs. Wheeler ran to greet Mike, hugging him tightly.

Dustin bounded toward Will and El, throwing both his arms around his long missed friends.

Nancy flew into Jonathan’s arms, embracing him tightly.

At least the others were happy, Steve thought as he fought a frown, walking back to the car trunk they were previously loading with boxes. He felt Robin’s hand on his back, patting it lightly. Even without words, he knew she was there for him.

An unfamiliar voice—which he figured belonged to the stranger—spoke behind him. He didn’t turn around, not paying attention. He bent to pick up another box to put in the trunk.

You woke to Argyle’s smooth, relaxed voice.

“Hey, sleepyhead. We’re here.”

You opened your eyes, seeing the familiar view of the Wheeler household. The van was now empty and you rubbed your eyes quickly, standing up so you could get out.

That’s when you saw him, back turned to the van, in his regular Levi’s and a blue sweater that looked amazing on him, even from the back.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard a familiar voice.

“Steve?”

He turned around, seeing you still standing in the van, having yet to step out. You looked tired, but also like you’d just woken. Your hair was flattened a bit on one side from where you probably rested your head against the window. But you were the most beautiful sight to his eyes. At some point, the box fell out of his hands, landing in the driveway on its side and he was running towards you.

“Steve!” you exclaimed happily, a smile breaking out on your face.

You leaped down, running towards him until he scooped you up in his arms and you were being spun in circles. You were too happy as you hugged his neck tightly to care about being dizzy. He was real under your touch, all soft hair and warm, sun kissed skin.

“Oh my god,” he breathed, as if he couldn’t believe you were real either, “When I didn’t see you come out of the van, I assumed the worst.”

“I fell asleep,” you smiled sheepishly, “Argyle woke me up.”

“I’m just so glad you’re okay,” he said, grabbing your face in his hands, kissing you hard.

When he pulled away, you wrapped your arms around his torso, snuggling into his chest. You weren’t going to let go anytime soon.

“From now on, I’m not letting you go anywhere. You’re stuck with me, baby.”

And that was completely fine with you.

[carol-effing-danvers]

push me, pull you

this is part three of the series “run long, roam far, return soon” part one: “knock me the fuck out (i dare ya, babe)” (cont.) (fin.) part two: “where we grew up”

(click here if you’d prefer to read this in AO3′s format)

“You guys have been in here for over twenty minutes,” Steve complains, turning into the kitchen of the Wheeler’s house – not the same as the one they lived in while Nancy and Mike where in high school. Karen got her heart set on a fixer-upper after Mike left for college and it became a passion project for her. It’s old, charming, and deeply haunted. “What are you two doing?”

Quickly, El turns away from Billy, nervously running her hand over the end of the braid draped over her shoulder. She’s dressed a little nicer than he normally sees her today, in a sweet flowing dress patterned in butterflies that leaves her shoulders bare. There’s always been an innocence to her, despite her childhood, or maybe because of it. A wide-eyed wonder that he secretly hopes she never loses.

Steve notices that Billy looks concerned as he informs Steve “El’s gotten herself ready for a big date.”

“Billy,” she pleads, mumbling at her hands. “I can’t.”

“Just ask,” he coaxes softly. “Even if he says ‘no’, anything is better than wondering. You know that.”

“Ask who what?” Steve asks, confused. Then, feeling like he’s been hit with a frying pan: “Jesus fuck, please do not say Lucas, I will have a fucking heart attack-”

Lucas has spent six years hoping that Max would see what a monstrous snake her husband was and leave his ass and Max has, from what Billy’s told, regretted most of the eight years since they broke up for good. Steve can’t take watching life break El’s heart that way, not sweet and loyal Eleven.

“Henderson,” Billy says, clipped and brusque. “She’s talking about Henderson.”

“Why would you talk El into asking Dust on a date?” he says, even more confused now. “Eleven doesn’t even want to talk to Dustin. I mean, I don’t think you hate him, but he’s pretty sure that you do. He can be dramatic sometimes.”

El trembles as she slides down the wall into a crouch. “I can’t!” she tells Billy, her eyes filling with tears. “Billy, I can’t! I’ve already messed it up.”

Crouching beside her, Billy says, “Why d’you never talk to him, honey?”

She shrugs, staring at the floor as she wipes furiously at her cheeks. “I can’t-I can’t remember how to talk around him,” she says, swallowing against a fresh urge to weep. “I forget words.”

“Yeah, baby, I know. Love can make you super dumb.” Billy says sympathetically and Steve feels sucker-punched when he realizes that he is talking about the way teenage Billy felt about teenage Steve.

Turning on his heel, Steve enters back into the group of people laughing around a game of mock D&D in Max’s living room. “Hey,” he says, smiling at Dustinas he gestures wildly with a half-empty glass of Guinness. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Um, yeah.” Dust downs the rest of his glass and hands their shoddily made up script to Erica. “Have fun. Make me proud.”

“Wow, the bar has never been lower.”

“I love you too, you little shit.” Steve begins pulling him along toward the kitchen. He’s not sure he’ll ever get over Dustin growing up to be bigger and taller than him. Bemused, he asks, “Where are we going?”

“I think that it’s time for El to apologize to you,” Steve says firmly. It was the one thing he was sure of – his realization may never have arrived if Billy hadn’t been laying in the hospital bed and apologized in that dead, traumatized monotone.

Dustin begins to resist a little. “No, Steve, c’mon. The six of us don’t really have to be attached at the hip.”

“You think she hates you.”

“No, I said she didn’t like me,” Dust replies patiently as they approach the kitchen. “That’s not the same thing.”

Billy and El are where he left them, and if he didn’t believe it before, he believes it when he actually looks at her reaction to seeing Dustin.

Eleven’s back straightens up and her eyes widen, leaning away from their approach like someone is actively holding a gun to her head. If Billy’s reaction to his own love was rage, El’s reaction seems to be terror.

“Dude, what did you guys do to her?” Dustin is just as clueless as Steve was, but it doesn’t take a genius like him to notice that she’s been crying recently. “Eleven…”

Even the simple act of hearing her name makes El tremble. Dustin can barely seem to stand looking at her and it pains him. Steve says, “If you guys ever want to get past this, then she needs to apologize to you.”

“Why the hell do you think she needs to apologize to me? I’m the asshole, you dipshits! Have the two of you seriously been telling her that was her fucking fault?!” Crouching, Dustin mutters, still without looking quite at her, “C’mon, you don’t need to do this. Go to The Party, I’ll talk to the idiots.”

“Dustin, what you talking about?” Steve demands, “What’s your fault?”

Startled, the younger man looks at him, blinks, then quickly says, “Nothing, stop harassing her about this. She doesn’t need to apologize, we don’t talk to each other, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have my back, okay?”

Billy tries to say something, but Steve cuts him off. If he knows what Dustin sounds like when he’s tired, then he also knows what Dustin looks like when he’s done something he shouldn’t have. “Why do you look guilty? Dust, what did you do? Why did you call yourself an asshole?”

Awkwardly fluffing his curly hair, like an exceptionally sad-looking poodle, Dustin grimaces and tells El, still without looking her directly in the eye, “Sorry, I thought you already told him. I should have known you wouldn’t rat me out. I’m sorry they’ve been bugging you.”

She stares at him, wide-eyed, as he turns to Steve and bluntly says “Eleven doesn’t like me because two weeks after graduation, after she broke up with Mike, I basically shoved my tongue down her throat.” Everyone in the room gapes at him in shock and he sighs heavily, “We were all at a bonfire, I was drunk, she was really drunk, She didn’t want to talk to me anymore, and I totally respect that. You guys need to stop this weird crusade to force her to like me, because it’s my fault. I earned it.”

Dustin flails his arms in a ‘so, there’ kind of gesture, and adds, “El, I’m so sorry for this whole thing, I should’ve apologized immediately, but you look so freaked out anytime I go near you, and I didn’t wanna corner you like some kind of creep. You’ve always been Mike’s girl, and it was so fucking gross and sleazy for me to…”

“I’m not a possession.” Eleven interrupts, her voice hard and cold. “I don’t belong to Mike Wheeler. Michael Wheeler doesn’t own me.”

“Of course he doesn’t,” Dustin assures her. With a nervous laugh, he adds, “I don’t think anyone could if they tried.”

And El’s face fills with a helpless rage that reminds Billy painfully of himself. You idiot, he thinks, watching Dustin’s face, so full of friendly sympathy. So clueless for a kid so smart. She wants to belong to someone. She wants to belong to you.

Were his feelings that obvious?

Oh, totally, Robin’s voice answers in his head, explaining to Erica on the phone. There poor Billy-boy was, heart on his sleeve, checkin’ Steve-o out like he was on the effing menu. And Steve got so flustered every time Billy walked in, he never even noticed.  

“You kissed me,” she repeats angrily.

“I’m sorry,” Dustin repeats, miserably. “I took advantage of you, El, and it took me so fucking long to apologize, but I really am so sorry.”

“I don’t remember,” El seethes, fists clenched. “You kissed me, and I don’t remember.”

“You were really drunk,” Dustin says gently. “But I promise, I won’t ever do that again, okay?”

Oh, that is the opposite of the thing Eleven wants to hear. She’s so angry – she feels like something she so desperately wants has been taken from her, and now Dustin is telling her she doesn’t even have the chance to get it back again.

“Bastard,” she hisses, eyes beginning to shine and glitter with unshed tears. On the stove, a kettle begins to whistle sharply, even though the burner it’s sitting on isn’t even lit.

Dustin begins backing away, eyes wide, and El lunges, grabbing the front of his sweater with clawed fingers and kissing him, passionate with anger and six years of love that she’s just been choking herself on.

She pulls away just as abruptly, and Dustin’s lower lip begins to bleed sluggishly. “You bit me.”

He doesn’t sound mad, just quietly shocked.

“That’s all you can say to me?” she demands, as the tears begin to slide down her face. She has made herself into a fool, and for no good reason. She told Billy this was a mistake.

“I…yes?” He’s bewildered by the combination of passion and violence, and even more bewildered by the tear. Maybe the kiss made them even now? But then why the hell is she crying? Fuck, he’s been trying not to upset her, Dustin can’t stand it when Eleven cries, but somehow, he’s managed to do it anyway.

Swiping angrily at her eyes, El darts toward the back stairwell beside the sink. Dust, feeling like something important was slipping away from him, grabs her arm, though he knows that’s the last thing he should do with El when she’s upset. That’s how you end up suddenly knowing what the ceiling feels like on your back. “What do you want me to say?” he pleads, grabbing both of her elbows. “Just tell me what you want, and I promise I’ll do it.”

LOVE ME BACK!, she wants to scream.

“Nothing,” she says dully, limbs going slack like a puppet with its strings cut. The lie crushes her. “I don’t want anything.”

“Do you just…really not like me, then?” he asks in a small voice, and the question startles her into a half turn. “Because you didn’t remember my dumb drunk kiss, but you always act like I’m a Demogorgon that’s about to…eat…you…”

Her face is a brilliant crimson, arms crossed defensively over her chest. His lower lip still stings. “Oh.”

“Don’t look at me,” she says in a mumble, shoulders hunching. She covers her eyes, tears spilling out from beneath her fingers. Chin trembling, she repeats, half-pleading, “I don’t want anything.”

Dustin swallows hard, licks his lips. He’s been less nervous presenting his actual dissertation plan. “What if I want something? Would that be okay?” He watches her chewing on her lower lip before she nods. “Can you please look at me?”

Slowly, arm trembling, she lowers her hand and stares at him, her gaze darting at him and then away, frightened and hesitant. She’s barely able to raise her voice. “...okay.”

He never had the slightest conception of the power his touch could have over her, but when his hands cup her face, all of the cupboard doors suddenly swing themselves open. His thumbs wipe at the trails of tears on her cheeks and the dishes on the shelves tremble along with her. Dustin lets her relax enough to look him straight in the eye and says, deadly serious, “Do you have any idea how fucking difficult it is, finding a girl who can measure up to you?”

Her brows pinch together.

“Because I’ve tried,” he confesses. “For twelve years, in three different states, I’ve tried to find a woman who can compete with the first girl I ever fell in love with, and it’s asking way too much of one person.”

Eleven listens, stunned, as he continues “Because that girl is the kindest person I know, and the strongest, and the bravest. She’s clever, and funny, and beautiful, and wise. She’s stubborn as a mule and she pushes anyone who’s ever loved her to be the best version of themselves. She can flip cars without breaking a sweat, and she makes a chocolate cake so delicious that after my first bite, I cried literal tears of joy.”

She’s crying again, and the bags of flour and sugar on the counter have split their seams and begin to pour their contents all over the countertops and the floor. Like Eleven’s heart is bursting, and they burst with her in sympathy.

Pressing his forehead to hers, Dustin whispers “That’s all I want. Find me your equal. I’ve tried, but every time I come home, I see you and I know it’s no use. No matter who they are, they can’t be better than an Eleven.”

“…I can’t say anything that nice,” she admits, holding his hands to her skin. “I’m-I don’t have the words…”

Karen’s tulips, half dead in their vase, are suddenly blooming in full life on the center island. Billy and Steve grin at each other.

Very quietly, Eleven says, “You carried me.” At his confused look, she continues “In the school. When we were young. You carried me. I remembered that.”

“Yeah?” He doesn’t know why, because she seems to think this is very important.

“It was the first,” she tells him. “The first time I really knew what ‘safe’ felt like. It was you. It’s always been you, too.”

Dustin laughs. “We’re a pair of perfect fuck-ups, aren’t we?”

Seriously, she asks “Are we a pair?”

“We could be. If you want.”

She considers that for a moment. “Does it mean I can have a real kiss now?”

His eyes flicker down to her lips. After fully breaking, his voice has always had an almost musical quality, but it seems especially nice to her. “They both felt pretty fucking real to me.”

The back of her neck tingles. As stubborn as he accused, El insists “More?”

Dustin glances nervously at Steve and Billy.

Steve laughs and Billy rolls his eyes. “At least go upstairs, we don’t need to watch the two of you making out.”

Billy sighs as El drags Dustin up the stairs. He’s intensely familiar with dating someone who looks innocent but turns into a fucking maniac in the sack when they’re in the right mood.

Fuck, I hope the kid has a seatbelt and a fucking helmet.

[jordanrosenburg]

Stranger Things 3

Okay, many spoilers ahead, but honestly if you haven’t binged the season yet???? That’s a you problem. 

I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of this season, well actually there was one thing I wanted and that was for Steve to find love, and I guess he found it...he has a beautiful new friendship with Robin, who was the perfect female addition to the season. It was refreshing to have the kids on summer break, and not have another thing happen during the school year. I love this show and I want it to go on and on, but at the same time, how much more can these kids go through? 

The thing about Stranger Things, is that we are now used to its formula, a formula that works great. We have usually have three different stories happening, the adults, the teens, and the kids. They each are going through their version of a scary movie, and when they all finally come together, they get the job done. This season had a real slasher film vibe to it. Way more guts and gore, and honestly a little too much CGI? It was like watching Teen Wold amirite?

It was kind of cool finally seeing this monster come to life, and not just an image in Will’s head. And it was cool seeing the kids sort of start to become teenagers themselves, and the teens cross slowly into adulthood. I can’t tell what vibe I like more with the pacing of this show. Last season felt really slow, and this season almost felt rushed? We really just dove right in. I’m not a big fan of time skips, I really like knowing how characters get to certain places in their lives. Was Steve so distraught over Nancy that he couldn’t get his grades up? Thus not getting into college? Will he go to community college? I JUST WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR MY SON!

Billy...I just...I feel like I’m still grieving. We knew the season was about him, but I feel like his screen time wasn’t enough, I wanted more. Why was the monster able to possess more so than Will? We got barely an episode in before he was taken over. I thought it would have been a couple episodes in. Dacre did an incredible job, his acting was incredible. The only thing that creeped me out were all of the moms gawking at him at the pool. He is a teenage boy, I don’t care how attractive he is. If the roles were reversed, if that had been a bunch of dads looking at a teenage girl like that, there would have been hell to pay. Billy wanted Mrs. Wheeler, and he is suave, but she should not have even entertained the idea. 

A truly crushing moment was when El saw Billy’s memories of his mother. I think what happened to him happens all too often. A victim of abuse is finally able to escape, but leaves the child behind. She knew what kind of monster Billy would be left with, and it clearly seems like she never did anything to try to get him out of that toxic environment. And in spite of all of this, she was STILL his happiest memories! RIP MY HEART OUT WHY DONTCHA! The other thing that really fucked me up is that Max and Billy must have mended whatever tension or issues they may have had between season 2 and 3. She didn’t seem afraid of him anymore, and she really grieved for him. That shot of her sitting in his room killed me. And I wonder how his fucking shit ass father dealt with it??? 

El and Mike were so adorable the entire time. I truly love a young love. It is so innocent and sweet. I feel like for that moment they got to just be normal tweens without a care in the world. I was surprised to see Lucas and Max still together, but there must be something good there if they keep making it work. Dustin and Suzie were so cute, HOWEVER HAD SHE NOT MADE HIM SING BILLY AND HOPPER WOULD HAVE SURVIVED, OR YOU KNOW IF JOYCE HADN’T HESITATED!!!! I’m just really not a fan of character death until it means something. I feel like these deaths were purely shock value. Hopper went down a hero sure, but HIM AND JOYCE WERE FINALLY GOING TO GET DINNER! And after everything Billy went through? They could have tried harder to save him. Nancy was ready to fucking shoot him. 

Nancy, as usual, just really pissed me off. She is one of the most inconsiderate people I’ve ever seen. I get it, it’s the 80′s, she’s trying to be an equal, that I can respect! What I don’t respect is how impulsive she is. She never thinks about the consequences of her actions. From little things like ruining Jonathan’s pictures, to immediately trying to kill Billy. I get it, you’re all sick of the bullshit, but he was still a person. They didn’t immediately try to kill Will. 

AND POOR WILL JUST WANTED TO PLAY DND! I think it can be so hard at that age. Some people grow up at different rates than others, and he felt out. I also think he knew he was going to be moving, and just wanted to complete one more campaign with his friends before he broke the news. It also made me sad that we didn’t get much time with all four boys together. It was great to see how close Dustin and Steve had gotten, but they should have learned by now that they all work better when they’re together, not separated. 

How about Steve coming in clutch with the car to save Nancy and the kids??? NOT EVEN A THANK YOU FROM HER! Okay, maybe there wasn’t time for a thank you, but their interactions just felt awkward, and there’s not need for it. I will say I was happy there was no love triangle. My heart did get sad when Robin asked Steve if he still loved Nancy, and when he said no it was basically because he found this love for Robin. My poor baby was still hurt! And when he said that she really wasn’t a priss. There had to have been a conversation about her hooking up with Jonathan at some point that had to have solidified that they were over. I still don’t care for the way she treated Steven, could ya tell???

A theory I have about El: are her powers starting wear off because the effects of what she went through at the lab wearing off? Think about it, she hasn’t been contained and tested on for over a year. Maybe her body is finally regulating. This does mean that if this thing comes back, which it seems like it will since there is one in Russia being used for testing, she herself will be defenseless. Luckily the other kids are good at protecting her. 

At the end we see the subtitles, “No, not the America”. Does this mean Hopper somehow survived? I don’t know how possible this is since everyone else in the lab fucking melted, but he could have been on high enough ground to escape, but may not have escaped fast enough for the American troops to come in. The Russians may have captured him as one final fuck you. I think I started tearing up when he gave one last smile to Joyce. He annoyed me at the beginning of the season with him being overprotective with El, but his letter, which made me sob, helped drive his point home. Also, him shooting off the machine gun while screaming EVERYONE OUT was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. 

The kids all saying goodbye made me cry as well. I wonder how far away Joyce will take them. Something tells me their troubles will follow. I hope we don’t have to wait three years to figure out what happens next. My prediction is that season 4 will be the final season because again, how much can these kids go through. 

One final thing, the soundtrack, yet again, was killer. Moving in Stereo is the song I have on repeat. Season 1 it was Sunglasses at Night and some of the original synth music. Hearing Hero again at the end of this season also made me cry. It really felt like a lot was wrapping up. 

Alright, I’m done rambling for now.