#they’re never beating the codependency allegations

[brandonsaad]

[chansemccrary]

they’re never beating the codependent besties allegations

[burirammin]

So marc is just out there chilling and playing football with gresini squad and the locals. Sometimes I wonder if he likes it this way, not having to constantly attend public event… or did he miss it?

Edit: Alex’s there too!! They’re never beating the codependent allegations I fear :)))

[autistic-robin]

dynamics i would sell my soul to see in s5:

1. platonic madwheeler.

aside from the fact that these two are literally two sides of the same coin, i think their onscreen chemistry is a delight. they have so much in common and i feel like their repression issues are so similar. if they had one single heart-to-heart about max’s feelings for lucas you can bet your ass she’d help mike realize he’s in love with will. also— max’s perceptiveness (being in tune with/intuitively understanding other people) would really help mike beat the oblivious brain-full-of-rocks allegations. also i need them together for comedic reasons.

2. robin and jonathan + steve and argyle (with nancy supervising)

robin and jonathan’s dynamic has yet to be explored but they’re so similar that i feel like they would either be best friends or literally a hair away from ripping each other’s throats out and i need to see this onscreen for my mental stability. they’ve both got that lone-wolf, nobody-understands-me vibe and they also share the same class struggles that nancy can’t relate to or understand— i feel like even if they were enemies at first (you can’t be the dark brooding mousy-haired town pariah, that’s MY ROLE) they would warm up to each other super quickly. they’re also both really On It in terms of understanding situations/investigating shit, so. platonic dream team.

steve and argyle are also characters who’ve never been introduced and i feel like they would immediately love each other lol. they’re both himbos, both have strange homoerotic undertones in their scenes with jonathan, and they both toss their personal lives aside to be there for their friends. they also end up helping in unexpected, often unintentional ways, which is sexy of them. i feel like they would annoy the shit out of jonathan and robin and i want to see that play out. preferably while nancy glares at all of them like an exasperated mom.

3. platonic henderhop.

no thoughts just vibes with these two. all their little moments (“she’s our friend and she’s crazy!”; “teeth” *touches dustin’s teeth*; the scene in s3 where they reunite in starcourt) are precious and i wish their dynamic was more heavily explored. since they both recently lost their best friends (eddie and max) & both have survivor’s guilt, i feel like they should get a scene together talking through that pain. maybe reassuring each other that they aren’t to blame for any of it. idk man they make me emotional.

4. unhealthily codependent qpr stobin.

we simply did not get enough of them in season 4. st*ncy revival took up a good chunk of screentime that could have been dedicated to focusing on steve and robin’s friendship and i am and always will be furious about that. i think to rectify this they should make steve and robin attatched at the hip in s5. fiercely protective of one another in the way they should have been in s4, fighting tooth and nail back-to-back, saving one another. i just feel like steve’s arc needs to be about the platonic love he’s found after leaving tommy and carol in s1, and giving these two the attention they deserve would be a great way to show that to the audience.

5. joyce-hopper-murray polycule.

need i say more.

6. stonathan.

give them closure god damn it. let them talk everything out. maybe even give them a few questionable scenes like the ronance ones in s4… just. heavy implication. it’s what they deserve.

7. will and max.

platonic will and max are to platonic mike and el, which is why i feel like this duo would be unstoppable together. soft gentle secret badass + hard-edged fiery secret softie? that’s a five-star dynamic right there. they would kick ass together, they would bully mike together, they would fight the patriarchy together and i really believe that. also the fact that they’ve both been face-to-face with vecna and really experienced the horrors of the upside down could give them a deep understanding of one another and i think that’s something that deserves to be explored— especially since they’re also both abuse victims.

8. platonic elmike.

i want them to break up amicably and gently and lovingly. i want el offering mike the non-judgemental acceptance he desperately needs. i want mike apologizing profusely to el, and finally being able to love her without the hero-worship once he realizes he only loves her platonically. i want their connection to only be elevated and deepened by this understanding and closure. also i want el to softlaunch byler. that is all.

9. lucas and steve.

their mom stances are the same. steve came to lucas’ basketball games. they are both himbos. please give them screentime and further establish lucas as an important part of steve’s found family PLEASE!!!

10. nancy and mike.

what happened to their i-hate-you-but-i-would-kill-for-you sibling bond in s1? what happened to “no more secrets”? all i want is for nancy and mike to have a meaningful, in-depth conversation about their home lives, and hiding things, and not being able to love people the way they want to. and being scared to death of losing the people they do love. i want mike reassuring nancy that barb didn’t die because of her, and i want nancy reassuring mike that he won’t lose will. i also want them to glare pointedly at their dad together.

12. steve and el.

this dynamic is really unexplored and i feel like these two are paralleled so often that it would be criminal not to see them interact. a possible scenario i’d love to see: el post-finale going to steve for romantic advice (because that’s what all the kids do throughout the show) and confessing that mike hasn’t been able to tell her he loves her. steve assuring her that it’s okay, but that she should focus on being independent. that sometimes friendship and family can matter even more than a romantic relationship. that sometimes, people we think we love romantically are actually just people we really care about. and that being their friend instead of their partner doesn’t weaken that bond at all. and then el looking pensive, thanking him, and then immediately asking how he got his hair to grow out so long.