#I just love max and Jonathan so much. what if THEY interacted!! but the duffers will never let me win.

[lunar-years]

Jonathan telling Will, “you shouldn’t like things because people tell you you’re supposed to”

And Max telling El, “you just try things on, until you find something that feels like you. Not Hopper, not Mike, you.”

Are two scenes that are actually so dear to me!!!

#stranger things #also. I just love el’s style evolution through the seasons #going from mostly wearing mikes clothes and whatever hopper could get for her #to her shopping spree with max in season 3 #to season 4 where it’s a mismash of both #she’s wearing will and Jonathan’s clothes and she has the byers bangs #but there’s clearly pieces she picked out herself mixed in #like her ugly little roller rink dress (affectionate) #her borrowing of clothes is much more conscious now #maybe it makes her feel close to them or maybe it’s a comfort to her. maybe the stripes and flannels remind her of home. #but she’s also listened to max and is doing it now for her own self! #it’s like… ‘you like the clash? for real?’ ‘yeah.’ #for real!! #I’m in tears #I just love max and Jonathan so much. what if THEY interacted!! but the duffers will never let me win. #elmax #byers brothers

[loveronlineee]

Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 spoilers.

At first it was denial.

I saw the signs. I saw how he said Never change Dustin Henderson. I saw him say again and again that he’s no hero. I saw him go back to give the others more time. I watched as he lay so close to gone with Dustin holding him and I still didn’t believe it.

Then it was shock.

How the time skip happened and everyone was safely back, out of the upside down. No mention of Eddie from anyone, until Dustin.

Then it changed again, going back and forth between heart wrenching mourning and white hot anger.

I am upset. The kind of upset where your feelings overcome your body and you can’t even stand, your knees giving in beneath you. Crying on the floor. Watching the tears fall onto the ground, inches from your face.

I am upset. The kind of upset where you can’t even hold back the fury. Where nothing will calm you down and you’re shaking and tense, and you just have to feel that feeling with every fibre of your being until it turns back into tears.

I convinced myself that Eddie wasn’t going to die. I read posts saying that Eddie and Jonathan were gonna have scenes next season, they put forward the point that Why would there be so much promotion for a character that wouldn’t even be in the next season?

I couldn’t even enjoy the rest of the episode after that. I couldn’t be excited about Robin and Vickie. I didn’t feel anything when Hopper and Joyce reunited with their kids. I didn’t care that Hawkins was in trouble. Nothing else mattered after that. I felt numb.

Thank you Joe Quinn. For bringing alive a character that I love more than any other I ever have. No other is even close. And fuck you Duffer brothers for absolutely ruining him.

I’m only half serious, because I understand that when you make something and people love it, you’re terrified that one day you’ll fuck it up and all those supporters will turn on you. I know that the Duffers originally didn’t want Eddie to be that likeable, since they planned on killing him. But they didn’t change what they planned even after casting Joe.

And I think what makes me the most angry is that his death wasn’t even a good death.

No one mourned for him. There was no funeral. We don’t even know that much about what happened after. We can assume that they just left his body there, to rot in the upside down. Alone. Forever.

He never got to meet Will. He would have loved him. He would have taken him under his wing and protected him and become a second older brother. He never got to meet El and see her awesome powers in action. He never got to meet Hopper, or Joyce, or Murray or Argyle or Holly or any of the parents or anyone else.

I wanted to see him become part of the group. I wanted to see him interact with the others. What would Hopper have said after taking one look at him? It would’ve made me laugh whatever it would’ve been. I wonder what Eddie would’ve thought of Dustin’s girlfriend Suzie. Did he even know that this girl with superpowers was Mike’s girlfriend???

His name was never redeemed. Everyone still hates him. He never graduated. And no, he didn’t die a hero. His death wasn’t an epic sacrifice like Billy’s was. He died even though the exact same thing happened to Steve and he survived.

His death didn’t feel like it meant anything.

And it should’ve

It could’ve.

If Eddie died it could’ve been him protecting Steve, Nancy and Robin. He reaches the house, saves them but ultimately doesn’t make it. Maybe he makes such a ruckus that Vecna has to find him and kill him himself, giving El and Max more time to save themselves.

If they were planning on it, it could’ve been so. Much. Better.

Duffer brothers you made me fall in love with a show and continue to love it for 6 years. And you ruined it in just under 4 hours.

But even after everything, I still love this show. And I will not stop writing. Eddie Munson you stole my heart and I have no regrets about that.

And I will share this love with every person who reads my work and interacts with my blog who loves him too.

I’ll write Eddie the story he deserves.

Eddie I love you. You freak.

- Willow.

#willow’s warbles #vol 2 >:( #eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things season four #stranger things season 4 #volume 2 #stranger things 4 #stranger things season 4 volume 2 #eddie munson x reader #reader x Eddie Munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #st eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #stranger things spoilers #st spoilers

[i-am-autistic]

I feel like if you have any media literacy at all you should know Jancy is very likely endgame.

You can read my posts and see I'm not even a hardcore Jancy or anything I lean more Jargyle. It's just like........

1. The writers like their original pairings from s1 a lot. Mike-El/Will(Im pro Byler, yes Will isn't present in s1 but Mike spends like 90% of the season moaning and talking about him- for the sake of this post El/Will are interchangeable), Jonathan-Nancy, Joyce-Hopper and then they also like Max-Lucas. All 4 of these couples have been presented as romantic since the pitch bible and from their first interactions.

2. S4 was all about division and how the characters lose when divided. They really focused on the absence of Jancy in s4. Hence they are building to an s5 with a lot of Jancy. We also got s4 featuring the other 2 main couples: Jopper and Lumax so it's probably going to switch to the other 2 couples to finish it off and wrap up the relationship and character arcs. The duffers really really love the whole story beat of "break the characters up and then show them coming back together". You can tell because this is exactly what they did with Jopper and Lumax in s4. Jopper obviously had a physical distance that broke them up but Lumax had an emotional distance. The same things Jancy and Mileven/Byler are bringing into s5. Arguably you could even say Byler went through this in s4.

3. Cmon bro the final scene where Nancy RUNS to Jonathan and Robin pats Steve's back is the most obvious thing of all time. People bring up the script and that it wasn't a big moment in the script but those scripts are redacted as hell to avoid giving out more information.

4. Jonathan and Steve had a pretty clear parallel this season when talking about having kids in the future. Jonathan and Steve essentially come to the same vision for their futures but both decide differently. Jonathan hates it and Steve loves it. We also know from s1 and every piece of info we've got about Nancy since s1 that Nancy also hates it and doesn't want to raise a bunch of kids. Yes I know it's possible to pursue a career and have kids. But kids in this situation and the vision Steve have don't only represent kids but also represent her parents and their relationship. Which is what the show has always told us Steve represents to her and in everything we saw in s4 he hasn't developed into this new person, he still represents that. Even if the character himself has still improved he still represents that.

5. As soon as Stancy is introduced in s4 we also get introduced to the fact that Nancy isn't over Barb and Barb will still be a part of her arc. Which she pretty inextricably links to Steve.

6. This is the one people don't realize often but s4 is literally maybe 5(?) months after the end of s3. Taking place in March 86 with S3 ending Oct 85 and about 8 months after the end of s3. Steve has seemingly had literally 0 contact with Nancy in that time and doesn't fall for her again in s4. He's already fantasizing about her as he says so it's presented as a continuation of the feelings he's always had for her and he seemingly isn't as over her in s3 as was implied. If the writers are going to write that relationship, they are essentially saying they were wrong, the characters were wrong and the audience was wrong about the relationship.

7. This is kind of a half point expansion of the above but like.....seriously it's important that none of the feelings in s4 are new feelings, it's all old feelings for a relationship the writers have told us 1 million times doesn't work. I keep seeing people say "they are different people" but they aren't that different from when they broke up. Steve's actual in show character arc has always been a lot more revolving around Nancy than it is about his relationship with Robin or the kids. Like as much as the fandom is about Steve and the kids and it's cute(And I like this too! I don't dislike this) in the show when he becomes friends with Dustin it's all tied back to Nancy with that final Dustin-Nancy scene and the relationship literally being developed with Steve ranting about his relationship. S3 his relationship with Robin in the original version is written as a romantic one as he gets over Nancy. Even in the show for 90% of s3 it seems Steve looks at Robin as a romantic partner and then switches to friends when she's not available. I think people forget he's not actually babysitting the kids in his off time in the show-the fandom is cute and such- but I don't think he spends significant time with anyone except Dustin and Robin in the show. This is moreso a point about how the writers of the show are kinda poor at evolving the characters. But seemingly the way it was presented in s4 Nancy and Steve are essentially in an incredibly similar position to when they broke up in s2.

8. Joyce in the recent play. Ok I need this to be said but like Emmerson vs NYU is a thing people make out as a bigger deal than it is. Emmerson is like an excellent university too??? Like IK people want Jonathan to be validated but he is getting validated by going to a big university. The university you pick when you're a kid doesn't really matter that much and seemingly even Jonathan hasn't brought it up. Like as a kid I wanted to go to my local uni a lot but I didn't go in the end. Emerson isn't like bumming it out it's a pretty great uni. But morseo I mean Joyce's whole arc in the First Shadow is about not going to university as an art student. They are surely not going to make her son do the exact same thing. This one is really simple I don't need to explain it.

9. I think Jopper literally solves like all of Jonathan's family issues because he won't feel as burdened and that he HAS to stay.

10. Oh as a final point I'm fairly certain Argyle with Eden in Suzie's house in s4 was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a spinoff. And I think Jonathan's only other ending they've given so far is California. I think maybe they could include Jonathan in a spinoff but I don't think they'd want to. Like they've said they don't want to continue any mains story after s5 and Argyle is periphery enough he could leave and have a spinoff and it could work with an occasional Dustin cameo or whatver but with Jonathan I feel like he is a bit too tied to the Byers for him to be in a spinoff. Like you'd have to include the Byers too and I don't think they would want one that features central characters too much.

11. This is just my opinion.

#jonathan byers #jancy #anti stancy #nancy wheeler #byler #joyce byers #stranger things #jim hopper #jopper #this is not even really anti stancy because I don't even hate the ship I just cannot see it happening after s4

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

I see u sometimes reblog stranger things stuff, was wondering if you can share some opinions on it? Any strong opinions on the mileven vs byler war

Lol I knew somehow when I put on my Stranger Things sweatshirt today that I would get this ask lol. Super fun question, thanks for asking! I love talking about any of my other fandoms. I've been pretty involved in the Stranger Things fandom from the jump, I liveblog every new season which you guys do not have to worry about for a while but you can totally backread my ST tags (melissa liveblogs st and melissa on stranger things) for my content or feel free to blacklist if you don't want to see it. I was also active in a few discords for Stranger Things and It, so if you were in any of those you might've seen me around. Met some great people, a few of which are still active on here @sorenserotonin and @milfnightshade loyal mutuals 🫡 who I always appreciate. I'll tag them in case they feel like returning to discussing Stranger Things with me like old times lol.

As for byler and mileven, I don't have super strong opinions. The two mutuals I tagged are both byler shippers (actually I forget if Deidre is, I'm pretty sure). EDIT: DEIDRE IS NOT! I personally have always been into mileven, they were the heart of the first season to me in a way that's really unmatched. The following seasons they have had their really moving moments, particularly for me the third season, but never the same spark as that first season. I do think they are endgame though, because that's just the path the show is on. I don't think the narrative makes sense without them, and wether that is effective writing is a whole separate post. That being said, I will always always never have beef with an lgbtq ship in any fandom, unless it's with a very unhealthy character and I think the ship is straight up abusive. Fandom is a largely queer space because we create the content we lack. That's important and should be respected regardless of ship wars (and I'm a person that gets into those lol). I have a dear friend who will ship anything as long as it's two women, even if they never interacted. I've never understood this. I want the writing to be strong and the relationship to be healthy. But I understand why she feels the way she feels and I'd never judge her, that's what fandom is for.

Some other Stranger Things opinions; I think the writing really has suffered since the first season. It is still a great show, but they struggle with consistency in their characters which is a huge issue for me. They also cave to fandom, which is another huge pet peeve of mine.

I also think Billy Hargrove is one of the most damaging popular characters in a long time, in terms of fandom and the impact on culture. I might just be biased however, I'm on some Billy fans blocklists.

This season was the best one by far since the first. I know that's a hot take, but I think it's true.

Max and Lucas were the only characters who were effectively developed and utilized this past season, which was a breath of fresh air for them to not waste Caleb McLaughlin again.

I do not like Jonathan Byers, but that being said the time for stancy has long come and gone and returning to it is insane.

Oh, final take, we've been giving the Duffers far too much credit for Robin as a character when a lot of it should go to fav nepotism baby Maya Hawke.

#hope that was what you were looking for anon #it was a fairly open ended question so idk #hi old friends :) no pressure i just haven't used tumblr this often in a while and it has me thinking of u guys #mike wheeler #eleven #mileven #billy hargrove #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #jonathan byers #stancy #robin buckley #maya hawke #caleb mclaughlin #byler #stranger things #melissa's asks #melissa on stranger things #melissa is an english major

[rainparadefromhell]

s4 "quick" review.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

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.

.

this is probably the best piece of television i have ever seen. this is why i am so in love with writing and characters and storylines and imagination and creativity and my god do the duffer brothers have all those things. i am actually in awe.

some things that i LOVED that come to mind :

- literally loved every new character?? except jason, is that even his name he can rot why was he in every corner with the satanic shit giving me a migraine smh, eddie is the loml, rip chrissy she was cute and more importantnly steve FINALLY made a new friend his age yay!!!

- steve harrington is gonna do one thing every season and that is be steve harrington aka slay every and any one and he is the best character blabla u already know. also him fucking tearing that bat creature apart was so hot for no reason

- dustin!!!!!????! CARRIED this season. always loved him but his humor really stood out to me this season, gaten acted his ass off

- lucas and that little speech telling max he is always there for her? he has my heart

- sadie oscar when?

- i was screaming "WILLIAM!!" at any mike and will scene. idk why the government name jumped out of me buuuut oh my god i felt so bad bc he is clearly in love w mike and i don't think it's reciprocated....i do think mike knows bc some of them scenes were so awkward but cute i love will

- loved seeing jonathan be so fun (i mean he was high most of the time but still lolol)

- robin????? kiss??? me???? oh MY GOD, her steve and dustin were my absolute favorites, everything she says is comedic gold

- VECNA'S ORIGIN STORY FUCKING DUFFER BROTHERS PLEASE SPARE SOME TALENT. no but i was screaming "he's number one!!!!" when he tricked el. the actor is so talented and his monologue was perfectly evil without being corny. i LOVED them fleshing out the villains more and the whole 1920s victor creel storyline with that beautiful house and the clocks and everything was so stunning visually???

- THE FUCKING SPECIAL EFFECTS CGI WHATEVER THE FUCK WHEN VECNA WOULD BREAK PPLS BONES IT LOOKED SO FUCKING CREEPY AND AWFUL AND SADISTIC AND AMAZING R U KIDDING ME????? this just put ST on another level. the way that that genuinely freaked me out so much with their jaws hanging and missing eyes??? it was truly horror this season.

- hopper and the russian prison guard fighting the demogorgon actually had me on the edge of my seat, it was amazing!! also joyce saving the day by pushing random buttons is such a joyce thing to do lol.

- imma need a written note from netflix and the duffer brothers that my girl el will live a nice, calm and comfortable life in an isolated cabin somewhere after all of this on my desk by monday bc tf?? millie was just flexing her talent bc she was crying and in pain like 90% of the season so far. chefs kiss as always

- dr. br*nner is the biggest piece of shit i have ever seen and if we ever cross paths he is catching these hands. bitch.

things i didn't like :

- there is seriously just one big thing and that is nancy and steve. i love both characters and steve is prob my favorite even but my god do they just not fit at all....nancy and jonathan are both calm and very similar and i just wanted steve to thrive whether by himself or with a new girl. the show made a point that nancy never really loved him and now suddenly it's true love? give me a break, they barely interacted in ages. it just seemed like they didn't know what to do so they used them for cheap drama even though the nancy and jonathan long distance issues were, in my opinion, enough and completely valid and relatable. also emotional cheating isn't cute.

- wanted to see more of mike. a lot of people don't like him but i do. feels like the show doesn't know what to do with him sometimes though.

and that's it. bc the season was basically perfect in my eyes. 10/10

i was, as i'm sure many people as well worried that ST would decline in quality after season 3, hell even 2. but s4 just proved me the fuck wrong. it is absolutely my favorite season so far. i know we are getting a s5 but this makes me want at least 5 more!!!!! but i do trust the duffer brothers to end everything on a high note. but i just cannot wrap my mind over how good this season was??? everything just clicked with el's backstory in the lab and vecna's origin story they REALLY thought everything through and it SHOWS.

this is what tv should be. just pure talent and a thought out idea. and of course an incredible cast. what a delight. i am filled with serotonin. congrats to everyone involved in making this season from the creators to the cast & crew. we will be talking about s4 of stranger things for a looooooong time you best believe.

in short I FUCKING LOVE ART!!!!!!!

#stranger things season 4 #stranger things s4 #stranger things #stranger things spoilers #stranger things netflix #spoilers #mike wheeler #nancy wheeler #will byers #jonathan byers #eleven #steve harrington #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #robin buckley #eddie munson #jim hopper #joyce byers

[hairrington]

I hope you don't mind me ranting about Stancy because I'm heated.

First of all fuck the writers for how they simply made Steve's entire character being solely Nancy's love interest again. They destroyed literally all his development in a matter of minutes. Stancy wouldn't be half as bad if he had something else going on. Like his relationship with Dustin was so sidelined this season because of this, it's disgusting that we never got a heartfelt scene with both of them. They didn't even hug before splitting up, we deserved to see Steve comforting Dustin after Eddie's death. We deserved to see him mourning Max and feeling helpless, because his character was set up to be the protector of the group, we deserve to see his trauma being taken seriously for once.

The Duffers say they love Steve but they never give him any moments outside of being heartbroken about a girl he hasn't interacted with in years. Please let him move on for fucks sake. Let him be a real character and not just a punching bag, let us see how he deals with his physical and emotional scars. Literally he gets beaten to almost death every season but is supposed to be fine? His trauma is so fucking overlooked I'm tired. Like Joe Keery is a capable actor he could bring so much more to the table if the Duffers would actually care about Steve.

I liked how he talked about his dreams for once but the fact that they made it about Nancy is fucking disgusting and insane. She was about to reject him again I'm sure, the way she looked at him. Plus omg his dream of having a huge family is Nancy's biggest nightmare. If they really make Stancy happen in s5 I'll throw up. They are not compatible. Nancy's dream is about her career and adventure, while Steve wants to settle. This is a recipe for disaster. If they were to end up together they would resent each other in the future.

Like I hate how Jancy still doesn't communicate but at least Jonathan knows what Nancy truly wants and he's scared of losing her in the process. However the way they ended this season they truly set up Nancy to possibly do the same thing to Jonathan like she did to Steve I'm so disgusted.

Steve got rejected twice now please let him move on I'm gonna cry he deserves so much more than this. I don't understand the decision of bringing Stancy back when he canonical was over her in s3. He deserves love and respect and finally being the first choice. He doesn't find this in Nancy. The happiest we have ever seen him was around Robin and Dustin, he deserves someone who shares such characteristics and who's down to settle with him.

If you ever were to write a fix it fic I'm so down to read it because I trust you more to get his character right than the show writers.

+ Also him saying he always imagined a future with her. Boy it’s been years let her go. Like she’s been dating Jonathan for a lot longer. I feel like Steve is holding on to her cause she was his first love but at certain point you have to let her go. Nancy is just going back and forth at this point. I hope this speech was Steve finally cutting the cord and getting himself some closure so he can fully move on. Like say you weee the right girl at the wrong time and move on. I also don’t understand how Nancy was the thump on the head. Like they were together after he was an asshole to her and he changed for her. So clearly he wasn’t at fault she just didn’t love him

THANK YOU!!! I SEE NOTHING BUT FACTS. it was so randomly thrown together and SUCH a waste of plot and screen-time!!! i feel like they wanted some sort of romance or angst and did it in the silliest and most wasteful way possible!!!

and on top of everything, when jonathan asked if they were okay, i just KNEW nancy was gonna be lie and be like "yeah!" it's getting to be so predictable and frustrating 😭

omg thank you!!! 🥺 i am VERY tempted to write a fix-it fic where both steve and nancy get the ending they deserve!!!

#ask

[icanlove2things]

Rewatching all of Stranger Things and having some Thoughts so here they are:

The secretary lady at the police station tells Nancy that Jonathan would only beat the shit out of Steve like he did because of true love which feels a lot like when Eddie told Steve that Nancy must be in love with him since she dove into the water so fast. But in both of those cases, they’re not really right. Jonathan doesn’t really snap on Steve until he says a BUNCH of stuff about Will and his mom. So yeah it was love but not for Nancy. And we all know Nancy would have jumped into that lake for basically anyone. She crawled into the upside down through a disgusting hole in a tree (with no idea of what was on the other side except for a monster) for Barb. She faced down Billy racing towards her in a car to protect Lucas and Will. She went to interview a man who supposedly killed his whole family to try and save Max. I don’t have any Big Thoughts about this except I guess I just hate how everyone acts like the only kind of love that drives people is romantic love.

If they don’t bring Kali back for the last season, what is even the point?? She deserves a much better family, we need someone else with powers, I bet she’s taught herself telekinesis by now, and I would just love to see her interact with everyone else.

I hope Mr. Clark finally finds out what’s been going on and how much he’s helped his students save the world.

I want Murray to read everyone the way he instantly read Nancy/Jonathan and Joyce/Hopper. Well what I really want is for him to be a real person and yell at the Duffer bros for fucking up their own characters.

I still think there’s some kind of benevolent force stuck in the upside down. Why does it feel nice to manipulate the lights? Why did Victor Creel feel like there was an angel saving him? Seriously how did Will survive there for so long?? I’m sure this is a complete pipe dream but how freaking cool would it be if it IS there and it saved Eddie and we find him in a little pocket of safety, slowly healing and learning and hiding next season???

Watching the older seasons, I love seeing how strongly affectionate all the kids are with each other, which makes it even weirder to see Mike’s awkward non-hug with Will in S4.

In season 2 we see El mimicking the lines from an old movie and I think it was a huge lost opportunity that she never tried to say some of them irl.

Joyce tells Lonnie in S1 that Jonathan has wanted to go to NYU since he was 6 years old. I don’t have a grand point to make with this except that it’s sad, and also that I wonder if Nancy doesn’t know that because he decided all the way back in S1 that he couldn’t leave his family.

How was the ‘Indiana Flyer’ song in the secret Russian transmission if they were broadcasting it from so far underground? Did they have an extra horse down there in the communications room??

I wanna see Mrs. Wheeler go absolutely feral on some monsters to defend her kids.

I also think it’s weird that Mike never mentions the painting to El. Does he ever thank her for ‘commissioning’ it? And if he does, what does she say/think?? I don’t think she would have a very good understanding of gay people, so then does she just think Will is being a really sweet brother or what??

I can’t believe we don’t get to see El, Eddie, and Hopper hiding out together in the cabin. Just a weird little family with lots of secret visitors bringing them waffles and kisses and beer.

#stranger things spoilers #stranger things #eddie munson #will byers #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #eleven #kali stranger things #jonathan byers #jim hopper #mike wheeler #murray #joyce byers

[willel]

I agree with you about Mike. But what kind of conflict they could have written for him that wouldn’t have felt forced? He grew up in a normal (doesn’t mean perfect) family, he’s white, straight, healthy, good grades, not ugly, found his girlfriend in the first season. There isn’t much to do with such a "normal" character, imo.

Like I said, I think something could've happened to his family at some point. Maybe not even a major tragedy like Holly and Karen dying, but SOMETHING.

Lucas grew up normal too, other than the racism. They still managed to find personal conflicts for him, racism included (even though they downplayed that part a bit, as I predicted they would)

Even Lucas's romantic issues seem so.... down to earth and real? Maybe because Lucas can speak more openly with Max about what he's feeling and thinking even if it's the wrong thing sometimes? Of course, not to compare the two pairings since they're very different.

Maybe instead of focusing so much on the "I couldn't say I love you"... I dunno... hm.... ah! I have an idea!

Everyone is pretty aware of Max and Mike's similarities yeah? They're kinda closed off snarky individuals. As they say, "same character different fonts."

MAYBE instead of the "I couldn't say I love you" dilemma.... Mike was just being distant like he does to pretty much everyone else (Will and Lucas in particular) Actually, Mike would be similar to Jonathan too because Jonathan is doing the same thing to Nancy.

Well shoot, seems like all my ideas are already being done for other characters. Lol

But hey, maybe that's not so bad! If he's being distant like Jonathan, well guess what? He's with Jonathan the whole season! Maybe Jonathan would give him advice.... as in, "I can give advice but not take my own advice" kind of thing. Or maybe Jonathan would see how distance has hurt El so obviously and he reflects more about Nancy and decides he'll come clean at some point?

That way we get development for two characters with one stone. If they played it out that way, maybe I wouldn't have minded so much. You'd be giving Mike interactions with a character outside of someone who is in love with him (El or Will), allowing his character to develop more naturally AND give Jonathan's character more stuff to do too. Jonathan was once the big brother of the group after all.

Let's see, what else. Well, if the Duffers weren't in such a rush to yeet Mike to California, they could've done more with the whole ditching Lucas for d&d stuff. That really hurt Lucas and Mike being confronted with that could've called for some growth. Then again, Lucas doesn't even bring it up to Dustin so that conflict just.... completely disappeared. :/

But in an imaginary world where they didn't drop half of Lucas's conflict, let's pretend he does see Mike one last time before he goes to California. They get into a tizzy, much like they used to. Mike arrives in California being even more of a sour puss because of his argument with Lucas.

AHA! This would be great! Then Mike and Will's discussions won't all have to be relationship and dating advice from the boy who's never been in a relationship and is gay in the 80's. It could also be about his fight with Lucas AND the fight between him and Will. It would bring up the conflict from season 3 all over again you know? And this time, they could actually work through it and Mike would tie it all together and reflect on his friends and his girlfriend! Yes!

When they get back to Hawkins and see Lucas in the hospital, it would hit so much more when Mike and Lucas hug too. Maybe even an apology. Oooo I like it a lot.

It'd be like Mike is juggling all these conflicts he accidentally and unintentionally started, but he'd come out on the other side with his bonds stronger than ever, ready to pull everyone together for the final season maybe.

Yes, I think that is what Mike's character is missing. More conflicts within the party that is resolved in a satisfying way. His conflict with Will was not resolved in a satisfying way in season 3. His conflict with Lucas was not resolved in a satisfying way in season 4. Bring things back to Dustin, I think he should get in this too. It's really too bad they don't wrote Lucas and Dustin together anymore.

So there it is. Some nice cool stuff for Mike to do that isn't just romantic drama that could've played well going into the final season if he's supposed to be the party leader again.

#stranger things #mike wheeler #ask

[queer-coded-camaro-driver]

I have a lot of opinions about your post about st4 feeling off so I had to inbox you lmao

I agree with pretty much all of what you said!! And I feel like the not wanting to watch the entire episodes (cause I felt the exact same way) also in person had to do with them being so SO long. Like normally when the episodes a bit slow it doesn’t matter cause the whole things only 45 minutes tops but these episodes seemed to just drag on at certain points and with the season being split up the way it is there seemed to be little to no payoff.

I have hated that ever since season two ST has began splitting up the group more and more each season and as much as I love Joyce hopper and Murray their characters are stronger when interacting with the kids and I had high expectations for the Hopper in Russia parts and felt kind of let down with how it mostly just felt like a regular old pow story and had very little upside down elements until fighting the demo dogs at the end it almost just didn’t feel like stranger things and the only thing that saved the Murray Joyce parts imo is their comedic chemistry idk it felt very disconnected from the actual show

And yeah!!! The marketing made it seem at least to me that billy despite being dead was gonna be a big player this season but the only person he ever impacted was max and the rest pretended he didn’t exist!! And the duffer brothers rlly fumbled the bag with Dacre he’s such an amazing actor and has chemistry with anyone who he’s put on screen with he’s rlly a show stopper when it comes to acting and made such a huge mark on the show the past two seasons it felt off not having him in this one

YES!!! You get me.

I'm just finishing up my MA in English and this season made my degree fucking vibrate with anger. There were so many good opportunities for character growth, for the group to get closer, and for everyone to find some sort of happiness... but that would be too easy.

I'm so tired of all these shows just compounding trauma on their characters without providing any sort of emotional out for the audience. I feel like I just keep getting hit with harder and harder situations and the humorous moments aren't enough to make up for it anymore.

And, not to be Harringrove trash, but getting Steve and Nancy back together makes ZERO sense after the breakup they had. They don't even have to make Billy/Steve canon, just please don't revert to shitty "first love" tropes to keep your queer fans at bay.

Plus Jonathan is WAY more responsible and compassionate than they depicted him this season, and the inclusion of Eddie was cool but would have been way more fun if Billy was also there.

Let traumatized, queer-coded villains have some redemption. Let the metalhead boys learn to vibe together. Billy can teach Eddie not to be a coward and Eddie can help Billy chill the fuck out sometimes. And BOTH OF THEM can help protect Steve and the kids during their Upside Down shit.

I just... Season 4 made very little narrative sense. The Duffer bros and Netflix's CEO are welcome to meet me behind the nearest Arby's cause it's fisticuffs time.

#thank you #this was wonderful #let's be pals #stranger things #stranger things spoilers #stranger things s4 #billy hargrove #steve harrington #jonathan byers #the party st #the party #harringrove #netflix stranger things #i hate it here

[wolfsplosion]

Do u have any specific things ud like to see n the new stranger things? :>c

HRHGHRGHH . YES . A LOT OF THINGS . SORRY THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG ONE ↓

Mike and Max friendship; I KNOW it's probably not gonna happen bc there is Shit Going On and they are probably not going to have time for slice of life interactions (this is going to be a reoccurring theme on this list methinks) but the little crumbs of madwheeler bestieism we get make me CRAZY like they are so similar in a lot of ways but also the opposite sides of a coin (e.g. uncaring family situation, Mike coming from wealth and Max from poverty) and every time we see a flashback of the events directly prior to s4 they're next to each other and it only makes me crazier .. I just want like ONE scene of them being platonic best friends PLEASE

Will happy ending; this can mean a lot of different things tbh I just cannot have him die or end unhappy .. this also means that anyone he cares about has to be safe too like Joyce and Jonathan and El and the rest of his friends!! if he's not unequivocally happy in the final episode I will change the trajectory of the Duffer Brothers lives

Eddie flashbacks; like how we see the aftermath of Max's brother's death effecting her, I want to see Dustin mourn too (I mean, I don't Want to see it, I want him to be happy, but like. I want to see it. you know what I mean.) also the rest of Hellfire, especially Lucas and Mike and Erica .. show their reactions too I'm begging . my little pet headcanon is that Eddie made Mike realize some things about himself (🤨🏳️‍🌈❓) (not in a ship way I'm not a freak I just think he had an Awakening) so like seeing him process Eddie's death would be so. it'd be so

Byers-Hopper found family; I think I am almost guaranteed this in some way but I'm still crossing my fingers for it! show me WillEl twin behavior or ELSE

more siblingism in general; I appreciate s4 for giving me more Lucas and Erica screentime crumbs bc they are so sweet and I love their sibling dynamic sm, I wish we got more of that with Mike and Nancy as well like remember in s1 when they were like "no more secrets between us!" and then didn't fucking do anything with that. let them be siblings please

Byl3r (<- censoring for superstitious reasons a.k.a. I do not want to invoke ship discourse here); I have extremely controversial thoughts abt this ship, like as in I don't . I don't really think the writers are gonna . no I shan't say for fear of my life . but it'd be nice if it did!!!! Will deserves to get what he wants all the time always

Steve surviving; I am so fucking scared

parallels between Will and Henry; weird little boys with strange(!!) powers and trauma....... I think they're probably going to do this at least subtly considering the lines are already there in s4 but if they were more direct I'd be happy, I'd probably care a lot more about Henry's whole thing if Will was involved I'm not gonna lie to you

Max getting out of That Whole Situation; I'm not saying what exactly happens at the end of s4 because Ro might be reading this and we haven't watched the end together yet & I don't think he knows what happens . Ro if you are reading this it's fine everything is fine but also it's so not fine and I'm so scared and afraid. Max bestie we gotta get you out of there

more Argyle; speaks for itself, I'm obsessed w that funky lil stoner & I need him to give Jonathan more terrible therapy it's awesome

El autism diagnosis; this one is a joke. or is it. no it is. or is it

time travel; I'll get a little more into this down there ↓ but I think it's likely to be an element of s5 .. we'll see

now hear me out. here's some things I either do Not want or would be very nervous if they included:

Eddie coming back; WAIT STOP HEAR ME OUT PLEASE .. I want him to not be dead as much as the next Eddie fan and I think the ending they gave him was complete horse shit awful. but I also do NOT have any faith that they'd do a bringing-him-back storyline properly . I've read some good fanfic about it which only would make the reality of whatever they'd do more disappointing ! BUT the exception to this is if they pull some time travel bs, which I think is a good possibility tbh, like with the upside down being stuck in the day Will went missing and stuff, and then they could prevent all that from happening in the first place. I'd still be nervous about the quality of the writing but I'm on board w this conclusion nonetheless! but Eddie coming back as Kas or whatever.. well. I'd just be nervous putting that in the hands of the stranger writers I'm sorry

M!leven endgame (<- censoring for superstitious reasons a.k.a. I do not want to invoke ship discourse here); I just don't know how anyone likes them romantically I'm ngl . it's fine if you do please do not come for me I just don't get it . I fear they will end up together anyway but I don't like it . I'm a Mike apologist but El deserves better than a guy that can't even physically say that he loves her

Will with a gun; this sounds like a joke but I'm so serious hglkjfdgk, I know a lot of people want him having a badass moment with a gun mirroring the shot in s1 where he's taken by the demogorgon and that sounds cool but I just. don't think it suits his character I'M SORRYYY I love that he's a protagonist who's gentle and sensitive, there are other characters who can kick ass violent style rather than my special little dude

anyway that's just off the top of my head, I have so many thoughts swirling around in there so I might be back to add more thank you so much

#literally thank you so much for enabling me I'm shaking /pos

[increasinglygeeky]

Uhhh. Stranger Things Season 4 VOL 1. thoughts

I'm conflicted about the whole Mileven/Byler dilemma b/c I've been a Mileven girl since the beginning but hey, whatever happens in Vol 2., happens.

Mileven deserves rights just b/c El has been through so much she needs to be happy no matter what when it's all over.

RONANCE BROMANCE HELLS YEAH!!!

why the fuck weren't Dustin and Steve being my fave funky duo of this show???...DUFFERS EXPAIN

LUMAX LIVES BITCHES!!!!

Eddie being my new fave skrunkly scrimblo

Why the f is no one talking about Fred?? (His name is deadass Fred Benson hehehe) What did he kill a bunch of people????

Also did they seriously force Nancy to go through the loss of TWO close friends in the span of 3 years???

Also Chrissy deserved better she was so cute

EDDIE AND HER COULDVE BEEN BFFS MAYBE EVEN MORE B/C I DOUBT THAT PRICK JASON ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT HER TO NOT EVEN SUSPECT ABUSE!!!

Robin is....diff in this season but I'll let that slide b/c she was adorable

I feel so bad for Lucas. Baby sacrificing all his healths to just help out his friends.

Still Anti-Billy. Just beacuse of his dad gave him NO right to treat Max the way he did.

Although the letter scene did hurt especially when you think about how much Max probably wanted a normal, big, family no matter what....

I also feel so bad for Jonathan he's probably going through so much internally if he's giving himself over to weed.

EL DESERVED TO BEAT ANGELAS FACE IN I SCREAMED YOU GO MY FUNKY LITTLE GIRLBOSS!!

ERICA MY OTHER FUNKY LITTLE GIRLBOSS NOW APART OF THE PARTY HELL YEAH WHAT A QUEEN SHE WAS THIS VOLUME.!

Love the look of how you communicate from the Upside Down its probably the only comforting thing there

Honestly I'm Argyle in THAT situation

Why did we stop the California plot line midway???

Suzie is so goddamn funny

Her family helping her out was the best ever

I feel like this season/volume dials up the comedy and it actually works

I nearly had a stroke when the boys were asking about the Internet.

You could've gave Will some friends of his own or something Duffers, gotdamn.

Why did they fuck up his role so bad??

At least he actually gives a damn about El.

Im so glad will and Jonathan do refer to themsleves as El's brothers its what she deseves.

El and Will being in sibling sync had me hollering.

Seriously Mike, wtf were you thinking with those letters???

Loving the Nightmare on Elm Street shoutouts and parallels it's my fave horror series.

THEY DEADASS GOT ROBERT ENGLUND HELL YEAH!!!

NO NO STEVE/NANCY ENDGAME ARE YOU KIDDING ME NO!!! HE LITERALLY WENT THROUGH HALF OF THE SERIES GETTING OVER HER FUCK OFF.

At least their interactions reminded of how much Natalia and Joe would be so good as Nancy Thompson and Glen Lantz in a proper Elm Street remake/reboot I'm frothing at the mouth thinking about it.

STEVE HARRINGTON STOP BEING SO HOT WHEN YOU'RE BEATING THE SHIT OUT HELL BATS HAIRY TIDDIES OUT AND SPITTING UP BLOOD!!

I am in desperate need of a reader fic where we react to Steve in that scene.

Max is strong...stronger than all of us.

Wait was it Vecna who killed Barb and not the Mind Flayer??

I felt SO BAD for El when they buzzed off her hair especially when you remember her commenting that Argyle's is longer than hers she probably wanted to grow it out for as long as she can.

The rope going through the Upside Down was chefs kiss.

At least we get a proper reason to why they call it the Upside Down.

When Hopper found the church and peanut butter I almost cried b/c that's obviously the most peace hes gotten in like a year.

JOPPER JOPPER JOPPER JOPPER JOPPPER REUNION WAS BETTER THAT MY EXPECTATIONS IM SO HAPPY MY PARENTS!!!!

DID VECNA TAKE WILL THIS WHOLE TIME!?!?

#stranger things #stranger things season 4 #stranger things s4 #strangers things season 4 volume 1 #st #st netflix #mike wheeler #eleven hopper #will byers #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #steve harrington #st argyle #eddie munson #joyce byers #jim hopper #vecna #el hopper #stranger things theory #jopper #lumax #jane hopper #the upside down #chrissy cunningham #duffer brothers #st vol 1

[bylertruther]

Thoughts on some unexplored pairings in s5? Would you want to see any of these?

El and Nancy

Will and Steve

Joyce and Lucas

Hopper and Robin

Dustin and Jonathan

el and nancy interacting would just be girlboss2girlboss communication. el paraded around in nancy's clothes in s1 and thought she was pretty so already i want them to interact so that el can see what a Woman Wanting Independence and Selfhood^tm looks like, but i know that they will undoubtedly at least in passing interact bc el's got her powers back, knows all about henry, and nancy's got to tell them about her vision and took the leadership role, too, while they were gone and i don't think she'll relinquish it and suddenly go quiet. but! i do think it'd be cool for them to be in a fight sequence together. nancy with her gun n el doing her jedi mind tricks. the usual, u kno.

will and steve aka mr steal yo girl + mr struggle <3 jk they are both mr struggle, but will very much less so bc at least the boy he wants wants him back and he's just too blind to see it unlike steve who doesn't realize his dream is nancy's nightmare n thought he somehow still had a chance jus cos they were talking again LMAOOOOO L sorry, steve. teehee. anyway i think it's kinda funny that steve got roped up into all of this bc of will and yet... they've never Once said anything 2 each other. like, at all. unless u count the group responding to him when they're sneaking through scoops ahoy's backdoor as an interaction, but i don't. i would like to see it jus bc i'm so curious how the duffers think they'd interact with each other but i doubt we'll get it. sadge</3

joyce and lucas ok. did mike call the byers when will wasn't at school and then weasel his way inside to stay by will's side even at the lab? yes. but lucas went to the gate BY HIMSELF with only a SLINGSHOT and some POCKET LINT! joyce is a mama bear ok she has enough love to go around n i feel like she can have scenes that aren't with hopper without her fucking dying or smth. let her interact with anyone else please for the love of byIer 🙄 and lucas is a sweetie so i think everyone should love n appreciate him always n forever all the time so. i'll take it<3 omg imagine them protecting n standing guard for the injured ppl in the monster war in s5... or joyce reassuring lucas about max in general since she has some experience when she almost lost will... i'd Ascend

hopper and robin. hmmmmmmm. see in my brain i could headcanon something between them but in canon? lol. i'm tired of the same people being paired up for the ENTIRE season so tbh i would welcome anything new and this would definitely be new!

dustin and jonathan give off the BIGGEST responsible big brother x annoying little brother vibes ever. their mini interaction in s2 when the junkyard crew meets up with j*ncy and dustin greets him + dustin literally sounding and acting like a little kid when he pushes jonathan out of the booth and says "LeT mE tRy, jOnAtHaN 😠😤" bc he wants to be the one to push the button is so funny to me lol. also, him calling their mom joyce instead of ms. byers is just... lmao. okay, dustin. clearly, they amuse me so yes i would love to see them!

in general, if it's a pairing that hasn't ever interacted before or has interacted only once for two seconds, my answer is always goign to be Yes I Want To See Them bc gah daMN all them characters in that ensemble and for WHAT? to show the same team up every time? cringe. (except for byIer i want them paired up 24/7 forever. or else.)

#asks

[pappydaddy]

Ohh totally the writers regressed Steve's entire development to be solely Nancy's love interest again. His other relationships suffered so much, especially the one with Dustin. He seemed so angry with being paired up with him it was so ooc. Like it's actually criminal that we got a Eddie and Dustin hug before Steve and Dustin, like wth.

Even his relationship with Robin was watered down to push for Stancy. I still stand by the fact that Robin should have been the one who jumped in first to save Steve, but then Eddie wouldn't have given his true love speech to Steve later. And Robin actually pushing Nancy to persue Steve, while being Steve's bestie and probably knowing how fucked up he was after the breakup. The writers don't see heaven for this I'm afraid. Robin needs to talk some sense into him, like please.

I'm so mad at the writers, I hope they look through fan reactions and see that 80% of the fandom doesn't want this kinda shit. Plus it's so fucking unfair to both characters. Steve got rejected twice there at the end and he was clearly hurt, if he takes her back after all the shit Nancy put him through (cheating, calling him bs and making him insecure about his intelligence) what kinda message is this for his character? Like does he really feel so insecure about himself, so worthless that he doesn't think he deserves better??? Or worse if the writers kill him off for Nancy I'm gonna commit a crime if they do that.

And Nancy deserves an arc that isn't centered around guys, let her be single and move away to persue her dream career. Nancy won't ever be the perfect woman for Steve to carry his 6 kids, she said herself in season one. I fucking hate how they ended s4 with setting up Nancy cheating on Jonathan in s5 like she did with Steve in s2. Plus most likely not even facing any repercussions for her behavior because the show excuses any mistake so idk she gets a fee pass for anything really. I tried to like her but after s2 I just can't bring myself, the only scenes where I truly started to appreciate her more were the ones with Robin tbh.

My dream dynamics or hope for s5. Steve and Robin plus party all together fighting evil monsters. We deserve Steve and El interactions, Steve comforting Dustin and Lucas. Plus for once let him actually display feelings, I want to see him grieve Max and feeling guilty for not being the protector like he thought he was. Plus the arc I hoped for s4, realizing he doesn't need romantic love, he already has a family rn and that friendships can make you just as happy. Like I really thought for vol2 he would finally move on and come to that realization but instead we got a love confession.

Nancy and Jonathan can do their investigation shit, stay far away from the group like they always do every season and talk about their feelings like mature adults they claim to be. Like the Duffers talked about s1 pairings definitely Jancy was together for 80% of the time despite Nancy dating Steve so please just go back to that lol.

Sorry this was kinda long, but every time I see Stancy content or discussions I get once again so angry at like everything. We could have so much better but nope.

Obx anon

oh my gosh! it's great to see you again obx anon! how have you been lovely?

i agree with you full-heartedly! i loved nancy in season one and (a little less bc of the steve situation) in season 2, but in season 3 i liked her again because her storylines were something other than conflicted feelings for a boy. in season one, the writers were laying the seeds for nancy and jonathan (even tho they had jonathan take pictures of her???) so they had her dating steve as a way for her to break free of the good girl in the suburbs mentality. this is seen with her losing her virginity, going to the party, shotgunning, etc. they used the relationship with steve to give her character depth and create a change within her.

then in season 2 she ruined steve which allowed for steve's character growth. this growth had the kids involved with it. steve went from king steve to momma steve and that was because of the kids. even in season 3 when he only had dustin and erica with him, he was still momma steve. then he started chucking fireworks at the mind flayer and he was momma steve saving el because he had the kids.

there was no momma steve content in season 4. it was annoyed and borderline king steve content. i hated that scene where he tried to go with nancy and he was visibly annoyed that he had to go with dustin. like i was excited for some steve and dustin content - i look forward to steve and dustin content. on top of that, there was no robin and steve.

everything with steve was so ooc in season 4. i also hate how it seems like they are trying to make the viewers hate nancy. she doesn't seem to be someone who it whishy-washy, yet, every other season she is unsure of her relationship.

but, i did read natalia agreed that robin and nancy would be a good pair and that it would be cool to see that relationship. i feel like that would also explain why nancy seems to jump between steve and jonathan. she seems to be drawn to any guy that is showing any form of affection/romantic interest to her regardless of her relationship status. so, maybe (and i am just brainstorming here), what if she doesn't have romantic feelings towards steve or jonathan? what if she feels like because they like her and she is a girl and they are boys, she should like them and date them?

but, back to canon. i was also upset that there seemed to be no resolution in the two-day jump of any of this. nancy can break up with jonathan if she wants, but steve and her better stay friends. there was also no steve/dustin dynamic. or steve/robin dynamic other than steve seeing her talking to vickie. but i think seeing this shift proves how nancy and steve wouldn't work. (a) they want two completely different things in life like you pointed out and (b) they bring out the worst in each other.

tik tok seems to love stancy and i've had to hit not interested so many times bc it keeps showing me stancy content and i hate it. i feel much better on tumblr where there are so many people who agree with me about this. also, i saw someone on here say that hopefully steve admitting he saw nancy having his six-kids for the longest time was steve's way of saying 'i am finally getting over you and moving on and being happy'. but we really won't know until season 5 comes out (which i hope isn't long from now).

and don't worry lovely! i hate stancy so much too. it fills me with rage that people cannot seem to realize how bad they are for each other. i am also mad that they ruined steve's character (slightly) in this season and i hope they don't ruin it further.

#pappydaddy answers #pappydaddy answers anons #obx anon #anti stancy

[cortexifansquint]

Feeling alone on this, but I really enjoyed like 80% of season 4! Given this wasn't the series finale, I'm not ready to trash the duffers out over a still incomplete story. As long as things wrap up right and the suffering ends with happiness for our gang! A theme of this season was communication, literally across locations and inter-personally between the characters. So I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that a lot of the relationship mess we're upset about might be intentional to resolve next season? Trying to stay positive.

The 💖👍🏾:

Jopper! Just everything about them, couldn't have asked for more. A passionate and soft kiss. Flirting. The talks. All the hand holding/hugging/touching. Huge contrast from tension last season. Byers-Hopper family reunion. Even Joyce getting to kill a demo-dog, I got everything I wanted from these two.

The horror elements. Vecna/001. Explanation into the upside down + tie-ins to past seasons etc.

Max & Lucas. Their individually plots and as Lumax. From emotional and supportive, to cute, to heartbreaking. The creel house scene had me a sobbing mess. Sadie and Caleb were amazing this year!

Was happy to get some Sinclair sibling scenes. And the interaction between all the parents was amusing.

Eddie Munson guitar solo. Eddie Munson period. I'm going to miss him so much.

The one on ones. They were nice moments and really made me nervous for everyone's fate.

Argyle was a treat. The humor breaks overall are always enjoyable in the series.

The battle scene was a good time! The music/score (!!) , the action of everyone kicking ass together from their locations. Hopper fighting the demogorgon with a sword. Nancy & Robin torching Vecna. El fighting Vecna.

The ending. Again with the music and the visuals.

The 😖:

Was looking forward to more El living with the Byers. Joyce and El mother-daughter, sibling stuff with Will and Jonathan. Would have swapped out the extended bully scenes for it. Or at least a one on one with El & Joyce after the dinner scene.

Will Byers / Byler fans being done dirty all around. He was third wheeled, then sidelined and miserable all season. I'm not even that into Byler (mostly due to my feelings on Mike and his attitude) but I literally cringed at the "tender emotional music" being used for m*leven all the sudden and Will's feelings a catalyst for that love confessions (yikes). Then there's all the beating around the bush, thought they'd at least have him come out + reveal his feelings for Mike to Jonathan. Making the monologue more weighted with solid confirmation to the audience (people who are blind apparently) and knowledge from Jonathan. Or honestly just had a mutual m*leven breakup leaving the last season to deal with Mike's end but now...everything would be so crammed. Honestly I wish the painting was a thing anyway considering what it turned out to be/used for.

As a black person, it was an uncomfortable af seeing Erica and Lucas being held down/held at gunpoint by those jocks. Nice seeing them knock them both tf out though, so there's that.

Wanted more Erica Sinclair on my screen and utilized better than to make sassy comments (which I love her for of course but ya know). I want her involved with coming up with the genius plan next season.

No one mentioning or mourning Eddie outside of Dustin pissed me off a little. Steve and Robin spent all season with him and Mike was in Hellfire Club. Makes no sense.

Putting to the back of my mind since there's a S5, but the loose ends/questions. Where did Murray, Dimitri and Yuri go? What's up with Owens? What did they do with Eddie's body? So Ms.Kelley wasn't involved/evil? Are/can the Byers go back to California, is there a warrant for El? A time jump would make zero sense.

The 😐:

I didn't hate the Stancy revival. Mainly because a big part of their relationship ending was out of Nancy's guilt about Barb. So makes sense to bring it back up alongside Vecna surfacing traumas. Plus I'm a sucker for finding each other again after being apart kind of thing and J*ncy is hanging by a thread. However I would say I am annoyed with the show having Nancy torn between Steve and Jonathan constantly. She hasn't been completely content with either one for a decent stretch of time. Girl, pick one!

To add on, throwing J*ncy and M*leven back together after hanging by a thread all season with no real resolution to their issues. They're just good now I guess??

#Stranger Things #ST4 #I expect to have gripes even from my favorite shows #and we were told S4 wouldn't have a happy ending #let the rest of the story unfold before wanting to kill the writers I say #there's a whole other season coming to fix reveal and tie up #why I don't base my main enjoyment of a show over ships #especially non romantically implied/intentioned ones #because that's like the main reason I'm seeing people pissed about most enjoyed vol 1 so it wasn't the plot #learned my lesson being a clown for swan queen for years #ship it and enjoy their amazing scenes together but don't expect the writers to be on your canon #like several seasons and something you don't like the show and the writers are trash lol #people turn quick

[ninthhousesteel]

fucking hell

i stayed up till 4 am to watch vol 2 cuz i thought it’d be good and it was good!!

Good ol’ queer bait thats what it fucking was.

I’m sorry that the duffer brothers felt that this was good enough writing to finish something amazing, and i am willingly ready to partake in a rewrite of vol 2 because this was blasphemous. (apologies ahead of time for the sheer amount of ranting i am going to do)

okay like first?? steve??? just. no. that whole spiel about the six ‘nuggets’ (that wounded me) and him LITERALLY SAYING THAT LIKE HES STILL IN LOVE WITH NANCY AND HE WANTS HER TO HAVE S I X KIDS WITH HIM ITS LIKE HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW HER BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW SHE AINT BUILT FOR THAT. ALSO nancy was in the middle of talking about robin, a person for whom they both care about, and its like he just redirected the conversation onto him. it looked like someone tried to inject more ronance but then someone else just like sidestepped it into Steve/Nancy, which was SO bad. Steve and Nancy shouldn’t be a thing. they just cant give each other what they need. Same with Jonathan and Nancy. Honestly, I did enjoy their relationship in all the past seasons, but s4 its been so strained and weird and the fact that Jonathan didnt even come clean to her at the end about the college apps was just ridiculous, and the exact moment i knew that they weren’t going to last. even their interactions at the end seemed weird and stiff, like neither of them really wanted to be there. (I hope they dont make her get with either of them. And maybe im just a diehard Ronance shipper, but Robin and Nancy make the most sense!!!)

Second point- Robin and Vickie

10000000.999999% unneeded and unwanted and unfunctional. If youre going to give the only explicitly confirmed gay character a love interest, the worst thing you could do was use the ‘oh no my crush is straight oh wait no she dumped him and now i think she likes me’ trope. tired, overdone, nasty. not even to mention the fact that Vickie is just. a straight (haha) up clone of Robin. They are the same person. They could be revealed to be cousins in s5 and i wouldnt be surprised. It’s tasteless and pathetic to watch. And it’s even more hurtful, because so many of us fans genuinely are in love with Robin and invested with her because we can connect to her the most, and the Duffers just cop out of a genuine and amazing relationship (ronance) and just turn to the basic and unflavorful This Was Obviously Written By A Straight Person relationship of Robin and Vickie.

And Max. And, you know let’s loop in Eddie too. Since they both died. Oh wait.

I’m not even sure to tackle Max’s death. i love her SO MUCH. she’s my second favorite character (right behind Robin). if i was in that situation, i would have let her die. its just easier, and we dont even know if, once dead, she even wanted to come back. this trope of bringing someone back always has consequences, which is why im not really a fan of it in the first place. it requires delicate writing because the situation can get bad very fast. and as of vol 2, im not sure the duffers can do it. (that being said, obviously i dont know their plan for max, but plots like these are kinda hit or miss yk? its just such a big thing)

Eddie’s death was anything but compelling. Like, i knew he was dying but i was kinda…. bored? idk if thats the right word to use, but it just felt kinda off. and the fact that no one addressed it besides Dustin, like, Eddie had so many more friends. and in my mind i think the whole ‘eddie died saving a town that didnt love him’ was more of a white lie for his uncle, because eddie didnt owe Hawkins anything. i mean, it does make him a hero in the way that everyone who helped was a hero, but not everyone needs a ‘redemption’ arc to better be accepted by society. like, his whole thing was kinda that he was different and he didnt care what other people thought. and he had so much potential too!!!

this is long lmfao sorry if i jump into your asks later because i still have more grievances

st4 spoilers

no need to apologize for the long ask because everything you said is true

i know duffers will never actually let ronance happen but Why push stancy it just doesn't make sense to the plot at all please just let nancy pull her self worth away from whichever boy she chooses duffers let nancy be single challenge

and im grilling them for putting in the whole six kids thing ESPECIALLY with the word nuggets it wasn't cute it wasn't funny it made me literally gag

AND VICKIE im

i love amybeth and nothing of this is directed to her bc she was getting paid to play a role and i love her <3

BUT THE DUFFERS let vickie be a barely present and exact carbon copy of robin just to serve as her love interest. how fucking lazy is that? they see how popular robin's character is Plus she's the only confirmed queer character (since they wanna be ambiguous with will) on the show and they just throw her with an underdeveloped character for diversity points... and with the whole extremely similar personalities thing yeah vickie started to ramble but robin said like 4 words and ik thats just bad writing and they don't actually care about my girl but im choosing to interpret it as she got over vickie which Good For Her

max my poor angel they really did just use you for bait </3 and sadie doesn't even know her role in s5 yet and its breaking my heart can we have anything nice Also why go after one of the girls.... one who's been abused her whole life too like give her of all people a happy ending

eddie was such a wastef character :( he was so original and fresh and he could've helped robin break out of her shell more but the duffers had to keep up the boring old pattern and kill him and his death was Meaningless because he could've just climbed to safety but noooo we can't have nice things now can we. and the fact that no one addressed his death what the hell

#im livid #st4 spoilers

[terraether]

for the last 6 years ever since the legend of korra series finale aired in which Bryke chastised the audience for watching the show thru “hetero lenses” I have exclusively lived my life and consumed media thru HOMO lenses (has nothing to do with the fact I am gay and enjoy queer media analysis 👀). So, here’s a ranking of the st4 characters according to how difficult it was for me to analyze them thru these “hetero lenses”:

1. Max & Lucas - not at all difficult

These two are the easiest for me to read as not gay. Obviously being in a m/f relationship does not negate queerness altogether but for the sake of mainstream media as big as stranger things, it all but does. I -1/10 relate to them which is how I know, they are hetero, and it takes no effort for me to believe it. I used to read max as queer I guess due to her tomboy attitude but after seeing her in Taylor swift atw video I cannot unsee her as straight idk why this is just my brain

2. Dustin - not at all difficult

Dustin is a straight boy. He could possibly be hc as ace or demi if I think about it, but it takes more effort for me to think about a queer hc than accepting him as straight which is why he ranks this high up. I love 1 (one) straight boy

3. Jonathan - not very difficult

Jargyle is awesome and I love it. But also jonathan has the energy of the difficult alt guy that lands the popular girl and he just is never quite the same without her. They’ll part ways maybe for a while, but in the end he never searched for another love. They find their way back to each other and marry. He says, “I’ve only ever been with you.” It’s said as romantic, it reads a little creepy. She blushes. The end. So yeah outside of his alt boy “I don’t fit in” personality and his possible stoner make out sessions with his 1 true bro argyle it is not hard to see the hetero.

4. Joyce & Hopper - somewhat difficult

I ship jopper so hard BUT! Winona Ryder gives off so much queer lesbian energy that it does take me some time to push aside my gay lenses to accept that Joyce loves men (especially after s1 Joyce’s hair and outfit…). But they are, in the end, believably straight and the gays support them!!

5. Jane / El - pretty difficult

The early seasons she read so queer, I related to her so much. She didn’t understand gender norms and she didn’t look conventionally feminine and she just rocked all these cool outfits and looks and it was a vibe. However, by s4 it is clear to me she is a typical cis teen girl. The only reason she ranks #5 is bc it is pretty difficult for me to believe she is straight. I very strongly hc her as pansexual, she just seems like she has a lot of love to give and that gender would not be a barrier for her feelings (tho society would.)

6. Nancy - pretty difficult

I saw the excitement over ronance on this site after the trailers but I did not get it, Nancy is Straight TM and there was no proof they’d even get along let alone be gfs but Um, these scenes from s4 are making it harder for me to blindly look thru hetero lenses. She’s giving bi energy and it’d be so cute to see her flirt with Robin and be all bashful about it.

7. Steve - difficult

I have read steve as bi since s2? I think? And then when he accepted Robin after she came out I thought hm it’s the perfect opportunity for steve to explore his own sexuality! And s4 just strengthens my beliefs. He can’t get a gf?? Well to me that’s clearly bc he is discovering his interest in men and a gf just isn’t what he wants rn. However, I recently realized that steve has probably become the duffer’s self insert character so I am able to read him as straight and see thru the hetero lenses that his gf troubles probably root in I guess lingering feelings for *cringe* nancy 😩

8. Mike - very difficult

Mike is in the same boat as steve in my eyes. His actions just read gaygaygay panic to me. His interactions with will seem to give a hope to will that could only mean “omg my best friend also has a gay crush on me!!” However because this is a huge heteronormative show I am reluctantly able to see thru the hetero lenses that mike is probably just an idiot boy who is struggling with ~feelings~ and communication with his long distance gf, as well as just missing the closeness of his lifelong best friend. (But then I remember the scenes again and I’m like wait??? No way, it’s gotta all be gay!!)

9. Eddie - very difficult

Eddie to me is a gay man. I am able to put on the hetero lenses since he’s like a super popular handsome male character in this huge show in our wonderfully heteronormative world, which they certainly designed to appeal to the straight female audience (I think?? LOL) but ultimately I do not know enough about him yet to readily conclude that the writers have even made any conclusions about him. Because of this, it’s hard for me to believe he’s straight since it looks likely that he’ll die before any romantic storyline with him is addressed at all. He’s ~~ambiguous~~

10. Will & Robin - impossible

Soooo Robin is canon lesbian and therefore IMPOSSIBLE to see thru hetero lenses !!! Will is also pretty much canon gay man (I say pretty much because he is written and coded with gay storylines but he himself is only now arriving to conclusions about himself so it can only be canon in words once he is able to speak it. However this does not negate the canon fact that he is a gay character and has been this whole time even before he knew it. That’s just how life is for gay ppl sometimes). Will is impossible for me to view through hetero lenses and idk WHAT I’d do if they somehow pulled a reverse bryke, made will hold hands with a girl and then post series finale chastised us all for watched with our “homo lenses” (LOL COULD YOU IMAGINE?!?)

Bonus: Argyle - file not found

He just has that energy of creed from the office telling how he’d get so fucked up in the 70s on drugs that if gay shit happened then gay shit happened and I think that’s beautiful

#just a disclaimer I did not see st4 yet just the gifs and scenes on the internet #also I do half regret making this it took me far too long and is a shit post #but I also love gay analysis soooo here we are #stranger things spoilers #stranger things 4 spoilers #st4 #gay